Genesis 21:1-21
The Birth of Isaac
21 The Lord kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised. 2 She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would. 3 And Abraham named their son Isaac. 4 Eight days after Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded. 5 Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born.
6 And Sarah declared, “God has brought me laughter.[a] All who hear about this will laugh with me. 7 Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!”
8 When Isaac grew up and was about to be weaned, Abraham prepared a huge feast to celebrate the occasion. 9 But Sarah saw Ishmael—the son of Abraham and her Egyptian servant Hagar—making fun of her son, Isaac.[b] 10 So she turned to Abraham and demanded, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son. He is not going to share the inheritance with my son, Isaac. I won’t have it!”
11 This upset Abraham very much because Ishmael was his son. 12 But God told Abraham, “Do not be upset over the boy and your servant. Do whatever Sarah tells you, for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted. 13 But I will also make a nation of the descendants of Hagar’s son because he is your son, too.”
14 So Abraham got up early the next morning, prepared food and a container of water, and strapped them on Hagar’s shoulders. Then he sent her away with their son, and she wandered aimlessly in the wilderness of Beersheba.
15 When the water was gone, she put the boy in the shade of a bush. 16 Then she went and sat down by herself about a hundred yards[c] away. “I don’t want to watch the boy die,” she said, as she burst into tears.
17 But God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “Hagar, what’s wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Go to him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants.”
19 Then God opened Hagar’s eyes, and she saw a well full of water. She quickly filled her water container and gave the boy a drink.
20 And God was with the boy as he grew up in the wilderness. He became a skillful archer, 21 and he settled in the wilderness of Paran. His mother arranged for him to marry a woman from the land of Egypt.
Waiting is one of the hardest things in life, especially when you are powerless to control the outcome. Whether you are waiting for prayers to be answered, promises to be fulfilled or clarity about the future, it is easy To grow anxious when you are in the middle and can not see the end yet. This passage reminds us that God is faithful in his promises to us. Sarah is given the child that she has been promised and Hagar is given the protection that she had been promised. Both get sons who are healthy and protected by God.
Times of waiting can be vulnerable. They are the moments when we lose our faith, when we give way to fear or when we try to manipulate the outcome for ourselves. Both these women experienced the same frustration of waiting that many of us do, that God always seems to wait until the last moment to step in and bring breakthrough. Sarah had lost hope, so much that when she was told she would have the baby, she laughed in disbelief. But God was still faithful despite her faltering faith. Hagar left her son to die believing that she had come to the end of her journey. But God came at the last moment and rescued her. We don’t know when God will move but we can be confident that he will and that he will restore what he has promised to us.
