Why was Ishmael, the child of a slave, not legitimate, but the children of Jacob’s concubines had equal status to those of his wives?
Question:
If Isaac was the only worthy or legitimate son, because Ishmael’s mother was a slave, then what about the twelve sons of Jacob, all of whom have the same status as progenitors of the twelve tribes of Israel, regardless of whether they were born of wives or concubines?
Answer:
Ishmael was accepted as a son by Abraham, but he is not the promised child of Abraham, as prophesied to Abraham and Sarah by the angel/messenger of God. Ishmael was greatly blessed by God, and he was protected by God. He acquired great wealth and he became the father of the Arab tribes. How blessed is that! His legitimacy is not the issue. (and by the way, by ancient Near Eastern standards, as the child of a concubine, technically, Ishmael was not illegitimate, but he was not qualified to be the principal heir)
The main point is not that Hagar was a slave, although she was, and Paul uses that fact to make a spiritual point in Galatians 4. The main point is that God promised Abraham that the whole world would be blessed through a promised son. Abraham was told about a son who would be given him in Genesis 15:1-21. That promised son was not Ishmael. In fact, Ishmael was born, not because of Abraham’s faith, but because of his LACK of faith. It was Isaac who was the child of faith and of promise. It was Sarah, not Hagar, who was well past the age of child-bearing, and, therefore it was her child whose birth was miraculous. Again, the principal issue is not the legitimacy of Ishmael, the principal issue is that God made a promise to Abraham and that promise was fulfilled with the birth of Isaac to Sarah. That was God’s sovereign choice. If God tells us that all nations would be blessed through Isaac, then who are we to question God’s sovereign choice in that? God also chose Jacob over his legitimate brother Essau by his sovereign choice. Again, who are you or I to argue with God about his choice to bless Jacob more than Essau.
But what about Jacob? He had several sons–actually, twelve to be exact. None of them were the children of promise. They were all natural-born children. Like I said above, the children of wives and of concubines were both considered legitimate, although the children of wives had higher status, generally. The situation of Ishmael and of the children of Abraham’s concubines was different. God chose all twelve of Jacob’s sons to be heads of the four tribes of Israel. There is nothing inherent in the children of concubines which would force God’s hands so that he could not pour blessings on them.
Again, although there is some parallel between Ishmael and the children of Jacob from concubines—they are all children of concubines after all, but God chose to bless the world through the son of Sarah, not the son of Hagar. The difference is the faith of Abraham, combined with God’s sovereign will to choose Isaac as the child of promise.
John Oakes
