January 31, 2013
GOD FULFILLS HIS PROMISES, ON HIS TIME, FOR OUR GOOD.
Genesis 21:1-21
Matt Bush
Central Truth
God always makes good on His promises. Faith in this truth always brings joy, and this joy is contagious. We need to share it!
Key Verse | Genesis 21:6
Sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me." (Genesis 21:6)
Genesis 21:1-21
The Birth of Isaac
1 The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised. 2 And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. 1 21:3 Isaac means he laughs 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” 7 And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
God Protects Hagar and Ishmael
8 And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing. 2 21:9 Possibly laughing in mockery 10 So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” 11 And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named. 13 And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.” 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17 And 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? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 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 boy a drink. 20 And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
Dive Deeper | Genesis 21:1-21
In Genesis 18, God promises Sarah the son she desperately wants, even though she is well past her child-bearing years. She laughs with disbelief.
In Genesis 18:14, God asks Abraham, "Is anything too difficult for the Lord?" Romans 4:19-21 tells us that Abraham was steadfast and unwavering in his faith: "Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform." We find out in Genesis 21 that God fulfills His promise to Sarah and Abraham when their son Isaac is born. This time Sarah laughs out of joy with God. She notes that those who hear her story will share her joy.
We all should strive to have the unwavering faith of Abraham. Despite his initial reservations, Abraham was obedient to God's will for him.
In reality, most of us are more like Sarah. Even though we know God's goodness, we sometimes doubt His plans or His timing. But Sarah received her son as promised, on God's time. And after Isaac was born, part of God's plan for Abraham's family was that his son, Ishmael, could no longer remain with the family. Yet, as promised, God provided for Ishmael as well. The angel of God said, "Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him." (Genesis 21:18)
Romans 8:28 and Jeremiah 29:11 remind us of God's good and perfect plan for us. At the center of this plan is Jesus, the embodiment of God's promise to us. As believers, we have joy in our relationship with Him, and this joy should be contagious.
Discussion Questions
1. Abraham's faith and obedience led him to make tough decisions. How do you discern God's plan for you?
2. Do others see your contagious joy in your relationship with Jesus Christ?
3. Has there been a circumstance in your life when God's plan was not immediately apparent, but the circumstance later worked to strengthen your relationship with Christ? Have you been faithful to share this story with others and give God the glory?