A Biblical Interpretation of the Middle East Conflict

This book presents a very readable perspective on the Middle East conflict from a biblical point of view. I have always been fascinated by the origins of the conflict. Bryant leads the reader through the Bible story of Abraham's family and relates how the original conflict began. I found the explanation of Sarah's use of her handmaiden, Hagar, to help God fulfill his prophecy particularly interesting. Bryant makes an excellent point that God will fulfill his prophecies in his own time. Helping him the way Sarah tried to leads to more problems than it solves. It's a very cogent argument for having faith that God will do what he says if we believe.

The book doesn't rely completely on the past. Bryant also discusses the history of the formation of Israel from lands the Arabs believed had been given to them by God. I learned a great deal from this discussion. I found the second part of the book particularly interesting. Bryant presents a series of chapters giving us the perspective of the players in the Middle East conflict. It was helpful to see how each group firmly believes it is in the right. Unfortunately, this is not a good omen for resolution of the conflict.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the roots of the Middle East Conflict.

I reviewed this book as part of the Thomas Nelson Book Sneeze Program