Genesis 21:1-5
I love this first verse. There seems to be just a slight bit of 'I told you so' in it. The Lord did what He said He would do in chapter 18. When Sarah laughed, He asked, " Is anything too hard for the Lord? The word of the Lord is faithful and true. It's a simple straight forward fact. As the wombs of the women of Abimelech's family were opened, so was Sarah's. We see that God's timing is perfect, even when it never seems right to us. Abraham and Sarah waited 25 years for this promise to be fulfilled.
This child is born and he is named Isaac as God instructed in chapter 17. Isaac means laughter and the name was a form of rebuke for Sarah's laughter when God told her she would have a child. But now the laughter will be with her. The laughter of incredulity was changed to laughter of joy. Abraham was 100 years old when his son was born. At eight days old, Isaac was circumcised as God had commanded, showing the young man is born under the covenant promise of God.
Genesis 21:6-7
Sarah knew anyone hearing this would laugh with her; it was so ridiculous to imagine it happing, there was no doubt it could be God. She had waited so long. The stories would run through the camp; stores of surprise, shock and of God's faithfulness. Others their age spoke of great, great grandsons; these two spoke of their son.
When our kids were born, I remember doing the math on how old we would be when they graduated High School, college, etc. Do you suppose Abraham was thinking, 'Oy vey, I'll be 118 years old when this boy graduates school!' Maybe not, but imagine starting a family at 100.
Genesis 21:8-10
It is thought that Isaac would have been between 2 and 3 years old when he was weaned. That age varied across culture and time, so it's somewhat speculative. Infant mortality rates were very high, so if a child lived to this age, it was fairly certain it would live. This was the cause for a celebration.
With the birth and growth of Isaac, it becomes clear he would be the son of promise would receive Abraham's inheritance, even though Ishmael was the firstborn. Sarah saw Ishmael, who was a teenager at this point, mocking the newborn. Now that Isaac was the natural born heir, she saw no reason to put up with Ishmael. She asked Abraham if he would get rid of Hagar and Ishmael. Sarah would make sure that Isaac received the inheritance.
Ishmael had rights to the inheritance by the laws. However, if Abraham put the slave woman out then the inheritance to the son was relinquished.
Genesis 21:11-13
Abraham treated Ishmael as a son. He had been his son for 14 years and now he was supposed to put him away. God told Abraham it would be okay to put Hagar and Ishmael out in the wilderness. Sarah was right; Isaac was the heir and would be considered the seed of Abraham.
Yet, God had promised that Ishmael would also be a great nation. The Lord confirmed this again of the promise previously given to Hagar.
Genesis 21:14-18
Abraham set Hagar and Ishmael out at God's direction. This would be like sending them into the desert with a canteen and a picnic basket. Was Abraham trusting God to care for them? God had been in this plan all along. No matter how much food or provision Abraham had given them, their ultimate survival depended on God's provision. When the water was gone, Hagar put Ishmael down under a tree and went about 100 yards away where she couldn't hear him dying. She wept out loud, it says lifting her voice. Can you imagine how you might cry out if you were in this situation? God brought them to the point where they called out to him. It's interesting that God heard the voice of the Ishmael. God heard and called to Hagar out of heaven. He confirmed again the promises He had made.
Genesis 21:19-21
They were preserved by God's provision.
Read Galatians 4:21-31 where Paul uses Isaac and Ishmael to plead his case to the legalists. The two sons represent 2 covenants. Ishmael is a picture of the flesh, the son of bondwoman and that makes him an heir of a slave. This is a picture of the law, born out of Mount Sinai. The law created bondage. Remember Ishmael was born out of Sarai's plan and created a mess in this family.
Isaac was the child of promise. He was born out of faith in God. He is a picture of the new covenant of grace. He was born free. Remember that Ishmael (the flesh) scoffed at Isaac (the promise). The two covenants could not abide together. Grace & law won't work together. With the presence of grace, the law was obsolete. There is no inheritance in the law.
That was Paul's argument to the Galatians. They claimed inheritance because of the father Abraham. But Paul asks, 'Who's your mother?' Are you born of grace and promise?
Notice though that Ishmael, representing the bondage of law, wasn't put to death. Ishmael had purpose and promise in his life, as the law does today. The purpose of the law was to point to grace. The law, in its perfection, showed us we can't possible keep it. We can't be holy on our own. We need help, a redeemer, grace. Once we receive grace, we no longer need the law or live by the law. But we still honor the law and by the Spirit in us, we want to keep the moral code of God.
Genesis 21:22-23
Abimelech is a title for the Philistine king and not a specific name. This Abimelech isn't the same as the Abimelech of chapter 20. He approached Abraham with the commander of his army at his side. He didn't bring him along for his negotiating skills, he was there to make a point. I imagine he was brought along as a protector of Abimelech but also a little bit of a threat. It was like saying, 'I came to talk, but I brought war with me; you choose.'
Abimelech and his commander note that God is with Abraham in all he does. Abimelech is agreeing to talk to Abraham if he promises to deal honestly with him and not deal harshly with him or his family. Isn't it telling that this Philistine king had to request honesty from Abraham? When someone is talking to us do they know we will always respond in the truth? Or do they have to probe and specifically ask for the truth or the complete story? The man of faith had a reputation of not telling folks the truth. Reputations come quickly – one lie makes you a liar. The memory of being lied to fades slowly. We should watch our words. Let your yes be yes and your no be no.
Genesis 21:24-26
No more had Abraham agreed to speak truthfully, when a dispute arose over a well of water. You can almost feel the tension between these two. Abraham, standing in his promise of integrity seems to challenge the integrity of Abimelech, as if he knew this was going on. Abimelech pleads ignorance though:
- He didn't know who did this.
- Abraham had not told him
- He just found out about it that day.
Abraham believed that Abimelech's servants had taken the well without his knowledge. As these two powerful me faced off, it could have gone bad. If there were no basis of truth, Abraham could have doubted Abimelech. He could have easily believed the events of the well were directed by him. It could have quickly escalated into something bad.
A basis of truth, communication and a level of trust are all key to resolving a dispute. These things should be present in our dealings with all men. For the people of God, these should be built into us.
- People should be able to trust what we say.
- We should trust what others say (until there is evidence not to)
- Even then communication is key (don't accuse someone of lying, find the misunderstanding of lack of communication)
Too many times we carry anger and bitterness around toward someone and get so mad we refuse to talk to them. We decide on a punishment before we have any communication with them. This anger has no value and nothing good can come of it. After our bitterness has caused damage, we then find out our understanding was wrong and we really shouldn't have been angry at all. Regardless of guilt, communication will establish the facts. From there you know can act accordingly and get on with life. Carrying a grudge gets heavy after a while.
Genesis 21:27-31
In response Abraham brings sheep and cattle to Abimelech. This may have been a gift or the animals may have been used as sacrifice in making a treaty (cutting a covenant). Either way, the lambs were to be a witness that Abraham dug the well. The well had been stolen and the gift put the burden on Abimelech to make it right. The place was called Beersheba; the 'well of oath' or 'the well of seven'.
Genesis 21:32-34
Abraham planted a tree as a memorial of a place of worship. He called on God and acknowledged him as The Everlasting God. This is significant as we see Abraham as this man called, wandering as an alien in the land, struggling in pursuit of the promise.
By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. (Hebrews 11:9-10))
Along the way, God grows him and blesses him in spite of his failings. And the adventure continues.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, (Hebrews 12:1-2)
©2019 Doug Ford
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