Journal: Emmaus Journal
Volume: EMJ 13:2 (Winter 2004)
Article: Ishmael And The Bible
Author: Kenneth C. Fleming

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Ishmael And The Bible

Kenneth C. Fleming1

Introduction

One of the strategic tasks of Western political leaders is to learn how they can relate successfully to their counterparts in the Middle East. Evangelical Christians who want to influence Middle Eastern people for Christ have a similar but even more urgent task. Both groups share the problem of communicating across cultural lines. But the task of the evangelical is more urgent because the vast majority of Middle Eastern people are without Christ and without hope in this world. A huge majority of them have never heard a clear presentation of the good news. If Christians are to effectively communicate Christ to them, they must do it within the context of Middle Eastern cultures. Understanding the cultural context will include a good knowledge of their languages, their religion, their historical background, and their ways of relating to others. This article has to do with God’s revelation to them in the past, their continuing history in relation to God’s people, and their future worship of the true God. It is biblically significant because God’s interest in Arab peoples reaches back for four thousand years to the beginnings of recorded history.

Arabs

The dominant peoples in the Middle East are known as Arabs. Their forbears were associated geographically with the Arabian Peninsula, and they speak the Arabic language. The majority of Arab people today are negative toward the Christian Bible, the Christian gospel, and Christian people. It is equally true that Christian people are negative in their conclusions about Arabs. Arabs correctly

EmJ 13:2 (Winter 2004) p. 222

assume that most Westerners are negative toward them, but they wrongly assume that the Bible and the God of the Christians are negative toward them. I want to explore what the Bible has to say about the Arab people—their roots, their history, their place in Scripture, and their future. Getting a grasp on these things may change many attitudes toward Arabs, toward Arab/Israeli relations in the world of today, and toward the evangelization of Arab people.

Today most Arab peoples live in twenty-two countries whose language is Arabic, and they are members of the League of Arab States. In these nations there is a total population of about 250 million people. Some of them are made up of more than 90% Arab people, and others include significant minority populations along with the Arabs. In biblical times Arabs were people living on the Arabian Peninsula. In medieval times, following the birth of Islamic religion, Arab culture and language spread to North Africa, Central Asia, and parts of Europe. In modern times the term Arab refer...

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