Genesis 21: 1 – 34
The ups and downs of life
21 And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken. 2 for Sarah conceived and bore 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 who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac. 4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.” 7 She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.” 8 So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned. 9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. 10 Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.” 11 And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called. 13 Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.” 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. 15 And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. 16 Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, “Let me not see the death of the boy.” So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18 Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. 20 So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. 21 He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt. 22 And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “God is with you in all that you do. 23 Now therefore, swear to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my offspring, or with my posterity; but that according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt.” 24 And Abraham said, “I will swear.” 25 Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants had seized. 26 And Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I heard of it until today.” 27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant. 28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. 29 Then Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?” 30 And he said, “You will take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that they may be my witness that I have dug this well.” 31 Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there. 32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. 34 And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days.
A lady comes to see me for counseling and right at the start of our conversation she informed me that she was bi-polar. I said, ‘So am I.’ She was startled at my words. I then went on to say that we humans are all bi-polar. You see this means that we have days of ups and downs. It can sometimes get serious when someone experiences ‘manic bi-polar episodes’ for the highs are great but the lows are dangerous.
Among the commonest things we go through are the ups and downs of life – we are up at some point and then down at another, and then back up again. It’s like a roller coaster. It is quite a strange experience, and we may well wonder why it happens and why we cannot be just the same, all the time.
It can happen in different kinds of ways. Here is a typical example that most of us could identify with. One day, everything feels perfectly normal and generally good, but then someone says something to us that bothers or upsets us, and suddenly we go from feeling great to feeling out of sorts or troubles for the rest of the day. Gloom has taken over you and the good feeling you had when you got up has just disappeared as if it were never there. Try as you might, you cannot retrieve that good feeling. The thing about this example is that you know very well what brought the change about: it was something someone said, and it has been going through your mind all day long.
But an up and down day can happen without your being able to put your finger on why it is like it is. Some days, you just have a vague feeling of not being right in yourself. You’re out of sorts, edgy, and you may wonder, ‘am I getting sick?’ ‘Am I experiencing all this because I am stressed? And then even though you did not come up with an answer you get on with your life. And then even though you did not come up with an answer to your emotional concerns you just get on with your life. Many times the emotional roller coaster has lifted – whatever it was – and now you are fine. Sometimes you are just much tired, and all you really need is a good night’s sleep to wake up feeling completely different like the old song ‘The sun will come out tomorrow.’
We do not need to be too worried about any of these thoughts. It is very common and perfectly normal. We go through these regular ups and downs – downs and ups – and the best thing is probably to simply accept that we do and not do mental gymnastics to find out why.
But even if you insist in doing so, I offer two important things to remember about times like these. First remember that you are not the only one who experiences these ups and downs. This might surprise you but many people are currently having the same thoughts and feeling that you are going through. Here is a tip: If you feel a bit down, reach out to someone! Call a friend. Many times when you do this you get your mind off you current thoughts.
The other important thing I want to emphasize is that going through ups and downs is probably a very good sign that you are developing okay. The fact that sometimes you are a bit down and sometimes all the world is great to you means that you are well balanced. If you only had the one feeling especially of being down this would not be good. It is kind of like the 4 seasons, you know, Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. For me you can keep the winter and I love the other three. But in all truth, isn’t it great to know that winter is winding up which makes you appreciate the Spring so much? So, having a down day really makes you appreciate the up days.
I bring up this subject of ups and downs for today in just one chapter we are going to read about Abraham who also went through ups and downs. He is high on the roller coaster of emotions when he gets a son born to the women of his love – Sarah. Then the coaster has to go down. He must send his first son Ishmael and his mom Hagar away from him. And then finally we will see a mid ground of confusion, happiness, anger, and then peace as the local king Abimelech and his chief military leader come to him to discuss issues.
21 And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken.
The One Who closes up wombs Is also able to open closed wombs. Our Great and Holy God Is the faithful One and the carrying out of His promise is revealed.
2 For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
As Abraham looks back he recognizes the sovereign power of ‘God’. ‘The set time’ is mentioned in chapter 17.21. God Is Faithful to fulfill all His promises.
3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac. 4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.
The scripture is straight and to the point. It describes the birth and stresses the fact that the child was truly Sarah’s and was, by circumcision, made a participator in the covenant previously made in chapter 17 in obedience to God’s command.
The name Isaac means ‘laughter’ as our Holy God pointed out as to their laughter regarding the impossibility of this miracle be able to be done.
5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.” 7 She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.”
The laughter that Sarah and Abram had done was at their opinion of being able to have children at their old ages. Here we see that this laughter will change. It will be in response of joy toward God in all that He has done.
8 So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned.
Isaac would be about three years old when he was weaned (finally eating food other than milk).
Perhaps in this the seeds of resentment and jealousy take root. Sadly the birth of Ishmael was not declared to be accompanied by laughter and whose birth was not described as an occasion of general rejoicing, but indeed became an embarrassment rather than being celebrated by a feast?
9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing.
A way to look at this interaction between Ishmael and Isaac ‘scoffing’ his little brother is that he was ‘mocking’. Ishmael would be about 16 years old in comparison to his 3 year old brother.
10 Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.”
Sarah had done nothing for three or more years. Furthermore she had always been very submissive to her husband. What then provokes this sudden demand that Abraham deal with matters so drastically against his will? Was it jealousy for her son’s position? But she could have no real doubt that Isaac would take over leadership as the family heir, for God had promised it. Was it a fear of something she saw in Ishmael’s behavior, some veiled threat to her son? All we know is that something spurred her on to make this demand.
11 And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son.
Abraham clearly loved Ishmael deeply. The fact that he listened to Sarah does suggest that Sarah must have had some sound grounds for what she was suggesting. As patriarch he had to act justly and fairly, and we know he was a just and fair man. He would not have given the matter consideration without just cause.
12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called. 1
Abraham had listened to his wife when she came up with the plan to have a son by a surrogate. And as we have learned in our Lord’s Holy Word many problems resulted. So, now consider what Abraham was thinking, ‘I listened to you the last time and look at the problems we experienced and now you are coming to me again and want me to cast away Hagar and my son Ishmael’. It is obvious that Abraham is inclined not to listen this time to Sarah’s advice. This is why our Holy Lord must personally intervene and speak to Abraham to accept Sarah’s advice.
13 Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.”
The future fulfillment of the central promise of God lies in Isaac. This expulsion will not affect the Promise. Ishmael would recognize in this statement the fact that Isaac will be given pre-eminence in the family, and that is at the command of God. However, our Holy God does not overlook Ishmael. He too will bring forth a nation because he is Abraham’s seed. Thus God is gracious to both.
14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba.
The emphasis is on the expulsion of Hagar herself. The word for ‘boy’ is neutral. It can equally mean a young man. It may also suggest that Abraham sees her as the one with the strength to cope with the situation.
Abraham arises early himself to see to the matter. Abraham, with heavy heart, providing food and water and puts them on Hagar’s shoulder.
Why does she not again make for Egypt as she had done before?. There is no attempt here. Why does she avoid the highways? Is she aware of some shame that will prevent her acceptance in Egypt that was not there before? Or is she determined to stay within reach of her son’s inheritance?
It is quite clear in all this that Hagar is the dominant person. It is she who takes over and makes the decisions. It has been clear from the beginning that she was very strong-minded, and years of servitude have hardened her as she has carried her grievance through the years. At the time Ishmael may have been a little bewildered at the turn of events, but not Hagar. She takes control.
15 And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs.
The water runs out and even the hardiest person cannot do without water. As they become more and more parched their strength fails, the young man’s first for he is not yet fully matured and he has not had to fight for himself as Hagar has. Then at length he collapses and Hagar has this further burden to bear. Yet bravely she struggles on with him until she knows her cause is lost. (Like many strong women she may have been a very awkward person, but we cannot help but admire her now, as Moses does as well. He does not have to fill in the details. All his readers know the perils of the burning sun and the wilderness).
As a last desperate effort she does what she can for her son -‘She heaved the young man under one of the shrubs’. It was the only shelter within reach.
16 Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, “Let me not see the death of the boy.” So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept.
She cannot bear to watch him die, yet she cannot bear to leave him. She must be within sight if his eyes open again. Yet she cannot remain too close. Her deep grief is clear. It is almost more than she can bear.
17 And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.
The name Ishmael meant ‘God has heard’. In the extremity he is in the lad prayer, and God hears. Note that it is his prayer that is heard. He is a son of Abraham, and God will hear for Abraham’s sake.
Please note the change in our Holy God’s description - ‘The angel of God’. Similar to the ‘angel of YHWH’, but ‘YHWH’ cannot be used here for Ishmael is now outside the covenant line. It is to ‘God’ that he will henceforth look.
18 Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.”
Having been a strong willed woman who refused to be humbled our Holy Master now challenges her relative to this, “What is wrong with you Hagar?” It is as though God says, ‘this is not like you, Hagar, to give up, and especially when there is help within reach. The lad needs you now as never before. Do not let him down’.
Our Lord declares to Hagar that her son is not in His plan to be in Abraham’s line. It is to be developed through Sarah’s son Isaac and this will happen no matter what she may think or be possibly panning because Ishmael is the first born. Our Holy God has another plan for Ishmael. = God will also please her and her son Ishmael with a different promise - “For I will make him a great nation.” Does she not remember His covenant? Does she think He will let the lad to whom He has made these great promises die?
19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink.
In all her struggles and wanderings a hand had unknowingly guided her. Where she thought there was nothing there was salvation. Unknowingly she had struggled to a place where there was a small spring. But without the voice of God she would never have known.
She has no thought for herself. Her one concern is for her son. She immediately fills the wine-skin and gives water to her son. In all this her toughness too comes out. She is a survivor. Without her Ishmael would have been doomed.
20 So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. 21 He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
‘He dwelt in the wilderness and became an archer’. He soon learned to adapt to his surroundings and became a wilderness wanderer and a hunter as he lived out his precarious existence. The wilderness in which he established himself, and later his tribe was the wilderness of Paran, between Palestine and Egypt in the Sinai region near the Gulf of Aqabah.
The hand of his strong-minded mother continues to influence him. She is proud of her Egyptian background and does not want him to marry just anyone. His relatives are closed to him and she takes the only possible alternative- ‘And his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt’.
22 And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “God is with you in all that you do.
Abraham’s local reputation as a prophet has never been forgotten. The people who dwell near Abraham are somewhat afraid of his divine connections.
23 Now therefore, swear to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my offspring, or with my posterity; but that according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt.” 24 And Abraham said, “I will swear.”
The specific aim of their approach is a treaty, confirming the previous treaty and expanding it. In return for certain rights yet to be agreed Abraham and all that were part of his family were to swear friendship with Abimelech and his people. ‘The kindness that I have shown to you’ covers some of those rights.
Abraham confirms that he wishes to live at peace and is happy to agree to a renewal of the treaty, but takes the opportunity to deal with certain matters that need sorting out.
25 Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants had seized.
The well, clearly fed by a powerful spring, must have been of great importance for it to come up at this point, which was why both groups wanted it. Indeed regular supplies of water were always important in all periods, but this must have been exceptional. That is why Abraham wants it brought within any agreement. It was so important that it in fact became the centre of their operations.
Digging a well satisfactorily could be a difficult and time consuming task, and when it was completed and the well producing satisfactorily it gave great satisfaction. It was not a happy thing therefore that it had then been snatched from them by force.
The incident does indicate that all was not necessarily well between the two groups. Presumably Abraham has not retaliated because he has considered the effect on the relationship between the two groups, or it may be that it was very recent and he was still considering what to do, but it clearly rankled. Now the opportunity had come to solve the matter.
26 And Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I heard of it until today.”
This may be politician’s talk or it may be true. But his approach in itself suggests that Abimelech is aware of a certain uneasy feeling between the two groups. Now he has at least a partial explanation.
27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.
Abraham makes a payment to Abimelech. He recognizes that this is Abimelech’s territory and that compensation must be paid for the use of certain facilities. ‘And they made a treaty’. Terms of agreement are hammered out.
28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. 29 Then Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?” 30 And he said, “You will take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that they may be my witness that I have dug this well.”
The well is so important that Abraham wants it confirmed by a specific ceremony. The ceremony does not necessarily mean that Abimelech does not know the significance of the seven lambs. Indeed we are probably to recognize that he does. There is no point in a ceremony if it is not understood. They are going through the formal ceremony in a generally recognized procedure with stereotyped questions and answers. Abraham sets aside the ewe lambs, Abimelech asks what they mean, then Abraham confirms their significance. So a solemn agreement is concluded within the larger covenant. It was an ancient custom that the acceptance of a gift included recognition of the just claim of the giver. From now on both sides will recognize that the well has been dug by, and its use officially guaranteed to, Abraham and his group.
31 Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there. 32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. 34 And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days.
Beersheba means ‘the well of seven’, and is the name given to that particular well. The name is given to remind both sides of the treaty that has been made about it, sealed by the giving of the seven ewe lambs.
The Tamarisk tree was native to the area. It was to mark, and possibly to provide shelter over, the well. Thus the thirsty passerby, needing water, would see the well was there. There also would be a special spiritual value to the well for here was the spot that Abraham called on the Name of the Lord. For future passerby’s this spot would be remembered as where God’s friend called his Holy Master to pray and worship Him.
