Membership in a family / household / nation requires fulfilling responsibilities.
“when Abram heard that his brother / nephew was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan…and smote them, and pursued them…And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people. (Genesis 14)
This precept is so important that multiple examples are given in scripture from “Abraham, who is the father of us all [believers in YHVH’s Savior]”. (Romans 4:16)
“Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian…and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife…and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes…Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thine hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.
And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness…said unto her, “Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands…thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction…and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren...And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God [not Amon or Ra!] seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?” (Genesis 16:1-13)
Hagar believed, trusted and obeyed the LORD / YHVH God of Abraham through his human representative! Are we going to deny that she is saved?
“And Abraham said unto God…”
Abraham – get that!! – No longer “Abram” father of a single nation miraculously late in life for both parents! Now “Abraham” – father of multiple nations at a point in time when Ishmael is the ONLY male seed to generation any nation. Ishamel matters not just to Abraham but to God!
“O that Ishmael might live before thee!” (Genesis 17:18)
Abraham is not asking for permanent life in the sense of salvation for Ishmael. He is asking for the Melchizedek role – permanently in the presence of God as the intercessor between God and man.
“Then came to him the mother of Zebedees children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him…Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom. But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” (Matthew 20:20-22)
“And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking [her son Isaac]. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son [Ishmael]. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice;
for in Isaac shall thy seed – heir as Melchizedek – be called.”
We understand this as meaning “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David.” (Revelation 5:5)
But we can’t stop there because God doesn’t stop there.
“AND ALSO of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.”
If Gentile believers apply to ourselves that
“thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of EVERY kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God Melchizekian kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:9-10)
then we must accept that this applies to Ismael’s nation as well.
Let’s be honest. Ishmael had a point when he mocked pampered Isaac – and Abraham knew it, just like Isaac himself when he chose as his heir killer Esau over chip-off-the-old-block-homebody Jacob Everything Isaac had was given to him by his rich Daddy. Isaac is known for not putting up a fight. Not when his father took a knife to him – for which he is applauded – or when he walked away from protecting his flocks time after time, or even when he risked losing his wife to another man.
“And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon. Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife. And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife; and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.” (Genesis 26:8-10)
Isaac was not so much the warrior, as not the lover needed to reclaim the promised land. He is often held up as a “type of Christ” for accepting death at his father’s hand, but more importantly, Isaac was not a man who would give his life for his beloved.
“And Abraham rose up early in the morning…and sent her away: and she departed.”
Get it? She obeyed! She knew her son’s father’s history
“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:” (Genesis 12:1-2)
and she trusted his LORD / YHVH God to fulfill the same promises he made to their son!
And so did Ishmael!
“And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make HIM a great nation.”
These call-and-responses are not random shots in the dark! In their time of fear they are calling out to God and clinging to faith in God’s promises! I strongly suspect they are not recognized as such because WE don’t put our faith in his promises!! We just plead and beg for what we want at any time of need. Admit it!
“And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.” (Genesis 21)
As time goes on, we discover that Ishmael’s DNA and epigenetics passed down from a hard wilderness life raised up the nation required to prepare the way of the Lord.
Are you catching the parallel? Ishmael is a forerunner of John the Baptist, making Mohammed a legitimate
“messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the LORD, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire.” (Malachi 3:1-2)
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we find that Abraham has reached a level of career development that includes becoming a member of the LORD’s privy council.
“And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation…For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD.” (Genesis 18:18-21)
Do we make a backwards assumption in a superficial reading of this passage?
- Did Abraham have the responsibility to ensure that all his existing household keep the way of the LORD,
- or did Abraham have the responsibility to limit his household to only those who kept the way of the LORD?
In brief, what comes first – being a member of Abraham’s household or keeping the way of the LORD?
“Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” Luke 3:7-9)
Keeping the way of the LORD precedes becoming a member of Abraham’s household.
The reason God told Abraham in advance of the impending catastrophe was to warn him not to bail Lot out of the mess he had created for himself because Lot was not a member of Abram’s household.
“And Abram was very rich in cattle…And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds…And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle…And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee…for we be brethren / kinsmen.” (Genesis 13:1-8)
Abraham was entitled to put down Lot’s rebellion, but he chose peace, at what appeared at the time to be at great cost to him and his heirs.
“Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left…And Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan…and they separated themselves the one from the other.” (Genesis 13:9-11)
This separation was more than physical distance, it severed family ties since Lot refused to accept Abraham’s authority as head of the household. And since Abram had no sons of his own, and is getting on in age, Lot was the closest genetic relation to a son he could expect to ever have.
Listen to how the LORD comforts Abram on the loss of the future hopes he had pinned on Lot. R
“And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art…For all the land which thou seest [even the section Lot took], to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed…so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered…
And Abram said, [his voice breaking] LORD God, what wilt thou give me…Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.”
Please tell me you get this foreshadowing!
“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;” (Ephesians 2:19)
And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
And [against all reason] he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. (Gen 13:14-16, 15:2-6)
Contrast this account of Abram’s relationship with God the Father to Lot’s relationship with Abram as father. Lot does not reflect Abram’s righteous character.
And when Lot hits rock bottom, he still won’t admit that he got himself into his awful predicament.
“I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:”
Umm, recall that when Lot went to “the plain” he left Abram in what can only be “the mountains.” So what evil can he possibly fear awaiting him in the mountain? Humiliation having to admit he was wrong, suffered the consequences and now must beg for sustenance from Abraham as a prodigal son.
As you read the following story contrast Lot’s actions avoiding Abraham with this other son in the same predicament.
“A certain man had [a son who] said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto [him] his living. And not many days after the…son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance...and he began to be in want…
And when he came to himself, he said…I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father.” (Luke 15:11-20)
Unlike this son, at no point in his tragic life did Lot use his family connections with Abraham to take advantage of his resources. Why? It would require submitting himself to Abraham’s authority. Maybe even admitting “I was wrong,” AKA repenting.
The following passage has been rearranged a bit to drive home this point that Lot’s life went from bad to worse when he couldn’t bring himself to return to the crucial crossroad where he went wrong: when “they separated themselves the one from the other.” (Genesis 13:11)
And yet, Lot is called righteous.
“God…turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow…delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)” (II Peter 2:4-8)
Sounds like most righteous Christians today – tsk-tsking over the evils of society to avoid facing up to one’s own refusal to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of…doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (II Peter 3:18, II Timothy 3:16-17).
It’s a personal relationship, not a denominational membership, that counts with God.
If Lot can be called righteous, can we possibly free our minds of political and religious rhetoric and consider that Mohammed, descendant of Ishmael, granted an inheritance by the God of Abraham, was also righteous? And so much more than Lot, as Muhammed led a return to worship of the One True God against paganism.
This matches Daniel’s experience of revelations from the same angel.
Muhammed spent a lot of time fasting and meditating and was reportedly very upset by the commercialization of the Kaaba, the corrupting influences that wealth had brought his tribe. Muslims believe that Muhammad received revelations from God throughout his life, sometimes through the angel Gabriel and at other times in dreams and visions directly from God.
This matches the experiences of the Jewish prophets such as Moses and Isaiah.
A fervent monotheist, Muhammad denounced the polytheism of his fellow Meccans. Because the town’s economy was based in part on a thriving pilgrimage business to the shrine called the Kaaba and numerous other pagan religious sites in the area, his censure earned him the enmity of the town’s leaders.
This matches Paul’s experience at Ephesus.
For more detail on Islam see the relevant post.
Kingdom Come 