WEBVTT 00:00:01.239 --> 00:00:04.500 Welcome to Journey from Jacob. From our first 00:00:04.500 --> 00:00:07.419 breath to our last heartbeat, we are all on a 00:00:07.419 --> 00:00:10.660 journey. Jacob was a biblical character whose 00:00:10.660 --> 00:00:14.140 journey is documented for our benefit. Like all 00:00:14.140 --> 00:00:16.579 of us, there were unforgettable moments along 00:00:16.579 --> 00:00:20.359 the way which required decisiveness. One of those 00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:24.140 decisions determined his destination. We will 00:00:24.140 --> 00:00:27.160 not only discuss Jacob's journey, but Israel's 00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:31.399 as well, right up to date. May this podcast inspire 00:00:31.399 --> 00:00:34.380 you to make choices along your way that will 00:00:34.380 --> 00:00:37.359 benefit others and guide you to the destination 00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:44.799 we all long for. Shalom Mishpachas, it's Paul 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:49.420 here again. Journey from Jacob is a podcast production 00:00:49.420 --> 00:00:52.140 of Comfort My People. Word about Comfort My People, 00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:55.560 we are a ministry, we support ministries in Israel 00:00:55.560 --> 00:00:57.679 that are sharing the gospel with their people. 00:00:57.820 --> 00:01:01.920 They're a very small minority and they just love 00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:04.920 our help. And it's not a financial love, but 00:01:04.920 --> 00:01:06.900 it's a love because we support what they're doing. 00:01:07.019 --> 00:01:08.659 We believe in what they're doing and they're 00:01:08.659 --> 00:01:10.799 doing a great work. And if you're a believer, 00:01:10.840 --> 00:01:13.200 these are your brothers and sisters, that they 00:01:13.200 --> 00:01:16.859 would sure welcome your assistance and we could 00:01:16.859 --> 00:01:19.819 do that for you if you desire. So if you're finding 00:01:19.819 --> 00:01:23.599 any kind of meaningfulness about these podcasts 00:01:23.599 --> 00:01:27.319 and other things that we do, consider that. We 00:01:27.319 --> 00:01:29.239 don't ask for money, we don't beg for money, 00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:32.239 and it's not for our own sake. It's a Kingdom 00:01:32.239 --> 00:01:35.480 process, and we just invite you to be a part 00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:38.879 of that. If it's valuable, if this is a blessing, 00:01:38.959 --> 00:01:41.480 this is our intention to be a blessing, according 00:01:41.480 --> 00:01:45.879 to Genesis 12, that you in turn would become 00:01:45.879 --> 00:01:49.019 a blessing and bless others the same way. Gospel 00:01:49.019 --> 00:01:51.079 would spread that way because it's attractive, 00:01:51.260 --> 00:01:54.480 it's meaningful. And so these podcasts are intended 00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:57.950 to be not just formative, informative, but meaningful 00:01:57.950 --> 00:02:01.430 to you, meaningful to those around you, and in 00:02:01.430 --> 00:02:03.670 your ministry, in your calling, because this 00:02:03.670 --> 00:02:06.170 is something that we do together. Biyaqad is 00:02:06.170 --> 00:02:09.330 a word we use, a term we use frequently. It means 00:02:09.330 --> 00:02:12.270 together. Together Jews and Gentiles can bring 00:02:12.270 --> 00:02:15.169 the message of the Kingdom to the demonic world 00:02:15.169 --> 00:02:18.590 as an assault against what they're doing to prevent 00:02:18.780 --> 00:02:21.639 God's work and God's kingdom. So these things 00:02:21.639 --> 00:02:24.439 are big, but hopefully you'll see this big picture 00:02:24.439 --> 00:02:27.319 as we proceed on this journey, because it's a 00:02:27.319 --> 00:02:29.699 journey we invite you to take with us. We're 00:02:29.699 --> 00:02:33.659 all on it and together we can do great exploits. 00:02:33.900 --> 00:02:37.659 So we've been going through the lives of Jacob, 00:02:37.759 --> 00:02:40.000 starting with Jacob actually, and we went back 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:42.770 to Abraham. And we're going to kind of continue 00:02:42.770 --> 00:02:46.650 with Abraham. This is more of a transition, where 00:02:46.650 --> 00:02:49.330 we come to Isaac and then towards the end. I 00:02:49.330 --> 00:02:52.289 want to share a little bit of a personal perspective 00:02:52.289 --> 00:02:55.210 from that. But I want to repeat something that 00:02:55.210 --> 00:02:59.069 is intended to be repeated, and that's the verse 00:02:59.069 --> 00:03:02.169 in Exodus chapter 3, when God first introduces 00:03:02.169 --> 00:03:05.569 himself to Moses, and he says to, to say this, 00:03:05.800 --> 00:03:08.599 to the people of Israel, when he first encounters 00:03:08.599 --> 00:03:11.300 them, he's to say that the Lord, the God of your 00:03:11.300 --> 00:03:13.939 fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:16.900 and the God of Jacob has sent me to you. This 00:03:16.900 --> 00:03:19.879 is my name forever, and thus I am supposed to 00:03:19.879 --> 00:03:23.719 be, I am to be remembered throughout all generations. 00:03:24.030 --> 00:03:27.069 So this is what we are called to as believers 00:03:27.069 --> 00:03:30.969 to remind the generation that is emerging that 00:03:30.969 --> 00:03:34.729 God, the God of the universe, is the God of Abraham, 00:03:34.909 --> 00:03:37.629 the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. He's a personal 00:03:37.629 --> 00:03:40.849 God and He intends to maintain that perspective 00:03:40.849 --> 00:03:44.360 that... Initially he opens himself up by revelation 00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:48.180 to Abraham and then it continues on to Isaac 00:03:48.180 --> 00:03:50.139 and Jacob. And you're going to see that progression 00:03:50.139 --> 00:03:52.500 hopefully a little bit this time, but that's 00:03:52.500 --> 00:03:54.680 something to remember. It's to be the name he 00:03:54.680 --> 00:03:58.240 wants to be remembered throughout all generations. 00:03:58.520 --> 00:04:02.689 It's not even a suggestion, it's a command. In 00:04:02.689 --> 00:04:06.990 going back now to Genesis 18, we looked at this 00:04:06.990 --> 00:04:10.069 concept of laughter, and where it began, and 00:04:10.069 --> 00:04:13.669 how Isaac's name was laughter. Literally, Yitzchak 00:04:13.669 --> 00:04:16.550 means he laughs, but the root word is laughter. 00:04:16.889 --> 00:04:19.389 And we're going to see it in another form in 00:04:19.389 --> 00:04:23.089 this episode. So he says this in verse 19, chapter 00:04:23.089 --> 00:04:27.680 18, Him, meaning Abraham, that He may command 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:30.879 His children and His household after Him to keep 00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:33.759 the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and 00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:37.660 justice so that the Lord may bring to Abraham 00:04:37.660 --> 00:04:41.019 what He has promised Him. Now, the setting is 00:04:41.019 --> 00:04:44.500 that God and two angels came to visit Him and 00:04:44.500 --> 00:04:47.819 have a not just a meal, but a conversation, because 00:04:47.819 --> 00:04:50.439 God came to earth in the form of a man. So this 00:04:50.439 --> 00:04:53.079 is a theophany. It's not God Almighty. You know, 00:04:53.079 --> 00:04:56.420 this gets confusing, obviously. To me, it's very 00:04:56.420 --> 00:04:59.000 clearly Jesus appearing in the Old Testament. 00:04:59.240 --> 00:05:02.500 They call it a theophany, but it's a personal 00:05:02.500 --> 00:05:05.560 visit. And God does not appear as the most holy 00:05:05.560 --> 00:05:08.560 guy, El El Yon, El Shaddai, or any of these other 00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:11.779 emanations of God in different ways. He has many 00:05:11.779 --> 00:05:16.089 names, but he's a triune God. So he shows up, 00:05:16.230 --> 00:05:19.790 and this is what he says. He wants to show Abraham 00:05:19.790 --> 00:05:23.170 by doing righteousness and justice, that he will 00:05:23.170 --> 00:05:26.250 reveal to him what he has promised him. So God's 00:05:26.250 --> 00:05:28.810 preparing the way for Abraham's message, which 00:05:28.810 --> 00:05:31.350 is the blessing, that's his message, to begin 00:05:31.350 --> 00:05:36.009 to unfold on the earth. But first he has to eliminate 00:05:36.009 --> 00:05:38.889 some of his enemies, and some of them was vile, 00:05:39.769 --> 00:05:43.290 and the most vile depiction of humanity polluted 00:05:43.290 --> 00:05:46.920 thoroughly. by Satan, who showed up previously 00:05:46.920 --> 00:05:51.300 as the King of Sodom. So they are having this, 00:05:51.319 --> 00:05:53.279 about to have this meal, but then from the meal 00:05:53.279 --> 00:05:56.220 they're going to check out Sodom because it's 00:05:56.220 --> 00:05:58.939 just the stench of its wickedness has gone up 00:05:58.939 --> 00:06:01.819 to God. And because of the outcry against Sodom 00:06:01.819 --> 00:06:04.819 and Gomorrah, it is great and their sin is very 00:06:04.819 --> 00:06:08.040 great. God is on his way to visit them with judgment. 00:06:08.500 --> 00:06:13.120 So in verse 24, It begins Abraham's bargaining 00:06:13.120 --> 00:06:17.759 for the sin of Sodom. He's an intercessor. His 00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:20.620 nephew, remember Lot and his family live there 00:06:20.620 --> 00:06:23.600 in Sodom and he doesn't want to see them be destroyed 00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:26.279 with it. So he begins this somewhat of a bargaining 00:06:26.279 --> 00:06:29.480 conversation with God. And he says this in verse 00:06:29.480 --> 00:06:32.379 25. Well, he starts with speaking to God. He 00:06:32.379 --> 00:06:35.699 says, if there's 50 righteous, would you spare 00:06:35.699 --> 00:06:38.459 them? And then God says, no, of course not. No, 00:06:38.519 --> 00:06:41.279 I won't. And then he says, well, what about 45? 00:06:41.660 --> 00:06:45.399 And then he keeps bargaining down to 10 and then 00:06:45.399 --> 00:06:47.680 stops bargaining. He's almost embarrassed that 00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:50.100 it took so long, but he said, for 10 righteous, 00:06:50.339 --> 00:06:52.360 will you spare them? And God says, I will spare 00:06:52.360 --> 00:06:56.639 them if it is 10 righteous. So in verse 25, When 00:06:56.639 --> 00:06:59.680 the bargaining begins, Abraham develops this 00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:02.180 conversation by speaking about God's nature. 00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:05.300 So he says, far be it from you to do such a thing, 00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:07.579 to put the righteous to death with the wicked, 00:07:07.839 --> 00:07:10.879 so that the righteous fare as the wicked. Far 00:07:10.879 --> 00:07:14.519 be it that from you shall not the judge of all 00:07:14.519 --> 00:07:17.680 the earth do what is right or do what is just. 00:07:17.819 --> 00:07:20.560 I love this verse because there's a principle 00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:23.180 that's underlying here that's foundational to 00:07:23.180 --> 00:07:26.439 our lives as believers, that yes, the judge of 00:07:26.439 --> 00:07:28.899 the whole earth will always do what is right, 00:07:29.120 --> 00:07:31.939 will always do what is just, because he is the 00:07:31.939 --> 00:07:33.860 definition of righteousness. And when we follow 00:07:33.860 --> 00:07:36.720 him, Jesus actually becomes righteousness for 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:39.860 us, so it becomes a part of our make -up and 00:07:39.860 --> 00:07:42.519 our behavior, but it also comes a way that we 00:07:42.519 --> 00:07:46.079 could lean on God's understanding that we don't 00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:48.540 have. It's an easier way of trusting Him because 00:07:48.540 --> 00:07:51.220 we know that by His character He will do nothing 00:07:51.220 --> 00:07:54.620 apart from doing it justly, righteous. Whatever 00:07:54.620 --> 00:07:58.259 He does is right. So Abraham leans on God's character, 00:07:58.560 --> 00:08:01.209 the one he has learned. from through relationship 00:08:01.209 --> 00:08:03.250 building, not just the revelation of his word, 00:08:03.470 --> 00:08:05.610 which is coming very slowly at this point, but 00:08:05.610 --> 00:08:08.069 by his character, which Abraham's coming to know 00:08:08.069 --> 00:08:11.269 God by his nature, and he's just totally drawn 00:08:11.269 --> 00:08:14.449 to him and bows down before him. But yet he feels 00:08:14.449 --> 00:08:17.269 confident enough to draw near to him and build 00:08:17.269 --> 00:08:19.709 this friendship. Abraham was called the friend 00:08:19.709 --> 00:08:22.189 of God. So we know the rest of the story. Sodom 00:08:22.189 --> 00:08:25.959 is destroyed. Lot's wife and two daughters leave 00:08:25.959 --> 00:08:29.379 with him. That's it. The sons and laws did not 00:08:29.379 --> 00:08:32.820 come because they didn't really take Lot seriously. 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:36.120 They thought he was joking. So Lot's life, even 00:08:36.120 --> 00:08:38.159 though he's called righteous in the New Testament, 00:08:38.539 --> 00:08:41.440 it just seemed like he was very ineffective in 00:08:41.440 --> 00:08:43.759 making a difference. But he chose to live there, 00:08:43.759 --> 00:08:47.159 remember? God... told Abraham that, look, look, 00:08:47.379 --> 00:08:49.299 all this land, he took Abraham up on this hill, 00:08:49.419 --> 00:08:51.679 said, this land's all yours. But they had become 00:08:51.679 --> 00:08:54.580 so big, Abraham and Lot, when they left Egypt, 00:08:54.659 --> 00:08:57.120 they had so much livestock that they split up 00:08:57.120 --> 00:08:59.299 and Abraham gave Lot his choice, where do you 00:08:59.299 --> 00:09:02.100 want to go? And he chose the valley where Sodom 00:09:02.100 --> 00:09:05.000 and Gomorrah were because it looked so lush and 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:08.879 precious and it was a really bad decision. So 00:09:08.879 --> 00:09:12.259 what happens? They leave, leave the Sodom. Lot's 00:09:12.259 --> 00:09:15.980 wife longingly looks back to her homeland and 00:09:15.980 --> 00:09:19.360 turns into a pillar of salt, and Lot ends up 00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:23.539 fathering two sons from his two daughters, and 00:09:23.539 --> 00:09:26.120 their descendants become the Moabites and the 00:09:26.120 --> 00:09:28.799 Ammonites, enemies of Israel forever. And this 00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:31.759 is a product of self -serving decision. This 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:34.480 is a consequence of the self -serving decision 00:09:34.480 --> 00:09:38.779 of Lot to live comfortably, even though it was 00:09:38.779 --> 00:09:41.460 amongst the sodomites, and even though he made 00:09:41.460 --> 00:09:43.879 very little effect on their culture. So then 00:09:43.879 --> 00:09:46.139 we move forward and we're going to come back 00:09:46.139 --> 00:09:49.919 to Sarah. And Sarah, remember, laughed. Abraham 00:09:49.919 --> 00:09:52.659 laughed, but God said, you're going to have this 00:09:52.659 --> 00:09:55.720 son, this child, and that's when Sarah laughed, 00:09:55.940 --> 00:09:58.159 and you're going to call his name Isaac. So now, 00:09:58.360 --> 00:10:01.519 we've gone on in the story. And we come back 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:05.480 to Sarah and she has had her son. And Sarah said, 00:10:05.779 --> 00:10:08.759 God has made laughter for me. Everyone who hears 00:10:08.759 --> 00:10:11.399 will laugh over me. So laughter is a good thing. 00:10:11.740 --> 00:10:13.720 Laughter isn't something that God is angry at. 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:16.059 Laughter is very healthy. He's the one that brought 00:10:16.059 --> 00:10:18.120 it into the world. It was the first sign of the 00:10:18.120 --> 00:10:20.120 Abrahamic Covenant that he was bringing laughter 00:10:20.120 --> 00:10:22.740 into the world. Why? Because we need it. we need 00:10:22.740 --> 00:10:25.120 it and God knows it and He provides all our needs. 00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:28.639 So then the child, Isaac, grew and he was weaned 00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:31.840 and Abraham made a great feast on the day that 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:36.059 Isaac was weaned. But in verse 9 of chapter 21 00:10:36.059 --> 00:10:39.059 it says Sarah saw the son of Hagar. Remember 00:10:39.059 --> 00:10:43.379 Hagar? She's the one that Sarah suggested that 00:10:43.379 --> 00:10:45.639 Abraham have a son with because she was still 00:10:45.639 --> 00:10:49.399 barren. But now Hagar is still with them. Ishmael 00:10:49.399 --> 00:10:51.899 has grown up there and he's about 12 years old. 00:10:51.960 --> 00:10:54.679 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar, which would be 00:10:54.679 --> 00:10:57.580 Ishmael, the Egyptian, whom she had born to Abraham, 00:10:58.279 --> 00:11:00.559 laughing. But now laughing takes on a different 00:11:00.559 --> 00:11:04.139 form. It's not yitzchak. I think it's mitzchak, 00:11:04.440 --> 00:11:07.259 which could easily be interpreted as mocking, 00:11:07.539 --> 00:11:10.559 a different kind of laughter. So she sees this. 00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:13.379 She's upset. She says to Abraham, Cast out this 00:11:13.379 --> 00:11:15.940 slave woman with her son, for the son of this 00:11:15.940 --> 00:11:19.059 slave woman shall not be heir. with my son Isaac. 00:11:19.360 --> 00:11:21.379 Now little did she know that that was true. She 00:11:21.379 --> 00:11:23.600 was just saying it just can't be. But it was 00:11:23.600 --> 00:11:27.519 in God's mind anyway, not for Abraham to have 00:11:27.519 --> 00:11:29.940 Ishmael actually. But God deals with what he 00:11:29.940 --> 00:11:32.799 has. He doesn't force things to happen. He works 00:11:32.799 --> 00:11:36.759 with our decisions. which sometimes become consequences, 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:39.539 sometimes, according to God's will, they will 00:11:39.539 --> 00:11:41.980 become blessings. But he turns evil into what 00:11:41.980 --> 00:11:44.779 was meant for evil into good for those who love 00:11:44.779 --> 00:11:46.940 him and are called according to his purpose. 00:11:47.100 --> 00:11:49.379 And this is what he's doing in this situation 00:11:49.379 --> 00:11:53.200 too. So God said to Abraham, be not displeased 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:55.639 because of the boy and because of your slave 00:11:55.639 --> 00:11:58.600 woman, meaning Hagar and Ishmael. Whatever Sarah 00:11:58.600 --> 00:12:01.720 says to you, do as she tells you, for through 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:04.789 you, and this is critical, For through Isaac 00:12:04.789 --> 00:12:07.529 shall your offspring be named. So it's not through 00:12:07.529 --> 00:12:09.830 Ishmael, it's going to be through Isaac. Islam 00:12:09.830 --> 00:12:12.789 is built upon, I would have to say lie, because 00:12:12.789 --> 00:12:15.950 it is, that it wasn't Isaac, it was Ishmael. 00:12:16.129 --> 00:12:18.690 The Bible makes it very clear, no, sorry, it's 00:12:18.690 --> 00:12:21.529 not Ishmael, it's Isaac. And this is where this 00:12:21.529 --> 00:12:25.190 consequential hostility or enemy begins to take 00:12:25.190 --> 00:12:28.470 shape. But God keeps His promise because Hagar 00:12:28.470 --> 00:12:31.759 is not... in the story wasn't what's an intent 00:12:31.759 --> 00:12:36.259 to but Ishmael is a product of unbelief and misdirection 00:12:36.259 --> 00:12:39.799 but a consequence is he becomes a problem to 00:12:39.799 --> 00:12:43.779 Isaac soon after he's born but God promises Abraham 00:12:43.779 --> 00:12:47.860 do not fret I will make a nation from the son 00:12:47.860 --> 00:12:50.940 of the slave woman also because he is your offspring 00:12:50.940 --> 00:12:54.580 so God cares about Ishmael he cares about Hagar 00:12:54.730 --> 00:12:57.710 and he doesn't want them to be without and they 00:12:57.710 --> 00:13:01.029 prosper. He makes a great nation out of Ishmael 00:13:01.029 --> 00:13:04.389 and it becomes far bigger than the nation of 00:13:04.389 --> 00:13:07.090 Israel. And so it says in verse 21 that he lived 00:13:07.090 --> 00:13:10.289 in the wilderness of Paran and his mother Hagar 00:13:10.289 --> 00:13:13.570 took a wife for him from the land of Egypt which 00:13:13.570 --> 00:13:16.629 is their origin. Now from this point on Egypt 00:13:16.629 --> 00:13:20.460 will become Israel's persistent enemy. even up 00:13:20.460 --> 00:13:23.940 to today, this hostility against the Jews from 00:13:23.940 --> 00:13:25.759 coming out of Egypt. Now I'm not talking about 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:28.679 Egyptians, but it's as a nation and a mentality 00:13:28.679 --> 00:13:31.259 and what they're taught and instructed for generation 00:13:31.259 --> 00:13:34.700 to generation is that Israel is your enemy and 00:13:34.700 --> 00:13:38.559 cannot coexist with us. So this hostility against 00:13:38.559 --> 00:13:41.600 the Jews started back then and it has yet to 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:44.039 subside. In fact, the Muslim Brotherhood, and 00:13:44.039 --> 00:13:47.279 I'm sure you've heard of, is like the mother 00:13:47.480 --> 00:13:52.299 of Islamic terrorism in modern times, since Israel 00:13:52.299 --> 00:13:54.799 became a nation. Before Israel became a nation, 00:13:55.019 --> 00:13:57.480 the Muslim Brotherhood began its formation in 00:13:57.480 --> 00:14:01.200 the 1920s, I believe. So they've spread Islamic 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:03.919 terrorism throughout the world, but especially 00:14:04.240 --> 00:14:07.039 in America and the West. So the point here is 00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:09.820 that God made it possible for Israel and her 00:14:09.820 --> 00:14:12.519 neighbors to live in their own lands and govern 00:14:12.519 --> 00:14:16.299 their own people without hostility. It was not 00:14:16.299 --> 00:14:18.860 according to His will, but the sons of Ishmael 00:14:18.860 --> 00:14:22.259 have never been content with that. So I want 00:14:22.259 --> 00:14:26.320 to continue with this story with my own sense 00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:30.620 of effect, in a way, my salvation. It's a strange 00:14:30.620 --> 00:14:35.820 concept, but in some ways I could say that salvation... 00:14:35.820 --> 00:14:38.539 I came to faith without anyone preaching the 00:14:38.539 --> 00:14:40.679 Gospel with me, anyone sharing the Gospel with 00:14:40.679 --> 00:14:43.440 me. No one ever told me that Jesus was Jewish, 00:14:43.659 --> 00:14:46.120 that He was the Jewish Messiah. And so I was 00:14:46.120 --> 00:14:50.159 29 years plus when I came to terms with Yeshua 00:14:50.159 --> 00:14:54.139 HaMashiach and was saved. I was not a believer, 00:14:54.139 --> 00:14:56.600 obviously, and I knew nothing about Church life. 00:14:56.759 --> 00:14:59.059 But I got saved on my kitchen floor, which is 00:14:59.059 --> 00:15:02.899 another story. But it came through this haunting 00:15:02.899 --> 00:15:06.440 question, because as a Jewish boy growing up, 00:15:06.580 --> 00:15:09.179 I'm born in Brooklyn, my parents moved to Long 00:15:09.179 --> 00:15:11.279 Island to make a better home for their kids. 00:15:11.559 --> 00:15:15.820 It was also a way of hopefully removing themselves 00:15:15.820 --> 00:15:18.639 from the anti -Semitism, which was prevalent 00:15:18.639 --> 00:15:21.879 and growing in New York City, Brooklyn, where 00:15:21.879 --> 00:15:24.509 I was born. These are things they never talked 00:15:24.509 --> 00:15:27.509 about. I would overhear conversations with aunts 00:15:27.509 --> 00:15:30.190 and uncles, and it was never directed to me, 00:15:30.210 --> 00:15:32.490 but I was curious and I would listen with both 00:15:32.490 --> 00:15:35.289 ears, even though, you know, I never made sense 00:15:35.289 --> 00:15:37.409 of it, because I didn't know why are we hated? 00:15:37.669 --> 00:15:40.389 Why are we hated? I remember I wanted to play 00:15:40.389 --> 00:15:43.350 baseball so bad, and there was this little league 00:15:43.350 --> 00:15:46.769 thing going on in my neighborhood. And yet I 00:15:46.769 --> 00:15:48.529 wasn't allowed to play. And I didn't know why 00:15:48.529 --> 00:15:50.190 I would nag, I want to play, I want to play. 00:15:50.409 --> 00:15:53.149 And I was never really told, but I overheard 00:15:53.149 --> 00:15:56.330 my mother talking about... these coaches, you 00:15:56.330 --> 00:15:58.690 know, and their parents, they're anti -semites 00:15:58.690 --> 00:16:00.649 and blah, blah, blah. And so I just got this 00:16:00.649 --> 00:16:03.570 sense of understanding that it wasn't for Jews. 00:16:03.769 --> 00:16:05.750 We don't go, we don't do Little League. Same 00:16:05.750 --> 00:16:08.009 thing with Cub Scouts. I was in the Cub Scouts 00:16:08.009 --> 00:16:11.470 for I think two months and I actually won a blueberry 00:16:11.470 --> 00:16:15.129 eating contest in this huge cafeteria where all 00:16:15.129 --> 00:16:17.049 the Cub Scouts had their hands tied behind their 00:16:17.049 --> 00:16:20.269 back and whoever ate the Blueberry pie with first 00:16:20.269 --> 00:16:22.269 was a winner and I was one of the winners and 00:16:22.269 --> 00:16:24.309 I thought man this Cub Scout thing is incredible 00:16:24.309 --> 00:16:26.629 I love it two months later. I had no more Cub 00:16:26.629 --> 00:16:29.330 Scouts No more cubby hat and no more uniform 00:16:29.330 --> 00:16:32.149 and I didn't know why and I was never explained 00:16:32.149 --> 00:16:34.210 But I understood through conversation on the 00:16:34.210 --> 00:16:37.529 way home that day this anti -semites or you know 00:16:37.529 --> 00:16:39.950 something about them They hate us and they'll 00:16:39.950 --> 00:16:42.990 never accept us. So that was the end. So over 00:16:42.990 --> 00:16:45.649 me I learned something that is something common 00:16:45.649 --> 00:16:49.759 to Jews all over America, and it's still, and 00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:52.120 it's been that way all over the years of their 00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:56.659 history, since Israel was expelled from Roman 00:16:56.659 --> 00:16:59.879 territory, which began in Israel under their 00:16:59.879 --> 00:17:03.460 control. So that is this, that over all the Jews, 00:17:04.019 --> 00:17:08.880 it's very unnoticeable, but very well known by 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:11.380 Jews, even if they hide it, that there's, you 00:17:11.380 --> 00:17:13.359 know what a thought bubble is, right? You know, 00:17:13.400 --> 00:17:15.819 it's this little thing over your head like cartoons 00:17:15.819 --> 00:17:18.019 used, and there'd be these three little circles 00:17:18.019 --> 00:17:21.000 coming out of the cloud, and inside the cloud 00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:23.200 was some kind of text. It was about thought. 00:17:23.460 --> 00:17:26.460 And so, by the way, you can check out our Einstein 00:17:26.460 --> 00:17:30.039 Thought Bubble segments on YouTube. But that 00:17:30.039 --> 00:17:32.859 said, there's two questions that are in the Thought 00:17:32.859 --> 00:17:35.019 Bubble, or two Thought Bubbles that every Jew 00:17:35.019 --> 00:17:38.000 walks around with. Picture this. One of them 00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:42.420 says, why are we hated still? And the other thought, 00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:45.359 Bala says, when are they coming for us next time? 00:17:45.579 --> 00:17:48.480 So this is a synopsis of the history of the Jews 00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:51.960 from the time they were exiled from Israel into 00:17:51.960 --> 00:17:54.960 the nations. It's called Diaspora Hebrew Galute. 00:17:55.079 --> 00:17:57.720 It's when they are living in foreign lands, the 00:17:57.720 --> 00:18:03.119 Jews were, for 19 plus centuries until the return, 00:18:03.240 --> 00:18:08.589 or Aliyah, began mostly in the 1800s, mid -1800s, 00:18:08.670 --> 00:18:11.109 but there was always Jews living in Israel, but 00:18:11.109 --> 00:18:13.710 not in great number. The land was never void 00:18:13.710 --> 00:18:16.549 of Jews, but it was never owned and controlled 00:18:16.549 --> 00:18:19.230 without, you know... any kind of legal standing 00:18:19.230 --> 00:18:22.849 with the nations. So this question is, when are 00:18:22.849 --> 00:18:24.730 they going to come through next? Because throughout 00:18:24.730 --> 00:18:28.490 the Jewish history, there was pauses in the persecution. 00:18:28.869 --> 00:18:30.990 So there were some times when Jews grew favor 00:18:30.990 --> 00:18:33.769 with their host country, but it would always 00:18:33.769 --> 00:18:35.890 end at a certain point and they would be turned 00:18:35.890 --> 00:18:38.950 on and ultimately thrown out to the point where 00:18:38.950 --> 00:18:41.869 the Jews were thrown out of every country in 00:18:41.869 --> 00:18:45.289 Europe specifically, and England... Yeah, throughout 00:18:45.289 --> 00:18:48.430 all time. Now sometimes they were forced out 00:18:48.430 --> 00:18:51.109 by a decision to either stay here, you could 00:18:51.109 --> 00:18:55.130 stay here, and pay a tax, a very high tax, but 00:18:55.130 --> 00:18:57.730 first you'd have to be converted, and if you're 00:18:57.730 --> 00:19:00.369 not converted, then we would either kick you 00:19:00.369 --> 00:19:03.529 out or kill you. And that meant confiscation 00:19:03.529 --> 00:19:05.309 of property as well. They were not allowed to 00:19:05.309 --> 00:19:07.269 own property, they were not allowed to have businesses, 00:19:07.529 --> 00:19:09.390 when I say property, like personal property. 00:19:09.529 --> 00:19:11.470 They were not allowed to have businesses, go 00:19:11.470 --> 00:19:14.130 to the same schools. They had much restrictions 00:19:14.130 --> 00:19:16.769 all through time. They never had a nation of 00:19:16.769 --> 00:19:19.450 their own. So that question mark is over there. 00:19:19.569 --> 00:19:22.069 Why do they hate us still? And there's, you know, 00:19:22.210 --> 00:19:24.130 people come up with different reasons, but there's 00:19:24.130 --> 00:19:27.190 no accurate answer to that because it's spiritual 00:19:27.190 --> 00:19:30.849 in nature. So the question that Jews walk around 00:19:30.849 --> 00:19:34.369 with are these two. Why we hate it so long, and 00:19:34.369 --> 00:19:37.599 when is the next time? Well, for me, I had this 00:19:37.599 --> 00:19:40.779 inner longing to know what is the meaning of 00:19:40.779 --> 00:19:43.640 life, because I looked around as I grew up in 00:19:43.640 --> 00:19:46.460 my teenage years. I didn't see the satisfying 00:19:46.460 --> 00:19:49.299 life amongst the adult world that I knew, and 00:19:49.299 --> 00:19:51.940 that was mainly Judaism. But then when I started 00:19:51.940 --> 00:19:54.359 meeting my Gentiles, which most of my friends 00:19:54.359 --> 00:19:57.579 were, especially going into junior high and high 00:19:57.579 --> 00:19:59.980 school, and occasionally I'd meet their parents, 00:20:00.220 --> 00:20:03.680 I didn't see this sense of happiness or fulfillment, 00:20:04.279 --> 00:20:07.420 and so I kind of dismissed it coming from what 00:20:07.420 --> 00:20:10.819 was familiar to me, which was Judaism. And we 00:20:10.819 --> 00:20:13.039 felt that the world was divided up into Jews, 00:20:13.440 --> 00:20:16.400 Catholics, and Protestants. So the Catholics 00:20:16.400 --> 00:20:18.400 and Protestants were all Christians, and then 00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:21.279 we were Jews. But none of them seemed to have 00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:24.519 satisfaction, so I dismissed Catholicism, Protestantism. 00:20:24.599 --> 00:20:27.740 and Judaism that I knew of from my family life, 00:20:27.900 --> 00:20:30.500 not the family, I loved the family, we loved 00:20:30.500 --> 00:20:33.160 being together and all that, but the Jewish ritual 00:20:33.160 --> 00:20:35.980 and practices to me I saw no meaning in. So I 00:20:35.980 --> 00:20:39.079 started my quest and it began, I'll do it in 00:20:39.079 --> 00:20:43.279 this very brief, it began hitchhiking. I wanted 00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:48.019 to, this is already, I'm in the late 60s, early 00:20:48.019 --> 00:20:52.119 70s, and I'm hitchhiking, I'm hitchhiking everywhere. 00:20:52.319 --> 00:20:54.779 And it wasn't just to find the meaning of life, 00:20:54.980 --> 00:20:57.000 but I wanted to know the meaning of life. And 00:20:57.000 --> 00:20:59.200 I got very good at hitchhiking. It was my way 00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:01.859 around anywhere of distance and even locally. 00:21:02.099 --> 00:21:04.460 And so I hitchhiked. I hitchhiked all over the 00:21:04.460 --> 00:21:07.240 northeast, northern New York, came down, started 00:21:07.240 --> 00:21:10.539 hitchhiking to Florida and back and then across 00:21:10.539 --> 00:21:14.579 the country, the whole country into the coast 00:21:14.579 --> 00:21:18.980 of California, up that coast, west through Oregon 00:21:18.980 --> 00:21:22.990 and Washington into Canada, up. north in Canada 00:21:22.990 --> 00:21:26.210 into the Iraqis and then all across Canada, hitchhiking. 00:21:26.509 --> 00:21:29.250 And what was I looking for? Somebody, just all 00:21:29.250 --> 00:21:31.210 I wanted was one person who knew the meaning 00:21:31.210 --> 00:21:33.309 of life. Now I was a hippie then, you know, I 00:21:33.309 --> 00:21:36.230 was, yeah, I was true, I was a Woodstock citizen, 00:21:36.289 --> 00:21:38.950 so to me that was the lifestyle, but there's 00:21:38.950 --> 00:21:41.789 still lacking this meaning, this really deep 00:21:41.789 --> 00:21:44.170 sense of meaning. And so I made this whole trip, 00:21:44.509 --> 00:21:47.490 long story short, it fell flat, I didn't find 00:21:47.490 --> 00:21:50.819 anyone who knew that meaning. and so I felt there 00:21:50.819 --> 00:21:52.619 must be communities somewhere in the world. Now 00:21:52.619 --> 00:21:54.599 this is, you know, this is a lapse of time. I 00:21:54.599 --> 00:21:58.319 build this truck out of a 52 Chevy and build 00:21:58.319 --> 00:22:01.559 a custom house, put it on the back of it and 00:22:01.559 --> 00:22:03.940 start traveling across the world looking for 00:22:03.940 --> 00:22:06.920 a community, which would be a commune, that lived 00:22:06.920 --> 00:22:10.119 according to the meaning of life in community. 00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:11.859 Well, the same thing happened to me. I started 00:22:11.859 --> 00:22:14.660 traveling, went up north, New England, nothing, 00:22:14.759 --> 00:22:18.200 come back down, come down south, go follow the 00:22:18.200 --> 00:22:21.059 eastern seaboard, and all the way into Florida, 00:22:21.299 --> 00:22:25.220 but on the way down there I stopped at communes 00:22:25.220 --> 00:22:28.039 and I would stay there for a period of time, 00:22:28.099 --> 00:22:30.440 usually it was just a short period of time, and 00:22:30.440 --> 00:22:33.180 I'd be frustrated because I never found the meaning 00:22:33.180 --> 00:22:35.799 of life. And then all through that, you know, 00:22:35.839 --> 00:22:38.519 I'm still thinking, well, maybe I should just 00:22:38.519 --> 00:22:41.680 get married, and my wife Marla now was my girlfriend, 00:22:41.900 --> 00:22:43.700 but I still, she knew I had to leave because 00:22:43.700 --> 00:22:45.480 this was so important to me, and I was going 00:22:45.480 --> 00:22:48.079 to come back and... tell her, you know, I found 00:22:48.079 --> 00:22:50.400 it, I found the meaning of life and community 00:22:50.400 --> 00:22:52.059 and we're going to do this, that and the other 00:22:52.059 --> 00:22:54.279 thing, but it fell short, fell short. There's 00:22:54.279 --> 00:22:55.900 a long story. I wrote a book about it called 00:22:55.900 --> 00:22:58.779 The Milkman Story. You could read it, but it's 00:22:58.779 --> 00:23:01.579 more about the pastor that showed me what the 00:23:01.579 --> 00:23:04.500 love of Yeshua was all about. So, The Milkman 00:23:04.500 --> 00:23:07.680 Story. I also wrote another book called Inappropriate, 00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:10.940 which is a follow -up in much deeper biblical 00:23:11.639 --> 00:23:14.680 fashion, I recommend it. So I've still got these 00:23:14.680 --> 00:23:16.859 two bubbles over my head, so I'm thinking there's 00:23:16.859 --> 00:23:18.519 got to be more to it, maybe I just need to get 00:23:18.519 --> 00:23:21.880 married. So I asked in my very crude way for 00:23:21.880 --> 00:23:25.720 Marla to marry her after we've been living together 00:23:25.720 --> 00:23:28.240 for years other than through my journeys, and 00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:30.819 we did. And I thought maybe that's it, I just 00:23:30.819 --> 00:23:33.660 need to get married and we need to buy a little 00:23:33.660 --> 00:23:37.339 farmette and just us and a couple of goats, a 00:23:37.339 --> 00:23:40.420 couple of kids and a couple of calves and garden. 00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:42.539 That was it. We would just live there forever 00:23:42.539 --> 00:23:44.420 and be happy ever after. It didn't work. We didn't 00:23:44.420 --> 00:23:47.519 get that far. And then we did have to start having 00:23:47.519 --> 00:23:49.400 kids. And I thought, now I'll be satisfied. And 00:23:49.400 --> 00:23:51.460 it still wasn't. I loved my daughter. And then 00:23:51.460 --> 00:23:53.400 I had another one on the way. Marla was pregnant 00:23:53.400 --> 00:23:57.880 again. But it wasn't until I cried out in desperation 00:23:57.880 --> 00:24:01.440 that God revealed himself to me. And at that 00:24:01.440 --> 00:24:05.019 point, the bubbles began to break. Both of them. 00:24:05.140 --> 00:24:08.529 So yes, I still knew that we were hated. And 00:24:08.529 --> 00:24:10.970 yes, I still knew that they were coming back 00:24:10.970 --> 00:24:13.849 for us one day, and that day has pretty much 00:24:13.849 --> 00:24:16.769 arrived. Let me put it this way. But there's 00:24:16.769 --> 00:24:20.309 still Jews all over America that are walking 00:24:20.309 --> 00:24:23.450 around. They won't admit it, they may not recognize 00:24:23.450 --> 00:24:26.529 it, but there's a sense of sorrow and expectation 00:24:26.529 --> 00:24:30.029 that isn't a good one, that's lodged somewhere 00:24:30.029 --> 00:24:33.750 in their soul that we're still hated and one 00:24:33.750 --> 00:24:35.690 day they're going to come back for us again. 00:24:35.960 --> 00:24:38.880 Most Jews will say that's not true, I never thought 00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:41.099 like that, I will never think like that. And 00:24:41.099 --> 00:24:44.059 that's what they said in Germany and in Europe 00:24:44.059 --> 00:24:47.519 during the rise of Hitler. So here's my guess, 00:24:47.640 --> 00:24:50.440 my hope for you is perhaps one day you will get 00:24:50.440 --> 00:24:53.000 to know, if you don't already, a Jewish person 00:24:53.000 --> 00:24:56.339 and by the love that you have for their Messiah, 00:24:56.619 --> 00:24:59.480 according to Romans 11, that you would provoke 00:24:59.480 --> 00:25:01.839 them to a jealousy because you also have a love 00:25:01.839 --> 00:25:04.140 for them. And they'd be like, where did you come 00:25:04.140 --> 00:25:07.390 from, you Christian? you're supposed to hate 00:25:07.390 --> 00:25:10.650 us or just want to get rid of us. And now they 00:25:10.650 --> 00:25:12.930 won't say that because they'll be polite, but 00:25:12.930 --> 00:25:15.829 somewhere that bubble is still over their head, 00:25:15.849 --> 00:25:18.369 following them wherever they are. But maybe you're 00:25:18.369 --> 00:25:22.130 the one, the one Christian, one Gentile believer 00:25:22.130 --> 00:25:25.470 that loves Yeshua enough to get close enough 00:25:25.470 --> 00:25:29.490 to reveal His love to them and your love for 00:25:29.490 --> 00:25:32.950 them, for Israel and the people of God who are 00:25:32.990 --> 00:25:35.869 Israelis and Israelites, which are the Jews. 00:25:36.210 --> 00:25:40.829 And then the piercing love of Yeshua will break 00:25:40.829 --> 00:25:44.730 that bubble and they can meet the Jewish Messiah, 00:25:45.289 --> 00:25:48.869 who's on the other side of it, who longs to meet 00:25:48.869 --> 00:25:51.109 them. Consider that and let us know what you 00:25:51.109 --> 00:25:55.380 think. Shalom and much respect. We bless you 00:25:55.380 --> 00:25:57.859 for taking the time to consider this message. 00:25:58.420 --> 00:26:00.720 May it cause you to be fruitful and effective 00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:03.400 and lead others along the way with confidence 00:26:03.400 --> 00:26:07.539 and determination. Check out our website at comfortmypeople 00:26:07.539 --> 00:26:11.220 .com to become better informed and equipped to 00:26:11.220 --> 00:26:13.680 restore righteousness to the people of Israel, 00:26:13.839 --> 00:26:17.559 America and beyond. Please consider sharing this 00:26:17.559 --> 00:26:21.460 and visit us on social media. Shalom and blessings.