Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20060730.htm

THE PREINCARNATE MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST
Part II: Christ's Ministry With Isaac And Ishmael: God's Use Of Sinful Enmity To Further Our Holiness
(Genesis 21:1-21)
  1. Introduction
    1. God calls us to do our best to live at peace with all men, Romans 12:18.
    2. However, there is a point where it becomes impossible to live with certain folk, and God Himself dictates that we no longer seek to cooperate with them, but withdraw from their influence for the sake of holiness.
    3. Christ's preincarnate ministry with Isaac and Ishmael reveals where that line exists (as follows):
  2. Christ's Ministry With Isaac And Ishmael: God's Use Of Sinful Enmity To Further Our Holiness.
    1. In keeping with the promise of God to Abraham regarding Sarah's having a son, Sarah conceived a child by her husband, Abraham and bore him Isaac, the promised seed, Genesis 21:1-7.
    2. When Isaac was weaned in his second or third year of life (cf. Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978 ed., ftn. to Genesis 21:8), Abraham made a great feast on the day he was weaned, Genesis 21:8.
    3. However, at that feast, Sarah saw Ishmael, Hagar's older son, mocking Sarah's young son, Isaac, Genesis 21:9. Upset, Sarah demanded that Abraham cast out the bond woman with her son, claiming Ishmael with his attitude and age would threaten the younger Isaac's inheritance, Genesis 21:10.
    4. Sarah's point was well taken: (1) being older and spiteful toward Isaac, Ishmael could have made the rearing of Isaac so troublesome that Isaac could not have developed into the patriarchal leader God desired him to be. (2) More critical, Ishmael being Abraham's older son would be able and, by his attitude, very motivated to seize Isaac's inheritance and undermine God's plan to bless Isaac as the promised seed.
    5. Abraham was very troubled at Sarah's remark (Genesis 12:11), for Ishmael was his firstborn, special son!
    6. Regardless of his concern, God told Abraham not to be bothered, but to heed Sarah's demand, Genesis 21:12a. The reasons were twofold as follows, Genesis 21:12b-13:
      1. On the one hand, God noted that Sarah's point was valid: it was intolerable for the older, hostile Ishmael to stay in the same home with Isaac for the reasons given in "II,D" above, Genesis 21:12b.
      2. Conversely, God had promised Abraham He would bless His seed (Genesis 13:16), and since Ishmael was part of that seed, God also needed to bless him, Genesis 21:13.
      3. Hence, that the Word and plan of God be fulfilled, there had to be a division between the two parts of Abraham's household, with Sarah and Isaac staying and Ishmael and Hagar being sent away!
    7. As difficult as it was for him to do, Abraham obeyed the Lord, and took brief provisions, gave them to Hagar along with her son, Ishmael, and sent them both away from his home, Genesis 21:14.
    8. Hagar wandered in the wilderness until her water was spent and her son dehydrated, and she cast him under a shade bush and left him there to die, Gen. 21:15. Hopeless and hurting, she wept, Genesis 21:16.
    9. As we learned in our previous lesson that the Preincarnate Lord Jesus is the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament, He called to Hagar out of heaven, asking what troubled her, Gen. 21:17a. The Preincarnate Christ said that He had heard Ishmael's voice and would make him a great nation, Genesis 21:17b-18.
    10. The Preincarnate Christ then showed her a well of water for meeting the lad's needs, Genesis 21:19.
    11. The Preincarnate Lord Jesus Christ has since then been with Ishmael and his seed to bless them:
      1. Where he had nearly died of thirst, Ishmael learned under the Preincarnate Christ's oversight how to thrive as an archer in the wilderness of Paran, the northeastern section of the Sinai peninsula, Gen. 21:20-21a, Ibid., Ryrie, ftn. to Genesis 21:21.
      2. Under the oversight of the Preincarnate Christ, Ishmael's mother, Hagar, a native of Egypt, obtained a wife for her son from her native land, Genesis 21:21b with Genesis 16:1.
Lesson: Though both Ishmael and Isaac were Abraham's seed that God would bless, only Isaac was the promised seed, and his inheritance could not be threatened by Ishmael for God's Word to be fulfilled. Thus, God USED Ishmael's abusive mocking of Isaac as grounds to separate Ishmael from the home!

Application: (1) Though God calls us to try to live at peace with all men, when others act so strongly in sin toward us that it challenges God's will for us in our lives, we must separate from them for the sake of our own spiritual welfare, 2 Timothy 3:1-5. (2) We must especially avoid folk who try to demoralize us opposite God's will for our development or progress in a certain realm or work!