Many years ago God made a promise to Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son. That was finally achieved, and the story continues with no less drama. I titled this Isaac’s Disappointing Celebration, and you will see why as we work our way through the text in Genesis 21:8-21.
This first observation we make is the weaning of Isaac in verse 8.
“And the child grew and was weaned.” As you all know, weaning is the process in which an infant transitions from feeding on its mother’s milk to some other source of food, and according to my research, ancient Hebrews completed weaning between 18 months to 3 years. That puts Isaac’s age somewhere between 18 months to 3 years at this point. This also means we can rightly assume it has been 18 months to 3 years from Genesis 21:7 and Genesis 21:8.
Also in verse 8, we see that “Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.”
This is something we did not see Abraham do when Ishmael was born. According to my research this is the first time we see a celebration like this given in the Scriptures. In fact, this is a custom that is still practiced today by some Jews that goes back to this very point. Which begs the question: why is Abraham throwing a feast to honor Isaac’s weaning?
The reason is because it meant the child survived the fragile stage of infancy and can now eat solid food. In ancient times there was a high infant mortality rate. Thus they celebrated Isaac’s weaning because of the risks he faced as an infant and to celebrate this new stage of life. We can rightly think of it as a birthday party, which is to celebrate an individual living another year.
But then, according to verse 9, things turn from celebration to travesty.
“Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had born to Abraham, laughing.” Now, what we have to understand is Ishmael, Hagar’s son, was not just laughing because something was funny. The Hebrew word for “laughing” here actually implies mockery. Your translation may even use the word mockery or mocking instead of “laughing”. The point is, while everyone is celebrating that Isaac has made it through a very fragile stage of his life, when so many babies die, Ishmael is laughing at Isaac; mocking him; ridiculing him; picking on him.
Now if you recall, Hagar did similarly towards Sarah after she and Abraham had relations and became pregnant. Genesis 16 tells us that Hagar looked on Sarah with contempt. And now Ismael is doing the same towards Isaac. In fact Paul, in Galatians 4:29, uses the word persecute to describe how Ishmael is treating Isaac saying, “the son of the flesh (Ishmael) persecuted the son born by the Spirit (Isaac).” Which should tell us that Ishmael was treating Isaac pretty harshly. And Sarah witnessed this, which makes you wonder how Sarah responded?
Verse 10 tells us that Sarah responds by demanding that Hagar and Ismael be gotten rid of.
“So she said to Abraham, ‘Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” We can assume that Sarah’s tone was not a very happy one. We also discover there is more to this demand than Ishmael mocking Isaac, Sarah absolutely does not want Ismael getting any of Isaac’s inheritance. And notice how Sarah refer’s to Hagar – “this slave woman” – doesn’t even call Hagar by her name.
So this really becomes a matter of inheritance. You can imagine the family drama this brought (Grandpa’s brother will). But what Sarah is perhaps forgetting is God’s promise. God had always promised Abraham and Sarah that His covenant would be established with Isaac, not Ishmael. So Isaac’s inheritance is a done deal. There is no reason to be concerned about what Isaac is going to inherit. God is going to use Isaac as a first step in fulfilling His promise to Abraham 15 years ago that Abraham would become this great nation with descendents as numerous as the stars, which we know as Israel today, from which the Messiah came.
But this bears this question: how does Abraham feel about this? Ishmael, even though he came from Hagar, is Abraham’s son after all. Ismael is a teenager by this point and has grown up under Abraham’s watch. So you know Abraham has to feel something about this, seeing that his son Ismael has been with him for many years by now.
Verse 11 tells us that Abraham is very upset.
“And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son.” We should be able to understand why Abraham is so displeased by this. Whether or not Sarah likes it, Ishmael is his son also. By the way, this would not even be a problem if Sarah had not tried to take matters into her own hands back in Genesis 16 when she gave Abraham her servant Hagar for Abraham to have relations with. All this drama could have been avoided, if Sarah just let God work instead of trying to make things happen.
But in verses 12 and 13, as Abraham is offended by Sarah’s demand, God speaks to Abraham and gives Abraham comfort in a way that only God can.
First, God comforts Abraham by telling Abraham to do as Sarah instructed. Verse 12 says, “But God said to Abraham, ‘Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you…” So, even God knows it is good for man to listen to his wife (joking). Then in verse 12, God comforts Abraham by reminding him that it is “through Isaac shall your offspring be named”, not Ishmael. And lastly, in verse 13, God comforts Abraham by telling him that God will make Ishmael into a nation also saying, “And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.” These are the same words that God spoke to Hagar the first time they were cast out in Genesis 16, now God is saying them to Abraham.
So, the next day, after being comforted by God, Abraham sends Hagar and Ishmael away. (Read verses 14-21).
And in the wilderness we read that God is taking care of Hagar and Ishmael, and this is the last time we see them in Genesis. But their story does not end. While Isaac’s descendants will eventually become the nation of Israel through whom the Messiah has come, Ismael’s descendants become present day Saudia Arabia and give rise to what we know as Islam today, according to Muslim tradition.
As I close I want to answer the question: how does this text apply to us? Why is knowing this passage important? There are four applications we can draw from this text.
It shows how past decisions can bring about future problems.
Anybody ever made a decision only to have that decision come back and haunt them or cause problems? That’s what happened to Sarah and Abraham. A decision made by Sarah for Abraham to have relations with Hagar in order to have a son, came back to haunt them later. What we have to keep in mind is that every decision we make today, if that decision is outside the will of God, will have consequences and disruptions in the future. So we must make sure that when we are making tough decisions we are trusting in the LORD with all our heart and not leaning on our own understanding, but His (Proverbs 3:5).
It shows that God’s promises can still come with disappointment by our own fault.
The reason Abraham was displeased was not because God did not keep His promise. It came because Abraham had relations with Hagar. In other words, Abraham’s disappointment was brought on by his and Sarah’s own past actions. What I am trying to say is that even though God will be faithful to fulfill His promises to us, our decisions can still bring disappointment in the midst of God keeping His word. And that’s not God’s fault, it’s ours.
When we are disappointed, we can find comfort by remembering God’s promises to us and be assured that God is faithful to keep them.
When Abraham was displeased by Sarah’s demand God comforted Abraham by reminding Abraham of the promises that God made. When Hagar was grieved at the thought of Ishamel’s death in the wilderness after having been cast out, it was God who comforted Hagar by reminding her of what He spoke to her concerning Ishmael’s future back in Genesis 16, that Ishmael would become this great nation.
Remember from last week, there are 8,810 promises in Scripture and 7,481 of them are from God to mankind, and He will not fail to uphold every single one of them. His main promise which concerns your future is your salvation. God promised to save you from an eternity separated from Him in hell. Jesus said in John 6:40, “everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day”. And Jesus will not fail in keeping that promise, for he said, “I should not lose nothing of all that he has given me” (John 6:39). That’s a promise that Jesus will see to it that those who have put their faith in him, will be saved and be with him in the kingdom of God, and he will not fail in keeping this promise.
According to Paul, in Galatians 4:21-31, this passage is an allegory of salvation.
Genesis 21:8-21 represents the divide between being a free child of God and being a slave to the law. Hagar and Ishmael represent being a slave to a salvation system that is based off works, which can never save, and is therefore a false gospel. On the other hand, Sarah and Isaac represent being set free from the bondage of the law by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, which is the true gospel, and the only means to be saved.
And so Paul, in Galatians 4:30, encourages the believers in Galatia to cast out or get rid of those false teachers who had infiltrated their fellowship and were trying to persuade them to a false gospel the way Sarah demanded Abraham to cast out Hagar and Ishmael. So, if someone ever comes and preaches a gospel based on works rather than faith, we have grounds to cast them out.
By the way, this is why Hagar and Ishmael’s story ends here. God, as promised, is going to use Isaac to make Abraham this great nation called Israel, from which the Messiah, whose name is Jesus, shall come to offer salvation for whoever believes.