We seem to believe that once Ishmael leaves Abraham’s house that he is never heard from or in contact with Abraham again. But from the historical book of Jasher we see Abraham visiting Ishmael and Ishmael returning to Abraham’s house with his family. This presents a change in our thinking. If the children of Abraham through Ishmael lived with Abraham, they would have learned about God. They may have been like Lot and his family, where they heard about God but then chose to not follow. If this is where the Muslims believe they have descended we can see that the reason for contention against the children of Isaac is very strong. However we see that man created a tradition where the oldest son was special and exalted, but God never did that. The eldest son of Adam was mean and jealous, and became a murder. Adam’s third son was favored and brought forth the earliest followers of God. Noah’s eldest son Japeth was not exalted by God instead the second son Shem carried the blessings of God on his linage. Abraham was the third son of Terah. Then Isaac was exalted and later Jacob would be honored, then Joseph, the second to last son in Jacob’s family. God is not concerned with our traditions and our ways. Therefore, the eldest son is not prized in God’s eyes, only the one whose heart leans on God is lifted up. It is that contention that the Muslims still quarrel with today, again, holding to traditions above God’s ways. This has set them up for great deception as a nation and a religion. We cannot tell the potter how to make us, we are clay, we should submit to the potter’s plan, not try and create ourselves in our own way. We, as clay, do not have the intelligence to accomplish anything above the master potter. This issue becomes the root of all falsehood in religion. We, the clay, decide this is what we think is right and we will do what we think, rather, the true sons and daughters of God allow Him to direct our ways.
The bible skims this time period between Ishmael leaving and Abraham offering Isaac, but we have a period of 30 years or so. Jasher fills in the goings on, although not significant to life or death, it is interesting to see that Abraham still lived in the land of the Philistines and he traveled around. It is also noteworthy that Abraham had a run in with Abimelech’s men, who took a well that Abraham’s servants dug.
Gen 21:22 And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest:23 Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.24 And Abraham said, I will swear.25 And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.26 And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day.27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.29 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?30 And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.31 Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba; because there they sware both of them.32 Thus they made a covenant at Beer-sheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.33 And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God.34 And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines' land many days.KJV
Jasher starts with Abraham visiting Ishmael.
Jasher 21:17And he and his mother afterward went to the land of Egypt, and they dwelt there, and Hagar took a wife for her son from Egypt, and her name was Meribah.18And the wife of Ishmael conceived and bare four sons and two daughters, and Ishmael and his mother and his wife and children afterward went and returned to the wilderness.19And they made themselves tents in the wilderness, in which they dwelt, and they continued to travel and then to rest monthly and yearly.20And God gave Ishmael flocks and herds and tents on account of Abraham his father, and the man increased in cattle.21And Ishmael dwelt in deserts and in tents, traveling and resting for a long time, and he did not see the face of his father.22And in some time after, Abraham said to Sarah his wife, I will go and see my son Ishmael, for I have a desire to see him, for I have not seen him for a long time.23And Abraham rode upon one of his camels to the wilderness to seek his son Ishmael, for he heard that he was dwelling in a tent in the wilderness with all belonging to him24And Abraham went to the wilderness, and he reached the tent of Ishmael about noon, and he asked after Ishmael, and he found the wife of Ishmael sitting in the tent with her children, and Ishmael her husband and his mother were not with them.25And Abraham asked the wife of Ishmael, saying, Where has Ishmael gone? and she said, He has gone to the field to hunt, and Abraham was still mounted upon the camel, for he would not get off to the ground as he had sworn to his wife Sarah that he would not get off from the camel.26And Abraham said to Ishmael's wife, My daughter, give me a little water that I may drink, for I am fatigued from the journey.27And Ishmael's wife answered and said to Abraham, We have neither water nor bread, and she continued sitting in the tent and did not notice Abraham, neither did she ask him who he was.28But she was beating her children in the tent, and she was cursing them, and she also cursed her husband Ishmael and reproached him, and Abraham heard the words of Ishmael's wife to her children, and he was very angry and displeased.29And Abraham called to the woman to come out to him from the tent, and the woman came and stood opposite to Abraham, for Abraham was still mounted upon the camel.30And Abraham said to Ishmael's wife, When thy husband Ishmael returneth home say these words to him,31A very old man from the land of the Philistines came hither to seek thee, and thus was his appearance and figure; I did not ask him who he was, and seeing thou wast not here he spoke unto me and said, When Ishmael thy husband returneth tell him thus did this man say, When thou comest home put away this nail of the tent which thou hast placed here, and place another nail in its stead.32And Abraham finished his instructions to the woman, and he turned and went off on the camel homeward.33And after that Ishmael came from the chase he and his mother, and returned to the tent, and his wife spoke these words to him,34A very old man from the land of the Philistines came to seek thee, and thus was his appearance and figure; I did not ask him who he was, and seeing thou wast not at home he said to me, When thy husband cometh home tell him, thus saith the old man, Put away the nail of the tent which thou hast placed here and place another nail in its stead.35And Ishmael heard the words of his wife, and he knew that it was his father, and that his wife did not honor him.36And Ishmael understood his father's words that he had spoken to his wife, and Ishmael hearkened to the voice of his father, and Ishmael cast off that woman and she went away.
It would seem that Ishmael and his mother Hagar were not teachers of God, as this woman did not seem to live as if she knew God at all. It is interesting that Ishmael listened to Abraham and respected him, which would tell me that even if there were hard feelings regarding his exile, Ishmael must have known that he was wrong in his behavior toward Isaac. Also Abraham did not completely disown Ishmael, which shows forgiveness for Ishmael’s jealousy. It is also fascinating that Ishmael was the child of an Egyptian woman, and the love hate relationship Ishmael had with his family seems the same as the love hate relationship Israel and Egypt have today.
37And Ishmael afterward went to the land of Canaan, and he took another wife and he brought her to his tent to the place where he then dwelt.38And at the end of three years Abraham said, I will go again and see Ishmael my son, for I have not seen him for a long time.39And he rode upon his camel and went to the wilderness, and he reached the tent of Ishmael about noon.40And he asked40 And he asked after Ishmael, and his wife came out of the tent and she said, He is not here my lord, for he has gone to hunt in the fields, and to feed the camels, and the woman said to Abraham, Turn in my lord into the tent, and eat a morsel of bread, for thy soul must be wearied on account of the journey.41And Abraham said to her, I will not stop for I am in haste to continue my journey, but give me a little water to drink, for I have thirst; and the woman hastened and ran into the tent and she brought out water and bread to Abraham, which she placed before him and she urged him to eat, and he ate and drank and his heart was comforted and he blessed his son Ishmael.42And he finished his meal and he blessed the Lord, and he said to Ishmael's wife, When Ishmael cometh home say these words to him,43A very old man from the land of the Philistines came hither and asked after thee, and thou wast not here; and I brought him out bread and water and he ate and drank and his heart was comforted.44And he spoke these words to me: When Ishmael thy husband cometh home, say unto him, The nail of the tent which thou hast is very good, do not put it away from the tent.45And Abraham finished commanding the woman, and he rode off to his home to the land of the Philistines; and when Ishmael came to his tent his wife went forth to meet him with joy and a cheerful heart.46And she said to him, An old man came here from the land of the Philistines and thus was his appearance, and he asked after thee and thou wast not here, so I brought out bread and water, and he ate and drank and his heart was comforted.47And he spoke these words to me, When Ishmael thy husband cometh home say to him, The nail of the tent which thou hast is very good, do not put it away from the tent.48And Ishmael knew that it was his father, and that his wife had honored him, and the Lord blessed Ishmael.
After realizing Abraham’s approval of his second wife, Ishmael returns to the land of the Philistines. Having twelve sons, they probably needed a lot of room, which may be why it is noted Abraham moved to Hebron.
Jasher 22:1And Ishmael then rose up and took his wife and his children and his cattle and all belonging to him, and he journeyed from there and he went to his father in the land of the Philistines.2And Abraham related to Ishmael his son the transaction with the first wife that Ishmael took, according to what she did.3And Ishmael and his children dwelt with Abraham many days in that land, and Abraham dwelt in the land of the Philistines a long time.
Now the Conflict:
Jasher 22:4And the days increased and reached twenty six years, and after that Abraham with his servants and all belonging to him went from the land of the Philistines and removed to a great distance, and they came near to Hebron, and they remained there, and the servants of Abraham dug wells of water, and Abraham and all belonging to him dwelt by the water, and the servants of Abimelech king of the Philistines heard the report that Abraham's servants had dug wells of water in the borders of the land.5And they came and quarreled with the servants of Abraham, and they robbed them of the great well which they had dug.6And Abimelech king of the Philistines heard of this affair, and he with Phicol the captain of his host and twenty of his men came to Abraham, and Abimelech spoke to Abraham concerning his servants, and Abraham rebuked Abimelech concerning the well of which his servants had robbed him.7And Abimelech said to Abraham, As the Lord liveth who created the whole earth, I did not hear of the act which my servants did unto thy servants until this day.8And Abraham took seven ewe lambs and gave them to Abimelech, saying, Take these, I pray thee, from my hands that it may be a testimony for me that I dug this well.9And Abimelech took the seven ewe lambs which Abraham had given to him, for he had also given him cattle and herds in abundance, and Abimelech swore to Abraham concerning the well, therefore he called that well Beersheba, for there they both swore concerning it.10And they both made a covenant in Beersheba, and Abimelech rose up with Phicol the captain of his host and all his men, and they returned to the land of the Philistines, and Abraham and all belonging to him dwelt in Beersheba and he was in that land a long time.11And Abraham planted a large grove in Beersheba, and he made to it four gates facing the four sides of the earth, and he planted a vineyard in it, so that if a traveler came to Abraham he entered any gate which was in his road, and remained there and ate and drank and satisfied himself and then departed.12For the house of Abraham was always open to the sons of men that passed and repassed, who came daily to eat and drink in the house of Abraham.13And any man who had hunger and came to Abraham's house, Abraham would give him bread that he might eat and drink and be satisfied, and any one that came naked to his house he would clothe with garments as he might choose, and give him silver and gold and make known to him the Lord who had created him in the earth; this did Abraham all his life.14And Abraham and his children and all belonging to him dwelt in Beersheba, and he pitched his tent as far as Hebron.
This is interesting, from Gerar to Beersheba is about a mile, from Beersheba to Hebron is about 40 miles. So Abraham spread out his family over 40 miles. We can’t really understand that. Spreading out over forty miles, there must have been a lot of people. They probably weren’t in a straight line either; they could have been a mile wide in places, maybe more. Next we see, Abraham’s family who lived in Haran, which is in southern Turkey, and they spread out as well, heading east towards Mesopotamia.
15And Abraham's brother Nahor and his father and all belonging to them dwelt in Haran, for they did not come with Abraham to the land of Canaan.16And children were born to Nahor which Milca the daughter of Haran, and sister to Sarah, Abraham's wife, bare to him.17And these are the names of those that were born to him, Uz, Buz, Kemuel, Kesed, Chazo, Pildash, Tidlaf, and Bethuel, being eight sons, these are the children of Milca which she bare to Nahor, Abraham's brother.18And Nahor had a concubine and her name was Reumah, and she also bare to Nahor, Zebach, Gachash, Tachash and Maacha, being four sons.19And the children that were born to Nahor were twelve sons besides his daughters, and they also had children born to them in Haran.20And the children of Uz the first born of Nahor were Abi, Cheref, Gadin, Melus, and Deborah their sister.21And the sons of Buz were Berachel, Naamath, Sheva, and Madonu.22And the sons of Kemuel were Aram and Rechob.23And the sons of Kesed were Anamlech, Meshai, Benon and Yifi; and the sons of Chazo were Pildash, Mechi and Opher.24And the sons of Pildash were Arud, Chamum, Mered and Moloch.25And the sons of Tidlaf were Mushan, Cushan and Mutzi.26And the children of Bethuel were Sechar, Laban and their sister Rebecca.27These are the families of the children of Nahor, that were born to them in Haran;
Rebecca, who later marries Isaac, was born in Haran, a daughter of Bethuel, youngest son of Nahor, Abraham’s brother.
and Aram the son of Kemuel and Rechob his brother went away from Haran, and they found a valley in the land by the river Euphrates.28And they built a city there, and they called the name of the city after the name of Pethor the son of Aram, that is Aram Naherayim unto this day.29And the children of Kesed also went to dwell where they could find a place, and they went and they found a valley opposite to the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.30And they there built themselves a city, and they called the name at the city Kesed after the name of their father, that is the land Kasdim unto this day, and the Kasdim dwelt in that land and they were fruitful and multiplied exceedingly.31And Terah, father of Nahor and Abraham, went and took another wife in his old age, and her name was Pelilah, and she conceived and bare him a son and he called his name Zoba.32And Terah lived twenty-five years after he begat Zoba.
Pethor is where Balaam resided. We sometimes wonder how a prophet could be in this area, and we wonder why the prophet would be crooked and turn against Israel. Here is why, in Haran Abraham’s family had learned about God. Abraham made disciples of the people of Haran. When they moved from Haran, they took their beliefs with them. There was no written genealogy or history book at that time, Moses was still yet to come. Therefore it would seem that although Balaam was a false prophet, and he was used by God to punish Israel, he was a relative of Abraham.
PETHOR [PEE thohr] (soothsayer) - a city in northern Mesopotamia in which Balaam lived (Num 22:5; Deut 23:4). Balak, king of the Moabites, sent to Pethor to summon Balaam (Josh 13:22) to curse Israel. Pethor has been identified with Tell Ahmar, about 19 kilometers (12 miles) south of CARCHEMISH.(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
33And Terah died in that year, that is in the thirty-fifth year of the birth of Isaac son of Abraham.34And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and he was buried in Haran.35And Zoba the son of Terah lived thirty years and he begat Aram, Achlis and Merik.36And Aram son of Zoba son of Terah, had three wives and he begat twelve sons and three daughters; and the Lord gave to Aram the son of Zoba, riches and possessions, and abundance of cattle, and flocks and herds, and the man increased greatly.37And Aram the son of Zoba and his brother and all his household journeyed from Haran, and they went to dwell where they should find a place, for their property was too great to remain in Haran; for they could not stop in Haran together with their brethren the children of Nahor.38And Aram the son of Zoba went with his brethren, and they found a valley at a distance toward the eastern country and they dwelt there.39And they also built a city there, and they called the name thereof Aram, after the name of their eldest brother; that is Aram Zoba to this day.
Aram-Zobah was a land in Syria where later Saul and David had war with the kings of Zobah.
Zoba, Or Zobah (station), the name of a portion of Syria which formed a separate kingdom in the time of the Jewish monarchs Saul, David and Solomon. It probably was eastward of Coele-Syria, and extended thence northeast and east toward, if not even to, the Euphrates. We first hear of Zobah in the time of Saul, when we find it mentioned as a separate country, governed apparently by a number of kings who owned no common head or chief. 1 Sam 14:47. Some forty years later than this we find Zobah under a single ruler Hadadezer son of Rehob. He had wars with Toi king of Hamath, 2 Sam 8:10, and held various petty Syrian princes as vassals under his yoke. 2 Sam 10:19. David, 2 Sam 8:3, attacked Hadadezer in the early part of his reign, defeated his army, and took from him a thousand chariots, seven hundred (seven thousand,) 1 Chron 18:4, horsemen and 20,000 footmen. Hadadezer's allies, the Syrians of Damascus, were defeated in a great battle. The wealth of Zobah is very apparent in the narrative of this campaign. A man of Zobah, Rezon son of Eliadah, made himself master of Damascus where he proved a fierce adversary to Israel all through the reign of Solomon. 1 Kings 11:23-25. Solomon also was, it would seem engaged in a war with Zobah itself. 2 Chron 8:3. This is the last that we hear of Zobah in Scripture. The name however, is found at a later date in the inscriptions of Assyria, where the kingdom of Zobah seems to intervene between Hamath and Damascus.(from Smith's Bible Dictionary, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
40And Isaac the son of Abraham was growing up in those days, and Abraham his father taught him the way of the Lord to know the Lord, and the Lord was with him.
Reviewing the basic tenets of the Melchizedek Priesthood of which we are called, we see that Abraham taught Isaac the way of the Lord. Abraham made disciples everywhere he went, Ur, Babylon, Haran, Egypt, Canaan, and Philistia. We are to teach the way of the Lord, not the way of the law. Jesus was the fulfillment of the law as a king, and we are called as kings and priests, as Melchizedek (Shem) was. Under the law no one could be a king and a priest; the two lines were separated and not allowed to intermarry. This shows us we are free to follow God without the rules of others. Yet we are not to have our own plan on following God, but we are to submit to God, just as those people did who were before Abraham. As we have picked up understanding along this historical journey of how people followed God from the time of Adam to Abraham, one thing is overwhelmingly true, these people were submitted to God, not men. Abraham was our greatest example, and he was not a Jew, as Judah was not born yet, and he was not a Levite, as Levi was not born yet, he also was not an Israelite as the nation was not established yet. He was not under the law, as the law was not given yet. He simply listened and obeyed God, all by himself, without a church, without routine and religion, without anyone overshadowing him. It is always safer to follow God, not men.
We have to remember that the Lord was with Ishmael as we saw last week, however if Ishmael did not submit his ways to the Lord, the Lord would not always be with him. Many people get into trouble today, looking for fortunetelling prophets, or personal prophecies for their lives. But the key is developing our own personal relationship with God so that we know his voice. It is never about what we want to do, it is about what He wants us to do, and therefore we can only know what he wants us to do by listening to Him. If you will talk to God, He’ll talk back.
Next we have to look at the most talked about event in the life of Isaac, when his father offered him as a sacrifice. It is fascinating to see all the different aspects of this situation, obedience, accusation, greed and eventually blessing.
