 |  |
brought into prominence (Gen. 15: 2). The inspired commentary upon the birth of Isaac
is given by Paul in Rom. 4:, where we read:
"(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations), before Him Whom he
believed, even God, Who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as
though they were. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father
of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being
not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an
hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb; he staggered not at the
promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God"
(Rom. 4: 17-20).
This passage passes over in silence the intrusion of the flesh that brought Ishmael into
the world, but that was another attempt by the enemy, for Hagar was an `Egyptian', a
descendant of Ham, even as were Pharaoh (Gen. 12:) and Abimelech the Philistine
(Gen. 20:).
A further comment by Paul is found in Rom. 9:, where he says, "In Isaac shall thy
seed be called. That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children
of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed" (Rom. 9: 7, 8), and in
Gal. 4: 21-31 the Apostle points to the allegory of the two sons, the son of the
freewoman, Isaac, the son of the bondwoman, Ishmael. Here are lifted out into
prominence, several important features:
(1)
The `deadness' of both Abraham and Sarah, and the utter inability of the flesh.
(2)
That the seed can be brought forth only in resurrection power; and that
(3)
Natural descendants are not to be considered `the seed' but only the children of
promise; and that
(4)
Such are `counted for' the seed.
The subject is of such importance that we must tarry to examine Gen. 12:-22: with
special reference to these four aspects of the subject.
At the creation of man in the beginning, and again at the recommencement after the
flood, God said "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth" (Gen. 1: 28; 9: 1).
The words "Be fruitful, and multiply" were repeated to Jacob upon the changing of his
name to Israel (Gen. 35: 11), but it will be noticed that this blessing was given to Jacob
after all but one of his many children had been born, and so would apply to his posterity.
Ishmael too for Abraham's sake has the same blessing granted to him (Gen. 16: 10;
17: 20). Isaac was told that his seed should multiply as the stars of heaven
(Gen. 26: 4, 24). To Ishmael and to Abraham the word is duplicated in the original
`multiplying I will multiply' (Gen. 16: 10; 22: 17).
The reader will be able to supplement these instances by many more from the Law and
the Prophets, but it is a law of arithmetic that is true for all time that nothing multiplied
by any number still remains nothing. Now Abraham was past age, Sarah was barren, yet
there sprang `even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in
multitude, and as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable' (Heb. 11: 12). Abraham