"But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking,
and she said to Abraham, Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the
inheritance with my son Isaac." Genesis 21:9-10
Rosh Hashanah
is also called the Festival of Trumpets, referring to the blowing of the shofar or ram's horn. It is a time to remember
who Yahveh Elohim is and who we are before Him.
The story of Isaac is connected to Rosh Hashanah because of the reference
to the horns of the ram that was caught in the thicket. The ram was the substitute for Isaac, when Yahveh stopped
Abraham from sacrificing him. The symbol of the ram's horn in the story about Isaac became associated with the blowing of
the ram's horn at Rosh Hashanah.
Abraham and his wife Sarah knew that Yahveh was going
to give them their own son one day, through whom Yahveh would bless the nations of the world. As they grew older
and Sarah still did not conceive, she devised a scheme that Abraham agreed to. They decided that they would attempt to have
a child through Sarah's servant Hagar. Thus Ishmael was born.
It would be years before Yahveh spoke
to Abraham to let him know that this was not His plan. Yahveh determined that the child through whom His promises would
be fulfilled would be born through Sarah after all. Thus Isaac was born.
The coexistence of these two boys caused great conflict in Abraham's household. Much to Abraham's distress,
Sarah demanded that both Hagar and Ishmael be sent away, because, in her words, "that
slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac."
Yahveh instructed Abraham to
do what Sarah demanded, and so Hagar and Ishmael were sent away. As it turned out, Yahveh took care of them and
blessed Ishmael and his descendents.
Yahveh loved and blessed Isaac. Yahveh loved and blessed Ishmael. Yahveh
didn't direct Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away because He preferred one over the other. In fact He consoled Abraham
in his distress over his son Ishmael. (Genesis 21:11-13)
The real issue had to do with Abraham's inheritance - an
inheritance from Yahveh through which he would bless all people one day: the blessing in which people's alienation from Him
would be resolved; the Blessing of Salvation, which would be offered to all people through the Messiah.
The difference
between Isaac and Ishmael teaches us how to receive Abraham's inheritance. Ishmael is the natural son, born out of human wisdom
and strategies while Isaac is the miraculous son of promise. He is received into the world by faith in the One who
does the impossible - the One who calls us to rely on His directions and not on our own devices.
Similar
to what Sarah said, that which is born out of our own efforts (by works) will never share in the inheritance of that which
is born by faith in Yahveh's promises. In order to truly participate in the blessings and inheritance of Abraham, we
must live our lives relying on Yahveh Yashua and His Word only, not upon ourselves, our own plans and our schemes.
~ Edited from an article by TorahBytes ~
