Often people look at Ishmael in a negative light… (Quote, “He was a wild donkey of a man”). But then again, what is the purpose of Gods covenant with him? (Genesis 17:11-27)
Often people ignorantly assume it was only Isaac & Abraham he made that covenant with. But God made a covenant with Ishmael also.
Genesis 17:23 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. Circumcision was a sign of the covenant!
There are those who will deny this fact. They will say Ishmael was illegitimate. They will say Hagar (viz. his mother) was a slave. However, she was emancipated prior to Abraham approaching her carnally.
The bible is clear on this issue. Abraham took Hagar as his WIFE. In the Hebrew language, the word for wife, used for Sarah and Hagar, were identical.
The book of Deuteronomy also states that the first born male was the heir of his father, even if that son was from a wife least favored (in the case of polygamy).