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beloved son Abraham remained true. He had no basis in a physical sense,
but he knew he had heard God. Along the way, he felt the hand of God on
him, and continued to hear God in his heart. Many years of struggling and
the doubts of others did not deter Abraham, for he knew his efforts would
come to fruition—that is faith! Abraham didn’t doubt, but the forces of
doubt within his mind must have been tremendous. He did not see precisely
what was ahead, but his faith led him forward.
Remember in Genesis, God placed an emphasis on the seed of Abraham,
the seed of man, and affirmed a covenant with Abraham: “Unto thy seed I
will give this land.”
(Genesis 12:7)
He also said, “And I will establish my
covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations
for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after
thee.”
(Genesis 17:7)
So the seed of man has an essential purpose for God’s
plan to be fulfilled. The seed of man, not the seed of God, for the seed of
God is Divine.
With great intentions and great anxiety, another plan developed within the
minds of those around Abraham. Even today, a complete understanding is
lacking. Sarah fell prey to temptation and gave her servant from Egypt to
Abraham, who fathered the son Ishmael. Sarah’s doubt overwhelmed her,
and she used Hagar for her purpose. Using customs and perhaps laws,
Hagar, gave birth on Sarah’s lap. Sarah technically became a mother as
Ishmael was born. But, Sarah was disobedient according to God’s promise.
Abraham was used to justify Hagar’s plan, as if Ishmael would take the
inheritance from Isaac. He was tested and tried to the limits of his faith,
because Abraham would have to deny his firstborn to honor God by giving
the inheritance to the second-born son—a most profound understanding
for the future time.
As always, division and doubt came from others who should have been
supportive. With great intentions, decisions were made to fulfill what they
thought God’s promise meant. God’s covenant was a promise associated
with the seed of Abraham—imminent perhaps to what those of that time
thought. However, the conclusion was not obvious, but remains imminent
in a today reality to be sure—question this: from what nation will the seed
of Abraham come forth?
While Abraham was the progenitor of the Hebrews, he is also the
progenitor of the family of Ishmael or the Muslims. They too recognize
Abraham as their father. The Biblical account of his life is based on historic