The Lord met Hagar and told her to go back and resubmit herself to Sarah. The Lord spoke to Hagar about her son Ishmael in her womb: “Behold, you are with child, And you will bear a son; And you shall call his name Ishmael[God hears], Because the Lord has given heed to your affliction. “He will be a wild donkey of a man, His hand will be against everyone, And everyone’s hand will be against him; And he will live to the east of all his brothers” (Ge. 16:11-12). To the east of Canaan is the land today called Arabia and argueably Ishmael was the beginning of the Arabian race. Later the prophet Mohammed, from the land of Arabia, would found the Muslim religion and would claim Ishmael as their child of promise. Historically the Muslims were a warlike nation who even conquered Israel and Jerusalem in the middle ages.
Later, after the birth of Isaac, Hagar and Ishmael, were driven away by Sarah and reluctantly by Abraham. God told Abraham: “Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named. “And of the son of the maid I will make a nation also, because he is your descendant” (Ge. 21:12-13). God was with the lad, and he grew; and he lived in the wilderness and became an archer. He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt” (Ge. 21:20-21). Paran was a desolate wilderness east of Canaan.
In Chapter 17 God reiterated His promise to Abram that he would have the son of promise through his wife Sarai. He also changed Abram’s [exalted Father] name to Abraham [Father of a multitude] (Ge. 17:1-5). Sarai’s name was changed to Sarah [Princess] and God told Abraham: “I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her” (Ge. 17:16). This promise referred to the fulfillment of God’s Kingdom on the earth. “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore” (Isaiah 9:6-7).
As evidence of His covenant with Abraham God instituted the right of circumcision. “This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. “And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you” (Ge. 17:10-11). The covenant was: “I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God” (Ge. 17:8).
In Chapter 18 Abraham was warned by angels of God that God was going to bring judgment to the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and also confirmed that a son would be born to he and Sarah. (Ge. 18:1-19). Sarah laughed when she was told this as Abraham was over 100 years old and Sarah was far past childbearing years. Abraham tried to save Sodom and Gomorrah by bargaining with God. “Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? “Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it…So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account”. Abraham continued to barter finally saying: “Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten” (Ge. 17:23-33).
The angels visited Lot in Sodom to determine if it was worth saving. After the residents of Sodom surrounded Lot’s house and demanded that the angels be brought outside so they could have relations with them, the angels struck them with blindness and urged Lot to flee the city. Lot was reluctant so the angels forced him and his family to flee, warning them not even to look back. As they fled God rained fire and brimstone down on the cities but Lot’s wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt.
When they fled into the mountains the daughters had relations with their Father Lot and became pregnant. They both gave birth to sons. “The firstborn bore a son, and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. As for the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the sons of Ammon to this day” (Ge. 19:37-38). Both races, created by incest, would cause Israel problems in the days to come.
“Then the Lord took note of Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had promised. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac,” which means laughter” (Ge. 21:1-3). He was named “laughter” because of Sarah’s laughter when she was told she would have a son at her advanced age, and because of the joy when the child was born.
In Chapter 22 Abraham faced his most severe test. The Lord told him to sacrifice the life of his son Isaac. So Abraham set about to prepare a sacrificial altar for Isaac. Before he had completed the deed the Lord spoke to him: “But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son” (Ge. 22:11-13).
“Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Ge. 22:15-28).
In Chapter 23 Sarah dies and is buried. In Chapter 24 Abraham swears that Isaac will not take a wife from among the Canaanites. A wife is found in the land of Mesopotamia Rebecca, after she passed a series of tests initiated by Abraham. In Chapter 24:62-67 Isaac marries Rebecca. In Chapter 25, Abraham marries again this time to Keturah. He had more sons and daughters and died at the age of 178.
END OF PART 2
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