Sermon for June 21, 2020 (24 Minutes)
Notes
Transcript
Sermon for June 21, 2020 (24 Minutes)
Sermon for June 21, 2020 (24 Minutes)
This morning I'll be reading Genesis chapter 21 verses 8 through 21.
I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.
Genesis 21:8-21
The title of this part of scripture in my Bible Knowledge Commentary is "The birth of Isaac and the expulsion of Ishmael."
Genesis 21:8-21
8 The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw the son mocking —the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham. 10 So she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave will not be a coheir with my son Isaac!” 11 Now this was a very difficult thing for Abraham because of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be concerned about the boy and your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac. 13 But I will also make a nation of the slave’s son because he is your offspring.” 14 Early in the morning Abraham got up, took bread and a waterskin, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her and the boy away. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beer-sheba. 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I can’t bear to watch the boy die!” So as she sat nearby, she wept loudly. 17 God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What’s wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy from the place where he is. 18 Get up, help the boy up, and support him, for I will make him a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the waterskin and gave the boy a drink. 20 God was with the boy, and he grew; he settled in the wilderness and became an archer. 21 He settled in the Wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning.
Let us pray:
Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.
-----------------------------------------------------------
As most of you probably know,,, today is Fathers day.
It's a day set aside to honor our fathers.
It's also a day that took many years to get recognized as an official day by congress because they used the excuse that they didn't want it to become so commercialized.
Mother's Day has been officially recognized since 1914 but Father's Day wasn't recognized until 1972 when Richard Nixon signed it into law making the 3rd Sunday in June the official day to recognize fathers.
There has been a lot of talk about the good effects that mothers have on children when they are growing up,,, and rightly so,,, but,,, hopefully we are beginning to realize the lack of involvement that so many fathers have had in their children's lives all over the world today,,, and the hurt that has caused in their life.
Hopefully as the years go on,,, that will continue to improve.
But this day was set aside to celebrate the things that our fathers do for us today,,, or have done in the past,,, or,,, if they have passed,,, then it's done in remembrance of what they have done.
Unlike our heavenly Father,,, who makes no mistakes,,, fathers today,,, are like fathers in the past,,, they are all human and prone to make mistakes.
We as human beings must live with the good and the bad.
Just as fathers today make good and bad choices sometimes,,, Abraham made some of the same choices.
In the scriptures that we read this morning,,, he is having to deal with some of the decisions that he has made.
Lets begin in verse 8 as we look at what happens in these verses.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Verse 8 says: 8 The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned.
God provided the child of promise to Abraham and to Sarah … at the very time,,, just as God had promised.
As Isaac became older and it was time for him to be weaned,,, we aren't told what age this was.
The Bible does not indicate Isaac’s age when he was weaned.
In some cultures children receive nourishment from their mothers up to differing ages.
In most of the commentaries that I read,,, most of the Jews weaned their children at 3 years of age.
When the day came for Isaac to be weaned, Abraham held a great feast.
And it was at this feast that we have the events that we read about in verses 9 and 10.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Verses 9 and 10 say: 9 But Sarah saw the son mocking —the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham. 10 So she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave will not be a coheir with my son Isaac!”
My Study Bible says during the party,,, however,,, Ishmael was mocking Isaac.
It used Galatians 4:28-29 as the example,,, where Paul wrote that he understood this to mean Ishmael was persecuting Isaac.
In Galatians 4:28-29 it says: 28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But just as then the child born according to the flesh persecuted the one born according to the Spirit, so also now.
Paul used this as an example of the persecution that we,,, as Christians,,, will still go through today.
Then my Study Bible showed that “drive out”,,, is the same word,,, interpreted from Hebrew in both instances,,, used to describe the expulsions of Adam from the garden of Eden found in Genesis 3:24 and Cain being banished after killing Abel found in Genesis 4:14.
(Hebrew - garash)
It says that God used this incident of Ishmael’s mocking Isaac to “drive out” the child Ishmael and Hagar,,, since they might be a threat to the promised seed.
We can see from the next verse that Abraham worried about doing this.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Verse 11 says: 11 Now this was a very difficult thing for Abraham because of his son.
This is where we begin to see that Abraham is beginning to recognize that,,, maybe,,, his choices are going to cause problems for his family.
It's also obvious that he apparently loved and cared for Ishmael and God knew that this might cause problems in the future.
When Abraham became distressed because of Sarah’s request to drive out Hagar and Ishmael,,, God assured Abraham that Ishmael would have a future because he too was Abraham’s offspring,,, we see this answered in verses 12–13.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Verses 12 and 13 say: 12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be concerned about the boy and your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac. 13 But I will also make a nation of the slave’s son because he is your offspring.”
God’s guidance and comforting assurances enabled Abraham to do the wise thing.
Because Ishmael was Abraham’s offspring, God would not allow the child to die in the wilderness; instead, God would make him a nation.
And even though Isaac was not Abraham’s firstborn,,, the patriarch’s offspring would be traced through his descendants.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Verse 14 says: 14 Early in the morning Abraham got up, took bread and a waterskin, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her and the boy away. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beer-sheba.
In years past when I would read this verse,,, I always envisioned Hagar going off into the wilderness with the child on her shoulders,,, maybe you have had this vision also.
It was only after studying these verses in detail later in my life that I realized that wasn't true.
When I read this verse in this translation it is worded differently than the King James Version,,, which reads: 14 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 Beersheba.
My Holy Bible with a Commentary and Critical Notes says: "Ishmael could not be carried on his mother’s shoulder if his age is considered.
Ishmael was born when Abraham was eighty-six years of age,,, that's found in Genesis chap. 16:16.
Isaac was born when he was one hundred years of age,,, found in Genesis chap. 21:5.
Therefore Ishmael was fourteen years old at the birth of Isaac.
Add to this the age of Isaac when he was weaned,,, which,,, from verse 8 of this chapter,,, we decided was probably three,,, and we find that Ishmael was at least seventeen years old; an age at which, in those primitive times,,, a young man that was able to gain his livelihood,,, either by his bow in the wilderness,,, or by keeping flocks as Jacob did.
It doesn't really change any of the meaning of the scripture,,, but is does give an example of where it might be good to use other translations to help explain a passage of scripture or bring something else to light.
I usually use my Holman Christian Standard and the King James Version in my immediate Bible study but I will use other versions just to see how they have that verse translated.
And let me also say that I always check,,, or try to check,,, everything against my King James Version for accuracy since that is what I grew up using.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Verses 15 and 16 say: 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I can’t bear to watch the boy die!” So as she sat nearby, she wept loudly.
Apparently,,, according to my Holy Bible with a Commentary and Critical Notes,,, Hagar must have missed the well that Abraham sent her to and therefore wandered about in the wilderness seeking more water,,, till all she had brought with her was used up.
We may therefore safely presume that she and her son were sufficiently provided for their journey, had they not missed their way.
Travelers in those countries take only enough provisions sufficient to carry them to the next village or encampment; and water to supply them till they get to the next well.
In this verse,,, Ishmael appears to be utterly helpless,,, and this seems to confirm our earlier suspicions that he was a very young child but we know from the earlier math that this couldn't be the case and it is cleared up this way,,, again by my Holy Bible with a Commentary and Critical Notes.
It says that:
1. Young adults don't hold up as well as adults do in these types of environments.
2. They require much more fluid because of the larger amount of heat in their bodies,,, strongly marked by the impetuosity of the blood; because from them a much larger quantity of the fluids is thrown off by sweat and insensible perspiration, than from an adult.
3. Their digestion is much more rapid, and hence they cannot bear hunger and thirst as well as the others.
It says that by using these examples,,, Ishmael must be much more exhausted with fatigue than his mother.
Although Hagar must have been in bad shape herself because she appears to have given up until she hears the voice of the angel of God in the next verses.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Verses 17 and 18 say: 17 God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What’s wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy from the place where he is. 18 Get up, help the boy up, and support him, for I will make him a great nation.”
My Faithlife Study Bible says when the angel spoke in this verse,,, the question may have been a little bit of a rebuke,,, since God had previously told Hagar that her son would become a great nation in Genesis 16:10–12.
That promise is repeated in verse 18.
Unlike Isaac,,, though,,, Ishmael is not promised territory,,, only a multitude of descendants.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Verse 19 says: 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the waterskin and gave the boy a drink.
In one of my commentaries,,, it stated that Abraham had prepared the food and water for them and more than likely would have given precise directions so that they could make it to the next well before running out of water.
Apparently they had lost their way and had given up hope.
We are the same way sometimes.
God gives us directions but we get busy with life or whatever comes our way and we lose our direction.
Sometimes we must hit rock bottom before we can begin to hear the voice of God again,,, like we should have been hearing it,,, all along.
Another commentary said that Hagar had stopped close to the well but because she had given up,,, she wasn't able to see the blessing that was right in front of her.
We allow our personal feelings to get in the way of blessings sometimes because of our lack of faith.
We need to remember that God is in control,,, and if we trust in Him,,, He will always do what's best,,, and give us what we need.
Just like He did for Hagar and Ishmael that day.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Verses 20 and 21 say: 20 God was with the boy, and he grew; he settled in the wilderness and became an archer. 21 He settled in the Wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
God blessed Ishmael throughout his growth into manhood,,, because he was Abraham's son.
He became an expert with a bow.
In Isaiah chapter 21 verse 17,,, it talks about the mighty men of the children of Kedar,,, these were descendants of Ishmael that were expert archers.
If you go back and look at Genesis 25:13,,, Kedar is a son of Ishmael.
So we know that God fulfilled his promise to Abraham for Ishmael,,, just like He did for Isaac.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Which brings us to the end of these verses,,, and we can see once we study the rest of the life of Ishmael and Isaac that they eventually resolved their differences,,, if they had any.
We know that,,, because of the burial of Abraham in Genesis 25:9.
In this verse they buried their father together in the same cave where Sarah was buried.
But because Abraham chose not to listen and have faith in God,,, he was robbed of being able to share and observe many years of Ishmael's life.
He was forced to deal with the loss of his son in what seems to us a terrible way.
This serves as a reminder that even though God still loves us when we make mistakes,,, there are still consequences that can occur because of those mistakes.
All throughout the Bible,,, we are shown over and over,,, men that loved God and God loved them,,, but their mistakes are written down so that we can learn from them.
This was one of those times.
We can take this information and apply it to our lives today to help us see that the decisions we make today can have a negative impact on our tomorrow.
We can also see that even when,,, or if,,, we do make mistakes,,, God still loves us,,, even though we might still have problems to deal with later for the poor choices we make today!
That's the main lesson that we can see in just about every lesson if we look close enough,,, because God's love is always there no matter what.
We all need to learn from these scriptures,,, and since it's Father's Day,,, father's especially need to pay attention.
Remember that what we do today has consequences that reach sometimes far into the future!
And if those choices involve mistakes,,, we must answer for those,,, but God's love is always there to see us through,,, no matter what!
-----------------------------------------------------------