"well and tamarisk tree near the outer wall of Beersheba" https://dwellingintheword.wordpress.com/2014/09/30/1412-genesis-21/
"Sarah bears a son to Abraham. The name of their son is Isaac. Abraham is 100 years old when Isaac is born, and Isaac is circumcised at eight days old. Sarah has negative feelings towards Hagar and Ishmael. At Sarah's request, Abraham sends Hagar and Ishmael away. Hagar and Ishmael leave and wander in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. Hagar thinks that she and the boy will die, but God opens her eyes and she finds a well of water. They both survive and settle in the wilderness of Paran. Ishmael becomes a great archer, and he marries a woman from Egypt."
Reading from the Amplified Bible (AMP) version..
- "The Lord graciously remembered and visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for her as He had promised. So Sarah conceived and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham named his son Isaac (laughter), the son to whom Sarah gave birth. So Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, just as God had commanded him." v.1-4
- "Now [as time went on] Sarah saw [Ishmael] the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking [Isaac]." v.9
- "So Abraham got up early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her away. And she left [but lost her way] and wandered [aimlessly] in the Wilderness of Beersheba." v.14
- "God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy from where he is [resting]. Get up, help the boy up, and hold him by the hand, for I will make him a great nation.” Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the [empty] skin with water and gave the boy a drink." v.17-19
- "Therefore that place was called Beersheba (Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), because there the two of them swore an oath. So they made a covenant at Beersheba; then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, got up and returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord [in prayer], the Eternal God. And Abraham lived [as a resident alien] in the land of the Philistines for many days." v.31-34
My personal observations and reflections...
- PROMISE FULFILLED. What joy it must have been for Abraham, and Sarah! Especially Sarah who was "barren", and both she and Abraham are very OLD. What a MIRACLE! This is a display of God's awesome powers to fulfill His great plans. As if this is not yet breathtaking and unbelievable, God will even more astound us in how He will send His only begotten Son Jesus here on earth, through his (earthly) mother, Mary.
- SIBLING RIVALRY. I think this is not surprising-- if siblings have the tendency to get envious with one another, how much more with step-brothers; like Ishmael towards Isaac. Considering that Ishmael's mom is only a slave/maidservant to Sarah, the original wife. Ishmael is an unwanted and illegitimate child. Isaac is the only true and one heir to his father Abraham.
*Bible Footnotes: Genesis 21:9 Ishmael was old enough to know better than to ridicule or tease his much younger brother, and his behavior was inappropriate and thoughtless.
- GOD COMFORTS ABRAHAM. It is amazing how God will comfort and assure us of His presence and help in times of troubles. God said "Do not be distressed" to Abraham because He's got him! Hagar and Ishmael being banished from Abraham's household seems the right thing to happen, eventhough it must have been hard or heartbreaking to Abraham.. It needs to be done, so Abraham follows God's commands to send them away, trusting God that He will take care of them both.
*Bible Footnotes: Genesis 21:14 Ishmael was born when Abraham was eighty-six years old (Gen 16:16), so Ishmael was about fourteen when Isaac was born, and about sixteen or seventeen years old when Isaac was weaned (Gen 21:8; 2 Chr 31:16).
- GOD'S FAITHFULNESS. When Hagar has no water left, and she lost all hope, we read that God heard them, saw their afflictions, and rescued them by providing a "well of water." God is indeed faithful, in all His promises. What He already said, He will do.
I also thought-- God is always there constantly helping and providing for us-- still, we can choose not to honor and serve and follow Him.. I'm not sure if Hagar had no choice left, but it seems she just went back to where she came from, Egypt, and even "took a wife for him (Ishmael) from the land of Egypt." After being with Abraham and his household for a pretty long time, Hagar goes back to pagan culture.
* "Arabs trace their lineage back to Abraham through Ishmael." https://dwellingintheword.wordpress.com/2014/09/30/1412-genesis-21/
- COVENANT WITH ABIMELECH. Abimelech is not a God-worshipper but he fears the God of Abraham, so he makes sure Abraham and him are on the "right". “God is with you in everything you do; so now, swear to me here by God that you will not deal unfairly with me [by breaking any agreements we have] or with my son or with my descendants, but as I have treated you with kindness, you shall do the same to me and to the land in which you have sojourned (temporarily lived).” And Abraham said, “I will swear.” (v.22-24)
Abraham did the right thing by telling Abimelech "about a well of water which the servants of Abimelech had [violently] seized [from him]." Abraham is just a resident alien living in the land of Philistines, temporarily, but even if he knows that God promised to give it all to him and his descendants, ONE DAY,-- Abraham did the right thing not to retaliate and just tell it to the leader.
- SEVEN EWE LAMBS. Just want to point that number 7 again. Abraham has learned a lot from God's covenant and His faithfulness, and so he applied it in his own life too. To make sure that the new well is dug by Abraham and his people, Abraham made an agreement/oath/covenant as well with Abimelech, as his witness. To show how Abraham is truly set apart from the Philistine land he is temporarily living in, the Bible even mentions that "he called on the name of the Lord [in prayer], the Eternal God." Now that is great faith and endurance in trusting God for everything!
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