God's Big Picture: Genesis 21

CIT: It is true that we see God’s grace in times of joy, but Scripture makes it clear that we grow in grace best in times of suffering.

Abraham & Sarah Rejoice

Abraham & Hagar suffer

Abraham Suffers

How Can We Profit from Suffering?

Abraham & Sarah Rejoice

God finally provides Abraham and Sarah with their promised child!

After waiting roughly 25 years from the time of leaving Ur in Genesis 12, God has provided an heir to Abraham, the one through whom God will continue his world redemption plan.

It is made clear that this was an act of god, not a coincidence.

Genesis 21:1-2 make this clear, that YHWH visited Sarah so that she could conceive, and that it happened just as God had promised Abraham.

There are no coincidences in God’s world redemption plan. Everything has happened and will happen just as God has ordained. And this should be a comfort to us! This should cause us to rejoice when these incredible things happen in our lives!

There is an old hymn that I’m reminded of in this moment. It’s called “Count Your Blessings” and it goes like this,

“When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed, when you are discouraged thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done. Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your blessings and see what God has done.”

Abraham & Hagar Suffer

Because of tension between Ishmael and Isaac, Abraham is told to send Hagar and Ishmael away.

At a feast for Isaac Ishmael was making a scene, we don’t know what it was but it wasn’t good apparently because Sarah tells Abraham to send Ishmael and Hagar away.

Abraham is sad that he has to send away his son.

Abraham didn’t want to do this and he was very disheartened by it.

Hagar is sad because she thinks her son is going to die.

While Hagar and Ishmael are in the wilderness wandering they have run out of water and Ishmael is about to die, so Hagar utters what is the first prayer of supplication in Scripture. “Let me not look on the death of the child.” Genesis 21:16

God comforts them both

God tells Abraham in Genesis 21:11-13 that he needs to send them away because God is going to bless Isaac, not Ishmael. Also, he need not be disheartened because God is still going to bless Ishmael by protecting him and giving him a great lineage, but redemption will not come through him.

God comforts Hagar by saying that her son will not die and that he will be made into a great nation. He also provides for them in their needs.

Abraham Suffers

Abraham’s well was taken by Abimelech’s servant’s

Abraham had the best thing ever happen in his life, the birth of Isaac, but then almost immediately after he had to send away his other son, and not his property is being stolen by Abimelech’s servant’s.

Abraham must give up some of his prized possessions to keep his well

Abimelech has to make a covenant/treaty with Abimelech in order to get his well back. In order to do so he has to give away some of his best livestock

He used sheep and oxen for the covenant ceremony, these needed to be the best of his sheep and oxen.

Then he gave him 7 ewe lambs in order to make Abimelech swear that he would not take Abraham’s well again.

that well was the literal source of life for Abraham

The reason that this well is so important to Abraham is because he lives in a desert and water is scarce. These wells are the literal source of life, and to lose a well is to lose your life. So he was literally fighting for his life there in Genesis 21:22-32

How Can We Profit from Suffering?

Believe in God’s good purposes

Romans 5:3-5

God has a good purpose in our trials, so we must determine to rejoice even in our suffering.

Rely on God’s power

2 Timothy 1:8-9

If you are anything like me, the minute you find yourself in a corner, you begin trying to figure out how you are going to get out. Instead, you and I should be saying, “Lord God, by the grace of your Son, Jesus Christ, I’m your child. You care more about me than I care about myself. You care better for me than I care for myself. Help me. Guard my heart. Make sure that I don’t try and find a way out of this mess and make things worse that they already are. I know that I can trust rely on you.”

Approach suffering like a good soldier

2 Timothy 2:3

A good soldier who has trained and trained is not surprised when he finds himself in war! He has been trained for it. Likewise, consider it your mission to be prepared to suffer.

Participate in Jesus’ suffering

Hebrews 2:10, Acts 9:4

If we are going to benefit most from our suffering by God’s grace, we must consider that we are being drawn into the experience of Jesus christ, for he himself was perfected in suffering.

The Church’s sufferings are Jesus’ sufferings. When you suffer you are participating in the sufferings of Christ!

Remember you are not alone

1 Peter 5:9-10

You are not alone in your suffering. In fact, when you begin to contemplate the suffering that has been and is being endured by your bretheren, it is utterly humbling.

Pray without ceasing

James 5:13

Suffering will be lost on us, if it does not drive us into that arms of Jesus.

Learn and sing the great songs of suffering

Genesis 21:33

Abraham’s life was permeated by the worship of YHWH. So, in his suffering he took the time to worship God, and we should do the same.

Consider the song, “It Is Well With My Soul” the lyrics read, “When peace like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.” This song was written because Horatio Spafford, the author, was going to sail from America to England, but was delayed, so he sent his wife and three daughters first. When his wife and three daughters were on the boat it sank just off the shore from England and all four of them drowned and died. When Horatio was sailing to England after them the boat stopped where the first one had sunk so Horatio could mourn, and in his mourning he wrote that it was well with his soul.

We sang In Tenderness to remember that God has sought us out and saved us by his grace alone. We sang the Doxology to remember that we should praise God from whom all blessing flow, which includes the blessing of suffering. And we are going to finish with the song He Will hold Me Fast to remind us that while we are suffering and we fear that our faith in God may fail he will hold onto us, for he loves us so and will protect us in our suffering.