DID ABRAHAM'S SONS BECOME GREAT NATIONS?
(Message by Tanny Keng)
1. Why did God promise great nations to BOTH of Abraham's sons? Is the "great nation" of Ishmael in the Bible?
a) It is true that God promised great nations to both Isaac and Ishmael, but what is a "nation"? In all but five instances in the Old Testament where the word "nation" is used, it is the Hebrew word goy, Strong's Concordance #1471, and means a Gentile or heathen nation or people.
b) Genesis 17 predicts two great nations coming from Abraham and Sarah in their old age. The first great nation sprang from Issac, the only child born to Abraham and Sarah. The second nation would come from Ishmael, Abraham's first child through Hagar (Sarah's servant).
f) The two nations in Rebekah's womb were the Edomites (through Esau, the older brother) and the Israelites (through Jacob, the younger brother). Most Christians in the world today are Israelites. If you study this religion, do it only as a means of comparison. There are vast differences in the two belief systems despite what you might hear to the contrary.
The End ...
1. Why did God promise great nations to BOTH of Abraham's sons? Is the "great nation" of Ishmael in the Bible? a) It is true that God promised great nations to both Isaac and Ishmael, but what is a "nation"? In all but five instances in the Old Testament where the word "nation" is used, it is the Hebrew word goy, Strong's Concordance #1471, and means a Gentile or heathen nation or people.
b) Genesis 17 predicts two great nations coming from Abraham and Sarah in their old age. The first great nation sprang from Issac, the only child born to Abraham and Sarah. The second nation would come from Ishmael, Abraham's first child through Hagar (Sarah's servant).
20 I have heard your request about Ishmael, so I will bless him and give him many children and many descendants. He will be the father of twelve princes, and I will make a great nation of his descendants. (Genesis 17:20)
c) The twenty-fifth chapter of Genesis names the twelve princes of Ishmael and where they dwelt. They were, in alphabetical order, Adbeel, Dumah, Hadar, Jetur, Kedar, Kedemah Massa, Mibsam, Mishma, Naphish, Nebajoth and Tema. The Bible states that they lived in Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt (see Genesis 25:12-18).
d) Smith's Dictionary of the Bible has the following to say about Ishmael.
d) Smith's Dictionary of the Bible has the following to say about Ishmael.
"The sons of Ishmael peopled the north and west of the Arabian peninsula and eventually formed the chief element of the Arab nation, the wandering Bedouin tribes."e) Genesis 25:20-24 tells us that after Isaac and Rebekah married she conceived two children who would represent two nations. The older of the two children would ultimately serve the younger child.
f) The two nations in Rebekah's womb were the Edomites (through Esau, the older brother) and the Israelites (through Jacob, the younger brother). Most Christians in the world today are Israelites. If you study this religion, do it only as a means of comparison. There are vast differences in the two belief systems despite what you might hear to the contrary.
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