Abraham
finally had a son with Sarah at the age of one hundred years old. They were
careful to name him Isaac as instructed by God. Sarah’s laughter of cynicism
now becomes the laughter of joy as she held Isaac, meaning laughter, in her
hand. She was very sure that though she gave birth at such an old age, no one
would laugh at her, but all would laugh with her. Abraham was also quick to
obey the instruction given earlier to circumcise all males in his household. This
was to be a sign of the covenant God had made with him and his descendants
forever. So at eight days old Isaac was circumcised. Abraham held a feast when
Isaac was weaned, probably about three years of age. Sarah had long given up
the hope of bearing a child but her joy would certainly be full. With the
weaning, Isaac had taken the first step toward becoming a man. It was truly a
joyous occasion for Abraham and Sarah, but not for Hagar and Ishmael.
Jealousy
arose and at the feast of Isaac’s weaning, Sarah saw Ishmael mocking. He was probably
about 16 years of age. No reason was given why he mocked Isaac, but his attitude
reflected that of Hagar, his mother, years ago when she was pregnant with him. It
must had irritated Sarah so much that she wanted them gotten rid of. So in
verse 10 we read that she told Abraham to “Drive out
this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my
son Isaac.” Sarah was being mean. Refusing
to mention them by their names, she referred to them as the slave woman and her
son. No matter what, Abraham went to have relationship with Hagar at her
coaxing and Ishmael was his son. In that culture what Sarah demanded was not
allowed. That’s why we are told that Abraham was greatly distressed by Sarah’s
vehemence to get rid of Hagar and Ishmael. He only heeded to Sarah’s demand when
God told him to do so and promised to make Ishmael into a nation.
Verse 14 tells us that Abraham rose early the next morning, gave Hagar
and Ishmael bread and water in a skin bottle and sent them off and did not
drive them off as demanded by Sarah. And the mother and son went wandering in
the desert of Beersheba. In the heat of the desert the water given to them by
Abraham was soon depleted. In her discouragement Hagar thought Ishmael could
not survive the rough situation they were in. He could be in a state of semi-consciousness
at this point due to exhaustion and lack of water, and was not able to walk on his
own. Thinking that Ishmael would soon die she put him under one of the bushes. She
then walked away from him for she could not bear to see him die. And there all
alone she sobbed in despair.
There is no record that she prayed but we are told that Ishmael
did. And God heard his cry of despair and responded. Ours is a compassionate God.
He always hear the cry of the afflicted. He will come to the rescue of those
who call out to Him in despair, especially His very own. So the angel of the
Lord intervened and called out to Hagar, brought her hope and showed her a well
nearby. In her despondency she missed the well nearby. Now with God’s help she
was made aware of the water and her hope rekindled. What we see here is again the grace of God in
display. When all hope is gone, our cry, like Ishmael’s, can still reach the heart
of our compassionate God. His ears are inclined to the cry of His children. Miraculously
delivered, Ishmael lived in the wilderness of Paran and became an archer. God
was with him too. And his mother got him a wife from Egypt.
What’s there to glean in this story? When we try to do the will of
God with our own selfish idea, we create dissension, discord and rivalry. The mistake
made by Abraham and Sarah in the birth of Ishmael had created rivalry that had
such a rippling effect that it is still felt in the Middle East today. Let us
learn to trust God, wait for His timing to bring about his plan in our life. He
makes all things beautiful in His time!
No comments:
Post a Comment