Are you ready
to hear a parallel story between the Ishmael and Isaac, two half brothers - the sons of Abraham, that make up a whole. Ishmael - the son of Abraham, was born to Hagar, the slave of Sarah - after Sarah grew impatient with Abraham’s desire to grow the nation that God had promised him. So Sarah gave Hagar to her husband, so that Hagar could conceive his child. And we all saw how that decision went bad. Just as things typically do when we take matters into our own hands, instead of waiting on God. Isaac was born to Sarah and Abraham. He was the creation that God had promised them, and he came just at the right time. Isaac was conceived “when Abram was 99 years old” and the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers. Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.” Genesis 17:1-5 You see, Isaac was not conceived until Abram was given a new name - he and Sarah both. I suppose that is because they had to wrestle with God, before fully submitting to Him. “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be 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. Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” Genesis 17:15-18 God made a covenant to himself. He promised Abraham and Sarah a son - a son that would give birth to many nations, and many kings who would rule over them. Abram and Sarai had been chosen - but it took many years - deep into their old age, for them to gain the wisdom and trust needed to completely follow God. And yet, doubt still occurred. Abraham asked God to send His blessing through the child that he loved, Ishmael - the child he had made on his own. But God had another plan. “Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac (the one who laughs, or the one who rejoices). I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.” When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.” Genesis 17:19-22 Abraham’s son Ishmael, went on to have 12 sons, “Nebaioth was the first son born to him. Then came Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. These were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers according to their settlements and their camps.” Ishmael lived 137 years, and his descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur And they lived in hostility toward all the tribes related to them.” Genesis 25:12-18 Ishmael’s descendants lived exactly as God said they would - “The angel of the Lord also said Hagar, ‘You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” Genesis 16:11-12 Now Isaac, the promised son delivered by God - did not immediately give birth to twelve sons, as Ishmael did. Isaac had to be wed to the woman chosen by God - not a woman from the region of Canaan - where the giants lived. Abraham sent his oldest servant to Babylon - the land of Chaldea where he was born. Abraham told the servant the Lord would go ahead of him to prepare the way and lead him to the woman who would be chosen - the servant would be able to identity the future wife of Isaac because the Lord would open his eyes and show him. Rebekah was the bride that God had chosen. She left everything, her home and her family, to follow the servant to Canaan, the land the Lord promised to Abraham, who gave the land to Isaac and his descendants. Rebekah and Isaac met in the field - “Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev. He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels coming. Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?” He is my master,” the servant said. So she took her veil and covered herself. Then the servant told Isaac all he had done. Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.” Genesis 24:62-67 Isaac and Rebekah symbolize Jesus and the Church. The promised Son of God and the woman chosen for Him - all according to God’s plan. Isaac and Rebekah had twins, Esau and Jacob - and they were like two sides of the same coin. The Lord said to Rebekah “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” Genesis 25:23-24 Esau was the impatient one. He gave up his birthright when he was very hungry - for a bowl of soup. He took the promise for granted - and was willing to give up the land the Lord promised to them. Jacob was second and he was the deceptive one. He wanted the blessing that Esau had. So he and Rebekah devised a plan, to take the birthright away from Esau, the wild one. Jacob went on to fight for what he wanted. He married Leah to get to Rachel, the wife that he desperately loved. And Jacob went on to wrestle with the angel of the Lord, and when he won he was given a new name - Israel. Jacob, the son of Isaac (the half-brother of Ishmael) had 12 sons before he was renamed Israel. “When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless. Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.” She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” So he was named Levi. She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children.” Genesis 29:31-35 Judah was the fourth child born to Leah - the woman who was given in marriage, by her brother, to a man who did not want to marry her. Judah - finally Leah saw it fit to praise the Lord regardless of her situation, whether her earthly husband loved her or not. Leah had two more sons, Issachar and Zebulon, and then she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. Rachel gave birth to Jospeh and Benjamin, and Rachel and Leah’s slaves, gave birth to Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher. Jacob had 12 sons in total - born to four different women. Rachel was the woman he loved, but could not marry for a long time because of the trickery of her brother Laban. We will read more about it very soon. But do you see - the parallel worlds created by God? They are like two sides of the same coin - that make up a whole. Where there is good, there is also evil. Darkness exists until the Light shines through. The man said, “The woman you put here with me - she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 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 3:12-15 Ishmael and Isaac - two creations of God, one was made by the hand of man and one was promised by God. One is bad and one is good. Which one do you choose? Which nation do you claim as your own?
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