Ishmael and Isaac Miracles:

              Isaac was actually the second son of Abraham.  Abraham was given a promise in the middle years of his life that he would have a son - and many descendents.  But the years went by.  No son yet.  His wife Sarah became very frustrated over it all.  Though people were still living to very old ages by todays standards (Abraham died at 175)  Sarah at 75 plus considered herself past the age of child bearing.  She knew that Abraham had been promised a son, but it seemed to her that it wasn't going to happen. 

              She had a hand maid from Egypt named Hagar.  She decided to adopt her own plan to obtain children, and Abraham, perhaps weak in faith too at that moment, went along with it.  He lay with Hagar as Sarah told him to.  She became pregnant with the child that would become Ishmael, father of the Arabs.  But from the beginning  of her pregnancy Hagar then acted proudly towards her mistress Sarah, who couldn't get pregnant as she had.  Sarah soon grew to hate her for this.  She complained to Abraham, who finally answered  'She's your hand maid.  Do what you need to do.'   So Sarah became very harsh with her, such that Hagar ran away pregnant to escape Sarah.

              But God sent an angel to Hagar in the desert as she fled.  The angel came to her by a spring of water on the way to Shur.  The angel comforted her, telling her to return to Sarah and submit to her. The angel told her the name of her baby was Ishmael, and that Ishmael would found a great and numerous nation.  The angel said he would be a wild donkey of a man, that his hand would be against everyone and every man's hand against him.  And that he would live to the East of his brothers.  (He did not yet have brothers, but....as it turns out, he would.)

        Hagar returned and gave birth to her child.  There is nothing to indicate that Abraham was anything but quite pleased with Ishmael.  But not too much is spoken in the Bible of Ishmael's early life.

      Account found in Genesis 18:  Years later, when Abraham was 99, another divine occurrence is recorded.  Abraham was camped at a place called Mamre, beneath terebinth trees, with Sarah, his servants and the flocks.  Looking up one day, he saw three strangers approaching in the distance.

      Abraham hurried to greet them.  He imposed upon them to please turn aside to his camp so that he could refresh them, feed them, and wash their tired feet.  They allowed it.  Abraham had Sarah prepare three measures of fine meal into cakes of bread for them, and he himself 'ran' off to get a servant started with the butchering of a calf to cook and serve to them.  Abraham took hospitality seriously.

    But this day it was especially good that he did.  These three visitors were the Lord and two angels, looking much as men, though we find in a short while, at Sodom, that the angels are especially beautiful of countenance.  As they are eating and Sarah is working inside the tent and Abraham is waiting on them, the Lord speaks, telling Abraham that at this time next year Sarah, who is around 90 and has passed her natural child bearing years, will bear a son.  Overhearing from inside the tent where she is cooking, Sarah laughs to herself at the thought, because she is old and Abraham is even older.  The Lord rebukes her, asking if anything is too hard for the Lord.  Sarah becomes afraid and denies that she laughed.  But the Lord say "No.  But you did laugh."

    When they leave, the Lord lets Abraham know that the angels go to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if it is so wicked as reported.  Abraham pleads that any righteous people living there might be spared (his nephew Lot lives there).  And this the Lord grants.

    Oddly enough, the next thing that happens in the narrative to Sarah is that she becomes a captive because of her beauty.  We can almost assume she is pregnant by now, though maybe it was just before she became pregnant.  Abraham again has Sarah pretend she is only his sister and not his wife on account of her great beauty - but imagine that, because she is 90 years old now!  Just how beautiful was this Sarah? - however, it again has bad results.  Abimelech, King of Gerar, the land through which they wander, sees Sarah and takes her for his wife.  But while this new beauty named Sarah is in the purification period that she must go through prior to being able to be the kings concubine, bad things happen in Abimelech's kingdom.  Though he is unaware that Sarah is married because both Sarah and Abraham were deceitful about it, God begins to punish Abimelech's kingdom.  The wombs of all the women in his kingdom become unfruitful.  None get pregnant.

     Isn't it apparent that when man substituted his own plan because it seemed like God was too long in keeping His promise, then the results became a stumbling block to God's plan.  The Arabs and the Israelites have so often been at odds - so often been enemies.  But they both have Abraham for their father.  And God for their creator.  Yet there is always enmity.  I wonder what would have happened if Sarah had waited about 14 more years until it was time - God's time?  I understand her impatience.  The woman was getting towards 80 and she wanted a child!!  But trying to rescue God from His bad timing issues is always a blunder.  If He says he'll bring it to pass, He always does.  But unlike us, He knows what time is the right time.  He's never missed so far. 

     If every human from Adam onward had followed God's plan I suppose that every soul would have still been placed in a body, but there would probably be no cultural baggage between us cousins.  We'd probably all be getting along famously down here.  Wouldn't that be quite a thing to walk the continents of the earth and never fear for the treatment you'd receive as you went from place to place?  If only ...... , but we do have a mediator, a great King to come.  And in His times things will be much closer to right. Much closer.