After 10 years of God's promise to Abram about a son, Sarai's desperation reached a peak. She offered her Egyptian maid Hagar to Abram hoping that she would bear him a child in her place. This was a common practice in those days. It is found in the Sumerian law code from around 1800 B.C. and an Old Assyrian Marriage contract from around the same time. According to their customs, the child born this way would belong to Abram and Sarai and not the servant. Hagar became pregnant. She began to look with contempt, Genesis 16:4. It was then that Abram gave Sarai permission to do with Hagar as she wished, "But Abram said to Sarai, behold, your maid is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight. So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence." Genesis 16:6. Sarai dealt harshly with Hagar, and she fled from her. An angel of the LORD appeared to Hagar as she was resting beside a spring in the desert. Did you know this is the first appearance of an angel in Scripture? Here, we see a loving God who cares for the weak and helpless. The angel told Hagar to return to Sarai and SUBMIT to her, but at the same time comforted her with the promise that she would bear a son named Ishmael and his descendants would be too numerous to count. Hagar gave birth to Abram's first son. His name was Ishmael, chosen by the Lord, meaning "God hears." Abram was 86 years old when he was born.
Thirteen years passed and Sarai was still childless. Abram was 99 yrs. old when an angel of the LORD appeared to him a sixth time. He commanded Abram to "walk before me and be blameless" Genesis 17:1 and reaffirmed his covenant with Abram. He also changes Abram's name to Abraham, which means "father of a multitude of nations." Sarai's name was changed to Sarah, meaning "princess". She also received God's blessing. As a sign of the covenant God commanded Abraham and all the males of his household to be circumcised. Abraham as always obeyed God. And from that time forward Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac and all Jewish males bore the mark of "circumcision."
In a seventh encounter with God, Abraham and Sarah were visited by three men, Genesis 18. These men were angels who told Abraham that Sarah would have a child. When Sarah heard this, she laughed, perhaps in both joy and disbelief. Abraham was 100 years old when Sarah had a son whom they named Isaac, meaning "laughter." Genesis 21:1-7.
Ishmael was 13 years old when Sarah bore Isaac, the true son of God's promise. Although Sarah had born a son to Abraham, he always retained a special place for his first born son, Ishmael. Here jealousy begins to resurface. Sarah demanded that Abraham send Hagar away so that Ishmael could never share Isaac's inheritance. Although, Abraham was upset, since he cared for his son Ishmael, God promised that He would take care of Ishmael. So, he sent both Hagar and Ishmael away with a small supply of food. When the food supply ran out, Hagar laid Ishmael beside a bush to die. Ishmael cried out, and God heard his cry. An angel of the LORD spoke words of comfort to Hagar, repeating the promise that a great nation would rise from Ishmael. What an amazing God we have! God cared for Hagar and Ishmael. Ishmael grew into manhood becoming an expert archer .
What an awesome God we have! God's ability to fulfill His promise to Abraham is a great testimony of His power over human life. He proved that He can do the impossible.
Luci