Genesis 21
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CHAPTER 21
The Birth of Isaac (21:1–7)
1–2 When Abraham was one hundred years old and Sarah was ninety, Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Three times in these two verses we are told that the Lord brought this about as he had said, as He had promised (see Genesis 17:16; 18:10). God keeps His promises; nothing is too hard for Him (Genesis 18:14).
The birth of Isaac was essential to the fulfillment of all God’s promises to Abraham: first, that Abraham would become a great nation (Genesis 12:2); second, that his descendants would inherit this land—the “promised land” (Genesis 15:18); and third, that through Abraham all peoples on earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). Furthermore, God had promised to establish His covenant with Isaac and with his descendants after him (Genesis 17:19).
The idea of the “promise” was very important in the teaching of the Apostle Paul. For Paul, Isaac was indeed a “child of promise”; and we Christians too, like Isaac, are children of promise (Galatians 4:28). We are the spiritual descendants of Abraham through Isaac—through God’s promise (Romans 9:6–9).
3–7 According to God’s command, Abraham circumcised Isaac when he was eight days old (Genesis 17:12). Isaac’s birth brought laughter to Sarah’s heart; this time her laughter was not from disbelief, it was from joy.
Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away (21:8–21)
8–10 It’s not surprising that a bitter rivalry should arise between Hagar, Sarah, and their sons, especially when Sarah saw Ishmael, a teenager, interacting with her young son Isaac. No doubt Sarah felt Ishmael was a potential rival for Isaac’s inheritance. So Sarah demanded that Abraham send Hagar and Ishmael away. This had the added advantage of ensuring that Ishmael would never receive the inheritance ordinarily due the eldest son.
11–13 Abraham did not want to send Hagar and Ishmael away; he loved Ishmael and felt responsible for him. But God told him to listen to Sarah. Furthermore, God reaffirmed to Abraham that Isaac would be his rightful heir. Concerning Ishmael, God repeated the promise He had made earlier (Genesis 17:20) that Ishmael would also be made into a nation (verse 13). Therefore, with these assurances, Abraham agreed to send Hagar and Ishmael away.
We instinctively take Ishmael’s side, and feel sorry that he had to be driven out in this way. But there is a larger meaning to the story of Ishmael and Isaac: they are symbols of two opposing types of people. Ishmael was a child of the flesh, born by natural means; Isaac was a child of promise, born by the power of the Spirit (Romans 4:19–21). Ishmael was the son of a slave, and thus represents Jews living in bondage to the law; Isaac was the son of a free woman, and thus represents Christians living in the freedom of Christ (Galatians 4:22–31).
The key point in the story of Ishmael and Isaac is God’s statement to Abraham in verse 12: “. . . it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Ishmael had to be expelled so that there would be no doubt as to which son would be in the covenant line. It is God alone who chooses which son will receive the inheritance. He chose Isaac; and through Isaac, the child of promise, He ultimately chooses us.
14–21 As Hagar and Ishmael wandered out into the desert, two remarkable events occurred. First, when they were near death because of lack of water, Ishmael began to cry. And the angel of God85 said, “God has heard the boy crying”86 (verse 17). What a picture of our loving heavenly Father, who cares even for those who have been “expelled.” God hears every person who cries out to Him in distress. Furthermore, being excluded from God’s covenant does not mean being excluded from God’s general mercies toward all mankind (Matthew 5:44–45). Indeed, God promised once more that Ishmael would be made into a great nation (verse 18).
The second remarkable event is described in verse 19: Then God opened [Hagar s] eyes, and she saw . . . What did she see? She saw the solution to her problem, the answer to her prayer: a well of water. Was the well not there before? Did God suddenly and miraculously create the well? No, we must assume the well had been there all along. All that was needed was for Hagar’s eyes to be opened.
Is this not an encouraging word for each of us? When we wander into the desert, when we feel that God has abandoned us, when we have lost all hope—then let us look to God and He will open our eyes. He will enable us to see the solution He has already provided, the path He has already prepared. There are amazing resources in our lives—both physical and spiritual—that are available to us if we will only turn to God and let Him open our eyes. Without the illuminating touch of God’s Spirit, we will miss many of His greatest blessings (see Luke 24:30–31).
The Treaty at Beersheba (21:22–34)
22–24 We have already encountered Abimelech in the previous chapter; here we see him making a treaty with Abraham. There are two things to note in this section. First, Abraham was still living in the “promised land” as an alien (verse 23); in fact, he himself never took possession of the land (Hebrews 11:8–9,13). Indeed, the only part of the land Abraham ever possessed was this well of water at Beersheba (verse 25) and a burial plot he later bought for Sarah (Genesis 23:19–20).
Second, according to verse 23, it seems that Abimelech still remembered how Abraham had deceived him concerning Sarah (Genesis 20:2). It takes much time to build up trust; one word of deception can destroy it in minutes.
25–31 Securing water rights was obviously of crucial importance to a herdsman living in a semi-arid land like Canaan; therefore Abraham was happy to give Abimelech sheep and cattle in order to retain uncontested ownership of the well he had dug. The two men sealed their treaty with an oath, and henceforth the place was called Beersheba, which means “well of the oath.”
32–34 In gratitude to God for His continuing mercy, Abraham planted a tree and called upon the name of the Lord (Genesis 12:8). And Abraham continued living in the land of the Philistines87 (verse 32). Though for now there was a treaty between Abraham and Abimelech, the Philistine king, centuries later Abraham’s descendants would find the Philistines among their bitterest enemies.