ISHMAEL


A. "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, "GOD HEARETH"; BECAUSE THE LORD HATH HEARD THY AFFLICTION" - GENESIS 16:11
  1. The birth of the son of Hagar is remarkable:
    1. The angel of the Lord announces Ishmael's birth
    2. This was done in the case of Isaac - Gen. 18:10; of Samson - Judges 18:3-5; and of John the Baptist - Luke 1:13
  2. This shows that God worked out the error of Sarah and Abram, to carry out his own purpose:
    1. How infinite is the counsel of God, even in the life of Ishmael the son of the bondwoman
    2. He maketh the light to shine out of darkness - 2 Cor. 4:4-6
B. A BRIEF LIFE SKETCH OF ISHMAEL
  1. Background to his birth:
    1. God's promise to Abram of a son
    2. A weakness in the faith of Sarah and Abram - Gen. 18:12-14
    3. The human element of helping God to work out his plan for Abram - Gen. 16:1-3
  2. The birth of Ishmael was the work of the flesh:
    1. Paul writes, "But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh" - Gal. 4:23
    2. "They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God" - Rom. 9:8
  3. Ishmael was born when Abraham was about eighty-six years of age:
    1. He received the Divine promise that he would beget twelve princes and he would become a great nation
    2. He died when he was about 137 years old - Gen. 16:11-18; 17:18-26; 25:9- 17; 28:9; 36:5
    3. He was the founder of the tribal family called Ishmaelites, sometimes referred to as Midianites - Gen. 37:25-28
  4. Ishmael became an outcast:
    1. He was about 14 years older than Isaac and he made fun of Isaac; that in turn made it unbearable to Sarah, she insisted that Hagar and her son must go
    2. The Lord supported her in this, "For the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman" - Gal. 4:30
C. NOTE THESE HIGH POINTS IN THE STORY OF ISHMAEL
  1. The mistake of Sarah to introduce polygamy into their family had far more damaging effects on their posterity than Sarah and Abraham dreamed:
    1. That unfortunate deal laid the foundation of a seeming perpetual rivalry between the Jews and the Arabs who trace their lineage back to Ishmael
    2. It is also partly responsible for the bitter rivalry between Mohammedanism and Christianity and Jewry
    3. The Lord foretold that Ishmael would be a wild man; and true to this prediction, many of the descendants live in the desert
  2. The brief story of Ishmael shows very clearly:
    1. That God's thoughts and ways are not the thoughts and ways of the human mind - Is. 55:8-9; Ps. 139:17-18
    2. Man is guided by the outward appearance - I Sam. 16:7
    3. But God seeth the end from the beginning and judgeth accordingly
    4. Could Sarah have seen the evil effect of introducing polygamy into her family, she might never have done it
  3. There is, however, a brighter side to the story of Ishmael:
    1. God saved his life when he was about to perish because of thirst - Gen. 21:15-18
    2. God promised to make him a great nation
    3. Finally, the Ishmaelites trace their history back to Abraham - calling him their father
  4. It is wonderful to note:
    1. How a loving and compassionate God will turn darkness into light even when conditions seem impossible - 2 Cor. 4:4-6


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