Scripture Reading: Genesis 21:8-14
“So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba.”—Genesis 21:14
Abraham. The name invokes images of a man renowned for his daring faith, deep obedience, and numerous sacrifices. Consider Abraham’s credentials: He left his father’s household to travel to a land unseen, graciously yielded the best grazing lands to his nephew Lot, boldly rescued Lot and his household from captivity, and obediently offered Isaac as a sacrifice. Despite all the acclaim given to his name, I have read this verse and quietly questioned how Abraham could be so heartless to his own flesh and blood.
In the backdrop to the passage, a childless Abram (Abraham) fathered Ishmael through his wife’s servant, Hagar, at Sarai’s (Sarah’s) encouragement. As Abraham’s firstborn son, Ishmael was positioned to be the heir to his father and likely was the apple of Abraham’s eye. Then, God reminded Abraham the son of promise was to come through Sarah, and enabled Sarah to give birth to Isaac. Sarah recognized Ishmael as a rival to Isaac and demanded Abraham cast out Hagar and Ishmael. Giving Hagar bread and water, Abraham sends the mother and his son out into the wilderness.
Read alone, verse 14 depicts Abraham as a harsh, callous father who turns his back on his own son and the son’s mother. But verses 11-13 portrays Abraham as a father deeply troubled by Sarah’s demands. Abraham concedes to sending Hagar and Ishmael away when God consoles Abraham with the assurance there is a plan to provide for and bless Ishmael.
Before he would climb Mount Moriah to sacrifice Isaac years later, Abraham had undergone another heart wrenching sacrifice of a son, relinquishing Ishmael to keep peace in his home and to be obedient to God’s larger plan. I discovered Abraham did not send Ishmael way because he was a cruel, callous father, but because he was a loving father who trusted God’s promise to provide for his son.
In each of the difficult sacrifices made in his life, Abraham remained faithful and obedient to God, even when it wasn’t what he wanted to do or something he understood necessarily. He obeyed simply because he trusted God. That is the true example of a faithful father and parent, one who trusts and follows God even when he doesn’t know where the journey will take him.
Lesson to Remember: True faith is obeying God, even when you don’t know what God is up to.
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.”—Hebrews 11:8-9
