Peace in the Middle East?

Recent events have highlighted the fact that world leaders and ordinary citizens recognise that there remains a problem in the Middle East. 

• Israel stopped Gaza blockade runners and generated international response (Reuters)
• Iran began loading its first nuclear reactor with fuel, supported by Russian engineers and criticised by the US (The Guardian)
• US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton announced resumption of direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians (BBC)

The remaining problem is that there is no lasting peace in the Middle East.  It is a seemingly intractable one, challenging the best efforts of many, even superpowers, over recent decades.

Why no peace?

Why is it not possible for even world superpowers to achieve peace?  Have you ever considered that there could be an even bigger power?

Consider this:

"Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for a light by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, And its waves roar (The LORD of hosts is His name): "If those ordinances depart From before Me, says the LORD, Then the seed of Israel shall also cease From being a nation before Me forever." Thus says the LORD: "If heaven above can be measured, And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel For all that they have done, says the LORD." 

Jeremiah 31:35-37 (NKJV)

Who is able to prevent the sun rising every day?  Putting it another way, who can alter the rotation of the Earth on its axis or its orbit round the Sun?  God is saying that He is in control of these things and equally, that Israel will never stop being a part of His purpose.  Israel will exist in some form.

The context of the above quote makes fascinating reading.  The then nation of Israel had been warned by God that they would be exiled from their land because of their failure to obey God.  Some of the people had already been removed by the Babylonians, so the punishment was had already started.  The message of the prophet Jeremiah was that despite the complete removal from their land into exile, there was still hope if they chose to obey God. 

A couple of chapters further on in the prophecy of Jeremiah, we find similar words:

"Thus says the LORD: 'If My covenant is not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth, 'then I will cast away the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so that I will not take any of his descendants to be rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will cause their captives to return, and will have mercy on them.'"

Jeremiah 33:25-26 (NKJV)

These words take us further back in Bible history and when we dig into it, we find that God made promises to each of those named.  So in a sense, the existence of Israel has something to do with individuals.

Israel – Why?

The following verse sits in a chapter addressed to the nation of Israel.  They are evidence of God:

"'You are My witnesses,' says the LORD, 'And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me.'"

Isaiah 43:10 (NKJV)

What then can we find about Israel in the Bible, written over 2000 years ago, that gives evidence of integrity of the author and His message?

Israel and World History

Whilst clearly saying that as a nation Israel is not perfect (in fact it is punished for its behaviour, as we have seen above), God says that even though all other nations ceased to exist, Israel will exist.

"'For I am with you,' says the LORD, 'to save you; Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, Yet I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you in justice, And will not let you go altogether unpunished.'"

Jeremiah 30:11 (NKJV)

Israel’s existence today is a witness to God’s foreknowledge and purpose.  How else can we explain:

• the complete expulsion of the Jews from their land by the Romans by the early second century; 
• the failure of the Jews to be absorbed into all the countries in the world where they have found a home (for Jews are still Jews); 
• the re-emergence of the nation of Israel in the  twentieth century

Our Position

Let me be very clear on one point.  The nation of Israel has behaved wrongly in the past and will do so in the future.  The fact that God presents them to us as evidence of His existence does not condone their behaviour or mean that we should be aligned with their political aspirations.

Peace in the Middle East?

Will peace come from any of the current initiative?  If is does, will it be lasting?  Based on past initiatives, the likely answer is ‘No.’  But remember that God Israel would remain as witness to His existence.  So what does God say about peace?

Worldwide Peace

"Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD'S house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore."

Isaiah 2:2-4 (NKJV)

The Bible – A Book Worth Reading

We have looked briefly at one thread of evidence that the Bible is a book worth reading.  It has been given to us by God.  It tells us of His purpose and how we can be part of it.  It gives us a promise of a world that will be at peace – on God’s terms.  So whatever the problems you fear or experience at this time, you have the opportunity to learn and be part of a future that will be rid of them all.