Oh That Ishmael May Live Before Thee Rom 9:6-9 But it is not that the Word [Logos] of God has taken no effect for they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, In Isaac your seed shall be called. (Gen 21:12) That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. For this is the Word [Logos] of promise: At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son. Jesus is the Logos of God; read John 1. “The Dabar of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.’ But Abram said, ‘Yahweh GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’ Then Abram said, ‘Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!’ And behold, the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, ‘This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.’ Then He brought him outside and said, ‘Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And he believed in Yahweh, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”(Gen 15:1-6) Yet many Israelites did not believe. “But it is not that the Dabar (logos) of God has taken no effect…” Paul denies that this is a failure on God’s part. Firstly, he explains: “they are not all Israel who are of Israel.” This means that just because someone lives in Israel or attends synagogue on weekly Sabbath and high days, they are not necessarily a part of God’s Israel.. Secondly, “...nor are they all children because they are the seed [sperma] of Abraham.” Paul goes on to make his case by interpreting the Genesis texts. Paul argues, “But ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called.’” (Gen 21:12) He explains the meaning: “That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.” This is the teaching of God’s Torah on seed in Light of Jesus. “For this is the Word of promise ‘At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.’” (Gen 18:10)… Read Genesis 18, it is a beautiful story of the Lord eating a meal with Abram and promising to come to fulfill the promise of a seed, first made in Genesis 3:15…. and again, specifically to Abram Genesis 15:1-5. But in the birth of Ishmael in Gen 16:1-4, there was much striving and human effort on the part of Abraham and Sarah to help Him fulfill His promise. But the Word or Dabar of Promise is that He Himself will come and make good His promise of seed. At the end of His dissertation on Ten Commandments, Jesus directs: “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matt 5:48) When Abram is ninety nine years old, the LORD tells him to “be perfect” (Gen 17:1)… and Abram fell on his face, as a sign of helplessness. God then gave him the covenant of circumcision… and changed his name to Abraham—father of many nations. We too must fall on our faces realizing that we cannot keep Torah, nor the Mitzvah or Commands of God alone; and therefore, we need help to inherit the promise of eternal life. Circumcision is an everlasting covenant, but every man who becomes circumcised in the flesh “is a debtor to keep the whole Law [Torah].” (Gal 5:3) But when we realize we can’t perform our part by ourselves and we cry out to Him for help, Christ comes and performs the requirements through us. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. (Gal 4:23-26) After learning that Ishmael was not “the child of promise,” Abraham perhaps misunderstood too. He cried out to Yahweh for his salvation: “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” (Gen 17:18) He was concerned about Ishmael’s eternal salvation; he could not be happy in the future promise of Isaac, if Ishmael was doomed to destruction. Many versions seem to say that God denied his request. Even in my preferred version— the New King James— the answer of God is: No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish [quwm] My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. (See Genesis 17:17-19) However, a close look at Strong’s Concordance reveals that the No is an added word. You can see why it is so important not to add to His Word. The LORD acknowledged that He heard his prayer. (Gen 17:20) And the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. (James 5:16) God would continue to woo Ishmael for Abraham’s sake, but the decision to serve Christ belonged to him. Joshua presents the choice: “And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Josh 24:15) After receiving the covenant of circumcision “Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abrahams house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him.” (Gen 17:22-23) He ensured that his firstborn and all of his spiritual seed obeyed the covenant. But the LORD would “establish” or “quwm” the covenant of circumcision through Isaac who was not yet born. The word “quwm” is a primitive root meaning “to rise.” God would raise it up through Isaac who would teach the covenant and thereby preserve it for future generations. After Isaac’s birth, Abraham circumcised him too on the eighth day, according to the covenant. He also made a great feast for Isaac on the day that he was weaned. On that day, Sarah saw Ishmael the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. So, she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely Isaac.” Ishmael, like scoffers today, mock the true children of God. Abraham was disturbed by the request to send Ishmael and Hagar off, but Yahweh told him to heed the voice of his wife reminding him “for in Isaac your seed shall be called.” Still, He promised to Abraham: “Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.” (Gen 21:10-13) Were Ishmael and his descendants outside of the possibility of covenant with Yahweh God of Israel? Certainly not, for Peter preached: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.” (Acts 10:34-35) Ishmael was circumcised and seemed to have a humble and contrite heart later in life. It seems that strife with Isaac ended, as they both buried their father Abraham. (Gen 25:9-10) Paul speaks often of the blessing of Christ to the Gentiles, but He also allows for mystery in the identity of Israel. (Rom 11:25) Let’s do the same for Ishmael and his physical and spiritual descendants , unless Torah says otherwise. But there is only one Way. And unless they repent they will perish in their sins.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 10:03:09 +0000
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