We're going to be reading from
Genesis chapter 21 and verse 8. We're speaking about Ishmael
and Hagar and here this is a reference now immediately to Isaac, the
child that had just been born to Abraham and Sarah. And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast
the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar
the Egyptian, which she had borne unto Abraham, mocking. 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. And the thing
was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son. 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. And also of the son of the bondwoman
will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. 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. 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 bow shot. 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 unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? Fear not, for God hath heard
the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and
hold him in thine 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. 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. Amen, may God bless to us this
reading from his word. Here was supposed to be a time
of celebration in the house of Abraham and Sarah, for Abraham
called for a feast to be made when Isaac was weaned. That means that he was going
to stop having his mother's milk and was more able to consume
solid food. And that was probably an indication
that he was a healthy young child and able to grow more bodily
in the days that were ahead. So Abraham was keen to celebrate
this. But it was also a time of domestic
trouble for him. This was a time when Isaac, was
mocked by Ishmael, his half-brother. And we don't know what form that
mockery took, but we know that it was serious and we know that
it offended Sarah. So she was determined in her
own mind and in her own heart that Hagar and Ishmael must be
dismissed and sent away. The prospect of sending Ishmael
away displeased Abraham and undoubtedly he loved his son much. It's very likely that Ishmael
was now a young man himself, a youth perhaps of 16 or 17 years
of age. But in the night God spoke to
Abraham and told him to follow Sarah's direction and not to
be concerned for the child because Ishmael also would be protected
by God and would prosper. And we are told later on in the
scriptures that there was great spiritual significance about
this episode in the life of Abraham. And this whole situation has
a spiritual meaning for us. First of all, we learn from this
that the effect of sin runs on for years and years. That disobedience
has consequences. And here we continue to see that
what seemed to be a good idea at the time, that Hagar should
become concubine to Abraham, still all these years later,
almost 20 years later perhaps, was a running sore in the household
of Abraham. But the real significance is
revealed by the Apostle Paul in Galatians chapter four. And
he tells us that the events of this time, when Sarah insisted
that Hagar and Ishmael should leave the family of Abraham,
was designed to teach the church of two covenants, of flesh and
spirit, of bondage and freedom, of being in bondage to sin and
to law and to works righteousness, or being at liberty in the Lord
Jesus Christ with divine righteousness. The inventions of men, as we
were reading about in Psalm 99, conceived in sin will never satisfy
God's holiness. only grace and mercy and covenant
promise will bring us peace with God. And what this picture shows
to us is that Isaac was the one whom God had chosen to be the
child of promise. It was in Isaac that the plan
of God and the purpose of God and the unfolding of the church
of God and the person of the Lord Jesus Christ would be fulfilled. God's elect and Christ's redeemed
people and all the regenerated people of God the Holy Spirit
are covenant people children of promise like Isaac. They are the heirs of righteousness
with Abraham who was the father of the faithful. And yet we see
that God did not forget Hagar and Ishmael and it really is
a very Delightful little passage here when we see the Lord taking
care of Hagar in this situation. The Lord showing pity and mercy. The Lord himself, because this
was no doubt the Lord Jesus Christ, speaking to this Egyptian woman
out of heaven and opening her eyes to see a fountain of life
in the desert. a fountain of water by which
Ishmael might be preserved and their lives able to continue. And there's, of course, wider
and deeper meanings here also. And in this incident, we see
that there is a picture of grace for needy sinners in this barren
world. In the years to come, Moses would
lead the people of Israel through this very same desert to the
promised land. And they too would be in desperate
need of water. They too would seek the water
of life in this wilderness place. And they found it, and Ishmael
found it. And we find it, not in the fountain
of water in the desert, but in the fountain of life that is
the Lord Jesus Christ. because he is the one who is
able to satisfy the thirsty soul. He is able to give living water,
as he preached on that day when he stood in Jerusalem at the
end of the feast. Out of him will flow living water. And so, as weary travellers in
this world, we find in the Lord Jesus Christ living water, water
by which our souls can be satisfied and our lives drawn to Christ. May he refresh us as these pictures
of Old Testament saints show him refreshing them. May he refresh
us in our souls and bless us in these days with the gospel
of Jesus Christ. Amen.