Genesis 21 · The Lantern

The Birth of Isaac

And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had spoken.

For Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

And Abraham called the name of his son that was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.

And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.

And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born to him.

And Sarah said, God has made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.

Isaac means "laughter" or "joy." Who is it, then, who begets such a son? It is doubtless he who said of these whom he begot through the gospel: "For you are my joy and crown of glory." For sons of this kind, there is a feast and great joy when they are weaned, for these who "no longer need milk, but strong meat, who by taking up their power have their senses exercised to the di…

In our father Isaac or the origin is sufficiently expressed, either by grace or by glory: to whom all glory redounds, that he was born to Abraham, a reward for such a worthy and admirable man. Nor is it surprising, since he preceded in the figure of the Lord's generation and passion.

Come now, today too, dearly beloved, let us take up the thread of yesterday's remarks and thus set before you this spiritual meal so that we may once more come to learn, as you heard yesterday, the good God's ineffable care and considerateness and the patriarch's remarkable obedience and gratitude. Do you see how the birth of Isaac made Sarah joyful?

And she said, Who would have said to Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.

And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.

Sarah Turns against Hagar

And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born to Abraham, mocking.

Spiritually, therefore, all indeed who come to the recognition of God through faith can be called sons of Abraham; but among these some cling to God on the basis of love, others on the basis of dread and fear of future judgment.

See, I ask you, dearly beloved, in this instance once again Sarah not tolerating the brashness of Ishmael and unable to put up equably with the maidservant's son being reared with Isaac. So just as she previously wished to check Hagar's arrogance and in her extreme irritation had her sent packing, so in this case too she wanted to nip Ishmael's forwardness in the bud.

And when Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian playing, she said to Abraham: "Expel this slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac." Some manuscripts have: "The son of Hagar the Egyptian playing with her son Isaac," which does not appear in the Hebrew; but whether he was playing with Isaac or in the presence of Isaac, Sarah di…

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, even with Isaac.

Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.

Then Sarah, who showed no envy in any matter that concerned herself, became envious in this matter concerning her son. She was not envious of Hagar whom she had given to her husband.

For the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with my son Isaac. Which the Apostle states as with the son of the freewoman, because in no way should false teachers, who affirm that this grace benefits us only if we are also consecrated by circumcision according to the rite of the law, be received with the preachers of the truth, who proclaim that we should be saved by the grac…

And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son.

And God said to Abraham, Let it not be grievous in your sight because of the lad, and because of your bondwoman; in all that Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac shall your seed be called.

And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is your seed.

And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

Let us see what Abraham does meanwhile after Sarah is displeased. He casts out the bondwoman and her son, but nevertheless he gives him a bottle of water. For his mother does not have a well of living water, nor could the boy draw water from a well. Isaac has wells for which he also suffers strife against the Philistines, but Ishmael drinks water from a bottle.

But was the just Abraham inhumane in that he did not even supply Hagar and the boy with a donkey, with all the cattle he possessed? Some say it was a gesture of kindness, so that she would not have to look after the donkey; others say that he did this believing that God would protect the boy. But why does he throw her out in the first place?

(Verse 14) And he 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. When Isaac was born, Ishmael was thirteen years old. And after he was weaned, he was expelled from the house with his mother.

And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.

And God heard the voice of the lad; and 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.

Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in your hand; for I will make him a great nation.

And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.

After this, when already he had been abandoned as dead and had wept, the angel of the Lord is present with him "and opened Hagar's eyes, and she saw a well of living water."How can these words be related to history? For when do we find that Hagar has closed eyes and they are later opened?

Mindful of this, let us, I beseech you, shun the harm of this passion and with all our might exterminate it from our own souls. This, after all, is more deadly than all other passions and undermines our very salvation, being in fact the invention of the wicked demon.

Abraham took it very hard when Hagar fled from him, though he had sent her off at God's command. Similarly it was a great cause of sorrow to the holy apostles and evangelists when Israel fell. However, they were separated from them, not at all willingly but because of God's will and out of love for Christ.

And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

The Covenant at Beersheba

And it happened at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spoke to Abraham, saying, God is with you in all that you do:

Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son: but according to the kindness that I have done to you, you shall do to me, and to the land in which you have sojourned.

And Abraham said, I will swear.

And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away.

And Abimelech said, I know not who has done this thing: neither did you tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but today.

And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them to Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.

And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.

And Abimelech said to Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?

And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shall you take of my hand, that they may be a witness to me, that I have dug this well.

Therefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they swore both of them.

Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.

And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.

And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines’ land many days.

Genesis21

The Birth of Isaac

Sarah Turns against Hagar

The Covenant at Beersheba