Anybody could have been tempted to retain him. His arrival was a great comfort and relief to the longing, dried and thirsty hearts of the aged couple. He had no rival or alternative; he looks like the original of what they had been waiting for, and on him the aged couple began to build their hope of succession and heirship until the son of the promise arrived!
For thirteen solid years Abraham thought Ishmael’s birth had fulfilled God’s promise. He was surprised to hear God say that the promised child would be Abraham and Sarah very own. Sarah pregnancy and Isaac birth must have had a devastating impact on Ishmael. Until then he had been treated as a son and heir but this later arrival made his future uncertain. The birth of Isaac suddenly changed the atmosphere around Ishmael. Isaac became a big threat to the person and position of Ishmael. Ishmael knew that the birth of Isaac meant automatic displacement and substitution for him! Ishmael was the son of a slave which invariably renders him a slave as well but Isaac was the son of the master, and this also makes him a potential master. This reality must have been a matter of serious struggle in the heart of Ishmael which occasion has not allowed him to give expression to until the weaning ceremony of Isaac.
During Isaac’s weaning celebration, Sarah caught Ishmael teasing his half-brother. As a result, Hagar and Ishmael were permanently expelled from Abraham family. In this harsh expulsion of Ishmael lies great lesson to be learned.
“And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called” (Gen. 21: 9-12)
ISHMAEL BY DISCERNMENT
“And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking…”
And Sarah SAW Ishmael mocking Isaac. This to me was not just an ordinary sighting of the eye. It must be something beyond the sighting of the eye for Sarah to have been brutal enough to order the eviction of Ishmael from the house. It is one thing to see by the sighting of the eye, it’s another thing to see beyond visual perception. When Sarah saw Ishmael, she saw with discernment. When she saw, she saw with the perception of that which is obscure. When Sarah saw Ishmael, she saw beyond what was registered on her corona. This kind of seeing was similar to what Eve also saw before she ate the forbidden fruit. The fruit had been there all along and Eve had been seeing it from time to time. But one day when Sarah was under the influence of the power of the serpent, she saw the fruit differently from just ordinary fruit. It was a seeing by discernment “And when the woman SAW that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” Gen. 3:6. In the same way Sarah saw Ishmael beyond just a lad of fourteen years, she saw what Ishmael TRULY connotes! What Sarah saw in Ishmael is what is later revealed to us in the New Testament hundreds of years after. That could have only happen by discernment!
“For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the FLESH; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an ALLEGORY: for these are the two covenants…” Galatians 4:22-24
Wow! What a revelation! When Sarah SAW Ishmael, what she actually saw standing was the WORK OF THE FLESH which the Scripture also calls the SINFUL NATURE.
“Now THE WORKS OF THE FLESH are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” Galatians 5:19-21 KJV.
The ACTS OF THE SINFUL NATURE are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery… NIV
ISHMAEL WAS A VISIBLE SYMBOL OF THE WORK OF THE FLESH ALSO KNOWN AS SINFUL NATURE!
Ishmael is a symbol of the sinful nature. Ishmael is an embodiment of carnality. Ishmael is a symbol of human arrangements as opposed to the will of God. Ishmael is a symbol of that which is just opposite to what God wants. While Isaac is a product of the will of God, Ishmael is the outcome of man’s desire as against the will of God. Therefore, it was just normal for Ishmael to persecute, oppose, afflict and mock Isaac. “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” Gal 5:17.
So when Sarah saw Ishmael mocking Isaac, she saw beyond the physical, she saw A SERIOUS BATTLE OF THE FLESH AGAINST THE SPIRIT! And once she spotted that, she saw something dangerous to deal with immediately.
ISHMAEL MUST BE CAST OUT!
“Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
To allow Ishmael to continue to live in the house with Isaac would be tantamount to keeping a ram and a lion together. To give Ishmael a continued residence with Isaac after the revelation of his person would mean a deliberate courting of danger. To still show pity on Ishmael following his hostility towards Isaac would mean pitying a death that wanted to kill you. And that would be a foolishness of a superlative degree. But Sarah was not foolish. She would not allow the good seed of the spirit to be choked up eventually by the thorn of carnality. She knew the only situation was to cast him out!
NOTE: YOU CANNOT KEEP “ISHAMEL!” YOU CANNOT TAME “ISHMAEL!” “ISHMAEL” CANNOT BE DOMESTICATED! ISHMAEL IS AN UNREPENTANT DANGER! WHOEVER KEEPS ISHMAEL DOES SO AT HIS OWN PERIL! ISHMAEL IS A SURE DISASTER GOING SOMEWHERE TO HAPPEN! ISHMAEL MUST BE CAST OUT!
Though it was grievous to Abraham because he was yet to see what Sarah saw, yet there was no going back on it, the decision was no longer Sarah’s but God’s! Sarah’s voice was the voice of God. “And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.” For Abraham, casting out Ishmael was not easy, but if Abraham was mindful of preserving his Isaac, there could be no other alternative than casting out Ishmael.
DON’T SPARE ISHMAEL!
Remember we have established what Ishmael stands for. Ishmael is a symbol or the embodiment of THE FLESH or the SINFUL NATURE. “Now THE WORKS OF THE FLESH are manifest, which are these; sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God”.
Any manifestation of the works of the flesh is something dangerous to your life. If not dealt with, it will kill you eventually. Those who pamper the flesh do so at their own risk. It has never profited any who pampered it. Ishmael was allow to grow and continue in Abraham’s family until he became a disturbance, grief, and scandal to that family.
It was just a little (as we always call it) anger in the life of Moses but it killed him eventually! The anger of Moses at the water of Meribah did not jump on him suddenly that day, it grew with him. That anger has been manifesting from his childhood, but Moses left it until it festered to the point of edging him out of the one single thing he sacrificed his life for! Moses had history of anger. In anger, Moses had smitten an Egyptian man in his defence of his brethren. In anger, Moses broke the Tables of Stones written and handed to him by God. In anger he spoke harshly to God concerning the children of Israel. Eventually, the same anger made him smite the Rock that he should have spoken to! And that cost him dearly! Ishmael must be cast out!
Remember Samson the great? Great strength in one area of his life did not compensate for great weakness in other area. Sexual weakness became the undoing of the mighty Samson eventually. Samson had an eye for girls. Everywhere he went, the only tourist attraction that seemed to catch his eyes were ladies. He moved from one lady to another until he lost his strength and became captured in-between the den of the laps of Delilah. Note, the weakness you don’t deal with today will later deal with you tomorrow. Sexual scandals don’t just happen suddenly to a man, it normally start with little little sexual infidelity until it snowballs into raging fire of scandals. Masturbation, if not dealt with quickly will waste your emotional strength, render you mentally unproductive and make you a dysfunctional person eventually.
What about Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed Jesus Christ with 30 pieces of silver? He did not suddenly become lover of money at the point of selling Jesus for money, he had been a greedy man all along. When a woman, out of deep gratitude to Jesus Christ came to anoint Jesus with a very costly ointment, Judas said, “Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.” Judas used a pious phrase to hide his true motives. But Jesus knew what was in his heart. His life had become a lie and Satan was gaining more and more control over him until the point of selling the Saviour of the world!
ISMALE MUST BE CAST OUT!
Ishmael, the symbol or allegory of the flesh or the sinful nature is not just one particular activity or habit that can be located, it’s actually a lifestyle. We may describe it by the various activities, characters and manifestations it produces as seen in Galatia 5:19: but actually it is a lifestyle. A dangerous lifestyle that leads to death and destruction if left to grow. Which one is manifesting in your life?
“Now the doings (practices) of the flesh are clear (obvious): they are immorality, impurity, indecency, Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies), Envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
You’ve got to identify which is the manifestation of the flesh and deal with it before it sniffs life out of you!
So “Quick! Catch all the little foxes before they ruin the vineyard of your love, for the grapevines are all in blossom” Songs 2:15. You cannot keep fire in your bosom and not expect your skin not to be burnt! Ishmael was allow to grow and continue in Abraham’s family until he became a disturbance, grief, and scandal to that family!
The works of the flesh are sinful works. And sin is the worst enemy both to God and man. Therefore, we must fight against it until we obtain victory. To be engaged against sin is to fight in a good cause, for we are only defending ourselves against that which would destroy us, if it should get the victory over us.
FOR VICTORY OVER THE WORKS OF THE FLESH, THE BLOOD AND THE CROSS OF CHRIST IS THE ANSWER!