4 And it came to pass that we went up unto the house of Ishmael, and we did gain favor in the sight of Ishmael, insomuch that we did speak unto him the words of the Lord.
5 And it came to pass that the Lord did soften the heart of Ishmael, and also his household, insomuch that they took their journey with us down into the wilderness to the tent of our father.
We have no record that Ishmael was a prophet. In fact, the scripture says that “the Lord did soften the heart of Ishmael, and also his household,” which would probably already have been done if he were a prophet. But he at least was a religious man who would listen to the words of the Lord. If Ishmael was not a prophet, I’m sure that as the Lord softened his heart he could see an advantage to leaving Jerusalem. It’s possible that it wasn’t healthy or safe for anybody who believed in the prophets at that time. So in addition to his heart being softened, Ishmael and his family may have seen joining Lehi as their ticket out of a very bad situation.
- Proverbs 3:5–6
No comments:
Post a Comment