Genesis 17:18-27 And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!" (19) Then God said: "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. (20) And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. (21) But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year." (22) Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. (23) So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him. (24) Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. (25) And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. (26) That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael; (27) and all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
We have established thus far that circumcision is the more important criterion for qualifying an individual to be part of the Hebrew nation; and in the above-quoted passage of scripture we see that on the day that God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, Abraham circumcised his son Ishmael. And so the question is asked, as one who was circumcised, was Ishmael included in God's covenant with Israel? The answer to that question is that it depends on which Israel you are referring to. I do not doubt that Ishmael was included in second Israel (which we will discuss in a later section), for the scriptures teach us that when Ishmael died, he was gathered to his people (Genesis 25:17). The scriptures only speak of the death of the saints in this manner; for example, when Abraham (Genesis 25:8), Isaac (Genesis 35:29) and Jacob (Genesis 49:33) died, the scripture says that they were gathered to their people. Nevertheless, even though Ishmael was part of the Israel of God, he was not part of Israel after the flesh, and therefore he was not included in the Covenant of circumcision that God made with the nation of Israel. That particular truth is revealed to us in this passage, for the Lord specifically states that His covenant of circumcision was not with Ishmael, but rather with Isaac. We have seen earlier, that the Arab nations are the descendants of Ishmael, and it is common knowledge that the Arab nations practice circumcision. And so the question is asked, if Ishmael and his descendants are not included in God's covenant of circumcision, why do the Arab nations practice circumcision? Obviously, Ishmael passed on to his descendants the practice of circumcision; and so when the Arab nations embraced the Muslim faith approximately 2,500 years later, their inherited practice of circumcision became part of the Muslim faith. Historical records confirm this, because according to historians of religion and scholars of Religious studies, the Islamic tradition of circumcision was derived from the Pagan practices and rituals of pre-Islamic Arabia, and is never mentioned in the Quran[1]. Nevertheless, even though the Arab (and all Muslim) nations practice circumcision, they are not included in God’s covenant of circumcision with the nation of Israel. This point highlights the fact that circumcision alone does not qualify one to become part of the nation of Israel, but rather conversion to Judaism.
Michael E.B. Maher
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