I. Introduction
The Old contains the New and the New explains the Old. What that means is that the New Testament can be seen in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, God makes known predictions, prophecies, and typologies. And, in the revelation of these predictions, prophecies, and typologies, we can see the New Testament Jesus, the Son of God, revealed in the Old Testament. However, without the New Testament to explain the Old Testament, it would remain as mysterious predictions, unfulfilled prophecies, and vague typologies.
As you read and study the scriptures, each and every book of the Bible will have the crimson thread of Jesus’ divine nature intricately woven into it. If you are prayerfully reading and relying on the Spirit of the Holy God to guide and reveal the Word to you, this crimson thread can be found. It can then be
(2 Timothy 3:16~17) “…useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man [and woman] of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
As we have mentioned before, the book of Genesis is a book of beginnings. In the early chapters of the book, God created the earth and everything in it. But, we saw in chapter 3 of Genesis, man’s fall into sin, which began God’s work of reconciling man to Him.. In Genesis, Chapter 21, verses 1-34 we are blessed with a very important beginning, the beginning of the nation of Israel. Earlier in scripture, God had promised Abraham a son and now was fulfilling that promise in providing Isaac.
In Genesis, chapter 21, verses 1-34 we have four divisions that are set forth for us:
Promises of the past Remembered: 1-8
Promises of the past Extended: 9-13
Promises of the past Provided: 14-21
Promises of the past Professed: 22-34
II. The Message
a. Promises of the past Remembered: Genesis 21:1-8
Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah,
Romans 11:6) And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
God promised Abraham in Genesis 15, verse 5 “…Look up at the heavens and count the stars--if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be.” He promised him that Abraham’s descendants would be too numerous to count.
-God is gracious
Even though Sarah had laughed in unbelief when the Lord told Abraham she would give birth to a child in her old age, God still provided according to His endless mercy and abundant grace. But, it was not for her benefit that God provided the child, nor was it for the benefit of Abraham. God provided the child to fulfill the promise that He had made with Abraham. And, even then, it was out of grace that the child was provided. Meaning, that with the things that had been done by Abraham, [lies and adultery], and, Sarah’s unbelief, don’t’ you think that God would have been justified in withholding His grace and simply telling them, “Sorry, you didn’t believe me so I won’t give you a son”? But, God is not like that. He promised, He made a covenant with Abraham and swore by Himself that He would provide a descendant to Abraham. And, since He swore by Himself, for there is nothing higher than God, He will fulfill His promise.
God is gracious to you as well. He holds you in the palm of His hand. He has promised to never let you go, to never forsake you, and to provide for your every need. Even though you may sin, God is still God and is waiting for you to ask forgiveness so that He may continue working in your life.
Jesus knows your every need and has told us in scripture that He would provide for us. It doesn’t really make sense, does it? I mean, He gave us the faith to believe in Him in the first place. Then, He prompted our hearts to take that small bit of faith and put it in Him, the one that went to the cross to sacrifice Himself for us. Next, as we read the Bible, pray, and attend church, He keeps us along the straight path, the path to Him through the Word that is implanted in our hearts. God is gracious and abundant in His giving.
The gift that was given in Genesis 21 was given through grace and given to glorify God. Abraham and Sarah were provided a child in their old age not just to fulfill some covenant that God made with Abraham in Genesis 15, but to also let Abraham and Sarah know that they had nothing to do with the miracle of this child being born. Both Abraham and Sarah were not young anymore and Sarah was beyond the time of being able to have children even if she was not barren. This could only be explained as a miracle of God and nothing else. Only God could have allowed this to happen!
-God is personal to you
As you remember, Abraham and Sarah were old. Sarah was unable to have children (1) because she was barren (her womb was closedand (2) she was beyond the age of having children (past menopause). In addition, both were beyond the age of intimacy, yet, God enabled both to have children.
God is personal to you. He knows each and every circumstance, each and every bone, muscle and thought that you have. God is personal to each and every one of us and …
-God knows you right where you’re at.
God knows exactly where we are in our walk with Him. By yielding ourselves to Him, we will have a tailor-made walk before Him. He will use our talents, our abilities and gifts to glorify Him in the only way that is acceptable to Him. God knows exactly where we are at in our spiritual development and wishes that all grow in the knowledge of Him. But so often, when we reach that point of awareness of receiving grace we don’t look back.
-Where were you at before the grace?
Many times we don’t look back, we just go forward in the grace that is being poured out on us. Many times we don’t remember what our condition of unbelief or mistrust was before the outpouring of God’s grace, before the answered prayer. Many times we don’t recognize, after God comes to our rescue, what a sad shape we were in. We forget the conditions, the situations that existed before the outpouring, and only rejoice in the grace of God, when we should, like Sarah, put the recognition, thanks and praise where it belongs, and that’s on God.
Sarah rightfully said,
God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." 7 And she added, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age."
Sarah praised God for the miracle of the birth of Isaac yet she refers to when she had initially laughed when God told Abraham that his wife Sarah would give birth to a child. So often, we like Sarah are without faith in what God is going to do in our lives. We throw up emergency prayers, or prayers that we don’t feel will be answered and then, when they are we just marvel at the answer and don’t go back and ask God’s forgiveness for the mistrust or the lack of faith that we had before.
We must remember that:
-God is gracious
-God is personal to you
-God knows you right where you’re at.
All of which are promises of the past, remembered.
b. Promises of the past Extended: Genesis 21:9-13
God has promised and delivered to Abraham a son, Isaac. Abraham took great joy in his son and this was probably unsettling to Hagar, who had been given reason to believe that Ishmael would grow up in Abraham’s favor, since he was the first born.
We must remember as parents and teachers of children that it is only through the opinions, actions, direction and guidance of the parents and teachers that children either act or react. Yes, children are born with a sin-nature, but they also develop a personality based on what they hear from others and see others doing. A sense for right and wrong should be established early and should be keenly conditioned from birth.
Mocking and scorning seemed to be a habit with Hagar. She, herself, in Genesis 16, did the very thing that Ishmael is now accused of doing. Isaac was a child of the covenant and when Ishmael mocked him, he was mocking the covenant which God established with Abraham. We must assume that the mocking dealt with something much more than mild teasing or childish pranks. It was probably harsh mocking and scorning of Isaac’s calling or God’s will for Isaac’s life that was an affront to God, else God would not have allowed the exclusion by the patriarch.
-Excluded:
Abraham was upset and troubled over his wife’s decision to exclude Ishmael and his mother Hagar from the family. But, the Spirit of the Lord comforted Abraham in that decision.
So often Christians are wrongly excluded by the world in many of the goings on, yet we are not to worry for God is with us in the exclusion and will carry us through to fruition in Him.
-Expected:
In Ishmael’s case, the exclusion, again, was probably not warranted, but some type of punishment was needed and was very much expected by Sarah. God granted this exclusion but went one step further:
-Extended
He remembered His initial promise to Hagar when she was pregnant with Ishmael. Though she had been the one doing the mocking at that time, God told her that He would extend a promise to her son. A promise was extended to her that her son Ishmael would be the father of a great nation.
c. Promises of the past Provided: Genesis 21: 14-21
-Sin Closes our Hearts:
As demonstrated by Jesus when He said (Matthew 19:14) "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
God’s heart was with Hagar and Ishmael. The sins of Hagar and Ishmael closed their hearts to following the ways and rules of the family of Abraham. All they had to do was repent and turn for their evil ways. But sin has a way of closing off our feelings for others. Sin has a way of numbing our emotions and disabling our senses and keeping us from responding appropriately to people. Sin closed the hearts of Hagar and Ishmael and they were numb to the fact that they were causing Sarah and Isaac pain with their mocking. I say ‘their’ mocking because I’m sure that Hagar was aware of the mocking from the beginning. There is not much that escapes the eye of the house servants.
What is the result of sin closing our hearts? We are not aware of the pain that we cause people.
-Sin Closes our Minds
Hagar and Ishmael were well off in the care of Abraham. Simply put, they lived very well! There is never any instance of any wrong doing, such as abuse, ever mentioned about the man. He was gentle, and easy to get along with. For example, he let his young nephew choose the land that he wanted. No, Abraham was a good man and that is why God chose him. But, sin in the life of Hagar and Ishmael had apparently clouded their minds. Sin has a way of doing that. It closes our minds to the good things of God, or, its insatiable desire demands more, resulting in the privileges that we do have, being taken away.
Hagar was the hand maiden of Sarah. I cannot tell you what her duties were and I cannot tell you how tough a taskmaster Sarah was. However, if she was abusive to her servants, she would not have went to Abraham to have him put the two of them back in line. She would have handled it herself.
No, we can only deduce that sin closed Hagar and Ishmael’s minds to the good life and benefits that they received from living with Abraham’s family. They wanted more, and they wanted something that they could never have. And, since they were never going to be able to get it, they mocked the one that it was promised to.
What is the result of sin closing our minds? Benefits are taken away one by one until we only have our sin staring us in the face.
-Sin Closes our Eyes
And, with sin staring us in the face it is impossible to see, unless we repent and let God open our eyes to what is going on. With all the comforts, the benefits and the hope left behind them at the home of Abraham, Hagar was now confronted with only death. So filled with pain and suffering from what had happened to her and Ishmael, she was unable to see a well nearby to keep her and her son alive. So filled with pain and suffering from what had happened to her and Ishmael, she was unable to even remember that God had promised her when she was pregnant that she would make a great nation out of Ishmael.
Sin closes our eyes, our hearts and our minds and causes us not to remember God’s past promises of provisions for our future.
d. Promises of the past Professed: 22-34
-Profession is Witnessing through Example
Do you connect with people of God? Are they easy to spot? Are they easy to recognize?
Abimelech connected with Abraham. This is the same king that Abraham had lied to earlier about who his wife Sarah actually was. We know that when God stepped in to take care of that situation, Abimelech was given a demonstration of God working in Abraham’s life. After that he was probably afforded the opportunity to visit Abraham’s home. Abimelech probably was given a first hand account of how God was blessing Abraham in all that he did.
This was an example that was set before Abimelech and for the other ungodly people around Abraham.
Now the Bible tells us in several places that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. It also tells us in
(James 2:21) Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
We must understand that the grace of God is free. Abraham believed God would do the things that He promised. Abraham put his faith in God and then God set about sanctifying him by putting Abraham’s faith to work. Abraham displayed his belief in the God of Creation through his actions. Abraham witnessed to those around him through his Godly life example that was demonstrated daily in his life. He let his actions speak his testimony before men. His faith was put into his works and into his family.
How about you? Do you put your faith to work? Are the people around you able to say the same thing as Abimelech said of Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do?” If not, what can you do to change that? How can you be sure to have a witness through example?
Do you have a positive Christian testimony before others, especially non-believers?
When we look at Abraham’s time, we have to remember that people rode horses, walked, or took a wagon pulled by oxen to get where they wanted to go. Which means unnecessary travel was probably unheard of in this day and age. So, the opportunities for Abraham to present a Godly witness to others were probably few and far between. However, he had the opportunity to present a Godly example to his servants, who probably interacted with servants of Abimelech, other landowners and other people. You know those servants probably compared their masters to other servants masters, and word will eventually get back to the master about another person.
Abraham had a lot of ground to make up with Abimelech because of the lie that Abraham told him before. But, even though he had been wronged by Abraham in the past, Abraham’s current standing with Abimelech was noteworthy. Abimelech realized that Abraham was a man that was blessed by God. Abimelech had seen God’s work in the past and wanted Abraham on his side. It appears that he had done some rethinking and now thought highly of Abraham. God working through Abraham seemed to leave a lasting impression on Abimelech.
Do you have a positive Christian testimony that will leave a lasting impression on people? Abraham left an impression on Abimelech that made a difference in Abraham’s way of life. Abraham witnessed to others through example. How about you?
-Profession is Witnessing through Speech
=In Your Plain Talk
Not only did Abraham lead by example, but His speech was frank, candid, forthright, reliable and truthful. He didn’t mince words when asked if he would behave and repay the same kindness that had been shown to him by Abimelech. Abraham simply agreed. He didn’t make a fuss, or set down numerous conditions or clauses, but simply agreed to live a worthy life before Abimelech.
What about us today? Is our Christian Witness evident in our speech? Can people tell that we are Christians just by hearing the way that we talk? If not, what conclusions do you think those around you make based on your speech? Something to think about!
=In Your Concerns
What about your concerns? Witnessing through simple conversation with our co-workers may not be a walk in the park but, but what about when things are not going your way? Are you able, like Abraham, to come forward and voice your concerns without double-talk, or unnecessary accusatory language? Worthy of remembering is this, Nothing more need be said of a righteous man other than he do it right.
-Profession is Witnessing through Worship
Witnessing through example and speech are all based upon Witnessing through Worship. The Bible tells us that “Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God.”
Abraham witnessed to others in his worship of the God of Creation. His worship was public. A good man will do all that he can to make others good as well.
Do you keep up your public worship? What is included in your public worship? The books you read while you are on the subway or bus, the way you dress during the day, when you are not in church. The music you listen to, the movies you watch, the plays that you go to see, are all included in public worship.
Public worship is not just coming to church on Sunday, which I consider more of private worship. Public worship is when the world is looking at you. Public doesn’t only mean in church, it also means on the subway, on the bus, on the airplane.
With that said, how’s your public worship? When you go to work, or the park, or the beach, or the store, or the tailor, is there a possibility that your Christian ambience will convince others that you are a Christian? Or, are your pants so tight or your music so loud that people wonder if you may be a creep instead of a Christian?
III. Summary
Good men and women should do all they can to make others good men and women! Wherever we are, whatever we do, we must never be ashamed of the public worship of God!
