Genesis 21, Isaac Born, Hagar and Ishmael Banished
In chapter 21 of Genesis, Isaac is finally born and God's promise to Abraham is fulfilled. At the celebration of Isaac being weaned, Sarah sees Ishmael mocking, so she insists that Abraham get rid of Hager and Ishmael. This is hard for Abraham, because by now, Ishmael is a young man, and I am sure he was fond of his own son. But God spoke to Abraham saying listen to Sarah. So Abraham is prompt to obey God and sends Hager and her son on their way.
Hagar took her son into the desert and as they wandered, they ran out of water--a tramatic situation in the desert. Assuming that this was the end, she left Ishmael under a tree to die, then sat nearby and sobbed. But God saw her and the boy crying and then the angel of the Lord spoke to Hagar, telling her that Ishmael too would father a great nation. Then God revealed to her a well, and she gave the boy some life restoring water.
For me, this last event points to the significant verse in this chapter:
What I find so striking about this verse, is that it implies that the well was their all along, but Hagar could not see it, for whatever reason. God had to unblind her, so that she could take advantage of the blessing that was right in front of her all along. I believe that for us, today, sometimes our blessing is right in front of us, but because of doubt, ignorance, or whatever, we are blinded to it. I have already begun to pray that God will open up my eyes to all the blessings that lay before me.
In chapter 21 of Genesis, Isaac is finally born and God's promise to Abraham is fulfilled. At the celebration of Isaac being weaned, Sarah sees Ishmael mocking, so she insists that Abraham get rid of Hager and Ishmael. This is hard for Abraham, because by now, Ishmael is a young man, and I am sure he was fond of his own son. But God spoke to Abraham saying listen to Sarah. So Abraham is prompt to obey God and sends Hager and her son on their way.
Hagar took her son into the desert and as they wandered, they ran out of water--a tramatic situation in the desert. Assuming that this was the end, she left Ishmael under a tree to die, then sat nearby and sobbed. But God saw her and the boy crying and then the angel of the Lord spoke to Hagar, telling her that Ishmael too would father a great nation. Then God revealed to her a well, and she gave the boy some life restoring water.For me, this last event points to the significant verse in this chapter:
Genesis 21:19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
What I find so striking about this verse, is that it implies that the well was their all along, but Hagar could not see it, for whatever reason. God had to unblind her, so that she could take advantage of the blessing that was right in front of her all along. I believe that for us, today, sometimes our blessing is right in front of us, but because of doubt, ignorance, or whatever, we are blinded to it. I have already begun to pray that God will open up my eyes to all the blessings that lay before me.
--Saucy Sister
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