Ishmael and Isaac
150 Bible Basics
23. Ishmael
Abraham’s son by Hagar. God rejected him as the son of the covenant and promised Abraham the true son of the covenant would come through Sarah (Genesis 17:15-21). Though he was not the son of promise, God promised Ishmael would become a great nation and father to 12 princes (17:20, 25:16), a clear parallel to the 12 tribes that would later come through Isaac’s son, Jacob.
Ishmael and his mother were sent away by Abraham after Ishmael angered Sarah by mocking Isaac (21:9-14). There was a 14-year gap between the half-brothers (16:16, 21:5).
Many view Ishmael as the genealogical father of the Arab Muslims, and there’s at least some credence to that theory. The Muslims hold Abraham in high regard and believe that Abraham and Ishmael established the Ka’bah, their holy site in Mecca. Ishmael is also considered the ancestor of Muhammad, and many Muslims even believe it was he and not Isaac whom Abraham nearly sacrificed. The characterization of Israel’s conflicts with their Arab neighbors as a continuation of the Isaac-Ishmael feud has a degree of legitimacy at least ideologically, if not entirely biologically.
24. Isaac
Son of Abraham and Sarah, husband of Rebekah, and father of Jacob and Esau. Major events in his life include nearly being sacrificed when God tested his father’s faith (Genesis 22), his marriage to Rebekah, (Genesis 24), the birth of his twin sons (Genesis 25), and his repetition of his father’s dishonesty in introducing his wife as his sister (26:7, hearkening back to 20:2).
Although Isaac was the long-promised son, he receives less focus in the text than Abraham and Jacob. However, God did reiterate the covenant to Isaac in 26:1-5 and 26:24, showing Isaac to be just as much a part of God’s plan as his father and his son.
These are entries #23 and #24 of 150 from my book Sunday School Catch-Up: The Bible Basics You Need to Know - available at Amazon!
