Read Journeys, chapter 4

Abraham: Ishmael and Isaac

Introduction

• God called Abraham to leave his people so that through his seed nations will be blessed (Gen. 12:1-40).
• Faithful Jews, Christians, and Muslims seek to be faithful to their understandings of that call of God to Abraham a people through whom God blesses the nations.
• There are differences and similarities in our understandings of the nature of that call. For example, an imam said: “There is nothing surprising in Islam. In the biblical account of Abraham, we meet a great surprise!”

1. God called Abraham and promised him (Gen 12:1-3):

1.1 Land

1.2 Offspring

1.3 A great name

1.4 Through his seed, all nations would be blessed.

1.5 Those who cursed Abraham would be cursed.

2. The challenge: God promised Abraham children.

2.1 Sarah had no child.

2.2 Abraham decided to help God so he took Sarah’s maid, Hagar, to be his wife. Ishmael was born.

2.3 God was not impressed. At 90 years of age, Sarah bore Isaac.

2.4 A struggle began in the home of Abraham that continues today.

2.5 In great sorrow, Abraham sent Ishmael away; God promised to bless Ishmael (Genesis 17:20).

2.6 God provided water for the child Ishmael in the desert of Beersheba (Gen. 21:8-20).

3. The Muslim teaching

3.1 When Hagar and Ishmael left Abraham’s home they became thirsty, and God miraculously provided water at the well of Zamzam near Mecca.

3.2 When Abraham was prepared to offer Ishmael as a sacrifice, God miraculously intervened by providing a ram as a “tremendous” substitute.

3.3 Abraham and Ishmael established the true worship of God (Islam) at the Ka’bah in Mecca.

3.4 This means that Adam is the first prophet to worship God at the Ka’bah, and Abraham is the middle prophet to do so. Muhammed is the final prophet who also worshiped God at the Ka’bah.

3.5 Mohammed came from a family who worshiped the God of Abraham (Allah). These worshipers of God in Arabia were known as the hanif.

3.6 Muhammad traced his family line to Abraham through Ishmael.

3.7 Abraham was an imam over the nations; now his descendant, Muhammad, carries that role of imam over the nations.

4. The biblical teaching

4.1 Isaac was born to Sarah as the son of promise. However, God has blessed Ishmael.

4.2 There was conflict between Ishmael and Isaac, so Abraham sent Ishmael and Hagar away.

4.3 That conflict is a sign of the conflict between a faith based on human effort and faith that is a response to the surprises of God’s grace (Galatians 4:21-31).

4.4 God provided a ram for a sacrifice instead of Isaac whom Abraham was ready to sacrifice to God.

4.5 All nations of the earth are blessed because of the “seed” of Abraham through Isaac.

4.6 Abraham is the father of faith, for Abraham believed God, and God credited his faith to him as righteousness (Gen. 15:6; also Romans 3-5, esp 3:28).

5. The theological and practical meaning of the accounts

5.1 Worship

• Muslims: Worship Allah. This is the same name for God that Abraham used. Abraham called God Elohim and Allah comes from that word.
• Christians: Worship the God of Abraham.

5.2 Source of blessing/salvation

• Muslims: Believe that the true faith of Abraham (Islam) has become a blessing to the nations through Ishmael.
• Christians: Believe that Christ, who has come through Isaac, is the Savior of all humankind.

5.3 Sacrifice

• Muslims: Sacrifice animals at the Feast of Sacrifice when they go on the pilgrimage to Mecca. They offer these sacrifices in remembrance that God provided a ram as a sacrifice so that Ishmael might live (Id al-Adha).
• Christians: Share in communion to remember that Christ is the sacrifice for our sins. He has taken our place and so our lives are redeemed.

Conclusion

• The Ishmael and Isaac stories reveal the struggle between Islam and the Gospel. Perhaps the central question is this: how do we find salvation? Is it through our human effort like Abraham marrying Hagar in order to help God fulfill His promise? Or do we receive salvation as the surprising gift of God’s grace, a gift that is so surprising that Sarah called her son Isaac. That name means laughter. She said the surprise of God’s grace was so great that people would laugh when they heard that 90-year-old Sarah had a baby!
• Ishmael was sent away from the home of Abraham. Every year in the pilgrimage, Muslims reenact the drama of God providing water for Ishmael so that he would not die. There is a keen yearning among Muslims to be included! Ishmael was sent away; they yearn to be invited back.