HDWN? Isaac is finally born!

Hey guys! Happy Friday!!!

SO sorry for not posting last week. I had my first ever business trip - I was in Texas for the Academy of Country Music Awards. All that to say, I missed you, and I missed writing. So here we are! Back in the saddle again!

Where did we leave off? Oh yeah! With Sarah and Abraham! I promise that we are so close to being done with their story. Afterwards, I’ll need you to let me know what you want to hear about next!

And, as usual, *please, note that my mission is to connect ancient Biblical stories to a modern generation; all stories will be told with modern language and analogies (and memes), linked back to specific verses for reference.

Back to it!

Abraham journeys toward a territory called Negeb before becoming a foreign resident of Gerar. The king of Gerar, like kings before him, had the hots for Sarah. Even in her old age, Sarah is a L-O-O-K-R looker. Abraham, of course, says, “Bro, she’s my sister.” COME ON, ABE. Again? 

And with that greenlight, King Abimelech of Gerar sends after Sarah (Genesis 20:1-2).

While King Abi is asleep, God comes to him in a dream and says, “Dude, you’re a dead man… the woman you took? Yeah, she is wife material… as in she’s actually another man’s wife.” Abimelech THANKFULLY had not “approached” her. So the king said to God, “Lord, would you kill an innocent guy? Did he [Abe] not literally say ‘She’s my sister?’ and did she not even say ‘He’s my brother?’ My heart has integrity and my hands are innocent.” God said to him, “I know your heart, and it was Me who kept you from sin. I did not let you touch her. Return her to her husband, because her husband is a prophet… He will pray for you, and you shall live. BUT if you don’t, you and all your people… y’all are sleeping with the fishes” (Genesis 20:3-7).

Abimelech wakes up the next morning, calls all his servants, and says, “I know it’s early, but this is the perfect time for tea, right?” He spills everything, and the men of his household are a-fraid. Abi calls to Abe, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You’ve done things to me that a man just oughta not do, dude. What makes a guy do this???” Abe replies, “Well… let’s be real, you had no fear of God, so I was sure you would kill me for my wife.” Here’s where things get WILD. Abe continues, “Besides, she IS my sister. She is the daughter of my father, though not the daughter of my mother, and now she’s my wife. So, when God told me to wander away from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘We gotta lead with the sibling thing wherever we go’” (Genesis 20:8-13).

Abimelech (I’m assuming at his wits end here) takes part of his sheep and oxen, his male and female servants, and he gives them to Abe as he returns Sarah. King Abi says, “You know what guys? My land is before you, live where you want to.” He turns to Sarah, his almost-lover, and says, “I’ve given your brother 1000 pieces of silver. It is a sign of innocence in the eyes of everyone you are with.” Abraham prays to God, and God healed King Abimelech plus his wife and his female servants so that they were able to bear children. We don’t find out until the very last verse of the chapter, but God had closed up the wombs of all of the women in King Abi’s house because he had taken Sarah, the wife and half-sister, of Abe (Genesis 20:14-18).

After this whole debacle, the Lord visits Sarah - as He said He would - and the Lord keeps His promise to Sarah - also, how He said He would. Sarah conceives, and she bears Abraham a son in their old age AT THE TIME OF WHICH GOD HAD SPOKEN TO THEM. Abraham names his new baby boy Isaac (Genesis 21:1-3)… Y’all know what Isaac means? The name Isaac means “one who laughs or rejoices.” Now, let’s think back… Sarah who laughed out of unbelief now has a son named “one who laughs or rejoices.” God really is the God of details.

Abraham circumcises Isaac when he’s eight days old… much better than being circumcised at 13 like Ishmael. Old Abe was 100 years old when Isaac was born (Genesis 21:4).

New-mom Sarah says, “God has made laughter for me and everyone who hears will laugh over me. Who would have said that Abraham and Sarah would nurse children? Yet, I did it in old age!” (Genesis 21:6-7).

As Isaac grows up, Abraham throws a great feast on the day Isaac is weaned. Sarah sees the son of Hagar - Ishmael - laughing. She gets upset and says to baby daddy Abe, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, because the son of a slave woman will not be heir with my Isaac” (Genesis 21: 8-10).

Like Sarah… COME ON. You literally named your child “one who laughs and rejoices” and you even say yourself that you will laugh and that everyone who hears about this situation will laugh over you… and then you get MAD that it actually happens? Woman up, half-sister!

However, God comes to Abraham and says, “Don’t be displeased with the boy or the slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac your offspring will be named. I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your son” (Genesis 21:11-13).

3 things here:

1. Can we just talk about how faithful our God is? This whole situation with Abraham and Sarah and Hagar and Ishmael was human error and sin. Yet, God keeps His promises and provides His protection always. He still takes care of Ishmael and provides him with descendants, even though he isn’t the promised son. To me, this is proof that God has plans and purposes for a life that humans might deem “unplanned” or a “mistake.” Just food for thought!

2. Be careful about who you marry… I know everyone likes to cherry-pick and use the verses that a wife should be submissive to her husband (I will do a whole post on this one day) without truly studying them, but here we actually see OT God telling Abraham to do as Sarah tells him because she is the mother of her offspring. A marriage is so much more than a chain of command.

3. We’ll get into this in the next few verses, but we’re about to see God come to Hagar for the second time. Here’s what I find interesting: throughout scripture, and especially the OT, we see men having to perform big bloody sacrifices or go up high on a mountain to talk to God. Yet, when it comes to women and children, God comes to them where they are. Each scenario is powerful and beautiful in its own way… I just thought it was a cool difference to share.

After hearing this from God, Abraham rises early; he takes bread and a skin of water, and he gives it to Hagar. He puts the food and water on one of her shoulders and their child on her other shoulder, sending them away. She departs and wanders through the wilderness of Beersheba (Genesis 21: 14).

When her water had run out, Hagar places Ish under a bush. She goes and sits down opposite of him, about a bowshot away… this is because she knew her son was dying. She sits and says, “Let me not look at the death of my child.” Because she was alone in the wilderness, Hagar lifts up her voice and weeps… I don’t even know if I would call it weeping, because all I can see in my brain right now is a woman, dirty and tired, wailing as she listens to the cries of her child grow louder before waning. BUT GOD hears the voice of the boy, and an angel of God calls out to Hagar from heaven, “What’s troubling you, Hagar? Fear not, God has heard your son where he is. Up, brother! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation!” (Genesis 21:15-18)

God opens Hagar’s eyes, and she sees a well of water. She fills her water skin, and gives water to Ish. God was with the boy as he grew up, and Ish lives off of the wilderness and becomes an expert with the bow and arrow. He lives in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother finds him a wife from the land of Egypt (Genesis 21:19-21).

To end this chapter, we’re going right back to where we started - we’re circling back to good ole King Abi. Abimelech and his commander-in-chief Phicol say to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do. Swear to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me or my descendants, because I have been kind to you. Remember the golden rule, dude.” And Abraham says, “Bet.” JK, JK - Abraham says, “I swear” (Genesis 21:22-24).

Abraham goes on to reprove [kindly scold] Abi about a well of water - apparently, Abi’s servants had seized it. Abi says to Abe, “I do not know who has done this thing; you gotta tell me these things… I haven’t even heard of this until right now.” Abe takes some of his own sheep and oxen and gives them to Abi, and the two men make a covenant together - #besties. Abe set apart 7 female lambs. Abi is confused and asks Abe why he’s setting apart these animals. Abe replies, “These 7 lambs you will take from me as witness that I dug this well.” The place was called Beersheba because there they both swore an oath. Abi and C-I-C Phicol return to the land of the Philistines. Abe plants a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and calls out to the Everlasting God. Abe remains a foreigner in the land of the Philistines for many days (Genesis 21:25-34).

And we are one step closer to finishing the story of Sarah and Abe! I think it would be really cool to write a post over marriage, as previously mentioned in this post, or to take a dive into looking into what Hebrew numbers mean! Let me know what you think!

I hope you have a great week ahead of you! Remember, this is for the glory of God and the encouragement of you!