The LORD’s Covenant with Abraham for
Isaac vs Blessings for Ishmael
(Genesis Chapters 16 and 17)
When
Christians and other Bible students read the Scripture, they sometimes overlook
what seem to be relatively less important statements. But then we are reminded of
the verse from 2 Timothy 3:16, that reads: “All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:…”
Remember
from Genesis Chapter 12: 1-3, the Covenant that the LORD made with Abram the
Syrian:
|
1 |
Now the LORD had said
unto Abram, Get thee out of thy
country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that
I will show thee: |
|
2 |
And I will make of thee
a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great;
and thou shalt be a blessing: |
|
3 |
And I will bless them
that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all
families of the earth be blessed. |
I’m
writing this post to hopefully provide some additional perspective on the
initial Covenant and the topic noted in the title as it relates to current
events.
As
we continue to watch the events unfolding in the Middle East in the war between
Israel and Hamas, and the additional hostilities involving Israel’s other Palestinian
neighbors and others, many “outsiders” have been asked to “take sides” regarding
the conflict. Often they do so without an informed basis for doing that. Hopefully
the following Bible text will shed some light on history that led to the animosity
between the opposing sides.
I want to
draw your particular attention to the Bible verses in Genesis 16, that explain
why Abram /Abraham and his wife Sarai / Sarah moved without the LORD’s approval
to obtain their long-awaited son through their surrogate…Sarai’s Egyptian handmaid,
Hagar. The result of their haste to implement God’s Plan would lead to the
birth of their first son, Ishmael. But it also led to family discord and Hagar’s
banishment. Verses 7 through 12 show how the “angel of the LORD” intervened to restore
Hagar to her mistress Sarai. He also told
Hagar that He would “multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it should not be
numbered for multitude.”
Very
importantly, the angel of the LORD foretold her that her pregnancy would result
in the birth of a son, whom she would name “Ishmael”. Further, in Verse 12, He added: Ishmael
“ 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.” I highlight those verses because they
were commitments made to Hagar. Further, I believe they provide valuable perspective
to the traits that would be seen in Ishmael’s descendants, even to today.
The Book of Genesis – Chapter 16
|
1 |
Now Sarai Abram's
wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an
Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. |
|
2 |
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. |
|
3 |
And Sarai Abram's wife
took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten
years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his
wife. |
|
4 |
And he went in unto
Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her
mistress was despised in her eyes. |
|
5 |
And Sarai said unto
Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when
she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge
between me and thee. |
|
But Abram said unto
Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thine hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And
when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face. |
|
|
7 |
And the angel of the
LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in
the way to Shur. |
|
8 |
And he said, Hagar,
Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I
flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. |
|
9 |
And the angel of the
LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her
hands. |
|
10 |
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. |
|
|
12 |
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. |
|
13 |
And she called the name
of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also
here looked after him that seeth me? |
|
Wherefore the well was
called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. |
|
|
15 |
And Hagar bare Abram a
son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. |
|
And Abram was fourscore and
six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram. Genesis Chapter 17 follows with the implementation of that
portion of God’s Plan that would lead to the formation of the Nation of
Israel…and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The LORD provides Abraham with the critical details of the
Covenant that He is establishing with him (Abram /Abraham). For every Christian
and Bible student, they are well worth reading and understanding. This
Chapter includes the LORD’s conversations with Abraham related to his
son Isaac (through his wife Sarah), whose son Jacob would be progenitor of
the 12 tribes of Israel. They also note those verses that relate to the
LORD’s conversation related to Abraham’s first-born son, Ishmael. Ishmael’s 12
sons / princes became the foundation for Islam, the primary religion of
Muslims, based on the teachings of the Quran. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quran It should
not be a surprise then, that Israel / Judaism, Christianity and primarily
Muslim Palestinians who follow Islam all consider Abraham to be their “father”.
|
The Book of Genesis – Chapter 17
|
And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to
Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before
me, and be thou perfect. |
|
|
And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and
will multiply thee exceedingly. |
|
|
And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, |
|
|
As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father
of many nations. |
|
|
Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy
name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. |
|
|
And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of
thee, and kings shall come out of thee. |
|
|
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. |
|
|
And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou,
and thy seed after thee in their generations. |
|
|
This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy
seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. |
|
|
And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be
a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. |
|
|
And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised
among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house,
or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. |
|
|
He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money,
must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for
an everlasting covenant. |
|
|
And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not
circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he
hath broken my covenant. |
|
|
And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou
shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. |
|
|
And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her:
yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people
shall be of her. |
|
|
Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in
his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and
shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? |
|
|
And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! |
|
|
And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou
shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for
an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. |
|
|
And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and
will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve
princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. |
|
|
But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto
thee at this set time in the next year. |
|
|
And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. |
|
|
And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house,
and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of
Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame
day, as God had said unto him. |
|
|
And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in
the flesh of his foreskin. |
|
|
And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in
the flesh of his foreskin. |
|
|
In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and
Ishmael his son. |
|
|
And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought
with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him. With that background, my
next blog post will return to the subject of the current war of Israel vs. Hamas,
with the involvement of their Arab neighbors. This post established their
familial relationship. Next…a focus on
their conflict. Dr. W. A. (Bill) Robinson |
No comments:
Post a Comment