God is Faithful and Merciful – Genesis 21:1-21
Bethel Baptist Church – David Rising
Genesis 21:1-21; August 9, 2026 Sunday PM
God is Faithful and Merciful
We come at last to the narrative that tells of the birth of Isaac, the promised son.
We just covered in the AM service the text in Romans 4 that speaks about God’s promise to Abraham. That promise hinged on the birth of this son.
Much has taken place between the time of Abraham’s 75th birthday to the events here in chapter 21. He and Sarah have grown in in their walk with the Lord through various experiences.
In verses 1-8 of this chapter we will see a focus upon Isaac. In the final verses, 9-21, there will be a focus on Hagar and Ishmael.
The larger context of these verses is the focus upon our God who is faithful and merciful.
May the Lord teach us afresh tonight some of the most basic lessons of our Christian walk with Him. Pray.
1. Isaac (1-8)
21:1 And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. 2 For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
This reads so easily and simply, and it tells us what the Lord had said over and over would take place. God did visit Sarah, just as He had said. God did for Sarah what He had promised.
Sarah conceived and bore a son. Verse 2 puts the birth of Isaac within the context of Abraham, as the promise was made to him, though of course it clearly involved Sarah. God made that very clear in chapter 18 and really also in all of the instances where the promise was made.
When the LORD visits, He acts. This word ‘visited’ (פָּקַד) is the same one we see in 1 Samuel 2:21 where the LORD visits Hannah who then conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. God comes to her, visits her, pays attention to her.
One of the most obvious yet profound characteristics about God is the fact that He keeps His Word. He is faithful. We are not always like that. There was a day when our word was about the most important thing we could have with others. Now, it takes signatures and lawyers to do what a handshake and a promise of old would have done.
God had over and over by sign and reminder told this couple that they would have a son. To have a son meant a family and a future.
In Genesis 17:19 we see God tells Abraham that the name of this son would be Isaac, laughter. God would establish His covenant with him and his descendants after him, not with Ishmael.
3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac.
Just as God said, Abraham followed. He is Isaac. Laughter. Here we are, in our advanced age, parents of this infant.
And now, just as God had told him to do, so now Abraham obeys:
4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.
God did what He said He would do, and Abraham did what God commanded Him to do.
Life is much better when we observe what God calls us to do.
Remember, circumcision was established as a sign of the covenant – a reminder of what God would do. And so, this ritual was a symbol of what Abraham and his offspring should do.
Now we see their age:
5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.” 7 She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.”
Earlier, when God had told Abraham that his wife Sarah would give birth, she laughed. It just did not seem possible that they would have this son, especially at their age.
But there they are, a couple 90 and 100 with an infant.
It was 25 years earlier that God had made the promise. Twenty-five years is a long time to wait, especially for conception and the birth of a son.
Sarah’s response to the birth of Isaac seems more tame this time. We say sometimes about a situation: sometimes you just have to laugh. God surely has a sense of humor, as this story shows.
God has a way of accomplishing His will in very unusual ways.
Verse 7 is very human in that Sarah thinks out loud and says what everyone would be thinking: nursing a baby at the age of 90 is not normal!
But there Isaac was, and there they were. God has given them Isaac and so He will provide what is needed.
Notice now beginning in verse 8 that there were some interesting family dynamics. Remember there was another mother and son in the same household:
2. Departure of Hagar and Ishmael
8 So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned.
Verse 8 incorporates a bit of time here. This did not happen on day 9. Scripture so often beautifully compresses time and gives us the essential details.
How old was Isaac now? Perhaps three or four, but precision is not the point here (since we are not told). We see a celebration as this was a blessed time in this family.
Let’s just say four years are covered in verse 8, and now we see things change:
How would Hagar and Ishmael react to all of this?
2. Ishmael (9-21)
9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing.
Notice that Ishmael is not named, but the relationship is highlighted. This son of Hagar, son of Abraham, is now reaction by scoffing (מְצַחֵֽק).
Interestingly, this word for scoffing is the same related word for Isaac, for laughter. There is laughter that is light and cheerful, and there is also laughter that is scoffing and scorn.
This is scorn.
It is as if Isaac – God’s name – is now being twisted and turned upside down. KJV and NASB translates it as “mocking”. ESV leaves it as “laughing” and the context seems clear that this is the kind of laughing that is sneering.
Paul in Galatians 4:29 interpreted this as persecuting him.
When Ishmael was born, Abraham was 86 years old (16:16). Abraham is now 100 years old (21:5), which would make Ishmael 14 years old and Isaac 3 or 4 years old.
Some interpret this “scoffing” as “playing” and even potentially see it as some kind of abuse or mistreatment.
Whatever it all was, Sarah was a bit concerned and reacts in verse 10:
10 Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.”
She tells Abraham to drive them out. Cast them out. This is the same term we saw in Genesis 3 & 4 when God banished Adam and Cain. We see it also later in Exodus when Pharaoh expels the Israelites. Sarah does not want Hagar and Ishmael around.
Notice Sarah refers to Hagar as ‘this bondwoman and her son’ without using their names. This description does not put Hagar as Abraham’s other wife, and she wants Ishmael to have nothing to do with their son, who is named, “Isaac.”
We should remember, however, that it was Sarah’s idea in the first place to give Hagar to Abraham as a wife for the purpose of having a child, but that was a long time ago.
Things have changed, and now Sarah wants nothing to do with them. And so for a second time, we see Hagar and Ishmael pushed out. In chapter 16, the first time, Ishmael was in Hagar’s womb. Now he is 14 years old.
Notice how Abraham reacts to this in verse 11:
11 And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son.
The focus here is Hagar and Ishmael, and so Abraham’s displeasure was about the departure of his son, Ishmael. Regardless of all of the issues going on here, the fact remains that he is Abraham’s son. For Abraham to hear his wife wish him out was a hard thing for him to hear and take.
Sarah’s real concern was that somehow Ishmael might stand in some kind of legal position to become heir, as she notes in verse 10. She did not want to take any chances, and so she asks Abraham to send them out with their bags packed.
Cuneiform law indicates that the son of a slave woman had a legal claim on his father’s property. If that custom forms the backdrop to this story, then Sarah is asking Abraham to commit an illegal act. This may also explain why Sarah uses the verb gāraš, which, as we noted, can be a term in the OT for divorce. Ishmael is not just a slave girl’s boy, but the son of Abraham’s second wife. Sarah is pushing for Ishmael’s disinheritance, however contrary it may be to legal principles.[1]
[1] Hamilton, V. P. (1995). The Book of Genesis, Chapters 18–50 (p. 80). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Now the Lord steps in with words for Abraham:
12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called. 13 Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.”
The Lord calms Abraham’s heart and reminds him again of the promise. Whether or not Sarah was acting out of her own concerns, the Lord tells him to listen to her voice.
This is interesting because if we compare the Adam and Eve story, we see that Adam got into trouble because he listened to Eve’s voice as she led him down the wrong road.
Here, God says that sending away Hagar and Ishmael is not going to jeopardize their future. God had already, by the Angel of the Lord, spoken with Hagar and had promised her son a future.
Though his future would be conflict, nevertheless he would have a future. In other words, he would not perish if he or they left the confines of the Abrahamic estate.
It is interesting that Abraham shows concern about Ishmael, but does not mention Hagar.
In Sarah’s order to remove them, we also still can hear in Sarah’s understanding the concern still that Isaac could be the son who gains the inheritance. God had said repeatedly it would not be Ishmael, but she is still working to ensure that he is not.
The Lord calms Abraham’s heart and assures him again that Ishmael will have a future.
Indeed, he would become a nation, just as the Angel of the Lord had told Hagar in 16:10.
This was a very tense household, but the Lord had given His Word, and so it would now be up to Abraham to enact what Sarah had said.
14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba.
It would seem that Hagar and Ishmael are sent away with very little: bread, some water, and off they go. Perhaps this was all happening very rapidly, and so there was no time to invite servants and others to go along.
They pack up these little items early in the morning, and off they go. Teenager Ishmael carries the water and they end up in the Wilderness of Beersheba. This is west of the southern end of the Dead Sea, about midway between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
Notice now in verse 15 what happens to their water:
15 And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. 16 Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, “Let me not see the death of the boy.” So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept.
Some critical bible scholars who believe the Pentateuch was written by different people see in this story of Hagar and Ishmael a retelling of the same story as in chapter 16. But I think the content and flow is clear that this is a different episode.
Hagar sees the end coming as they have run out of water. Verses 15-16 are very sad verses as we see this mother thoroughly despondent. She can’t bear the thought of seeing her son die, and so she puts him at a distance. There she sits, crying out.
But notice, she is not alone:
17 And God heard the voice of the lad.
Notice it is the voice of the lad God hears, and so apparently they both were crying out for help.
Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18 Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.”
God’s angel responds to the cry of the lad by asking Hagar what ails her. What troubles you, Hagar (ESV)? Without a recorded response here, we see the Lord’s assurance that she should not fear. Fear not, for God has heard. God has heard the cry of this young boy, 14 years old.
God has His care set upon Ishmael and Hagar.
Remember, the name Ishmael was given in a similar context of difficulty, and the name means God hears. And so here again, she is reassured that God has heard.
Names mean something in these OT stories, and they remind us of what God has promised.
Earlier, on her first departure from Sarah, God had made the promise that she would bear a son and he would have a future. The implications of a nation were only barely there in chapter 16, but now she hears that Ishmael would be father and God would make him a great nation – very similar to Abraham.
Therefore, for God’s promise to be realized Ishmael would not be able to die without him first becoming the father of more children who would carry forward the lineage so that God’s promise could be fulfilled.
Hagar was thus comforted in knowing that her son would not die.
Even in this storyline, which is not the Abrahamic promise storyline, we have God keeping His promise to Hagar even though we would characterize that whole scenario as apart from God’s promise to Abraham.
Even in paths that include our straying, God is God and makes blessings out of our messes. If I didn’t believe that, I would get very depressed.
God provides, and notice how he does for this pair out in their desperate time:
19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink.
God saw. God comforted. God acted. God gave her eyes to see His provision. Now she looks and does not see death in the near future, but she sees a well God provided.
Was the well there before? Did God somehow magically create a well that was not there when they first arrived? I think not. I believe that she just could not see it.
God opened her eyes so she could see.
What a beautiful picture of what God does in our lives. We are blind to so many things, and He graciously and mercifully opens our eyes to see. How many times have we looked at a passage of scripture and could say that we understood it, when in reality it really passes right over our head with our bumper sticker explanations? How many times have we told the truth to our unbelieving friends, and they just cannot see it?
God is at work in our lives to mold and shape us into the image of His Son. God is the one who opens the eyes of the lost so they can see the truth of what God has said and done.
Hagar fills her skin and gives her boy drink and he survives. Notice how Moses concludes this narrative:
20 So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. 21 He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
Verses 20-21 entail not just one day but many years. It is the final scene of a book that wraps up the account. God provided water and also gave to Hagar and her son a future.
Verse 20 tells the story of this story: it is all about God. Yes, it includes the actions of these people, but the loudest storyline we grasp in all of this is what God so graciously does.
God was with the lad. He grew and lived in the wilderness and grew to become an archer. The place of their exile – the wilderness – now becomes his home (Hamilton). Paran (verse 21) is south of Beersheba (verse 14) where they ended up running out of water and potentially perishing.
In Genesis 16:12 Hagar was told that he would become a wild man, and that his hand would be against every man and that every man’s hand would be against him. And so, that would now begin as he got older and as his family grew.
It is no surprise that mom found for Ishmael a wife from among the Egyptians, for that was her home territory. Verse 9 says Hagar was “the Egyptian”. Notice that finally Hagar is noted not as the slave or this Egyptian, but “his mother”.
As we think of Genesis 21:1-21, we have the record of the birth of Isaac as well as the departure and future of Ishmael. What can we glean here for us today?
1. God does as He says. We should never grow tired of hearing this lesson, and this story teaches us this once again. As the Lord had promised, so He brought it to pass. Isaac was born. As the Lord makes promises, He will bring them to pass. Doubting God will keep His word is the pathway of destruction and hopelessness. May we never doubt that His word is true.
2. We should do as God directs us. As God has directed, so we should obey. This son was to be called Isaac, and Abraham gives him this nam0e. On the eighth day he was to be circumcised, and Abraham did it just as God had said. God is faithful, and so may we be to our God. Such a basic lesson, but it is the essence of our daily walk. And it is on this point that we constantly stumble. We want to do our own thing, but may we see the wisdom and blessing of obedience to the word of God.
3. God’s blessings often are accompanied by circumstances that stretch our faith. Think of all of the situations that Abraham and Sarah faced as they saw this promise unfold for 25 years. God promises, and then there is Egypt and lying. God promised, and then there is Lot and his capture by the coalition of kings. God promised, and then there is Hagar and Ishmael and plenty of tension. God promised again, and then we rescue Lot again from a city that God would destroy. We also see Abraham and Sarah and their conflict with Abimelech, and yet God’s promise did not evaporate. Now Isaac is born, and there is still tension with Hagar and Ishmael. Think of your life: God answers your prayer, and then difficulty comes up again. But God is faithful and helps us see the light. And then another problem comes, but God continues to help. This is the Christian life.
4. In all of the matters of our life, God is ever faithful. He is gracious and kind to us, even to those who are not of God’s promise. God sends the rain upon the just and the unjust. He is always worthy of our praise and high respect.
May we always remember the lessons of these timeless stories of God’s faithfulness to His people.