Conflict in the Middle East flows from generation to generation like a river of tears and bad blood. From the days of Abram there has been an unending current of personal rejection, revenge, and mutual loss.
The Jewish and Arab problem affects all of us. It costs us at the gas pump. It divides us at church. Some of us think our faith leads us to be pro-Israel. Others are just as sure that the Bible gives us reason to support those who feel wronged by Israel’s return to the land.
An inclination to side with Israel
For several reasons I’ve sided with those who are sympathetic to the Jewish struggle for a homeland. (1) We are embarrassed by the anti-Semitism of church fathers who saw all Jewish people as Christ-killers. (2) We see God’s hand in Israel’s rebirth and believe it is His purpose to restore Israel in the last days (Isaiah 11:12). (3) And we hear God say to Abram, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3).
A tendency to forget Arab interests
I’m beginning to see, however, that in praying for the peace of Jerusalem, I have not prayed for the peace of Damascus or Cairo or Baghdad. While seeing biblical reason to love the Jewish people, I have not done as well in seeing the needs of families who worship in mosques rather than synagogues.
I regret that over the years I have used my biblical convictions as an excuse to care more for Jewish people than for their neighbors. I’m beginning to see how prone I’ve been to decide against Arab advocates because of their anger toward the modern state of Israel. I have not done well in distinguishing between what God is doing in Israel and what Israel herself is doing with or without the approval of God.
The need for discernment
Human error always intermingles with the purposes of God. Abram, the patriarch whose estranged children are now fighting for his legacy, is no exception. God had promised him descendants (Genesis 12:1-3). But at the age of 85, “the father of many” was still childless. Believing his wife Sarah could no longer have a child of her own, the couple decided it was time for them to solve their own problem. Acting within the customs of their times, Sarah gave her Egyptian handmaid to Abram as a child-bearing wife (Genesis 16:3). Within a year Ishmael was born.
The beginning of conflict
But the couple’s attempt to solve their own problem gave birth to trouble. Ishmael, while loved dearly, was not the son God had promised. After Ishmael’s birth the Lord told Abram that even in Sarah’s old age He wanted her to have a son of her own (Genesis 17:15-19). Although the idea sounded laughable to Sarah, it happened. She conceived and gave birth to Isaac.
Now, however, there were two wives and two sons competing for Abram’s affection. The house wasn’t big enough for all of them. At Sarah’s request Abram asked Hagar and Ishmael to leave.
Hagar and her son were pushed out into a hot barren wilderness. But they were not alone. Earlier the Angel of the Lord had given Hagar’s son a name that means “God will hear” (16:11). Now in response to their cries Heaven responded tenderly to their tears (Genesis 21:17-20). God assured Hagar that He had heard the voice of Ishmael and that He would make him a great nation.
The assurance came, however, with a troubling prophecy. The Lord who loved Hagar went on to say of her son, “He shall be a wild man [lit. wild donkey]; his hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren” (16:12). The prediction seemed to anticipate a common result of human rejection: hurt people tend to hurt people.
The balancing factors
Gradually I have sensed a deepening conviction: God’s covenant relationship with Isaac doesn’t give me an excuse to care only for the Jewish people:
Although Isaac was chosen to be the son of promise, God cared about Ishmael as well and was ready to be his protection and provider (Genesis 21:17-20).
Although Ishmael was predicted to be a “wild donkey” of a man, there were equally unflattering names and predictions in the Jewish legacy. Jacob, father of the 12 tribes of Israel, was given a birth name that meant “betrayer” or “deceiver.” Later the prophets of Israel described their own nation as a “lusty donkey,” as a “prostitute” (Jeremiah 2), and as a community that made Sodom and Gomorrah look good by comparison (Ezekiel 16:48-52).
The legacy of the chosen people included a heavy burden. They were chosen not only to showcase the love of God for all nations (Isaiah 9:6; Genesis 12:1-3), but also to show all the people of the earth what happens to those who wander from the wisdom of their Creator (Deuteronomy 28–30).
Even if God’s hand can be seen in Israel’s presence in the land, we need to remember her spiritual condition. Israel today mirrors what the prophet Ezekiel foresaw in his vision of the dry bones. Hundreds of years before Christ, God predicted that in the last days Israel would come together physically before being reborn spiritually (Ezekiel 37:1-14).
Israel’s present efforts to secure her borders by military strength and international support provide a striking parallel to Abram’s and Sarah’s attempts to have a son by Hagar. Attempts to solve their own problem of barrenness resulted in unintended consequences for themselves and their descendants.
Yes, God has chosen Israel through whom to reveal Himself to the world. But we need to make that affirmation with discernment and impartiality. There is a difference between what God is doing through Israel, and what Israel is trying to do with or without Him. Let’s not get tangled in the political and military arguments. Let’s instead try to help everyone see that the problems in the Middle East are a reminder of how much we all need the grace and peace of the Messiah born to this nation. —Mart De Haan
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