Genesis 22:20-24

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20 Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying, "Indeed Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 Huz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel." 23 And Bethuel begot Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Thahash, and Maachah. ~ Genesis 22:20-24

Today, we conclude our study of Genesis 22 where God has told Abraham to lead his son, Isaac, up Mt. Moriah with the purpose of sacrificing him unto the Lord. Of course, as the story unfolded, the Lord Himself at the last minute told Abraham to not sacrifice his son. And then, He provided for Abraham a ram stuck in the thicket behind him. That stuck ram then became the "burnt offering" that day. The Hebrew word translated "burnt offering" literally means "to ascend." The smoke from the sacrifice ascended to God as a soothing aroma to the LORD. The "burnt offering" was the complete destruction of the animal in an effort to renew sinful man's relationship with the Holy God. 

Today's passage begins with the fact that 137 year old Abraham had a sister-in-law, Milcah, who became a mother to eight boys. In addition, Abraham's brother, Nahor, had a concubine named Reumah and she had borne him another four sons. But then there was one more piece of news, seemingly insignificant, a daughter was mentioned. Abraham’s youngest nephew Bethuel had a daughter named Rebekah. Abraham had long learned that God is most often discovered in the seeming insignificant details of a story. I am sure at that moment Abraham's thoughts were captivated by the possibilities for his son. One single piece of information can suddenly change one’s life forever. This tucked away and seemingly insignificant little bit of information was given because God's narrative always includes the insignificant of this world. And, since there was about to be a transition in the narrative, this information was key to the development of the story. This information was included as a seeming afterthought so as to show that Isaac was indeed the promised seed for in just two chapters Isaac will be married to Rebekah who was Isaac’s second cousin.

I am also sure that through the years Abraham and Sarah actively looked for a wife for their son because he had to marry because the line of the seed was to come through him. So, after Abraham learned of Rebekah, he sent for his leading servant the next day and organized something then and there to make some contact with his brother and his nephew Bethuel to talk about Rebekah. Interestingly, the name of Abraham's servant isn't even given. Abraham provides for us a picture of God the Father while Isaac provides us with a picture of God the Son, and the servant provides us with a picture of God the Holy Spirit.

God had made a promise to 75 year old Abraham and 65 year old Sarah that they would have a son and through him have innumerable descendants. God kept them waiting for 25 years before giving them Isaac and then fifteen or so years later God tested Abraham as to whom he feared and loved and obeyed more than any other, and Abraham passed that test. Now, 25 years later Isaac was not married and he had no children and he was not getting any younger. This just underscores the utter value of our faith in the Lord. When we are in the habit of giving our hearts to God fully, we can trust that He is looking farther ahead than we are. In fact, God was already taking care, not only of Abraham's future needs, but also of the needs of Abraham's son.

Through the years Abraham had learned the utter value of waiting on God to bring about His plan. To his credit here, Abraham did not interfere and disrupt the plan of God. Abraham had learned that his faith had to be in the Lord. He believed that God was in control of this whole situation. In that moment that Abraham and Sarah learned of the news of his brother and his brother’s children and grandchildren, he and Sarah went to praying for the will of the sovereign God to be fulfilled in their son's life. For Abraham, it was all so shocking and yet fascinating after so many years of silence from God.  

When we believe in the God of providence, we will have providences to believe in. The doctrine of providence expresses the fact that the world and our lives are not ruled by chance or by fate but by God Who reveals the purpose of providence through the work of Christ on the Cross. Many perhaps thought that the information shared with Abraham and Sarah that day was a coincidence, but for this man and woman of faith behind all the coincidences of life is the God who is bigger than any of us can imagine. While most who believe in God believe He controls the world simply in the most general of ways, people with resurrected faith, such as Abraham had, know the God of the details is involved in all of the details of our lives. Through the writer of Genesis we see that God places importance in people and in their names and their specific place in their genealogy. Each of us has a part to play in God’s plan throughout the ages. Each of us will have a history but where will that history lead others? Where will our story with God lead others, to Him?, or will it lead them away from Him? 

Genesis 22:14-19

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14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided." 15 Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba. ~ Genesis 22:14-19

Today, we return to our study of Genesis 22 where God called Abraham to sacrifice his Son and the Angel of the Lord, who was the Lord Jesus Christ in His pre-incarnate state, prevented the sacrifice from happening. The point of this true story was that which we love is that which we worship and that which we worship is that which we love. And, as this story spells out, proper respect of God is key to our love and worship of Him. According to Psalm 130:4 our healthy fear of God is bolstered by our proper understanding of His grace and forgiveness. 

In v.14 of today's passage we read, "And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, 'In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.'"

Just as Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac his son, he looked behind him and saw a ram caught in a thicket. But what he saw with his physical eyes was less wonderful than what he saw with his spiritual eyes. Abraham looked into the future and saw the mystery that he had wondered about from his first call into the Promised Land and through every promise of God since then. He saw Christ, our Substitute and he noted where Christ’s work would be accomplished. He saw the cross and He saw the resurrection. 

The mystery revealed before his eyes was more wonderful than the thought of not losing Isaac. Having Isaac for a few more years of his life was inconsequential to having Isaac for all eternity. As a result of this experience, Abraham named that place "In the Mountain of the Lord He will appear." The verb that Abraham employed here doesn’t mean "provide" but rather it means "appear." 

In v.15 of today's passage we read, "Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven."

The Lord waited until after the ram was offered to call a second time out of heaven. This story of Abraham and his son provided a picture of the salvation that was provided for us through the cross of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. God called out to Abraham this second time in the aftermath of the growth of his faith in God. Only after receiving this Substitute can we expect what comes after the Substitute which is the ever increasing denial of our ability to save ourselves. 

In v.16-18 of today's passage we read, "16 and said: 'By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.'"

The Angel of the Lord was the Lord Jesus Christ who swore by Himself. In Hebrews 10:13-18 we read, "13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, 'Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.' 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16 For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. 17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us."

It must be noted also that the Lord made this oath "by Himself" never occurs again in this manner and so, time and again, we will see repeated references to this very oath by Abraham, by Isaac, by Joseph, by Moses, by David and others in the Psalms, by Zechariah the father of John the Baptist, and even by the Lord Himself. In making this oath upon Himself with repetition reveals the nations of the earth will willingly come to be blessed through Abraham and his son.

The promise that God made to Abraham came before the giving of the law of Moses. In doing so, God promised through His Seed to bless all the nations of the earth apart from the Law. The only way this was possible was for the Law to be fulfilled on our behalf and thus it required the work of a Man born free of sin and who would also fulfill the Law without sinning; the Seed was and will always be the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the Bible, there's four ways the term "seed" is defined. The first is natural seed of descendants. Physical descendants of Abraham, i.e., the Jewish people, that's the seed of Abraham. The second is natural dash spiritual seed. These are believers in Christ who are Jewish people. As opposed to those who believe not. The seed of Abraham. The third is the spiritual non-physical descendants of Abraham. That is anybody who by faith believes in Christ and is justified by faith like Abraham was, the Gentiles. The fourth and ultimate seed is the Lord Jesus Christ. All of those are used in various applicational forms in the Bible. Physical or natural, natural spiritual, spiritual, and the ultimate seed is the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Galatians 3:16 we read, "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made." 

All of the world was to be blessed through Abraham's seed and that means physical descendants of Abraham, spiritual descendants of Abraham, as well as the ultimate seed, Christ. Think of what we would be missing if there were no Jewish people on the earth today. We would have no Savior for He came through the lineage of the Jewish nation. And without a Jewish Jesus, we would have no Christianity and no salvation. He's the ultimate seed. 

The very first occurrence of the word "obey" in the Bible is found here in Genesis 22:18. Here was God, from heaven, noticing and rewarding Abraham, not for how he felt, not for how he thought, but for what Abraham did; He obeyed God. True faith is faith that obeys the object of the faith. All of Abraham's life required obedience. Now he believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness and that faith that he had yielded obedience to God.

In v.19 of today's passage we read, "So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba."

Interestingly, there is no mention of Isaac from the time of the almost sacrifice until we see him in a couple chapters when he reappears with his Gentile bride. There's an absence and then he appears again as he meets his bride, as he comes again with his bride, and with his bride we see them. Since what happened on Mt. Moriah obviously points us to the sacrifice of Christ at the same place, the fact that the son of the beloved father married a Gentile points us to Christ and the those who believe in Him. 

The greatest test of faith recorded in the entire Old Testament was over and Abraham had proven faithful to God and God favored him. From this foundational account God’s plan of redemption continues, and yet the story for today ends quietly. He returned to the servants at the foot of Mount Moriah and together they returned to Beersheba, the Well of the Perfect Promise. And, even their return to life as normal pictures the work of the Lord Jesus Christ who prevailed over His own trial of Moriah and after doing so, He returned to the Well of the Perfect Promise.

Genesis 22:9-13

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9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham" So he said, "Here I am." 12 And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." 13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. ~ Genesis 22:9-13

Today, we continue our study of the completion of the greatest test of faith imaginable. Abraham’s ultimate test points us all forward to something greater, the coming to this earth of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ who laid down His life for our sin. On that day at the peak of wind blown Mt. Moriah, God took center stage in Abraham's story. This is the point of every test that comes our way, each are designed to put God on greatest display. The lessons of this passage can only make us stand in awe of what God chose to do for each of us through the cross of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ for it was at the cross that God proved His love for us.

In v.9-10 of today's passage we read, "9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son."

The Bible does not reveal to us the age of Isaac at this point in his life, but, one thing is for sure, he was old enough to carry the wood up the hill, and it would have taken a considerable amount of wood. Abraham was now 100 plus whatever age Isaac was; If Isaac was 15, Abraham was 115. At this point in time, Abraham was an old man and yet, the record stands that he built an altar, placed the wood in order, and he bound Isaac and then laid him on the altar. Accentuated here was Abraham’s faith and Isaac’s obedience.

Abraham loved his son, but he loved God more. His love for God did not come about over night, though. It was through the intense trials of his life that positioned him to see God's heart for him. Isaac was God's gift to Abraham, but the gift had to become a sacrifice to God, otherwise the gift would have been more important to him than God. When the gift becomes more important to us than God, it then has become an idol to us. Abraham was a type of God the Father and Isaac of God the Son. Abraham didn’t spare his own son and neither did God. Abraham delivered his son up to God and God delivered His Son up for us. 

In v.11-12 of today's passage we read, "11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, 'Abraham, Abraham' So he said, 'Here I am.' 12 And He said, 'Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.'" 

It was the Angel of the Lord who was prefigured here in the story. The same One who was prefigured here was the very same One who called for the sacrifice to be halted. The very same Lord, however, would receive in full what Isaac was spared from that day on that mountain. God knew, as He knows all things, that Abraham feared Him but in an act of judicial necessity because God governs the world, and for the sake of man’s conscience which needs to be instructed by both practice as well as principle, God tested Abraham. What God knew, Abraham came to know through this most difficult trial. Abraham's faith was tested and it was found to be true. Abraham's fear was being replaced by his faith in God. The Hebrew word translated "fear" has a wide range of meanings, from terror to reverence to trust. This trial revealed that Abraham truly came to understand what it means to "fear" the Lord. It is in fearing God like this and trusting God like this that we experience the depths of friendship with God. 

This act by the man of faith and by the son of promise is one of the Old Testament’s most important accounts in understanding what God has done for us through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. For Abraham, this had been a test of obedience, but a test of faith which necessitated obedience. In the case of Isaac, it was a test of obedience which necessitated faith.

In v.13 of today's passage we read, "Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son."

In an amazingly beautiful picture of substitution, God provided a ram in place of Isaac. Instead of the one deserving death receiving such, God sent a substitute to take Isaac's place. We are told in Leviticus 16 that on the Day of Atonement where God covered the people’s sins, a ram was selected as a burnt offering. The ram, along with other animals, was used as a picture of the work of the Lord Jesus on our behalf. The ram was completely burned up as Isaac was supposed to be. This pictures the complete destruction of the one tainted with sin. In Isaac’s case, a ram was also given as a substitute.

This becomes even more beautiful to picture when we note that the very spot where Abraham was to offer his son was the same spot where the temple would be built by Solomon a thousand years later. And this is where those sacrifices of the law were made. But those sacrifices couldn’t truly save anyone as the writer of Hebrews later explains. And so to fulfill God’s plans and to complete the picture they made, God sent His Son, who died, probably in the exact spot where the ram was that Abraham saw "caught in a thicket by his horns." 

This picture is complete when we remember that the Lord Jesus was the ram and that He wore a crown of thorns, probably made from a bush that reached twenty feet in height. The crooked branches of this shrub were armed with thorns growing in pairs, a straight spine and a curved one commonly occurring together at each point. This ram became Isaac’s substitute. And the true Lamb, caught in the same thorns woven as a crown on His head in the very same location 1800 years later became the very One who laid down His life for the forgiveness of our sin. 

Genesis 22:5-8

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5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” 6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." Then he said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" 8 And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went together. ~ Genesis 22:5-8

Today, we continue in our study of Genesis 22 where God has ordered Abraham to take his son, Isaac, up Mt. Moriah the very place where Solomon built the Temple. It was also on Mt Moriah that the Lord Jesus Christ was offered up as a sacrifice for our sin. At this point in the narrative, about twenty years have elapsed between Genesis 21 and 22. We last saw Abraham in a tent by the well of Beersheba in the wilderness with his son Isaac. There he built an altar and worshiped God. For twenty years of blessing and happiness, Isaac had been the delight of his parents' hearts. True to his name, he had brought laughter into their lives. Out of nowhere and suddenly like a thunderbolt from the sky came the word from the Lord for Abraham to sacrifice this son whom he loved most dearly. 

In v.5 of today's passage we read, "And Abraham said to his young men, 'Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.'"

The faith of Abraham in the God of the Bible was yet again confirmed here when he said to his servants that he and Isaac would both return to them, even though God had told him to offer up Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham, after all these years of walking with God, was convinced that the two of them would return to the servants who had remained at the foot of the mountain. According to Hebrews 11:19, Abraham had concluded that even if Isaac died, he would be raised from the dead. 

Abraham stood on the promise that God had long made to him in Genesis 17:19 and in Genesis 21:12. God had promised that Isaac would live and have descendants, but at this point in Isaac’s life he wasn’t even married, much less a father. No matter what Abraham did to Isaac, he knew he would live because Abraham had been convinced of the righteousness of God through the many years that he had walked with God. This kind of faith does not come about over night; It takes years of heartache, confusion, death to the self-life, and the revelation of God.

In v.6 of today's passage we read, "So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together."

The first time that the words "love" and "worship" appear in the Bible is right here in this chapter. This observation underscores the principle that what we love we worship and what we worship we love. These two words also bring attention to the fact that the first time the word love is used in the Bible reminds us of the Father's love for His Son. In Genesis 24, we will see that the second time the word love is used is of the Son's love for His bride.

The wood represented both the cross of the Lord Jesus and our sin. In Isaiah 53 we learn that God placed our sin on the Lord Jesus. It was the heaviest burden He carried up that hill, much heavier than that of Abraham. And the wood was the fuel for the fire of God’s wrath upon our sin. God’s wrath is the absence of His love. God's wrath is what we meet when we have been cast out of His presence. Our sin has either been mitigated through the crucifixion of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, or it will be the object of the very wrath of God in the end. 

The fire and the knife that was carried by Abraham up that mountain was also represented in Isaiah 53 where we read, "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand."

This plan, the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, was set in motion at the foundation of the world according to the book of Revelation and it was the Father who determined it would be accomplished. What Abraham prefigured here is the greatest act in all of history. God the Father pouring out all of His wrath for the sin of all mankind on His own Son. 

In v.7-8 of today's passage we read, "7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, 'My father!' And he said, 'Here I am, my son.' Then he said, 'Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?' 8 And Abraham said, 'My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went together.'"

God's ways with us are such that it often seems as though His deliverance will never be realized by us. But, as we move forward in our walk with Him, when we get to the mountain, His deliverance will be provided. Man's disappointments are God's appointments. It is never too late for God. Even if Abraham had to carry the bloody business through to its very end, nevertheless, his father's heart was quiet in restful peace because he knew God would raise his son from the dead. 

Isaac asked the obvious question and Abraham knew the correct answer because he had seen and experienced for himself, God and His power firsthand. For Abraham, the price for these types of experiences with God had been very great. It had to be that way because it is only in utter darkness do we see the very heart of God the best. As Isaac stood before his daddy, Abraham was reminded that God is true to His promise. In his mind, Abraham knew that Isaac was to be the burnt offering. So often in our walk with the Lord we are frightened by the possibilities that God has in store for us. We, in most cases, cannot know in advance that which God will do. We must trust that He will do what is right even when it seems impossible. I am sure Abraham struggled with this as he walked up Mt. Moriah that day with his son whom he loved.

Undoubtedly, that day as Abraham walked up the mountain with his son, he was learning that Isaac was an expressive type of the coming Messiah. Every other sacrifice that had been offered from the foundation of the world had been those chosen and offered by men. But Isaac was asked for by God and so this pointed them forward to the true Lamb provided by God. The Lord asked Abraham to do something unimaginably difficult and Abraham responded with immediate obedience. 

Nowhere does the New Testament connect the sacrifice of Isaac to the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross, but it does clearly connect it to His resurrection. This true story between a son and his dad very clearly teaches us that the kind of faith that saves us is the type that is resurrection faith. But resurrected faith requires death to the self-life. We do not experience resurrected life without resurrected faith, and, we do not get to resurrected faith without turning our backs on the will that is contrary to the will of our Heavenly Father.

Genesis 22:1-4

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1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 2 Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off." ~ Genesis 22:1-4

Today, we transition into Genesis 22 where Abraham, as we have seen, has consistently demonstrated his faith in the God of the Bible even though he struggled at doing so. Today, we will see Abraham’s faith put to the test yet again. Today's narrative took place about twenty years after the events of Genesis 21. 

In v.1-2 of today's passage we read, "1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, 'Abraham!' And he said, 'Here I am.' 2 Then He said, 'Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.'"

Everything that has happened to Abraham since his call in Genesis 12 has led to the events of this chapter. In the development of his faith, four times Abraham has had to set aside something to gain something greater. The first was when he was called out of the land of idolatry into the land of promise. The next was when he separated from his nephew Lot. The third was when he had to see Sarah's handmaiden and his son Ishmael out the door. The fourth is found in today's passage where Abraham was issued his greatest trial, the one which will establish him, for all times, as the Bible’s premier example of a man of faith.

In v.1 we read "after these things." That is after Abraham had entered into a covenant with Abimelech King of Gerar. It was after this that God tested Abraham's faith yet again. I find it most instructive that Abraham, at this point, had gained an audience. There were those like Abimelech who were watching the unfolding of Abraham's personal relationship with God. The Hebrew word translated "tested" here in v.1 means to "prove." This incident was a moment when God would prove Abraham's faith to all who were watching. This moment would yield the true allegiance of the heart of Abraham for it was the preciousness of Isaac to Abraham that precipitating this test. This allegiance was the product of all of the previous trials that Abraham had faced to this point.

God directed Abraham to take his son, Isaac, to Mt. Moriah and sacrifice him on an altar there. The phrase, "whom you love" points our attention to Abraham’s highest love. This is the first time in the Bible that the word "love" appears in the Bible. It speaks a father's love for his son. Abraham surely loved Sarah and he loved Ishmael too, but the love of Abraham for Isaac was the highest love of his soul. 

Tim Keller once said, “This was the ultimate test (for Abraham) because Isaac was now everything to Abraham. Abraham’s affection had become adoration. God was not saying (to Abraham) that you cannot love your son, but that you must not turn a loved one into a counterfeit god.” This is why God commanded Abraham to take his son to "Moriah" which means "Chosen by YHWH." 

The burnt offering included first the cutting of the throat of the sacrifice, then the inside organs were removed and washed, and then the flesh was cut up in quarters. After that, the pieces were to be placed in order on the fire to be burnt to ashes. Highlighting the sacrifice was the fact that Mt. Moriah was not only the spot where the temple stood, it was also the mountain where God’s only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ would be crucified. When the Lord Jesus was crucified, it is important to note that at that moment, the veil in the Temple was torn as is recorded in Matthew's Gospel. As the Lord Jesus passed through the veil, He presented His blood as the fulfillment of all of the offerings which had prefigured His work on the cross. When His blood was presented before God, it made it possible for fallen man to be restored to the holy God.

In v.3-4 of today's passage we read, "3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off."

The fact that Abraham was going through with God's command proves that Isaac was to already dead to him. Though the action hadn’t come yet, the state of mind had. At this point Abraham was probably numb from the contemplation of what was directed, but in complete obedience to God, the account says he "rose early in the morning."

Isaac rode a donkey next to his father and in so doing we see the unfolding of the picture of the coming Christ revealed in Zechariah 9:9 which reads, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey."

Just as Isaac’s sacrifice was to prefigure the Lord Jesus’ death, so Isaac’s ride on the donkey prefigured the Lord Jesus’ triumphal ride into Jerusalem. Before that donkey ride for Isaac, Abraham split wood for the sacrifice. Here we have another picture of the coming Messiah. Though he had a thousand or more people in his camp, Abraham split the wood. In the same way, God, the Creator, prepared the way for His Son. He used a portion of His own creation, a tree, in the sacrifice of His Son. The work of Abraham prefigured that great act and the personal responsibility it foreshadowed. And so off they traveled from Beersheba to the spot where history itself began, climaxed, and will continue into eternity, Mt. Moriah at Jerusalem.

It’s about a 45 mile trip from Beersheba to Jerusalem and it took Abraham two days to make it. Although we won’t come to the end of the story today, those two days once again prefigured the time from the Lord Jesus’ crucifixion to His resurrection. Isaac’s death occurred, to Abraham, the moment he was told to sacrifice him. They arrived at the mountain to accomplish their mission on the third day. The same was true for the Lord Jesus, who ascended the hill on Friday and was resurrected on the third day. 

This phrase "on the third day" is found throughout the Old Testament. Israel was called to Mount Sinai on the third day in Exodus 19:16. In Joshua 3:2, Joshua led Israel across the Jordan River on the third day. In 2 Kings 20:5-6, King Hezekiah was healed from his sickness on the third day. In Esther 5:1, Esther asked the people to pray and fast and then on the third day she went before the king to intercede for the life of the people.

According to 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, "Christ died for our sins, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures." The Lord Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day, not in fulfillment of a particular text, but in accordance with a pattern of events in the Old Testament. There are many other "third days" mentioned in the Bible, but one in particular needs to be addressed in conjunction with both the binding of Isaac and the resurrection of Christ and it points to the return of Christ.

In Hosea 6:1-3 we read, "Come, and let us return to the Lord; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. 2 After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight. 3 Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth."

This prophecy of Hosea then tells us that the Jewish nation will, after a period of two thousand years, be revived. This has happened, exactly as prophesied. It also says that they will return to the Lord at this time and be raised up on the third day. In other words, it will be the fulfillment of Jesus’ own words when He said that He will return to Israel when they call on Him as Lord, at the dawning of the third millennium from their exile. We are right at that point in history now. As a confirmation of that, Hosea 6:3 says "He will come to them like the latter and the former rain." The rain cycle in the land of Israel was disrupted for the past 2000 years and only now that Israel is back in the land and has repopulated the forests have the two rains returned.

James 5 spoke about this time in history when he wrote, "Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand."

Genesis 21:28-34

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28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. 29 Then Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?” 30 And he said, “You will take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that they may be my witness that I have dug this well.” 31 Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there. 32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God. 34 And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days. ~ Genesis 21:28-34

Today, we complete our study of Genesis 21 where Abraham has entered into a covenant reflecting the Golden Rule with Abimelech, the King of Gerar. In our last study, we learned that Abraham gave to Abimelech sheep and oxen that were to be slain in the covenant-making ceremony just like we saw in Genesis 15, when Abraham laid the parts of the animals side by side and God walked between the pieces. In today's passage Abraham presented seven ewe lambs to Abimelech.

In v.28-29 of today's passage we read, "28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. 29 Then Abimelech asked Abraham, 'What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?'"

Abimelech was watching the enfolding story of Abraham and the God of the Bible for time now from afar. He knew that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and thus he had a healthy respect for God. He also had a healthy respect of Abraham who had earlier moved his tents from Gerar down to Beersheba, which was about twenty-five miles to the southeast. It also appears that Abimelech exercised control over that vast area south of Gerar as far as Beersheba. All of this explains the need for them to establish a covenant to co-exist peacefully with one another. And, even though it was obvious to Abimelech that God was with Abraham and He blessed him immensely, Abraham had a problem with being deceptive. This explains why Abimelech pressed Abraham as he did.

In the previous verses Abraham had given to King Abimelech sheep and oxen, now he gives him seven ewe lambs which were for confirming Abimelech's acknowledgment that the well in Beersheba belonged to Abraham. In other words, those lambs were a good-will gift designed to witness their agreement that day. 

In Genesis 15 we saw that God's deposit of guarantee was Himself. It was God Himself in the form of the smoking oven and the flaming torch who passed between the sacrifices indicating that He was promising by Himself His faithfulness to the promise. In Hebrews 6 we are informed that God confirms His promise with an oath because He could swear by no one greater than Himself. And, the sign of the covenant that gave to Abraham was circumcision, the reminder that He was and would always be committed to Abraham.

In Ephesians 1:13-14 the Apostle Paul reminds us that God has given us the deposit of the Holy Spirit who indwells every believer and seals us in His faith. In all these ways, God confirms His promises to us in the covenant, by Himself, by His word, and by His Spirit. God's covenant is given to establish security and stability in the relationship which we have with Him, even as this covenant between Abimelech and Abraham was designed to established security and stability in their relationship.

In v.30-31 of today's passage we read, "30 And he said, 'You will take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that they may be my witness that I have dug this well.' 31 Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there."

This well referenced here, I am told, is to this day still there, proof that this story really happened. The seven lambs were offered by Abraham as proof that he dug this well. They implicitly state that the land around the well was for Abraham's use. The Hebrew noun "beer" means "well." The Hebrew verb "sheba" means "oath." Adding to this is that the root of the verb sheba also means "seven." You will remember that seven is the number for perfection in the Bible. So, the result is the "Well of the Perfect Oath." To this day, the well and the surrounding area is called Beersheba, and the name came from this oath. The evidence that it happened and was confirmed and held up were these seven ewe lambs which were yet again pictures of the perfect Lamb of God who would come to ratify the covenant that God chose to make with anyone willing to enter into a covenant relationship with Him.

In v.32-34 of today's passage we read, "32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines. 32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God. 34 And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days."

The fact that the name of this place has lasted for 4000 years tells us that God is carefully watching over His land and is demonstrating the significance of these accounts in His word. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree there at Beersheba; Abraham planted that tree as a means of worship to the covenant keeping God of the Bible. The greatest covenant ever established was ratified upon a tree on the hill of Golgotha some two thousand years ago. It was on that tree that the Lord Jesus Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through the Lord Jesus Christ, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Holy Spirit of God.

Genesis 21:22-27

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22 And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, "God is with you in all that you do. 23 Now therefore, swear to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my offspring, or with my posterity; but that according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt." 24 And Abraham said, "I will swear." 25 Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants had seized. 26 And Abimelech said, "I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I heard of it until today." 27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant. ~ Genesis 21:22-27

Today, we continue our study of Genesis 21 where we see that the three different stories in this chapter all take place around a well which is always illustrative of the life the Lord Jesus died to give us. This is the eternal life that He taught on so many times while He walked this earth; it describes our personal relationship with Him. In contrast to the eternal life that God has granted us, when we live life serving the flesh, we discover this approach to life never works. As is illustrated over and over in the Bible, the only way to inherit the blessing of God is to trust in the promises of God. Abraham was counted righteous because he "believed the Lord." 

In v.22-24 of today's passage we read, "22 And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, 'God is with you in all that you do. 23 Now therefore, swear to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my offspring, or with my posterity; but that according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt.' 24 And Abraham said, 'I will swear.'"

This covenant is none other than the golden rule: Do unto others as they have done unto you. This statement the Lord Jesus taught in reference to loving our enemies. The Lord Jesus took the conventional quid pro quo method of treating people and turned it on its head. Rather than doing to others what they have done to us or giving them what they may deserve, we are to treat them the way we want them to treat us.

Like Abraham, when we are defined by the Lord as evidenced by our obedience to what He tells us to do, His presence will be heightened in and through our lives. This blessedness that Abraham was enjoying is what prompted Abimelech the King of Gerar to make his request of Abraham. Even though Abimelech noticed God at work in Abraham's life, Abraham was still a failure in many ways. The secret to our success will always be due to God's presence in our lives. Our greatest influence in the lives of others always comes on the heels of our diligence to allow God to call the shots in our lives. Often we are not even aware of the ripple effect that God causes to come about in and through our yielded lives.

Having said that, getting what he long desired did not solve Abraham's problems. Not only was there relational tensions in his family and heartbreak, Abraham didn’t own any land. Abraham was wealthy and had lots of possessions, yet he was still a stranger wherever he went, as seen in this dispute between him and Abimelech about the well. If Abraham had owned the land, there would have been no dispute. This world is not our home and we, like Abraham, will never fit into it.

However Abimelech knew that Abraham wasn’t going to just be a powerful leader and then fade away, but that his line would continue forever. Because of this, he asked for him to speak not only for himself, but for his son, and his future descendants. Essentially, Abimelech asked for Lex Talionis or "an eye for an eye" which meant that as Abimelech showed kindness to Abraham and his people, Abraham would show kindness to Abimelech and his people.  

In v.25-27 of today's passage we read, "25 Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants had seized. 26 And Abimelech said, 'I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I heard of it until today.' 27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant."

This story took place in Beersheba where there was lots of sand, rocks, and heat. That enjoyed two rain seasons at that time known as the former and latter rains which came in the fall and in the spring of the year. During those times when the season didn’t produce rain, a well was the only source of water. This explains why Abraham was so concerned about this well. Abimelech’s servants had seized that well and that act threatened the covenant that was just made. Abraham had the power to take the well back by force and keep it guarded, but instead, he graciously kept the matter concealed. Abimelech was not aware that the well had been seized by his men. In response, Abimelech was as gracious to Abraham as Abraham was to him. Thus, the covenant worked.

It was Abimelech who asked for the agreement, and Abraham agreed to it. Abraham was therefore the one who offered the animals because he was the one who was granting the request of Abimelech, the King of Gerar. Abraham provided the animals which was evidence that God was continuing to define him because earlier in Genesis 15 God had death with him in this way. This is why it is so important that we walk in obedience to God because this is the goal of God to use our yielded lives in the lives of others who have yet to enter into a personal relationship with Him.

As we will see, God required animal sacrifices to provide a temporary covering for sin because only life overcomes death. Animal sacrifices were also required in order to foreshadow the perfect and the complete sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Animal sacrifice is an important theme found throughout Scripture because "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin." And, if there is no shedding of blood and there is not forgiveness of sin, there is no personal relationship with God.

Genesis 21:20-21

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20 So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. 21 He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt. ~ Genesis 21:20-21

Today, we return to our study of Genesis 21 where we last saw that getting what we want does not always solve our problems. You will remember that Abraham and Sarah illustrated this point when they came up with the idea of siring a son with Sarah's maidservant. Over and over we see not only in the Scriptures but in our very lives that we can get all the things we crave and still have an empty heart.

In the middle of all of this Hagar and Ishmael were driven out into the wilderness and from there both Hagar and Ishmael cried out to God for help. In response to this "God opened Hagar's eyes and she saw a well of water." God is always ready to lead us in the way we should go only if we cry out to Him.

In v.20 of today's passage we read, "So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer."

Through the horror of being thrown out of Abraham's family with his mother, Ishmael cried out to the Lord and the Lord responded. God always responds to the cries of our hearts as long as our cries bow to the will of the One who made us. Down through the years I have run in to different folks who have had a problem with what Abraham and Sarah did here and I understand that. They did create this problem and as God made it clear His covenant promises were to go through Isaac. That did not mean that God did not have good plans for Ishmael and Hagar as long as they bent their will to Him. And, we are no different than them. As indicated by this verse, Ishmael lived in the favor of the Lord.  In fact, God was with Ishmael there in the wilderness and he became an archer. 

While in the wilderness, Ishmael was not alone for God was with him. In Isaiah 7:14 we read, "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." Because of the virgin birth and the death of the Lord Jesus and His resurrection, we can know for ourselves the gift of "God with us" which is the meaning of Immanuel. Not just with us, as a friend who walks beside us, though He indeed does that. But God with us, as in He comes to live inside us, giving us strength in place of weakness, courage in place of fear, and vibrant life in all those dark places that once felt dead. 

The Lord Jesus is His name and Immanuel was His calling. And, if we have come to the place where we trust our existence with Him, we never have to be alone. We never have to wonder if He is with us. We can simply rest knowing He is in us and that He will never leave us. Even though Ishmael was banished from the household of Abraham, he was not ignored by God. In fact, God preserved Ishmael and watched over him in his wilderness abode. And, he became an archer, and married an Egyptian woman whom his mother found for him. From this man and woman would come a great host of people, part of God’s fulfillment of His covenant promise to Abraham. 

The uncertainties of the wilderness create a need in our souls for God and to develop a dependence upon Him. Often God leads us to the place where we just do without, so we would come to know Him as your Protector and Provider. God allows us be lonely, so that we would come to know Him as our Savior and Friend. He allows us to be frightened, so that we would come to know Him and His peace. It is in our weakness that we discover His strength. In the wilderness, God reveals to us Himself. In the darkness of the wilderness, He is our light. In the confusing maze of the wilderness, we learn to let Him be our guide. It is in the wilderness that He separates us from the influences of the world, as well as the things and people that we have learned to depend upon, so that we will learn to depend upon Him.

In v.21 of today's passage we read, "He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt."

When God takes us to the wilderness, He withholds that which we have come to depend upon other than Himself. He knows when we have come to depend on your job as our provision, so, He must sometimes take our job from us. God has been known to remove our jobs from us for a time, so that we will learn to depend on Him. God also knows that there are times when we have come to depend on our strength or stamina, so He has been known to allow sickness into our lives, so that we will learn that our strength is in Him. It is often through our deprivation that we are afforded the privilege of seeing that God is our provision.  

Without a father to set him up with a wife, Hagar stepped in and made the selection for Ishmael. As she was from Egypt, so was her daughter in law, Ishmael’s wife. Both the mother and the wife of Ishmael came from the same people. The place where they settled is called the Wilderness of Paran. This place is so absolutely barren and wild that being an archer makes all the sense in the world. One can’t be a very successful farmer in a place like the Wilderness of Paran. It’s around the area of Mount Sinai and is just as unforgiving as any place you’d ever want to visit. 

In the end, this story of Ishmael is one that ultimately points us to the amazing work of the Lord Jesus Christ in fulfilling the law that we cannot fulfill. Moses portrayed Ishmael as the "son of laughter." And we’ve already seen that God had promised to bless Ishmael and make him into a great nation. All of God’s people are saved by grace, not by works or by ethnicity. Only those who humbly receive the free gift of mercy and grace are truly a part of God's family.

Incidentally, Paran means beauty. As a result of being driven to the wilderness was Ishmael afforded the opportunity to see the beauty of God's ways. God expressed the beauty of His ways best through the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. In John 3:16 we read, "For God so loved the World that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." There is always purpose in our pain. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord always looks at the heart. Sometimes our hearts must be broken to receive what the Lord has for us. Sometimes it takes the collapse of all things in our lives for us to discover there is no better love than His.

Genesis 21:14-19

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14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. 15 And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. 16 Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, "Let me not see the death of the boy." So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the lad. Then 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 with your hand, for I will make him a great nation." 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. ~ Genesis 21:14-19

Today, we return to our study of Genesis 21 where it has been decided that Hagar and Ishmael would have to leave Abraham's family. Of course, none of this would have happened had Sarah not come up with the "brilliant" idea that her husband, Abraham, sire a child with her maidservant, Hagar. And, of course, Hagar would have never ended up as a maidservant to Sarah had Abraham not made the decision to go to Egypt during the famine after arriving to the promised land for the first time. One thing we can conclude is that the smallest sin will always lead to a bigger one if we do not keep it in check.

In v.14 of today's passage we read, "So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba."

Again, as at other times, today's narrative happened "early in the morning." God probably spoke to Abraham in a dream, and like every other time, Abraham immediately obeyed Him. After rising early in the morning, Abraham took bread and a container of water and gave it to Hagar. Afterwards, Abraham sent Hagar away along with his son of seventeen years. 

In Matthew 14:26 we read, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even their own life, such a person cannot be my disciple." 

Before I make other comments about this verse, I need to make it very clear that not everyone who believed in the Lord Jesus followed Him like His twelve disciples did. In fact, there were several He told not to follow Him like the twelve. Having said that, these words were for Andrew and James and John and Peter. If we are not careful, we will conclude wrongly that we must ardently follow the Lord Jesus as His disciples did in order to be saved. This is not the teachings of the whole of the Scriptures. There is a clear difference between our justification and our sanctification.

Now, the word "hate" here does not suggest positive antagonism but rather "to love less." The Lord Jesus was saying that the love a disciple has for Him must be so strong that all other loves are like hatred in comparison. In fact, we must hate our own lives and be willing to bear the cross or the burdens that come with following Him. Being Christ's disciple demands abandonment of our priorities. When we decide to follow Him, we will take on a completely different worldview, past, present and future.  And it all begins with an abandonment of us calling our own shots. Again, we will never be perfect at this, but to the degree that we are sanctified will be the degree that we grow in God's wisdom.  

I am sure that from Hagar's perspective, this was so very hard to do. And, if you have ever been in a situation like this, you know that it is moments like this that we must turn to the Lord for His help. If we have done this, we know that these have been the most important moments of our lives because it is in these types of moments that we grow best in intimacy with the Lord. It is when we are most dependent upon the Lord that we are at our best. And, the more intense our desperation for the Lord, the greater the platform for the Lord to reveal Himself to us. For Abraham, Hagar and Ishmael, this parting had to be heartbreaking.

For us, when we read this story we find our hearts breaking. But, we must remember, in this story God provided for us a picture of the role of the law and the role of His grace in our lives. We are wise when we are being defined by the Lord Himself. When we are being defined by His grace, then our relationship to the Law changes. In fact, when we are being defined by His grace, we will desire to be obedient to whatever the Lord has for us because His grace changes our hearts motivation to be obedient to Him. Those who do not follow the Lord closely have yet to lose sight of the self and it is the self that taints our motivations. In fact, many obey God to get something from Him.

In v.15-16 of today's passage we read, "15 And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. 16 Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, 'Let me not see the death of the boy.' So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept."

Ishmael’s loss of water was enough to make him weary before his mother, so she put him under a shady bush to get him out of the sun. This is the only time this word translated "bowshot" is used in the Old Testament. It describes the far distance, about a half a mile, that Hagar separated herself from her son. She did this because she could not bear the thought of being close enough to hear Ishmael dying or even calling out for water. In addition, she also did not want Ishmael to hear her  uncontrollable weeping over what had happened. 

Death is a reality that we all will have to face. The wages of sin, after all, is death. And thus we are all destined to die because we are all sinners, even though we have trusted the Lord Jesus as our Savior. But, death is not what we think of it. Death is the door that we all must go through in order to spend eternity with the Lord and all whom we love, that is if the Rapture doesn't happen first.

In v.17-19 of today's passage we read, "17 And God heard the voice of the lad. Then 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 with your hand, for I will make him a great nation." 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink."

In order for some to cry out to the Lord, they must be abandoned by all others. This was the case here for Ishmael. and once he cried out to the Lord, God heard him and then God sent an angel to his mother who then pointed her to the well that was before her. Interestingly, there are three different stories in this chapter: The story of Hagar and Ishmael out in the wilderness, the story of Abraham and Abimelech making a covenant, and the scene of Abraham and his family living around the well, enjoying the fullness of God. The well around which these stories all occur is the central theme in each one. It would be easy to dismiss this as an unimportant detail in Abraham's life, except that nothing is unimportant in the Word of God. These stories illustrate for us many aspects of our relationship with the Lord. 

The spiritual significance of this well is easy for us to identify, since it occurs frequently in the Bible to picture the Word of God. The water in the well is always Christ who is what our thirsty souls desire. In fact, the Lord said to the woman of Samaria as she came down to the well, "The water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." Wherever we find a well in Scripture it is always picturing that relationship.

Ishmael means God hears. This reminds us of the promise made all the way back in Genesis 16 when God told Hagar to name her child, Ishmael. As God heard her then, God heard her in today's passage. This just underscores the reality that God will always be there to hear us, both when life is good and when it is bad. The key is that we make it our habit to cry out to Him.

After the Angel of the Lord spoke with Hagar, she ran back to her son and after she got there, her eyes were opened to see the well of water that she missed when she was first there. For all of us the Water of Life, the Lord Jesus, has always been there. Our sin and our lack of desperation prevented us from seeing Him. It was through my deep pain that God led me to the Lord Jesus. This is the way He works in all of our lives; He directs us to His Son first and then He gives us the spiritual ability to see that where He is, is also the spot where the Water of Life has been all along. And then, astonishingly, He gives us the choice to drink that water or to reject it. The sad thing is that despite the thirst every human has, not everyone will drink from the Water of life.

Genesis 21:8-13

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8 So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned. 9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. 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 matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, 'Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called. 13 Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.'" ~ Genesis 21:8-13

Today we return to our study of Genesis 21 where the dynamics within Abraham's family are intensifying due to a decision that Sarah made many years before. Even though God had forgiven Sarah of this sin, Abraham and Sarah still had to live with the consequences of their foolish choice to have Abraham sire a child with Hagar.

In v.8 of today's passage we read, "So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned."

In this one verse, we’ve just skipped over three years of the life of Abraham. Once Isaac reached the age of three and was considered fully capable of living on solid food, Abraham threw a real big party to celebrate the fact that little Isaac was now on solid food. This meant that Isaac had a much greater chance of making it through life now that he was not so dependent upon his mother. 

This is the second time such a meal is mentioned in the Bible. The first was in Genesis 19 when the two destroying angels appeared at Sodom and Lot invited them into his home. The first feast in the Bible was the result of the outcry of wickedness against a city and it ended in sadness and the loss of life. The second was the result of the happy birth and the growth of the son of promise which led to the long and prosperous life for the son of laughter.

In v.9-10 of today's passage we read, "9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. 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.'"

The "son of Hagar the Egyptian" was Ishmael, and he was not mentioned here by name to show the contrast between a life of faith and a life defined by the flesh. This was also done in order to remind the Israelites they were never to return to Egypt which was a picture of their bondage to the Law of Moses.

In Galatians 4:28-29 we read, "28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. 29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now."

The Apostle Paul refers to Ishmael's scoff at Isaac as outright persecution and therefore Ishmael’s laughing was contemptuous at best and possibly threatening toward his younger half-brother. Sarah saw this and was appalled. A seventeen year old mocking her precious baby was enough to upset her. This was the beginning of the fulfillment of Genesis 15:13 which reads, "Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years." It wasn't as if God made Ishmael do this, otherwise God would be guilty of sin. No, the eternal God who knows all things in the instantaneous now knew Ishmael would do this in advance.

This concept of Ishmael persecuting Isaac is critical to understanding the timing of this statement from God to Abraham. From this account, it will be 400 years before the Israelites will be led out of Egypt and from the hard bondage that they had suffered both there and in their time in Canaan. This then was about 30 years after God had given the promise to Abraham. Little details like these, in what are otherwise sentences of relative obscurity, become instrumental in understanding God’s promises, and His faithfulness in keeping them.

The words "cast out" is one word in the Hebrew and it is used elsewhere in the Bible to indicate an actual divorce. This is probably exactly what Sarah was implying. Even though Hagar was called a "bondwoman," she was also labeled elsewhere as being Abraham’s wife. Sarah was asking for a legal and formal declaration that Hagar was out, not just as a slave, but also as a wife of Abraham. 

In Romans 4:13-14 the Apostle Paul wrote, "13 For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect."

From this point onward in the narrative, Isaac will be the center of attention as the son of promise, and the inheritor of Abraham’s estate. In contrast, the older son was still just the son of a maid and was excluded from the spiritual and land promises that God had revealed to Abraham. Ishmael's scoffing occurred during the feast mentioned in the previous verse. At that point in time Isaac was three years old and this is his initiation from being a baby to being a young boy who can feed himself. For whatever reason, Ishmael was scoffing at him. Anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior is obviously saved and that includes Hagar and Ishmael if they were of this faith.

In v.11-12 of today's passage we read, "11 And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, 'Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called.'"

Abraham was a truly honorable, non-confrontational, family-oriented man. He took Lot along when he traveled to Canaan. He gave him the choice of choosing what portion of the land to take when they needed to separate. He went after Lot and rescued him when he was taken captive. He pleaded with Lord before the destruction of Sodom for them to be spared if at all possible, certainly because he knew Lot was there.

So, when Abraham heard what Sarah was proposing, it had to be really tough on him. No matter what the situation between him and Hagar was, Ishmael was his son and he had been raised as such for 17 years. And now, Sarah wants Ishmael gone; this was quite a bit for Abraham since Ishmael was his flesh and blood. 

In v.13 of today's passage we read, "Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed."

This promise is repeated to Abraham from Genesis 17:20 and it will be confirmed in Genesis 25:16. God told Abraham that Ishmael would have 12 sons and we find out later that he did. Through the sons of Ishmael would come a chain of events which eventually led to the deliverance of the Israelites 400 years later. It was the descendants of Ishmael who bought Israel’s son Joseph from his brothers and then sold him to Potiphar the Egyptian. And, if Joseph had not been sold into slavery in Egypt, he would never have ascended to the right hand of Pharaoh. Every detail of history is carefully and minutely woven together to lead to the fulfillment of God’s marvelous plan of salvation through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Genesis 21:1-7

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1 And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for 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. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac. 4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, "God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me." 7 She also said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age." ~ Genesis 21:1-7 

Today, we transition into Genesis 21 where we finally come to the birth of Isaac. We’ve seen God’s promise to Abraham about this son given over and over. We’ve also seen that prior to him, came another son named Ishmael who was a picture of the bondage of the Law. Isaac, on the other hand, is a picture of freedom from that law by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, every story, and every detail within each story, is a wonderful testament to the faithful dealings of the God of the Bible with man and a picture of the coming Christ. When we feel like life is overwhelming us and things are spinning out of control, all we need to do is pick up the Bible and read and we can see God’s hand of care and protection for all of His people throughout its pages.

In v.1-2 of today's passage we read, "1 And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for 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."

This word translated "visited" clearly indicates divine intervention on the behalf of a believer in God. This is the first time this word is used in the Bible. The Lord intervened in Sarah's life in order that she would conceive and give birth to the son whom God had long promised. Sarah is mentioned twice here because she laughed at the promise and then she lied about having laughed about it. Like Sarah, God redeemed us partly so that we will factor in on eternity.

Sarah's laughter was similar to the Apostle Peter's denial of knowing the Lord Jesus after the Lord had been arrested by the Jews in the Garden of Gethsemane. Peter denied knowing the Lord three times and was later asked if he loved Him three times. Sarah laughed and then lied and so today’s first verse is used as restoration for her fault. Despite Sarah's doubt and disbelief, the Lord fulfilled His word exactly as He promised. 

Isaac's birth was supernatural. He was not born until Abraham and Sarah had reached an advanced age. Sarah was 90 years old and Abraham was 100. It occurred at the set time, some 30 years after God had first promised to give Abraham a son. God waited so long to fulfill this promise to Abraham so that it could only be fulfilled supernaturally by Him. This is exactly what God says about the fruit of the Spirit in our lives which never come from the flesh. The love, joy, peace and patience of God never is the product of man's efforts. The fruits of the Spirit will never come from any attempt on our part to imitate them. We cannot produce the fruit of the Spirit by the flesh, because these fruits will always be the supernatural produce of God in and through our yielded lives. These only come by simply appropriating the life of the Lord Jesus in our lives.

In v.3-4 of today's passage we read, "3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him whom Sarah bore to him Isaac. 4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him."

God gave to Abraham the object lesson of circumcision to remind Abraham and his posterity that He was for them. God commanded Abraham and Abraham obeyed God precisely. Isaac was circumcised on the eighth day because God knew that it took the human body eight days to build up enough potassium in the body for the blood to coagulate, otherwise the baby would have died due to a loss of blood. 

In v.5 of today's passage we read, "Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him."

Isaac, the child of laughter was born when Abraham celebrated his 100th birthday. The birth of Isaac was a full 25 years after Abraham's move from Haran to Canaan; it was also 14 years after the birth of Ishmael. The year of Isaac’s birth  2109 BC. In just 1895 years, the Son of God would be born about 45 miles to the north of where Abraham was located in today's passage. No amount of time or distance is too difficult for God to span in order to fulfill His promises.

In v.6-7 of today's passage we read,"6 And Sarah said, 'God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.' 7 She also said, 'Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.'"

This laugh of Sarah was completely different in today's passage as it was when she laughed in Genesis 18 where doubt and disbelief ruled. This laugh was the laughter of both wonder and pleasure at what God had done, and she acknowledged God’s sovereign power to overcome even old age and a barren womb. Sarah's unbelief had been replaced by belief. Even though we may have to wait for quite a while for the promises of God to come about in our lives, they will all come to pass as He has promised. 

Sarah's laugh impacted others. This underscores the fact that God rarely blesses you and me with only you and me in mind. He created us with a need to be a blessing to others and when we are we will be joyful. It was joy that compelled C.S. Lewis to convert from atheism to enjoying a personal relationship with his Creator. But, Lewis' definition of joy was different. In fact he once said, "Joy is distinct not only from pleasure in general but even from aesthetic pleasure. It must have the stab, the pang, the inconsolable longing." 

Lewis went on to write, "All Joy reminds. It is never a possession, always a desire for something longer ago or further away or still 'about to be.'"  We were made for something more and that something more leads us to the eternal Son of God. It is only in a personal relationship with Him that all the events of our lives make sense. It is only through the lens of the Lord Jesus Christ that all things make sense, even the hard things of life. This is where true joy is encountered, and joy has the same name that all of the other fruits of the Spirit have, that is the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Genesis 20:14-18

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14 Then Abimelech took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, "See, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you." 16 Then to Sarah he said, "Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; indeed this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody." Thus she was rebuked. 17 So Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children; 18 for the Lord had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife. ~ Genesis 20:14-18

Today, we close out our study of Genesis 20 where Abraham and Sarah have gone to the city of Gerar and King Abimelech took Sarah into his harem without knowing that she was Abraham's wife. Subsequent to that the Lord visited King Abimelech in a dream informing him to return Sarah to her husband or he would die.

In v.14 of today's passage we read, "Then Abimelech took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him."

Abimelech was now convinced that the true God had included Abraham on His side, so he chose to give Abraham certain parting gifts. Exactly the opposite of what happened in Egypt happened here. When the same thing had happened there in Egypt as here, Pharaoh gave to Abraham gifts first as a payment for Sarah. These gifts that were given to Abraham by King Abimelech were parting gifts.

In v.15 of today's passage we read, "And Abimelech said, 'See, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.'"

When Abraham was in Egypt and similar events occurred, Pharaoh sent Abraham away from them back to Canaan. But here King Abimelech offers him not only to stay in his land, he allowed Abraham to choose any place he wished to live. The providential hand of God can be clearly seen here in Abimelech's dealings with Abraham and how God was setting up the borders of the land establishing a permanent marker in the Land of Israel which exists to this day some 4000 years later. God used these real events, with real people, to ensure that His chosen people would rightfully have access to the land of Israel that He long ago promised to Abraham. 

In v.16 of today's passage we read, "Then to Sarah he said, 'Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; indeed this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody.'"

In the culture of that day, this payment was a way of having everyone involved overlook the solution to the situation. By doing what he did, Abimelech subtly rebuked Sarah. This was Abimelech's way of showing Sarah that he disapproved of what she had done. And, in order to get the matter resolved and forgotten, money was paid. In addition, Abraham was given sheep, oxen, and male and female servants and his choice of place to live to cover Abimelech’s sin of having Sarah in his harem for the time that he did. Once Sarah was taken, it was Sarah's obligation to tell the truth to the king that Abraham was her husband. 

In v.17-18 of today's passage we read, "17 So Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children; 18 for the Lord had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife."

Once again, the term ha-elohim or "the God" is used here. Abraham prayed to "the God" on the behalf of King Abimelech. Abraham's prayer reveals that God had removed the ability for conception to occur. It is suggested that they may have developed some type of venereal disease, or tumors, or something else that kept them from being able to come together. And this is how God kept Abimelech from uniting with Sarah. It appears that God kept Abimelech from touching Sarah because he was physically unable to do so.

Interestingly, the name Lord here is YHWH who took this action. For the first time in this chapter, the divine name is brought in to show that He is the God of the work of salvation of humanity. The malady on the people came about to prevent any hindrance of God's plan of salvation by having Isaac come from Abraham through Sarah. God did all of this, even keeping these people from the ability to procreate, to protect His plan to bring Isaac and eventually the Lord Jesus into the world. Every detail was minutely handled by a loving and observant God so that our Savior would come, without whom we would be eternally condemned. Without the Lord Jesus, there is no hope for any of us. What happened to Sodom and what would have happened to King Abimelech and his kingdom is what would have happened to us as well. But in these two stories we are given two pictures; The first is a picture of what unforgiven man will get, hell. The second, a picture of what the forgiven man will get, restoration to a relationship with God. 

An underlining point to this story is that Abraham wasn’t some sterling, spiritual superstar that God wanted on his team. Abimelech was the righteous man in this story while Abraham was the guy who struggled with the self. This story shows us that God’s purposes will come to pass by His sovereign grace, not by our righteous choices. Nothing can thwart God from fulfilling his purposes, not even our sin.

The sovereignty of God is key to the development of our faith. There are times when we find it very difficult to understand why certain things happen to us or even to those whom we love. Recently I had the privilege of counseling a lady whose grandson was brutally tortured and then murdered. We had prayed for this grandson a lot and she was struggling before God with the events as she learned of them. At one point when she was crying out I asked her, "Suppose he went through all of that torture so that he would cry out to God for salvation. And as a result he entered into a personal relationship with God. And, when we get to heaven we will see your grandson there. Will it be okay that he went through the suffering?" The lady responded by saying, "Well, if you put it that way, then yes." Oh the preciousness of the sovereignty of God! Because of it we can trust a little bit more today and the days to come.