Genesis 21:8-21, Sarah is mean, but that's okay (sort of)...And Star Wars

What Abraham looked like at this point, maybe.

In the last Genesis blog we looked how God was faithful to his promises and provided Sarah and Abraham with a son, Isaac. We saw the kindness of God to Abraham and Sarah, who had waited quite a long time, (25 years), for his provision. We also saw the continuation of God's covenant with Abraham, which will now be passed on to Isaac, which is key in understanding the rest of the Old Testament if I do say so myself...and I do...say so.

So oh boy! Now Abraham and Sarah have their son. Life is going to be great. Isaac will receive the covenant promises of God! God's going to work in his life in similar ways that he did with Abraham. Yay! How exciting! But...what are we going to do with Ishmael? Who's Ishmael, you ask? If you don't remember, Abraham decided to take things in his own (ahem) "hands" and help God out. This happened about 12 years ago back in Genesis 16. Sarah encouraged Abraham to sleep with the servant girl, Hagar, to father the child of the covenant promise of God. Abraham (ahem) reluctantly slept with Hagar and Ishmael was conceived. Sarah and Abraham didn't ask God about this "plan", they just did it. After Ishmael came along God reminded Abraham that it would not be Ishmael who would receive God's promises, but Abraham's own offspring. Now the child of promise has been born, (Isaac), and there's Ishmael, the child of human effort and decision making. Awkward. Oops, sounds like trouble.

Genesis 21:8-21 - "And the child (Isaac) grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing," (v8). 

Jabba the Hut is mocking you...like Ishmael did.

Isaac has now started to grow up. Everyone is very excited and Abraham throws a big party to celebrate. But there's a problem. Ishmael, Abraham's son via Hagar, is seen making fun of, or mocking Isaac. The exact meaning of the word is unclear. It means either that Ishmael was making fun of Isaac or in someway disrespecting his authority as the "promised child". Either way, Ishmael has roused the anger of the momma bear in Sarah. Sarah knows that Isaac is the promised child of God and the one who will be the heir to Abraham. She figures that the presence of Ishmael is going to be a problem. Therefore...

"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.' And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. 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, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named. And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.' So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away," (10 - 14). 

What you look like to God if you have faith = cute and cuddly.

Sarah gets upset that "the son of this slave woman" is making fun of or disrespecting Isaac. She decides she doesn't want Ishmael around anymore. (This is yet another reason why husbands shouldn't sleep with the hired help, but I digress).

Okay, so I can see you at home reading this, (literally I can, I have cameras everywhere), thinking to yourself, 'What does this have to do with me? What does this have to do with my life and the Biblical story in general?' Good question. There is a reason why these stories in Genesis about people who lived thousands of years ago are important. In this story, the child of faith is set to be the heir while the child of works and human effort is going to be outcast. This is going to be a metaphor for those who would follow after Abraham, the man of faith. The message here is that man shall not receive the blessings of God by their works or human intuition. They shall only receive the blessing of God by faith. 

What you look like to God's due to your works = evil and wrinkled.

Right now you're thinking to yourself, 'Boy, that Travis Hendley sure is smart and spiritual to say something like that.' Well the fact of the matter is I didn't get this conclusion myself. It's explained by Paul, via the Holy Spirit, in the book of Galatians in Galatians 4:21-31. Paul's point in the book of Galatians is that men are saved by God from their sins by faith in Jesus Christ. They start by faith and they continue by faith. Men who seek to gain God's favor by works and human effort are cursed. He references this story about Isaac and Ishmael to prove his point. God does not bless our works or best intentions. God blesses the people who live by faith in the promises of God. So the story of Ishmael and Isaac is allegorical to God's salvation. God saves by faith; he always has and always will. See also Abraham in Genesis 15:6. God will not save a man by a man's effort or works. Ishmael was a child of works and not of faith. Isaac was the child of faith and promise. Ergo, the child of faith shall be the heir and the child of works must go. 

Lessons to be Learned: 
- God will never accept you, me, or anyone else in all of human history, who appeals for blessing or salvation on account of their good works. The reason being is that God saves by faith. Secondly, no one is good enough to appeal to God for salvation according to what they've done. There's only one who is good = God himself.

"Read the Bible or I will stun you, AUGHARRAA!"

- Again we see how important it is to know the Biblical story. The Bible is not an bunch of stories and people who are unconnected. The stories, people, and experiences all build on one another to tell the story of God, his salvation, and his incredible greatness. If we start reading the Bible in Galatians but have never read the story of Ishmael, Isaac, and Abraham in Genesis we are going to find ourselves confused and out of touch with the story. The lesson then is to read your Bible. Start at the beginning. Take notes. Get in tune with what God has been doing from the beginning. If you don't I will send Chewbacca to find you and tear your arms off.

P.S. After Ishmael and Hagar leave God meets them and takes care of them, (just so you know God is not a heartless jerk). But Ishmael disappears from the story because Isaac is the promised and chosen child of God.