Yemen (5) Saudi Disaster

The War on Yemen will be a disaster for Saudi Arabia. Air attacks will cause a huge amount of damage and create resentment and hatred, but they cannot restore a president who has already fled the country.

The Saudis will eventually be forced to follow up the air attacks with ground forces to avoid losing face. Many of the soldiers in the Saudi Armed forces come from badly treated tribes and are poorly trained. The officers get their positions through family connections rather than skill. If the ground attacks have US military support these forces might have some initial success, but they will soon grind to a halt in the midst of a rugged country and a hostile population.

This Yemini adventure will end in disaster for the Saudis. There is only one prophecy about Arabia in the scriptures.

A prophecy against Arabia:
You caravans of Dedanites,
who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
bring water for the thirsty;
you who live in Tema,
bring food for the fugitives.
They flee from the sword,
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
and from the heat of battle.
This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract would count it, all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end.
The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.”
The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.

This prophecy warns of a distressing situation for the people of Arabia. One of the richest countries in the world will be desperate for food and water. Isaiah explains that they will be fleeing from two weapons: the “drawn sword” and the “bent bow”. In the Old Testament, the bow is often a symbol of Shia Islam. The “sword” is the symbol of the Assyrian empire.

Saudi Arabia is currently trapped between two enemies. It has created an enemy in the south by attacking Yemen. They south eastern provinces of Saudi Arabia are populated by Shia Moslems, who have been treated as second class citizens by the Saudis. They do a much of the work in the oil fields, but get none of the financial reward. If the war with Yemen spills back over the border they will be difficult to control. Up until now, they have been kept down by repressive force, but if Saudi forces are stretched, that might become impossible. The bowmen of the south might break off their yoke.

To the north of Saudi Arabia is the Islamic State, controlled by an Assyrian spirit. Its war efforts are focussed on Syria and Iraq, but its next logical enemy is Saudi Arabia. They see the Saudi rulers as idolatrous puppets of the United States. They would naturally expect the religious sites of Mecca and Medina to be part of the Islamic State. When the Saudi military forces are bogged down in Yemen, they might take advantage of the opportunity to expand the Islamic State into Arabia. This would be a “sword” from the north.

If Saudi Arabia is attacked from the north and the south, it would not have sufficient loyal population to defend itself. Many of its foreign nationals would have different loyalties. Some would choose to support the Islamic State. Isaiah warned that Arabian glory and splendour will one day be wiped out in less than a year. The Saudis have wealth and splendour now. They could currently be sitting up the conditions for the prophecy to have its complete fulfilment. If things go against, it the Saudis could be destroyed in less than a year.

And once again, the United States and Israel will have backed the wrong horse, with disastrous consequences.