Two Brothers

Two brothers, Ishmael, the first son, whose Mother was Hagar, and Issac the promised Son, whose Mother was Sarah, were both blessed by God.  Both shared the same Father; Abraham.

One was the promised son, whose parents had some problems waiting for the promise, Have you ever had that problem? I have.

One was the result of his Father and Mother trying to bring about God's promise; in their own way.

Ishmael hated Issac.

They became nations. The Arab world hates Israel still.

When you look at the map of Israel you will see, pretty quickly, the Arab world, descendants of Ishmael, have more land then tiny Israel; about 10,000 times as much!
They have enormous wealth from oil. Israel is only about 150 miles by 50 miles in the midst of a sea of Ishmaelites.

I would surmise, God kept his promise to Ishmael pretty well don't you?
How much does it take to be satisfied with the blessing you have?

The promise to Issac was to become a blessing to the entire world - The Messiah would come from his line. Quite a different promise then the one made to Ishmael, eh?

"If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen." 1 John 4:20

I think there is a lesson in that don't you? Hatred is never satisfied.