Before Ishmael and Hagar were banished from Canaan, God gave a set of promises (but not a covenant) to Ishmael since he was Abraham's son:
Genesis 17:18-22
“…for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac ; whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.”
Though Ishmael was NOT the son promised to Abraham and therefore was NOT going to inherit the Birthright; he was though going to be blessed for being Abraham’s son (and because Abraham loved him and wanted him to be blessed) and his descendants were going to also become a blessed nation:
Promises fulfilled and added:
The child you are pregnant with is a boy (son)
(Completely fulfilled in Genesis 16:15 when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael around 1900 B.C.)
His name will be Ishmael (the lord hears) because God heard what happened to Hagar
(Completely fulfilled in Genesis 16:15 when he was named Ishmael around 1900 B.C.)
And though him, Hagar will have a multitude of children that cannot be counted
Ishmael would become like a wild donkey (Very crazy and unstable) and He will be against everyone and fight them and would be hostile towards his brothers (all close relatives)
God would bless him
Ishmael would be the father of 12 kings and they would become/rule over a great nation
BUT The birthright would not go to him it would go to Abraham’s and Sarah’s son Isaac
So after Isaac was born, him and his mother were banished from Canaan (cut off from the bloodline of Abraham and Isaac) where they traveled to a local desert where Hagar ran out of water and became hopeless in the situation that Ishmael was going to die of thirst:
Genesis 21:14-16
“She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, ‘I cannot watch the boy die.’ And as she sat there, she began to sob.”
However God heard Ishmael crying and reaffirmed the promises to Hagar that he would live and his descendants would become a great nation:
Genesis 21:17-19
“God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, ‘What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.’ Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So, she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.”
Since then, Hagar and her son Ishmael lived in the desert of Beersheba where God blessed him as he promised. Eventually Ishmael grew up and became a great archer in the desert:
Genesis 21:20
“God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer.”
Eventually him and his mother moved to the Paran desert where his mother went back to her homeland Egypt to get an Egyptian wife for her now mature son:
Genesis 21:21
“…While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.”
He had 12 sons and at least 1 daughter from this Egyptian wife (and possibly from other wives not mentioned):
Genesis 25:13-15
“…the sons of Ishmael…: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah.”
These twelve sons were the first Ishmaelites (descendants of Ishmael) and also the promised 12 rulers of Ishmael!
Genesis 25:16
“These are the names of the twelve tribal rulers”
These son’s descendants were going to form their own tribes and be the patriarchal founder/rulers of each tribe! So God kept his promise to make Ishmael’s children 12 kings: 12 tribal kings that is.
Promises fulfilled:
He would have a multitude of children that cannot be counted
Ishmael would become like a wild donkey (Very crazy and unstable) and He will be against everyone and fight them and would be hostile towards his brothers (all close relatives)
God would bless him
(First fulfilled in Genesis 21:17-19 when he was blessed with finding water in the Desert and continued for the rest of his life)
Ishmael would be the father of 12 kings and they would become/rule over a great nation
(Fulfilled in Genesis 25:12-18 when Ismael’s wife/wives gave birth to 12 sons that would become 12 patriarchal rulers of their descendants around 1900 B.C.)
BUT The birthright would not go to him it would go to Abraham’s and Sarah’s son Isaac
These 12 sons lived in the desert with their father mother and Grandmother eventually their grandmother Hagar that gave birth to Ishmael died and Ishmael himself lived to be 137 and then he died and was buried by his children:
Genesis 25:17
“Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people.”
Afterwards his 12 sons also had their own children and these children formed Ishmaelite tribes after their tribal ruler’s names.
After only 2 generations Ishmael’s descendants were already forming their own nation/people and were becoming desert spice traders to Egypt and Mesopotamia:
Genesis 37:25
“... they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt."
Eventually the Ishmaelite’s settled in very northern Arabian Peninsula between Mesopotamia and Egypt and then began to live in hostility between the other Abrahamite peoples around them fulfilling the prophecy of the Angel of the Lord:
Genesis 25:18
“His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur. And they lived in hostility toward all the tribes related to them.”
Promises fulfilled:
He would have a multitude of children that cannot be counted
Ishmaelites would become like a wild donkey (Very crazy and unstable) and He will be against everyone and fight them and would be hostile towards his brothers (all close relatives)
(Fulfilled when the Ishmaelite tribes moved to Northern Arabia and became hostile towards other Abrahamic peoples around them in Genesis 25:18 around 1800-1500 B.C.)
God would bless them
(First fulfilled in Genesis 21:17-19 when he was blessed with finding water in the Desert and continued for the rest of his life then his descendants were blessed )
Ishmael would be the father of 12 kings and they would become/rule over a great nation
(Fulfilled in Genesis 25:12-18 when Ismael’s wife/wives gave birth to 12 sons that would become 12 patriarchal rulers of their descendants and the descendants formed a great nation in northern Arabia around 1900-1500 B.C.)
BUT The birthright would not go to him or his descendants it would go to Abraham’s and Sarah’s son Isaac
(Fulfilled: The holy covenant birthright made with Abraham was given to the chosen son Isaac: Ishmael, his children, nor their descendants ever inherited the birthright)
This nation from Ishmael’s descendants in Northern Arabia became known in the Bible and in history as primarily ‘Arabia’. Now at this time Arabia [Exclusively used to refer to Ishmaelites] did not include ALL of the Arabian Peninsula like it does today but rather Arabia included only the desert area between Mesopotamia and Levant (very northern Arabia).
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