GOD S PURPOSE FOR JORDAN

Transcription

1 GOD S PURPOSE FOR JORDAN Jordan means the descender. It is taken from a root that means to go down, to descend. It is referring to the river that runs about two hundred miles from the north of Israel into the Dead Sea. The Kingdom of Jordan lies on the eastern bank of this river. As you may expect, the closer the land to the river, the more arable. Otherwise, most of the land is desert. There is just less than 6½ million of a population, - most of them living in urban areas. The official language is Arabic, and 96.5% of the people are Muslims with just over 19,000 evangelical Christians (0.3%). While the nation is a centre for some of the Christian ministries in the Middle East, religious freedom is in increasingly in jeopardy during these days of rising tension throughout the region. Converts from Islam to Christianity endure the normal dangers associated with living in Islamic society. Over recent years, it has been a breeding ground for terrorism. Just recently, after a lengthy legal battle, Abu Qatada has been returned to Jordan to face terrorist charges. Al Qaeda, and many of its offshoots, are prominent. Concerning the nation of Israel, Jordan is fairly pragmatic and is actually one of Israel s neighbours with which it has a decent relationship. For example, this year (2013), the Jordanian King Abdullah has been very grateful to Israel for facilitating Jordanian trade with Iraq and Turkey by allowing goods to be transported at the Jordan River crossing near Beit Shean. Relations haven t always been as accommodating though. Jordan, - in keeping with the rest of the surrounding nations, - would ideally prefer Israel not to exist but it does so the attitude prevails, just accept it and live with it! Jordan is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the east and southeast, Iraq to the northeast, Syria to the north and Israel and the West Bank to the west. It is an important player in the Middle East. Its voice is very influential in the region, and because of its pragmatism, it is also looked upon warmly by the Western nations. It s not afraid to stand up against terrorism. For example, in 1970, Amman was the site of major clashes between the Palestinian Liberation Organisation and the Jordanian army.

2 2 Originally known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan, the country emerged after the First Word War under the foreign policies of France and Britain. Then, in 1946, it became an independent sovereign state, and Abdullah I took the title King of Jordan and Palestine In 1949 the country became officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. (The Hashemites trace their ancestry back to the great grand-father of Mohammed, but today they highlight their descendancy from Mohammed s daughter, Fatimah.) So, where do we find the nation of Jordan in the Bible? There is, of course, no nation called Jordan in the Bible. In Biblical times, the area was the home of the Edomites, the Moabites and the Ammonites. During the conquest of Canaan, the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh conquered this area and decided to live there instead of l on the western side of the Jordan River. The origin of the Moabites and the Ammonites goes back to the time when Lot and his two daughters were fleeing from Sodom and they took refuge in a cave (Gen. 19:30-38). Fearing they might miss their opportunity to have children, the two daughters decided their father held the answer to their conundrum. So they got him drunk and committed incest with him. The eldest daughter bore the son Moab, and the younger daughter was the mother of Ammon, or Benammi ( son of my people ). The Edomites were the descendants of Isaac s son Esau (or Edom ) and the brother of Jacob. Following Jacob s trickery of Esau there was extremely bad blood between the two brothers. Even in the womb they had been struggling against each other. Eventually though, they made up and became friends However, their generations, - their individual peoples, - held each other in contempt. Throughout the Old Testament history the Moabites, Ammonites and Edomites resented the presence of Israel and took every opportunity to show it. For example, they would not allow the children of Israel to pass through their land in the years of the wilderness wandering. They showed them no kindness. However, - on the flip-side, - when there was famine in Judah Elimelech, Naomi, Mahlon and Chilion went to dwell in Moab. They settled very comfortably, and the two sons married local girls, - Orpah and Ruth. Ruth became the grandmother of David

3 Almost overwhelmingly, though, the Moabites, Ammonites and Edomites took every opportunity to oppose the Israelites. One of the greatest examples of this policy was when they sided with Nebuchadnezzar (cf. II Kings 24:2) against Judah and Jerusalem. Unfortunately, the Israelites weren t always aware of their evil intentions. On many occasions the Moabites, Ammonites and Edomites managed to infiltrate Judah with their idolatry. The Moabites worshipped Chemosh and the Ammonites worshipped Molech (also known as Milcom). During King Solomon s reign he foolishly built a place of worship to Chemosh and also for Molech (I Kings 11:7). This became a familiar alternative to the people of Israel and they even sacrificed their children to these idols, Jer. 32:34 they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it. 35 And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin. For infiltrating His people, God declared a terrible judgment on Moab, Jer. 48:7 For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together 13 And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their confidence 29 We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart. 46 Woe be unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters captives. And there are many examples throughout the Old Testament of how the Moabites, the Ammonites, and the Edomites were burdensome towards Israel. Another example is during the days of Nehemiah, Neh. 13:1 On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever; 2 Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude. 4 And before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, was allied unto Tobiah: 5 And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where aforetime they laid the meat offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the offerings of the priests. 6 But in all this time was not I at Jerusalem: 3

4 4 for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon came I unto the king, and after certain days obtained I leave of the king: 7 And I came to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. 8 And it grieved me sore: therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber. 9 Then I commanded, and they cleansed [ fumigated] the chambers: and thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God, with the meat offering and the frankincense. Now, Tobiah was an Ammonite, and his friends were Sanballat the Horonite and Geshem the Arabian (Neh. 2:19) and these were the people who would stop at nothing to hinder and prevent the rebuilding of Jerusalem following the return of the Jews from the Babylonian exile. Out-and-out enemies of Israel! I have already mentioned how modern-day Jordan would follow a more pragmatic policy towards the existence of Israel Tobiah, Sanballat and Geshem tried something similar. They sent Nehemiah a message, - seemingly of friendship in the quest for shared co-operation, Neh. 6:2 Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief. And you can follow the pattern through the writings of the prophets to find over and over again prophesies directly against the Moabites for their mischief towards God s people, (e.g. Jer. 48:15 Moab is spoiled, and gone up out of her cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts. 16 The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast. 17 All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod! 18 Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, and he shall destroy thy strong holds. 19 O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and espy; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, and say, What is done? 20 Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled, 21 And judgment is come upon the plain country; Is. 15; Is 16; Amos 2:1-8), the Ammonites (e.g. Amos 1:13 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border: 14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind: 15 And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the LORD. Ezek. 21,25; Jer. 49), and the Edomites (e.g. Ezek. 35; Obadiah 4 Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD). Down through the ages they were consistently the enemy of God s people.

5 5 But what about the future of these three peoples that constitute the modernday country of Jordan? They are mentioned together in Daniel chapter eleven. Here the prophet is speaking about the alliances and conflicts in the region between the kings of the south and the kings of the north. We are not going into this except to say there is no justification to identify, for example, the kings of the north with Russia or any fanciful conclusion that has no Biblical warranty. In the last days, I believe Russia, China, US, etc will be involved in the background but the prophecy is not dealing with any other nations specifically, save those who are situated within this immediate region. The kings of the north and the kings of the south are nations within the area immediately surrounding Israel. But what is relevant to our study is a person introduced in v.16, But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land [i.e. the land of Israel; literally the land of ornament, beauty, glory, honour, decoration ], which by his hand shall be consumed [that s a threatening and ominous word; it means complete destruction, annihilation ]. Daniel 11 is referring to a future event so these will be excruciatingly difficult days awaiting the people of Israel the likes of which they have never experienced before. Yes, verse four is a clear reference to how Greece would become a world power, - as it did under Alexander the Great. It also prophesies how Alexander s kingdom would be broken up into four, - as it was (v.4). However, when you read the passage carefully you will see that Antiochus Epiphanes, - one of Alexander s generals who became the ruler of an area that included the people of Israel, - is merely a type, and not a complete fulfilment of this prophecy. He is merely a picture of a far more horrendous individual that is yet to appear, approaching the end of time. His authority and cruelty will exceed even Antiochus! The passage also tells us this person will unabatedly carry out his own will across this whole region, - including the glorious land, v.17 He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him. He has an unparalleled corrupting influence, v.21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. 22 And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant. 23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people. 24 He shall enter peaceably even upon

6 6 the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time. This is a very interesting and important prophecy but we need to continue to find out how the nation of modern-day Jordan features in God s plan. Indeed, we come to another mention of this glorious land, and then we discover v.41, He [this antichrist figure] shall enter also into the glorious land [i.e. Israel], and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. Yes, notice how the ancient Biblical territories of the Edomites, the Moabites and the Ammonites will escape out of his hand. That s the land occupied by the country of Jordan today! By the way, the capital of Jordan is Amman and that title is directly take from this Old Testament Ammon! So, why will the country of Jordan not be overthrown by this figure whose priority it is to occupy and rule over the glorious land? Is not this the one of whom Paul writes to the Thessalonians, II Thess. 2:3 that man of sin the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God? But he will not be entering into the territory of Jordan because these shall escape [ slip away, delivered, saved ] out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. They will be working with him. Watch this space and how Jordan conducts itself in continued negotiations in the region!! Who is the major region in the Middle East presently pushing the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian territory? It s Jordan! And they will be there among the nations that gather to besiege Jerusalem in Zech 14:2. From 1948 until 1994, - at the signing of the Israeli-Jordan peace treaty, - the two countries were officially at war. They sided with Egypt in the 1956 Suez War and in the 1967 Six-Day War. Jordan tried a different route in 1987 when the Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon Peres and King Hussein of Jordan tried to secretly arrange a peace agreement in which Israel would concede the West Bank to Jordan. It wasn t ratified, though, because Prime Minister Yitshak Shamir of Israel blocked it. Yes, indeed, Jordan is waiting its opportunity! Zech 14:2 prophesies, I [God] will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle. Jordan will be there along with the rest of them! But what about the work of God in Jordan? Does He have any plans concerning salvation for many within that nation? Well, yes He has. He has His people there already, - over 19,000 of them. Edom is Esau, and God promised Esau a blessing, Gen. 27:39 Isaac his father answered and said unto him

7 7 [Esau], Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; 40 And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck. That hasn t happened yet, so it is in the future. He told His people Israel, Deut 2:5 Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession 9 And the LORD said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession. 19 And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession. It s good to see Israel honouring these Divine instructions even today as they allow the Jordanians to transport their goods to Iraq and Turkey. Yes, God tells His people to leave the land of Jordan alone because of Abraham, and Jacob and Esau. Is there salvation hope for that land? Yes, of course, let s conclude our study with Ps. 83:1 Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. 2 For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. 3 They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. 4 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. 5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee: 6 The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; 7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; 8 Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah. 9 Do unto them as unto the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison: 10 Which perished at Endor: they became as dung for the earth. 11 Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna: 12 Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession. 13 O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind. 14 As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire; 15 So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm. 16 Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD. 17 Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish: 18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth. Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD. It s a hard prayer, but one that holds out hope for the salvation of many in that country. God has a plan and a purpose for the Kingdom of Jordan the end of which they will seek His face and be counted among the nations that will make their

8 8 way to the Lord s house on the mountain of the Lord. That is where He shall judge among the nations. He will rebuke them and the consequence of His reign will establish peace, - Is. 9:7 of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, - because they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 2:4). Amidst all the confusion and confrontation today, we know the Lord will bring to pass His purposes and everyone of them will be to His glory. Amen.