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Studies in Genesis, Joy Cometh In The Morning, Lesson XLVI, Genesis 21:1-21
Genesis 21:1-21, And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. 2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. 6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. 7 And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age. 8 And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. 9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. 10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. 11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son. 12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. 13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. 14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. 15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. 16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow shot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. 19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. 20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. 21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
God’s promise of a son to Abraham and Sarah is realized with the birth of Isaac.
The name Isaac, a name commanded by God, has come to mean “Laughter” for this name is associated with Sarah’s laughter.
As it says in verse 6 God hath made me to laugh.
At the first, at the announcement by God that she would bear a son the laughter was spawned from unbelief.
Spawned from such an outrageous thought as this, that a woman her age, a woman barren all her life would bear a child.
But now when the birth of Isaac is realized the laughter is spawned from joy, for Sarah now holds in her arms the promised son, the son from whom nations will be born, nations promised to Abraham who has become our Father of faith.
Since God promised Abraham that he would be the father of nations till the time of this Genesis passage announcing the birth of Isaac, 25 years has past.
Ishmael now being 13 years old tells us that years have elapsed, trials have been faced, weeping has endured for a night but now joy comes in the morning.
Again, we see the Biblical pattern of faith.
Again, we see God’s endowment to us of what we can expect as we walk the walk of faith with Jesus Christ our Lord.
For the Christian, life does indeed result in great joy, but the path to that joy often leads us through many dangers, toils and snares.
That path oft times leads us through the valley of the shadow of death but as the remainder of this most known 23rd psalm says:
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
This Psalm and our Genesis 21 passage reminds us that the walk of faith is not a walk of pleasure and comfort and ease, but it is a walk of growth, a walk wherein God sculpts us into conformance to His Son, Jesus Christ.
And if a block of marble could speak, it too would resist the consistent chipping blows of Michelangelo’s chisel, but what joy would come to this marble when it found itself sculpted into beautiful bodily shape of David, the Hero and King of Israel.
God does not leave us ignorant about the walk of faith, for we need to be realistic in our expectations of what the life of faith will bring.
And we see this realism in our Genesis passage for the joy of the birth of Isaac does indeed bring laughter and great pleasure to Abraham and Sarah.
But along with this birth, dangers, toils and snares await in the wings till Act Two of this saga begins for Ishmael is still in the picture and his presence will bring an interruption to this great joy.
For a newcomer is on the scene, a baby has arrived and now competes with this boy, now 13, the son, not of Abraham and Sarah, but the son of Abraham and Hagar.
He has been the apple of Abraham’s eye, he has been the sole heir, he has been the one wherein Abraham pleaded with God that Ishmael might live before Him!
But now Ishmael, the son of the flesh, is to take a back seat for the son of promise has entered the picture.
So not only joy is present, but tension is beginning to be felt in the family and that tension comes to a head at the weaning of Isaac, probably when he was two to three years old.
This would make Ishmael 15 to 16 years old when this weaning occurred.
The word wean means to ripen, like a fruit ready to leave the vine.
Weaning was a joyous occasion because a weaned child was valued as a fulfilled child.
A weaned child was so equipped with the basic tools of the earlier stages of development that the child graduated to take on the next stage of development more independently.
And by the way this is not the only weaning that is to take place in child rearing for all of child rearing is to have times of weaning for weaning is simply graduating to the next step of independence.
Remember that you are given children that they may be given away for they are not yours to keep.
God expects them to come into His family.
Weaning starts with total dependence upon mother’s breast with eventual release to independence from mother and father.
We do not know if a great feast took place at the weaning of Ishmael, but we are given that a great celebration was held when Isaac was weaned.
Sarah went all out upon this day, but one thing was lacking and that was a respect of the day from the son of Hagar for Sarah looked and found Ishmael mocking.
Perhaps he was saying, What’s the big deal, this baby is no longer dependent upon his Momma and is now eating regular food?
Ishmael had taken a back seat for two to three years and perhaps this feeling of neglect had brought out this animosity against Baby Isaac.
But whatever mocking meant it found a Mother Sarah who was caressing her son, her only son, a Sarah who would no longer abide the presence of this interloper, this son of the flesh, this son who by the way came into the family because Sarah gave Abraham her handmaid.
Ah, the unintended consequences of sinful decisions so fittingly displayed here in God’s Word!
So why should she permit this great feast to be dampened by such conduct as this, coming from the son of Hagar, not considering he was also the son of Abraham, her husband.
So, Sarah demanded that this bondwoman and her son be cast out of this community of Abraham and Sarah.
In this command to Abraham she identified Hagar, a woman who tended to her every need for many years, only with a lowly term, a bondwoman nor as Abraham’s other wife and she did not use the name Ishmael either.
And with this banishment she emphatically stated that Ishmael was never to be included in Abraham’s will nor Sarah’s will for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
Here was a woman who put her foot down most forcefully.
She was not to be overturned and our Genesis account tells us that:
the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.
Here is the difference, Ishmael is Abraham’s son but not Sarah’s son.
Blood enters the picture for we naturally are to take care of our own.
Ishmael was not Sarah’s own, for now Sarah had her own, Isaac to care for.
Her life’s direction was toward Isaac but Abraham not only had Isaac to care for, but he also had Ishmael for whom he had been caring 15 or 16 years through Hagar.
Most likely there were two households, one with Sarah and one with Hagar and Ishmael and perhaps never the twain, as families did meet.
So, Abraham plunges from the heights of joy to the depths of grief because he so loves Ishmael, his first son, but we are to remember his first son is called the son of the flesh.
We do not know for sure how fathers and sons related to each other in those days but I’m sure it was a close relationship for both were involved in the same livelihood.
And I suppose Abraham and Ishmael spent many hours together in the fields seeing to the flocks and witnessing God’s creation as they slept under the stars.
So, the thing that Sarah desired most passionately was indeed very grievous to Abraham, a thing almost unthinkable.
But God did not let Abraham grieve long for he also had a plan and His plan coincided with Sarah’s command.
Now Sarah’s motivation was selfish for she was moved by jealously, but God had long ago promised Abraham that from him would come many nations and his design required separation from the son of the flesh.
Therefore, he told Abraham to no longer be grievous because of all that Sarah had said to him but hearken unto her voice for it was God’s will that Isaac’s seed be called.
There was to be no mix up in thinking as to whose seed would lead to the promise and therefore separation was commanded that the line toward those nations, this line leading to Christ would be pure.
And God in knowing Abraham’s grief comforted him for He promised that a nation would come from the seed of his dear first son Ishmael.
God had in no way endorsed Sarah’s jealousy for God would have commanded this action regarding Ishmael and Hagar anyway for it furthered His sovereign purpose.
It was an action which emphasized the fact that God brings about His purposes without the help of men.
I am reminded of Isaiah 31:3 where we are told of this:
And in Psalm 147:10, He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. And even in judgment he needs not the power of men for as we can read in Revelation 19 the armies followed him upon white horses while out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword that with it he should smite the nations. And we find from scripture that Isaac was the product of God’s power apart from any human ability.
Ishmael was the product of the flesh and came by Abraham’s will by natural means.
Ishmael was born according to the flesh, but Isaac was born according to the Spirit.
Abraham and Sarah could not boast in Isaac but could only glorify God for him.
Speaking of jealousy God is indeed jealous of His glory and will no share it with another and therefore Ishmael and Hagar had to separate from Isaac.
This is an example of what takes place at the new birth for all things become new and the flesh is to be banished.
Walking the walk of faith is a walk in the Spirit and it requires total dependence on God, that all acceptable fruit come from Him.
Isaac was weaned from his mother’s breast and through the growing years he was weaned from childish things and he became a man and became independent.
But faith tells us that in the Spirit we are never to be independent from God. That which exhibits itself as independent from God will never please God for it will never bring glory to God’s name.
That which comes from our flesh only exalts human pride and always robs our God of His glory.
But that which the Spirit produces in and through us brings God the glory due His name.
God’s glory is preeminent to any comfort Hagar and Ishmael enjoyed in the camp and therefore it was required that they be banished but also remember that in that banishment God was near that His purpose for Ishmael would be realized.
So, the critical teaching in all of this event is that the joy in life’s walk of faith comes from obtaining that which only God can do.
We cannot save, only God can save, we cannot sanctify, only God can sanctify, we cannot walk without God’s light, we cannot find our way upon death, only God can show us that, we cannot go and prepare a place for us, only God can do that, we cannot worship God without His Spirit.
For all things we are to depend upon Him and Him alone. |