Jews and Arabs to be United By Christ

What about Ishmael and the Arabs?
Will God ignore Ishmael? We have referred to the promises made to Ishmael's descendants: "I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful... I will make of him a great nation" (Genesis 17:20). Much of this has been fulfilled already: the Arabs have been prosperous and become a great multitude, contributing much to world culture. What hope is in store for them in the future?

If, like any other people, Arabs acknowledge the God of Israel and the Lord Jesus Christ they will live alongside the descendants of Isaac and Jacob, helping to rebuild the economy of the area, benefiting from the blossoming of their deserts and sharing in the joys and blessings of the kingdom. Isaiah, for example, pictures Arabs and others bringing service and worship into Jerusalem:

"The multitude of camels shall cover your land, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and incense, and they shall proclaim the praises of the LORD... And they shall call you, The City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel." (Isaiah 60:6-14)

"In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria... Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed is Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance." (Isaiah 19:23-25)

Harmony and peace will, at last, come to the family of Abraham. The Middle East will be gloriously transformed.

But the promises extend more widely than to just the nations of the Middle East. God's purpose is something personal and vital to every one of us, of whatever nationality, if we wish to be part of the divine plan for the future. Jesus is the Saviour of men and women from every race, language and creed on earth - if they truly believe in him. "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

No-one will be excluded, who changes his life to be a follower of Jesus Christ. God's plan is a world-wide plan of salvation: remember the promise that through Abraham "all families of the earth" will be blessed. That includes Gentiles and Jews. The apostle Paul was a converted and baptized Jew and he wrote to baptized Gentiles:

"As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ ... And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:27-29)