Genesis Chapter 21

(James 1:8)
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

The entire history of the nation of Israel is an illustration of the battle between the two natures of mankind, saved or unsaved. This battle is between the flesh and the spirit, here the flesh is represented by Ishmael and Isaac represents the child of promise, the child of the spirit. The sins of the flesh were evident in Sarah and Abraham, in agreeing to tell all strangers who they met that Sarah was Abraham's sister and not his wife, out of fear of the local custom of wife-stealing, instead of the fear of God. In addition, there were two responses by Abraham and Sarah to God's promise of Isaac, one of the flesh and one of faith. The one of the flesh was Sarah giving Abraham her handmaid, Hagar, then Abraham having a son of the flesh with Hagar named Ishmael. Ishmael lives today in all of the enemies of Israel surrounding her, the Arab nations who have always wanted to, tried to, want to and still try to destroy her. That all behind them now, they have come to have the child of promise and faith, Isaac, through whom would come Jacob (Israel) and the twelve tribes of Israel, present today. The battle of the flesh and spirit in us is represented by the battle of children the flesh (Ishmaelites) and the children of the promise, Israel. As is the daily struggle between them, so is the struggle real and daily within us, between our two natures, the flesh and the spirit. As Abraham loved Ishmael, so must we love our enemies. As Abraham was to send Ishmael away, so are we to evict, oust, purge sin.

• The LORD favored Sarah with a baby, fulfilling the prophecy of Genesis 18

• The birth of Isaac is similar to the birth of Christ:
  • Timely (in the fullness of time)
  • Miraculous for both Sarah and Mary
  • Sarah as good as dead (as well as Abraham), Mary a virgin

• It says in Hebrews 11 that she "received strength to conceive seed"
• This is a supernatural, miraculous birth, as both Abraham and Sarah were "as good as dead" to childbearing
• This should have been a sign, a forerunner to think about for the Old Testament Jews of the New Testament birth of Christ
• God waited past the point of childbirth to show that all things are possible with God

• Isaac was the child of promise
• In calling him Isaac, Abraham was obedient to God, because he could have chosen any name, a regal one, a pompous one, a proud one, a fighting name, named him after a long lost relative, etc.
• The name Isaac means "laughter", the thing Abraham did at the news of his future coming child, and Sarah did later, and then denied she did upon the announcement to Abraham and her by God that he would be born one day

• Circumcision is a Jewish commandment, given by God for purpose of undeniably distinguishing a man from the surrounding peoples in a time of war. Since it was unique to Jews, they were unable to deny who and what they were
• Eight days is medically the perfect and only time to do this to a newborn, not a day earlier or later,

CIRCUMCISION: PERFECT TIMING

1. Vitamin K, needed for proper blood-clotting, is known to peak on the eighth day of a baby's life
2. God doesn't make mistakes
3. Only on the eighth day also, the amount of prothrombin, a blood-clotting protein produced in the liver, is present and actually elevated above one-hundred percent of normal—and the eighth day is the only day in the life of a male child in which this will be the case, under normal conditions.
4. With both chemicals at their peak, if surgery must be done, the eighth day is the perfect day to perform it.

• And hundred years old is indeed "as good as dead"!

• It is certain that, throughout the ages, this story told to people probably made many of them laugh
• This laughter is one of joy, not doubt, as the first one was

• The obvious implied answer to her question is, "No one!"
• In addition to getting pregnant, carrying the child, delivering the child safely, she had to, at her old age, nurse that same child

• This would be perhaps at the age of three to five years
• May we be mature Christians after three years of prayer, careful study, discipling by others
• In this whole Isaac-Ishmael contrast,being compared to our two natures, this part is the discipleship, growth of the believer, going from milk to solid food
• As this weaning process is natural to babies, and guaranteed by time that any baby will grow to maturity, it should be the same for us, completely natural to mature
• If we do not grow, we stifle and are not fruitful, able to use our sword effectively

• This is simply more laughter, this time from a half-brother of the flesh, a future (and now present) enemy
• Most often the ones most favored and used of God are the ones that the world considers a laughing-stock, to be mocked
• Such will be the case for Isaac then, the LORD Jesus Christ then as now, and now today us, mocked, scorned, derided, persecuted by virtue of who and what we are, and nothing we even do

PAUL RECOUNTS THIS OUR EDIFICATION

• Representing the flesh, the bondwoman here is Hagar the handmaiden of Sarah
• Since the flesh cannot dwell with the spirit, this is an illustration of the struggle again in us
• While it would not have been a custom to cast out the handmaiden with a child of the patriarch, God allowed it, as He allows the sin and flesh of the children of this world to coexist with the Spirit, the children of God, just not in the same body at the same time

• Abraham loved Ishmael as we love our flesh...he just had to start to love God's plan more
• There is a time to let go of the flesh, the ways of this world, the nature of this world, our sin
• Ishmael is not actually going away, as he will grow into the enemy nations of Israel

• The difference between hearkening to the voice of one's wife here and in the Garden is the will of God
• In the Garden, the Will of Man was exercised to subvert God's will, leading the world into sin, nd was according to God's Plan overall, in giving man a free will
• Here, it leads to Isaac becoming part of a great, eternal nation through whom the Messiah would one day come, according to God's Plan, but according to His Will
• "In Isaac shall thy Seed be called" is "Jesus Christ will come from my people Israel"(Jacob, son of Isaac)
• Isaac, being offered in obedience later by Abraham, becomes a type of Christ

(Genesis 3:17)
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

• Conversely, Ishmael's descendants become the enemies of Israel, more numerous one earth on any given day, always at odds, if not always at war
• The Sovereignty of God means even His enemies will have a place, if only to resists Him and irritate, temporarily, His chosen people, throughout history until the end at Armageddon