The War In Israel: What is the Origin of the War? (Part I)

By now, I am sure that everyone has heard about the war that is taking place in Israel. I am also sure that there are many of you who have questions about the war. It is my desire to seek to help all of us understand this war a little better. I will tell you, I am no expert on this matter but I have sought to do research on it. Through this four-part blog series, I will seek to answer four important questions about the war in Israel. What is the origin of the war? What caused the war today? What does the war mean? What should we do about the war? In this first post, I will seek to answer the question about the origin of the war. 

This war finds its origins in the pages of Scripture. Going all the way back to when God made a covenant with Abraham that He would make Abraham have many offspring (Gen. 15:1-6).  Abraham's first child was with Sarah's servant, Hagar. Hagar bore Abraham Ishmael (Gen. 16:7-12).  God promised Abraham that Sarah would bear a son named Isaac. Isaac would be the son of promise and that God would establish His covenant with. But, God would not forget about Ishmael and would make him into a great nation as well (Gen. 17:18-21).

Years later, after Issac was born to Sarah, Sarah told Abraham to banish Hagar and Ishmael from the household because "the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac" (Gen. 21:8-10). God told Abraham to listen to Sarah and that God would take care of Ishmael and make him into a nation but Abraham's offspring would be named through Isaac (Gen. 21:12-14). When Hagar thought that she and Ishmael would perish in the wilderness, an angel of the Lord spoke to her and promised that God would make the boy into a great nation (Gen. 21:17-21).

This conflict between Ishmael and Isaac was enhanced in the next generation when Jacob took Esau's birthright and blessing. When Esau saw that the Canaanite women displeased his father, Isaac, "Esau went to Ishmael and took s his wife . . . Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael (Gen. 28. 6-9).