Finally, Isaac is born. The promise is beginning to be fulfilled. God had promised Abraham that his descendants would become a mighty nation. But Abraham had no children, and he wasn't getting any younger at 90 years old when that promise was made. But God made a promise, and God keeps his promises. Most importantly here though is the fact that God's promise to Abraham was also a promise of salvation for all the nations of the earth, and is in fact a Messianic prophecy. God said to Abraham "Through you, all the nations of the world will be blessed." And now, finally, after so many years of waiting, God gives Abraham the child of promise. Isaac.
Of course this doesn't come without it's consequences. Abraham had once tried to fulfill God's plan by his own effort. His wife offered her servant Hagar to serve as a surrogate mother. But once Ishmael was born, Sarah became immediately jealous, and believed that Hagar felt superior to Sarah because Hagar could give birth to children, while Sarah couldn't. But now that Isaac was born, which opens a whole new can of worms.
Sarah begs Abraham to kick Hagar and her son Ishmael out of the house. There is a lot of bitterness in Sarah, and she is having a hard time letting go. Abraham loves Ishmael and is very conflicted over what he should do, but God says to allow Hagar and Ishmael to leave, and promises that he will take care of Ishmael, and make a mighty nation from him as well. So Abraham has Hagar and Ishmael leave, and gives them supplies for their journey.
During their journey, they run out of water. Hagar places Ishmael under a bush, and walks away, becuase she can't bear to see her son die. She weeps, but while she is weeping, God speaks to her. God tells her that He has heard the crying of her son, and that He had promised Abraham that they would be okay.
So God blesses Ishmael, and He becomes a mighty warrior, and a great people come from him. Mohammad claimed to be a descendant of Ishmael, and the Muslim nations are descendants of Ishmael. It's possible that is true, although there is no biblical reference that I know of that proves that the muslim nations descend from Ishmael. Nevertheless, the Biblical text shows that even though God did not choose Ishmael for this purpose, God still blessed him in honor of Abraham, his father.
Meanwhile back at the ranch, God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. God had promised Abraham that he would bring him a son, and now, after 90 years, and banishing his other son Ishmael, God wants Abraham to take that sweet baby boy, lay him on a rock, and slice his throat, and burn him as a sacrifice to God. The text is emphatic that God knows how hard this is for him. God specifically says "Take your son, your only son, whom you love." Abraham loved Isaac as if he was an only child. His beloved child. Imagine the pain that Abraham had with just the request. Did he feel betrayed by God? Did he think that God was playing a sick joke?
But Abraham obeys God. He takes him up the mountain top, and on the way, Isaac asks his father where the sacrifice was. Abraham says "God will provide a sacrifice for himself." He trusts God to provide a sacrifice instead of Isaac, and God does. Many Christian scholars through the centuries have compared this to the pain that the Father went through when His only beloved Son was sacrificed.
Shortly after this, Sarah dies. Abraham is so very grieved. It is hard to imagine the grief that one must feel when one's spouse dies after so many years of living life together. Abraham desires to bury Sarah, his beloved wife, and everyone wants to help him so badly during this time of grief. One man even volunteers to give a burial site for Sarah for free, and insists that Abraham take it for free. But Abraham begs to pay for it. The grief that Abraham felt over her death must have been great indeed considering the fact that she was there for his whole life, and she was the one that God used to bring his promise to this world.
While Abraham lay on his death bed, he comissions his servant to find Isaac a wife. What I find inspiring is that on his death bed, Abraham is still trusting God over all these years. He tells his servant to be sure that he does not find a wife from Ur. He wants his son to never go back to his old family, because God had told him that his children would inherit the land of Canaan. Even in his old age, Abraham clings to the promises of God. As a young man, I am inspired by the testimony of Abraham, and the elders around me who have lived their lives in service to God, truly trusting Him at His word.
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