Page 58 - Laying Down the Law

Genesis 16:11-12
And the Angel of Yahweh said to [Hagar]: "Behold, you are with child, and you
shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because Yahweh has heard
your affliction. He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man,
and every man's hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his
brethren."

In the Hebrew, the words rendered into English as “wild man” are “adam pere.”
Adam means “man.” Pere is a Hebrew word describing the onager, which was a wild
donkey of the desert. God was testifying that Ishmael, the son of Hagar, would be a
man with the nature of a wild ass. Stubbornness and rebellion would be his nature.
Ishmael is a type and shadow of every man born of the first Adam. As the
son of Hagar, He is a symbol of all those who enter into the covenant of the Law
seeking to please God through works of the flesh.
The Law cannot restrain sinful men. As Paul testified, it merely stirred up a
desire to violate its commands.

Romans 7:5
For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the
Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.

Apart from receiving the new birth in Christ, we are all wild asses. It is with
difficulty that we can be restrained. We will always find some way to break free of that
which holds us.
Yahweh has no regard for the fruit of man’s flesh. The best that fallen man can
produce falls short of the desire of God. That which He esteems must be brought forth
by His Spirit.

Genesis 17:18-19
And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!" 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.”

God’s lack of regard for Ishmael finds a parallel in His testimony of that
generation of Israel who were given the Law.

Hebrews 8:7-9
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been
sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: "Behold, the
days are coming, says Yahweh, when I will make a new covenant with the
house of Israel and with the house of Judah - not according to the covenant
that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead