“Two Nations, Two Blessings” (Jacob and Ishmael)

Scripture: Genesis 21:1-21

During this season of Advent, we will be considering several reasons as to why Jesus had to come to Earth. God had a plan in place, but humanity has never truly cooperated in allowing that plan to play out! The only way that it could possibly succeed was for the Lord Himself to not only create the way for us, but to show us that way. God would, in essence, have to become “the Way” for us.

Today, we look at one of the issues that caused the Lord to put himself in the midst of our problems, as well as to become the solution for our mess. During the next 4 weeks, we will consider the shortcomings of several of Christ’s human ancestors and how their struggles caused such deep divides in our relationships that only God’s direct intervention could bring us through them. Today we consider the issue that arose between Isaac and his half-brother Ishmael.

Read Genesis 21:1-7

The birth of a child in those days, and especially the birth of a son, would be a cause for great rejoicing. It not only meant that there was one who could carry on the name and heritage, it also meant that there was one more who could help with labor around home. But in Abraham’s case, there was another, rather sticky, issue at play.

There was another son involved. In Genesis 16:1-10, we read of the situation surrounding Ishmael’s birth. Sarai, Abram’s wife (this was before the Lord changed their names), had been unable to conceive, so out of love for her husband, she sent her maid Hagar to him, and she got pregnant. The need for a child outweighed every sense of loyalty and commitment to her husband, and Sarai would soon suffer the consequences. The relationship that had previously existed between mistress and servant took a nasty turn, and it would, of course, be jealousy that would begin to reign supreme in the household. The servant Hagar would “lord it” over her mistress, and Sarai would take her anguish out on her husband.

Conflict would begin to plague Abram and his family, just as it does in so many families today.
The author Jim Benedict had this to say about our conflict:

A lot of us want Jesus to be a certain way. We want God to solve our problems as we perceive them, in the way we think is best. We want Jesus to be the champion of our causes, whatever they may be. We want God to take our side in every conflict, from family squabbles to international politics. And when things don't go our way, we are quick to conclude that God or Jesus has let us down.

But the [Christmas] story should remind us that this is not how it works. Jesus will not simply step in to champion our causes any more than he would champion the cause of Jewish independence two thousand years ago. Jesus [in a stable] was a sign and we ought to take heed. Jesus is not interested in our agenda; Jesus has his own agenda.

--Jim Benedict, "Not what we had in mind," Union Bridge Church of the Brethren website, April 1, 2012. cob-net.org.

Sarai would blame everyone but herself for the situation, and both she and Hagar would have to deal with it. Hagar would run away, but the Lord would give her a word and would call her to return to her responsibilities and to live with the situation, at least for a while.

Read Genesis 21:8-14

Not only were the two mothers at each other’s throats, but now the two sons would also have conflicting attitudes. Ishmael was about 14 when this incident took place, and under normal circumstances, it would be Ishmael who would have received his father’s birthright. But now there was another son, and he was by Abraham’s wife, and Ishmael was afraid that he would receive nothing. And his mother felt that, too.

But God had made a promise to Abram years before. In Genesis 15:1-5, the Lord promises Abram that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the heavens. The promise indicates that he will have an heir – a blood relative son – and his descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Notice that God doesn’t say that it will be a happy situation, he doesn’t mention that there will be two sons who would vie for the honor of his blessing, but he does say, however, that the number of Abram’s descendants will be countless!

But there was a problem – the custom in those days was that any child born of a man, regardless of who the mother was, was to be considered his and his wife’s child. This should have placed Ishmael in direct lineage to Abraham, but that wasn’t going to happen. The “family” would be split, and while his son by Sarah would receive the birthright, Ishmael would also be blessed with many direct descendants. And the conflict was created. And what would come of that conflict?

Ishmael is generally credited as being the patriarch of the Arab nations and, indirectly, of Islam. The Lord’s prophecy to his mother Hagar was that her son would live in constant conflict with others, and that no one would care much for him, either! (Genesis 16:10-12) The Lord certainly got that one right!

Read Genesis 21:15-21

The Lord would never go back on his promise to Hagar, and would even be instrumental in preserving both of their lives. Both boys would be blessed by God, if not by Abraham. Both boys would be the father of great nations. And the descendants of each would be in conflict with each other for thousands of years.

You may be wondering why God didn’t intervene in this family right from the beginning, and it would certainly be a legitimate question. And I believe that the answer is that God did intervene, just not at the beginning. Jesus would be the intervention that can heal all rifts in our relationships!

In our Advent meditation this morning (Isaiah 2:2-3b), we read that many people would come to Jesus, that the Lord would teach his ways to all who would come, and that the masses would “walk in his paths”. Of course, the prophet implies that Messiah would come for the descendants of Isaac and Jacob, and not Ishmael, but the Lord would have us know otherwise. In Matthew 28:16-20, the passage that we know as the Great Commission, Jesus tells us to go and make disciples of all nations, and to baptize them, and to teach them to obey his ways! To become a disciple means that we seek to become part of the family of God. To be baptized is to be blessed, to be welcomed, to be committed to the “family”. To obey God’s ways is to set aside every other concept and ideal and moral, and accept the singular and divine truth of Christ.

It was never the Lord’s desire that we should be divided, but he has always recognized the fact that our human differences will be divisive! But Jesus came to earth to be Emmanuel - God among us – simply because we need to know his truth. We have a tendency to live by our own “truth”, whatever that may be, and it is, by its very nature, contentious. We all think that our own brand of truth should prevail, when the fact of the matter is that only God’s Truth is right. Politics, race relations, family finances, managerial styles in the workplace, environmental concerns, international relations – they all are prickly conditions that we have to worm our way through on a daily basis, and it is very possible that the worst of them all is religion! Can you imagine that we actually fight over who knows God and his ways best?

The Lord doesn’t force his ways upon us – he just teaches us the difference between our ways and his, and shows us the way to close the gap. But if we prefer to live within the conflict that we have created, then the Lord will let us try it our own way. That’s what he did with Abraham, Sarah, Hagar and the boys. They didn’t trust God’s promise for their lives, so they went off on their own, trying to ensure that their “truth” and their benefit would rise to the top. And today we are living with the result of that incredible blunder.

What have we learned from this? Is there anything? What is our lesson for today? It is this - trust God, trust his word, and trust and accept every promise that he has ever made. There is no conflict in that!