It’s About God/Jesus: Genesis 21:1-21

“Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (Jn. 20:30-31, NASB).

My all time favorite movie is “The Ten Commandments” produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille in 1956. The movie stars Yul Brynner as Raamses and Charlton Heston as Moses. When I think of The Ten Commandments I think of the ten laws that God gave to the Hebrew people to live by in order to serve the Lord faithfully. I have a home version and I watch it every now and again. I will not attempt to tell about all the things that make this movie my favorite because this is not the purpose of this article. I had watched this movie at least three times, maybe more, before I realized that the purpose of this movie is to promote freedom for all people. The movie wants to point out God‘s desire that all people live as free people in the world. The Ten Commandments were given by God to the Israelites so that they could demonstrate to all the nations how we should live together in order that all people can be free. Although Moses and Raamses are the main characters that we see in the movie, the main character that we do not see with our eyes is God. This article is written to give an example of a biblical story with human stars, but the main character not seen with the physical eye is God. We will begin with the story recorded in Genesis 21.

The story in Genesis 21 is about Abraham and his wife Sarah. The story also includes Sarah’s slave Hagar and her son Ishmael who is the son of Abraham. I have heard a few preachers reference this story. Most of the preachers that I have heard preach from this text have used it to make points about how a rich couple misused a slave girl to satisfy their needs and desires. The last sermon that I heard preached from this text was about how in blended families the adults make decisions and do things that end up hurting their children. Those in society that are disadvantaged and taken advantage of as Hagar was are encouraged to know that just as God heard Ishmael and Hagar, God will hear them too. God provided for Hagar and Ishmael and God will provide for you.

There is a lot of truth in the story about God’s provision for the oppressed, but the main purpose of the text is not sociological. Rather, the text is about God. This story like all stories in the bible is really about God. I believe that it is the responsibility of the preacher and teacher to show how the story fits into God’s plan of salvation. How does this story fit into what God said to the serpent in the garden and what Jesus did when He died on the cross. While many personalities play a prominent role in the stories of the bible, the purpose of the story is that we see God. We can learn much about how God’s people ought to live in covenant relationship with God, but the main issue is not how people act. Rather, we need to see God for who God is. We need to see God as more than a God that provides us with the things that we desire. We need to see God in such a way that we can believe in God; His grace, mercy, compassion, and His love for us so that He gave His Son to die on the cross that we might be saved from our sins and be reconciled to God (John 3:16; Romans 5:8). So how does the story in Genesis 21 fit into God’s plan to save us from sin so that we might have eternal life?

In Genesis 1-3 we learn that God created the heavens and the earth and everything in the earth. God created man, male and female to have dominion over all the earth. They were to take care of and further develop the things that God had created. The serpent deceived the woman and the man joined in with the woman in disobeying the commandments of God. God drove the man and the woman from the garden and blocked the entry into the garden. The man and the woman were separated from God, but God had a plan to reconcile with them. Notice what God said to the serpent. “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel” (Gen. 3:15, NASB). Notice the locations of the bruising. The seed of the woman strikes the head, a strategic place to kill. The seed of the serpent bruises the heel, able to cause pain and even suffering but not sufficient enough to cause death. This prophesy is about the Messiah that suffers and dies a cruel death by crucifixion, but He is resurrected from the dead. So, how does our story fit into the plan of God to save us from our sin? Why are the slave woman and her son put out of the house? We will return to this question later. For now, let us return to our featured story.

The story in Genesis 21 is not a sociological text. It is a theological text. It is not about how the people were treating each other. It is about how God keeps His promise even when we mess up. It’s about God’s sovereignty. What does sovereignty really mean? It means that God is in control of everything. It means that God’s plans cannot be altered or resisted. Although we see sociological implications in the story, its purpose is to show us how God continues to carry out His plans stated to the serpent in the Garden. God’s plan for the arrival of the woman’s seed was begun with Abraham and his wife Sarah. When we look at what the Lord said to the serpent we realize that it is not the seed of the man that God intends to use. Rather, it is the seed of the woman. Thus Abraham responds according to the flesh. Sarah responds according to the promise (See Gen.18:9-18).

The story in Genesis 21 shows us that God uses human conventions to work with His plans to bring about the Lord’s purpose. God does not need to eliminate the plans of men to bring about His purpose. Paul states it this way: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, and to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28, NASB). Did you catch that? Sarah may not have been right according to the ways of man. In fact, we can see that there is a competitive relationship between Sarah and her maid (See Gen. 16:4-6). Sociologically, it is true that their competitive relationship is seen in the children. “Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham mocking” (Gen. 21:9).

Because of what Sarah saw, “she said to Abraham, ‘Drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son Isaac” (v. 10). When Abraham protested, “God said to Abraham, ‘Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named” (v. 11). Sarah is mindful of the Lord’s promise made to her. “Then the LORD took note of Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had promised” (21:1, and see Gen. 18:9-15). In spite of human intentions, God is sovereign and His purpose will always be brought to fruition. So, let us see how this story is connected to the crucifixion of Jesus for our salvation.

Again, let us be reminded that the Lord said in the garden that it was the seed of the woman that would bring about our salvation. Now, let us look at some things recorded in the New Testament about Jesus. In his gospel, John begins by telling us that the Word was God and the Word created the world. The Word was made flesh and lived among men (Jn 1:14). How did the Word become flesh? We find the answer in the gospel of Matthew and the gospel of Luke. In Matthew 1:18-25 the author records that a virgin becomes with child before she has sexual relationships. The Holy Spirit caused the pregnancy and Joseph was given the responsibility to be husband to the virgin and father to the child. Luke records that the angel Gabriel visited the Virgin Mary before she was married to Joseph, and the angel told her that she would give birth to a son by the Holy Spirit (Lk. 1:26-38).

Jesus was born and did the work of His Father. He fulfilled the Law. He made the will of the Father known; that God extends salvation to all people. Jesus heals, forgives, and restores people’s health and their relationship to God without cost. It is the gift of God by grace extended to all who believe in Jesus. Paul explains these things when he writes to the church in Galatia. “And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also. But what does the Scripture say? ‘Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman. So then brethren, we are not children of a bondwoman, but of the free woman” (Gal. 4:28-31, NASB). Hagar, the slave woman gave birth to a son out of requirement because of the desires of Abraham and Sarah. Sarah gave birth to a son out of her freedom according to the promise the angel made to her. What’s the point?

The story in Genesis 21 continues God’s prophesy that He made in the garden in regards to the enmity between the serpent and the woman. All through the bible there are many characters in the stories. However, the story is not about the characters in the bible. The bible is God’s story. Regardless of the story that we are using, we must show our audience God. The bible is not trying to teach us sociology, politics, economics; not even the age of the earth and the processes by which the earth and life on the earth has been changing and evolving through the years. Rather the bible tells us about God the creator of all that is. This God is sovereign and everything that He plans and promise comes to past. The books cannot contain all that God has said and done. We are given enough so that people might believe in Jesus and have life. It is the duty of the preacher and the teacher to focus on how the bible story fits into God’s plans and purpose to save people from sin so that God and humanity can be reconciled to each other.