When Isaac was a young man, God tested Abraham's faith by commanding him to sacrifice Isaac as an offering. But when Abraham placed Isaac upon the altar, an angel appeared and stopped the sacrifice, providing a ram instead. This showed clearly that Isaac was God's choice to carry on the covenant. - Gen. 22:1-19 -

The angel of Yahweh called Abraham a second time from heaven. 'I swear by my own self - it is Yahweh who speaks - because you have done this, because you have not refused me your son, your only son, I will shower blessings on you, I will make your descendants as many as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants shall gain possession of the gates of their enemies. All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants, as a reward for your obedience.' - Gen. 22:15-18 -

Hagar and Ishmael wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. When their water was gone and Ishmael grew weary. Hagar placed him under a shrub to await death. The angel of God again contacted Hagar and showed her a well. After drawing water, Hagar returned to Ishmael. Ismael grew up in the wilderness of Paran and gained fame as an archer. Hagar arranged Ishmael marriage to an Egyptian wife. - Gen. 21:14-21 -

Isaac married Rebekah when he was 40 years old. Rebekah became Isaac's wife when God directed one of Abraham's servants to her. The Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible reveals that Isaac loved Rebekah and that she was a comfort to him after his mother Sarah's death. Gen. 24:67 - Isaac and Rebekah had twin sons, Jacob (later being named as Israel by God) and Esau, who were born when Isaac was 60 years old.

Famine prompted the family to move to Gerar, where God appeared to Isaac and reaffirmed the covenant. Moving through the Valley of Gerar, where he reopened the wells that Abraham had dug, Isaac made a camp at Beersheba. This place became his permanent home. There Isaac built an altar just as his father had done. - Gen. 26:15-25 -

The elder twin, Esau, was Isaac's favourite son, although God had declared that the older or elder shall serve the younger. - Gen. 25:23 - But Jacob was Rebekah's favourite son. Disagreement arose over which of the twins would receive the birthright and carry on the covenant which God had made with Abraham. Rebekah conspired with Jacob to trick the aging, blind Isaac into giving Isaac's blessing to Jacob (Israel) rather than Esau.

Shortly, thereafter, Isaac sent Jacob to Laban in Paddan-aram to find a wife and to escape Esau's wrath. Esau soon left his father's household. Many years passed before the two brothers were at peace with each other. But they were united at last in paying last respects to their father after his death. Isaac lived to be 180 years old. He was buried alongside Abraham, Sarah and Rebekah in the cave of Machpelah. - Gen. 35:27-29; 49:30-31 -

When Abraham died, Ishmael returned from exile to help Isaac with the burial. - Gen. 25:9 - As God promised, Ishmael became the father of 12 princes, as well as a daughter, Mahalath, who later married Esau, son of Isaac. Ishmael died at the age of 137 years old. - Gen. 25:16; 28:9; 25:17 -

Ishmael was the father of the 'Ishmaelites' a nomadic nation which lived in northern Arabia. Modern day Arabs claim descent from Ishmael. The son of Nethaniah and a member of the house of David. After the Babylonian conquest of Judah, king Nebuchadnezzar appointed a Jewish captive, Gedaliah, as governor. Gedaliah promised to welcome all Jews who came under his protection. Ishmael and several others accepted Gedaliah's offer with the intent of killing him.

As regards the people............ Ishmael son of Nethaniah..., they and their men. To them and their men Gedaliah swore an oath. 'Do not be afraid of the Chaldaeans' he said 'live in the country, obey the king of Babylon, and all will go well with you.' But in the seventh month, Ishmael, and ten men with him, came and murdered Gedialiah, as well as the Judaeans and Chaldaeans who were with him at Mizpah. - 2 Kings 25:22-26 -

Gedaliah was warned that Ishmael was allied with the Ammonite king in plotting to kill him, but he refused to believe it. Jer. 40:14-16 - When Gedaliah invited Ishmael and ten others to a banquet, they murdered everyone in attendance. The killers fled toward the Ammonite country with several hostages, but they were overtaken by pursuers in Gibeon. The hostages were rescued, but Ishmael and eight men escaped to the Ammonites. - Jer. 41:1-15 -

Ishmael was one of five army officers recruited by Jehoiada to help overthrow queen Athaliah of Judah in favour of the rightful heir, Joash. - 2 Chr. 23:1 -

The Ishmaelites, like the Israelites (Abraham's children through Sarah) were divided into 12 tribes. - Gen. 25:16 - Out of respect for Abraham, God made a great nation of the Ishmaelites, even though Ishmael was not Abraham's promised son. - Gen. 21:12-13 - Ishmael's 12 sons had many descendants who lived as nomads in the deserts of northern Arabia.

The Old Testament eventually used the term Ishmaelite in a broader sense, referring to all the Arabian merchants. Any wild and war-like peoples of the desert could claim to be descendants of Ishmael. This wider use of Ishmaelites is illustrated by an event in the life of Joseph. Joseph's older brothers sold him to some caravan traders who were called 'a company of Ishmaelites' as well as 'Midianite' traders. They were probably a minor clan of the larger Ishmaelite tribe. - Is. 13:20; Ezek. 27:20-21; Gen. 16:12; 37:25-28 -

The Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible contains many references to Isaac's good character and behaviour, and good attitude. The Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible gives evidence of Isaac's submission, meditation, trust in God, sincere devotion, peaceful nature, and his life of prayer, faith and love in God. - Gen. 22:6-9; 24:63-67; 26:20-26 - and in the New Testament, Isaac is called a child of promise.

It says, if you remember that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave girl [Hagar], and one by his free born wife [Sarah]. The child [Ishmael] of the slave girl was born in an ordinary way; the child [Isaac] of the free woman was born as a result of a promise. - Gal. 4:22-23 -

It was equally by faith that Sarah, in spite of being past the age, was made able to conceive because she believed that He who had made the promise would be faithful to it. Because of this, there came from one man, and one man who was already as good as dead himself, more descendants than could be counted, as many as the stars of heaven or the grains of sand on the seashore.

All these died in faith, before receiving any of the things that had been promised, but they saw them in the far distance and welcomed them, recognizing that they were only strangers and nomads on earth. People who use such terms about themselves make it quite plain that they are in search of their real homeland. They can hardly have meant the country they came from, since they had the opportunity to go back to it; but in fact, they were longing for a better homeland, their heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, since He has founded the city for them.

It was by faith that Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He offered to sacrifice his only son even though the promises had been made to him  and he had been told: It is through Isaac that your name will be carried on. He was confident that God had the power even to raise the dead; and so, figuratively speaking, he was given back Isaac from the dead.

It was by faith that this same Isaac gave his blessing to Jacob and Esau for the still distant future. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, leaning on the end of his stick as though bowing to pray. It was by faith that, when he was about to die, Joseph recalled the Exodus of the Israelites and made the arrangements for his own burial. - Heb. 11: 11-22 -

The Book of The Acts Of The Apostles points to his significance in the apostle Stephen's Speech (the first Christian martyr) - Acts 7:1-60, 8:1-3 -

Does this mean that God has failed to keep His promise? Of course not. Not all those who descend from Israel are Israel; not all the descendants of Abraham are His true children. Remember: It is through Isaac that your name will be carried on, which means that it is not physical descent that decides who are the children of God; it is only the children of the promise who will count as the true descendants. The actual words in which the promise was made were: I shall visit you at such and such a time, and Sarah will have a son. Even more to the point is what was said to Rebecca/Rebekah when she was pregnant by our ancestor Isaac, but before her twin children were born and before either had done good or evil.

In order to stress that God's choice is free, since it depends on the one who calls, not on human merit, Rebecca was told: the elder shall serve the younger, or as scripture says elsewhere: I showed my love for Jacob and my hatred for Esau. - Rom. 9:6-13 -

So my brothers and sisters, we are the children, not of the slave girl, but of the free born wife.

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. He went in and said to her, "Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you." She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, "Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God's favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end."

Mary said to the angel, "But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?" "The Holy Spirit will come upon you" the angel answered and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God. "I am the handmaid of the Lord" said Mary "let what you have said be done to me." And the angel left her. - Luke 1:26-38 -

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Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless. 

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -