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A Plan for Ishmael - The Book of Genesis (2024) · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And it came to pass at that
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  Speaker 1: time that Abimelech and Phicol, the chief captain of his host,
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  Speaker 1: spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all
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  Speaker 1: that thou doest. Genesis 21-22 Lord, thank you that through
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  Speaker 1: your faithfulness you watch over your word to make sure
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  Speaker 1: that no one of your promises falls short. Thank you
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  Speaker 1: that Even though time passes, your word to me and
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  Speaker 1: my family will come to pass. I praise you because
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  Speaker 1: even through family dysfunction, you still preserve your promise for
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  Speaker 1: us all. Even when I experience moments of abandonment like
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  Speaker 1: Hagar and Ishmael, I know you will provide divine miracles
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  Speaker 1: and refreshing wells for me to drink from. Thank you, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: that you hear my prayers. Thank you for the warrior
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  Speaker 1: spirit you've placed in me. Thank you for showering me
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  Speaker 1: with talent and grace. I will continue in my attitude
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  Speaker 1: of gratitude by also thanking you for your many signs
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  Speaker 1: of steadfast love and for making all things work together
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  Speaker 1: for my good. My future is safe, and my promise
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  Speaker 1: is secure in you. In Jesus' name.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for making prayer a priority in your day.
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  Speaker 1: To learn more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story.
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  Speaker 1: Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: A plan for Ishmael. Before this story, we learned about
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  Speaker 2: Abraham and how he told King Abimelech Sarah is my
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  Speaker 2: sister to protect himself. He took her, but God warned
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  Speaker 2: him in a dream and restored Abraham and Sarah. Now
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  Speaker 2: we will learn about how Abraham and Sarah will have
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  Speaker 2: a son named Isaac, just as God promised, inspired by
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  Speaker 2: the book of Genesis.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. A long-awaited birth. That's where
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  Speaker 3: we begin today. Long awaited seems like an understatement. Abraham
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  Speaker 3: and Sarah have waited and prayed and strayed so many
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  Speaker 3: times over these decades. And now God is giving them
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  Speaker 3: a son, Isaac. It's a joyous celebration of a promise fulfilled.
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  Speaker 3: But not everyone is thrilled. And today we're going to
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  Speaker 3: see what happens with Abraham's first son, Ishmael, and his mother, Hagar.
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  Speaker 3: As you listen to the story, try to imagine what
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  Speaker 3: each of the characters would have been feeling. Sarah, who
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  Speaker 3: finally has her son and now sees him being mistreated
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  Speaker 3: by the offspring of her servant Hagar, whom she gave
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  Speaker 3: to Abraham to try to speed up and short-circuit God's plan. Ishmael,
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  Speaker 3: the eldest son who knows he's not the chosen one.
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  Speaker 3: He was not received with this kind of fanfare and jubilation.
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  Speaker 3: And Hagar, who is sitting on the sidelines again, knowing
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  Speaker 3: that Sarah holds a deep contempt for her and her son,
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  Speaker 3: even though it was her idea, Sarah's idea, in the
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  Speaker 3: very beginning. And think of Abraham, caught in the crossfire,
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  Speaker 3: trying to handle such a very messy family situation with wisdom,
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  Speaker 3: caring for his new son and his oldest son and
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  Speaker 3: his wife Sarah. Finally, watch how God works in the
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  Speaker 3: situation to bring good out of such a dysfunctional, family dynamic,
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  Speaker 3: how once again he pours grace out on his children,
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  Speaker 3: just as he does for you and me. Now, let's
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  Speaker 3: listen to the passage today and hear Ishmael's story.
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  Speaker 2: Abraham was a hundred years old, and Sarah was ninety
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  Speaker 2: years old. At last the promises of God were realized.
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  Speaker 2: After months of an unexpected pregnancy, Sarah gave birth to
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  Speaker 2: a son. the promised Son of God emerged from the
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  Speaker 2: once barren womb of Sarah. Abraham named him Isaac, which
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  Speaker 2: means laughter. A suitable name, since Sarah's old age had
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  Speaker 2: made it impossible for her to have children, yet nothing
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  Speaker 2: was impossible for God. Sarah rejoiced, saying, God has made
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  Speaker 2: laughter for me, and everyone who hears of this will
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  Speaker 2: laugh over me, for I have had a child in
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  Speaker 2: my old age. Isaac grew older, and when he was weaned,
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  Speaker 2: Abraham held a great feast in his honor. During the feast,
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  Speaker 2: Sarah noticed that Ishmael, the son of her servant Hagar,
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  Speaker 2: was scoffing at Isaac. Ishmael, no doubt feeling jealous and unloved,
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  Speaker 2: looked upon Isaac with contempt. Sarah erupted with anger and
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  Speaker 2: once again lashed out at Abraham and Hagar. Banish this
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  Speaker 2: slave woman and her son, for the son of this
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  Speaker 2: slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.
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  Speaker 2: Abraham grieved over this. Though Ishmael was a son born
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  Speaker 2: from disobedience, he was his son nonetheless. Distressed and frustrated,
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  Speaker 2: Abraham looked to God once again. Be not disheartened because
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  Speaker 2: of the boy and his mother, God said. Whatever Sarah
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  Speaker 2: says to you, do as she tells you, for I
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  Speaker 2: have chosen Isaac to be your heir. Yet I will
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  Speaker 2: not forget Ishmael, and I will make a great nation
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  Speaker 2: out of him as well. So Abraham did as the
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  Speaker 2: Lord and Sarah had asked. He packed water and food
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  Speaker 2: and sent Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness alone. Abraham,
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  Speaker 2: who had spent years raising Ishmael, said his final goodbyes.
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  Speaker 2: The two wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba, slowly losing water, food,
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  Speaker 2: and hope. The days grew longer and the nights colder. Thirsty, starving,
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  Speaker 2: and alone, Hagar had lost all hope. She let Ishmael
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  Speaker 2: sleep under a bush and walked several yards away. She
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  Speaker 2: could not bear to watch him die, so she would
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  Speaker 2: abandon him altogether. Hagar, as she did before when in despair...
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  Speaker 2: lifted her voice to heaven, and God, as he did before,
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  Speaker 2: heard her.' Fear not, for I have heard the voice
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  Speaker 2: of the boy where he is.' Up, lift up your child,
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  Speaker 2: and hold him fast with your hand,' for I will
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  Speaker 2: make him into a great nation just as I promised.''
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  Speaker 2: Soon after, Hagar discovered a well filled with water.' The
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  Speaker 2: two drank, regained their strength, and found a life for themselves.'
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  Speaker 2: God continued with Ishmael. As he promised, he showered Ishmael
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  Speaker 2: with grace, giving him talent and a warrior's spirit. Hagar
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  Speaker 2: would do right by her son, finding him an Egyptian
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  Speaker 2: wife and helping him start a family. This would be
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  Speaker 2: another sign of the steadfast love of God working in
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  Speaker 2: family brokenness, restoring all things to make them better.
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  Speaker 3: The birth of a child. It's an occasion that calls
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  Speaker 3: for great celebration as a new life enters the world.
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  Speaker 3: This is true of any birth. So how much more
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  Speaker 3: was this true for the birth of Isaac? For years
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  Speaker 3: and years, God had promised the day would come, and
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  Speaker 3: finally it was here. I love how Sarah again turns
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  Speaker 3: to laughter, this time a laughter of joy and astonishment
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  Speaker 3: at what has happened, what God has done. We've seen
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  Speaker 3: her laugh in disbelief before. Now is the laugh of faith.
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  Speaker 3: Now she is experiencing pure joy. And not only that,
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  Speaker 3: she knows that she will no longer be laughed at
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  Speaker 3: by others, but laughed with. Look at what it says
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  Speaker 3: in Genesis 21, 6 and 7. Sarah said, God has
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  Speaker 3: made laughter for me. Everyone who hears will laugh with me.
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  Speaker 3: And she said, who would have said to Abraham that
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  Speaker 3: Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have born him a
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  Speaker 3: son in his old age. Once Isaac was weaned around
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  Speaker 3: the age of two or three, there was a great
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  Speaker 3: feast in his honor. This was, after all, cause for
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  Speaker 3: extravagant celebration. I can just imagine the party that Abraham
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  Speaker 3: and Sarah threw for their son, their pride and joy,
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  Speaker 3: the fulfillment of God's promise. But not everyone was excited.
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  Speaker 3: Someone who was bound to feel left out, rejected, and replaced.
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  Speaker 3: His name is Ishmael. Ishmael, no doubt, he wasn't anyone's
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  Speaker 3: first choice other than Hagar, his mother. He probably knew
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  Speaker 3: this day would come, but now that he was here,
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  Speaker 3: the sting of rejection would have been almost too much
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  Speaker 3: to bear. This child, of course, had done nothing to him,
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  Speaker 3: but his existence alone was a threat and an insult.
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  Speaker 3: So what did he do? Ishmael mocked Isaac. Sarah witnessed
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  Speaker 3: this and understandably burned with anger. She would protect this child,
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  Speaker 3: her child, at all costs, especially from the son of
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  Speaker 3: her servant Hagar, whom she had resented for years. So
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  Speaker 3: she tells Abraham to drive them off, send them away
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  Speaker 3: into the wilderness. Abraham is torn. He doesn't know what
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  Speaker 3: to do. He cares deeply for both his sons and
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  Speaker 3: for his wife and for Hagar. There seems to be
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  Speaker 3: no good answer. So what does he do? You and
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  Speaker 3: I often face tough issues, possibly even family strife and separation,
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  Speaker 3: situations that seemingly have no solutions. We can try to
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  Speaker 3: figure it out ourselves and risk making things even worse.
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  Speaker 3: Or we can do what Abraham did. He turned to God.
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  Speaker 3: And God told him to remember his first loyalty, his
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  Speaker 3: first commitment, the one to his wife, Sarah. Isaac is,
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  Speaker 3: after all, the one through whom God's promise of a
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  Speaker 3: chosen people, a great nation to rescue all other nations,
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  Speaker 3: would be fulfilled. This does not mean that God neglected
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  Speaker 3: Ishmael and Hagar. or that he would abandon them. He
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  Speaker 3: reassures Abraham of this very thing, saying that he will
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  Speaker 3: also make Ishmael into a great nation because he is
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  Speaker 3: Abraham's descendant. Wandering in the wilderness, nearly out of water,
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  Speaker 3: it probably seemed to Hagar and Ishmael that God had
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  Speaker 3: forgotten them. But at the right moment, God comes in
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  Speaker 3: and rescues them, promising Hagar that he would prosper Ishmael
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  Speaker 3: and multiply his descendants as well. One thing this passage
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  Speaker 3: shows us is that God's blessings and promises for one person,
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  Speaker 3: in the case of Isaac, do not preclude him from
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  Speaker 3: also blessing others, people like you and me. And rather
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  Speaker 3: than envying and mocking Isaac, Ishmael could rest in what
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  Speaker 3: God has also promised him, knowing God will deliver just
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  Speaker 3: as he is doing to Isaac, that he would deliver Ishmael.
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  Speaker 3: This is still a very tragic and sad story A
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  Speaker 3: family has forever been divided, but God's grace abounds. And
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  Speaker 3: even in the messiness of his family, he blesses and
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  Speaker 3: provides according to his purpose and fulfillment of his promises. God,
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  Speaker 3: thank you for the story of Isaac and Ishmael. Thank
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  Speaker 3: you for the hope it gives us for your ability
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  Speaker 3: to intervene in family conflicts and strife and bring about
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  Speaker 3: blessing for all who are involved. May we trust in you.
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  Speaker 3: and the promises that you have given us. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com
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  Speaker 3: God more and more in your life, be sure and
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  Speaker 3: visit jackgraham.org. God bless you.