It's A Boy!

Wow! What a gorgeous day here in the Panhandle. Hard to believe it is August, well for a couple of days more. I wonder what the day was like the day Isaac was born? I think no matter what the weather was doing outside, it was a glorious day inside Abraham and Sara's tent. After all these years they finally had a child together. This was the beginning of the fulfillment of that part of God's covenant with Abraham, that his seed would be like the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the shore.

CHAPTER 21 AT A GLANCE
In this chapter we have,
I. Isaac, the child of promise born into Abraham's family v. 1-8.
II. Ishmael, the son of the bondwoman, cast out of it v. 9-21.
III. Abraham's league with his neighbor Abimelech v. 22-32.
IV. His devotion to his God v. 33.

(From Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)

Gen 21:1-7

21:1 Then God did as he had promised, and Sarah became pregnant and gave Abraham a baby son in his old age, at the time God had said; 3 and Abraham named him Isaac (meaning "Laughter!"). 4 Eight days after he was born, Abraham circumcised him, as God required. (Abraham was 100 years old at that time.)

6 And Sarah declared, "God has brought me laughter! All who hear about this shall rejoice with me. 7 For who would have dreamed that I would ever have a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a child in his old age!"

1. BIRTH OF ISAAC (vv.1-7)

Isaac was born according to promise, and grew to be weaned. "The Lord had visited Sarah." It is possible that this event may have occurred before they arrived in Gerar. To visit, is to draw near to a person for the purpose of either chastising or conferring a favor. The Lord had been faithful to his gracious promise to Sarah. "He did as he had spoken." The object of the visit was accomplished.

God did for Sarah what He had promised in Gen 17:6 (cf. 18:14): she conceived, and at the time appointed bore a son to Abraham, when he was 100 years old. Abraham had the joy of naming the boy, he gave him the name of Jizchak (or Isaac),, and then the privilege of circumcising him when he was eight days old.

Sarah expressed her grateful wonder in two somewhat poetic strains. The first, consisting of two sentences, turns on the word laugh. She had previously laughed with unbelief at the divine promise (18:12). Now she laughed with joyous amazement; at the accomplished birth of the promised son, with evident allusion to his name, "A laughing hath God prepared for me; every one who hears it will laugh to me" (i.e., will rejoice with me, in amazement at the blessing of God which has come upon me even in my old age). The event that nobody ever expected to hear announced to Abraham, had nevertheless taken place; "for I have borne him a son in his old age."

When Sarah held baby Isaac in her arms, her joy knew no bounds. For many months she had lived for that sacred moment. She said: God hath made me to laugh (ASV, prepared laughter for me); everyone that hears will laugh with me. For the neighbors, it would be the laughter of good-natured surprise coupled with genuine delight and hearty congratulation. For Sarah, it was the joyous laughter of wondrous realization. She held in her arms God's gift to the world. It was an unforgettable moment of thanksgiving, joy, and sacred dedication. (From The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press)

Gen 21:8-20

8 Time went by and the child grew and was weaned; and Abraham gave a party to celebrate the happy occasion. 9 But when Sarah noticed Ishmael-the son of Abraham and the Egyptian girl Hagar-teasing Isaac, 10 she turned upon Abraham and demanded, "Get rid of that slave girl and her son. He is not going to share your property with my son. I won't have it."

11 This upset Abraham very much, for after all, Ishmael too was his son.

12 But God told Abraham, "Don't be upset over the boy or your slave-girl wife; do as Sarah says, for Isaac is the son through whom my promise will be fulfilled. 13 And I will make a nation of the descendants of the slave-girl's son, too, because he also is yours."

14 So Abraham got up early the next morning, prepared food for the journey, and strapped a canteen of water to Hagar's shoulders and sent her away with their son. She walked out into the wilderness of Beersheba, wandering aimlessly.

15 When the water was gone she left the youth in the shade of a bush 16 and went off and sat down a hundred yards or so away. "I don't want to watch him die," she said, and burst into tears, sobbing wildly.

17 Then God heard the boy crying, and the Angel of God called to Hagar from the sky, "Hagar, what's wrong? Don't be afraid! For God has heard the lad's cries as he is lying there. 18 Go and get him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants."

19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well; so she refilled the canteen and gave the lad a drink. 20 And God blessed the boy and he grew up in the wilderness of Paran, and became an expert archer. And his mother arranged a marriage for him with a girl from Egypt.

2. EXPULSION OF ISHMAEL (vv. 8-21)

Sarah saw Ishmael mocking, and ridiculing on more than one occasion. "Isaac, the object of holy laughter, was made the butt of Ishmael's wit or profane sport. He did not laugh, but he made fun of his little half-brother Isaac. Unbelief, envy, pride of carnal superiority, were the causes of his conduct. Because he did not understand the sentiment, 'Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?' it seemed to him absurd to link so great a thing to one so small" - (Hengstenberg).

The birth of Isaac has made a great change in the position of Ishmael, now at an age between fifteen and seventeen he was fully aware of the great change in his prospects, and under the impulse of irritated or resentful feelings, in which he was probably joined by his mother, treated the Isaac with sarcastic insults. He had lost his place as the chief object of attention of Abraham, and some bitter feeling naturally had arisen because of this. His laugh was a laugh of scorn. Sarah could not handle the insolence of Hagar when Hagar was pregnant with Ishmael, and now she couldn't handle Ishmael's resent and demanded his dismissal.

This was painful to Abraham. Nevertheless, God saw it as reasonable, on the ground that in Isaac was His seed to be called. This meant not only that Isaac was to be called His seed, but in Isaac as the seed of Abraham in the highest and utmost sense of the phrase. From him the Christ Jesus was to spring.

3. ABRAHAM SEND HAGAR AND ISHMAEL AWAY (vv.10-21)
Reluctantly Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away toward the wilderness, carrying a goatskin bottle filled with fresh water. It is not clear how old Ishmael was. Careful study of the Hebrew text leaves the student free to think of him as a young adolescent, perhaps about sixteen or seventeen years of age.

(From The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press)

Their skin was out of water and despairing for Ishmael’s life, Hagar took care that at least he should breathe out his life in the shade, and she sat over against him weeping, "in the distance as archers," i.e., according to a concise simile very common in Hebrew, as far off as archers are accustomed to place the target. Her maternal love could not bear to see him die, and yet she would not lose sight of him.

Because, when Ishmael and Hagar had been dismissed from Abraham's house, they were not removed from the care of the covenant God, the God who gives guidance and providence to all nations. God then opened her eyes, and she saw what she had not seen before, a well of water, from which she filled the bottle and gave her son to drink.

Having been miraculously saved from perishing by the angel of God, Ishmael grew up under the protection of God, settled in the wilderness of Paran,

Gen 21:22-34

22 About this time King Abimelech and Phicol, commander of his troops, came to Abraham and said to him, "It is evident that God helps you in everything you do; 23 swear to me by God's name that you won't defraud me or my son or my grandson, but that you will be on friendly terms with my country, as I have been toward you."

24 Abraham replied, "All right, I swear to it!" 25 Then Abraham complained to the king about a well the king's servants had taken violently away from Abraham's servants.

26 "This is the first I've heard of it," the king exclaimed, "and I have no idea who is responsible. Why didn't you tell me before?"

27 Then Abraham gave sheep and oxen to the king, as sacrifices to seal their pact.

28 But when he took seven ewe lambs and set them off by themselves, the king inquired, "Why are you doing that?"

30 And Abraham replied, "They are my gift to you as a public confirmation that this well is mine."

31 So from that time on the well was called Beer-sheba ("Well of the Oath"), because that was the place where they made their covenant. 32 Then King Abimelech and Phicol, commander of his army, returned home again. 33 And Abraham planted a tamarisk tree beside the well and prayed there to the Lord, calling upon the Eternal God. 34 And Abraham lived in the Philistine country for a long time.

4.  ABIMELECH’S TREATY WITH ABRAHAM (vv. 22-34)

When trouble arose (v. 25) between the men of Abraham and those of Abimelech, the two agreed to enter into a covenant with each other. First, they straightened out difficulties and rectified injustices. Then Abraham gave gifts to the king to ratify the treaty. In addition to other things, he presented seven ewe lambs to Abimelech. Thus they made a covenant at Beer-sheba (v. 32).

Abraham expressed gratitude to the everlasting God ('El 'olam,) v. 33). The patriarch would soon march off the map of history, but his God, the unchangeable, Eternal One would remain. Evidently Abraham had made an indelible impression on the pagan king, Abimelech, for in his own way, the king acknowledged his allegiance to the God of Abraham.

(From The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press)