In Genesis 21:2, little Isaac the miracle baby is born. Sarah is ecstatic: “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age” (7).
And when nursing time was over, “Abraham held a great feast,” so he was ecstatic too, at this impossible little marvel squirming away in his one hundred year old arms.
But joy soon turned into despair, one of those awful things that happens in this life of ours, like the disintegration of a child’s marriage after the joy of the wedding. Or the exciting plans for expanding the family business and then the loss of it all because of the pandemic lockdown. Or the joy of winning a race after years of dedicated preparation, only to be told you’ve been disqualified for stepping out of your lane.
For Abraham, joy turned into despair when Sarah got in a right huff when she saw Ishmael, “the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham, poking fun at Isaac” (9). Ishmael by this time was a strapping lad in his mid-teens, but not being the only treasured son anymore had likely soured his view of his younger brother. Jealousy can ignite cruelty, so it’s not surprising that Sarah turned fierce in protecting Isaac.
She cornered Abraham and spat out the words, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son” – not a very nice thing to say, when Ishmael was also Abraham’s son – but then Sarah’s surprising statement, “for that slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac” (10).
Prophetically she was spot on, because the promises God made to Abraham would be continued through Isaac, not Ishmael – but Abraham loved Ishmael, so Sarah’s demand that he throw his son out of the family home “distressed Abraham greatly” (11).
Joy had turned into deep despair. Which is when God as Elohim, the mighty Creator and Director of his creation, tells Abraham, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you.” In other words, “Don’t panic – it’s a mess, yes, but I can work round it,” much like driving in the wrong direction and the car’s navigation system sorting it out for us. Because this is how God reveals himself to Abraham: “I can sort it out, so don’t be so distressed” – an example of which we see next in “The tender God in action”….(next blog)
Buck To Basics 