Read: Genesis 21
God
fulfilled his promise to Sarah by giving her the ability to conceive and bring
forth a son (v. 1-2), according to what He had told them. Abraham named him Isaac (v. 3) and
circumcised him on the eighth day (v. 4).
Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born (v. 5)! Isaac grew and was weaned (v. 8), probably at
the age of 2-3 years old. Abraham threw
a feast to celebrate but the celebrations were dampened by Ishmael’s mockery
(v. 9). This caused Sarah to desire to
have Ishmael and his mother Hagar be expelled from the household (v. 10). Although Ishmael is Abraham’s son, Sarah does
not want him to receive any of the inheritance.
Sarah knew that God had planned for the promise to be fulfilled through
Isaac so she wished to have this other son removed from all claim on the
inheritance. This greatly troubled
Abraham (v. 11), but God intervened by reassuring Abraham that this was for the
best (v. 12). God then renews the
promise that He gave to Ishmael (v. 13).
So Abraham did something that would have been very difficult. He sent Hagar and his first born son away and
they departed (v. 14). Ishmael would
have been around 16-17 years old at this time.
In the wilderness, Hagar and Ishmael ran out of water so she cried out
to the Lord (v. 15-16). God heard her
cry and called to her. He promised to
make a great nation out of Ishmael and opened her eyes to see a well with water
so they could drink and be refreshed (v. 18-19). This section concludes with telling the
reader that Ishmael grew up and became a great archer (v. 20) and his wife was
from Egypt (v. 21).
The chapter
then goes back to Abraham and Sarah. We
are now reintroduced to Abimelech and his chief captain Phichol who make a
covenant with Abraham and surrendered the well of Beersheba for seven ewe lambs
(v. 22-32). These men acknowledge
Abraham’s success to God (v. 22) and ask Abraham to deal honestly with them (v.
23). Do you think may have anything to
do with Abraham’s past record of telling half-truths? Abraham then tells Abimelech that his
servants had seized one of his wells (v. 25).
Abimelech says that he knew nothing about this (v. 26), so the men made
a covenant and used the exchange of seven ewe lambs to show that Abraham had
dug the well (v. 30). The place was called Beersheba (v. 31) and Abraham
planted a tamarisk tree there (v. 33).
Abraham then worshipped the Lord, the Everlasting God and sojourned many
days in the land of the Philistines (v. 34).
You maywonder what the significance is of this account being included in theScripture. Why tell a little story abouta well? As you read through the Bibleyou will find Beersheba mentioned many times. Isaac builtan altar in Beersheba (Genesis 26:23–33). Jacob had hisdream about a stairway to heaven after leaving Beersheba. (Genesis 28:10–15 and46:1–7). Beersheba was the territory of the tribe of Shimon and Judah (Joshua15:28 and 19:2). The prophet Elijah took refuge in Beersheba when Jezebel orderedhim killed (1 Kings 19:3). The sons of the prophet Samuel werejudges in Beersheba (1 Samuel 8:2). Saul, Israel's first king, built a fort forhis campaign against the Amalekites (1 Samuel 14:48 and 15:2–9). The prophet Amos mentionsthe city in regard to idolatry (Amos 5:5 and 8:14). Following theBabylonian conquest and subsequent enslavement of many Israelites, the townwas abandoned. After the Israelite slaves returned from Babylon, they resettledthe town. This city is still there todayin Israel and it is the largest city in the Negev desert ofsouthern Israeland the seventh-largest city in Israel with apopulation of 196,355. (Reference:Wikipedia)
Prayer and Journaling
1. When
Abraham did things his own way (think Hagar/Ishmael) the end result was pain
and the breakdown of his family. Abraham
did not get away with the sin of polygamy; rather it caused heartache, rejection, fighting, hurt and
pain – big consequences and suffering!
As a result of his sin, he lost his son Ishmael. In what ways are you doing things your own
way? In what ways are you trying to get
away with so called “little sins”? Ask
the Lord to speak to you about these things.
Ask Him to forgive the areas of sin that He reveals. Pray that you would learn to give Him control
of your life and follow His path of righteousness.
2. Abraham’s
sin left Ishmael without a father and left Hagar without a husband. His sin affected these innocent people. Yet God intervened for Hagar and Ishmael, He
protected them and kept them alive. They
could trust God’s goodness, love and mercy.
God heard Hagar’s cry back in Gen. 16 and He intervenes again, 14 years
later in Gen. 21! God hears! God answers
prayers! Thank God for this, tell Him
that you love Him and trust Him. Even
though we go through tough circumstances, we have a God who hears!
3. Why
include a story about a well in Beersheba?
It helps to remember that the book of Genesis was a historical book
written for the Israelite people. This
well had great significance to them as it represented God’s faithfulness
throughout history. This well also shows
us God’s faithfulness and love. Ask Him
to show you how He has been faithful to you throughout your life. Praise and thank Him for this.
