From My Perspective - - -
A unique moment occurred a few days ago and has gone largely unnoticed. The last time it happened was in 1948. Ever since that moment in history, there has been turmoil of varying degrees because the nation of Israel was established. Israel is a country slightly smaller than the state of New Jersey. It shares borders Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian National Authority in the Gaza Strip. It has become a significant presence in the Middle East as well as an equally significant target of the Arabs and Muslims.
In the past few days, a new nation has been formed in the turbulent Middle East. The Islamic State has seized territory of both Syria and Iraq to form what they hope will be a renewed caliphate in that area. Caliphate means “jurisdiction, rule or government by a caliph." They also have plans to expand into Jordan and Saudi Arabia. At the moment, they seem to be unstoppable. Historically, from the 8th to the 12th century the Muslim world enjoyed enormous prosperity. In close contact with three continents, the Muslims could shuttle goods back and forth from China to western Europe and from Russia to central Africa. The presence of important urban centers as Baghdad, Cairo and Cordova stimulated trade and industry throughout the Muslim world. In Baghdad there were bazaars, which contained goods from all over the known world - spices, minerals, and dyes from India; gems and fabrics from Central Asia; honey and wax from Scandinavia and Russia; and ivory and gold dust from Africa. One bazaar specialized in goods from China, including silks, musk, and porcelain. In the slave markets, Muslim traders bought and sold Scandinavians, Mongolians from Central Asia, and Africans. The steel of Damascus and Toledo, the leather of Cordova, and the glass of Syria became internationally famous. Notable also was the art of paper-making, learned from the Chinese. Rivalry soon brought about the demise of the Caliphates.
The Encyclopedia Britannica adds the following notation: “The concept of the caliphate took on new significance in the 18th century as an instrument of statecraft in the declining Ottoman Empire. Facing the erosion of their military and political power and territorial losses inflicted in a series of wars with European rivals, the Ottoman sultans, who had occasionally styled themselves as caliphs since the 14th century, began to stress their claim to leadership of the Islamic community. This served both as means of retaining some degree of influence over Muslim populations in formerly Ottoman lands and as means of bolstering Ottoman legitimacy within the empire. The caliphate was abolished in 1924, following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of the Turkish Republic. In the 20th century the reestablishment of the caliphate, although occasionally invoked by Islamists as a symbol of global Islamic unity, was of no practical interest for mainstream Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. It did, however, figure prominently in the rhetoric of the violent extremist group al Qaeda.”
Is all of this news to God? Does any of this catch him by surprise? Has he been unaware of our current events? In a different setting, the Lord speaks in Isaiah 1:18-31, "Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord...If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spokes…Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not bring justice to the fatherless, and the widow's cause does not come to them. Therefore the Lord declares, the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: I will get relief from my enemies and avenge myself on my foes…Zion shall be redeemed by justice, and those in her who repent, by righteousness. But rebels and sinners shall be broken together, and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed…” Does the Lord have a plan for the Middle East? Does He have a plan for the world and Universe? Does He have a plan for your life? Are you fitting your life into His plan for it and you? Consider these things with me.
No comments:
Post a Comment