God Always Remembers

Here in The United States, it is Memorial Day Weekend. Memorial day being the day that we have, in theory, set aside to remember those who died to procure and preserve our freedom. It’s also the unofficial beginning of summer. Not surprisingly, more people mark summer’s beginning than some stranger’s ending. We end up saying things like “we remember” but we really don’t. We are exceptional at forgetting.

Fortunately, God is not like us; He always remembers.

As we continue in Genesis, we see this play out in another dark chapter.

The Birth of Isaac, Genesis 21:1-7

Genesis 21:1–7 NKJV

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. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac. 4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 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.”

The promise that God made to Abraham and Sarah was finally fulfilled: Sarah had a son in her old age.

This has been the desire and should be the main point

Instead this is one of three events in this chapter, and it really serves to set up the next event

Like so many things in life, when we finally get what we want, or have been promised, it’s a little more common than we might have hoped

The Ejection of Hagar

A Petty Mistress, Genesis 21:8-11

Genesis 21:8–11 NKJV

8 So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned. 9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. 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.” 11 And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son.

And we almost grimace as we read, this i s not really the kind of drama we are comfortable with. It certainly paints unflattering picture of Sarah.

Abraham was stuck in the middle: Ishmael was his son and he loved him, Sarah was his wife (and presumably, he loved her), and she wanted Ishmael—and his mom—gone. Isaac was his heir even though he was newborn, so Ishmael suddenly had no real role in the family.

An Indecisive Master, Genesis 21:12-13

Genesis 21:12–13 NKJV

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.”

A Hard Road Forward, Genesis 21:14-16

Genesis 21:14–16 NKJV

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. 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.

There is simply no way to defend the treatment Hagar received. The provisions listed here are so meager as to be insulting. Abraham, no doubt at Sarah’s prompting, allowed them the clothes on their back and not enough food and water to get much of anywhere.

Hagar is within her rights—from our view—to be distressed, she had been used, abused, and disposed of.

How old was Ishmael, aka “the boy”? Genesis 16:16

Genesis 16:16 NKJV

16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

If Abraham was 100 when Isaac was born, that leaves us with a boy that 14 years old and approaching, if not functioning, as a man. Hagar might have been a bit overprotective.

And, as long as we’ve ventured back to Genesis 16, that is the chapter where Hagar first found herself separated from the family. A chapter in which she was in need and God provided. A chapter in which God gave her a glimpse into the still future destiny of her son.

A Prayer Heard, Genesis 21:17-18

Genesis 21:17–18 NKJV

17 And God heard the voice of the lad. 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.”

Hagar was likely crying…it seems reasonable. Ishmael, however, seems to have learned from his father and was praying. We don’t know the substance of that prayer, but Hagar received the answer and was reminded of God’s promise: a promise that He had not forgotten.

A Resource Revealed, Genesis 21:19

Genesis 21:19 NKJV

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.

A Story Summarized, Genesis 21:20-21

Genesis 21:20–21 NKJV

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.

The Covenant with Abimilech, Genesis 21:22-34

While significant in its own right, the real drama in this chapter focuses around Hagar and Ishmael.

I especially love the question God posed to Hagar in verse 17: “What ails you Hagar?”

God had made a promise. Ishmael could not have received the promise God had made if he died. And if he did not receive the promise God had made, God would be a liar. So clearly Ishmael had to live.

Hagar’s reaction reflects something about her:

She forgot God’s promise

She did not believe God’s promise

She did not understand God’s person

I’m not saying her life was easy. Nor am I saying that our live are easy. But the same God that made promises to Hagar has made promises to us. What ails us? Why do we sometimes live in such open drama and panic? Same things.

This Memorial Day will come and go like so many others. We will say we remember, but really we forget. The great news for us is that God always remembers.