After eleven years in the Promised Land, Abraham had not son by his wife, Sarah, so she suggested that he has a son by her handmaid, Hagar, and Abram agreed. This is so different from our culture yet it was clearly part of God's will and purpose. An angel appeared to Hagar before her son was born and told her that her son would be called Ishmael, meaning "heard of God", because the LORD had heard Hagar, and that he would be the father of a great people - some of the Arab peoples, matching the description given in v.12.Waiting for response for Genesis 16:12
The apostle Paul explains the significance of these events - that Ishmael represents the people of Israel in bondage under the Law of Moses while Isaac, the son of promise, represents spiritual Israel who are the children of the free (Galatians 4:23-23,31).Waiting for response for Galatians 4:23-23,31
After eleven years in the Promised Land, Abraham had not son by his wife, Sarah, so she suggested that he has a son by her handmaid, Hagar, and Abram agreed. This is so different from our culture yet it was clearly part of God's will and purpose. An angel appeared to Hagar before her son was born and told her that her son would be called Ishmael, meaning "heard of God", because the LORD had heard Hagar, and that he would be the father of a great people - some of the Arab peoples, matching the description given in v.12.Waiting for response for Genesis 16:12
The apostle Paul explains the significance of these events - that Ishmael represents the people of Israel in bondage under the Law of Moses while Isaac, the son of promise, represents spiritual Israel who are the children of the free (Galatians 4:23-23,31).Waiting for response for Galatians 4:23-23,31