The Blessing of Ishmael

 Today we talked about the “Ishmael incident” when Abraham took matters into his own hands and had a son by Hagar.  As promised, here is the part I cut out!

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When God said to Abraham “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants,” we are told that Abraham believed God, and therefore he received what was promised.  But some of you might be thinking “but wait, didn’t Abraham take matters into his own hands?”

That he did – his wife Sarah became impatient, Abraham made a logical decision to impregnate Sarah’s Egyptian servant Hagar and had a child by her named Ishmael. Ishmael is therefore a representation to us as a “child of the flesh,” when Abraham took matters into his own hands,

This son Ishmael is considered by Muslims to be the father of all Arabs, and specifically the prophet Mohammad, the prophet of Islam, was a descendant of Ishmael.  The descendants of Ishmael have been a thorn in the side of Isaac (Israel) from that time until now, as foretold in scripture:

The angel of the LORD also said to her “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.”  (Gen 16:11-12)

But before we are too hard on Ishmael, we should note that God also promised to bless Ishmael…

And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation (Gen 17:20)

Ishmael was sent away by Abraham, a hard thing to be sure. Yet there are many Arab Christians who believe that Ishmael, the father of the Arabs, the father of Islam, the child of the bond-servant, has longed to be reconciled to his father Abraham. If this is true then Ishmael has been deceived by Satan through the system of Islam.  If you look at the tenets of Islam, you can clearly see that it is a faith of bondage (like Hagar).

Allah, the god of Islam, does not love his subjects, there is no atonement for sin in Islam, there is no forgiveness of sin, there is no restoration – there is only obedience.  Allah demands total obedience from his followers or they are dealt severe punishment. Just look at Shariah law, you get the idea. The punishment for disobeying the Koran is brutal.  So in a very sad sense Islam is in fact an embodiment of Ishmael, working to earn is way back into a relationship with his father, trying to work his way back into the blessing of Abraham. How sad!

But there is hope for the Muslim, as the gospel message is taking hold in many Muslim nations.  Muslims are waking up to the reconciliation that they have longed for their entire existence; but this reconciliation not through obedience to the tenants of Islam, but through the person of Jesus Christ!

There is an interesting verse in Luke, in the Olivet discourse where Jesus lays out the events that will precede His return:

Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled (Luke 21:24)

The phrase “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” is another way of saying “until God has gathered all the Gentiles who will hear the gospel message to Himself”, and guess what – Muslims are gentiles too!  They are actually the largest and last people group to hear the gospel message. 

Now some might think “how can Muslims get saved?  No way!” But what did Jesus say, “all things are possible with God!”

I believe that before Christ returns we will see a great revival in the Muslim world.  Ishmael will finally be reconciled to his father!

...till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay