Sentinel Watch October 24, 2011 Issue

An ‘Abigail approach’ for Israel and Palestine

Matt Schmidt

On September 23, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas went before the United Nations to request full UN membership for Palestine (“Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas makes UN statehood bid,” BBC News, 9/23/2011). The move will likely be vetoed in the UN security council, but the bid attracts world attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—and to still-stalled peace talks between the two nations.

In the peace process, both Palestine and Israel have expectations and demands that can seem intractable: For example, certain land is considered sacred by both groups. However, the Bible reminds us that people have found spiritually based solutions to similar, seemingly unsolvable challenges before.

One good example is found in First Samuel. Chapter 25 tells of how David and a man named
Nabal (whose name, loosely translated, means “fool”) were at odds. David had acted generously by protecting Nabal’s servants from attack, and asked during the harvest season for his generosity in return. Nabal, however, did not want to share the bounty that he felt was rightfully his. In response, David took up arms and went after Nabal to take what he felt was owed him.