Daily Devotions
Genesis
"God shall bless us, And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him." Psalm 67:7
Text: Genesis 25:1-34
THE HONOURING OF A PROMISE
God had promised Abraham that He would bless his offspring! And indeed, God had blessed Isaac. He had led Eliezer unerringly to Mesopotamia to discover Rebekah and to secure her hand in marriage for Isaac. Would God continue to bless the next generation – in particular the line of Isaac? The Scriptures with great certainty made this claim!
“And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed
his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi.”GENESIS 25:11
God had not failed to honour His word of promise to Abraham! The Possessor of Heaven and Earth would not go back on His word to His friend, Abraham! He would see that his son would be greatly blessed as well!
THE GENEALOGY OF ISHMAEL
The Angel of God had promised Hagar that Ishmael would be blessed (Cf. Genesis 16:9-13). A similar word of promise to bless Ishmael was also given to Abraham (Cf. Genesis 21:13). It is right that the genealogy of Ishmael should also be recorded in the Scriptures, if only to testify of God’s faithfulness.
“Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham’s son,
whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore
to Abraham. And these were the names of the sons of Ishmael,
by their names, according to their generations: The firstborn of
Ishmael, Nebajoth; then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah,
Massa, Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These were
the sons of Ishmael and these were their names, by their towns
and their settlements, twelve princes according to their nations.”GENESIS 25:12-16
“Twelve princes according to their nations”
Surely God kept His promise to Hagar! From the humble position of a handmaid, she saw her grandchildren becoming “twelve princes”.
“By their towns and their settlements”
Each of these children established his town. In the process of time, each town became a nation! God’s promise was fulfilled in every sense of the word.
THE DEATH OF ISHMAEL
Ishmael lived a very full and long life as well. The Scriptures record his passing away in the following text.
“These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and
thirty seven years; and he breathed his last and died, and was
gathered to his people…He died in the presence of all
his brethren.”GENESIS 25:17-18