And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
God’s pronouncement of the character of Ishmael is meant to describe not only the individual, but the family of people who would come of him.
Genesis 16:10-11 (KJV)
And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
Though the people we know as Arabs, predominantly Muslims, are composed of more than just the Ishmaelites. Included are the children of the Moabites and Edomites, as well as the children of Isaac’s son Esau, and, I suppose, any of the remaining people from other nations in the Middle East. I know that these people, the Muslims, are only too happy to identify themselves with Abraham through Ishmael. It seems appropriate then to consider the character God proclaimed of Ishmael’s seed in light of Islam.
A wild man
This simply means “one who lives in a wilderness.” I doubt that everyone would agree these days, but that just about describes the whole of the Middle East outside of and east of Israel.
Against every man
The history of Islam, indeed the whole of the Middle East, is that of a fighting, warlike people. Seems like they have a beef with everyone - including their own kind.
Every man against him
Right away my mind goes to Alexander the Great who, at a very young age, took it upon himself to conquer the Middle East all the way to India. He failed, but he gave it a good showing! The United States' own Marine Corps song includes a line about fighting the people of Tripoli - a reference to Islam. So long as America stands beside Israel, it will appear to the rest of the Middle East that we are against them, and so they are against us.
Live among (in the presence of) his brethren
Islam is spreading rapidly. Already, I understand, countries like Spain, Germany, and England have been practically taken over, not through military conquest but by sheer numbers of Muslim immigrants and the children they bear. Some major cities in the United States have been so overwhelmed by the numbers of Muslim immigrants that US citizens no longer feel welcome in their home communities. There are now elected officials of the US government who are Muslim, and blatantly anti-American.
I notice that God did not prevent this race of people from existing. It’s because all of mankind bears the same stamp of sin, all of mankind is equally loved by God, and all of mankind has the same opportunity of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
Ours is not to hate people with whom we disagree. Ours is to love them, pray for them, and preach to them, trusting that the grace of God will reach them so that they are converted and saved.
#IshmaelInGenesis #MiddleEastHistory #BiblicalProphecy #ChristianPerspective #FaithAndSalvation
The Legacy of Ishmael: Conflict and Coexistence in the Middle East
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