Welcome to Journey from Jacob. From our first
breath to our last heartbeat, we are all on a
journey. Jacob was a biblical character whose
journey is documented for our benefit. Like all
of us, there were unforgettable moments along
the way which required decisiveness. One of those
decisions determined his destination. We will
not only discuss Jacob's journey, but Israel's
as well, right up to date. May this podcast inspire
you to make choices along your way that will
benefit others and guide you to the destination
we all long for. Shalom Mishpachas, it's Paul
here again. Journey from Jacob is a podcast production
of Comfort My People. Word about Comfort My People,
we are a ministry, we support ministries in Israel
that are sharing the gospel with their people.
They're a very small minority and they just love
our help. And it's not a financial love, but
it's a love because we support what they're doing.
We believe in what they're doing and they're
doing a great work. And if you're a believer,
these are your brothers and sisters, that they
would sure welcome your assistance and we could
do that for you if you desire. So if you're finding
any kind of meaningfulness about these podcasts
and other things that we do, consider that. We
don't ask for money, we don't beg for money,
and it's not for our own sake. It's a Kingdom
process, and we just invite you to be a part
of that. If it's valuable, if this is a blessing,
this is our intention to be a blessing, according
to Genesis 12, that you in turn would become
a blessing and bless others the same way. Gospel
would spread that way because it's attractive,
it's meaningful. And so these podcasts are intended
to be not just formative, informative, but meaningful
to you, meaningful to those around you, and in
your ministry, in your calling, because this
is something that we do together. Biyaqad is
a word we use, a term we use frequently. It means
together. Together Jews and Gentiles can bring
the message of the Kingdom to the demonic world
as an assault against what they're doing to prevent
God's work and God's kingdom. So these things
are big, but hopefully you'll see this big picture
as we proceed on this journey, because it's a
journey we invite you to take with us. We're
all on it and together we can do great exploits.
So we've been going through the lives of Jacob,
starting with Jacob actually, and we went back
to Abraham. And we're going to kind of continue
with Abraham. This is more of a transition, where
we come to Isaac and then towards the end. I
want to share a little bit of a personal perspective
from that. But I want to repeat something that
is intended to be repeated, and that's the verse
in Exodus chapter 3, when God first introduces
himself to Moses, and he says to, to say this,
to the people of Israel, when he first encounters
them, he's to say that the Lord, the God of your
fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob has sent me to you. This
is my name forever, and thus I am supposed to
be, I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
So this is what we are called to as believers
to remind the generation that is emerging that
God, the God of the universe, is the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. He's a personal
God and He intends to maintain that perspective
that... Initially he opens himself up by revelation
to Abraham and then it continues on to Isaac
and Jacob. And you're going to see that progression
hopefully a little bit this time, but that's
something to remember. It's to be the name he
wants to be remembered throughout all generations.
It's not even a suggestion, it's a command. In
going back now to Genesis 18, we looked at this
concept of laughter, and where it began, and
how Isaac's name was laughter. Literally, Yitzchak
means he laughs, but the root word is laughter.
And we're going to see it in another form in
this episode. So he says this in verse 19, chapter
18, Him, meaning Abraham, that He may command
His children and His household after Him to keep
the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and
justice so that the Lord may bring to Abraham
what He has promised Him. Now, the setting is
that God and two angels came to visit Him and
have a not just a meal, but a conversation, because
God came to earth in the form of a man. So this
is a theophany. It's not God Almighty. You know,
this gets confusing, obviously. To me, it's very
clearly Jesus appearing in the Old Testament.
They call it a theophany, but it's a personal
visit. And God does not appear as the most holy
guy, El El Yon, El Shaddai, or any of these other
emanations of God in different ways. He has many
names, but he's a triune God. So he shows up,
and this is what he says. He wants to show Abraham
by doing righteousness and justice, that he will
reveal to him what he has promised him. So God's
preparing the way for Abraham's message, which
is the blessing, that's his message, to begin
to unfold on the earth. But first he has to eliminate
some of his enemies, and some of them was vile,
and the most vile depiction of humanity polluted
thoroughly. by Satan, who showed up previously
as the King of Sodom. So they are having this,
about to have this meal, but then from the meal
they're going to check out Sodom because it's
just the stench of its wickedness has gone up
to God. And because of the outcry against Sodom
and Gomorrah, it is great and their sin is very
great. God is on his way to visit them with judgment.
So in verse 24, It begins Abraham's bargaining
for the sin of Sodom. He's an intercessor. His
nephew, remember Lot and his family live there
in Sodom and he doesn't want to see them be destroyed
with it. So he begins this somewhat of a bargaining
conversation with God. And he says this in verse
25. Well, he starts with speaking to God. He
says, if there's 50 righteous, would you spare
them? And then God says, no, of course not. No,
I won't. And then he says, well, what about 45?
And then he keeps bargaining down to 10 and then
stops bargaining. He's almost embarrassed that
it took so long, but he said, for 10 righteous,
will you spare them? And God says, I will spare
them if it is 10 righteous. So in verse 25, When
the bargaining begins, Abraham develops this
conversation by speaking about God's nature.
So he says, far be it from you to do such a thing,
to put the righteous to death with the wicked,
so that the righteous fare as the wicked. Far
be it that from you shall not the judge of all
the earth do what is right or do what is just.
I love this verse because there's a principle
that's underlying here that's foundational to
our lives as believers, that yes, the judge of
the whole earth will always do what is right,
will always do what is just, because he is the
definition of righteousness. And when we follow
him, Jesus actually becomes righteousness for
us, so it becomes a part of our make -up and
our behavior, but it also comes a way that we
could lean on God's understanding that we don't
have. It's an easier way of trusting Him because
we know that by His character He will do nothing
apart from doing it justly, righteous. Whatever
He does is right. So Abraham leans on God's character,
the one he has learned. from through relationship
building, not just the revelation of his word,
which is coming very slowly at this point, but
by his character, which Abraham's coming to know
God by his nature, and he's just totally drawn
to him and bows down before him. But yet he feels
confident enough to draw near to him and build
this friendship. Abraham was called the friend
of God. So we know the rest of the story. Sodom
is destroyed. Lot's wife and two daughters leave
with him. That's it. The sons and laws did not
come because they didn't really take Lot seriously.
They thought he was joking. So Lot's life, even
though he's called righteous in the New Testament,
it just seemed like he was very ineffective in
making a difference. But he chose to live there,
remember? God... told Abraham that, look, look,
all this land, he took Abraham up on this hill,
said, this land's all yours. But they had become
so big, Abraham and Lot, when they left Egypt,
they had so much livestock that they split up
and Abraham gave Lot his choice, where do you
want to go? And he chose the valley where Sodom
and Gomorrah were because it looked so lush and
precious and it was a really bad decision. So
what happens? They leave, leave the Sodom. Lot's
wife longingly looks back to her homeland and
turns into a pillar of salt, and Lot ends up
fathering two sons from his two daughters, and
their descendants become the Moabites and the
Ammonites, enemies of Israel forever. And this
is a product of self -serving decision. This
is a consequence of the self -serving decision
of Lot to live comfortably, even though it was
amongst the sodomites, and even though he made
very little effect on their culture. So then
we move forward and we're going to come back
to Sarah. And Sarah, remember, laughed. Abraham
laughed, but God said, you're going to have this
son, this child, and that's when Sarah laughed,
and you're going to call his name Isaac. So now,
we've gone on in the story. And we come back
to Sarah and she has had her son. And Sarah said,
God has made laughter for me. Everyone who hears
will laugh over me. So laughter is a good thing.
Laughter isn't something that God is angry at.
Laughter is very healthy. He's the one that brought
it into the world. It was the first sign of the
Abrahamic Covenant that he was bringing laughter
into the world. Why? Because we need it. we need
it and God knows it and He provides all our needs.
So then the child, Isaac, grew and he was weaned
and Abraham made a great feast on the day that
Isaac was weaned. But in verse 9 of chapter 21
it says Sarah saw the son of Hagar. Remember
Hagar? She's the one that Sarah suggested that
Abraham have a son with because she was still
barren. But now Hagar is still with them. Ishmael
has grown up there and he's about 12 years old.
And Sarah saw the son of Hagar, which would be
Ishmael, the Egyptian, whom she had born to Abraham,
laughing. But now laughing takes on a different
form. It's not yitzchak. I think it's mitzchak,
which could easily be interpreted as mocking,
a different kind of laughter. So she sees this.
She's upset. She says to Abraham, Cast out this
slave woman with her son, for the son of this
slave woman shall not be heir. with my son Isaac.
Now little did she know that that was true. She
was just saying it just can't be. But it was
in God's mind anyway, not for Abraham to have
Ishmael actually. But God deals with what he
has. He doesn't force things to happen. He works
with our decisions. which sometimes become consequences,
sometimes, according to God's will, they will
become blessings. But he turns evil into what
was meant for evil into good for those who love
him and are called according to his purpose.
And this is what he's doing in this situation
too. So God said to Abraham, be not displeased
because of the boy and because of your slave
woman, meaning Hagar and Ishmael. Whatever Sarah
says to you, do as she tells you, for through
you, and this is critical, For through Isaac
shall your offspring be named. So it's not through
Ishmael, it's going to be through Isaac. Islam
is built upon, I would have to say lie, because
it is, that it wasn't Isaac, it was Ishmael.
The Bible makes it very clear, no, sorry, it's
not Ishmael, it's Isaac. And this is where this
consequential hostility or enemy begins to take
shape. But God keeps His promise because Hagar
is not... in the story wasn't what's an intent
to but Ishmael is a product of unbelief and misdirection
but a consequence is he becomes a problem to
Isaac soon after he's born but God promises Abraham
do not fret I will make a nation from the son
of the slave woman also because he is your offspring
so God cares about Ishmael he cares about Hagar
and he doesn't want them to be without and they
prosper. He makes a great nation out of Ishmael
and it becomes far bigger than the nation of
Israel. And so it says in verse 21 that he lived
in the wilderness of Paran and his mother Hagar
took a wife for him from the land of Egypt which
is their origin. Now from this point on Egypt
will become Israel's persistent enemy. even up
to today, this hostility against the Jews from
coming out of Egypt. Now I'm not talking about
Egyptians, but it's as a nation and a mentality
and what they're taught and instructed for generation
to generation is that Israel is your enemy and
cannot coexist with us. So this hostility against
the Jews started back then and it has yet to
subside. In fact, the Muslim Brotherhood, and
I'm sure you've heard of, is like the mother
of Islamic terrorism in modern times, since Israel
became a nation. Before Israel became a nation,
the Muslim Brotherhood began its formation in
the 1920s, I believe. So they've spread Islamic
terrorism throughout the world, but especially
in America and the West. So the point here is
that God made it possible for Israel and her
neighbors to live in their own lands and govern
their own people without hostility. It was not
according to His will, but the sons of Ishmael
have never been content with that. So I want
to continue with this story with my own sense
of effect, in a way, my salvation. It's a strange
concept, but in some ways I could say that salvation...
I came to faith without anyone preaching the
Gospel with me, anyone sharing the Gospel with
me. No one ever told me that Jesus was Jewish,
that He was the Jewish Messiah. And so I was
29 years plus when I came to terms with Yeshua
HaMashiach and was saved. I was not a believer,
obviously, and I knew nothing about Church life.
But I got saved on my kitchen floor, which is
another story. But it came through this haunting
question, because as a Jewish boy growing up,
I'm born in Brooklyn, my parents moved to Long
Island to make a better home for their kids.
It was also a way of hopefully removing themselves
from the anti -Semitism, which was prevalent
and growing in New York City, Brooklyn, where
I was born. These are things they never talked
about. I would overhear conversations with aunts
and uncles, and it was never directed to me,
but I was curious and I would listen with both
ears, even though, you know, I never made sense
of it, because I didn't know why are we hated?
Why are we hated? I remember I wanted to play
baseball so bad, and there was this little league
thing going on in my neighborhood. And yet I
wasn't allowed to play. And I didn't know why
I would nag, I want to play, I want to play.
And I was never really told, but I overheard
my mother talking about... these coaches, you
know, and their parents, they're anti -semites
and blah, blah, blah. And so I just got this
sense of understanding that it wasn't for Jews.
We don't go, we don't do Little League. Same
thing with Cub Scouts. I was in the Cub Scouts
for I think two months and I actually won a blueberry
eating contest in this huge cafeteria where all
the Cub Scouts had their hands tied behind their
back and whoever ate the Blueberry pie with first
was a winner and I was one of the winners and
I thought man this Cub Scout thing is incredible
I love it two months later. I had no more Cub
Scouts No more cubby hat and no more uniform
and I didn't know why and I was never explained
But I understood through conversation on the
way home that day this anti -semites or you know
something about them They hate us and they'll
never accept us. So that was the end. So over
me I learned something that is something common
to Jews all over America, and it's still, and
it's been that way all over the years of their
history, since Israel was expelled from Roman
territory, which began in Israel under their
control. So that is this, that over all the Jews,
it's very unnoticeable, but very well known by
Jews, even if they hide it, that there's, you
know what a thought bubble is, right? You know,
it's this little thing over your head like cartoons
used, and there'd be these three little circles
coming out of the cloud, and inside the cloud
was some kind of text. It was about thought.
And so, by the way, you can check out our Einstein
Thought Bubble segments on YouTube. But that
said, there's two questions that are in the Thought
Bubble, or two Thought Bubbles that every Jew
walks around with. Picture this. One of them
says, why are we hated still? And the other thought,
Bala says, when are they coming for us next time?
So this is a synopsis of the history of the Jews
from the time they were exiled from Israel into
the nations. It's called Diaspora Hebrew Galute.
It's when they are living in foreign lands, the
Jews were, for 19 plus centuries until the return,
or Aliyah, began mostly in the 1800s, mid -1800s,
but there was always Jews living in Israel, but
not in great number. The land was never void
of Jews, but it was never owned and controlled
without, you know... any kind of legal standing
with the nations. So this question is, when are
they going to come through next? Because throughout
the Jewish history, there was pauses in the persecution.
So there were some times when Jews grew favor
with their host country, but it would always
end at a certain point and they would be turned
on and ultimately thrown out to the point where
the Jews were thrown out of every country in
Europe specifically, and England... Yeah, throughout
all time. Now sometimes they were forced out
by a decision to either stay here, you could
stay here, and pay a tax, a very high tax, but
first you'd have to be converted, and if you're
not converted, then we would either kick you
out or kill you. And that meant confiscation
of property as well. They were not allowed to
own property, they were not allowed to have businesses,
when I say property, like personal property.
They were not allowed to have businesses, go
to the same schools. They had much restrictions
all through time. They never had a nation of
their own. So that question mark is over there.
Why do they hate us still? And there's, you know,
people come up with different reasons, but there's
no accurate answer to that because it's spiritual
in nature. So the question that Jews walk around
with are these two. Why we hate it so long, and
when is the next time? Well, for me, I had this
inner longing to know what is the meaning of
life, because I looked around as I grew up in
my teenage years. I didn't see the satisfying
life amongst the adult world that I knew, and
that was mainly Judaism. But then when I started
meeting my Gentiles, which most of my friends
were, especially going into junior high and high
school, and occasionally I'd meet their parents,
I didn't see this sense of happiness or fulfillment,
and so I kind of dismissed it coming from what
was familiar to me, which was Judaism. And we
felt that the world was divided up into Jews,
Catholics, and Protestants. So the Catholics
and Protestants were all Christians, and then
we were Jews. But none of them seemed to have
satisfaction, so I dismissed Catholicism, Protestantism.
and Judaism that I knew of from my family life,
not the family, I loved the family, we loved
being together and all that, but the Jewish ritual
and practices to me I saw no meaning in. So I
started my quest and it began, I'll do it in
this very brief, it began hitchhiking. I wanted
to, this is already, I'm in the late 60s, early
70s, and I'm hitchhiking, I'm hitchhiking everywhere.
And it wasn't just to find the meaning of life,
but I wanted to know the meaning of life. And
I got very good at hitchhiking. It was my way
around anywhere of distance and even locally.
And so I hitchhiked. I hitchhiked all over the
northeast, northern New York, came down, started
hitchhiking to Florida and back and then across
the country, the whole country into the coast
of California, up that coast, west through Oregon
and Washington into Canada, up. north in Canada
into the Iraqis and then all across Canada, hitchhiking.
And what was I looking for? Somebody, just all
I wanted was one person who knew the meaning
of life. Now I was a hippie then, you know, I
was, yeah, I was true, I was a Woodstock citizen,
so to me that was the lifestyle, but there's
still lacking this meaning, this really deep
sense of meaning. And so I made this whole trip,
long story short, it fell flat, I didn't find
anyone who knew that meaning. and so I felt there
must be communities somewhere in the world. Now
this is, you know, this is a lapse of time. I
build this truck out of a 52 Chevy and build
a custom house, put it on the back of it and
start traveling across the world looking for
a community, which would be a commune, that lived
according to the meaning of life in community.
Well, the same thing happened to me. I started
traveling, went up north, New England, nothing,
come back down, come down south, go follow the
eastern seaboard, and all the way into Florida,
but on the way down there I stopped at communes
and I would stay there for a period of time,
usually it was just a short period of time, and
I'd be frustrated because I never found the meaning
of life. And then all through that, you know,
I'm still thinking, well, maybe I should just
get married, and my wife Marla now was my girlfriend,
but I still, she knew I had to leave because
this was so important to me, and I was going
to come back and... tell her, you know, I found
it, I found the meaning of life and community
and we're going to do this, that and the other
thing, but it fell short, fell short. There's
a long story. I wrote a book about it called
The Milkman Story. You could read it, but it's
more about the pastor that showed me what the
love of Yeshua was all about. So, The Milkman
Story. I also wrote another book called Inappropriate,
which is a follow -up in much deeper biblical
fashion, I recommend it. So I've still got these
two bubbles over my head, so I'm thinking there's
got to be more to it, maybe I just need to get
married. So I asked in my very crude way for
Marla to marry her after we've been living together
for years other than through my journeys, and
we did. And I thought maybe that's it, I just
need to get married and we need to buy a little
farmette and just us and a couple of goats, a
couple of kids and a couple of calves and garden.
That was it. We would just live there forever
and be happy ever after. It didn't work. We didn't
get that far. And then we did have to start having
kids. And I thought, now I'll be satisfied. And
it still wasn't. I loved my daughter. And then
I had another one on the way. Marla was pregnant
again. But it wasn't until I cried out in desperation
that God revealed himself to me. And at that
point, the bubbles began to break. Both of them.
So yes, I still knew that we were hated. And
yes, I still knew that they were coming back
for us one day, and that day has pretty much
arrived. Let me put it this way. But there's
still Jews all over America that are walking
around. They won't admit it, they may not recognize
it, but there's a sense of sorrow and expectation
that isn't a good one, that's lodged somewhere
in their soul that we're still hated and one
day they're going to come back for us again.
Most Jews will say that's not true, I never thought
like that, I will never think like that. And
that's what they said in Germany and in Europe
during the rise of Hitler. So here's my guess,
my hope for you is perhaps one day you will get
to know, if you don't already, a Jewish person
and by the love that you have for their Messiah,
according to Romans 11, that you would provoke
them to a jealousy because you also have a love
for them. And they'd be like, where did you come
from, you Christian? you're supposed to hate
us or just want to get rid of us. And now they
won't say that because they'll be polite, but
somewhere that bubble is still over their head,
following them wherever they are. But maybe you're
the one, the one Christian, one Gentile believer
that loves Yeshua enough to get close enough
to reveal His love to them and your love for
them, for Israel and the people of God who are
Israelis and Israelites, which are the Jews.
And then the piercing love of Yeshua will break
that bubble and they can meet the Jewish Messiah,
who's on the other side of it, who longs to meet
them. Consider that and let us know what you
think. Shalom and much respect. We bless you
for taking the time to consider this message.
May it cause you to be fruitful and effective
and lead others along the way with confidence
and determination. Check out our website at comfortmypeople
.com to become better informed and equipped to
restore righteousness to the people of Israel,
America and beyond. Please consider sharing this
and visit us on social media. Shalom and blessings.