A brief History of Ishmael - Facebook style! Genesis chapter 16: Abrahams wife Sarai (later called Sarah) told her hubby to sleep with the maid so they could have an heir. He did, and Abraham and Hagar bore a son, they named Ishmael. (Remember that Abraham was not a Jew or an Israelite. He was a nomad from what is now Iraq). Sarai realized what shed done, got jealous, mistreated Hagar so badly, that the pregnant Hagar fled. There arent many options for a pregnant servant girl in those days - so she basically went out to die. The Angel of the Lord found her. This term is like the one in Joshua and a couple other places in the Old Testament - likely a pre-incarnation of Jesus. The Lord made her a promise - the promise was that her son would become a great nation with too many descendants to count. And that his name will be God hears. (Which is what Ishmael means). And the Lord promised that hed be like a wild stallion. Not donkey as is often translated. Either way, its a compliment in the original language, not derogatory. Then this amazing passage - Hagar (the lowly slave woman) gives God a name. In verse 13 it says: She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her; You are the God who sees me. For she said I have now seen the One who sees me. Its the first time in the Bible that such a conversation takes place. As far as I recall, its the only time someone tried naming God. Its an incredibly powerful passage. Abraham and Isaac got circumcised together when Abraham was 99 and Ishmael was 13. The next year, God gave Abraham and Sarah their son, Isaac. So Isaac and Ishmael were 14 years apart. Chapter 21 verse 18 God also promises that he will make Ishmael into a great nation. Its also promised that Ishmaels descendants will live in hostility with their neighbors. It never says why - but it does state a fact that has been true. The next time we hear of Ishmael is in chapter 25 when Abraham dies. Both Isaac and Ishmael come together to bury their dad. Because burial had to happen within a day, the two boys lived close to each other - they must have been friends (or at least tolerated one another). Read it: Chapter 25 verse 9. Finally, we jump ahead to Galatians chapters 3 and 4. Paul, as he so often did, uses these two men as types. Isaac is the son of a free woman and Ishmael is the son of the slave woman. The free woman and her son represent the promise - which was Christ (not land) - and the slave woman and her son represent the law which brings death. Paul summarized his argument by saying that the law reveals our sin but that the promise - Christ - brings grace and new life. Read for yourselves (carefully) from 3:6 to to the end of chapter 4. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abrahams seed and heirs according to the promise. And The promises were spoken to Abraham and his seed. The Scripture does not say and to seeds meaning many people, but and to your seed meaning one person - who is Christ. Therefore, Paul makes it clear that neither the physical seeds of Ishmael or Isaac are the inheritors of the promise. Jesus did come from the line of Isaac and so in that sense Isaac was the son of promise or the son of freedom but only because his line bore the Messiah. The ones who believe in Christ, through faith, are the inheritors of the promise. Of course Jews can join in - they were the ones first called. And they are very welcome in the New Covenant. God longs for them to join. Just as he longs for the gentiles of the earth to join. Theres only one way in - through the promise fulfilled in Jesus Christ - through his life, death and resurrection. And Ishmael plays an important role in all of this. They are a blessed nation. Do not curse what God has blessed.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 22:45:46 +0000