Genesis 21 Commentary
Isaac is born. He is circumcised on the 8th day as per instruction.
The LORD does a couple of strange things. He agrees with Sarah. Secondly, the LORD God ignores Hagar’s crying; instead, He attends to Ishmael’s. And Isaac is one child and not children. What a way to take off on a mission to countless descendants! You cannot win against God!
Yes, Ishmael isn’t born under proper circumstances but the LORD knows Ishmael is Abraham’s son. Men with similar circumstances must know God has His own list of each man’s children, whether he accepts them or not.
The trouble of polygamy comes to the fore. To Abraham, all are his children. The women don’t share the same view.
The great feat, whose idea, Sarah’s or Abraham’s? And why wasn’t there such feasting when Ishmael was weaned? The two women at war! Probably Ishmael feeds from her mother’s resentment. See what complications we introduce into our families because of our poor decisions!
A great feast in terms of food but not joy! Sarah’s joy is cut short by Ishmael’s mocking. Words come out of Sarah which cannot make anyone happy – Of course, not Hagar. Abraham is in the middle of the battle, helpless and distressed by everything. You cannot arbitrate in this family without burning your fingers!
But this confusion won’t affect God’s grand plans. Isaac remains Isaac and Ishmael is driven out. And the LORD God agrees. But should Abraham send them off empty-handed? Not even enough supplies for the long trip? Whatever is happening to Abraham!
The LORD God knows Hagar’s name. He intervenes. Ishmael will have his own place in history. His birth isn’t a mistake; the LORD God knows best. We leave it there.
In Abraham, we see a normal man with family conflicts and other social issues. He reacts like any other normal man. Of course, the LORD God does intervene but not always directly. We have also taken note of the “lies” by Abraham. We shall see how Jacob will break this record! These founding times are important for the nation in its infancy.
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