No Man Is an Island

Continuing a Bible study of Abraham:

(Genesis 21:1) And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as He had spoken. (2) For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

Sarah bore a son as God had promised.  Note the Lord Himself did this; after all, Sarah was 90 years old by this time!  Dr. John Gill, in his Biblical commentary, brought to my attention something of which I had never given much thought.  Notice how the scripture tells us twice that the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and that the Lord did to Sarah as He had spoken (actually three times if you count that Sarah bore a son at the time God had told Abraham).  Dr. Gill says the repetition is made to cause attention to God's fulfillment of His promise, but that reminded me of something more I have come to learn in scripture.  God always states something at least twice, for "in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established" (Deut. 19:15, Matt. 18:16, 2 Cor. 13:1).  When I was looking up references to that truth in scripture, I found that even that principle of God's is found three times in the Bible!  I marvel at how God is always so steady and so true!

In Bible study, I have found the above fact to be a great aid in determining what is really meant in scripture.  In the past, I have stumbled over obscure passages or ones that seem to state something contrary to what I thought I knew about God and the Bible.  I now know that if it is something God wants to be an established fact, then it will be repeated.  If it is only stated in one place and it seems to be an odd, obscure, or contradictory statement, then I know that we have probably interpreted it wrong.  How exciting it is that God makes it so plain and easy for us!

(3) And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.

Isaac is the name God had directed Abraham to name his son (Gen. 17:19).  The original word for our Anglicized "Isaac" is "yitschaq", and it means "laughter" or "he laughs".  We remember that Abraham laughed for joy at the promise of having a son in his old age. Additionally, Sarah laughed in mockery and disbelief.  Again it is Dr. John Gill who writes an interesting observation on the fact that the name "might presignify the joy and laughter that would be expressed by others at his birth; and perhaps also that he would be the object of the laughter and derision of his brother; such a number of events agreeing with his name."  Isn't that often the way with God?  He is so much more complex than we are, and most times there are multiple meanings and lessons derived from each part of His Word.  That is how you can read the Bible again and again and always find new pearls of wisdom each time.

(4) And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. (5) And Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

Again Abraham strictly observed a command God gave him (Gen. 17:12).  Isaac was the first that we read of in scripture who was circumcised on the eighth day after his birth.  All others were circumcised at the time God gave the command.  God's covenant with Abraham was established with the birth of Isaac in his old age, and he is cheerfully obedient to his Lord.

(6) And Sarah said, "God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me." (7) And she said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age."

Here we have Sarah's interpretation of Isaac's name, either that God made her laugh with the prophecy, or perhaps that she now laughed for joy at the birth of her son.  All who hear the news will rejoice with her.  A year before no one would have thought it possible that Sarah would nurse her own baby of Abraham's, but the miracle had occurred.

(8) And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. (9) And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking.

Ishmael was 14 years older than Isaac, and we know this because we were told earlier in scripture that he was born when Abraham was 86.  We can assume that Isaac was weaned by 2 or 3 years, so Ishmael was about 16 or 17 years of age when he mocked either little Isaac, or perhaps his old mother; we are not really told the exact object of his mocking or what he said.  Either way, Sarah didn't like it.

(10) Therefore she said to Abraham, "Cast out this bondwoman and her son, for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac." (11) And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.

The child of Abraham by Hagar might be considered as having a right at least to a part of Abraham's inheritance, and Sarah wanted there to be no possibility of that.  However, the idea of casting them out greatly grieved Abraham, for after all, Ishmael was his son, too.

(12) And God said to Abraham, "Let it not be grievous in your sight because of the lad and because of your bondwoman; in all that Sarah has said to you, hearken to her voice, for in Isaac shall your seed be called. (13) And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is your seed."

It is indicated here that it is God's will for Ishmael and his mother to be turned out, for it is Isaac alone from whom God's promised seed would come.  This is not to say that it was initially God's will to be cruel in allowing Sarah's harsh intentions to come to fruition.  We must remember that it was Abraham and Sarah who brought this dilemma upon themselves.  God will also bless Ishmael; He reiterated His promise that from Ishmael will also come a nation.

(14) And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away; and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

Abraham rose early the morning after God spoke to him, and did send Hagar on her way, with provisions, and with her son.

(15) And the water was gone in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. (16) And she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said, "Let me not see the death of the child." And she sat across from him, and lifted up her voice and wept.

Scripture states that Hagar wandered in the wilderness.  Surely, Abraham had given Hagar enough water to reach the next well, but she wandered around in the wilderness.  However, regardless of whether or not she had been given enough provisions, when God tells us to do something, we should do it, and rest assured that God will take it from there.  So now we find Hagar at the end of her rope, so to speak.  She expects she and her son will die, and she can't bear to face the death of her child, so she pushed him under a shrub and sat a little distance away from him, crying.

(17) And God heard the voice of the lad, and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, "What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. (18) Arise, lift up the lad and hold him in your 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 a drink.

God did indeed hear their distress, as the scripture says He heard the lad, who probably cried, also.  God's angel spoke to Hagar to comfort her.  He told her not to fear, because God knew where the child was.  We must remember that nothing ever catches God unaware; He always knows where we are.  He instructed Hagar to get up, raise her son up, and take him by the hand.  It's as if it's sort of an instruction to pick herself up by the boot straps and push onward, and in doing so, she saw the well.  God also repeated His promise that her son would be a great nation, which meant he would not die, so stirring her to action to get up and take care of him.  Often in despair and hopelessness, we cannot see or think clearly.  Usually when we get calm and quiet (and get in prayer), God helps us to see.  There's no indication that Hagar or the child actually prayed to God, but this was the promise He had made to Abraham, and it was His will that the child live and this He helped Hagar to see.

(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.

Ishmael lived in the wilderness of Paran, a desert region of Arabia near Mount Sinai, where God was with him, and he grew and prospered in health and in ability as he became an archer.  Hagar found a wife for him of the women of her own country, Egypt.

(22) And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the chief captain of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, "God is with you in all that you do. (23) Now therefore, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son; but according to the kindness that I have done to you, you shall do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt." (24) And Abraham said, "I will swear."

Sometime after Abraham and Sarah had left Abimelech and dwelt in the land of their choosing, Abimelech and the chief captain of his army spoke to Abraham.  They could see that God was surely with Abraham and blessed him in all that he did.  Seeing he was a powerful man of God (or with God, he was powerful), they wanted him on their side.  The fact that Abimelech wanted Abraham's word not just now, but for future generations, makes me wonder if Abimelech knew or had heard of God's promise to give the whole land of Canaan to him and his posterity, and therefore wanted to insure that his own posterity would not be driven out.  Abraham, undoubtedly mindful of Abimelech's fair treatment of him, agreed that he would always deal fairly with Abimelech and his future generations.

(25) And Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.

It appears to be at the same time that Abraham is swearing to deal as kindly to Abimelech as Abimelech has dealt with him, that Abraham points out that Abimelech's servants have not dealt so kindly concerning a well they had seized.

(26) And Abimelech said, "I do not know who has done this thing; neither did you tell me, neither had I heard of it until today."

Abimelech claimed to have known nothing about the seizing of the well.  From all we have seen up to this point, I believe we can assume that this man found the fear of God by observing His work in and through Abraham, and truly wished to deal fairly with Abraham, and probably truly did not know his servants were doing things not so fairly.

(27) And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them to Abimelech, and both of them made a covenant.

It appears that Abraham believed Abimelech to be truthful about the well as he agreed to enter into a covenant with him.

(28) And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. (29) And Abimelech said to Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?" (30) And he said, "For these seven ewe lambs you shall take from my hand, that they may be a witness to me that I have dug this well."

Abraham gave Abimelech sheep and oxen, but he made it a point to separate seven ewes from the rest of the flock.  The original word for "seven" is "shibah" or "sheba", and it means "the sacred full and complete thing".  Nothing could be added to it or taken from it. Abimelech asked about the separate ewes and with Abraham's explanation, it is established by both men that these were to be a testimony that the well that had been taken away from Abraham was one that he had dug, and was his property, and Abimelech acknowledged this by his acceptance of these seven ewes.

(31) Therefore he called that place Beersheba because there they swore both of them.

The actual meaning of the name appears to me to be "well of seven", but by the explanation in the verse, it was intentioned to mean "well of the sacred agreed upon complete oath".  Those are my words, but that pretty much sums it up for me.

(32) Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba; then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines. (33) And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God. (34) And Abraham dwelled in the land of the Philistines many days.

Abimelech and the chief of his army left the place of his and Abraham's covenant, but Abraham remained there.  He planted a grove, and I believe that was to mark this place and it gave him a physical place to worship his Lord, and I believe it was, in his heart, a place to honor his Lord, the everlasting God.  Maybe it was to be a public display of the acknowledgement of God while he dwelled in the land of the Philistines, and left as a memorial to Him after he left.

As I read over these scriptures and my notes, I saw that this chapter contained two different "stories", one about the turning out of Hagar and Ishmael, and the other about the covenant between Abimelech and Abraham, but I was struck by a similarity and connection of the two.  Abraham, as a blessed friend of God, brought blessings to the people who were associated with him!  He was a blessing to others!  Some blessings were due to his direct actions, but others were due to God's blessing of Abraham that brought blessing to those close to Abraham.  What a beautiful thought that not only can we be (or bring) a physical blessing to others, but that they might be blessed because we are blessed by God!  I am always in awe about how God moves in such intricate ways.  No man is an island, for sure!  The fact that our little individual portions of the earth can bless others is an awesome truth of our sweet everlasting Lord!

Example of What Happens When We Are Impatient with God

Continuing my chronological Bible study, I begin this post in Genesis 16, with the continuing story of Abraham.

(Genesis 16:1) Now Sarai, Abram's wife, bore him no children; and she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar.

Biblical scholar Adam Clarke writes a ponderance about Hagar.  Since she is Egyptian, it is very likely that she was one of the maidservants that Pharaoh gave Abram for Sarai's sake, when they sojourned in Egypt.  The name Hagar is a Hebrew name, and it means "foreigner" or "stranger", so Abram (or someone in his household) probably gave her the name.  

(2) And Sarai said to Abram, "See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children; please go in to my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her." And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

Wow!  Here begins the trouble with impatience with respect to waiting upon the Lord, and when one gets too focused on the "thing" promised, rather than just trusting the Lord to accomplish it.  Sarai apparently believes that the Lord will give them an heir, but she fails by limiting God to the bounds of human nature.  Oh, how often we do that!  We try to put God in our little human box and try to limit Him to what we know and think best!  Adam Clarke points out that female slaves were the property of the mistress of the household, so Sarai had the absolute right to dispose of her servant as she saw fit, with her husband having no authority in this case.  Abram was just a willing participant in this crazy mixed-up scheme!  Sarai's female servant being her personal property, she also had absolute right to the possession of her servant's children.

(3) And Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan.

Talk about patience!  Sarai had waited 10 years in the land of Canaan for the fulfillment of the promise that they would have a child!  She was now 75 years old!  We know this because of a combination of scriptures that indicate Abram was 85 years old at this time, and Sarai was 10 years younger than he was.  I get tickled to think how we can be so impatient in this day and age that we think God has forsaken us if things don't happen our way in a week or a month or even a year.  My husband and I have an inside joke about his lack of patience, actually mine, too, but it started with regard to his patience.  He always says, "I've already done that", meaning he has had patience already and now looks to the fruit of that patience.  Oh, but the patience demonstrated in the Bible often meant decades!  Another word for "patience" used in the Bible is "longsuffering", meaning "LONG (emphasis on LONG) suffering"!

(4) And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

While it may be that Hagar acted scornfully insolent toward her mistress, I wonder if it may just be she despised her because she knew she had the absolute right to take her baby from her.

(5) And Sarai said to Abram, "My wrong be upon you! I have given my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes. The LORD judge between you and me."

Sarai tries to blame Abram for what has happened.  Indeed, he apparently did take Hagar willingly, but as pointed out before, it was totally Sarai's right to give her maid as she wished.  It was never Abram's right to take her.

(6) But Abram said to Sarai, "Behold, your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please." And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.

Abram pointed out that Hagar was Sarai's property and that she could do with her what she wished.  Hagar ran away when Sarai dealt harshly with her.

(7) And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain on the way to Shur. (8) And He said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from, and where will you go?" And she said, "I flee from the presence of my mistress Sarai." (9) And the angel of the LORD said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand."

God told Hagar to return to her mistress, even though she may be mistreated.  God has asked Hagar to do her part, her best, if you will, to do what she has been called to do in her life at this time, and that is to submit to her authority.  That is what we must all do.  I think about this when there is conflict between two parties, especially in the case of a husband and wife.  The wife may think that it is unfair that she has to endure certain behaviors from her husband, but she is called by God to submit to her husband, and let God deal with her husband.  Likewise with a husband who has a disrespectful and unloving wife, he is called to love her as Christ loved the church, and he must let God deal with her heart.  All we can do is what we are called to do; we have no power over the other party.  If we are obedient to God, He takes care of the rest.  When we fight for our "rights", we make a bigger mess of things. 

(10) And the angel of the LORD said to her, "I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude." (11) And the angel of the LORD said to her, "Behold, you are with child, and will bear a son, and you shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has heard your affliction."

The angel of the Lord prophesies to Hagar that she will have a son named Ishmael, and his descendants will be too numerous to count.  "Ishmael" means "God will hear".  God did hear Hagar's distress, but His answer to her is that she do her best part by going back and submitting to her mistress, and let God deal with Sarai.

(12) "And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he will dwell in the presence of all his brethren."

The angel of the Lord further prophesies that Hagar's son will be a wild man, untamed and fearing no man.  He will be a fighter, fighting against all others and them against him.  His people will be a separate people.  Indeed, the Ishmaelites were a wild and wandering people.

(13) And she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, "You God see me", for she said, "Have I also here seen Him who sees me?"

The meaning here is a little unclear.  The NKJV translators supposed that Hagar actually gave the Lord a name, "You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees", but this may mean that Hagar called upon the name of the Lord, realizing that she had just seen and heard from God Almighty, the One who sees all and saw her in her distress.

(14) Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

The name of the well literally meant “well of the Living One seeing me”.

(15) And Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called his son's name, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. (16) And Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

I find it interesting to ponder if Abram's wife's slave would dare to tell Abram what the name of the child should be according to the word of the Lord.  I don't find that likely at all.  Therefore, it was purely prophetic that Hagar should know the name of her son before Abram gave him the name.  How awesome is that?