EDITORIAL: Israel and Edom Twins at War
Twins—formed together in the womb of their mother, and then brought up together in the home of their parents—are indeed in a very special relationship. Can such nearness be broken or spoiled? Yes! Such is the case with Esau and Jacob. Their history is well traced even down to this present time and there are lessons for us to learn from them.
Because of the present-day situation in the area from Israel and Lebanon eastward to the Persian Gulf, we mention one verse to show where some of the hatred began. "And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob." Gen. 27:41.
Earlier in the history it says in Gen. 25:34, "Esau despised his birthright." That means that he despised the promise of God. In 1 Sam. 2:30 it says, "Them that honor Me I will honor, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed." Surely we should always value the Word of God and His promises.
All of the Psalms are prophetic. They especially take up the feelings of the godly remnant after the
Church has been caught up to heaven. This godly remnant will believe the gospel of the kingdom. They will suffer along with the ungodly during the tribulation period of 7 years. In the 83rd Psalm, many enemies of Israel are listed, of which Esau, which is Edom, is the first. The children of Lot are mentioned later. What these enemies of Israel say is very interesting to notice in light of what these tribes in the same area are saying now.
“They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against Thee." Psa. 83:4, 5. Already the nations in the Middle East seem to be poised for the great conflicts to take place during the tribulation period.
What will happen to Israel? Will she be "cut... off from being a nation"? Jer. 30:7 tells us the answer. "Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it." This is confirmed in Rom. 9:27, 28. "Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: for He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.”
Now the question arises: What about Iraq? Where will she be at the end of those 7 years of judgments which God brings down upon this world? The judgments will fall not only upon Israel, but upon the nations of this world and particularly those around Israel. One thing sure about Iraq is that at the end of those sore years of God's judgments, Iraq will not possess the land she now occupies. That territory is all promised to Israel. In Gen. 28:13 the Lord says to Jacob, "I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed.”
In the days of Joshua, the extent of that land of promise is described in this way: "From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast." Josh. 1:4.
A further prophecy of promise from God that applies at that time is found in Deut. 4:30,31: "When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto His voice; (for the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) He will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers, which He sware unto them.”
So we see that Jacob (Israel) shall inherit the promises. They are unconditional. Because of deceit and selfishness, Jacob inherited what he personally had through much trouble. Such is the history of the whole nation of Israel these 3500 years. Yet the promises of God never fail. Israel shall be blessed under the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ, the true Seed for the 1000-year kingdom period that follows the tribulation.
C. Buchanan