The patriarchs · Genesis 21
The Birth of Isaac and the Sending Away of Ishmael
At the time God had appointed, Sarah bears a son to Abraham, who is a hundred years old. He names him Isaac. Sarah marvels: “God hath made me to laugh… Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck?” On the day Isaac is weaned, Abraham gives a great feast. But Sarah sees the son of Hagar mocking, and demands, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son.” Abraham is deeply distressed; God reassures him: it is through Isaac that his offspring will be named, but he will also make a nation of the bondwoman’s son. So Abraham sends Hagar away with bread and a bottle of water. Lost in the wilderness of Beer-sheba, with the water gone, she moves away so she will not see the child die. God hears the voice of the lad and opens Hagar’s eyes: there is a well! Ishmael grows up in the wilderness and becomes an archer.
What happens
- The LORD fulfills his promise: Sarah bears a son Genesis 21:1–2
- Abraham is a hundred years old; “God hath made me to laugh” Genesis 21:5–6
- After the weaning feast, Sarah demands that Hagar and her son be sent away Genesis 21:9–10
- “In Isaac shall thy seed be called” Genesis 21:12–13
- Abraham sends Hagar away with bread and a bottle of water Genesis 21:14
- God hears the lad and opens Hagar’s eyes to a well Genesis 21:17–19
Who is in this story
The lesson
God keeps his word, even when his promise seems impossible; Isaac is the child of the miracle, a picture of believers, “children of promise” (Gal 4:28). And his goodness overflows: he hears Ishmael’s cries in the wilderness too.
And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
Quick quiz on this story
What does Abraham do on the day Isaac is weaned?
“The child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.” The tamarisk at Beer-sheba comes later. Genesis 21:8
What does Abraham give Hagar when he sends her away?
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. Genesis 21:14
What leads Sarah to ask that Hagar and her son be sent away?
“Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking,” and she said, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son.” Hagar’s contempt was back in chapter 16. Genesis 21:9–10
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