Son of Slave, Son of Promise

Well, we're continuing our series through the book of Genesis this morning, and we've come to Genesis chapter 21.

Genesis 21 · chapter mention

And so if you would, please take your Bibles, open them up to Genesis chapter 21.

Genesis 21 · chapter mention

If you don't have a copy of God's Word with you, that's okay.

We have them nearby in a seat back in front of you somewhere nearby.

You should be able to find a Bible.

And I would encourage you to actually have a copy of God's Word open as we walk through this together this morning.

So Genesis chapter 21, and when you've found it, let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word.

Genesis 21 · chapter mention

The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised.

And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him.

Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.

And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.

Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

And Sarah said, God has made laughter for me.

Everyone who hears will laugh over me.

And she said, Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children?

Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.

And the child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing.

So she said to Abraham, Cast out this slave woman with her son.

For the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.

And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son.

But God said to Abraham, Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman.

Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you.

For through Isaac shall your offspring be named.

And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.

So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar,

putting it on her shoulder along with the child, and sent her away.

And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

When the water and the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes.

Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bow shot,

where she said, Let me not look on the death of the child.

And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept.

And God heard the voice of the boy.

And the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her,

What troubles you, Hagar?

Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.

Up! Lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.

Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water.

And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

And God was with the boy and he grew up.

He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow.

He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham,

God is with you in all that you do.

Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity.

But as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned.

And Abraham said, I will swear.

When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized, Abimelech said,

I do not know who has done this thing.

You did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today.

So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant.

Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart.

And Abimelech said to Abraham, what is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?

He said, these seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand that this may be a witness for me that I dug this well.

Therefore that place was called Beersheba, because there both of them swore an oath.

So they made a covenant at Beersheba.

Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines.

Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God.

And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines.

Grass withers, flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever.

Father, we pray once more, Lord, that you would bless the preaching of your word.

Give us ears to hear and to receive the truth.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

One thing I've noticed is when moms get together, especially new moms,

they love to swap birth stories.

All the details of the birth stories, good and bad, what went right, what went wrong,

how long it took, when the water broke, had you made it there, had you not.

Did you get the epidural?

Did you go all natural?

Was the baby early?

Was the baby late?

They like to talk about this, and for good reason, right?

Having a child is a major milestone in anyone's life.

They have waited at a minimum nine months for this child to arrive,

although for most mothers they've waited and longed for and prayed for this child much longer than that.

And on top of that, it is just a miracle of God that God forms a life,

prepares it when mother and father come together, forms a life,

and then at long last eventually brings that life out into the world.

It's a miracle.

Our passage this morning here in Genesis chapter 21 is the story of a long-awaited, miraculous birth.

Genesis 21 · chapter mention

And we get to hear the story here of the birth of Isaac.

And we get to see the kind of messy family that he's born into.

All of this family drama just kind of happens right away.

And we've been waiting and waiting a long time for this promise to be kept.

And finally, at long last, the child of promise has come.

But, you know, as I read this story this week, it was interesting to me.

I wonder if you noticed the emphasis in this chapter.

What was emphasized here in this birth story is not us.

It's not Abraham.

And it's not even Isaac, this long-awaited child of promise.

You would think that he would get a little bit more page time, wouldn't you?

But he's not getting the attention you might think.

We finally get this long-awaited birth of this promised child.

And then we're off to a story about Ishmael.

And then we're off to this story about Abraham and Abimelech.

I mean, what do we do with that?

How does that fit in with this chapter?

Here's what I want us to see and what I think ties this whole thing together this morning.

But the emphasis here in this passage is on the Lord.

And the main character here in this story is God.

His power in the birth of this promised child.

His provision and his protection of Ishmael.

His plan and his purposes for redemption as we zoom out to the big picture behind this passage.

And then his continued faithfulness to all of his promises.

God is the hero of the story.

So let's take a look here.

And we'll see this in four ways this morning.

This will be our outline if you're taking notes.

The four ways God is emphasized here in Genesis chapter 1.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

First, we see God's power here in the birth of Isaac.

God's power here in verses 1 through 7.

Look there with me to verse 1.

And don't lose sight of the buildup to this moment, okay?

Abraham has been waiting over 25 years now since God first promised him the birth of a child.

Over 25 years of delay.

And now finally, at long last, the child has come.

You remember God called this pagan man out of his hometown.

He made promises to him.

Promises of land.

The land of Canaan.

The promises of offspring.

This old, barren man.

God told him it would be the father of a multitude more numerous than the stars of the sky.

And we've been waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting for this moment when this promise would finally come to pass.

And now, at long last, here it is.

Verse 1 says,

The Lord visited Sarah as he had said.

The Lord did to Sarah as he had promised.

Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age.

At the time of which God had spoken to him.

This is a miracle.

And you just think about all the obstacles that God has had to overcome in order to bring this child into the world.

You remember there were threats of famine in the land.

And there were threats of war all around.

There were threats of family strife there with Abraham and Lot.

Not to mention the threats of Abraham's own foolishness.

And Abraham's own faithlessness.

Giving away his wife not once but twice into the hands of other men.

Not to mention the natural obstacles.

Abraham's age.

Sarah's old age.

Sarah's barrenness.

And you remember how many times Abraham tried to work around the promises of God.

How he tried to take matters into his own hands.

Take Eleazar of Damascus.

He said, let him be my heir.

And God said, no.

You will have a son.

How Sarah gave Abraham Hagar and said, have a child with her.

He'll be your heir.

And God said, no.

Your wife Sarah will bear you a son.

I know this looks impossible.

And it is.

Abraham, that's exactly the point.

This whole thing is about God's power.

This whole thing.

God has so orchestrated this birth that it cannot be explained any other way than by a miracle of the power of God.

There is no denying it.

God has accomplished this.

This birth was not just unlikely from a human perspective.

It was impossible from a human perspective.

I mean, you see the emphasis here on God's activity, don't you?

Here in verse 1, it doesn't say Abraham and Sarah conceived a child.

What does it say?

The Lord visited Sarah as he had said.

And the Lord did to Sarah as he promised.

Why does Moses tell the story this way?

Moses tells this story like this to make certain that you and I understand that we see this is not Abraham and Sarah's doing.

This is the work of the power of the Lord.

God Almighty has done what he promised by his power alone.

Church, you know, we ought to tell our story like this.

God's people ought to know more than anybody else in the world that the main actor, the main character in your life,

the main actor in your story, it's not us and what you do and what you can accomplish by your own efforts.

Who is it?

It's the Lord.

Who gets the center stage in your story?

As you talk about your life and your accomplishments, your job, your family, your dreams, your hopes, your past, your future,

who gets center stage?

Is it you?

The Lord Almighty ought to take center stage in your life and in the way you talk about your life.

Here we see Abraham and Sarah.

They've both failed over and over and over again.

They've tried to take matters into their own hands.

But here it seems like they get it, doesn't it?

Isaac is born and what does Abraham do?

Immediately he obeys the word of the Lord.

Verse 3, it says,

Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac, as God had commanded.

And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old.

Why?

As God had commanded.

Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

And Sarah gets it too, doesn't she?

She understands.

She knows how incredible this birth is.

There's no denying it.

And she says, everybody's going to laugh when I tell this story.

God has given me laughter.

An old woman like me bearing at that.

And there's no way I can possibly get pregnant.

But here am I and here's my son, God.

God has done it by his power alone.

So we see God's power is emphasized here.

Second, we see God's protection and provision here in verses 8 through 21.

And it's interesting how the focus here shifts, isn't it?

Isaac is the child of promise.

Isaac is the one through whom the Savior, Jesus, eventually will come.

Sarah is the chosen mother.

She's the one who bears the seed of promise.

But almost immediately, we shift our attention away from these main characters here to Ishmael and Hagar.

Look there to verse 8.

It says, the child grew and was weaned.

This was usually around age 2, sometimes age 3, but even up to age 5 in this culture.

And they throw a celebration.

A baby boy's growing up.

Abraham's 100.

Maybe he doesn't know how many more celebration milestones he'll get to be around for.

So they throw a celebration here.

Come celebrate with us.

Abraham makes a great feast.

And everybody's eating.

And they're happy.

And they're celebrating.

And then all of a sudden, it's like the record scratches.

And there's a problem here.

Sarah looks over.

And she sees Ishmael.

Except she doesn't even call him Ishmael, does she?

Look at that.

She says, she sees that son of Hagar.

Hagar the Egyptian.

Hagar the Egyptian who had a child with my husband, Abraham.

She looks over and she sees Ishmael laughing.

Now, it's a play on words here.

Isaac means he laughs.

Sarah said God made laughter for her.

You remember how Sarah responded when God promised a child?

She laughed.

But now, the son of the slave woman is laughing.

And Sarah does not think it's funny.

It's clear, I think.

He's not just having a good time and joining in and laughing and enjoying the party.

He is picking at his little brother.

He's mocking him.

This is a laughing at, not a laughing with.

He's laughing at Isaac.

Paul, in the passage that was read earlier this morning in Galatians chapter 4,

Galatians 4 · chapter mention

He calls this persecution.

He's picking on his little brother.

And Sarah, we see she goes into mama bear mode, doesn't she?

She goes, she skips right past time out, right past no cake for you.

And she says, she just goes right for the neck.

Cast out this slave woman.

Doesn't even call her by her name.

Cast out this slave woman with her son.

For the son of that slave woman will not be heir with my son Isaac.

You can almost feel the tension through the page, can't you?

I imagine everybody at the party kind of just puts down their forks and they perk up.

There's a problem going on here.

There's some drama happening here at the party.

And here's Abraham caught in the middle.

There's mama and baby over here.

They're mad at mama and baby over here.

And Abraham's like, I don't know what I'm supposed to do.

I just want to throw a party here.

Verse 11 says,

It was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son.

Isaac is the son of promise, yes.

But Ishmael still is Abraham's child.

But, verse 12, God said to Abraham,

Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman.

Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you.

For through Isaac shall your offspring be named.

This is election.

This is God's choosing of one son, Isaac, over one son, Ishmael.

Ishmael is not in the line of promise.

Isaac is the line of promise.

It's through Isaac that Abraham's offspring will come.

So the blessing of the world will come not through Ishmael,

the product of Abraham's physical effort,

but the blessing of the world will come through Isaac,

Isaac, the work of God alone.

Both are descendants of Abraham physically,

but only one is the true son of Abraham spiritually,

and the heir of the promises made to Abraham.

Paul picks this up in Romans chapter 9

Romans 9 · chapter mention

to explain why not all who are physically Jews are truly Jews.

He says,

Not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel,

and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring.

But, he quotes,

Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.

This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God,

but the children of promise are counted as offspring.

We'll come back there.

But even so,

would you just look and notice how God cares for Ishmael?

Our natural thought might be,

Well, if Isaac is the elect one,

then God doesn't really care for Ishmael, right?

Wrong!

Look there to verse 13.

God says he has purposes for Ishmael.

I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman.

Jump forward to chapter 25,

and you see how God blesses Ishmael with many descendants.

He multiplies him and his offspring.

And not only this,

God also protects and provides for Ishmael.

You see this story of this dangerous journey into the desert.

Abraham sends Hagar off with some bread and some water,

and they go to the wilderness of Beersheba,

which if you know anything about this area,

you should know that it is hot and it is dry.

This isn't like forest wilderness.

This is desert wilderness.

And this area of the world,

they're in the desert of Palestine.

And it only gets maybe about 6 to 12 inches of rainwater per year.

And pretty quickly, verse 15,

says they run out of water.

So Hagar puts her child,

who is about 15 years old at this point,

Ishmael is now a teenager,

puts her son under a bush

and goes off about the distance of a bow shot.

Why?

So that she won't have to be there and see her son die.

And as she sits there opposite him,

she just lifts up her voice and she weeps, she cries.

But what happens there?

Verse 17, what happens?

God hears the voice of the boy.

And the angel of the Lord,

he calls to Hagar from heaven and says,

What troubles you, Hagar?

Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.

Up!

Lift up the boy.

Hold him fast with your hand.

I will make him into a great nation.

And God opens their eyes

and she sees a well of water

and she goes and she fills up the water

and she gives Ishmael a drink of the water.

God cares for Hagar.

God provides for her and for Ishmael.

And once again, just as he did before in chapter 16,

God comes and appears as the angel of the Lord.

He comes to her rescue.

He comes and he cares for this outcast,

rejected, castaway nobody.

And it's just an incredible reversal, isn't it?

And within just a few verses,

Ishmael goes from being near the point of death,

they're dying of thirst under a bush,

to now verse 20, he's grown up.

He's got a home there in the wilderness.

He's got some skills with a bow.

He has a wife now from Egypt.

You see this grand reversal in the life of Ishmael.

He's truly blessed.

But church, we ought to zoom out and ask,

well, how in the world did this happen for Ishmael?

God did that.

God pursued him.

God pursued his mother.

God heard their cries.

God provided water to drink.

God had a plan for his future.

But once again, who's the main character of the scene?

It's the Lord.

You know, so often we talk about the work of God for his people,

and that is primary.

Those who have by his grace been included

and brought into this line of promise and blessing,

not by their own doing,

but by Christ's doing,

by grace,

through faith.

But have you ever thought about how much God blesses those

who are outside of the people of God?

Have you ever noticed that Christians aren't the only ones in the world

with food on their plate,

or with families,

or with jobs,

or with houses,

or with vehicles,

or with joy,

and with happiness in their life?

No, the sun shines on the righteous

and on the unrighteous alike.

This is what we call common grace.

God, in his kindness,

he pours out all sorts of blessings

on all people,

even on those who are outside

of his special saving grace.

If you're not a believer,

do you realize that it is God who gives you life?

And do you realize that it is God who gives you breath?

Do you realize that it is God who provides every single blessing in your life?

Do you realize that it is God who gives you a mind to think,

and a voice to speak,

and hands and feet to go and do the work that you do?

Do you realize that it is God who gives you food to eat,

and water to drink?

Do you realize that it is God who sustains your life?

You know, if you're not a believer,

you know the right response to these things?

It is to turn to the Lord

and give him praise for all that he's done for you.

God provides for,

he protects,

and he has purposes

for the believer and the non-believer

alike.

But this raises an important question,

doesn't it?

Which one are you?

Are you like Ishmael,

the product of the flesh,

enjoying God's common grace,

blessings,

receiving good things from the Lord,

but only in this life?

Or are you like Isaac,

a child of promise,

the product of God's work and power alone?

Which one are you?

In other words,

what is your birth story?

And we need to zoom out here for a minute

and see third,

third point this morning,

we need to see God's purpose

behind all of this.

Third,

God's purpose

for all of this.

And here,

I want us to turn to the book of Galatians.

Go ahead and just flip there.

Real quick,

I don't usually make you do this,

but I want you to lay eyes on Galatians chapter 4

Galatians 4 · chapter mention

this morning

because the point that Paul is making here

in Galatians chapter 4

Galatians 4 · chapter mention

is that these two children,

Isaac on one hand,

Ishmael on the other,

they represent two very different birth stories,

two very different identities,

with two very different destinations,

and everyone in this room

is represented by one or the other.

While you find it,

Galatians chapter 4,

Galatians 4 · chapter mention

I'll just recap quickly

what's going on here in Galatians.

There's a big problem in Galatia.

You remember what it is?

They have embraced what Paul calls

a false gospel.

What did we just say?

There is one gospel of Jesus Christ.

One gospel.

It's the good news that sinners,

Jew and Gentile alike,

can be justified,

declared righteous,

by the grace of God,

through faith in Jesus Christ.

It is a simple gospel.

And it sounds almost too good to be true.

It is so simple.

Jesus has done everything needed.

All you must do is repent and believe.

You put your faith in Christ.

It doesn't matter what your track record is

up to this point.

It doesn't matter your birth origin to this point.

It doesn't matter if you're Jew or Gentile,

slave or free.

If you are united to Christ Jesus by faith,

you are received, adopted, justified

before the sight of God.

There is one gospel message,

one way of salvation

for the one people of God,

believing Jew and believing Gentile alike.

There's not two peoples of God.

There's not two ways of salvation.

There are not two ways to be His children.

There is one.

This is the message of Galatians.

Over and over and over and over again,

he just hammers this home.

Chapter 2, verse 16, he says,

a person is not justified by works of the law,

but through faith in Jesus Christ.

Know then, chapter 3, verse 7,

know then that it is those of faith

who are the sons of Abraham.

So, chapter 3, verse 29,

being Jewish physically,

only physically,

does not make you an heir

of any of the promises of God

that He made to Abraham.

Not a single one.

If you are Christ, He says,

then you are Abraham's offspring,

heirs according to promise.

He just so desperately wants them to get this,

that there's one gospel.

Don't turn back to slavery,

to the law.

Don't go back to trying to earn your way to God

by your own effort.

Don't turn back to the flesh.

Just receive God's grace and power

for you in Christ through faith.

So now look to chapter 4.

To help them get this,

He reminds them of the story

of Abraham and Sarah and Hagar

and their two sons, Isaac and Ishmael.

Look there to verse 21.

Galatians chapter 4, verse 21.

Galatians 4:21

He says,

Tell me, you who desire to be under the law,

do you not listen to the law?

For it is written that Abraham had two sons,

one by a slave woman,

one by a free woman.

But the son of the slave was born

according to the flesh,

while the son of the free woman

was born through promise.

Now this may be interpreted allegorically.

These women are two covenants.

One is from Mount Sinai,

bearing children for slavery.

She is Hagar.

Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia.

She corresponds to the present Jerusalem,

for she is in slavery with her children.

But the Jerusalem above is free,

and she is our mother.

Verse 28.

You brothers, like Isaac,

are children of promise.

But just as at that time

he who was born according to the flesh

persecuted him who was born

according to the Spirit,

so also it is now.

But what does the Scripture say?

Cast out the slave woman and her son,

for the son of the slave woman

shall not inherit

with the son of the free woman.

So brothers,

we are not children of the slave,

but of the free woman.

Praise God.

These two children,

two birth stories,

are two paths of salvation.

One theoretical and false,

and one real and glorious.

One is by the flesh,

by works,

by the effort of Abraham.

One is by the sheer grace

and power of God.

One is by the law.

One is in slavery.

One is by the Spirit

and in freedom.

One is by works

and the other is by faith.

Which one are you?

Are you born naturally

of the flesh,

as all of us are,

and are therefore still

under the curse of the law?

Or have you,

by the grace of God,

through faith in Christ,

been born again

of the Spirit?

Are you still under

the old covenant of the law?

Or by His grace,

have you been brought

into the new covenant

of God's grace in Christ?

Which one?

That answer, church,

depends entirely

on your response

to the person and work

of Jesus Christ.

God sent His Son, Jesus,

into the world

to be the all-sufficient Savior

of His people.

You know what I mean

by all-sufficient?

That means He is enough.

You can't add to all-sufficient.

All-sufficient doesn't need

your help.

You can't work towards it.

You can't work your way

into it.

You can't earn it.

You can't improve upon it.

Nothing in your flesh

can bring about

one promise of God

for you in Christ.

It simply must be received

by faith, church.

Have you responded

to Christ by saying,

thank you for giving me

a road map

to be a better person?

Thank you for teaching me

how to improve upon myself

and be a better man.

Thank you for teaching me

how to be a better woman.

That is law.

And it cannot save you.

Or have you responded

by the grace of God

to say, thank you, Christ.

You have done it

by your power,

your work,

your life,

your death,

your resurrection alone.

That is my only hope

and I praise you

that you have done it.

And it's so simple.

It's so simple.

John tells us

in John chapter 1

John 1 · chapter mention

that Jesus,

he, Jesus,

came to his own

and his own people

did not receive him.

But to all who did receive him,

who believed in his name,

he gave the right

to become children of God

who were born

not of the will of the flesh

nor of the will of man,

but of God.

Ian DeGuid says

on this passage

that Hagar stands

for those who depend

on their own efforts

to be accepted by God.

They are in bondage

to the law

and their standing

before God

is therefore inevitably

temporary

and precarious.

Sarah,

on the other hand,

stands for those

who are living by faith

on the basis

of the gospel.

such people

are not trusting

in their own righteousness,

but in the righteousness

of Jesus Christ

credited by God

to their account.

They are the children

of promise.

Theirs is a liberty

that Hagar

could never know.

which one are you?

You know,

it may be that

this is all new information

to you, right?

Maybe you hear this

and you thought

that to be a Christian

just meant

I just gotta do better,

clean myself up,

try a little harder,

make God happy with me,

perform a little bit better,

and maybe,

maybe by the grace of God,

this is the first time

that you're seeing

that this whole thing

from beginning to end

is not dependent

on your power.

It is God's power.

It is God's doing.

If that's you,

just let me,

let me just encourage you

before we move on,

respond this morning

by putting your faith

in Christ.

Please come talk with me

or any other member

of this church

about what that means,

what that looks like.

If you have questions,

please come.

So we see the divine plan

behind all of this,

but we still,

we still have this little story

here at the end

to deal with,

don't we?

So let's turn our attention there

to our final point here,

verses 22 through 34,

and here,

fourth,

we see once again,

once again,

fourth,

God's promises.

God's promises.

Look there,

starting in verse 22,

and you may be wondering,

like I was this week,

how in the world

does this story

fit in with everything

we just talked about?

And we go straight

from this birth story

and this family drama

and now to another interaction

with Abraham and Abimelech

and what's going on here?

We just dealt with this

last week in chapter 20,

and I won't spend much time here,

but I just want you

to remember the big picture here,

okay?

Remember?

The big picture here,

it's not about Abraham.

It is not about Isaac.

It is not about Ishmael.

It's not about me.

It's not about you.

The big picture here,

it is all about God

and His faithfulness

to His promises,

okay?

You see that?

Remember the promises

God made to Abraham,

a child and land.

Offspring and the promised land.

Well, we got the offspring now,

finally,

25 years later.

Despite Abraham's faithlessness,

God remained faithful,

and now we're left wondering,

well, what about the land?

You remember how Abraham

tried to mess that up too,

don't you,

last week?

He made some pretty powerful enemies

last week,

chapter 20.

He almost got a king

and his whole family killed,

but now,

now,

what we see here

is a divine reversal

of circumstance

in Abraham's favor.

Everything that went wrong

in chapter 20

now is going

for Abraham

here in chapter 21.

Look there,

look there to verse 22.

We see,

you see Abimelech

comes to Abraham,

now he's bringing

Phicol,

the commander of his army,

and he says,

God is with you

in all that you do.

He has seen this,

hasn't he?

He's experienced this

firsthand.

You remember,

God spoke to Abimelech

in the dream

because of Abraham.

He's seen enough

to know the power

of Abraham's God,

but he's also seen enough

of Abraham

to know his potential

for deception.

So he makes him promise,

swear to me, Abraham,

that you won't deal

falsely with me.

You better start

being honest with me.

I need to know

I can trust you.

Don't lie again.

I've been kind to you.

You be kind to me.

And Abraham says,

okay, I swear.

Now, this is where

this gets really interesting

to me,

and if I can just have

your permission

to nerd out

for just a minute

on the rest of this passage,

because the rest

of this chapter,

I still haven't figured it out.

But it serves

as a sort of mirror

image of chapter 20.

Just notice this, okay?

Abraham came to Abimelech

in chapter 20.

Now, Abimelech comes

to Abraham in chapter 21.

Abimelech reproved Abraham

for his sin in chapter 20.

But here now,

Abraham is reproving Abimelech

for his sin in 21.

Abraham gave three excuses

for his behavior.

You remember chapter 20?

You don't fear God.

Technically,

she is my sister.

God made me do it.

Now, chapter 21,

we get to hear

Abimelech's three excuses.

I don't know who did it.

You didn't tell me.

I'm just now hearing

about this.

Abimelech sent Abraham away

with material blessings,

cleared his name

in chapter 20.

Now, in 21,

here's Abraham

sending sheep

and oxen to Abimelech

and making sure

everybody knows,

hey, that's my well.

what's going on here?

To tell you the truth,

I don't exactly know.

I tossed this around

and around and around

in my mind this week.

I was laying there

in the tent

just thinking about it

as we went camping

as a church

the other night.

I even went so far

as to reach out

to one of my former professors

who is a,

just a brilliant

Old Testament scholar.

I laid out everything

to him

that I just said to you

that,

Professor,

this looks like

a mirror image

of chapter 20.

Can you help me

think through this, please?

He got back to me

yesterday

and he said,

Jonathan,

I think that you are

on to something here.

That's encouraging.

Perhaps 20 is a mirror

of 21.

Makes sense.

The question then

is for what purpose?

And I'm reading this

like,

yes, exactly.

That's what I want you

to tell me, please.

Help me out.

Tell me what it is.

And then he said,

let me know where you land.

End of email.

Sent from my iPhone.

So church,

I have to keep digging,

but here's my best guess,

okay?

Here's my best guess.

How do you explain

such an incredible reversal?

Did you notice

how Abraham comes out

after this whole exchange?

He leaves now

having made a covenant

with this man

who was once his enemy.

He leaves now

with an ally

in the place of an enemy.

Not only this,

he now has a well

here in the desert.

Not only this,

Abraham now plants a tree.

I mean,

it looks like Abraham

is going to be around here

for a while,

doesn't it?

How do you explain

this great reversal

of circumstance?

The secular explanation

for this would be

good fortune.

Man,

things just turned out

for Abraham,

didn't they?

Abraham really had

some good luck here.

Just look how things

just rolled in his favor.

But we know

this can only be explained

as a work

of a good

and sovereign

and powerful

and covenant-keeping God.

God

has turned

this whole thing around

in Abraham's favor.

But why?

For what purpose?

I think Moses

wants us to see

that

our covenant-keeping

God

despite our foolishness

will be faithful

to his promises.

God promised Abraham

offspring

despite his foolishness.

He did it.

Isaac is here

and now

likewise

God promised Abraham

this land

and despite Abraham's foolishness

God

will

make a way

to turn

all things

in his favor

for his good

to fulfill

all

his promises.

Believer,

do you realize

that this same

covenant-keeping

God

is working for you

and in you

with all

his power

to bring to pass

every word

of every promise

made to you

in Christ Jesus

our Lord.

God

do you believe

that his word

will

not fail

that no obstacle

whether from the outside

or from the inside

whether from the world

or from your own foolishness

no obstacle

will stand

in his way

all things

work together

for good

for those

who love him

and are called

according to his purpose

all of this

from beginning to end

all of this

church

is God's

work

for God's

glory

it is about

God

he is the main

character of the story

God is the main

character

of your

life

life

God is the main reason

his glory

is the aim

of all human history

it is all about him

do you see the world

this way

believer

do you realize

that your

new birth

is the story

of God

doing not just

the unlikely

but the impossible

in you

that God

has so

orchestrated

your new birth

that it cannot

be explained

any other way

than by a miracle

of his power

he alone

has done it

he has caused us

to be born

again

and not just

that

but to be born

again

to a living

hope

an inheritance

we are

heirs of God

and fellow

heirs with Christ

heirs of all

the world

the true

promised land

in the age

to come

non-believer

do you realize

that the blessings

that you receive

in this life

are meant to

draw you

to give glory

to God

to repent

of your sin

to put your faith

in him

to honor him

and give thanks

to him

and to glorify him

as you were made

to do

and Christian

do you realize

that our

confidence

and our

hope

of a certain

future

in the true

promised land

is not

in our

work

is not

in our

performance

is not

in our

faithfulness

to him

it is in

his faithfulness

to himself

and thereby

his faithfulness

to us

in Christ

from beginning

to end

it is about

him

his power

his faithfulness

his goodness

his glory

now and forever

amen

father god

we praise

you

for your

faithfulness

to your

promises

in Christ

and lord

we praise

you for

the grace

that has

brought

sinners

like us

in

to this

line of

promise

not by

our effort

not by

our goodness

but by

your

sheer

grace

and mercy

alone

we praise

you lord

for the new

life you've

given us

in christ

if there

are any

who have

yet to

receive it

lord

would you

work that

in them

this moment

we pray

in jesus name

amen