Writers are artists that paint pictures with words that move the emotions of others.
Twenty-seven hundred years ago, a prophet named Isaiah wrote a beautiful passage, a vision of peace on Earth.
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard lies down with the kid; The calf, the beast of prey, and the fatling together, with a little boy to herd them…A babe shall play over a viper’s hole, and an infant pass his hand over an adder’s den.
In all My sacred mount, nothing evil or vile shall be done; For the land shall be filled with devotion to the Lord, as water covers the sea. (Hebrew Bible)
In this writing, Isaiah paints a mystical fairy-tale existence, which allows the reader to escape for a moment.
Imagine this kind of world, where predators don’t devour defenseless prey, and where venomous serpents are gentle enough to dwell where young children play.
Ironically, Isaiah’s vision is of Jerusalem, the city known as the sacred mount.
It is this very location today that two cultures are engaged in a bloody battle over a piece of real-estate. Evil and vile acts are being committed, and Isaiah’s vision couldn’t be further from reality.
Why?
The answer is actually very simple.
The problem began approximately forty-five hundred years ago, and involves an unwise decision.
How do I know this?
Because, I have been studying this for over 35 years. I have been seeking God for answers to this very question, and I have a lot to share about what I’ve been shown.
If I could have one wish granted, it would be to share what I’ve learned with the Leaders of Israel, but no one wants to hear what an unknown spiritual seeker has to say about anything.
However, as a writer, I can make my dream come true by painting words on an imaginary canvas and creating whatever reality I choose to create.
So, come join me as I have a fire-side chat with the Leaders of Israel. My composition would begin something like this.
“Gentlemen, thank you for joining me today. Now, I know that I’m a woman and a gentile woman at that.”
“However, I believe that I’m qualified to speak to you about this subject matter, because I’m a mother who deeply loves children, and I walk with the Most High, just like Abraham did.”
I’m sure that they would be baffled, but I would pretend not to notice their gaping mouths and furrowed brows. I would simply break the ice by asking a crucial question.
“Leaders of Israel, do you still believe in the mission that God started with Abram, which is supposed to be fulfilled by your people as a nation, or do you just consider yourselves a political entity, now?”
I’m hoping that they would express a strong desire to see God’s work completed in their nation.
After a deep sigh of relief, I would settle in and start my monologue.
Leaders of Israel, Abram was an amazing man. He heard the voice of God while living in a highly religious society that sacrificed animals and humans to multiple Gods.
Nevertheless, Abram discovered the spiritual voice of the true and living God, the one he would eventually call, the Most High.
Abram left his polytheistic culture behind out of obedience and headed for a land that God would show him, a land where his descendants would know God just like Abram did.
God’s vision was for His people to be refreshingly different from others in the world, unlike other cultures that were saturated with violence.
Abram’s descendants would radiate the true nature of the living God.
They would be a well planted vineyard that would produce the most amazing wine, that the entire world could taste and see that God is good.
As astounding as Abram was, he was human, and humans make mistakes.
Gentlemen, I think that we can all agree that one mistake Abram made was by listening to Sarah’s plan to procreate with her maid called Hagar in an attempt to make God’s vision come to pass.
Abram was in agreement, and took Hagar as a wife, which resulted in a son named Ishmael.
Although Ishmael wasn’t the promised son, he was Abraham’s little guy, his firstborn.
You men of Israel who have sons, you know how much you love and deeply cherish them. Abraham was no different. He loved that boy.
He most likely taught him how to fish and how to hunt with a bow. He circumcised him at the age of 13, so he would be like all other men under Abraham’s roof in compliance with God’s covenant.
Ishmael was Abraham’s only son until Sarah gave birth to Isaac.
The miracle child that God had promised was finally delivered, the one who’s descendants would occupy Zion.
God let Abraham know that although Ishmael’s offspring would not be the ones building the city of Zion, God would bless Ishmael, and would make him fertile, exceedingly numerous. God said that Ishmael shall be the father of twelve chieftains, and would become a great nation.
So, each one of Abraham’s sons had a bright future and a special purpose.
When it was time to wean Isaac, Abraham set out a feast to celebrate the occasion, and Genesis records that Ishmael was playing. (Hebrew Bible)
This angered Sarah who demanded for Abraham to cast out that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave shall not share in the inheritance with her son, Isaac.
This distressed Abraham greatly, and rightly so. Sarah was being condescending and heartless concerning his son and his son’s mother, the woman that Sarah suggested that Abram should consummate with in the first place.
Nevertheless, Genesis records that God told Abraham to listen to Sarah and not to be distressed over the boy and your slave.
Without further questioning or trying to reason with God, Abraham simply cast them out.
Let’s stop here for a minute.
Personally, I’m having a difficult time with this, because this is not the God that I know.
Let’s talk about Sarah beating up Hagar when Hagar was pregnant, and Sarah’s violent behavior was never even addressed by Abraham.
Next, they both were disparaging Hagar when referring to her as “that slave woman” and God supposedly referred to her as “your slave” as well when we know that God knew her name.
Genesis records that when Hagar fled from Sarah’s abuse, the angel who comforted her at the well, called her by her name.
And, the angel of the Lord who called out from heaven after Hagar and Ishmael were cast out, called her by her name as well.
Yet, God is going to tell Abraham to listen to Sarah’s hateful words and to not be distressed over the boy and your slave?
Gentlemen, I’m not buying it. I believe that Abraham missed the mark on this one, and it is this mistake that is causing unrest in Jerusalem today.
Abraham should have stood up to Sarah with fists clenched and have said, “NO!” “This is my boy and we are a family. We made the decision to conceive him and we are going to stay together as a family and learn how to love one another.”
But that is not what happened. Abraham sent one of his sons out into the desert, while the other son was nurtured by his side.
Imagine how Ishmael felt as he wept under the bush where his mother put him to shield him from the scorching sun.
Genesis records that God heard the cry of the boy. I’m sure that Ishmael was weeping and asking God, “why doesn’t my father want me too?”
I can’t even imagine the heartbreak that Ishmael endured, just a boy of about 14 years old rejected by a father that he thought loved him.
If God had not intervened, and had not shown Hagar where to find water, they both would have perished in that scorching desert.
So, how does that affect our world today?
Well, those ancient stories are printed in books for the whole world to read.
The Bible is the number one best-selling book of all time.
And, every year at Mecca, Ishmael’s descendants show a reenactment of Hagar frantically searching for water in the desert while her son is dying.
It keeps the resentment brewing to this day.
And, it is escalating as the two sides clash over a piece of real-estate that is sacred to both brothers.
Ismael’s descendants are predominantly Muslim and believe that the mosque that they erected in Jerusalem is one of the most holy places on Earth. They want to pray there where they feel closest to God.
Unfortunately, their mosque is built on the site where Solomon’s temple and Herod’s second temple resided, both of which were destroyed by enemies.
Leaders of Israel, Isaac’s descendants are your people and hope to repossess the site to build a third temple, so they can resume their religious practices of animal sacrifice to Yahweh, and usher in the Messiah.
And, here is where I would plead with you, Leaders of Israel.
Your prophets, Micah, Hosea, Isaiah and Jeremiah, and even King David wrote that God does not delight in blood sacrifice.
So, I ask you today to please consider letting go of the dream of building a third temple. God already allowed the first two to be leveled to the ground. Do you think a third one is the answer to world peace?
Besides, the prophet Nathan told David that David did not need to build a house for God, but instead, God will build a house for him. It will be one of David’s very own offspring who will build that house for the Lord, and that son will sit on the throne of David forever.
Leaders of Israel, it is a spiritual house that God wants to build, not a temple.
Isn’t it time to know God like Abraham did, and be the light on the hill that God planned for your people to be?
Over four thousand years ago, you guys got to stay in the house and be nurtured by your father Abraham, while Ishmael got cast out.
Why not have compassion, and let his descendants have the site, so they can pray, and see what God does for you.
Maybe, by showing love and compassion, it will help heal the wound that was caused so long ago by a boy who was rejected by his father.