Q: In Genesis 22 Abraham is tested by God. He is asked to sacrifice his only son Isaac, Genesis 22:2. But Abraham, Abram, had an older son Ishmael by Hagar, Sarai maid servant. List of events: Sarai had no children - Genesis 16:1 Sarai gives Hagar, her maid servant, to Abram - Genesis 16:3 Hagar bore a child by Abraham, Ishmael - Genesis 16:15 Sarah bore a child by Abraham, Isaac - Genesis 21:1-4 Ishmael is disinherited - Genesis 21:10 Hagar and Ishmael expelled - Genesis 21:8-14 How does this work? When Ishmael is disinherited, under Jewish law, does that make him not a legal son who can be counted?
A: This isn't a case of inheritance rights under Jewish law, but rather a simple case of man's will as opposed to the will of God. The Mosaic Law had not been given at this point in history. There was no Jewish law because there wasn't a Jewish nation yet. That giving of the law would not take place for some time later as retold for us in Exodus 20. I would suggest you start in Genesis 15 to find the answer to your question. In Genesis 15 you will read were Abram was disillusioned over the idea of not having a son of his own to pass his inheritance onto. While speaking with the Lord he says, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir (Genesis 15:3)." However, God responds to him with, "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir (Genesis 15:4)." Unfortunately, Sarai, Abrams wife, did not believe she would be the one to bear Abrams child so she brought Hagar, the servant, into the picture. This is where we get Ishmael. However, Ishmael was not the promised child God was speaking of when He promised Abram would have a son.
In Genesis 17, Abram, now called Abraham, and Sarai, now called Sarah, were visited by God again. This time God said to Abraham about Sarah, "I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her (Genesis 17:16)." Abraham and Sarah did not believe God since both of them were nearly 100 years old. We would probably react similarly at the thought of having children at that age. However, God confirmed that this child who would be named Isaac, not Ishmael, was the son He promised to Abraham. "Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him (Genesis 17:19)." It is through Isaac that the promise God made to Adam and Eve, back in the Garden, would be fulfilled.
Shortly after the Fall, in His wrath, God makes a statement to Satan about the offspring of Eve. "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel (Genesis 3:15)." The he referred to in this verse is Jesus Christ. In the genealogy of Jesus listed in Matthew 1 it is Isaac who is listed as being in the line leading to Jesus Christ, not Ishmael. "Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers...(Matthew 1:2)." Ishmael is not mentioned because Jesus Christ did not come through Him. As you probably already know Jacob's name was changed to Israel from which the nation of Israel, the Jews, came from and through whom we have our Lord Jesus Christ. However, God did not forget Ishmael. After all, it isn't his fault that Abraham and Sarah did not wait on God to bear Abraham a son.
While Isaac was the promised son to Abraham, Ishmael was still his son. If you look in Genesis 21, within the verses you referenced, you will see were God remembers his promise to Abraham and includes Ishmael in it. "I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring (Genesis 21:13)." However, God still honors Sarah's desire that Hagar and Ishmael be expelled. There is obviously some resentment between Hagar and Sarah over Ishmael and between Ishmael and Isaac. This rift carried on throughout scripture, and even to this day, through the descendants of both sons. Despite Abraham's impatience, which led to the birth of Ishmael, God kept His promise to "greatly increase" his numbers. However, Ishmael's disinheritance is not about his right to Abraham's property and possessions through Jewish laws that hadn't even been created yet. His disinheritance has to do with him not being a part of God's plan of salvation for all mankind He was completing through Abraham's offspring. Isaac was the child God promised to Abraham. Be blessed.
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