Why are the people mentioned in the Bible, Israel and the Palestinians, fighting the worst today?
It is sad to see the fighting going on in and around Israel, the country and the people God chose to bring Jesus Christ into the world. It is an overstatement to say that the fighting there is ‘the worst’. The fighting in Congo is much worse. The fighting in Syria is much worse. The fighting in Burma (now known Myanmar) is much worse. Yet over the years, world news has focused on Israel. It shows that it still is not a normal country. As the place where God revealed Himself to the world in a special way, anything that happens in or with Israel evokes a lot of interest and emotional reactions.
Most important reasons
The two most important reasons for the fighting between Israel on the one hand and the Palestinians and the other Arabs in surrounding countries on the other hand are these: first, most Palestinians do not know God in Jesus Christ. Second, most Jews do not know God in Jesus Christ. When God’s Spirit is not reigning in the lives of people, all kinds of sins are to be expected. People will hate each other and fight one another.
Deeper level
Yet there is also a deeper level at work. The implementation of Israel’s policies is often sinful because it is done by sinful people (now this is even true when done by believers in Jesus Christ! We do not become perfect through our faith as long as we are on this earth). Yet almost all of the irrational hate is streaming in the other direction. Many Arab organizations (e.g. Hamas, Hezbollah) have vowed to wipe Israel from the face of the earth.
This is just another chapter in Satan’s attempt to destroy Israel. In Bible times, Satan used the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and the Persians to try to eradicate God’s people. Even after the birth of Christ, Satan’s hate for the Jewish people seems not to have diminished. The Holocaust in Europe was clearly demonic.
Demonic aspects
Although political factors play a role, the wars against Israel in the Middle East also have demonic aspects. Satan partly works through the twisted theology of Islam, which considers Israel as part of the Islamic world. A Jewish state in the heart of the Muslim world is seen as an affront against God, which can never be tolerated.
Until Jesus, the Prince of Peace, comes back, there never will be political peace in this world. Yet until that time, everybody is invited to get to know the peace beyond understanding that Jesus offers to everybody who believes in Him. We are called to proclaim that peace is to be found in Jesus alone. That is good news for Jews and Arabs and everybody.