The historic cooperation agreements between Israel and several of her Arab neighbors, referred to as the Abraham Accords, have deep significance for the Middle East. It’s past is rooted in Abraham himself and its future has implications in the fulfillment of biblical prophecy.
Judaism, Islam, and Christianity all trace their roots to biblical Abraham. Arab nations are descended from Abraham’s son, Ishmael, through Hagar who was a handmaiden to Abraham’s wife, Sarah. The people of Israel are descended from Abraham’s son, Isaac, whom Sarah bore to Abraham as the fulfillment of God’s promise.
Tensions between them was foretold in a prophetic word to Hagar in Genesis 16, “You shall bear a son, and you shall call his name Ishmael… his hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; and he will live to the east of all his brothers.”
Peace in the Middle East has been one of the greatest challenges facing world leaders in generations. Since the founding of the state of Israel on May 14, 1948, administration after administration has attempted to broker peace. Perhaps the greatest obstacle to peace in the Middle East is the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs. Perhaps the greatest aspect of that conflict has been the ongoing declaration by the Palestinian Arabs calling for the complete destruction of Israel.
With the intransigence of the seemingly unsolvable issues between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs, the Trump administration suggested that normalization of relations between Israel and Arab nations should be separated from the status of the Palestinian Arabs.
The Abraham Accords represent a rejection of what has been the central issue, the problem of the Palestinian Arabs. The unprovoked attacks by the Palestinians in Gaza in April and May of this year tested those Accords. The signatories of the Abraham Accords offered only mild criticism, however, and the accords held firm.
Arab ties with Israel, brought about by the Abraham Accords, provide economic opportunities. But perhaps more importantly, Arab relationships to Israel serve as a counterweight to the influence of Iran. Though the nation of Iran is primarily Muslim, it is not Arab. Concern over Iran’s increasingly hostile actions against her Arab neighbors have drawn them closer to Israel, a facilitator of access to US arms and a source of security against hostile Iran.
The Abraham Accords are also perhaps a glimpse into the prophetic future. The biblical perspective, prophetically, is that a respected world leader arises in the latter days will sign a treaty of peace, or a covenant of peace, between Israel and the nations of the world. Could these Abraham Accord be a precursor of such a future covenant of peace?
By Pastor Rich Jones
