It may be relevant to indicate that this issue is not the only instance of inconsistency in respect to Ishmael’s story. The Interpreter’s Bible compares the story of Hagar and Ishmael in Gen. 21:14-19 with that in an earlier chapter (Gen. 16:1-16) and concludes “the inclusion in Genesis of both stories so nearly alike and yet sufficiently different to be inconsistent, is one of many instances of the reluctance of the compilers to sacrifice any of the traditions which has become established in Israel”.
The Symbol of God’s Covenant with Ishmael and his Descendants
According to Gen. 17:10-14, circumcision was regarded as a symbol of the covenant with God and a sign of purification from polytheism.
The significance of circumcision is further reiterated by Christian Biblical scholars who indicate that it is not merely an external act:
“This was His own sign and seal that Israel was a chosen people. Through it a man’s life was linked with a great fellowship whose dignity was its high consciousness that it must fulfill the purposes of God.”
This picture is completed by referring to Gen. 17:23-27 in which we are told that Abraham took Ishmael and all those males born in his household and circumcised them. Commenting on this, The Interpreter’s Bible admits that the Ishmaelites and other descendants of Abraham were “somehow participating in the Abrahamic covenant”.
It is notable that the descendant of Ishmael, Prophet Muhammad, as well as his followers remain until today faithful to this covenant. Circumcision is required of every male Muslim. Using The Interpreter’s Bible’s wording, doesn’t that mean that this was God’s “sign and seal” that the Ishmaelites were also part of God’s covenant in view of their commitment to purify their belief from all forms of polytheism and to restore the pure and true monotheism of their grandfather Abraham? Are they not closer to the Abrahamic covenant than those who sought excuses not to practice circumcision?
Surely many nations on earth were blessed through Abraham. Those closest to Abraham, to the purity and universal scope of the monotheism he taught and to the “sign and seal” of his covenant with God are presently found among the followers of Ishmael’s notable descendant Muhammad. Even without this blood relationship, which is undisputed, the more important relationship with Abraham is the relationship of faith in God’s words:
“Abraham was not a Jew or Christian; but he was true in Faith, and bowed his will to God’s (was a Muslim) and he joined not gods with God. Without doubt, among people, the nearest of kin to Abraham are those who follow him, as are also this apostle (Muhammad) and those who believe. And God is the Protector of those who have faith.“ (The Qur’an 3:67-6
Further Evidence About the Lineage of the Long-awaited Prophet
The foregoing discussion is more than enough to demonstrate that the advent of Prophet Muhammad, a descendant of Ishmael, was indeed the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham and Hagar (Gen. 21:13, and 1.
An additional confirmation which leaves no iota of doubt is found in the Book of Isaiah (Ch. 11:1-2):
“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord.”
The profile given in this chapter is of someone who will be a prophet, a statesmen and a judge and is of the descendants of “Jesse”. Who is “Jesse”? And who met these descriptions?
Some contend that “Jesse” is a reference to David’s father. According to Encyclopedia Biblica, however, we read: “Jesse is contracted from Ishmael.
The only one who came from Ishmael’s “stem” who was a prophet, statesmen and judge was Prophet Muhammad. |