africa and the middle east
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Africa and the Middle East. Part 4 Ancient Rivalries. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Africa and the Middle East
Part 4Ancient Rivalries
The three prominent religions in the Middle East – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all belong to the same
monotheistic tradition—the belief in one main God, the God of ABRAHAM. It is believed Jews descended from one of
his sons named Isaac, while Arabs descended from another son, Ishmael.
Father Abraham is an important figure to all
three religions.
According to the Bible, he
is the 10th generation
from NOAH, and the 20th from ADAM.
Abraham was to travel from Ur (Mesopotamia), to the Land of Canaan or the “Promised Land”.
He was promised innumerable descendants.
Abraham’s wife SARAH was not able to bear him a
child, so she allowed her
servant, HAGAR to also be his
wife. She bore him a son
named ISHMAEL.
There then appears to be some jealousy between the women, as Hagar
begins to act superior because she gave birth to a son for Abraham. Sarah
complains, and Abraham supports Sarah. Sarah then mistreats Hagar,
and according to some accounts flees with her son Ishmael, while in other
accounts she is driven out by Abraham.
Hagar and Ishmael were saved by an angel in the
wilderness. The descendants of
Ishmael are believed to be
the ARABS, and he is an
important figure in Islam.
At the age of 99, God is supposed to have reaffirmed his commitment to Abraham that his descendants would be a mighty nation of innumerable people. Although Sarah
was past her child-bearing years, she was able to give birth to a son named ISAAC.
Some scholars have wondered if the birth of Isaac led to Sarah wanting the teenager
Ishmael out of the picture, in case he was a bad influence on Isaac, or perhaps would
want to claim Abraham’s inheritance.
At one point in his life, possibly
between his teens and his 30s, Isaac
was nearly sacrificed by his father. However,
just as the sacrifice was to take place, an angel stopped
Abraham.
Abraham was to be blessed for his obedience to God’s commands.
Later on Isaac marries REBEKAH,
who it seems is barren
(unable to have
children).
Eventually, Rebekah becomes pregnant with twins. They seem to struggle in her womb, and
later she has a vision in which she is told the older son will serve the younger.
ESAU is born first, followed by JACOB. Esau is a hunter and outdoorsman, and is favored by Isaac. Jacob is more of a “homebody”, and is
favored by Rebekah.
At one point, the wilder Esau sold his “BIRTHRIGHT” to Jacob for food and drink.
Later, with Rebekah’s help, Jacob deceives Isaac, who is now blind, into giving him the
father’s blessing to the first-born that was meant for Esau.
Understandably, Esau is furious, and threatens to kill Jacob. Rebekah arranges
for his escape, and sends him to the land of her relatives. There Jacob meets and falls in love with RACHEL. He works for seven years to earn her hand in marriage, but is
given her older sister LEAH to marry instead. Leah’s father, LABAN, says that
Jacob can also marry Rachel if he agrees to work for seven more years, which Jacob
agrees to.
Later on, Jacob’s name is changed to “ISRAEL”, (to persevere with God), and with Leah, Rachel, and at least
two other wives, has multiple daughters and 12 sons. Several
generations later, the descendants of these 12 sons would be known as the
“TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL”.
Of Jacob’s (Israel’s) sons, his
eleventh, JOSEPH was his favorite. Joseph’s
mother was Rachel, who also gave birth to the
twelfth son BENJAMIN.
Joseph’s older brothers were very jealous of him, and when he was
about seventeen, sold him to slave traders who were heading to Egypt.
In time, he rose to be the most powerful man in Egypt, other than the Pharaoh. Years later, he was reunited with his brothers when they came to Egypt to get food
during a time of famine.
Joseph was eventually reunited also with his father and his
younger brother Benjamin. In time, the descendants of Jacob (Israel) became numerous, and were enslaved by Egypt for over
four centuries until eventually being led from captivity by
MOSES to the “Promised Land”.
Christians and Jews look fondly toward Moses as the man who led the Hebrews out of Egypt, parted the Red Sea, and received the 10 Commandments. Muslims also look
to him as a prophet.
Over the years, Israel at times was very powerful, and at times it was conquered by outsiders, with its
people eventually being scattered all over. It was not until 1948, when the
modern-day state of Israel was created, that Jews have had a homeland. It has been very contentious there ever since.
Since Israel’s creation, the Palestinian Arabs have been very angry,
and have lost land every time they have had major
wars.