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"Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife." (Genesis 16:1-3) Hagar conceives and becomes resentful of Sarai. Sarai then dealt hardly with Hagar and Hagar fled, only to be stopped by God's messenger with a promise to her: "And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee. But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face. And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me? Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered." (Genesis 16:4-14) Ishmael becomes the legitimate first-born son of Abraham: "And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram." (Genesis 16:15-16) God promises Abraham that he will be the father of many nations, and creates the first Everlasting Covenant of circumcision as a sign between God, Abraham, and all of Abraham's seed: "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant." (Genesis 17:1-14) According to this first covenant with God, Abraham circumcises all in his house, including his son Ishmael: "And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him. And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him." (Gen 17:23-27) God's promise to Abraham of Isaac and a second Everlasting Covenant: "And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year." (Gen 17:18-21) At Abraham's feast celebrating the weaning of Isaac, 13-year old Ishmael mocks Isaac. At the insistence of Sarah, with the approval of God and His promise to make a nation from Ishmael, Abraham agrees to send Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness: "And [Isaac] grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. 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. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed." (Genesis 21:8-13) Hagar suffers in the wilderness, and a messenger of God responds to her cries, providing her with a well for water and a promise of God's care: "And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt." (Genesis 21:14-21) Thus do the Arab people rightly claim descendency from Abraham, and rights under God's first Everlasting Covenant with Abraham, that of His Law.
New Testament Confirmation by the Apostle Paul: The Apostle Paul was familiar with Arabian pre-Mohammedan beliefs. He wrote to the Galations, acknowledging the two Everlasting Covenants described above, the first of which includes the seed of Ishmael: "Tell me, ye who are willing to be under law, the law do ye not hear? for it hath been written, that Abraham had two sons, one by the maid-servant, and one by the free-woman, but he who is of the maid-servant, according to flesh hath been, and he who is of the free-woman, through the promise; which things are allegorized, for these are the two covenants: one, indeed, from mount Sinai, to servitude bringing forth, which is Hagar; for this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and doth correspond to the Jerusalem that now is, and is in servitude with her children, and the Jerusalem above is the free-woman, which is mother of us all [italics supplied], for it hath been written, `Rejoice, O barren, who art not bearing; break forth and cry, thou who art not travailing, because many are the children of the desolate--more than of her having the husband.' And we, brethren, as Isaac, are children of promise, but as then he who was born according to the flesh did persecute him according to the spirit, so also now; but what saith the Writing? `Cast forth the maid-servant and her son, for the son of the maid-servant may not be heir with the son of the free-woman;' then, brethren, we are not a maid-servant's children, but the free-woman's." (Gal 4:21-31, Young's Literal) Besides being critical of Paul's language above, language which could be interpreted as harsh regarding Hagar and Ishmael, many Muslims also point out that Paul misidentified Isaac as Abraham's "only begotten son" in his epistle to the Hebrews, thus helping to "mislead" Christians. Yet compare the two translations shown below: King James Translation: "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son..." (Hebrews 11:17) Young's Literal Translation: "By faith Abraham hath offered up Isaac, being tried, and the only begotten he did offer up who did receive the promises..." Young's Literal correctly expounds on Paul's meaning as "the only begotten he did offer up who did receive the promises." Once again, here is the key part of God's First Covenant that, because of this question of birthright, is at the root of centuries of dispute, and continues even today: "And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." Amen.
Islam and the Prophet Mohammed (Peace be unto him): First: Allah means God, the God of Judaism and Christianity. Islam is bound by the first five books of the Old Testament. The Prophet Mohammed was born at a time when Arabia was quite lawless: "The Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) was born in 571 C.E. in the now famous city of Arabia called Makkah. Islam had no following in Arabia at that time nor did it have any following anywhere else in the world. Although the traces of teachings of the earlier Prophets could be found among a few pious people who tried to worship one and only one God and live a life of obedience to Him, the true religion of God was lost in a maze of paganism and pantheism. The pure worship of God, unadulterated by shirk (worship of false gods), was nowhere to be found. Moral values had lost their grip and people were indulging in all sorts of lax behavior and wickedness. Such was the situation in Arabia as also in the whole world at the close of the sixth century when God decided to send the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) as His last Messenger." (The Sabr Foundation) Arabia, the seed of Ishmael, was lost in idolatry, and Christianity was not up to the task at the time. Yet God will not abandon His people in times of need, this is the lesson of our Bible. Mohammed wanted something better for his people with all of his heart: "It is from this moment that we find Mohammed becoming more and more absorbed in spiritual meditations. Like his grandfather, he used to retire during the whole month of Ramadan to a cave in Jabal-an-Nur (mountain of light). The cave is called `Ghar-i-Hira' or the cave of research. There he prayed, meditated, and shared his meagre provisions with the travellers who happened to pass by... He was forty years old, and it was the fifth consecutive year since his annual retreats, when one night towards the end of the month of Ramadan, an angel came to visit him, and announced that God had chosen him as His messenger to all mankind. The angel taught him the mode of ablutions, the way of worshipping God and the conduct of prayer. He communicated to him the following Divine message:
"With the
name of God, the Most Merciful, the All-Merciful. "Deeply affected, [Mohammed] returned home and related to his wife what had happened, expressing his fears that it might have been something diabolic or the action of evil spirits. She consoled him, saying that he had always been a man of charity and generosity, helping the poor, the orphans, the widows and the needy, and assured him that God would protect him against all evil." (The Sabr Foundation) Did Mohammed pray to a God that would hear and answer him? "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." (Jeremiah 31:31-34) The Christian prophet Ellen White re-inforces this message time and time again. In Prophets and Kings, the chapter 'Hope For The Heathen', Ellen writes: "[Isaiah] was permitted to look down the centuries to the time of the advent of the promised Messiah. At first he beheld only 'trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish.' Isaiah 8:22. Many who were longing for the light of truth were being led astray by false teachers into the bewildering mazes of philosophy and spiritism; others were placing their trust in a form of godliness, but were not bringing true holiness into the life practice. The outlook seemed hopeless; but soon the scene changed, and before the eyes of the prophet was spread a wondrous vision. He saw the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings; and, lost in admiration, he exclaimed: 'The dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first He lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.' Isaiah 9:1, 2." {PK 373.1} While Christianity was not available to the rest of the world during the Dark Ages, this 'land of the shadow of death' extended across most of the earth. With the prayers of the poor, desperate, and suffering wafting up to heaven from these nations, can any one of us really say God turned His back on the people that He loves so much? Who will say it? God Himself through His prophets in the Old Testament was very clear and consistent about His Plan of Salvation: "My people shall know My name, they shall know in that day that I am He that doth speak." (Isaiah 52:6) Ellen White again: "The day of deliverance is at hand. 'The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.' 2 Chronicles 16:9. Among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, He sees men and women who are praying for light and knowledge. Their souls are unsatisfied; long have they fed on ashes. See Isaiah 44:20. The enemy of all righteousness has turned them aside, and they grope as blind men. But they are honest in heart and desire to learn a better way. Although in the depths of heathenism, with no knowledge of the written law of God nor of His Son Jesus, they have revealed in manifold ways the working of a divine power on mind and character."{PK 376.2} "Heaven's plan of salvation is broad enough to embrace the whole world. God longs to breathe into prostrate humanity the breath of life. And He will not permit any soul to be disappointed who is sincere in his longing for something higher and nobler than anything the world can offer. Constantly He is sending His angels to those who, while surrounded by circumstances the most discouraging, pray in faith for some power higher than themselves to take possession of them and bring deliverance and peace. In various ways God will reveal Himself to them and will place them in touch with providences that will establish their confidence in the One who has given Himself a ransom for all, 'that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments.' Psalm 78:7." {PK 377.1} Who will argue with our God? "They shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods." (Isaiah 42:17) Ishmael's children were indeed delivered from idolatry by the Almighty God. This His Nature, the deliverance in which He delights. "Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? Thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered." (Isaiah 49:24-25) Let us accept our Islamic brothers, assist our Islamic brothers, and witness Jesus Christ to our Islamic brothers in any way we can, steadfastly following His teachings of love and sacrifice for our brothers and sisters. Islam already has the Gospel. The Qu'ran would not exist without it, because the Qur'an was given to confirm the Old Testament and the Gospel. "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last." (Luke 13:28-30) The only way to resolve the Second Horseman of the Apocalypse of Revelation is by inserting Islam as that horseman. Only Islam has been given power by God to "take peace from the earth" in times of peril in self defense. From the Spiritual standpoint of God, Islam is 1/3 of the earth, Judeo-Christianity is 1/3, and Eastern Religions make up the other 1/3. See Revelation. The time is now... Let us drop all covetousness, hatred, prejudice, and selfishness. For He said: "For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." (Matthew 23:39) Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus. |
braham's
wife, Sarai, in her impatience to have a child encourages Abraham to
take her bondmaid Hagar as his legal wife (by the customs at the
time), and have a child with Hagar: