Abraham, Part 19 - Joy, Love and Callousness
Genesis 21v1-13
22nd January 2011
How long must we wait for God's purposes in us to be achieved? God told Abraham that he would make him "a great nation" (Genesis 12v2) when he a young man, still living in Ur. He obeyed God (in part) and moved to Canaan (eventually) and waited. And, when Abraham was 100 years old, Isaac was born:
Genesis 21v1-8
Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised.
Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.
Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him.
When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him.
Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me."
And she added, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in
his old age."
The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast.
What rejoicing there must have been when the boy was born, and when he was circumcised, and when he was weaned! In those days, a child would typically be three years old when he was weaned, and infant mortality rates would have been much higher then. The feast marked a significant achievement - the boy was growing up healthy.
But what about Abraham's first-born son, Ishmael? He would have been about 14 years old when Isaac was born, and we can see that Abraham loved him very much. Something must have changed with the arrival of Isaac, and bitterness had entered into Ishmael's soul. He would have been told about when his mother had been so abused by Sarah that she'd run away into the desert. He would have seen the special attention given to Sarah's child (the child of the free woman) and would have been hurt as being regarded not as Abraham's only son, but as less important than his brother (he was *only* the child of the slave-wife).
And at the height of the party given in honour of his 3 year-old brother, Ishmael's pain came out:
Genesis 21v9-10
But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking,
and she said to Abraham, "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share
in the inheritance with my son Isaac."
Sarah was not amused. She'd waited a long time for Isaac, and she was going to protect him, even at the cost of inflicting great suffering on Hagar and Ishmael. She demanded that Abraham divorce Hagar and send her and her son away. And her reason was "that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac". It's a natural instinct for a mother to want the best for her children, and to protect them. But it's great sin to want others to suffer so our own loved ones can get the best of everything. Love for our own family must not become callousness towards others.
Sometimes, when I read the story of our father and mother in the faith, Abraham and Sarah, I'm amazed at how they sometimes seemed so godly and at other times seemed so wicked. But are not we, too, capable of great sin as well as great sacrifice?
When she told Abraham, he was very angry:
Genesis 21v11-13
The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son.
But God said to him, "Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah
tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.
I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring."
God calmed Abraham down, saying something that's almost too deep for us to understand. To do as Sarah demanded was wrong. Showing cruelty to others, especially when motivated by the desire to keep everything for our own family, is wicked. And God hates divorce (Malachi 2v6). Nevertheless, Sarah's sin - which Abraham was to share in - was within God's purposes. He would bring good out of her selfishness.
The fact that God can work good, even in our sin, does not in the least excuse our sin (Romans 6v1-2). Sin is, well, sin. It's never OK to sin. Judas Iscariot was, of course, wrong to betray Jesus. But because he did, and Jesus was crucified, our sins are forgiven. Did Judas pay for his sin? Oh yes!
And despite Sarah's sin, God would look after Ishmael, and "make the son of the maidservant into a nation also".
Have you experienced the pain of rejection and cruelty from those who should most love you? Take comfort in God's love and in Paul's words:
Romans 8v28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according
to his purpose.
But that doesn't mean that sin is OK. It just means that God is so wise that he can bring good out of evil. As Joseph said to his own brothers:
Genesis 21v11-10
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good...