Genesis 21: The Birth and Early Life of Isaac

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The Birth of Isaac

So, we left off reading verses 1-2 in Genesis 21 which say:

Genesis 21:1 And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. 2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

Let’s pick it up at verse 3 now and read until verse 34:

3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. 6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. 7 And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age. 8 And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.

9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. 10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. 11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son. 12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. 13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.

14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. 15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. 16 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 deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God. of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. 19 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. 20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. 21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

The Joy of Fulfilled Promises

Alright, back to verse 4:

4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. 6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.

In verse 6 Sarah hearkens back to Genesis 18:12 but where laughter there was due to apparent incredulity she seems to use the word “to laugh” here to express joy and happiness.

7 And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age. 8 And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.

Significance of Weaning

The verb “to wean” from the Anglo-Saxon “awendan” means “to convert, transfer, turn from one thing to another, which is the exact meaning of the Hebrew Word. Here it means to turn a child from feeding from the mother to feeding on solids.

In the Apocryphal book of 2nd Maccabean 7:27, we read a speech from a mother to her son where she says, “O my son, have pity upon me that bare thee nine months in my womb, and gave thee SUCK THREE YEARS, and nourished thee and brought…

The Concept of Weaning in Faith

From this and the fact that 2nd Chronicles 31:16 has Hezekiah making provision for the Levites and priests and he includes the children from three years old and up it is commonly believed that Hebrew children were weaned at three years of age where the Quoran fixes the year for Muslim children at two. The event is significant in the life of human beings and should be important to believers. In humanity, it can be difficult “to convert, transfer, turn from one thing to another.”

We see this in babes trying to quit Mom or the bottle. We see similar difficulty that many young folks face in leaving the comforts of mom and dad and facing or turning to living lives of mature adults. As important as it is in human life, for anyone seeking to truly worship the living God in spirit and truth, the necessity of weaning from the milk of the word cannot be overstated. I mean how many people refuse to be weaned from the milk of their childhood faith? How many see this act as a sign of strength and how many people refuse to be turned from what has become comfortable for them religiously or theologically in order to grasp the meatier matters of the faith? Billions.

The Story of Isaac and Ishmael

Anyway, getting back to Isaac:

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

Paul later calls this mocking, “persecuting.” The Rabbi’s suggest that Ishmael was mocking Isaac because of the age of his mother and the famous Hebrew scholar Jonathan ben Uzziel and the Jerusalem Targum say that Ishmael performed some sort of idolatrous rite on the occasion, and that this had greatly offended Sarah. Whatever it was it served to move Sarah to remove both Hagar and her son from the safety of the camp. Talk about another “weaning,” right?

10 Wherefore she (Sarah) said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.

The word “gawrash” in Hebrew can be read harshly because it does mean in many places “to be driven away harshly” or to expel with force.” Because of this both Sarah and Abraham have been accused of cruelty. However, in Leviticus 21 we read the following:

14 A widow, or a “divorced” woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife.

The Hebrew word for divorce here is gawrash. See, the child of Abraham by Hagar might be considered as having a right at least to a part of his inheritance. But Sarah also knew now more than ever that God wanted the inheritance to go to her son, Isaac for this was the line of promise. Therefore Hagar and Ishmael had to go.

Choosing the Eternal Over the Temporal

This brings us to a place that we have to make a decision within ourselves – and it is often not an easy one – will we choose to see the things of God as having supremacy over the things of this temporal existence. I guarantee you, more and more in our world, this choice will be constant for those who seek – especially in light of our Old Testament studies.

See, God has “the long view of all things in mind. As people are wont to say, he sees the beginning to the end and operates on principles that will accommodate all factors and needs and purposes along the way. If we are going to pursue knowing Him we must come to this conclusion about Him – with the greatest evidence being that He allowed His only Human son to be sorely mistreated then dying a miserable death. From a purely humanistic point of view, the barbarism He allowed to be carried out on His Son is utterly unconscionable, and some reject the sacrifice on this basis.

And that river of tears has the capacity to run all the way down through every war, every earthquake, Tsunami, every case of cancer, and in the untimely death of every child. Admittedly, the pain of human existence can be utterly horrific and there really are no words – except one. Faith. Or Trust. Or the eternal view. We have gotten to the point today where faith is the F word and fists are raised toward the heaven every time a person’s feelings are confronted by biblical truth not to mention physical and emotional.

God’s Plan for Ishmael and Isaac

My point is, God is love, God is in control of His purposes and we please him when we walk in faith and look to Him from this position. From a purely humanist perspective, what Sarah asks Abraham to do to Hagar and Ishmael is heartless and cruel. She is literally stripping them from receiving any inheritance from Abraham and sending them forth to the desert to potentially die.

In his old age, Abraham, who loved his son Ishmael, has a hard time with this, as we read:

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

Now, it seems like Ishmael was probably 17 years old at this point because Isaac was probably 3 and all accounts point to Ishmael being 14 years older. So, it’s not like they are sending them away when he was an infant this time. But Abraham was close to Ishmael and it was hard on him to do (verse 12):

12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

So here we have a flip flop in scripture as Sarah was THIS time right in her advice to her husband, and Abraham is told by God TO listen to her.

God's Promise to Abraham's Sons

To me, this decision was about the end-game of God being put into full effect and in order for that to happen, Isaac alone could only be the inheritor. But God reiterates a promise to Abraham, saying:

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

In other words, God seems to be saying, “leave him in my hands, Abraham. He is your son and I will make him a great nation." So again, whatever was going to come from Abraham God was going to bless – whether of the bondwoman or of the free. Remember, God is establishing the ultimate material religionA fulfilled system of temples, rituals, and laws—replaced by direct spiritual relationship. on earth and to keep it right and in line, there could not be two chosen sons or two heirs. Just one. But God would be mindful of the other son too.

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

Hagar and Ishmael in the Wilderness

The language sounds dry and hard but I doubt it went down this way. The word “bread” means food or provisions, and I am sure that they were well fortified. That means that Abraham certainly gave them enough water as well and I’m sure that he also gave them directions. However, it could be that these things were not sufficient and Hagar and Ishmael got lost or missed-heard the directions to the next well. Desert travelers then typically only took enough provisions to get them to the next village and if we misinterpret that Ishmael was just a child, like it says, the scene can be wrongly interpreted. Verse 15:

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

The word “cast” here is not rightly translated, but it lends to the idea that he was an infant or child. Not so. It ought to read, “she sent him to rest under one of the scrubs.” Verse 16:

16 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.

From all of this, it seems that Ishmael may have been in bad shape, perhaps physically exhausted but apparently dehydrated – whatever it was, he was crying out or praying to God too.

17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.
19 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.

The scholars say…

God's Ways and Human Actions

that when it reads that he opened her eyes it best means he simply showed her where the next well was and tells her that she was to lift up the lad with her hand, meaning to aid him in getting to that place. Again, we have God commanding, God providing but him telling Hagar to act – which she does. And then God says that “he would make him a great nation.”

God has His ways. They often involve sorrow, they typically involve faith and sometimes it seems like He allows or is involved in heartless activity. We will get to a huge example of this next week but I maintain that in the face of freewill, and a non-despotic God, pain, and suffering comes with the overall plan and our decision is to either trust, turn from him or hate Him.

Biblical Narrative Continuity

Verse 20

20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. Some are of the opinion that this act that Abraham and Sarah took against His first son from the Egyptian woman was the basis for the Egyptians later putting the offspring of the chosen Son Isaac into bondage for 400 years. Something to think about. From verse 21 to 28 we enter into another or a continuing story with Abraham and Abimelech who we talked about last week.

21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt. This is generally allowed to have been a part of the desert belonging to Arabia in the vicinity of Mount Sinai. And we find Ishmael gaining a wife from the homeland of His mother – one she appears to have hand-picked. Now last week we were introduced to the philistine King named Abimelech who took Sarah and was told by God to return her to her husband. Apparently, Abraham and Sarah are now residing in the Kingdom of Abimelech, a philistine land. We are not sure if this was a continuation of last weeks engagement or if this is something brand new but it seems like it is something brand new with very few details.

The Covenant with Abimelech

Let’s read through the text then talk about the events before wrapping our time up today.

22 And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest: 23 Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned. 25 And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away. 26 And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day. 27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant. 28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. 29 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves? 30 And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well. 31 Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them. 32 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. 33 And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God. 34 And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines' land many days.

Alright back to verse 22 where we read:

22 And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest: 23 Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.

This appears to be an oath or covenant established.

The Covenant Between Abraham and Abimelech

Between them once Abraham was settled in that land. And remember it was a blood oath or covenant that they would share between them if Abraham agreed. (verse 24)

24 And Abraham said, “I will swear.” 25 And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away. Of course, wells are of great importance in those hot countries, and especially if there were large flocks like Abraham had. Apparently, Abimelech’s servants had taken a well from Abraham's or they actually destroyed a well he was using or dug.

26 And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but today. So, it seems that Abimelech's servants acted without his knowledge or authority and from last week’s account Abimelech appears to be just and good and so this clears his name.

The Significance of Offerings

27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant. Some suggest that in a typical offering of generosity Abraham provided the animals that would be divided in the making of the covenant established between these men as a sign of unity and goodwill. Remember, covenant literally means, “to cut,” as they would cut or divide an animal in two and then walk between the separate pieces before the Lord.

28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. We aren’t sure if these ewe lambs were given as a gift or were part of the covenant between them. It appears that this was Abraham offering up all of these things to get the right to the well he dug and that was taken away by Abimelech’s servants (as proven by the next three passages).

29 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves? 30 And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.

The Naming of Beersheba

31 Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them. Beer-sheba literally means “the well of swearing or of the oath.” 32 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.

Verse 33 is a remarkable verse all things considered though at first glance it seems pretty basic. Here we go

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

Symbolism of Groves

The original word for grove could mean a grove, a plantation, an orchard, a cultivated field, or even a single oak. It is believed, because of ancient writings (including passages from scripture) that this was probably an oak grove. I’ll explain why and it is truly fascinating. Before I do I want to suggest that for every truth from God there probably exists a counterfeit in this world. I really believe this and am such a mystic that I believe these counterfeits can exist either before God’s revelation of them and or after.

The existence of mirroring events like the Adam and Eve story replicated in other tales, the flood story being seen in other cultures or other things happening in place or people around the world before Ancient Israel or Yeshua means little to me – especially since Satan took control of this world at the onset of the creation of Man. Many people get dislodged from the faith when they learn about ancient stories of fallen angels from heaven from places other than the Bible, Garden stories, flood stories, and Savior stories too.

If there is a kingdom of GodGod’s spiritual reign—fulfilled and present, not political or future., light, and truth and there is an opposing kingdom of Dark lies, it seems only reasonable that one of the best counter-punches the dark has to the truth is a great counterfeit. I’m not a very big fan of counterfeits. Whether in music, art, or film – unoriginal untrue false replacements sort of tick me off. It’s like comparing cold fluorescent light to the sun and its rays and warmth.

So, let me bring all of this rambling together. Gardens and groves are important in the true history of God and His people (as we see here in Abraham planting a grove) but they are also important in counterfeit events.

In other words, they are a place of comfort (depicting paradise) but were also a place of great idolatry. God says

The Oaks and Pagan Practices

In Isaiah 1:29:

Isaiah 1:29 For you shall be ashamed of the oaks in which you delighted; and you shall blush for the gardens which you have chosen.

Isaiah 57:3: But you, draw near hither, sons of the sorceress, offspring of the adulterer and the harlot. 4 Of whom are you making sport? Against whom do you open your mouth wide and put out your tongue? Are you not children of transgression, the offspring of deceit, 5 you who burn with lust among the oaks, under every green tree; who slay your children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?

Isaiah 66:17 God says, "Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating swine's flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, says the LORD.”

Oaks in History and Worship

So, in verse 33 we read:

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

Pagan practices in the oak or wood are believed to occur there too because they often, protection from the elements, wood to carve into idols, secrecy and other intriguing references. For instance, in very early ancient Greece we see that the oracle of Jupiter was worshipped in “the oaks of Dodona.”

Then among the Romans, we also have Jupiter worshipped in the oaks. So, relative to verse 34 we have either the pursuit of the true and living God (as per Abraham) or the pursuit of idols – which are, in other words, counterfeits to the TRUTH.

Perhaps some of you have heard of Bohemian Grove, where men of power gather and engage in either pseudo or real pagan worship today from a Sonoma California location. Truly there is nothing new under the sun. The counterfeit lies in the fact that Abraham planted a grove and called on the everlasting God and pagans gather too in groves and call upon their fabricated Lords.

Druidic and Mistletoe Beliefs

But the weirdness doesn’t end there. I discovered the following by just following this line of thinking and without getting too deep or impugning anyone wrongly, the ancient Druids are said to get their very name from oak trees and their worship in and of them as the word Druid literally means "oak-knower" or "oak-seer" and hearkens all the way back to pre-70AD Roman author Pliny the Elder who referred to them as Oak Prophets and said,

"The druids hold nothing more sacred than the mistletoe, and the tree on which it is produced, provided it be the oak.”

It’s interesting because mistletoe is a parasitical plant and does not thrive unless on a tree and to the Druids this tree must be an oak tree. They believed that mistletoe “came down from heaven,” “having no life of its own” once it landed and possessed tremendous powers relative to both healing and fertility. The fact that it would grow on the tree without an earthly origin caused them to believe that the tree was chosen by God and they would take it and incorporate it in their feasts and sacrifices under the canopy of oak trees around them.

According to ancient history, they would bring two white bulls in under the trees and tie them together at their horns. Then a priest dressed in all white would climb the tree and with a golden pruning hook cuts off the mistletoe, which would fall from the sky and land on a spread out white linen sheet below. They regarded the white berries of the mistletoe as symbols of male fertility, with the seeds resembling semen. The Kelts, in particular, saw mistletoe as the semen of Taranis, while the Ancient Greeks referred to mistletoe as "oak sperm." In Roman mythology, mistletoe was directly used by the hero Aeneas to reach the underworld. Anyway, an Oak Prophet Druid would then sacrifice the bulls, praying that God would bestow a gift on all involved.

Reflections on Mistletoe

A parallel has been made to Christ as He is seen as the one that came down from heaven, who was hung on a tree, whose body was cut off, dropped into a linen wrap and is used to heal. The Romans associated mistletoe with literally “peace, love and understanding” and hung it over doorways to protect their households. All reflections of the true type in my estimation. Of course, today mistletoe today is associated with Christmas but not with Christ. It was really interesting to me that the order of plant that mistletoe comes from – I’m not kidding – is SANTA-LALES. Of course, mistletoe continues to have ties to reproduction even in the innocence of

The Power of the Truth

People kissing under it and in 1952 it became a huge topic of pop Christmas.

It is interesting that Jethro Tull’s song, Ring Out, Solstice Bells says, Join together 'neath the mistletoe, By the holy oak whereon it grows Seven druids dance in seven time Sing the song the bells call, loudly chiming.

I pay little attention to the power of the counterfeits but do believe they surround us. I suggest that the Truth is literally the only defense against them sucking us in and taking us captive and that is something all people have to willingly and arduously pursue.

A Reflection on Abraham

Our final verse of the chapter (verse 34) reads

34 And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines' land many days.

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October 30th 2022 we covered Paul’s comments on this extensively