Of Ishmael and Isaac

Do we need Scriptural proof that God’s redemptive promises were made not to all the Jews but only to those He had elected to salvation? Well, here it is. Paul here takes us back to the earliest days of Jewish history to show the context in which the first promises were made—and to show that God was engaging in election even then.

The history of the Jews begins with the call of Abraham in Genesis 12, a call that is in itself an act of divine election. God brought Abraham to Canaan and there promised to give the land to his descendants (Gen. 12:7). That promise was somewhat ambiguous, however, because Abraham was childless. In time, God assured Abraham that he would have a son (Gen. 15:4), but as the years stretched on no child came. Finally Abraham and his wife, Sarah, devised a scheme—Abraham would father a child by Sarah’s maid. This liaison did produce a son, Ishmael. But God later made clear mat He intended to give Abraham a son named Isaac by barren Sarah—and though He would bless Ishmael (Gen. 17:20), it would be with Isaac that God would establish His covenant (Gen. 17:16, 19, 21). In other words, the descendants of Isaac, not the descendants of Ishmael, would receive the promises of God. This is precisely what God meant when He spoke to Abraham, saying, “ ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called’ ” (Gen. 21:12). He was saying that the descendants mentioned in the promises would not include all of Abraham’s progeny but would come only from Isaac’s line. Isaac was God’s elect, not Ishmael.

Dr. James M. Boice points out the crucial distinction between Ishmael and Isaac. Ishmael—and his own descendants—were “children of the flesh” or “natural children,” owing their existence to Abraham’s natural powers. But Isaac—and those of his line—were “children of the promise.” Ishmael was born when Abraham was 86 (Gen. 16:16), still able to father children. But Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 (Gen. 21:5); by then he had lost the ability to impregnate his wife (Rom. 4:19; Heb. 11:12), and Sarah herself was far past the age of childbearing. Simply put, Isaac never would have existed had God not intervened miraculously. In like manner, God in every age elects and causes to be born again people for His own possession. These, like Isaac, are “children of promise” (Gal. 4:28).