Holly Bible - KJV with Concise Commentaries by Z Selam - HTML preview
Download the book in PDF, ePub, Kindle for a complete version.
he is clear in this, he is, or should be, easy. To make Abraham so, God sets this matter before him in a
true light, and shows him,
1. That the casting out of Ishmael was necessary to
the establishment of Isaac in the rights and privileges of the covenant: In Isaac shall thy seed be called. Both Christ and the church must descend from Abraham through the loins of Isaac; this is the entail of the promise upon Isaac, and is quoted by the apostle (Ro 9:7) to show that not all who come
from Abraham's loins were the heirs of Abraham's covenant. Isaac, the promised son, must be the father of the promised seed; therefore, "Away with Ishmael, send him far enough, lest he corrupt the manners or attempt to invade the rights of Isaac." It will be his security to have his rival banished. The covenant seed of Abraham must be a peculiar
people, a people by themselves, from the very first, distinguished, not mingled with those that were out of covenant; for this reason Ishmael must be separated. Abraham was called alone, and so must Isaac be. See Isa 51:2. It is probable that Sarah little thought of this (Joh 11:51), but God took what she
said, and turned it into an oracle, as afterwards, Ge 27:10.
2. That the casting out of Ishmael should not be his ruin, Ge 21:13. He shall be a nation, because he is thy seed. We are not sure that it was his eternal ruin.