The Bible tells us that God promised Abraham a piece of land for his descendants. Jews, Christians, and Muslims agree on this.
Genesis 13:14-17- And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
Genesis 17:7-8- And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
Where the problem comes is which descendant was this promised to?
Abraham had two sons. One son by his wife Sarah who was named Isaac. And another son by a woman that wasn’t his wife and that son’s name was Ishmael.
Genesis 16:1-2, 15- Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.
Genesis 21:1-3- And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
God told Abraham that the promise would go through his son Isaac and not his son Ishmael.
Genesis 21:9-13- And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.
God promised Abraham that He would make a nation out of Ishmael. This people would be a wild nation that would fight against everyone! This was a prophecy told directly to Hagar about her unborn child.
Genesis 16:10-12- And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. 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.
Since then, the descendants of these two boys have been fighting. According to Islamic tradition, the Muslims came from the 12 tribes (sons) of Ishmael. The descendants of Ishmael want the land that God promised to Abraham through Isaac.
Genesis 25:12-16- Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bare unto Abraham: And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah: These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations.
But the story doesn’t end there.
Isaac, Abraham and Sarah's child, had two sons. One was named Esau and the other was named Jacob.
Genesis 25:20,21,24-26- And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian. And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.
God selected the promise to continue through Jacob, who was later renamed Israel. Then the descendants of the 12 sons of Jacob (who was called Israel at that time) became known as the 12 tribes of Israel. This story is pretty complicated and is found in Genesis 29-31, with the last son's birth recorded in Genesis 35.
I Chronicles 2:1-2- These are the sons of Israel; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
Esau’s descendant’s became known as the Edomites. This is detailed upon in Genesis 36.
I Chronicles 1:35- The sons of Esau; Eliphaz, Reuel, and Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah.
According to Psalm 137:7 the Edomites went against Israel. And according to Jeremiah 49:7–22, God said that he will bring disaster on them and make them an object of horror.
God has said that the Promised Land would go to Israel's lineage, and He also gave Esau's family a place in the region.
Deuteronomy 2:4-5- And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore: Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.
So the whole Jew-Muslim conflict is just one big family feud because they cannot agree to live according to God’s plan and instead all want the promised land. These other sons have banded together for generations to try to wipe the Jewish people off that land.
Psalm 83:2-8- For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee: The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah.
This is where the entire thing began. It's a family fued over who should actually get the promise of physical land given by God to Abraham and his lineage. It's been going on for millennia, and it won't end until Christ returns and stops it.
