The Birth of Isaac, 1-34
Now ends the suspense that began in ch. 12.
21:1 The LORD visited Sarah just as he had said he would and did for Sarah what he had promised. 21:2 So Sarah became pregnant and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the appointed time that God had told him. 21:3 Abraham named his son—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac. 21:4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded him to do. 21:5 (Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.)
Although the account of Isaac’s birth is quite brief, we should not miss the threefold reference in v1f to God’s fulfilled promise. Without this fulfilment, the promises of the land, of numerous descendants and blessings to the nations would have withered on the vine.
21:6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” 21:7 She went on to say, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son for him in his old age!”
‘Sarah…is no visionary: she has faith, Heb 11:11, but her bent is domestic and physical – no doubt providentially, for Isaac had the ordinary needs of a child, who must be enjoyed for himself as well as for his destiny.’ (Kidner)
21:8 The child grew and was weaned. Abraham prepared a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 21:9 But Sarah noticed the son of Hagar the Egyptian—the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham—mocking. 21:10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!”
The child grew and was weaned – Weaning would have taken place at about 2-3 years old. Ishmael wouldhave been 16-17 by this time.
Sarah noticed the son of Hagar the Egyptian…mocking – Pouring scorn, perhaps on Isaac’s status as Abraham’s heir.
Up until the time of Isaac’s birth, Ishmael would have been seen as Abraham’s heir. It is not surprising, then, that he was scornful of this untimely birth to an aged mother. But in doing so, he was also being scornful of God, whose hand he could not discern in these events, Gen 16:12; Gal 4:28f. The name ‘Isaac’ means ‘he laughs’; Ishmael is literally ‘Isaacing’ his half-brother.
“Banish that slave woman and her son” –
‘There are two accounts of the flight of Hagar from Abraham’s home. The one in Gen 16:4-14 is attributed to J (relating how she fled before Ishmael was born) and the E account, Gen 21:9-21, relates how she fled again when Ishmael was already a young lad. But considering the tensions existing between Sarah and Hagar over the years, was it not reasonable for two such incidents to occur at different times and under dissimilar circumstances? Does not history abound in such repeated episodes in the lives of other important personages, such as Bishop Athanasius and his three banishments (in A.D. 335, 339, and 356)? (Would not the same type of divisive literary criticism have to parcel out these three banishments to three different “sources” whose several traditions have later been combined by a redactor?).’ (Archer, Survey of OT Introduction)
Sarah had total control over Hagar, who was her slave. She probably saw Ishmael as a continuing threat, and in doing so was not fully trusting in God’s promises.
This verse is quoted in Gal 4:30, in which Paul uses the story of Sarah and Hagar as an allegory of the relationship between the gospel and the law.
On the power of women:
‘Wives had much more power than they are often credited with. Sarah, for example, after urging Abraham to have sexual relations with Hagar to father a child, expels both the girl and her infant child over Abraham’s protests (Gen 21:9-13). The numerous stories of women who were heroes (Deborah, Jael, etc.) or villains (Jezebel, Athaliah) show that free women had a degree of self-determination that modern writers sometimes ignore.’ (EDBT)
‘Sarah sinned in recommending that Abraham take Hagar as his wife and sinned again in the attitude that prompted her to urge Abraham to send her away. But just as in the case of Joseph, where his brothers intended him harm, God meant it for good-the good of both Isaac and Ishmael.’ (HSB)
21:11 Sarah’s demand displeased Abraham greatly because Ishmael was his son. 21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset about the boy or your slave wife. Do all that Sarah is telling you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. 21:13 But I will also make the son of the slave wife into a great nation, for he is your descendant too.”
The matter distressed Abraham greatly – Even this is too weak a translation. Abraham exploded in anger.
Ishamel was Abraham’s first son, and precious to him (cf. 17:18). But he was not the son of the promise.
This whole episode indicates how much evil can come from a polygamous marriage.
For Hagar and Ishmael to have stayed would have caused intolerable hostility. Sarah’s attitude in not condoned, but God will show that he can work through even our weaknesses and mistakes.
God said to Abraham…”Do all that Sarah is telling you” –
Why did God say this?-
“God does not require Abraham to acquiesce in Sarah’s proposal because he approved the spirit which prompted it, but because it accorded with his counsel and his repeated declarations that all the blessings of the covenant were to belong pre-eminently to Isaac.” (George Bush)
This verse is quoted in:
Hebrews 11:17–18 — 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He had received the promises, yet he was ready to offer up his only son. 18 God had told him, “Through Isaac descendants will carry on your name,”
21:14 Early in the morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, and sent her away. So she went wandering aimlessly through the wilderness of Beer Sheba. 21:15 When the water in the skin was gone, she shoved the child under one of the shrubs. 21:16 Then she went and sat down by herself across from him at quite a distance, about a bowshot away; for she thought, “I refuse to watch the child die.” So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably.
Abraham has to trust the God will look after Ishmael, even though he cannot be sure how. This trust foreshadows Abraham’s trust when tested in the case of Isaac.
Skin of water – The whole skin of a lamb or kid, with the legs used as handles.
She went on her way – ‘If Hagar and Ishmael had conducted themselves well in Abraham’s family, they might have continued there; but they threw themselves out by their own pride and insolence, which were thus justly chastised. Note, By abusing our privileges we forfeit them.’ (MHC)
She began to sob – ‘We are apt to forget former promises, when present providences seem to contradict them; for we live by sense.’ (MHC)
21:17 But God heard the boy’s voice. The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard the boy’s voice right where he is crying. 21:18 Get up! Help the boy up and hold him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 21:19 Then God enabled Hagar to see a well of water. She went over and filled the skin with water, and then gave the boy a drink.
God heard the boy crying – for ‘wherever we are, there is a way open heaven-ward.’ (MHC)
“Lift the boy up” – ‘Note, God’s readiness to help us when we are in trouble must not slacken, but quicken, our endeavours to help ourselves.’ (MHC)
‘Note, (1.) Nations are of God’s making: he founds them, he forms them, he fixes them. (2.) Many are full of the blessings of God’s providence that are strangers to the blessings of his covenant. (3.) The children of this world often fare the better, as to outward things, for their relation to the children of God.’ (MHC)
‘Have you ever wondered if you were born into the wrong family? We don’t know much about how Ishmael viewed life, but that question must have haunted him at times. His life, his name, and his position were bound up in a conflict between two jealous women. Sarah (Sarai), impatient with God’s timetable, had taken matters into her own hands, deciding to have a child through another woman. Hagar, servant that she was, submitted to being used this way. But her pregnancy gave birth to strong feelings of superiority toward Sarah. Into this tense atmosphere, Ishmael was born.
For 13 years Abraham thought Ishmael’s birth had fulfilled God’s promise. He was surprised to hear God say that the promised child would be Abraham and Sarah’s very own. Sarah’s pregnancy and Isaac’s birth must have had a devastating impact on Ishmael. Until then he had been treated as a son and heir, but this late arrival made his future uncertain. During Isaac’s weaning celebration, Sarah caught Ishmael teasing his half brother. As a result, Hagar and Ishmael were permanently expelled from Abraham’s family.
Much of what happened throughout his life cannot be blamed on Ishmael. He was caught in a process much bigger than himself. However, his own actions showed that he had chosen to become part of the problem and not part of the solution. He chose to live under his circumstances rather than above them.
The choice he made is one we must all make. There are circumstances over which we have no control (heredity, for instance), but there are others that we can control (decisions we make). At the heart of the matter is the sin-oriented nature we have all inherited. It can be partly controlled, although not overcome, by human effort. In the context of history, Ishmael’s life represents the mess we make when we don’t try to change the things we could change. The God of the Bible has offered a solution. His answer is not control, but a changed life. To have a changed life, turn to God, trust him to forgive your sinful past, and begin to change your attitude toward him and others.’ (Life Application)
Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water – ‘Note, Many that have reason enough 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 by them in the covenant of grace, but they are not aware of it; they have not the benefit of it, till the same God that opened their eyes to see their wound opens them to see their remedy, Jn 16:6,7.’ (MHC)
‘Oh, that men were not so much like Hagar in the wilderness, blind to the well of living waters close beside them!’ (J.C. Ryle)
‘It is a sweet and comfortable thought, that “the LORD takes delight in his people” and “cares for those who trust in him.” (Ps 149:4 Na 1:7) But I fear that little is known, and only dimly seen, of exactly how much the Lord cares for them. Beyond question, believers have a great many trials. The flesh is weak. The world is full of snares. The cross is heavy. The way is narrow. The companions are few. But still they have great consolations, if only their eyes were open to see them. Like Hagar, they have a well of water near them, even in the wilderness, though often they do not see it. Like Mary, they have Jesus standing by their side, though often they are not aware of it because of their very tears..’ (Gen 21:19 Jn 20:14) (J.C. Ryle)
21:20 God was with the boy as he grew. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer. 21:21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran. His mother found a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
‘The episode tellingly portrays man’s plight and God’s grace: on the one hand, diminishing supplies, scant refuge and fnial despair; on the other, the abundance of the well (once it was revealed), the promise of life and posterity, and (20) the presence of God.’ (Kidner)
Choice of a Spouse
‘Usually the parents of a young man chose his wife and arranged for the marriage, as Hagar did for Ishmael (Gen 21:21) and Judah for Er (Gen 38:6). Sometimes the young man did the choosing, and his parents the negotiating, as in the case of Shechem (Gen 34:4, 8) and Samson (Jdg. 14:2). Rarely did a man marry against the wish of his parents, as did Esau (Gn. 26:34-35). The girl was sometimes asked whether she consented, as in the case of Rebekah (Gen 24:58). Occasionally the girl’s parents chose a likely man to be her husband, as did Naomi (Ruth 3:1-2) and Saul.’ (1Sam 18:21) (NBD)