Abraham, My Friend
The Making of a Praying Man_52
The Heir
In our previous thoughts we concentrated on the type of Father and Son in the account of Abraham and Isaac. Today I want to consider the picture of Christ we find here under the type of the Heir. Back in Genesis 15 Abraham had been anxious about his heir. His fear was that, having no blood descendent of his own, his property would pass into the hands of his chief steward (literally ‘the son of the house’); Eliezer. God had declared that this would not happen. And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. (Gen 15:4 KJV) Abraham’s possessions would not be passed on to even the best ‘son of the house’ but to a natural son. There is a difference between even the most faithful steward and a son.
Another possible candidate for inheritance would have been one who was a natural son, Ishmael. This passage of scripture will eliminate Ishmael as a contender too. Ishmael was not free; he was the son of a slave. Ancient cultures usually determined ethnic connections through the mother’s side. There could be no doubt as to descent as regards the mother. A crude answer to the question ‘who is a Jew?’ is the statement ‘he whose mother is a Jew or who has converted to Judaism.’ Hagar’s status had never changed, even though Sarah gave Hagar to her husband Abram to be his wife. Gen 16:3b KJV Perhaps Hager thought it had but the angel who met her in the wilderness of Shur was under no misconception; 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. (Gen 16:7-8 KJV) Nothing had changed; she was still Sarah’s house-slave Ishmael’s status was determined by that of his mother, not his father; consequently he was not ‘free born’. Nevertheless, in the absence of a free, natural, son Ishmael might have been considered a candidate for inheritance.
In the emerging type of Isaac, there must be no possible misunderstanding. Isaac was not just the first contender among others; he was the ‘only son’; And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. (Gen 22:2 KJV) The scene for this absolute clarification is the event of Isaac’s weaning. In the Near East of Ancient times the transition from mother’s milk to solid food was much slower than our own. The final break with dependence upon the mother usually came at 2 or 3 years of age, or even later. David later used the picture to illustrate the end of dependence upon others and his total reliance upon God; Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child. (Psa 131:2 KJV) It was a key time in the child’s life when He must be increasingly associated with his father and the future, rather than with his mother and the past.
For Isaac’s official transition a great feast was held. This was a day of great celebration. The vulnerable years of infancy were passing. Isaac was the future. The joy of this event was marred by the behaviour of Ishmael; if Isaac was 4 years old, then Ishmael would have been 17. He was old enough to understand the significance of the feast for the heir’s weaning. It is interesting too that the scripture doesn’t even name him at this point but simply describes him as the son of Hagar the Egyptian This is a description not only of his origin but of his status; there must be no confusion here. The Egyptian slave boy was ‘laughing’; that tsâchaq word again from which we get Isaac (yitschâq). This time however it is not the delighted laughter of fellowship but the derisory laughter of the mocker. There is a cruelty here which is not explained; Paul describes the event as one in which Ishmael ‘persecuted’ Isaac. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. (Gal 4:29 KJV) The New Testament word used here is sometimes used of ‘pursuing’ or ‘chasing’. Ishmael harassed Isaac. Sarah instinctively knew that this was not a playful teasing but a more ominous aggression against Isaac, and carried her protest to Abraham; 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. (Gen 21:10 KJV) She had seen that behind Ishmael’s petty troubling of Isaac was a claim to equality and inheritance.
Paul takes up this record and draws some astonishing truths from it but for the time being I want to concentrate, not on the conflict, but upon the concept of the Heir. The Father’s Son is the Heir; there are no other heirs. We may share His inheritance, but He is the Heir. Let me run ahead of my story so that you can keep it in mind as we meditate; there is only One Heir and all blessings and bounties that we enjoy are only possible as we are rightly related to the Heir. Later in our story of Abraham we shall see a ‘description’ of Isaac given to a prospective bride; And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses. And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath. (Gen 24:35-36 KJV) It is an interesting description for a prospective wife. There is no description as to his height or the colour of his eyes or his sense of humour. The only thing that the servant has to say about Isaac is ‘he is the Heir’. him hath he given all that he hath. There is nothing outside the Son; to him hath He given all that He hath. Any provision, or blessing, or promise, it is all in the Son; He is the Heir. For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. (2Co 1:20 KJV) It’s all in Him; He is the Heir.
When the letter to the Hebrews opens we meet the Heir; God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; (Heb 1:1-2 KJV) Unto Him hath He given all that He hath. This is a then and now passage. In the past God had spoken to the ‘Hebrews’ by prophets; that was then. But in these last times, now, God has spoken to the ‘Hebrews’ in a Son whom he has appointed heir of all things. If He is heir of ‘all things’ what is available outside Him? The Heir had appeared and His coming had changed everything. Jesus had illustrated this with a parable in Matthew 21. The owner of the vineyard had sent the prophets ‘in time past’; Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. (Mat 21:33-36 KJV) and then having spoken to them through the generations through those He had sent… But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. (Mat 21:37 KJV) This surely was their opportunity, but the response is chilling and shows the spirit of Ishmael But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. (Mat 21:38 KJV)
What a terrible culmination! When they ‘saw the son’ they said ‘this is the heir, come, let us kill him’. Ishmael alive and well amongst God’s own people! It is part of the diabolical conspiracy to deprive the Son of His inheritance. Why do the nations rebel and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers conspire together against the LORD and His Anointed One: "Let us tear off their chains and free ourselves from their restraints." (Psa 2:1-3 HCSB) But in the heavens is heard another kind of laughter…
We see, in Ishmael, the slave railing against the Son. It is the ancient cry of our race; But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. (Luk 19:14 KJV) which must always develop from the refusal to accept His rule into full blown murderous intent; And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him. (Mar 15:20 KJV) All this is prefigured in Ishmael; the refusal to recognise the heir, the mocking, the persecution by the slave against the Son. The type was fulfilled in the moment of crucifixion. Here we see the Heir rejected; … but this is your hour, and the power of darkness. (Luk 22:53b KJV)
But that is not the last word. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. (Psa 2:6-8 KJV) The Hebrews captures this theme again; … when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. (Heb 1:3-4 KJV) He has finished His work and taken His seat; the inheritance is sure. The letter goes on to say; But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. (Heb 10:12-13 KJV)
What then of we rebels who defied His rule and set ourselves to deprive Him of His inheritance? This was the mood captured on the Day of Pentecost; Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? (Act 2:36-37 KJV) Peter had the answer and the promise of an amnesty but in the context of these thoughts on the Heir I’m going to take the same answer from the closing verses of that wonderful Psalm; Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him! (Psa 2:12 NASB)
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Ron Bailey ( - )
Ron Bailey is the full-time curator of Bible Base. The first Christians were people who loved and respected the Jewish scriptures as their highest legacy, but were later willing to add a further 27 books to that legacy. We usually call the older scriptures ‘the Old Testament’ while we call this 27 book addition to the Jewish scriptures ‘the New Testament’. It is not the most accurate description but it shows how early Christians saw the contrast between the ‘Old’ and the ‘New’.It has been my main life-work to read, and study and think about these ancient writings, and then to attempt to share my discoveries with others. I am never more content than when I have a quiet moment and an open Bible on my lap. For much of my life too I have been engaged in preaching and teaching the living truths of this book. This has given me a wide circle of friends in the UK and throughout the world. This website is really dedicated to them. They have encouraged and challenged and sometimes disagreed but I delight in this fellowship of Christ-honouring Bible lovers.