*Genesis 21:8-21
Sarah expels Hagar and Ishmael, but God intervenes, promising Hagar that Ishmael will become a great nation and providing for them in the wilderness.
- Ishmael’s Mockery:
- Sarah gives birth to Isaac, fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham and Sarah in their old age.
- Isaac grows and is weaned, and Abraham prepares a great feast to celebrate the occasion.
- Ishmael, Abraham’s son through Hagar the Egyptian maidservant, mocks Isaac during the feast, causing Sarah to become distressed.
- Sarah’s Demand:
- Sarah demands that Abraham cast out Hagar and her son Ishmael, fearing that Ishmael, as the older son, might pose a threat to Isaac’s inheritance and well-being.
- Although Abraham is distressed by Sarah’s demand, God reassures him to listen to Sarah and do as she says, promising to make a nation of Ishmael as well, since he is Abraham’s offspring.
- Hagar and Ishmael Cast Out:
- Early the next morning, Abraham provides Hagar with bread and a skin of water and sends her and Ishmael away, as Sarah had requested.
- Hagar and Ishmael wander in the wilderness of Beersheba, with their water running out and Hagar fearing for her son’s life.
- God’s Intervention:
- As Hagar sits apart from Ishmael so she does not have to witness his death, God hears the boy’s cry and speaks to Hagar, asking her what is troubling her.
- God reassures Hagar, promising to make a great nation of Ishmael as well, and He opens her eyes to see a well of water nearby.
- Hagar’s Relief:
- Hagar fills the skin with water and gives Ishmael a drink, saving his life and providing them with sustenance in the wilderness.
- Ishmael grows up in the wilderness of Paran and becomes an archer, eventually marrying an Egyptian woman, as his mother had arranged.
21:8 And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
21:9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.
21:10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
21:11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son.
21:12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
21:13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.
21:14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
21:15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.
21:16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow shot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
21:17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
21:18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.
21:19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
21:20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
21:21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.