Genesis 25: 12-18 Ishmael – Blessing and Defiance

Genesis is a book of beginnings providing the background, origin and ancestry of the nation of Israel descending from Adam, Noah, Abraham and Isaac.

Because the nation of Israel comes through the line of Isaac, we tend to overlook his brother Ishmael. However, We should not skip over Ishmael so quickly.

God had promised to bless Ishmael, “I will make him into a great nation” (Gen 21:18). The boy became an archer, lived in the wilderness and found a wife. At that point we hear nothing more about him until Genesis 25. Did the Lord forget about this son of a slave woman in the wilderness? Absolutely not.

The Lord blessed Ishmael just as He promised, giving him several sons, “twelve princes” and their clans (25:16). The Lord never forgets his promises; He fulfills them all. He is working in the wilderness areas. He knows about the struggles of outcasts and lowly people. He is ever faithful.

Perhaps you and I feel discouraged with our situation. We may be lonely. We may hurt from the rejection of family, friends, co-workers or classmates. When discouragement, rejection and hurt come our way, we must recall that the Lord is near to those who hurt. He will do everything he has said He would do, now and throughout eternity.

Ishmael lived one hundred and thirty-seven years and had numerous descendents who settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next to Egypt all the way to Ashur.

Notice the last part of Genesis 25:18, “They settled away from all their relatives.” The King James Bible reads, “He died in the presence of all his brethren.” The New American Standard says, “He settled in defiance of all his relatives.”

The Hebrew reads “fell upon the face of all his brothers.” The reason the translations vary at this point is due to the interpretation of this phrase. The King James translates “fell in the face of” as “died in the presence of.” Other versions translate “fell” as “settled.”

The New American Standard’s “settled in defiance” points to hostility between these people and others living nearby. While the phrase is ambiguous, it may foreshadow the Arab-Israeli conflict that we see in the Middle East today.

Muslims state that God made his promises to Ishmael rather than to Isaac. Therefore, through Ishmael they claim to have a right to the land of Palestine.

Two problems immediately arise. First, the Bible states that the land promises were made to Isaac and not to Ishmael. The Lord certainly promised to bless Ishmael, but He never promised to give him the land of Canaan. He gave that promise to Abraham and his descendants through Isaac.

Second, most of the Muslims living in the Middle East have no idea whether or not they descend from Ishmael. In Abraham’s day, there were many different people groups in that part of the world. Some of them were wiped out. Others were assimilated into other clans. The fact that someone living in the Middle East today does not descend from Isaac is insufficient to show that the person descends from Ishmael.

Regardless of the actual lineage of contemporary Muslims in the Middle East, they align themselves with Ishmael. If the New American Standard “defiance” is the accurate understanding of the Hebrew text, it certainly describes the current Arab hostility toward the Jewish people. This attitude extends to the Jews not only in the Middle East but also around the world.

The Bible is not merely a book recording historical events and ancient people having no bearing on our lives today. The historic Scriptural accounts have tremendous bearing on contemporary life. The situation in the Middle East is just one example.

The ultimate defiance involves hearts that are set on doing evil and rebelling against God. The Bible calls that behavior “sin.” We are all born with a sin nature and must be born again in order to obtain a new nature in Jesus Christ.

Be thankful today that God loves you and has provided a way for you to change from having an attitude of defiance toward God to having an attitude of peace, joy and obedience. He is truly a magnificent God.