Gen 21:1
And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken: In Gen 17:21, God told Abraham that Sarah would have a son at this specific time, and he would be named Isaac. The word visit here is used not for a physical visit, but divine intervention. A whole lot can be read into this verse, but it simply means that God kept is promise as He always does.
Gen 21:2
For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.: Heb 11:11 says that Sarah, by faith, conceived. So it wasn't just Abraham that was faithful. The year before, Jesus visited them in the flesh and told them that they would have a son named Isaac at this specific time (Gen 17:21). Both Abraham and Sarah believed and they conceived.
Gen 21:3
And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac.: Abraham was told to name his son Isaac in Gen 17:19. Again, we see the faithfulness of Abraham, following through with what he was instructed. God, Abraham, and Sarah were all faithful.
The name Isaac means laughter. When God told Abraham that He would give them a son, Abraham laughed (Gen 17:17). When Sarah was evesdropping on Abaham and Jesus, she laughed (Gen 18:12-15). And we see later that the laughter of unbelief turns to laughter of joy (Gen 21:5-6). A very fitting name.
Gen 21:4
Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.: Abaham then follows through with his side of the covenant (Gen 17:11) and circumcises his son on the eighth day.
Gen 21:5
Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.: This was 25 years after receiving the promise. I pray that God give me even a fraction of this faith. I was wondering what the significance of this delay was, and found the answer in the Preacher's Homiletical. I didn't find an online version, but one is included as a free download with e-sword. 1. Both were announced way ahead. Just as the world had to wait for Jesus, Abraham had to wait for Isaac. 2. Both occured at the time fixed by God. God told Abraham when Isaac would be born, and through the prophet Daniel, the world was told when Jesus would be born (Dan 9:24). 3. Both were named before their birth. God told Abraham to name his son Isaac (Gen 17:19) and an angel told Joseph to name his son Jesus (Mat 1:18-22). 4. Both births were supernatural. 5. Both births were the occasion of great joy. John the Baptist in the womb leaped for joy (Luk 1:41) and when Jesus was born, angels sang for joy (Luk 2:12-14). 6. Both births are associated with the life beyond.
Gen 21:6
And Sarah said, "God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.": Isaac, the name that God gave their child, means laughter. The name is quite beautiful and has a deep meaning. Both Abraham and Sarah laughed in unbelief when God told them they'd have a child. Sarah in Gen 18:12 and Abraham in Gen 17:17. But that laughter is changed to joyous laughter with the birth of the promised son. God told them to name their son Isaac to remind them that this was a joyous occasion, and for all of us down the line to recognize the significance of what just happened. This was the establishment of the line of the Messiah. What could be more joyous at that time? It's so huge, there's no words that can adequately describe it. All you can do is laugh with joy that God would be so gracious. And after the birth, the laughter of disbelief became the laughter of joy, and as Sarah said (probably prophetically), "all will laugh with me."
Gen 21:7
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.": It was impossible for Sarah to have children. She was 91 and would have no eggs. Whatever God did, it was a miracle, the same as it was with Jesus. And this makes sense, in that God would establish the line Jesus would come from Himself (I don't mean that God had sex with Sarah, but she was impregnated supernaturally). Man is so sinful that we'd probably end up worshipping Abraham instead of God if it weren't so.
Gen 21:8
So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned.: Weaning is the process of moving the child from being sustained by the mother's milk to being sustained by a normal intake of food. This was probably around the age of two or three. And Abraham throwing a feast on the day of weaning is still a custom today.
Gen 21:9
And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing.: This whole following story seems really harsh, cruel, and certainly not something I can understand. This is how all humans behave, not just children. If everyone who ever mocked me was sent away, I think there'd be nobody around. Heck, if I were sent away for mocking people, I'd have nowhere to live. I know it's wrong, but it's a part of our flesh nature. Even if I don't display it outwardly, I certainly have crazy thoughts. Life was much harder back then, and I am grateful that I live in a time today influenced by the grace of Jesus.
Gen 21:10
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.": This verse really hurts the heart. Such damage was caused by Abraham and Sarah trying to help God (Gen 16:3). The way they treated Hagar is unfathomable. But what we have to keep in mind is that God deals with us humans as we are, and there's nothing special that sets someone like Abraham apart from us. They're just like us, and God loves them. We can take comfort in the disappointing nature of humans recorded in the Bible, and the fact that God overlooks the disgusting things we do and loves us anyway. In this case, Sarah sees Ishmael behaving the way normal children do and tells Abraham to kick him and Hagar out of the house. Back then, it's like a death sentence, and even more, that's Abraham's child that Sarah encouraged him to have. And it's even more disgusting to me how there's no mention that Hagar is Abraham's second wife. Once she was used up, she was cast aside. Just terrible.
Gen 21:11
And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham's sight because of his son.: At least Abraham wasn't happy about what Sarah told him to do. But does it really matter? I haven't verified this, but there are numerous sites claiming that 97% of Germans were Christian during WWII. I bet they felt really bad about the concentration camps, ghettos, wearing of badges, tortures, etc...
Gen 21:12
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.: I don't know why God would entertain this, but He did. All I can do is trust that He knows best and choose not to speculate.
Gen 21:13
Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.": The important thing here to remember is that God honors his promises. God promised Hagar that she would have a child and that he would be "a wild man," meaning that he would be free (Gen 16:11-12). As hard as this story is to hear, we do see that God keeps His promises, just not in the way we'd expect.
Gen 21:14
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.: To me, this seems terrible. But when God says to do something, you'd better do it, and from Abraham rising early in the morning, we can gather that's the way Abramam viewed it too. I just can't believe that Abraham would only give them bread and water. Seems very cruel, but it could be that Abraham believed that God was going to take care of them. Ismael was around 17. Beersheba was grazing land, so there wasn't anything out there.
Gen 21:15
And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs.: We don't know how long they were wandering, but it was long enough for them to run out of water. "... she placed the boy," is an unfortunate translation, but it seems that every translation interprets this part very differently. It's unfortunate because it doesn't seem to convey the seriousness of the situation or how distraught Hagar was. The word translated "placed" here is shâlak, which Strong's defines as "to throw out, down or away (literally or figuratively): - adventure, cast (away, down, forth, off, out), hurl, pluck, throw. This seems to me that the sense the author was trying to convey is that Ismael was nearly dead and Hagar pushed Ismael under a bush to let him die. Most likely, Ishmael could no longer walk and had passed out, so the only option Hagar had was to discard him. It's not like in her weakened state that she could carry him, or that she would have had anywhere to carry him to.
Gen 21:16
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.: Hagar didn't want to watch her son die, so she went off a distance to sit down. Again, the translation here doesn't seem to convey how hopeless and utterly miserable Hagar must have been. The .net translation's wording is she, "wept uncontrollably." That seems like a better translation.
Gen 21:17
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.: Ishmael must have been praying because God heard his voice. And our loving heavenly father spoke to Hagar from heaven. This wasn't another Christophany like before (Gen 16:7). God tells her not to worry.
Gen 21:18
Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.": "... lift up the lad and hold him with your hand," sounds really strange. The Pulpit Commentary explains it this way, "Give him thy support now, and take care of him till he reaches manhood." God promised to make Ishmael a great nation a few times: Gen 16:10; Gen 21:13; Gen 17:20.
Gen 21:19
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.: I'm sure that Hagar's blindness to how close she was to the well is representative to how close people are to everlasting life in the presence of God but can't see it. God just opened her eyes to the well. In my life, I've experienced this numerous times, where someone is right next to the well of living water, but they refuse to open their eyes and see it. Unfortunately, this behavior is the norm, and in my entire life, I know of only two people who I have been able to show this well to that actually saw it. Most simply prefer to remain blind.
Gen 21:20
So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.: God was with Ishmael, even though he wasn't the child of promise. Ishmael was the child of the flesh, yet God was with him. Isn't that the same relationship that God has with gentiles? Gentiles aren't of the promise, yet God has blessed them and been with them for over two thousand years. And just like with Ishmael, God has been with certain nations to raise them into great nations, but always until they turn away from Him (I'm looking at you America).
Gen 21:21
He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.: God's promise of Ishmael being a wild man (Gen 16:12) are fulfilled here. Ishmael lived the life of a wanderer and married a woman from Egypt, where his mother was born. Marrying into the Egyptian line completed the separation.
Gen 21:22
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.: This Abimelech is the same king from Gerar that took Sarah to add to his harem. Phichol, like Abimelech, is likely a title and we don't know the commander's name. This is years later, and Abimelech still remembers that God is with Abraham.
Gen 21:23
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.": We know from their previous encounter (Gen 20:1-15) that this Abimelech was a good man, and rather than try and go to war with Abraham, he tries to keep the peace by forming an alliance.
Gen 21:24
And Abraham said, "I will swear.": Abraham agrees that this would be a good arrangement.
Gen 21:25
Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech's servants had seized.: Apparently, some of the citizens of Garar had violently taken a well from Abraham. Abraham didn't want to agree to a peace agreement if this was normal. In that part of the world at that time, a well was extremely valuable.
Gen 21:26
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.": Abimelech denies any knowledge of the attack. It didn't happen with his consent.
Gen 21:27
So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.: This act of Abraham giving a gift of sheep and oxen must have been a custom back then because it seems very strange to me. Maybe Abraham gave the gift because he had been falsely accusing Abimelech in his heart for all this time?
Gen 21:28
And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.: This seems like another strange custom that is no longer a practice. The number seven throughout the bible represents the number of completion. Ewe lambs are female sheep that haven't given birth yet and generally thought to be less than a year old.
Gen 21:29
Then Abimelech asked Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?": Even Abimelech wasn't familiar with this custom. It's possible that it wasn't a custom because it's never practiced again.
Gen 21:30
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.": Maybe Abraham's intent here is that they both agree the well was dug by Abraham, and to purchase the well back, even though it was stolen. That way, in the future, if something like that happened again, Abraham could say that he purchased it from the king. This way, Abimelech would have a vested interest. Abraham could approach Abimelech and say, "Not only did we agree that I dug the well, but I gave you seven ewe lambs for it. It's time for you to honor your side of the agreement."
Gen 21:31
Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there.: Beersheba is translated "well of the oath." Here's a quick read of what Beersheba looks like today.
Gen 21:32
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.: This is the conclusion statement. The agreement was made and the two leaders returned home to Gerar.
Gen 21:33
Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.: The translation seems a bit off here. Abraham didn't just plant a tree. Here's the Strong's definition:
אֵשֶׁל
'êshel
ay'-shel
From a root of uncertain significatoin; a tamarisk tree; by extension a grove of any kind: - grove, tree.
It seems that he planted a tamarisk grove, not a tree. It could be that planting one tree will result in a grove because tamarisk is an invasive species.
Gen 21:34
And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days.: Many days is a way of saying "a very long time." He stayed long enough to offer Isaac up. Keep this in mind when discussing times in the Bible. In a lot of places, the times aren't specific and the way they related time periods is different than we do today. If someone stayed in an apartment for a few years, we wouldn't say someone stayed in an apartment many days, although they mean the same thing.
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