The Territory of Ishmael
25: 18
His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the border of Egypt, as you go toward Asshur. That means the territory stretched from the Euphrates River in the North to the Red Sea in the South. Havilah is the southeast border located in northeast Arabia, and Shur is the southwest border toward Assyria. So basically, his descendants settled in the Arabian Peninsula.
And he died in the presence of all his brothers. This is a clear fulfillment of what the Angel of the LORD, or the second person of the Trinity, Yeshua Messiah, had prophesied earlier. He said: He will be a wild donkey of a man roaming free, his hand will be upon everyone, and he will dwell to the east in the presence of all his brothers in the east (to see link click Ej – Hagar and the Angel of the LORD).
Haftarah Chayei-Sarah: M’lakhim Alef (First Kings) 1:1-31
(see my commentary on Deuteronomy Af – Parashah)
David and Abraham both face problems of succession in their old age. Abraham’s succession goes smoothly, because he obtains the oath of his trusted senior servant, Eliezer. ADONAI directs Eliezer’s path, and thus, assures the marriage and continuation of the house of Abraham and Sarah. Here, King David confronts a crisis. His fourth-born son Adonijah, had declared himself to be the next king (First Kings 1:1-9), which has excluded Solomon, the true heir to the throne (First Kings 1:10). Nathan visits Bathsheba to warn her that her life and her son’s life are in danger (First Kings 1:11-12). Only David can declare his successor (First Kings 1:20), and he comforts his wife with an oath that Solomon will succeed him (First Kings 1:30). The oath, now in YHVH’s hands, assures the outcome that the Haftarah ends before it is reported.
B’rit Chadashah suggested readings for Parashah Hayyei-Sarah:
Mattityahu (Matthew) 1:1-17, 8:19-22, 27:3-10; Luke 9:57-61
David’s dynasty of kings and Abraham’s heir to the promises of his household converge in Yeshua the Messiah. The sacred text introduces Yeshua the son of David, the son of Abraham (Matthew 1:1). His heritage passes through Isaac, Jacob, and Judah, among the brothers, and Perez among the twins (Matthew 1:2-3). It passes through David and Solomon among the kings (Matthew 1:6). Four Gentile women (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Uriah’s wife, or Bathsheba) appear as matriarchs. The text climaxes with Mary, mother of Yeshua (Matthew 1:16). Sarah’s household has its ultimate fulfillment in Yeshua, King at the end of the dynasty of kings! The genealogy is segmented into three pereiods – Abraham to David, David to the exile, and the exile to the birth of Messiah (Matthew 1:17). In Hebrew, David’s name has a numerical value of 14 (2X7), the number of perfection or completion. Messiah Himself is the “last David” to redeem David’s fallen dynasty from the curse of exile.
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