Abraham: Called to Rest

 

During the past several episodes of Biopic #1 of Act 1, Scene 2 of God’s One Big Story, we have watched a number of dramatic events take place in the life of Abraham in a relatively short period of time.  For instance, in…

• • Episode #5 (Genesis 17)—after 13 years of operating under the delusion that Ishmael was the promised son and heir to the covenant promises of God, Abraham was visited by God and told that not Ishmael, but a son who would be born to Sarah in the next year would be his heir.
  • Episode #6 (Genesis 18)—while still reeling from this news, Abraham was visited by the Lord and two of His Angels who were coming to tell Sarah that she would bear Abraham a son and Abraham that the Lord was preparing to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.
  • Episode #7 (Genesis 19)—Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed but thanks to Abraham’s timely intercession for the righteous who were living there, Lot and his two daughters were spared.
  • Episode #8 (Genesis 20)—For no apparent reason, Abraham packed up and moved his entire household to Gerar in the land of the Philistines. Once there, he got into a heap of trouble with Abimelech, the local ruler, by lying to him about Sarah’s true status as his wife—just as he had done in Egypt some twenty-five years earlier.  But as a result God’s gracious intervention…
    • Abimelech learned that Abraham was a prophet of God who was not to be harmed;
    • Sarah was protected and restored to her husband; and,
    • Abraham was given his choice of the land to dwell in.

In this episode (from Chapter 21), we will be covering Three Major Events in Abraham’s life, taking place over the course of 2-3 years, that are being compressed into this one chapter.  Those events are…

The Birth of Isaac
The Expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael
The Treaty between Abraham and Abimelech

****************************************

Episode #9 of Biopic #1
Cast:  Sarah, God, Angel, Hagar, Abraham, Abimelech

 Part 1–Isaac Is Born

Setting the Stage: As the curtain rises on this episode, Abraham and his family are still living in Gerar and about nine months have passed since we last saw them…

Narrator:  And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken.  For Sarah conceived and bore 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 who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac.  Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.  Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.  And Sarah said…

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

 

 

Part 2–The Expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael

Narrator:  So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned.  And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing.  Therefore she said to Abraham…

Sarah:  Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.

 

 

Narrator:  And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son.  But God said to Abraham…

God:  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.  Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.

Narrator:  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.  And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs.  Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself…

 

 

Hagar:  Let me not see the death of the boy.

Narrator:  So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept.  And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her…

Angel:  What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.  Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.

 

 

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

 

 

Part 3–The Treaty Between Abraham and Abimelech

Narrator:  And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying…

Abimelech:  God is with you in all that you do.  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.

Abraham:  I will swear.

Narrator:  Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants had seized.  And Abimelech said…

Abimelech:  I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I heard of it until today.

Narrator:  So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.  And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.

Abimelech:  What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?

Abraham:  You will take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that they may be my witness that I have dug this well.

Narrator:  Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there.  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.

Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.  And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days.

***********************************

Our Review

Part 1–The Birth of Isaac

Having waited so long for the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham, the birth of Isaac seems almost anticlimactic, having been passed over with relatively little fanfare.  However, there are a few things in these verses that we need to make note of…

• • The Lord did for Sarah just as He had spoken;
  • Isaac was born at the set time of which God had spoken;
  • Isaac was named, as God had commanded;
  • Abraham circumcised his son, as God had commanded; and,
  • Sarah finally was made glad by God, after so many years of disappointment and heartbreak.

Part 2–The Expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael

Some of the important points in this section are…

• • Weaning—this would normally take place between the ages of two and three but, in some cases, it could be even later. This marked an important moment in a child’s development because it meant that he had moved from milk to meat.
  • Scoffing—Jealous and resentful because Isaac has displaced him as the favorite son and heir, Ishmael resorts to scoffing at his younger brother—with such scoffing or mocking being a picture of the conflict that takes place between the nature of the flesh and the nature of the spirit.
  • Cast out this bondwoman and her son—since the law of the day prevented a primary wife from expelling the children of a secondary wife, Sarah calls on Abraham to do it. In casting her out, Abraham is giving Hagar her freedom which, also according to the law of the day, means that her children must forfeit any of their inheritance rights.
  • The lad—at this time, Ishmael is somewhere between 16-18 years old, so he is not a little boy.
  • Very displeasing—having to part with his son causes Abraham a lot of pain, just as it does anytime we are called upon to die to our flesh.
  • Listen to her voice—Abraham got into this fix by listening to Sarah in the first place, now he is told that he must listen to her voice once again if he is to rectify this situation.
  • Because he is your seed—In spite of the way he came into the world, God promises to bless Ishmael just because he is Abraham’s son.
  • Bread and a skin of water—given that Abraham is such a wealthy man, it is surprising that bread and a skin of water are the only things he provides for Hagar and Ishmael.
  • Wilderness of Beersheba—a semi-arid region in the southern Negev.
  • God heard the voice of the lad—in response to Ishmael’s prayers, the Angel calls out to Hagar, telling her to Fear Not. The promises God made to Hagar back in Genesis 16 are now being fulfilled, as He miraculously provides for them both.
  • A wife…from the land of Egypt—is a reminder to us that Egypt is a picture of the world throughout scripture.

Part 3–The Treaty Between Abraham and Abimelech

Although this may seem like a relatively insignificant event in the story of Abraham, the cutting of this covenant must have been important to him because it provided him with some assurance that the place where he was living was going to be a safe one in which to bring up his son, Isaac…

• • At that time—would indicate that this event took place about the time that Abraham sent away Hagar and Ishmael.
  • Abimelech and Phichol—the king and the commander of his army, come to Abraham on a diplomatic mission of the highest order.
  • God is with you—Abimelech had been told a few years earlier that Abraham was a prophet of God and God’s blessing on Abraham since then, along with the miraculous birth of his son, must have given added credibility to that revelation. Because of that, Abimelech now wants to enter into a formal non-aggression treaty with Abraham.
  • Abraham rebuked Abimelech—Although Abraham agrees to the treaty, before he “signs on the dotted line,” he raises an issue with Abimelech concerning a well that Abimelech’s servants have taken from Abraham.
  • Sheep and oxen, seven ewe lambs—once Abimelech promises to rectify the situation, the animals are prepared for the covenant-cutting ceremony, with the seven ewe lambs being given as Abraham’s personal guarantee that he is telling the truth.
  • Beersheba—literally means the Well of the Oath or the Well of the Seven.
  • Abraham planted—once everything has been settled, we find Abraham in a place of rest…
    • Planting a tamarisk tree—a deciduous tree that grows in sandy soil, to a height of 20-25 feet, with small leaves that excrete salt, bark that can be used in tanning, and wood that is used to make charcoal.
    • Calling upon the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God
    • Sojourning in the land of the Philistines for many days.

In other words, Abraham is living his best life, one of peace and tranquility that will last for many years to come—completely unaware of the day looming in the future when he will come face to face with the greatest of all his tests.

**************************************************

In Summary

Life Lessons to Be Learned

One of the most valuable take-aways from this episode is the lesson that whatever God promises, He will do—because…

Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven. (Psalm 119:89)

It doesn’t matter how long you have to wait or how impossible it may seem, God will answer at His appointed time. In the case of Abraham and Sarah, His appointed time came when they were both unable to secure the promise through their own works but had to trust God for its fulfillment. Then, because Abraham believed God…

…not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. (Romans 4:19-21)

Likewise…

…By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. (Hebrews 11:11)

Contributions Made to the One Big Story

1. From the birth of Isaac

While the events in this part of the story—when viewed from an earthly perspective—may seem to have been glossed over, they take on a real significance when viewed from a heavenly perspective.  That’s because, in the birth of Isaac we are being given a prophetic picture of the birth of Christ—and in comparing the two events, we discover these similarities…

• • Both births were promised by God, with both sons being referred to as the Promised Seed;
  • Both births were preceded by a long wait;
  • Both mothers responded with uncertainty when given the news—
    • Mary because she was young and, although she was betrothed at the time, she was still a virgin, and…
    • Sarah because she was too old to bear children;
  • Both babies were named before their births;
  • Both births occurred at God’s appointed times;
  • Both births required a miracle; and,
  • Both children were the delight of their Father.

2. From the Expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael

The most important point for us in this section is the spiritual analogy that the Apostle Paul draws from it in Galatians 4:22 ff…

For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman.  But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar—for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children—but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all…​

Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.  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. Nevertheless what does the Scripture say?  ‘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.

In other words, just as in the story of Cain and Abel, Ishmael represents the Flesh and the way of Works while Isaac represents the Spirit and the way of Faith. These two cannot co-exist—the Flesh and the works it produces must be cast out so that the Spirit and Faith can have full control.  …That’s because…

…God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24)

…without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Revelations of God

In this episode, God is once again revealed as…

• • Gracious, giving Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar what they didn’t deserve;
  • Merciful, not giving Abraham and Sarah what they did deserve;
  • Longsuffering, willing to wait until Abraham and Sarah came to the end of themselves;
  • Faithful, fulfilling all His promises to Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, and protecting them in the midst of their enemies;
  • Forgiving, restoring Abraham and Sarah when they failed; and,
  • Sovereign, over kings and authorities everywhere.

In addition, He is also revealed in His Omnipotence—as the All-Powerful God…

…who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did (Romans 4:17)…

…the very same God who raised Jesus from the dead and gives us new life in our mortal bodies today, through the power of His Spirit. (Romans 8:11)

Be sure to join us for our next episode when, following a rather lengthy period of rest in his life, we will resume our walk with Abraham as he faces his most challenging test of faith yet.

 

 

Original photos are from the Lumo Project, courtesy of FreeBibleimages :: Home.