Genesis
21:1 ¶ And the LORD visited Sarah as he
had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. 2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son
in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son that
was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being
eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5
And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto
him. 6 And Sarah said, God hath made me
to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. 7 And she said, Who would have said unto
Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son
in his old age. 8 And the child grew,
and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was
weaned.
It
is stated clearly that Sarah’s conception of Isaac here in this Philistine
king’s generous gift of land was an act of God’s direct will. It went against
what we think of as natural processes. We would call it a miracle. However, is
not any woman conceiving a child a miracle of God? Lifeless, empty space is the
most logical thing in the universe. For there to be something rather than
nothing staggers the mind in its improbability without a rational, directing
will. Even more so for there to be life, that complicated set of functions from
the cell, a little mini-universe all its own, to consciousness, that collection
of countless numbers of cells to be self-aware, is beyond amazing. Since we
know that the tendency is for organized things, on their own, to simply fall
apart, and not for random pieces of lifeless matter to decide on their own to
unite to form a complicated thing or process, we must understand that for this
life to function, to operate, to exist, it must be a continuous miracle.
Jeremiah
understood this.
Jeremiah
1:4 ¶ Then the word of the LORD came
unto me, saying, 5 Before I formed thee
in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I
sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
David
knew this.
Psalm
71:5 For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD:
thou art my trust from my youth. 6 By
thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my
mother’s bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.
Now,
certainly they understood this, as did Isaiah in chapter 49, in the context of
being called by God, born to a specific purpose. But, in the way the Bible is
written with characters offered as examples for us to see reality we can
understand that nothing is without a purpose. As Paul wrote;
Romans
15:4 For whatsoever things were written
aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort
of the scriptures might have hope.
Randomness
does not exist except as a justification in our minds for atheism, to justify
our sin and make it have no consequence or meaning.
Isaac,
Strong’s dictionary tells us, means, “He laughs,” but that is also clear from
the context. Remember that both Abraham and Sarah laughed at the promise as
being beyond something they could even wrap their minds around. Sarah was a
beautiful, desirous woman but beyond her child-bearing years.
Abraham
obeyed God in circumcising Isaac. Read chapter 17:9-14 again for confirmation.
Genesis
21:9 ¶ And Sarah saw the son of Hagar
the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. 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. 11 And the
thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son. 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. 13 And also of the son
of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.
I
mentioned the rabbinic opinion that the four hundred years of bondage began
with this mocking back in Genesis 15:12-16. Sarah does not want Ishmael, who is
not her offspring, to share the inheritance with Isaac. Sarah, to Abraham’s
dismay, wants him to send Hagar and his son, Ishmael, away. God confirms that
Isaac will be the vehicle through which He performs the covenant. He tells
Abraham to listen to Sarah and God will make a nation out of Ishmael because
he, too, is Abraham’s son. It is just that he is the son of Abraham and Sarah’s
presumption, not the son of God’s promise. Abraham’s presumption will cause a
great deal of trouble right down to this very day if you examine history.
Paul
uses this in his argument in regard to comparing the Law to Grace. He likens
those under Grace to be like Isaac, son of a free woman, while those under the
Law to be like Ishmael, son of a slave. The Law is bondage, Grace is freedom.
Galatians
4:21 ¶ Tell me, ye that desire to be
under the law, do ye not hear the law? 22
For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the
other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was
of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by
promise. 24 Which things are an
allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which
gendereth to bondage, which is Agar [Hagar] . 25
For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which
now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26
But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren
that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the
desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. 28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the
children of promise. 29 But as then he
that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit,
even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless what
saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the
bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the
bondwoman, but of the free.
So,
why do so many fundamentalist preachers keep trying to put their congregations
back under the Law?
Genesis
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. 15
And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one
of the shrubs. 16 And she went, and sat
her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: 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. 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. 18 Arise, lift
up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.
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. 20 And God was with the lad;
and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. 21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and
his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
Hagar
and her son are put away. It seems strange that a man possessed of such wealth
as Abraham would provide her with such meager provisions. It seems rather
heartless, wouldn’t you say? When all seems lost, though, God does not let
things go too far. To say God heard the
voice of the lad is much like the earlier statements about God remembering.
It doesn’t suggest that He was reading a book and happened to hear Ishmael’s
cry by chance. It means that He responded to the plaintive pleas of Hagar and
Ishmael as He often does not make things better for us until we acknowledge our
need and weakness.
God opened her eyes so
that she could see something that was hidden from her before as He often does
to us although we do not acknowledge that he has done so. There is something in
front of us which should be obvious but we just cannot see it until He reveals
its presence to us. This opening of our eyes is also apparent in understanding.
Psalm
119:18 ¶ Open thou mine eyes, that I may
behold wondrous things out of thy law.
Ephesians
1:18 The eyes of your understanding
being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what
the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
The
skilled workman, even the unbelieving, suddenly sees a solution to a problem,
the cunning inventor suddenly has a flash of insight, the student quickly sees
the answer to a dilemma that he could not previously see. Of course, we all
think that this surprising inspiration, this understanding, comes from
something deep inside of us, as if an idea, the problem, or a solution was a
living thing just hanging around waiting for us to pick it. We attribute it to
our superior reasoning ability. But, if we acknowledge that God opens our eyes
things become clearer.
Satan,
as well, can blind men from seeing something that is true.
2Corinthians
4:4 In whom the god of this world hath
blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
But,
typically, in the Bible, it is God that blinds men whose hearts are opposed to
Him so that they shall not see the truth because they will not see the truth.
Think about the shall as being a
consequence of the will.
Isaiah
44:18 They have not known nor
understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their
hearts, that they cannot understand.
2Thessalonians
2:11 And for this cause God shall send
them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed
not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
The
skilled craftsman, the student, the inventor has prepared himself by training,
interest, and vocation to receive something from God, perhaps whom He does not
know, because of God’s purposes, not that person’s own. So, it is that the
person who seeks God prepares his own heart by his or her yearning to know the
truth and then, at some point, God opens that person’s eyes and they believe
that Jesus is and was God in the flesh and that He rose from the dead and our
salvation lies only with Him.
Here,
in this passage, God reveals something to Hagar regarding her and her son’s
deliverance that was not visible to her in her despair.
Ishmael
grows up to be an archer and an Egyptian wife, like his own mother, is provided
for him. The bow, representing the archer, plays a part in the latter days in
that part of the world as the beast arises who conquers bringing death, famine,
pestilence, and much sorrow with him.
Revelation
6:2 And I saw, and behold a white horse:
and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went
forth conquering, and to conquer.
Genesis
21:22 ¶ And it came to pass at that
time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto
Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest: 23 Now therefore swear unto me here by God that
thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son: but
according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me,
and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned. 24
And Abraham said, I will swear. 25
And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which
Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away. 26 And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done
this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day.
27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and
gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant. 28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock
by themselves. 29 And Abimelech said
unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?
30 And he said, For these seven ewe
lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I
have digged this well. 31 Wherefore he
called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them. 32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba: then
Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned
into the land of the Philistines.
21:33
¶ And Abraham planted a grove in
Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God. 34 And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines’
land many days.
This
good king, perhaps on an inspection tour with his general, stated that
he understood that God was with Abraham as he could see how God protected
Abraham and blessed him. However, he had reason enough not to completely trust
Abraham. So, he wanted to make an agreement that would protect his dynasty from
any plans Abraham might have. He wanted Abraham’s promise and Abraham gave it
to him. Abraham and Abimelech’s servants had a violent disagreement about a
well Abraham had dug and an agreement was made to settle the issue as Abraham
convinced Abimelech that the well was his own. The place where this covenant
was made, in the land that Abimelech had given to Abraham, was named Beersheba,
either after the wilderness of Beersheba in which Hagar was cast, or perhaps
both names were added after, as Strong says Beersheba means, “well of the
sevenfold oath.”
For
men who tended sheep and cattle a well of water was a very important resource
and important social and political events revolved around a well. We see
examples of this in Genesis 29 and in Exodus 2, as here.
Where
people think this occurred was the scene of one of the last great and
successful cavalry charges in history during World War One in 1917.
Phichol
may have been a title rather than a person’s individual name. Of course, people
are often known by their titles, as in your doctor or a person holding a
political office, or, as in, “the general said...”
Remember,
as mentioned previously, that Abimelech is the name of a Philistine king or
means king in that language just as Pharaoh is not a personal name but a title.
Genesis
20:2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife,
She is my sister: and Abimelech king of
Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
And
later, we will be shown;
Genesis
26:1 And there was a famine in the land,
beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto
Gerar.
The
Philistines, as a plural, is also Philistim.
Genesis
10:6 ¶ And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.…13
And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, 14 And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,)
and Caphtorim.
Casluhim
is the son of Mizraim, who is the son of Ham. The nursery, in a manner of
speaking, where Isaac was brought forth, like the Hebrews later, will be in a
land ruled by Ham’s descendants, as Mizraim was the founder of Egypt.
Genesis
50:11 And when the inhabitants of the
land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is
a grievous mourning to the Egyptians:
wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim,
which is beyond Jordan.
Strong’s
dictionary, and I am not saying that it is the only authority, but Strong’s
says that Abelmizraim is translated from, “a meadow of Egypt,” as Mizraim was
the name for Egypt. We get the word Egypt from the Greek word, Aigyptos, and
the Latin, Aegyptus, for the Roman province of Egypt. But, we can be certain
that the country was named after its founder at first, Mizraim. Mizraim is also
inscribed in the Ishtar Gate of Babylon and is in the Armana tablets so it is,
of course, of much older date than the word, Egypt.
Abraham
stayed in the land of the Philistines for quite a while. What happens next is
one of the most profoundly meaningful passage in terms of prophecy in the
entire Old Testament.
Genesis,
chapter 22
Genesis
22:1 ¶ And it came to pass after these
things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said,
Behold, here I am. 2 And he said, Take
now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land
of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains
which I will tell thee of.
The
word tempt is carefully defined in
the Bible based on the context. It means to provoke when used of man tempting
God. This is clear in the word’s usage in many verses talking about how mankind
angers God thereby incurring His wrath.
Psalm
78:56 Yet they tempted and provoked the
most high God, and kept not his testimonies:
It
also means to prove or to test to see if a promise or the power of God is real,
to put God to the test.
Psalm
95:9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
With
regard to God tempting man it is about a test, proving man’s faith or
faithlessness, with God already knowing the answer but the person learning the
lesson, the reality of his own faith. It is a test or proving something as in
proving a sword to make sure it is properly sharpened or strong.
Here,
Abraham’s faith was tried, proved, or tested.
Hebrews
11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that
had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
Now,
God never tempts, tests, tries, or proves His
people with the express purpose of making them fall. That is what Satan
does. Notice the phrasing of the following verse in James.
James
1:13 ¶ Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God
cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
The
key phrase here, which defines the verse, is tempted with evil. As God is the standard of all good and evil it
is an impossibility for you to provoke Him to go against His own will. And,
God, never tempts you, if you are His,
to do evil. He proves your faith. If a temptation specifically regarding your
faith confronts you by His permissive will He will provide an escape.
1Corinthians
10:13 There hath no temptation taken you
but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to
be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way
to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
The
context of that verse in 1Corinthians is idolatry, not refraining from drinking
a beer or smoking a cigarette although you might make it so.
The
key question for a Christian has to do with whether or not you are willing to
die for Christ. This is the main question for believers all through the final
book of Revelation. You say you believe and you say you trust in Christ but
when persecution comes, are you assured enough in your trust to die for Christ?
Revelation
12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in
heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and
the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which
accused them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the
Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto
the death.
The
one that overcomes is the one that holds that Christ is and was God in the
flesh to the very end.
1John
5:4 For whatsoever is born of God
overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even
our faith. 5 Who is he that overcometh
the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
And
there are great things awaiting that one that overcomes the world. Read
Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21 & 21:7.
This
is very relevant here, because as we believe in Christ’s resurrection and in
our resurrection because of His, so Abraham, too, believed in a resurrection
and was able to overcome at the order to offer up his son of promise because of
that faith.
Hebrews
11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was
tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his
only begotten son, 18 Of whom it was
said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19 Accounting that God was able
to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a
figure.
He
believed God’s promise that in Isaac his seed should be called and believed
that God would raise him from the dead. So, the willingness to offer Isaac up
and God’s order not to go through with it, which we will see, is a type, a
figure, of death and resurrection. Abraham will receive his son back in a type
and literally. God, of course, has told us that He never approved human
sacrifice, however, Abraham would not have known this.
Deuteronomy
12:29 When the LORD thy God shall cut
off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou
succeedest them, and dwellest in their land; 30
Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after
that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their
gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do
likewise. 31 Thou shalt not do so unto
the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they
done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt
in the fire to their gods.
Jeremiah
19:5 They have built also the high
places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal,
which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:
Jeremiah
32:35 And they built the high places of
Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and
their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them
not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to
cause Judah to sin.
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