- Apr 22, 2011
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Ishmael and Isaac
In 1910 BC, Abraham's wife, Sarah, frustrated with her inability to have a child and impatient with God's timing, asked Abraham to give her a child through their Egyptian maidservant 'Hagar'. "Now Sarai, Abrams wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar so she said to Abram, "The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her." (Genesis 16:1-2) Hagar, servant that she was, submitted to being used this way. But her pregnancy gave birth to strong feelings of superiority toward Sarah. During Hagar's pregnancy, friction began to develop between Sarah and Hagar and when Hagar could no longer endure it, she fled into the desert. There God instructed her to return to Sarah, promising, "I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude" (Genesis 16:10). Into this tense, atmosphere Ishmael was born and for 13 years Abraham thought Ishmael's birth had fulfilled God's promise (Ishmael would become the progenitor of today's Arab world - the Arabs are an Ishmaelite race).
When Abraham reached 99 years of age, God appeared to him and announced that his wife Sarah would bear him a son and that they would call him Isaac. And it would be through Isaac that God would establish His covenant (Isaac became the father of the Israelites). Abraham struggled with this because he loved Ishmael dearly and desired that he be his heir and receive the birthright blessings. "O that Ishmael might live before thee!" (Gen 17:18) But the birthright was denied to Ishmael.
"And I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her." Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Will a child be born to a man 100 years old? And will Sarah, who is 90 years old, bear a child?" And Abraham said to God, Oh that Ishmael might live before Thee (meaning he was first born)! But God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him." (Genesis 17:16-19) After the birth of Isaac, Hagar and Ishmael were sent away at Sarah's insistence,"Cast out this bondwoman and her son," Sarah demanded. (Gen 21:10) Sarah was adamant that Ishmael should not inherit along with Isaac. God instructed Abraham to do as Sarah desired, but he reassured Abraham that,
"...also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed."(Gen 21:13)But God also knew what kind of people Ishmael's descendants would be when He spoke prophetically to Hagar saying, And he will be a wild donkey of a 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 [literally, "he shall defy all his kinsmen"]."(Genesis 16:12)
"His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the border of Egypt, as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers." (Genesis 25:18) And to this day Arab hands have been "...against every man and every man's against..." theirs and "they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.†Ishmael was not a spirit of implacable hatred and murder against Isaac, but rather one of envy and rivalry. Ishmael's position in the family had been radically altered by Isaac's birth. This had wounded his proud spirit, and provoked him into a jealousy. And time has not softened this spirit of envy either. Attitudes and historical perspectives are often transmitted from father to son and from generation to generation. The effects of the domestic rivalry in the household of Abraham are still being felt to this day in the on-going Arab-Israeli conflict. In time, Ishmael became the father of 12 sons (his descendants are called Ishmaelites) whose names are recorded in Genesis 25:13-16. Ishmael also had a daughter named Mahalath (Bashemath), who would later marry his half-brother Isaac's eldest son, Esau4 (Esau's descendants were known as Edomites).
Ishmalites were marauding nomads who traded with Egypt (Jacob's son Joseph would later be sold by his brothers to a passing band of Ishmaelites - Genesis 37:25-28). They led an untamed existence in the deserts south and east of Canaan and were known for their wandering, lawlessness, and freebooting lifestyle. Ishmael died at the age of 137 (Genesis 25:17) and just as God had promised, his 12 sons grew into "a great nation" with he as clearly the preeminent forefather of the Arab world (The Arab peoples today number over 140 million and are destined to play a significant role in the development of future prophetic events). The relationship between the Ishmaelite Arabs and the Biblical Israelites is thus clear: Ishmael was the elder half-brother of Isaac, son of Abraham, by way of Hagar, who settled in central and northern Arabia. Isaac in turn, had twin sons, Esau and Jacob. From Jacob - later renamed Israel - descended the Jews and the other tribes of Israel. The Israelis and the Arabs are cousins!
Esau and Jacob
Ishmael's younger brother Isaac, whom he lost the birthright to, had twin sons, Esau and Jacob. And while Esau and Jacob were yet in their mother's womb, "the children struggled together within her" (Genesis 25:22) God explained that, "...two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder [Esau] shall serve the younger [Jacob]. (Genesis 25:23) Esau's name would later be changed to Edom, and Jacob's would be changed to Israel (his descendants, by way of Isaac, would be Israelites). Both brothers were destined to father a great nation. As firstborn, Esau was the legal inheritor of the birthright, which fell to the eldest son in each generation. But Esau undervalued it and sold it to Jacob for a bowl of red lentil soup (Genesis 25:28-34). Later, Jacob - disguising himself as Esau - tricked his father Isaac (Abraham's son whom God had confirmed His covenant with) into bestowing upon him the blessing confirming the birthright (Genesis 27). By this piece of deception, Jacob earned Esau's implacable anger. Bitterness and vengeance filled Esau's heart. "And Esau hated Jacob . . ."Genesis 27:41)
Forty centuries have not sufficed to wipe out the effects of this deep-seated enmity between Esau and Jacob! The two peoples have continued in their antagonism up to this present day! Historically, the Edomites - especially the Amalekites, the chief tribe of the Edomites - have been bitter foes of Israel. Significantly, descendants of Esau mingled and intermarried with Ishmaelites and their neighbors. As kinsmen, a close affinity existed between them (In Psalm 83, the descendants of Esau and those of Ishmael are found in alliance against End-Time Israel). Some rabbinical schools in Israel today teach that the Palestinian Arabs - the most ardent adversaries of the Israeli state - are Amalek. There may indeed be some validity to this notion, in view of the prophecy of conflict between Amalek and Israel from generation to generation (Exodus 17:16). Geopoliticians continually misdiagnose Arab hatred towards Israel and her supporters because they fail to recognize its antiqutal roots. For 16 centuries this bitter hatred was perfected and passed down from Arab generation to Arab generation and by the time of the 7th century, one particular Arab criminal - Mohammed, a self-proclaimed prophet - arrived on the scene fully equipped with a self-defined religion that permitted he and his Arab brothers to commit violent acts of murder and rape in the name of a god.
Mohammad Ibn Abdallah was born in the year 570 AD to the Quraysh Tribe in the city of Mecca. His father died before he was born and his mother Amina died when he was 6 years old (Mohammed claimed descent from Ishmael's son Kedar). At the age of 25, Mohammed married a 40 year-old wealthy, widow named Khadijah who owned trading caravans. Traveling as a representative of Khadija's various business interests, Mohammed was exposed to many Jews and Christians and became enthralled by their theology, particularly their concept of a single deity. It was at this time he began to envision a single, united Arab state under a single 'god.' Secular history records that in 610, by which time Mohammed had become the leader of his tribe, he was in a cave meditating and seeking to discover which of the jinni was indeed most powerful and worthy to become the tribal jinni (soothsayer) of his family. As new Islamic recruits began arriving in Mecca, they were without money and resources and realizing this, Mohammed and his recruits began raiding neighboring tribal settlements and passing caravans using the booty to fund his vision of a united, Islamist empire. Caravan raiding was a practice widely practiced by Arab tribes and was used as a means to maintain a balance in power. This is where the Muslim doctrine of 'Jihad' was first instituted.
In 1910 BC, Abraham's wife, Sarah, frustrated with her inability to have a child and impatient with God's timing, asked Abraham to give her a child through their Egyptian maidservant 'Hagar'. "Now Sarai, Abrams wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar so she said to Abram, "The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her." (Genesis 16:1-2) Hagar, servant that she was, submitted to being used this way. But her pregnancy gave birth to strong feelings of superiority toward Sarah. During Hagar's pregnancy, friction began to develop between Sarah and Hagar and when Hagar could no longer endure it, she fled into the desert. There God instructed her to return to Sarah, promising, "I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude" (Genesis 16:10). Into this tense, atmosphere Ishmael was born and for 13 years Abraham thought Ishmael's birth had fulfilled God's promise (Ishmael would become the progenitor of today's Arab world - the Arabs are an Ishmaelite race).
When Abraham reached 99 years of age, God appeared to him and announced that his wife Sarah would bear him a son and that they would call him Isaac. And it would be through Isaac that God would establish His covenant (Isaac became the father of the Israelites). Abraham struggled with this because he loved Ishmael dearly and desired that he be his heir and receive the birthright blessings. "O that Ishmael might live before thee!" (Gen 17:18) But the birthright was denied to Ishmael.
"And I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her." Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Will a child be born to a man 100 years old? And will Sarah, who is 90 years old, bear a child?" And Abraham said to God, Oh that Ishmael might live before Thee (meaning he was first born)! But God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him." (Genesis 17:16-19) After the birth of Isaac, Hagar and Ishmael were sent away at Sarah's insistence,"Cast out this bondwoman and her son," Sarah demanded. (Gen 21:10) Sarah was adamant that Ishmael should not inherit along with Isaac. God instructed Abraham to do as Sarah desired, but he reassured Abraham that,
"...also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed."(Gen 21:13)But God also knew what kind of people Ishmael's descendants would be when He spoke prophetically to Hagar saying, And he will be a wild donkey of a 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 [literally, "he shall defy all his kinsmen"]."(Genesis 16:12)
"His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the border of Egypt, as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers." (Genesis 25:18) And to this day Arab hands have been "...against every man and every man's against..." theirs and "they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.†Ishmael was not a spirit of implacable hatred and murder against Isaac, but rather one of envy and rivalry. Ishmael's position in the family had been radically altered by Isaac's birth. This had wounded his proud spirit, and provoked him into a jealousy. And time has not softened this spirit of envy either. Attitudes and historical perspectives are often transmitted from father to son and from generation to generation. The effects of the domestic rivalry in the household of Abraham are still being felt to this day in the on-going Arab-Israeli conflict. In time, Ishmael became the father of 12 sons (his descendants are called Ishmaelites) whose names are recorded in Genesis 25:13-16. Ishmael also had a daughter named Mahalath (Bashemath), who would later marry his half-brother Isaac's eldest son, Esau4 (Esau's descendants were known as Edomites).
Ishmalites were marauding nomads who traded with Egypt (Jacob's son Joseph would later be sold by his brothers to a passing band of Ishmaelites - Genesis 37:25-28). They led an untamed existence in the deserts south and east of Canaan and were known for their wandering, lawlessness, and freebooting lifestyle. Ishmael died at the age of 137 (Genesis 25:17) and just as God had promised, his 12 sons grew into "a great nation" with he as clearly the preeminent forefather of the Arab world (The Arab peoples today number over 140 million and are destined to play a significant role in the development of future prophetic events). The relationship between the Ishmaelite Arabs and the Biblical Israelites is thus clear: Ishmael was the elder half-brother of Isaac, son of Abraham, by way of Hagar, who settled in central and northern Arabia. Isaac in turn, had twin sons, Esau and Jacob. From Jacob - later renamed Israel - descended the Jews and the other tribes of Israel. The Israelis and the Arabs are cousins!
Esau and Jacob
Ishmael's younger brother Isaac, whom he lost the birthright to, had twin sons, Esau and Jacob. And while Esau and Jacob were yet in their mother's womb, "the children struggled together within her" (Genesis 25:22) God explained that, "...two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder [Esau] shall serve the younger [Jacob]. (Genesis 25:23) Esau's name would later be changed to Edom, and Jacob's would be changed to Israel (his descendants, by way of Isaac, would be Israelites). Both brothers were destined to father a great nation. As firstborn, Esau was the legal inheritor of the birthright, which fell to the eldest son in each generation. But Esau undervalued it and sold it to Jacob for a bowl of red lentil soup (Genesis 25:28-34). Later, Jacob - disguising himself as Esau - tricked his father Isaac (Abraham's son whom God had confirmed His covenant with) into bestowing upon him the blessing confirming the birthright (Genesis 27). By this piece of deception, Jacob earned Esau's implacable anger. Bitterness and vengeance filled Esau's heart. "And Esau hated Jacob . . ."Genesis 27:41)
Forty centuries have not sufficed to wipe out the effects of this deep-seated enmity between Esau and Jacob! The two peoples have continued in their antagonism up to this present day! Historically, the Edomites - especially the Amalekites, the chief tribe of the Edomites - have been bitter foes of Israel. Significantly, descendants of Esau mingled and intermarried with Ishmaelites and their neighbors. As kinsmen, a close affinity existed between them (In Psalm 83, the descendants of Esau and those of Ishmael are found in alliance against End-Time Israel). Some rabbinical schools in Israel today teach that the Palestinian Arabs - the most ardent adversaries of the Israeli state - are Amalek. There may indeed be some validity to this notion, in view of the prophecy of conflict between Amalek and Israel from generation to generation (Exodus 17:16). Geopoliticians continually misdiagnose Arab hatred towards Israel and her supporters because they fail to recognize its antiqutal roots. For 16 centuries this bitter hatred was perfected and passed down from Arab generation to Arab generation and by the time of the 7th century, one particular Arab criminal - Mohammed, a self-proclaimed prophet - arrived on the scene fully equipped with a self-defined religion that permitted he and his Arab brothers to commit violent acts of murder and rape in the name of a god.
Mohammad Ibn Abdallah was born in the year 570 AD to the Quraysh Tribe in the city of Mecca. His father died before he was born and his mother Amina died when he was 6 years old (Mohammed claimed descent from Ishmael's son Kedar). At the age of 25, Mohammed married a 40 year-old wealthy, widow named Khadijah who owned trading caravans. Traveling as a representative of Khadija's various business interests, Mohammed was exposed to many Jews and Christians and became enthralled by their theology, particularly their concept of a single deity. It was at this time he began to envision a single, united Arab state under a single 'god.' Secular history records that in 610, by which time Mohammed had become the leader of his tribe, he was in a cave meditating and seeking to discover which of the jinni was indeed most powerful and worthy to become the tribal jinni (soothsayer) of his family. As new Islamic recruits began arriving in Mecca, they were without money and resources and realizing this, Mohammed and his recruits began raiding neighboring tribal settlements and passing caravans using the booty to fund his vision of a united, Islamist empire. Caravan raiding was a practice widely practiced by Arab tribes and was used as a means to maintain a balance in power. This is where the Muslim doctrine of 'Jihad' was first instituted.
