Why the conflict?

by Glen on 2001-10-12 00:08:49 Daniel W. Jarvis writes:

It is the peace process that is all
process and no peace. The
Middle East, seen as the military

hot-spot of the world, has been the
focus ofattention in newspapers for
decades. Now the United States has.
felt the fury of the battle

we have worked so long

and hard to prevent. Yet

there is a reason for this

millennia-old war that

never seems to die.
A few thousand years ago, God called
Abraham to be the father of His
‘chosen’ people, whom we know today
as the Jews. Abraham was to wait for
God’s promise of a son through his
wife, Sarah. However, as Sarah

advanced in age, Abraham lost faith in
God’s promise and had a child by one
ofhis servant girls, Hagar. She gave
birth to Ishmael. Still, God kept his
promise only a short time later and
Sarah gave birth to Isaac, the father of
Israel. The Bible prophesied of Ishmael
that “his hand will be against every
man, and every man’s hand against
him.” (Gen. 16. l 2) It also indicated
that there would always be trouble
between the two
half-brothers.

Today, we
recognize that
much of the Arab

world is descended from Ishmael, and
the Jews are descended from Isaac.
Throughout the centuries, the fight
between these two brothers rages on.

To agitate this problem further, the
‘Prophet’ Muhammed
began the Muslim religion
in the AD 500s. Instead
ofworshipping the God of
the Old Testament,
Muslims worship a god
named “Allah.” This

difference has resulted in many
religious disputes that further divide
the region. For example, both the Jews
and the Muslims claim that Jerusalem is
a holy site, and that the ‘Temple
Mount’ should belong to one or the
other. Christians across the centuries
have typically sided with the Jews on
this issue, leading to the infamous
crusades and various bloody conflicts
that left both sides bitter and hateful.

The United States has been involved in
this struggle ever since modern-day
Israel was created in l 948. While
many of the Arab states refused to
acknowledge Israel’s right to exist, and
have at times attacked with the purpose
of wiping out Israel, America has stood
by Israel as a friend and ally. The Arab
states thus “blame” the United States
for our protection of Israel, whom they
train their children to hate. The U.S. is
thought of as an oppressor and a ”white
Satanff who defends the freedom of the
Jews. In addition, America’ s Christian
heritage goes against the Islamic
traditions of most Middle Eastern
nations.

Thus, we have unfortunately tangled
ourselves in a centuries-old web of
wars and conflict, and it is not an easy
situation For any of the parties
involved. One thing is for certain.
peace in the Middle East is not a likely
prospect anytime soon. Strangely
enough, the Bible prophecies that one
day in the future the “antichrist” will
bring ‘peace’ to the Middle East, but
even this will be temporary and false.
True peace only comes through

submission to Jesus Christ as Lord and
Savior. When His Kingdom comes,
there will be peace on earth! Until that
time, the U.S. should protect liberty,
freedom, and justice for all, as we
understand and believe the promise of
God in Genesis l 2. 3. “I will bless them
that bless thee (speaing of Israel), and
curse him that curseth thee.”