Genesis 21B (2011) The time has finally cme fr Abraham and Sarah t separate the child f flesh and bndage frm the child f prmise and grace Ishmael and his mther must leave Abraham s hme, while Abraham and Sarah raise Isaac Hagar herself was a prduct f Abraham s sin in ging int Egypt And then Ishmael was a prduct f Sarah s sin f impatiently ffering Hagar t her husband The chain f sin has led Abraham and Sarah here And the effects f their mistakes will be felt fr thusands f years as Arabs and Jews battle But even in the midst f their sin, the Lrd remains faithful t His wrd Gd s wrd is s certain and unchangeable that even Gd Himself cannt ignre it S when Gd prmised t Abraham that the Lrd wuld bless Abraham s descendants, it must be s Cnsequently, Abraham was able t set his wife and his first child free trusting that the Lrd wuld care fr them as He prmised Gen. 21:14 S Abraham rse early in the mrning and tk bread and a skin f water and gave them t Hagar, putting them n her shulder, and gave her the by, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered abut in the wilderness f Beersheba. Gen. 21:15 When the water in the skin was used up, she left the by under ne f the bushes. Gen. 21:16 Then she went and sat dwn ppsite him, abut a bwsht away, fr she said, D nt let me see the by die. And she sat ppsite him, and lifted up her vice and wept. As we read last week, Abraham signifies a cmplete separatin frm Hagar and Ishmael The simple ratins hung n her shulder mean she will receive n inheritance frm Abraham This was a stipulatin Gd gave thrugh Sarah s wrds 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 21B 2 The slave by shall nt be a fellw heir with the child f prmise When the greater thing cmes by grace, the ld shall be put away Abraham gives the by int her hands, signifying that that she takes respnsibility fr him hencefrth And ff they went int the wilderness f Beersheba Beersheba is suthward indicating she was headed back t Egypt as she did 15 r mre years earlier And it s an unfrgiving desert wilderness The water ratins Abraham gave her were minimal and unlikely t keep her and her sn alive fr lng If Abraham had nt trusted Gd t care fr them, he wuld have been assigning them t a death sentence Sure enugh, she and her sn wandered in the wilderness fr a time They wandered lng enugh t reach a critical pint The teenager succumbs first t the heat and exhaustin, and he is faint r passed ut frm dehydratin S Hagar places him under desert grwth fr sme shade It s nly a matter f time befre he dies, and her with him S she went 40-50 yards away and sat with her back turned t him, facing away frm him s that she wuldn t have t watch him die Clearly she feels desperate and the circumstances have reached a life threatening stage And she sits weeping ver her predicament Abraham s sin has hurt everyne, and nw it seems pised t crush tw peple he had cme t lve We ve said it befre, but it bears repeating... When we make chices that place us utside Gd s will, we will suffer penalty ne way r anther 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 21B 3 But if that reality isn t cause enugh fr us t think twice and step away frm ur sin, then at least cnsider hw yur sin will impact thers There is n such thing as a victimless sin The full impact f ur sin is nt limited t merely natural and freseeable cnsequences Gd has stated in His wrd that He is prepared t visit the sins f ne generatin dwn thrugh later generatins Num. 14:18 The LORD is slw t anger and abundant in lvingkindness, frgiving iniquity and transgressin; but He will by n means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity f the fathers n the children t the third and the furth generatins. Ishmael and Hagar ffer a case study f that principle at wrk Hagar and Ismael are nw suffering because f their father and husband s sin And the descendants f Isaac will suffer at the hands f the sns f Ishmael fr many generatins Gd enfrces this principle fr tw reasns S that He can mtivate us t set aside sin knwing it will have severe ramificatins And s He may use families as living examples f the crrupting pwer f sin and t demnstrate the seriusness f sin T be clear, Gd isn t saying He causes the penalty fr yur sin t rest n thers in yur family Everyne is accuntable fr their wn sin nly Rather, He is setting frth a principle that the circumstances f ur earthly lives may suffer as a result f the sin f thers And Gd directs thse cnsequences primarily upn the family f the sinner Fathers and mthers bring cnsequences t children Spuses bring cnsequences upn ne anther 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 21B 4 Brthers and sisters upn ne anther Children upn their parents But the Lrd is als gd t break that cycle and bring grace anew and restratin t families Many believers bear a testimny like me f having been the first in their family t cme t the Lrd And by that starting pint, the Lrd may bring many generatins f believers int a family Cnsider the pwer f yur decisins the next time yu cntemplate whether t bey the Spirit r fllw yur flesh If nt fr yur wn sake, fr hw yur decisins may impact thers yu lve...r will ne day lve Here nw Gd is ready t step in and keep His prmises t Abraham Gen. 21:17 Gd heard the lad crying; and the angel f Gd called t Hagar frm heaven and said t her, What is the matter with yu, Hagar? D nt fear, fr Gd has heard the vice f the lad where he is. Gen. 21:18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hld him by the hand, fr I will make a great natin f him. Ntice wh s crying gains the Lrd s attentin? In v.17 we re tld the Lrd hears the yung by crying Apparently, the by is as distressed as his mther He is nt respnding t Hagar s crying Why didn t the Lrd respnd t Hagar s crying? His prmise was extended t Abraham and His descendants Thugh Hagar is a wman wh has als received the Lrd s grace in her life, her earthly life is nt Gd s first cncern Ismael is the ne Gd is rescuing Gd s reputatin is n the line with Ishmael 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 21B 5 Ishmael must live t be a mighty natin r else Gd will be made t be a liar Lk at Gd s statement t Hagar He asks her what is the matter with yu? D nt fear fr the Lrd has heard the cries f the lad And He tells her t take the yung by s hand He s telling her that if she wants t live, she needs t remain clse t this yung man Fr he will receive the Lrd s blessing in his life Here we see a pwerful crllary t the earlier principle n sin The crllary is that thse n whm the blessing f Gd rests may be a blessing in turn t thers In Ismael s case, the blessing was his because f the prmise Gd made t his father, Abraham There is n evidence in Scripture that Ismael was a fllwer f the living Gd; an OT saint, in ther wrds Nevertheless, Ishmael was blessed by assciatin with his father, wh in turn was blessed n the basis f faith in Gd s prmises Gd s prmises t Abraham cncerning Ishmael expired when Ishmael died, s that his children did nt directly inherit a prmised blessing Nevertheless, Gd s prmise said that natins wuld cme frm Ishmael S even in that the prmises f Gd meant that Ishmael wuld be blessed with children and that thse children wuld grw and have children, etc. Even tday, the Arab natins are blessed with wealth, which is a indirect result f Gd s prmises t Abraham As children f Gd, we have been included int the prmises f Gd made pssible thrugh His Sn, Jesus Christ And we will see Gd s blessing in ur lives, just as Jesus said: 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 21B 6 Matt. 7:9 Or what man is there amng yu wh, when his sn asks fr a laf, will give him a stne? Matt. 7:10 Or if he asks fr a fish, he will nt give him a snake, will he? Matt. 7:11 If yu then, being evil, knw hw t give gd gifts t yur children, hw much mre will yur Father wh is in heaven give what is gd t thse wh ask Him! Matt. 7:12 In everything, therefre, treat peple the same way yu want them t treat yu, fr this is the Law and the Prphets. Our Father has a heart t give us gd gifts in an infinite number f frms, and He delights t receive ur thanks in recgnitin f thse gifts And just as we have a chice in whether t sin and allw that sin t cascade dwn thrugh the lives f thers, we als have a chice cncerning Gd s blessing We can decide whether Gd s blessings t us will becme pprtunity t bless thers, r whether we ll keep it t urselves As children f Gd wh have received His utpuring in material blessings, we can live generus, selfless lives befre thers We can speak in kind and grace-filled ways in a wrld that knws nly carse and bastful language We can chse t shw hspitality and genersity and cnsideratin in a wrld where such things are increasingly rare And by making the mst f thse pprtunities t share earthly blessings, we can als win pprtunities t share ur spiritual blessing We can share the Gspel and perhaps bring anther family int the prmises f Gd And the cycle will start again there S Ismael is blessed thrugh Abraham and Hagar is blessed thrugh Ishmael as Gd rescues them 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 21B 7 Gen. 21:19 Then Gd pened her eyes and she saw a well f water; and she went and filled the skin with water and gave the lad a drink. Gen. 21:20 Gd was with the lad, and he grew; and he lived in the wilderness and became an archer. Gen. 21:21 He lived in the wilderness f Paran, and his mther tk a wife fr him frm the land f Egypt. Hagar s eyes are pened t see a well f water The water well was likely nearby all the while, but nly nw des she ntice it I find it interesting that Gd waits until they are near their end befre He brings the rescue He culd have given them water earlier by causing Hagar t see the well sner Instead, He cmes t the rescue nly nw And the slutin was nt supernatural, but rather the water was nearby all the while I like t remember this mment when I find myself in my wn desperate mments, when things lk bleak Perhaps the slutin is nearby, and the Lrd is simply waiting fr me t place my need befre Him Only after I appeal t Him may He shw me my rescue, s that He receives the glry fr that wrk in my life S as Gd prmised, the by grew up under Gd s watch, and lived in the wilderness becming an archer Ismael settled in Paran, which is the heart f Arabia in nrthern Sinai Eventually, Hagar finds him a wife frm amng the Egyptians There will be a brief reunin between Isaac and Ishmael at the death f Abraham And later we ll see that Esau takes his wife frm Ishmael s family S the chsen line f Abraham will remain separate frm the rest 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 21B 8 Nw the chapter ends with a curius scene again invlving Abimelech Gen. 21:22 Nw it came abut at that time that Abimelech and Phicl, the cmmander f his army, spke t Abraham, saying, Gd is with yu in all that yu d; Gen. 21:23 nw therefre, swear t me here by Gd that yu will nt deal falsely with me r with my ffspring r with my psterity, but accrding t the kindness that I have shwn t yu, yu shall shw t me and t the land in which yu have sjurned. Gen. 21:24 Abraham said, I swear it. The king f Gerar, Abimelech, cmes again t see Abraham This is the same king as the ne Abraham had deceived earlier In that last encuntered Abimelech had learned that Sarah was under Gd s prtectin and that Abraham was a prphet f Gd And apparently Gd s blessing f Abraham is s apparent and pwerful that it causes the king f Gerar t feel threatened He wrries that Abraham may be interested in displacing the king frm his wn land Previusly, the king had tld Abraham he culd have any place in his land t live Nw he wants t be sure that his genersity wuldn t be used against him The king visits with the cmmander f his army This was a nne-t-subtle shw f frce t Abraham Standing armies didn t exist in this day When an army was needed, the peple f the kingdm wuld cme t jin the fight But Philcl by himself sent the same message: Abimelech was willing t fight t hld n t his land Abimelech says that he knws Gd is with Abraham in all that he des This is a revealing statement It says a lt abut Gd and a lt abut Abraham as well 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 21B 9 Gd has chsen t make Himself visible t the wrld thrugh the lives f ne man And later thrugh a natin f peple wh will cme frm this man And Gd s presence is s pwerful and s evident that even a wandering shepherd in a desert land gives pwerful evidence f Gd Gd s blessings upn Abraham must have been tremendus Animals and family multiplying beynd all expectatins in the middle f arid lands Causing all wh see him t marvel and give glry t Gd This is a man wh carries his testimny wherever he ges S in v.23 the king asks Abraham t enter int a cvenant with him cncerning the land The king wants assurances that Abraham and his grwing family will nt becme a threat t a future generatin f Abimelech s family Yu can sympathize with this king A stranger tribe wanders int his land nly t prve mre pwerful and blessed than anything yu ve seen Naturally, yu wnder where this is headed If Abraham s Gd called Abraham a prphet, then perhaps that GOd wuld hnr cvenants made between the king and this prphet S he is suing fr peace even befre the war begins And in respnse, Abraham agrees t enter int such a cvenant The cvenant will allw him t cntinue in the land indefinitely, alng with his relatives And in return, he will treat Abimelech fairly Remember, Abimelech knws that Gd is with Abraham But he als knws that Abraham hasn t always been upright and trustwrthy 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 21B 10 S a cvenant r treaty was necessary t ensure peace Abraham sees an pprtunity t secure sme kindness fr himself as well Gen. 21:25 But Abraham cmplained t Abimelech because f the well f water which the servants f Abimelech had seized. Gen. 21:26 And Abimelech said, I d nt knw wh has dne this thing; yu did nt tell me, nr did I hear f it until tday. He raises a cmplaint with the king cncerning a well which Abraham had dug but Abimelech s men had seized A well was a big deal in Abraham s day Water was life in the desert, and a well was a difficult and expensive undertaking Abraham dug the well as a matter f necessity and Abimelech s men seized it prbably ut f envy r t prtect the land T dig a well was a way f claiming land rights in an area Men wuld fight t the death ver a strategic well Entire cities wuld rise up arund a well It s wrth nting that Abraham did try t fight Abimelech ver the well nce it was seized And Abraham is mentining it nw t shw gd faith, that he didn t defend his rights with frce But nw he wants Abimelech t restre the well t him as a cnditin fr the treaty Abimelech denies knwing f the event, which was prbably true And his denial is an aplgy and an acknwledgement that Abraham had rights t the well he dug 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 21B 11 And s they enter int an agreement Gen. 21:27 Abraham tk sheep and xen and gave them t Abimelech, and the tw f them made a cvenant. Gen. 21:28 Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs f the flck by themselves. Gen. 21:29 Abimelech said t Abraham, What d these seven ewe lambs mean, which yu have set by themselves? Gen. 21:30 He said, Yu shall take these seven ewe lambs frm my hand s that it may be a witness t me, that I dug this well. Gen. 21:31 Therefre he called that place Beersheba, because there the tw f them tk an ath. Gen. 21:32 S they made a cvenant at Beersheba; and Abimelech and Phicl, the cmmander f his army, arse and returned t the land f the Philistines. Gen. 21:33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called n the name f the LORD, the Everlasting Gd. Gen. 21:34 And Abraham sjurned in the land f the Philistines fr many days. As we studied in the prir chapters, cvenants invlved several steps t cement the agreement When cvenants are presented in Scripture, the narrative wn t usually relate all the details, but we can assume thse steps tk place In this case we see nly the payment Abraham makes t the king in exchange fr the right t sjurn in the land Ntice that this is a cvenant between equals, a parity cvenant It shws that Abimelech respects Abraham as an equal n accunt f Gd s pwer and blessing in Abraham s life Abraham then takes a few f the sheep, seven t be specific, and sets them apart frm the rest The king takes nte that this is unusual and recgnizes it has special significance asks what it means Abraham says the seven are a sign that this well is Abraham s and that he dug it In effect, if Abimelech accepted these seven lambs, he was acknwledging that his men were wrng and the well was Abraham s Abimelech accepts the lambs and makes the cvenant 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 21B 12 And the effect f this mment is t secure Abraham and his family a place in the land fr as alng as Abimelech and his descendants reigned in Gerar The name Beersheba means the well f seven t remind everyne f this mment And in this place, Abraham called n the name f Gd in recgnitin f His blessings t Abraham Isn t it curius that the stry f the prmise child s arrival is sandwiched between tw curius accunts with Abimelech? Think back t Gd s prmises t Abraham He wuld have a prmised seed child and he wuld have an inheritance in the land Earlier in his encunter with Abimelech, Abraham placed Sarah in a psitin where Abimelech culd endanger the prmised child But Gd came t the rescue by frcing Abimelech t d the right thing fr Abraham Nw Abraham finds himself in a psitin t be threatened by the king s men seizing Abraham s wells And s Abimelech cmes t Abraham and ffers a treaty t ensure Abraham as free access t the land fr as lng as he lives First Gd prtected His prmise f a seed child, and nw He has secured Abraham a place in the land Gd is wrking t ensure Abraham s blessings Neither the child Isaac nr this piece f land in Gerar are the fulfillment f Gd s prmises t Abraham They are bth just dwn payments, in a sense The true fulfillment f the seed cmes in the birth f the Messiah And the final fulfillment f the inheritance is the land f Christ s Kingdm 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.