“Abraham said to God, “If only Ishma‘el could live in your presence!” - Genesis 17:18

Let’s talk a little bit about Abraham pleading with God to let Ishmael be his heir.

I think many of us tend to adopt a very condescending attitude towards Ishmael, if not outright demonize him because in our minds we associate him with the Arabs, whom we in turn associate with the religion of Islam.

I think this negativity is quite misplaced.

Abraham loved Ishmael greatly.

In his mind, Ishmael was his firstborn son.

He never thought of him as anything but his lawful, beloved, inheritor.

He so desperately wanted Ishmael to inherit the promise.

I have the greatest of respect for the Arab peoples.

I think they are very intelligent and are among the richest people on the planet.

Remember, out of Noah’s three sons, they also come from the blessed line of Shem.

Nevertheless, God will not budge and insists that a child will be born from Sarai’s womb.

God tells Abraham that he is to call this child Isaac and that it is with him and his offspring that an everlasting covenant will be established.

Right here in these verses, we have the origin of the current Mideast crisis that is going to soon explode into a conflict involving practically every nation in the world.

Muslims today claim that this portion of Scripture has been tampered with to falsely show that Isaac is to be the favored one.

However, the religion of Islam didn’t even come into being until about 600 years after Yeshua’s death and resurrection.

Nevertheless, Muslims call both Ishmael and Abraham the father of Islam.

This is not true.

The Jewish Scriptures were canonized way before Mohammed had his vision in the desert.

The conclusion is very clear.

God rejected Ishmael as the one who would carry on the line of the covenant promise that God had made with Abraham.

It would be Isaac.

© Richoka