HAGAR AND ISHMAEL CAST OUT part-1

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The coming of this little boy Isaac into the home sure did produce a great deal of difficulty. Sarah bears Abraham a son, full of joy at the laughter He has brought to her (Genesis 21:1–7). That joy sours, though, after Isaac is weaned.

Sarah sees Abraham’s son through Hagar, Ishmael, laughing. She seems to think this is directed at little Isaac. Ishmael is Abraham’s firstborn son, born to him by Sarah’s own Egyptian slave girl Hagar, at Sarah’s insistence.

Now though, Sarah furiously demands that Abraham cast Hagar and Ishmael out into the wilderness to eliminate any possibility that Hagar’s son will share the inheritance with her Isaac (Genesis 21:8–10).

Abraham is greatly displeased at Sarah’s demand since he is attached to Ishmael. The Lord, however, speaks to Abraham. Abraham’s name and inheritance must pass to and through Isaac.

The Lord assures Abraham He will still make a great nation of Ishmael, and so tells him to do what Sarah has asked (Genesis 21:11–13).

 

Genesis 21:9-13 KJV

[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.

 

Genesis 21:9 KJV

And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.

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We find that the boy who was the son of Hagar, Ishmael, was mocking. We begin now to see the nature and the character of Ishmael.

Up to this point, he seems to be a pretty nice boy, but now, with the appearance of this other son in the family, Ishmael really shows his true colors.

The joyful arrival of Isaac as the keeping of God’s promises to Abraham and Sarah is clouded by the existence of Abraham’s older son Ishmael, perhaps 16 years old now.

This is not the first time Sarah has reacted with anger and hurt feelings towards Hagar and Ishmael. That prior incident complicates our understanding of Sarah’s actions in this passage.

Sarah is partly responsible for Ishmael’s place in their family. She was the one who had convinced Abraham to try to have a child with her servant girl in hopes of having her own child by proxy (Genesis 16:1–2).

Almost immediately after it worked, however, Sarah had become outraged with Hagar’s new status in Abraham’s life and her contemptuous attitude (Genesis 16:4–6).

Now that Isaac has been born, it seems, Sarah simply cannot bear to have either mother or son around any longer, as will become clear in the following verses.

She would have reason to be concerned, on one level, that Ishmael would somehow take Isaac’s place as Abraham’s heir.

On the day of the great feast thrown by Abraham to celebrate Isaac being fully weaned, Sarah sees something that upsets her. She sees Ishmael—”the son of Hagar the Egyptian”—laughing or mocking.

The text is not clear what exactly is meant about Ishmael’s laughing. It’s possible that he was simply laughing or even playing with Isaac.

Given the response described here, it’s more likely that he was making fun of something, perhaps even ridiculing little Isaac in some way. Whatever he was doing, it was enough to make Sarah angry.

 

Genesis 21:10 KJV

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.

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This is an illustration, by the way, of the fact that a believer has two natures. Until you are converted, you have an old nature, and that old nature controls you. You do what you want to do.

As the old secular song put it, you are “doing what comes naturally.” What you do that comes naturally is not always the nicest sort of thing. But when you are born again, you receive a new nature.

And when you receive a new nature, that is where the trouble always begins.

Paul writes in the seventh chapter of Romans of the battle going on between the old nature and the new nature: “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do” (Rom. 7:19).

That is, the new nature doesn’t want to, but the old nature wants to do it, and the old nature is in control. The time comes when you have to make a decision as to which nature you are going to live by.

You must make a determination in this matter of yielding to the Lord. You either have to permit the Holy Spirit to move in your life, or else you have to go through life controlled by the flesh.

There is no third alternative for the child of God. The son of the bondwoman must be put out. That is exactly what we have here in Genesis: the son of the bondwoman Hagar had to be put out.

On the day of a great feast to celebrate Isaac’s being weaned, Sarah suddenly became very angry. The previous verse tells us that she saw Ishmael, now maybe 16, laughing or perhaps mocking.

Whatever he was doing apparently triggered her anger over something she was likely already deeply concerned about. This is not surprising, since Sarah has already demonstrated anger and hurt feelings towards Hagar and Ishmael in the past (Genesis 16:4–6).

Of course, Sarah is partly responsible for their place in her life, since she was the one who encouraged Abraham to conceive a child with Hagar (Genesis 16:1–2).

Ishmael was Abraham’s firstborn son by Sarah’s Egyptian slave girl Hagar, and Abraham clearly loved the boy. Sarah’s concerns are not entirely unreasonable.

Would Ishmael somehow become Abraham’s heir?

Would his presence in their family keep Sarah’s son Isaac from receiving all that was due to him?

Sarah decided she could not allow this, even if she was partly responsible for it in the first place. Apparently in a fury, she demands that Abraham cast out both the slave woman and her son.

She refuses even to say their names. She simply declares her objection in direct, impersonal terms: “The son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” Abraham will not take this well.

 

Genesis 21:11 KJV

And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son.

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After all, as far as the flesh is concerned, Ishmael is Abraham’s son just as much as Isaac is. Isaac has just been born, and a little bitty baby doesn’t know too much about him yet.

But this boy Ishmael has been in the home for a good many years—he’s a teen-ager now, and Abraham is attached to him. The thing is very grievous if Abraham is going to have to send him away.

Again, I go back to that which we said before: God did not approve of the thing which Sarah and Abraham did, and God cannot accept Ishmael. This is sin. God just did not approve of it, and He doesn’t intend to approve of it at all.

It was a heartbreak to Abraham, but in order to relieve the embarrassment, he had to send that boy away. Poor Sarah just couldn’t take it with this older boy around mocking her.

As a believer you cannot live in harmony with both natures. You are going to have to make a decision. James says, “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8).

This explains the instability and the insecurity among many Christians today. They want to go with the world, and yet they want to go with the Lord. They are spiritual schizophrenics, trying to do both—and you cannot do that.

The Greeks had a race in which they put two horses together, and the rider would put one foot on one horse and the other foot on the other horse, and the race would start. Well, it was a great race as long as the horses were together.

You and I have two natures—one is a black horse, and the other is a white horse. It would be great if they would go together, but they just will not work together. The white horse goes one way and the black horse another way.

When they do this, you and I have to make up our minds which one we are going with—whether we are going to live by the old nature or the new nature.

This is why we are told to yield ourselves: “yield yourselves unto God . . . and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God” (Rom. 6:13).

Paul goes on to say that what the law could not do through the weakness of the flesh, the Spirit of God can now accomplish (see Rom. 8:3–4). The law tried to control man’s old nature and failed.

Now the Spirit of God, empowering the new nature, can accomplish what the law could never do. The character of Ishmael, the son of Hagar, begins to be revealed.

This is the nature that we find manifested later on in that nation, a nation that is antagonistic and whose hand is against his brother. This has been the picture of him down through the centuries.

In the birth of Isaac, as I have already suggested, we have a foreshadowing of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. God did not suddenly spring the virgin birth on mankind.

He had prepared us by several miraculous births before this, including the birth of John the Baptist, the birth even of Samson, and here the birth of Isaac.

I would like to call your attention to the remarkable comparison between the births of Isaac and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

(1) The birth of Isaac and the birth of Christ had both been promised. When God called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees twenty-five years earlier, God had said to him, “I am going to give a son to you and Sarah.” Now twenty-five years have gone by, and God has made good His promise. God also said to the nation Israel, “A virgin shall conceive and bring forth a son.” When the day came that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, it was a fulfillment of prophecy. Both births had been promised.

(2) With both births there was a long interval between the promise and the fulfillment. Actually, there were about twenty-five years from the time God promised it until the birth of Isaac. With the birth of Christ, you could go back many generations. For example, God had promised that there would come One in David’s line—and that was a thousand years before Christ was born. This is quite a remarkable parallel here.

(3) The announcements of the births seemed incredulous and impossible to Sarah and to Mary. You will recall that the servants of the Lord visited Abraham as they were on the way to Sodom, and they announced the birth of Isaac. It just seemed impossible. Sarah laughed and said, “This thing just can’t be. It is beyond belief.” And, after all, who was the first one to raise a question about the virgin birth? It was Mary herself. When the angel made the announcement, she said, “. . . How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” (Luke 1:34).

(4) Both Isaac and Jesus were named before their births. Abraham and Sarah were told that they were going to have a son and that they were going to name him Isaac. And with the birth of the Lord Jesus, we find that He was also named beforehand. The angel said to Joseph, “. . . thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21).

(5) Both births occurred at God’s appointed time. Verse 2 of this chapter says that at the set time which God had spoken to them of, Sarah brought forth Isaac. And regarding the birth of Jesus, we note that Paul says, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law” (Gal. 4:4).

(6) Both births were miraculous. The birth of Isaac was a miraculous birth, and, certainly, the birth of the Lord Jesus was—no man had any part in that.

(7) Both sons were a particular joy of their fathers. We read that “Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac,” meaning laughter. This was the name he gave his son because back at the time when God made the announcement, he laughed because of his sheer joy in it all. Referring to the Lord Jesus, we read that the Father spoke out of heaven and said, “. . . This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). Both sons were a joy.

(8) Both sons were obedient to their fathers, even unto death. In chapter 22 we are going to see that this boy Isaac was offered up by his father. He was not a small boy of eight or nine years. Isaac just happened to be about thirty-three years old when this took place, and he was obedient to his father even unto death. That was true of Isaac, and that was certainly true of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a marvelous picture of the birth and life of Christ in the birth and life of Isaac.

(9) Finally, the miraculous birth of Isaac is a picture of the resurrection of Christ. We have already noted Paul’s words that Abraham “considered not his own body now dead . . . neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb” (Rom. 4:19). Out of death came life—that’s resurrection, you see. After Paul emphasizes this, he goes on to say of the Lord Jesus, “Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification” (Rom. 4:25). We have in Isaac quite a remarkable picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now we find how God graciously deals with Abraham and also with Hagar and her son Ishmael. The language of this short verse indicates that Abraham expressed great emotion.

He was very displeased with Sarah’s sudden demand to cast out his firstborn son, Ishmael. The word “displeased” is not often used in the Old Testament and only to express great anger. Abraham was very displeased.

Clearly, Abraham loved Ishmael. When God revealed that Isaac would be born within a year’s time, Abraham had immediately mentioned his wish that Ishmael could live before God (Genesis 17:18).

God had assured Abraham that Ishmael would be greatly blessed, but that the covenant would pass through Isaac. Sarah, on the other hand, is expressing a similar level of anger and bitterness as she did earlier in Ishmael’s life (Genesis 16:4–6).

She claims to be concerned that Ishmael will interfere with Isaac’s inheritance. That’s not completely unreasonable, since Abraham is obviously attached to his teenaged son.

Despite Sarah’s insistence, Abraham would not likely have let Ishmael go if the Lord had not instructed him to do so in the following verse. This instruction comes along with an assurance, from God, that Ishmael will be blessed.

 

Genesis 21:12 KJV

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.

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God makes it clear to Abraham that He is not going to accept Ishmael as the son He had promised. Abraham was very displeased about Sarah’s angry demand that Hagar and Ishmael be cast out of their household.

The language may indicate that he became explosively angry. He clearly loved Ishmael, who was born to Sarah’s servant Hagar at Sarah’s own urging. This was not the first time Sarah reacted to Hagar with anger and bitterness (Genesis 16:4–6).

Abraham is understandably concerned: he does not want to see his teenaged son die from being cast out. Now God speaks to Abraham and tells him not to be displeased.

In fact, He tells Abraham to do whatever Sarah tells him to do. God agrees with Sarah’s point about Isaac and his inheritance, restating what He said to Abraham in Genesis 17:21: Abraham’s name will pass to Isaac, not Ishmael.

Though God will assure Abraham again in the following verse that Hagar and Ishmael will be blessed, it still seems harsh for Abraham to cast them out in into the wilderness.

It doesn’t seem that either the mother or the boy have done anything to deserve such treatment. The context, however, is clear that the Lord intended to take the responsibility for caring for Hagar and Ishmael Himself.

He would not abandon them. As painful as it was for Abraham, God wanted Abraham to end his role in Ishmael’s life for the sake of the covenant and Israel’s future.

 

Genesis 21:13 KJV

And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.

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God had said, “Of thy seed, I will make nations to come from you,” and therefore He now says that a great nation will come from this boy Ishmael also. Abraham was greatly displeased at the idea of casting his firstborn son Ishmael out of his family and household.

God told Abraham to do it anyway, just as Sarah had said. Abraham’s name must pass to Isaac, not Ishmael. But God’s intent is not to abandon these two to death or poverty.

Here, God reassures Abraham once more that He will make a nation of Hagar. She and Ishmael would be provided for and become established. It’s the same promise God had previously made both to Hagar (Genesis 16:10) and to Abraham (Genesis 17:20).

Why would God do this for Ishmael? He was Abraham’s son, and God had promised to bless Abraham in every way. This included blessing all those related to Abraham.

Even though Ishmael was the result of Abraham and Sarah trying to scheme towards their own desires, God still faithfully keeps His promises. Ishmael will not be punished or treated unfairly on account of his parents’ dispute.

 

HAGAR AND ISHMAEL CAST OUT part-2

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The Lord assures Abraham He will still make a great nation of Ishmael, and so tells him to do what Sarah has asked (Genesis 21:11–13). Abraham obeys and sends his slave wife and son into the wilderness with some bread and water.

They soon run out of water, and Hagar puts her son under the shade of a bush to die. An angel calls to her from heaven, however. God has heard Ishmael’s voice, and He will still make of Ishmael a great nation.

Water is provided; Hagar and Ishmael survive. Ishmael grows up in the wilderness, becoming a great archer, and eventually marrying an Egyptian woman (Genesis 21:14–21).

 

Genesis 21:14-21 KJV

[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 Beer–sheba.

[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 bowshot: 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.

 

Genesis 21:14 KJV

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 Beer–sheba.

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If Hagar and Ishmael had behaved well in Abraham’s family, they might have continued there; but they were justly punished. If we continue abusing privileges, we will soon forfeit them.

Those who are not aware that they are Blessed, will be made to know the worth of Grace and Mercies by living without them.

The concept of “slavery” most often seen in the Bible is a type of servanthood very different from the lifelong, abusive slavery modern people associate with the term.

The slavery practiced by Egypt, on the other hand, brought them condemnation and judgment (Exodus 1:8–11; Exodus 3:9–10). It was not uncommon in this era to give a slave his or her freedom.

With that freedom, however, would come the understanding that any children born to the slave, by the slave owner, would lose any claim on future inheritance.

This appears to have been Sarah’s intent in demanding that Abraham cast out Hagar and his firstborn son Ishmael. After being instructed by God to do so, Abraham now complies. At first glance, this feels cold and uncaring.

At the same time, we need to remember that God has promised to prosper Ishmael (Genesis 21:13). So, Abraham gives Hagar bread and water and sends her off to wander in the wilderness.

We’re not told of any parting words or additional provisions. From Abraham’s earlier reaction, we can only assume that it wounded him deeply to send them away in such a fashion.

It’s helpful to understand that Ishmael was likely about 16 years old at this time. He had been born when Abraham was 86. Abraham was 100 when Isaac was born, and this takes place after Isaac was weaned, likely at the age of two or three.

When the passage says that Abraham placed the skin of water on Hagar’s shoulder, “along with the child,” we should not read that he placed Ishmael on her shoulder.

Mother and son walked away together into the wilderness of Beersheba, which would be in the desert region of the Negev. We’re told they wandered. They had nowhere to go.

 

Genesis 21:15 KJV

And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

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Hagar and Ishmael were brought to distress in the wilderness. Having lost their way, in that hot climate, Ishmael was soon overcome with fatigue and thirst. In the previous verse, Abraham sent away Hagar, his slave wife, and Ishmael, his firstborn son.

He was obeying the Lord’s instruction to do as his wife Sarah had demanded. God’s instruction for Abraham to follow Sarah’s wishes came with a reassurance that Ishmael would be blessed (Genesis 21:13).

This was not Abraham abandoning his son to certain death, or to poverty. Still, it feels harsh to us to see a father send his son away like this. We’re told the pair wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

Abraham had given them bread and a skin of water. If the skin was a goat skin, as was apparently common, it could have held about 3 gallons, or 15 liters, of water. That wouldn’t last two people very long in the desert, and now it was gone.

The pair were likely quite dehydrated. From a human perspective, they probably felt they had little hope of survival. Hagar found some bushes and put Ishmael under one of them in the shade. Ishmael was likely about 16 years old.

 

Genesis 21:16 KJV

And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: 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.

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The promise concerning Ishmael is repeated, as a reason why Hagar should make an effort, herself to help him.

It should engage our care and pains about children and young people, to consider that we may not know what great use God has designed for them, as well as, make of them. This verse continues a heartbreaking scene.

Hagar and Ishmael have been wandering in the wilderness, sent away by Abraham at the Lord’s command. Sarah had demanded that these two be banished from Abraham’s family in order to ensure that Isaac would have no competition for his father’s inheritance.

God reassured Abraham that Ishmael would prosper, but this did not make the act any less distressing to Abraham (Genesis 21:11–13). Now, Hagar and Ishmael are out of water and seem certain to die.

In the previous verse Hagar put her son, about 16 years old, under the shade of a bush. Here, she walks quite a distance away from him and sits down herself. She tells herself she doesn’t want to see the death of her child.

This might indicate that Ishmael was faltering due to a lack of water. Or, it might simply mean that Hagar was anticipating his eventual death. The length of a bowshot, however, is not quite far enough away to be completely out of view.

She doesn’t abandon him. Perhaps she doesn’t want to hear Ishmael weeping, or she doesn’t want him to hear her. In any case, this is a sad moment.

 

Genesis 21:17 KJV

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.

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The angel of GOD opened a conversation with Hagar. The unanswered question is immediately followed by the command to fear not. Because GOD loved both Hagar and Ishmael, the mother had no reason to fear for her child.

By emphasizing that He heard the teenager, GOD showed Hagar that He was looking after her son personally. The Lord had promised Abraham that Hagar and Ishmael would become a great nation.

In other words, they would survive, and Ishmael’s offspring would thrive. Based on the scene described in the prior verse, this seems especially unlikely. The pair have been wandering in the wilderness, out of water and with nowhere to go.

Hagar has put Ishmael, about 16 years old, under the shade of bush and walked quite a distance away so as not to see him die. Now, though, God hears and arrives to save.

Specifically, an angel of God calls from heaven to tell Hagar that God has heard the voice of the boy. Of course, God could have heard Hagar’s voice, as well. It’s not clear why the angel emphasizes that God has heard Ishmael’s voice.

Perhaps it was to comfort Hagar with the understanding that she was not alone in caring about Ishmael; God would care for the boy, as well. Hagar first met the Lord, also in the wilderness, when she fled from Sarah’s wrath after becoming pregnant by Abraham.

That time, she called the Lord the “God of seeing.” She said she had seen the One who looks after her (Genesis 16:13). Now the Lord makes clear to Hagar that He will look after Ishmael, as well.

 

Genesis 21:18 KJV

Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.

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GOD planned to keep His previous promise that Ishmael would become a great nation as stated in Genesis 17:20. Hagar and her son Ishmael have come to the end of their lives, as far as she is concerned.

They are out of water and lost in the wilderness. She has recently put him under a bush and sat down some distance from him, expecting him to die. Then an angel of God called to her from heaven. God had heard Ishmael’s voice.

Now the angel instructs Hagar to get up and move back to her son, to lift him up and embrace him. In other words, it’s not time to give up. The angel renews God’s promise that Ishmael would become a great nation.

This is the only reason Abraham agreed to Sarah’s demand that Hagar and Ishmael be cast out: God’s promise to prosper Ishmael, not to destroy him (Genesis 21:12–13).

A common theme of the book of Genesis is that God’s plans are often fulfilled in ways we would not have expected. They sometimes take longer to complete than we’d prefer.

Hagar’s story serves to remind us that our individual stories aren’t done until God’s promises to us have all been fulfilled, no matter how bleak things look in the moment.

 

Genesis 21:19 KJV

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.

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The angel directs Hagar to a present supply. Many who have reason to be comforted, go mourning from day to day, because they do not see the reason they have for comfort.

There is a well of water near them in the covenant of grace, but they are not aware of it, until the same God that opened their eyes to see their wound, opens them to see their remedy.

Hagar and Ishmael were lost in the wilderness, out of water, and seemed likely to die. They were cast out of Abraham’s family at the demand of Abraham’s wife, Sarah (Genesis 21:9–10).

Hagar had given up any hope of surviving, and walked some distance away from her son, so that she wouldn’t have to watch him waste away (Genesis 21:15–16). Then, an angel of God called to Hagar from heaven.

God had heard Ishmael’s voice. The angel tells her not to give up yet. Ishmael will still become a great nation. This promise is the reason Abraham was willing—though heartbroken—to send them away (Genesis 21:11–13).

Even when things look bleak, God’s promises are still intact. Here, God provides water. Just as He did when Hagar was pregnant (Genesis 16:7–13), the Lord demonstrates His intent to protect her son, Ishmael.

Hagar suddenly sees a well she did not see before. She fills the skin Abraham gave to her, and she gives water to Ishmael.

 

Genesis 21:20 KJV

And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

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Paran was a wild place, fit for a wild man; such as Ishmael. Those who are born after the flesh, take up with the wilderness of this world, while the children of the promise aim at the heavenly Canaan, and cannot be at rest till they are there.

Yet God was with the lad; his outward welfare was owing to this. Abraham evicted Hagar and Ishmael at the demand of Sarah (Genesis 21:9–10).

At first, the idea made Abraham extremely upset, but God promised to prosper Ishmael (Genesis 21:11–13), and agreed that they should be sent away.

Eventually, the pair ran out of water after wandering in the wilderness, and Hagar went to sit far enough away from her son that she would not have to watch him die. God’s promise, however, was not going to fail.

In the prior verse, God saved Hagar and Ishmael from dying of thirst in the wilderness, as Hagar stumbles across a well of water. God’s promise is still in place. Ishmael would not only survive; he would become a great nation.

In Genesis 17, Abraham had expressed his desire for his son Ishmael to live with God. Though God would not establish Abraham’s covenant with Ishmael, the Lord had assured Abraham that Ishmael would not be abandoned (Genesis 17:18–20).

Now we see that God is still with Ishmael. Though he and his mother continued to live in the wilderness, Ishmael grew and thrived. He became an expert bowman. This may mean he became a skilled hunter or skilled in battle as an archer, or both.

 

Genesis 21:21 KJV

And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

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The Scriptures are going to drop the line of Ishmael and follow it no longer, but his descendants, the Arabs, are out there in the desert even today. Abraham’s firstborn son had been sent away at God’s instruction, after the birth of Isaac.

After nearly dying in the wilderness, Ishmael and Hagar had been saved by the Lord. God continues to be with Ishmael, blessing the boy as he grows into a man in a place called the wilderness of Paran.

Normally, a father would arrange his son’s marriage. Hagar took on that duty, finding a wife for her son among her own people in Egypt (Genesis 12:16; 16:1).

When Hagar first met the Lord while pregnant with Ishmael, He had revealed to her some details about Ishmael’s future. He would be a wild donkey of a man in conflict with everyone. He would dwell over and against his kinsman, meaning his extended family (Genesis 16:12).

God had revealed even more to Abraham. Ishmael would father 12 princes and become a great nation (Genesis 17:20). God would not fail to keep His promise to bless Abraham’s firstborn son. This verse establishes the beginning of these promises coming true.

 

 

I hope that you have really enjoyed this post,

 

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