Genesis 25:12-18 – When unsure of God’s plan, remember to trust and wait

In these eight verses we are given a brief detail of Ishmael and his family tree. His descendants were not always at war with the descendants of Isaac. In fact, these verses follow after the funeral that Ishmael and Isaac shared together in burying their father, Abraham. The bitterness of being driven from the home was not shown here as the two brothers met after a long time, to do something as a family. There are times in our relationship that bitterness will have to give way to sound judgment. Being bitter will only divide and separate friendship and relationship. We are not to allow the root of bitterness to poison the live stream that God had implanted within us. Keep short accounts and view everything from the perspective of God’s grace. This can help us prevent bitterness from taking root. 

The descendants of Ishmael and that of Isaac had periods of peace although they were by and large hostile to each other. One of those times that they dealt civilly with each other was when they traded. Often as tradesmen the descendants of Ishmael would ply the route from Egypt to the north for trade. It was on one of those occasions that Joseph was sold to Egypt. Not as favoured as Isaac, Ishmael did feature in God’s divine plan. God had included him in His plan. Remember he cried in the wilderness and God intervened. We learned earlier that Abraham loved Ishmael and would have made him the heir if he had his way. God knew the heart of Abraham and how he loved Ishmael, so He made a concession and promised to bless him as well. In Genesis 17:20, God promised that he would be the father of twelve rulers whose children would become a great nation. The twelve were named in Genesis 25:12-18. This account serves to provide the contrast God would do for Isaac and his descendants. 

There was a time Abraham believed that God would raise the covenant nation through Ishmael. Remember when God told him that Sarah would bear him a son, he just simply could not believe. He even suggested to God in Genesis 17:18 that if only Ishmael might live under His blessing. Ultimately, Abraham had faith and could grasp what God was saying. He came to believe that Isaac would be the successor. And so he was. The time had come for Ishmael to be laid aside because the time for Isaac had come. The covenant people laid at the brink of history of something great. God’s plan always come to fruition. In His time He makes all things beautiful. Even if it takes a while, it’s worth the wait.