A Word about a Child of Promise

Today in our series “Family Business” we will see God fulfilling His promises to frail human beings in the middle of family drama as I comment on Genesis 21:1-21. Let’s begin by reading Genesis 21:1-7,

The Lord came to Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what He had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time God had told him. 3 Abraham named his son who was born to him—the one Sarah bore to him—Isaac. 4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears will laugh with me.” 7 She also said, “Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne a son for him in his old age.”

The birth of a child is usually a joyous event.  It is joyous because we see the potential in that young life.  We see a child who has promise and we want to encourage that child to achieve that promise.  Our encouragement can sometimes have unintended consequences, however:

A teacher was trying to encourage her students to catch a vision for what they might become.  Time and again she told them, “You can be anything you want to be!”  Then, she asked them to share their expectations with the class.  One child wanted to be a policeman, another wanted to be a doctor, and a third wanted to be a soldier.  The teacher was flabbergasted by her fourth student’s response.  That little girl stood up and said: “When I grow up, I want to be a lion.”  The teacher replied, “A lion? You can’t be a lion, you’re a person.”  “But,” the child fired back, “you said we could be anything we wanted!” As Art Linkletter used to remind us, “Kids say the darndest things!”

As we continue to observe people conduct their family business in the Scripture, we come to the birth of a child, who was also a child of promise.  Let’s begin by considering verses 1-7.

The Promise to Sarah:

Every person has emotional and spiritual needs. A list of ten common emotional needs among people includes: Acceptance, Appreciation, Affection, Approval, Attention, Security, Comfort, Encouragement, Respect, and Support. A common mistake we make in our interpersonal relationships is to assume that our priority needs are everyone’s priority needs. Jesus did tell us to, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” but in that case He meant that we should want to bless, affirm, and enrich others in principle, but not necessarily in detail.

For example, my wife enjoys eating yellow crookneck squash. I dislike yellow crookneck squash to the point that I wish that that species had never been created! Therefore, my wife would have a vastly different reaction to being presented a steaming helping of that food than I would. She would feel appreciated, but I would feel nauseated. Well, that would be hyperbole, but I certainly would not appreciate a dish of yellow crookneck squash as much as she would.

What was Sarah’s need? She needed personal fulfillment. She needed to resolve an emotional deficit in her life. She needed to feel personally useful. She needed a baby!

Again, not every woman, and not every couple, need a child. Gone are the days when people needed to have children so that they would have extra hands to work the farm. No, as my brother-in-law said, “In today’s world there is no logical reason to have children. The only reason to have a child is to share your love.” The Social Security Administration might argue the point in general, but in terms of individual couples, my brother-in-law had a point.

Sarah needed a child for her own reasons, but she also needed a baby to fulfill God’s promises to her, and He obviously did so, even if she had doubted Him. Both she and Abraham did doubt God, but, in no surprise to us, God was faithful and in doing so, He fulfilled His promises and Sarah’s need. 

Sarah had her baby and named him Laughter!  She rejoiced and shouted with happiness, which reminds me of the actress Sally Field receiving her Oscar and shouting, “You like me; right now, you like me!”

God not only fulfilled His promise to Sarah, but He also fulfilled His promise to Abraham as we see in verses 8-13,

The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw the son mocking—the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham. 10 So she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave will not be a coheir with my son Isaac!” 11 Now this was a very difficult thing for Abraham because of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be concerned about the boy and your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac. 13 But I will also make a nation of the slave’s son because he is your offspring.”

The Promise to Abraham: 

At this juncture we must realize that every event that is included in the Bible is meant to be there, but it may not be included to give us a model to follow. In fact, many Scriptural passages are there to give us an example not to follow, and also to issue to us a warning.  For example, it is a common plea among pastors for their congregation to become a New Testament Church. That sounds great until you read 1st Corinthians, James, and the first three chapters of Revelation. These passages might give a different impression of what a New Testament Church might be like.

This passage is one of those which you must consider carefully with the help of the Holy Spirit. Abraham and Sarah had failed to trust God, and they had done a foolish and sinful thing.  People often do things because they can, without asking if they should. In that day it was perfectly legal to create an heir by requiring a female slave to have a master’s child. It was legal, but it was also wrong. And in this case, the result was familial chaos. 

Abraham had been called of God to serve God by being the father of a great people. That had not happened yet, and Abraham was frustrated. He needed to fulfill God’s will for himself. I understand that frustration. I was called to the ministry in college, yet I waited 8 years to become the pastor of a church.

We all have a need to play our parts in God’s Kingdom.  God has a mission: to reconcile sinful humanity with Himself. God has established His people as a tool to make that happen. God has given us a commission and He has equipped us for His work. We need to be about the Father’s business, but we don’t need to get ahead of Him

Despite Abraham’s rash actions, God fulfilled Abraham’s need as well, He provided Isaac, a son of promise, and He was going to use Isaac in His plan. From Isaac came the nation of Israel and from Israel came Jesus. From Jesus comes the promise of reconciliation with God for all of us!

So far, so good, but there are other people in this story as well. Let’s continue by reading verses 14-21:

Early in the morning Abraham got up, took bread and a waterskin, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her and the boy away. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beer-sheba. 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I can’t bear to watch the boy die!” So as she sat nearby, she wept loudly. 17 God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What’s wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy from the place where he is. 18 Get up, help the boy up, and support him, for I will make him a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the waterskin and gave the boy a drink. 20 God was with the boy, and he grew; he settled in the wilderness and became an archer. 21 He settled in the Wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

The Promise to Hagar: 

Next, we see someone with some acute and immediate needs, Hagar. She was totally innocent of wrongdoing over the birth of her son, because, tragically, she had no say in the matter at all. Her life was completely in the hands of Abraham and Sarah, and all she could do was comply. That is not to say that she did not make mistakes, however.

The Biblical record shows that she did develop a disdain for Sarah which was expressed on more than one occasion, but that’s what happens in a relationship that has three people in it instead of two. As Princess Diana said about her marital difficulties with the then Prince Charles, “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.” 

In Genesis 2:24, we read,

This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.

I believe that this is not only descriptive, but also prescriptive. When we violate God’s Word, we suffer the consequences. Not only that, but collateral damage can also happen, and especially to children.

So, what was Hagar’s need? She needed a savior! She was lost, and out on her own. She had no way to save herself. She had no way to save her child. Hagar was not alone in this need; we all have a need for a savior! 

We may not be cast off into the desert, but in our natural state, we are all lost in the wilderness of sin. There is none righteous, no not one, and all our righteousness is like filthy rags before God! All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God! We are like someone who has fallen down into a well; we can’t save ourselves and we need a savior.

God, of course, saved Hagar. He heard her cry for help, and He revealed salvation to her. He made a great nation of the child at death’s door. He will help us, too today, when we call upon Him!

The Promise to Us:

We, as God’s people today, have needs. We have a need for salvation. We have physical and emotional and relational needs. We also have a need to fulfill our role in God’s Kingdom. Who can help us with those needs? God can! 

Part of the Good News is that God does not change:

• The God of Abraham was the God of Isaac.
• The God of Isaac was the God of Jacob.
• The God of Jacob was the God of Joseph.
• The God of Joseph was the God of Moses.
• The God of Moses was the God of David.
• The God of David was the Son of Man.
• The Son of Man was the God of the founders of the church.
• The God of the founders of the church is our God today!

Thus, we can be assured that He can and will answer our needs! He did it for Sarah. He did it for Abraham. He did it for Hagar. He will do it for us!

Conclusion:

The children in this story were fulfilled promises of God, and they remind us of the multitude of promises that God has made to His people in His Word. We also can see today that God willingly and perfectly can fulfill all of our needs. What needs do we have today? Give them to God and watch Him work!