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12 Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham. 13 And these were the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These were the sons of Ishmael and these were their names, by their towns and their settlements, twelve princes according to their nations. 17 These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people. 18 (They dwelt from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt as you go toward Assyria.) He died in the presence of all his brethren. ~ Genesis 25:12-18
Today, we continue our study of Genesis 25 where the focus has been clearly placed on Abraham's son of promise, Isaac. But, today's passage diverges away from Isaac to Ishmael's genealogy. The genealogies in the Bible provide important records of historical succession, continuity, and legitimacy, but these lineages also provide unique insights for our faith in the God of the Bible.
Some biblical genealogies, God skirts by while others are highlighted, built upon, amplified, and picked up later. This is due to the fact that in certain genealogies eternity was being impacted in a positive way. In genealogies like Ishmael's not much regarding eternity was taking place. The genealogies that point us to the Redeemer were and are of utmost importance.
In v.12-15 of today's passage we read, "12 Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham. 13 And these were the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah."
This is now the seventh "genealogy" listed in the Bible. The Hebrew word toledot is most often translated "generations" or "genealogies." In this word, there can be one or two letters called a "vav," which is the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Six is the number of man in the Bible, it is the number for incompleteness. Before the fall, the word toledot was spelled with 2 vavs while after the fall of man, all the way up to the time of King David, the toledot is never spelled with two vavs. The missing vav serves as a reminder of the fallen state of man. King David was the final piece of the Messianic puzzle in the Old Testament and so the second vav was reintroduced in his genealogy. Interestingly, there are only three times out of the 30 between the genealogy of the fall of man and the genealogy of King David that there was no vav included at all in the word translated genealogy. In the genealogy of Ishmael we discover the first. There is not even one vav in the genealogy of Ishmael which speaks to the dire situation that he left to his prodigy. The vav was omitted to point us to the fact that there was no one in Ishmael’s line who was recorded in the line of the Messiah.
In the book of Galatians, the Apostle Paul shows us that Ishmael was a type or a picture of the law which destroys sinful man. The fact is the law could never make anyone right in the eyes of God. This meant there was no hope for the line of Ishmael because they were all held under the bondage of the law. To this day Ishmael's prodigy believe that we are made right before God through their good works. A person must move from Ishmael to Isaac, from the law to grace, from Adam to Christ in order to be forgiven and therefore made right in the eyes of God.
There was only one other line of people where there was no vav in their genealogy from Genesis to Ruth and it was in the line of Levi, one of the 12 sons of Israel. All of the others had a vav in their genealogy. Levi was listed twice in the Old Testament and both times there was missing a vav. This was so because Levi's line was the Levites who were priests and also pictures of the Lord Jesus Himself.
In v.16-18 of today's passage we read, "16 These were the sons of Ishmael and these were their names, by their towns and their settlements, twelve princes according to their nations. 17 These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people. 18 (They dwelt from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt as you go toward Assyria.) He died in the presence of all his brethren."
Ishmael, Levi, along with Levi’s son Amram, the father of Moses the Lawgiver, all died at the same age of 137. These were the only three mentioned in the Bible to die at this age. Ishmael, who pictured the law, and Levi and his son Amram, through whom came Moses and Aaron, all died at the same age. The point is that the law cannot save us and here God gave us a slight hint to that fact.
This final verse in today's passage about Ishmael was given to remind us of when God spoke to Hagar in Genesis 16 about Ishmael. In Genesis 16:12 we read, "He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren."
Although these details seem to be boring repetitions, they are actually exciting features of God’s transcendence and His sovereign work over the people of Israel over time. The words, "he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren," apply beautifully to the sons of Ishmael. Fittingly, Ishmael's descendants to this day live west of Israel, exactly as God told us they would. Here, we are some 4000 years later in time and the Bible is still being validated through the line of Ishmael.
As you know, Muslims regard Ishmael as a very important person because they trace their spiritual heritage back to Ishmael. Twelve times in the Koran Ishmael's name is mentioned. In fact, in the Koran Ishmael is identified as an apostle and a prophet. In Genesis 16 the Angel of the Lord said to Hagar, Ishmael's mom, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand." The word Muslim means one who submits. According to Islamic tradition, Abraham and Ishmael traveled to Mecca and there they built a shrine called the Ka'abah. The Ka'abah is the holy shrine in Mecca where people go every year and make their pilgrimage. They believe that Abraham and Ishmael are buried in Mecca, even though the Bible says Abraham is buried in Hebron in the cave of Machpelah with his wife Sarah.
The Ka'abah was once a shrine that housed 360 different idols representing various gods that were worshiped by the Arab tribes in the region. Allah was one of those gods. Allah was the moon god. Mohammed took a special liking to Allah. And claimed that he was the one true god. And he wanted to unify all of the tribes; so, he squelched all of the other gods, killed those who did not submit, and Islam was established.
The lesson we learn from the life of Ishmael is that we can only find salvation in the God of the Bible, through faith in His goodness. Sinful man's attempts to adhere to the law to gain God's acceptance only separate us further from God. This is the big difference between Christianity and religions such as Islam. Religion calls us to earn God's favor whereas Christianity offers to man the gift of salvation. The law makes us aware of our sinful state, but if it does not usher us into a personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, then we are destined for a painful eternity. The Lord Jesus alone fulfilled the law and now He offers to the willing of heart His free gift of forgiveness which precedes the application of His righteousness to those who really deserve Hell.
