Chapter Summary Genesis 20 - 22
Abraham’s faith wanes and he again lies about his relationship with Sarah, and again is protected by God (20:1-18). As promised, Sarah gives joyful birth to a son, Isaac (21:1-7). Strife again erupts in the family, and Sarah insists Abraham send Ishmael and Hagar away (vv. 8-13). Hagar and the teenage Ishmael set out alone into the desert, where God intervenes to provide water (vv. 14-21). After Abraham peacefully resolves a dispute with a Philistine city (vv. 22-34), he experiences the ultimate test of his faith. God tells Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice (Gen. 22).
KEY VERSE 22:5:
Abraham did not know how, but he was sure that God would preserve Isaac’s life!
PERSONAL APPLICATION:
Even giants of faith like Abraham stumbled at times. Don’t be too hard on yourself.
ABIMELECH.
The name means “My father [is] king” and was apparently a hereditary title rather than a personal name (Gen. 26). This is the earliest mention of “Philistines” in Canaan’s coastal area (21:32; 26:1). These “sea peoples” from Crete were probably few in number, as archeologists have traced a great influx some 800 years later. Some claim the Bible is wrong to place Philistines in Canaan at this time. But pioneers from many ancient lands established early settlements there.
FEAR.
Abraham explains his lie about his relationship with Sarah (21:10-13). He thought the people of Gerar didn’t fear God, and thus could not be trusted! Whether the people feared God or not, God was there! Abraham could have trusted the Lord, even if he didn’t trust Philistines. Fear of others still makes fools of God’s people.
ISHMAEL SENT AWAY.
Well-established custom in the Patriarchal Age protected the rights of any child born to a man by a slave woman. Though the son of the wife was a man’s legal heir, his child by a concubine was guaranteed an inheritance. Sarah’s demand that Abraham send Ishmael away was doubly distressing. Abraham loved Ishmael. And he believed that sending Ishmael away was morally wrong. Only God’s direct intervention, and God’s promise to guarantee Ishmael’s future, finally moved Abraham to banish Hagar and his son. Abraham would surely understand the pain of those who lose their children through divorce. How desperately we need to remember that God cares for our loved ones, even when we cannot.
“GOD OPENED HER EYES” (21:19).
God did not create a spring when Hagar and Ishmael seemed about to die. He enabled her to see a well of water that was already there! In hard times you and I simply need to ask God to show us the solution He has already provided.
“YOUR ONLY SON” (22:1-2).
God did not intend for Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. The command was a test: a test of how far Abraham would trust the Lord with his most precious possession. Yet the story is also prophetic. God, who was too kind to take Abraham’s son, was willing to surrender His Son, His only Son, whom He loves, to win our salvation. In the test of Abraham we see foreshadowed the ultimate test of God’s own love. And the proof that God’s love for us is real.
“WE WILL COME BACK TO YOU” (22:5).
These words affirm Abraham’s faith. God had said His promises to Abraham would be kept in Isaac’s offspring. Heb. 11:19 says Abraham “reasoned that God could raise the dead” if need be to keep His word! Let’s be like Abraham, sure that God will provide. Let’s trust God completely, even rising early (Gen. 22:3) to keep the most difficult of His commands.
LAMBS.
Throughout the O.T. the lamb is the preferred sacrificial animal. It is the animal most frequently specified in the Levitical law of sacrifice. So it’s fitting that the innocent, harmless lamb is the O.T.’s prime sacrificial symbol. Jesus, the innocent Lamb of God, offered Himself as a sacrifice for us. He took our place, as the ram of Gen. 22 took the place of Isaac. Through His suffering, the sinless Son of God purged our sins and made us clean (John 1:29, 36; 1 Peter 1:19).