Why is Middle East peace so hard to achieve according to the Bible?
Middle East peace remains dim because the prophecy concerning Ishmael describes him as a wild man whose hand is against every man and every man's hand against him. This intrinsic prophecy of God marks their personality as hard to deal with, and that has always been true. Such hostility makes peaceful prospects difficult.
Les explains that most Arab people have come from Ishmael, though not all, because other branches also feed into the Arabian peoples. He points to verse 12, where Ishmael is described as a wild man whose hand is against every man and every man's hand against him. Les asks whether that explains why a Middle East peace prospect is pretty dim. He adds that these people are hard to deal with and always have been, noting businessmen who dealt with Middle Eastern people and found this to be the problem. He calls it an intrinsic prophecy of God Himself about their personality. The passage then moves to Hagar, the well, and Ishmael's birth to Abram.
And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.