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†. Gen 21:13 . . As for the son of the slave-woman, I will make a
nation of him, too, for he is your seed.
Abraham certainly must have been worried what would become of Ishmael;
so God reassured him his boy would be just fine.
I think it's significant that God didn't refer to either Hagar or to Ishmael by
name, probably because the emphasis here is upon Divine purpose instead
of upon people.
†. Gen 21:14a . . Early next morning Abraham took some bread and a
skin of water, and gave them to Hagar.
The Hebrew word for "bread" is lechem (lekh'-em) which just simply means
food (for man or beast), which therefore includes grain. So Abraham didn't
necessarily send the poor woman out on her own with a ration of bread and
water like some sort of hardened criminal, but very likely provisioned Hagar
and his son Ishmael with enough camper-grade food stuffs to keep them
going for a while.
But it's puzzling why Abraham didn't provide them with an escort; at least
until they reached the safety of a village or a town. That suggests to me that
Abraham fully believed God's promise to "make a nation of him" which
implies that God Himself would look out for them from here on in.
†. Gen 21:14b . . He placed them over her shoulder, together with
the child,
I would have hated to observe that scene. Abraham didn't dispatch a servant
or a butler to equip Hagar. He did it himself. And he didn't just bring the
provisions out to her and set it down at her feet. No. He put them up on her
shoulder himself. You have to stand close to someone to do that; close
enough to look them right in the eyes.
There's no record of ever any ill will between Hagar and Abraham, nor any
between him and his boy Ishmael either. Those three were truly family in
every sense of the word— mom, dad, and child. There couldn't have been a
dry eye nor a cheerful face at any time during this excruciating farewell. If
you've ever experienced something so upsetting as to make you nauseous,
lead-bellied, and lose your appetite; then you know what I'm talking about.
Anybody who can read this story without feeling the slightest twinge of
compassion for any one of those three; has got to be the most insensitive
clod on earth.
†. Gen 21:14c . . and sent her away.
The phrase "sent her away" is from the Hebrew word shalach (shaw-lakh')
which is a versatile word that can be used of divorce as well as for the
emancipation of slaves. In other words: Hagar wasn't banished as is
commonly assumed; no, she was set free; and it's very important to nail
that down in our thinking because if Abraham had merely banished Hagar,
then her son Ishmael would have retained his legal status as Abraham's
eldest biological son.
Technically, Ishmael retained his status as one of Abraham's biological sons
(Gen 25:9) but not legally; no, his legal association with Abraham was
dissolved when he emancipated Ishmael's mother.
I believe it's important to emphasize that Hagar and Ishmael weren't cut
loose because they were no longer worthy to live in Abraham's camp any
more. No. It was only as a measure to expedite God's future plans for Isaac.
Even if Sarah hadn't proposed the idea of emancipating Hagar, I suspect
that God would have eventually required it so anyway.
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†. Gen 21:13 . . As for the son of the slave-woman, I will make a
nation of him, too, for he is your seed.
Abraham certainly must have been worried what would become of Ishmael;
so God reassured him his boy would be just fine.
I think it's significant that God didn't refer to either Hagar or to Ishmael by
name, probably because the emphasis here is upon Divine purpose instead
of upon people.
†. Gen 21:14a . . Early next morning Abraham took some bread and a
skin of water, and gave them to Hagar.
The Hebrew word for "bread" is lechem (lekh'-em) which just simply means
food (for man or beast), which therefore includes grain. So Abraham didn't
necessarily send the poor woman out on her own with a ration of bread and
water like some sort of hardened criminal, but very likely provisioned Hagar
and his son Ishmael with enough camper-grade food stuffs to keep them
going for a while.
But it's puzzling why Abraham didn't provide them with an escort; at least
until they reached the safety of a village or a town. That suggests to me that
Abraham fully believed God's promise to "make a nation of him" which
implies that God Himself would look out for them from here on in.
†. Gen 21:14b . . He placed them over her shoulder, together with
the child,
I would have hated to observe that scene. Abraham didn't dispatch a servant
or a butler to equip Hagar. He did it himself. And he didn't just bring the
provisions out to her and set it down at her feet. No. He put them up on her
shoulder himself. You have to stand close to someone to do that; close
enough to look them right in the eyes.
There's no record of ever any ill will between Hagar and Abraham, nor any
between him and his boy Ishmael either. Those three were truly family in
every sense of the word— mom, dad, and child. There couldn't have been a
dry eye nor a cheerful face at any time during this excruciating farewell. If
you've ever experienced something so upsetting as to make you nauseous,
lead-bellied, and lose your appetite; then you know what I'm talking about.
Anybody who can read this story without feeling the slightest twinge of
compassion for any one of those three; has got to be the most insensitive
clod on earth.
†. Gen 21:14c . . and sent her away.
The phrase "sent her away" is from the Hebrew word shalach (shaw-lakh')
which is a versatile word that can be used of divorce as well as for the
emancipation of slaves. In other words: Hagar wasn't banished as is
commonly assumed; no, she was set free; and it's very important to nail
that down in our thinking because if Abraham had merely banished Hagar,
then her son Ishmael would have retained his legal status as Abraham's
eldest biological son.
Technically, Ishmael retained his status as one of Abraham's biological sons
(Gen 25:9) but not legally; no, his legal association with Abraham was
dissolved when he emancipated Ishmael's mother.
I believe it's important to emphasize that Hagar and Ishmael weren't cut
loose because they were no longer worthy to live in Abraham's camp any
more. No. It was only as a measure to expedite God's future plans for Isaac.
Even if Sarah hadn't proposed the idea of emancipating Hagar, I suspect
that God would have eventually required it so anyway.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=