The Generations of Ishmael (Genesis 25:12-18)

Today we will conclude our series on The Life of Abraham. I know that many of you thought we would have concluded this series yesterday, when Abraham died. After all, once he’s dead, that’s it, right? Wrong! As Christians, we know that life continues even after our death, and Abraham, as the Father of Faith surely would be spending eternity in heaven with God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son, to whom Abraham would have looked forward in faith.

But I’m not talking about life after death. When it comes to the Life of Abraham, there is one footnote that needs to be completed in the middle of Genesis 25: what happened to Ishmael? From 25:19 through the end of the book, we follow the story of Isaac and his descendants (which is why next week will mark the start of our new series: The Life of Jacob and Esau). But what about Abraham’s firstborn son? What happened to Ishmael? We get that tidbit of information in today’s Scripture passage.

Please read Genesis 25:12-18.

I know that most of us would prefer to skim over lists and genealogies in the Bible, but I’d like to draw your attention towards the end of this list for an important factor. Verse 16 names Ishmaels sons as “twelve princes according to their tribes.” Isaac’s grandsons would also be “twelve princes among their tribes,” or, as we know them today, the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel. Clearly, God was blessing both of Abraham’s prominent sons by making them fathers of great nations.

Unfortunately, that is where the comparisons end. While both Isaac and Ishmael have children who go on to lead great nations, only one of them has a son whose name is changed to Israel, and whose sons become the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel. Only one has a son who wrestles with God and refuses to let go. Only one has a son who sees visions of the Lord. Only Isaac has a line of descendants whose lives go on to compose the entire text of the Bible. All Ishmael gets is a few verses tagged on at the end of his father’s death.

Yet, these verses teach us an important lesson: even when this man of faith refused to wait on the Lord and have a child with his wife, even when he committed infidelity and bore a son by his servant, even when Abraham was unfaithful to God, God remained faithful to Abraham. God promised Abraham that He would bless Ishmael as well as Isaac, and He would make Ishmael into a great nation as well. Though Ishmael was born out of unfaithfulness, God remained faithful. Ishmael’s sons became “princes according to their tribes.”

I hope this can be an encouragement to you today. Our lives, like Abraham, are marked by a history of unfaithfulness to the Lord. But God remains faithful. God always keeps His promises. If you have surrendered to Him as His child, then it doesn’t matter how many mistakes you make, it doesn’t matter how many times you rebel against Him, it doesn’t matter how often you go astray. God will always remain faithful. He will never leave you nor forsake you. If He has promised to make you into a great nation, then He will make your sons “princes according to their tribes.”

Think of the many promises that God has made to you as a believer in Jesus Christ, and rest easy in them, knowing that God always keeps His promises.