Isaac was the spiritual descendant and heir of Abraham because God elected (selected, chose) him to be Abraham’s spiritual descendant and heir. God sovereignly decreed that “in Isaac shall thy seed be called” (that is, that the righteous line coming from Abraham should run through Isaac and not Ishmael). 2). The Lord chose Isaac and not Ishmael to be a child of God (9:8, 9) The Lord chose Isaac and not Ishmael to be both a child of Abraham and a child of God. Ishmael was a child of the flesh, a child
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