Ishmael and Jacob . . . The New and the Old

So, before you start reading, let me give you a forewarning. This post is more of a writing just to get down a bunch of stuff that is in my head. I've recently read about Hagar giving birth to Ishmael, Sarah's birth of Isaac, and the consequent kicking out of Hagar and Ishmael. However, as the Old Testament is stuffed with symbolism tighter than my dad's belt after Thanksgiving dinner, we see that Ishmael and Isaac represent the old and new nature of the believer. Hagar symbolizes the working out of our salvation through works (Abram thought He could "help" God with His promise by having a son with Hagar) while Sarah symbolizes our salvation through faith in Jesus. All this is great, but leads to much theologicalizing (ya, that's a word now) when we see Hagar and Ishmael getting the boot after the birth of Isaac.

First, we see that the old self cannot live with the new. Genesis 21:9 states, "And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian . . . mocking [Jacob]." Galatians 4:29 tells us that Ishmael actually persecuted Jacob, which could mean that Ishmael may have wanted to even kill Jacob. We further see this when Sarah asks Abraham to "cast out this bondwoman and her son" - Genesis 21:10. Simply put, we must "cast out" our old nature and put all of our faith in Jesus and the Cross, not in what we can do ourselves.

However, I am not some high and mighty Christian just telling you to do this because Bible says so. The Bible itself tells us this is difficult to do: "And the thing was very grievous to Abraham's sight because of his son" - Gen. 21:11. The casting out of this bondage, that is salvation by works, can be very difficult, but God can never accept that which is the fruit of our own planning.

Finally, it is no wonder how, after Abraham casts out that was the fruit of his own efforts, (salvation through works) that Abimelech (the worldly/earthly/secular king of the region) came to Abraham. Abraham then settled a dispute over the ownership of a well, a major possession in those days. His dispute with the king was settled as Abimelech acknowledged Abraham's ownership of the well, he no longer needed to fear the king, and, in fact, 21:34 says, "And Abraham sojourned in the Philistine's land many days [in fact, until he died]. When we cast out our flesh, our personal abilities, strength, and effort, we need not fear whatever Abimelech may symbolize for us. We can then live in that land, in peace, for "many days."

FUN FACT!!!! Isaac is a type of the Christ. Isaac's name means "laughter:" that is, blessing, life, well-being, increase, healing. And since Isaac was a picture of Christ, we can see a name for Him as "laughter" as well.

OTHER FUN FACT! Genesis 21:21 - "And he [Ishmael] dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt." This is the beginning of the Arab people, that is, the nation that was promised by God to come from Ishmael. These people compose much of the Muslim population of the world today.