Focus: Let Ishmael Go!

Text: Gen.21:12

"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."

In this text we have 'the lad,' 'thy bondwoman,' and 'thy seed.' The lad and the bondwoman are a bad company to the seed. The seed is of God; the lad is of the flesh, begotten by the bondwoman. What is a child of God doing with a bondwoman? The calling of God is upon the seed, not upon the bondwoman and her son. Ishmael is a product of the natural man. He is the seed of the flesh. He was born of the will of man, not of God. Ishmael is the product of bondage. God describes Ishmael to Abraham as "thy seed" in Gen.16 and 17. He originates from Abram, not Abraham. While still in the womb, God said of Ishmael, "And he will be a WILD man; his hand will be against EVERY MAN, and EVERY MAN'S hand against him…" (Gen.16:12). The word 'wild' implies a wild ass or donkey. There was nothing gentle about Ishmael. He was a person of brute force and violence. He was going to be a stranger to peace all his life.

While Ishmael was born to ABRAM, Isaac was born to ABRAHAM. Abram was the natural man, but Abraham was the transformed man. Abraham was a covenant name. After Abraham's change of name Isaac was born. He was a product of supernatural strength.

Sarah found Ishmael mocking Isaac. Paul says that he 'persecuted' Isaac. Ishmael was a man of the wilderness, wild and wayward, but Isaac was a mild man. Isaac was a covenant child and heir of the promise, but Ishmael was not.

Ishmael lived 13 years before Isaac was born, and going by Gen.14:4, 13 is the number of rebellion. In fact, he was circumcised at the age of 13. 

It doesn't matter how many times you circumcise the flesh, the truth remains that whatever is born of the flesh is always flesh. You can never improve the flesh by circumcision.

Isaac was supernaturally born in the 14th year, and 14 is the number of salvation. Heb.11:11 says, "Through faith also Sara herself RECEIVED STRENGTH to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised." Sarah was supernaturally empowered to conceive Isaac. Isaac was a child of parental faith. Both Abraham and Sarah believed God together for Isaac to be born.

Ishmael came first before Isaac, and going by Heb.10:9, God "taketh away the first, that he may establish the second," and according to Paul in 1Cor.15:46, the natural comes first before the spiritual. Ishmael being the first child of Abraham was of the flesh, and Isaac being the second child was of the spirit. In fact, after Abraham cast out Ishmael and his mother, God says to Abraham, "Take now thy son, thine ONLY (son) Isaac…" (Gen.22:2). God never chose Ishmael for a sacrifice; he wanted him out of the way. Isaac alone was God's choice for a sacrifice. God saw Isaac as the only son of Abraham. 

Regardless of how we view or value things solely from the human perspective, the fact remains that the spiritual is all we've got. We are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ. The material or physical is passing, but the spiritual is lasting.

Ishmael spoke of rebellion and tended to bondage. He was a mocker and a persecutor, a jester and a troublemaker. Ishmael signifies the use of a human means for the achievement of a divine mandate or mission. It is doing the work of the Spirit in the energy of the flesh, the result of which is Ishmael. Ishmael is everything that smells of the flesh - the arms or energy of the flesh, the works of the flesh, the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, the love of the world, and the carnal mind.

The flesh in Abraham would not let Ishmael go. He struggled with it. He was pained and shattered by it. He hated letting his fleshly son go. But the flesh must give way to the spirit. You can continue to hold on to the flesh as a darling after the spirit has come to stay. In fact, you can't appreciate your Isaac until you let your Ishmael go. God's covenant plan for your life does not include Ishmael. If you have Ishmael as a business, let it go! If your dream is an Ishmael, let it go! Let go your Ishmael-like friends! Let go your Ishmael-like ideologies! Let go your Ishmael-like transactions! Let go your Ishmael-mindset! Let go Ishmael-like desires, appetites and ambitions! Everything associated with Ishmael in principle, let it go! Ishmael and Isaac cannot coexist. It breeds trouble and struggle to allow such coexistence. With Ishmael in your life, I smell trouble. 

God may have other plans for Ishmael, but not in your life. Ishmael makes jest of the sacred or the spiritual. His view and value of the sacred is very low.

To hold on to Isaac, you have to let Ishmael go. You do not need him. Let Ishmael go! Expel Ishmael from your life! Show him the exit door! Cast him out! To let Ishmael go is a painful demand for the fleshly man, but it is for the good of the spiritual man to give heed to the divine demand. We have to get rid of Ishmael and all that he represents in our lives. Get in the habit and attitude of driving out of your life whatever is traceable to the flesh whenever it raises its ugly head. The moment to banish Ishmael from our lives is now. You cannot afford to have an Ishmael as a successor of God's covenant enterprise or ministry. You cannot afford to have an Ishmael around Isaac. Let Ishmael go!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter