A Legacy that Fuels the Israel-Palestine Conflict

With the current Israel-Palestine conflict, supported by privileged white young Americans chanting ‘from the river to the sea’ supporting a terrorist group that kills children, rapes women, and drags dead bodies through their city, the Western world needs a history lesson.

The Israel-Palestine conflict is a complex and enduring issue that traces its origins back thousands of years to the legacy of Abraham. As a pivotal biblical figure, Abraham's influence resonates deeply in the ongoing disputes over land and identity between Israelis and Palestinians. This article dissects the biblical promises made to Abraham, the intricate relationships forged by his descendants, and the enduring impact of these ancient narratives on the region’s strife and persistent wars.

Abraham's Significance & Covenant

God made a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3. A covenant is an agreement between two parties. There were two basic covenants: conditional or bilateral and unconditional, also called unilateral. The bilateral agreement is binding on both parties for its fulfillment. Both parties agree to fulfill certain conditions. If either party fails to meet their responsibilities, the covenant is broken, and neither party has to fulfill the expectations of the covenant. An unconditional or unilateral covenant is an agreement between two parties, but only one of the two parties has to do something. Nothing is required of the other party. The Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional. Only God had to fulfill his promise; Abraham only had to accept.

This Abrahamic Covenant included three promises: 1) a specific piece of land, 2) a nation of descendants, and 3) a blessing of those who bless Israel and will curse those who curse them. God gets more detailed on the promised area of land, which he gives in Genesis 15:18, and specifies that this piece of land extends from the river of Egypt to the great river, Euphrates. Does that phrase remind you of the one Palestinians chant, 'from the river to the sea?'

Abraham's Descendants & Biblical Roots of Conflict

In Genesis 15:4, God promised Abraham a son, and his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky, yet they didn’t have any children. The son didn’t arrive on Sarah, Abraham’s wife’s timetable. She wanted to take control and devise a plan, which was an idiotic plan, and Abraham oddly agreed. Abraham was to sleep with their Egyptian maidservant, Hagar, who he did, and she became pregnant. Ishmael was born when Abraham was 86 years old (Genesis 16:16). During Hagar’s pregnancy, the angel of the Lord warned Hagar, “This son of yours will be a wild man, an untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives” (Genesis 16:12).

 Ishmael was raised in his father’s house, and when he was 13 years old, God returned with a message to reiterate His covenant that the child of promise would come through Sarah, not Hagar. God told Abraham, “As for Ishmael, I will bless him as you have asked. I will make him extremely fruitful and multiply his descendants. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will be confirmed with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year” (Genesis 17:20–21).

A year later, at age 100, Abraham welcomed the son God had promised, Isaac. The boy was two or three years old and was to be weaned. Weaning was a Jewish custom to celebrate the child's survival of the fragile stage of infancy and ability to eat solid food rather than breastfeed. Most young children in those days did not live to adulthood due to the risks infants faced. They didn’t have hospital beds or proper medicine for illness. As this huge feast took place, Ishmael was in the troublesome teen years and mocked Isaac at the banquet, angering Isaac’s mother, Sarah. She demanded that Abraham remove Hagar and Ishmael (Genesis 21:8-10). Sarah was determined that Ishmael had no part in Isaac’s inheritance. Can I point out the irony here? Sarah devised that plan that got her a son she wanted but now wants to banish him.

Even though Abraham was deeply troubled by the idea of sending Ishmael away, he did so because God reassured him: “Do not be upset over the boy and your servant. Do whatever Sarah tells you, for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted. But I will also make a nation of the descendants of Hagar’s son because he is your son, too” (Genesis 21:12–13). So, Abraham gave Hagar a little food and water and sent them away.

Isaac was the promised son, and his descendants were promised the land of Israel. Isaac had 12 princes, which formed the 12 tribes of Israel. The land given by God will forever belong to the Jews. Ishmael fathered 12 sons and a daughter who married Esau (Genesis 28:9; 36:2–3). Ismael became the father of the Arab nations. Scripture says Ishmael’s numerous descendants settled near the eastern border of Egypt and were hostile toward all of their relatives (Genesis 25:18).

There you have it! Abraham’s sin with Hagar has resulted in centuries of sorrow and bloodshed, as the descendants of Isaac (the Jews) and Ishmael (the Arabs) have been mortal enemies. Two brothers with different promises from God, but only one was the promised son and those descendants to inhabit and own the land of Israel. As the Bible states, Ismael’s personality is hostile, which requires hate; we still see this behavior in the Arab nations. For thousands of years, the Middle East continues to fight over ownership of this land, which is about the size of the US state of Massachusetts.

The father of Islam, Mohammed, is said to have been from the line of Ishmael, which is one reason Muslims claim the right to the Promised Land of Israel. The promise has been interpreted differently by Jews and Muslims. The Holy Bible first clarified Isaac as the promised son, but in the reworked Quran, the story is twisted to read as if the Muslims or Palestinians were promised the land of Israel. This should clarify the reason for the fighting.

Where did Palestine Come From?

You would be led to believe that the Palestinians have been around since the beginning and the land of Israel was stolen from them. However, there are many myths we want to debunk in this video.

If you don't want to watch the 8-minute video, here is a short history lesson. In 70 AD, a Roman General, Titus, besieges Jerusalem and destroys the temple that God would enter. 70,000 Jews were taken back to Rome as slaves, so the Jews began to flee Israel for their safety.

Fast forward to 132 - 136 AD, when the second Jewish-Roman war occurred, commonly called the Bar Kokhva Revolt. Jews accounted for 65% of the population in the land of Israel. The Roman Emperor, Hadrien, crushed the Jewish revolt through tragic events; 580,000 Jews were murdered, many sold into slavery, and others exited to other parts of the Roman Empire. The Jewish population in Israel was reduced to one-third of the population. The emperor hated the Jews and wanted to wipe out their name from the land they were promised, Israel. The emperor renamed the land of Judaea to Syria Palaestina, the Latin word for the Philistine.

The land called Philistine was after the land was promised and given to the Jews. Jesus was the world's creator and owned everything, so He has the right to give to whom He wants, and the Bible, written before the Quran, should take precedence. The Quran mimics stories in the Bible, but they are twisted. This is the same behavior of Satan himself, the ultimate deceiver who comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. Satan has zero imagination, which is why, in many of our articles, like Decoding the Evilest Symbolic Numerology in Biblical End Times Prophecy, we point out how he is a copycat of God's creation and vision.

From the River to the Sea Chant

Observing college students chanting 'From the River to the Sea' without understanding its historical and biblical significance is a stark reminder of the lack of knowledge about the Bible and history. Our youth are clueless about history be they support what they see and hear from the media. Do you remember in the beginning months of 2020 when COVID-19 started spreading through the US? YouTube video were rampantly spreading fear. China posted videos showing people dropping dead in the middle of the streets. We know now that wasn't true, but the world behaved as if it was. Most didn't question the propaganda the media spread. They think if the media reports it, then it must be true. The sad thing is that many people perished, but there was an inexpensive drug that may have worked for many.

It is no different than these Ivy-league privileged students jumping on the next trending or viral movement to feel a part of something bigger, but they have no idea who they are supporting. Shameless! Hamas chants that after they wipe out the Jewish people, America is next. There are images of signs stating “Death to America.”

Drag queens are praising Hamas, but if they lived in Gaza, they would be thrown off a cliff or tortured for their lifestyle. Hamas doesn’t tolerate homosexuality. A young man living in Gaza stated in a private interview with i24News, ‘If you are gay, you should be hiding…they would tie my feet up and beat them with a stick…imprisoned me for three days after being caught having sex with my boyfriend…kidnapped off the street and tortured.’

Israel Wins in the End

If people understood the timeline that specific books of the Bible were written and when the prophecy was fulfilled, we would have more people holding up an Israel flag supporting God's chosen people. Unfortunately, they decide to live in deceitfulness & delusion of a lie. With the Jews scattered all over the world, the Bible predicted that Jewish people would flock to Israel as their home in the last days after a long period.

"When all that happens, the Lord your God will bless you with great success again. He will be very kind to you. He'll bring you back from all the nations where he scattered you. Suppose you have been forced away to the farthest land on earth. The Lord your God will bring you back even from there. He will bring you to the land that belonged to your people of long ago. You will take it over. He'll make you better off than your people were. He'll cause there to be more of you than there were of them." Deuteronomy 30:3-5 NIRV

When exploring the end times, America is not named as a powerful nation; in fact, we are left out. This means that the United States of America's powerhouse will become weaker than the other countries. We have some adjustments coming our way. The end times evolved around the nation of Israel. On May 14, 1948, Israel became a nation that the world never expected, even though this was predicted in Isaiah 66:8, and God's prophetic time clock started ticking. God is bringing his people home in droves, and with the world's high level Anti-Semitism, they want to try and get back home where it feels more safe. This devastating situation motivates many Jews to go back home just like the Bible predicted.

There is a laundry list of evil rulers that persecute the Jewish people, but God’s people will never be eliminated. God stands faithful to his covenant to bless those who bless Abraham, and those who curse him will be cursed. Here is a list to show that God can be trusted to uphold his promises as all these empires fell out of power: Neo-Babylonian Empire, Seleucid Empire, Roman Empire, Nazi Germany, Apartheid South Africa, Tsarist Russia, and Soviet Union.

Hamas will also fade into the history books, failing to wipe out God's chosen people. God declares that Israel will always be, and he will come to save his people. Unfortunately, there will be many who are deceived by the lies being told because only 11% of people read their Bible and instead believe the fake news and social media as truth.

Which Side Do You Stand for the Israel-Palestine Conflict?

I only ask that people in America do their homework and comprehend both sides of the story. I chose to accept Jesus as my Savior, which is why I decided to love Israel and support the Jewish people. You might select the opposite of mine if you know both sides' tales. It's a decision you make with free will. Christians don't hate those who hold different beliefs than their own; if they do, they shouldn't. While we must love others, loving does not equate to endorsing their choices.

I find it intolerable for Americans who join the next significant movement to cause trouble to have no idea what they are fighting for or against. There are multiple interviews with students. When asked what their chant, "From the River to the Sea," means, naively say, "I don't know," they continue, "I'm not sure which river or sea that is." When you openly declare you are pro-Hamas, you are poisoning yourself and reflecting a heart empty of any regard or love for human beings. You have turned your heart over to wickedness.

"A person's defilement stems from what they say because it comes from their heart." Matthew 15:18 NIV

I pray you do your homework, make an informed decision, and don't just blindly join the herd. If you want to join a movement that will never lose steam, join in experiencing the story told by multiple witnesses more than 2,000 years ago, with stories told by only 12 men to start, and the story is still being told. The story of the Savior of the World, Jesus Christ, your hope in life and death.

Meet you in the clouds,

Cheryl (C-Dub)

FLOCK TO WORSHIP

P.S. Enjoy this song for encouragement that relates to this post.