Birth of Isaac and a Treaty

Genesis 21

Isaac arrives into lives of Abraham and Sarah, and Sarah gets things her way.

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 [he laughs] 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.”

And now Sarah makes Abraham choose favorites between his two sons.  And his son Ishmael becomes persona non grata in this portion of the story - having his name wiped away.

And Sarah gets part of her demand incorrect - Ishmael will share in the inheritance of Abraham - the blessing of many offspring.  

The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. 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 woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.”

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 slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.”

Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba.

When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she began to sob.

God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”

Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.

And, as God promised, Ishmael will be the father of 12 kings.

This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Sarah’s slave, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraham.

These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: 

• Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, 
• Kedar,  (father of the Qedurites, ancestor of the Quraysh tribe, and thus Muhammad)
• Adbeel, 
• Mibsam, 
• Mishma, 
• Dumah, 
• Massa, 
• Hadad, 
• Tema, 
• Jetur, 
• Naphish, 
• Kedemah. 

These were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers according to their settlements and camps. Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people. His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur. And they lived to the East of all the tribes related to them.

And then the king who God threatened to kill (due to Abraham and Sarah's lying) makes a treaty with Abraham - asking for fairness and kindness. It also sounds like Abemelech is becoming aware of God. I found it strange the king didn't offer a counter-point to Abraham's pledge. Maybe Abemelech thinks his actions towards Abraham and Sarah provide evidence for his side of the pledge.

At that time Abimelek and Phicol the commander of his forces said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do. Now swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants. Show to me and the country where you now reside as a foreigner the same kindness I have shown to you.”
Abraham said, “I swear it.”

Now, since we're BFFs, let's deal with problems concerning water rights.

Then Abraham complained to Abimelek about a well of water that Abimelek’s servants had seized. But Abimelek said, “I don’t know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I heard about it only today.”

So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelek, and the two men made a treaty. Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock, and Abimelek asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set apart by themselves?”

He replied, “Accept these seven lambs from my hand as a witness that I dug this well.”

So that place was called Beersheba,[Well of Seven or Well of the Oath] because the two men swore an oath there.

After the treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelek and Phicol the commander of his forces returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord, the Eternal God. And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.

Planting the tamarisk tree is an indication that Abraham intends to settle in this place awhile, and make it seem more like home. The high country of Canaan between Bethel and Ai had tall trees that provided coolness and shade.  The tamarisk tree is called the salt ceder in North America.  At night, moisture collects in the cool air and the water vapor adheres to the salt particles excreted on branches and needles and forms droplets. In the morning tiny droplets of water appear on the needles. As the morning sun warms the air, the water droplets evaporate and cool the tree and the shady area below it. The water droplets are most plentiful after a humid night and generally evaporate before noon.

I think the tree is also a witness statement from Abraham. With the coming of Isaac, Abraham finally has the evidence that confirms God's promises in his life.  Like the tree, Abraham will now stand firm in his place in God's will.  Abraham's change, his new stance, as well as God's providence for Hagar and Ishmael, foreshadows God's word to his people through Ezekiel:

“But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die. None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live. Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?

The prayers in this chapter are again shown as God's outreach to people.  We see God clarifying his will through Sarah, and stilling the emotional conflict inside Abraham.  Later, God sends an angel to comfort and support Hagar and Ishmael, and then God opens her eyes to the water which will let her live.