Genesis 21:1

The Bible says in Genesis 21:1-8, “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. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age. And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.” Genesis 21:8 should not surprise anyone. “And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.” The Lord always does what He has said He will do, and the Lord always fulfills what He has spoken. Jesus said when He prayed to the Father in John 17:17, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” Paul wrote in Titus 1:2 that he was “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” Because God’s Word is truth and can always be counted upon and relied upon, it should be obvious what place the Word of God should be given in our lives. Jesus said in Luke 4:4, “It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”

Of course, once God fulfilled His great promise of giving a child to Sarah and Abraham, there was unspeakable joy. Sarah said, “God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.” “Abraham made a great feast.” They had to wait twenty-five years and go through many trials of their faith; but the promise of God was fulfilled when God decided for it to be fulfilled. These things that happened to Sarah and Abraham are very similar to what happens to every believer in Jesus. Many of the promises that Jesus makes to believers have to do with the future when we will be in His Kingdom. For example, Jesus promised life after death. Jesus said in John 11:25-26, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” Jesus also said in John 14:1-3, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

When will we see these wonderful promises and others like them fulfilled? We will see them finally fulfilled after this life is over. Some Christians who believed in Jesus suffered terrible persecutions and afflictions in their lives. Some Christians believed in Jesus, and then as a result were tortured and burnt at the stake. Speaking of what some have suffered in this life because of believing in Jesus, the Bible says in Hebrews 11:36-39, “And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise.” Notice the last phrase of Hebrews 11:39. It says that these “received not the promise.” In other words they received not the fulfillment of the promise in this life. The greatest fulfillment that they received was in the next life with Jesus in the presence of God. But that is the fulfillment that really matters. That is why many of the promises of Jesus are centered on the next life.

The Bible says in Genesis 21:9-14, “And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.” The son of the bondwoman could not live with the son of Sarah and Abraham. This situation between the son of Sarah and the son of the bondwoman has an important symbolic meaning.

This symbolic meaning is explained in detail in Galatians 4:21-31, “Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.” An important verse in this passage is Galatians 4:28, “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.” God made a promise to Abraham. Abraham believed the promise, and as a result Isaac was born. The same thing happens whenever anyone becomes a child of God. Jesus has made the promise in Romans 10V13, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” By faith a lost soul believes that promise and calls upon the name of the Lord Jesus, and as a result that soul becomes a child of God. Every true Christian was saved in this same way by faith in Christ, and is therefore a child of God and a child of promise.

Everyone who attempts to justify themselves by their own works through the keeping of the law is a child of the flesh. Such a person is not a child of promise, and is therefore not a child of God. Those who are of faith and who trust in Christ are of the Spirit. Those who trust in their own works are of the flesh. This explains the differences between the saved who have faith in Christ, and the unsaved who have not put their faith in Christ. Those who are saved are the children of God and have the Spirit of God within them. Those who are not saved do not have the Spirit, and thus it is impossible for them to have a close relationship with a saved person. That is one of the reasons that believers should not marry unbelievers. It is also one of the reasons that there should be a certain amount of separation by believers from unbelievers. “Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.” The Bible also says in Second Corinthians 6:14-18, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”

The Bible says in Genesis 21:15-21, “And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.” An important verse in this passage to notice is Genesis 21:17, “And God heard the voice of the lad.” God hears everything. When someone on this earth cries out in need, God hears that cry. You can be sure that God hears your cries. And Jesus loves everyone. He loves all the people that He has put upon this earth. The infinite mind of the infinite all-knowing God is aware of every event, and He is involved. Speaking on this subject, Jesus said in Luke 12:6-7, “Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.”

The Bible says in Genesis 21:22-24, “And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest: Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned. And Abraham said, I will swear.” Abimelech and Phicol said to Abraham, “God is with thee in all that thou doest.” Of course, God had blessed Abraham. That is exactly one of the things that God promised to Abraham, and God always keeps His promises. God said to Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3, “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Abimelech and Phicol were wise enough to recognize that God was blessing Abraham, and that they needed to treat Abraham right in order to stay on God’s good side. A wise person finds out which way God is going and goes with Him. One way to become useful for the Lord’s service is to find some work or some place where God has brought His blessings, and to join in. A wise person also understands that to oppose God’s children is to be in danger of God’s judgment. The Lord sees, and the Lord knows. The Bible says in Psalm 11:4-7, “The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup. For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.”

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