mh_parser/vol_split/1 - Genesis/Chapter 21.xml

<div2 id="Gen.xxii" n="xxii" next="Gen.xxiii" prev="Gen.xxi" progress="15.61%" title="Chapter XXI">
<pb id="Gen.xxii-Page_131" n="131"/>
<h2 id="Gen.xxii-p0.1">G E N E S I S</h2>
<h3 id="Gen.xxii-p0.2">CHAP. XXI.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Gen.xxii-p1">In this chapter we have, I. Isaac, the child of
promise born into Abraham's family, <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.1-Gen.21.8" parsed="|Gen|21|1|21|8" passage="Ge 21:1-8">ver. 1-8</scripRef>. II. Ishmael, the son of the
bondwoman, cast out of it, <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.9-Gen.21.21" parsed="|Gen|21|9|21|21" passage="Ge 21:9-21">ver.
9-21</scripRef>. III. Abraham's league with his neighbour
Abimelech, <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.23-Gen.21.32" parsed="|Gen|21|23|21|32" passage="Ge 21:23-32">ver. 22-32</scripRef>.
IV. His devotion to his God, <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.33" parsed="|Gen|21|33|0|0" passage="Ge 21:33">ver.
33</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Gen.xxii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21" parsed="|Gen|21|0|0|0" passage="Ge 21" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Gen.xxii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.1-Gen.21.8" parsed="|Gen|21|1|21|8" passage="Ge 21:1-8" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.21.1-Gen.21.8">
<h4 id="Gen.xxii-p1.7">The Birth of Isaac. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.xxii-p1.8">b. c.</span> 1897.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gen.xxii-p2">1 And the <span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.xxii-p2.1">Lord</span>
visited Sarah as he had said, and the <span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.xxii-p2.2">Lord</span> did unto Sarah as he had spoken.   2
For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the
set time of which God had spoken to him.   3 And Abraham
called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare
to him, Isaac.   4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being
eight days old, as God had commanded him.   5 And Abraham was
an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.  
6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, <i>so that</i> all
that hear will laugh with me.   7 And she said, Who would have
said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for
I have borne <i>him</i> a son in his old age.   8 And the
child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the
<i>same</i> day that Isaac was weaned.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p3">Long-looked-for comes at last. The vision
concerning the promised seed is for an appointed time, and now, at
the end, it speaks, and does not lie; few under the Old Testament
were brought into the world with such expectation as Isaac was, not
for the sake of any great person eminence at which he was to
arrive, but because he was to be, in this very thing, a type of
Christ, that seed which the holy God had so long promised and holy
men so long expected. In this account of the first days of Isaac we
may observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p4">I. The fulfilling of God's promise in the
conception and birth of Isaac, <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.1-Gen.21.2" parsed="|Gen|21|1|21|2" passage="Ge 21:1,2"><i>v.</i> 1, 2</scripRef>. Note, God's providences look
best and brightest when they are compared with his word, and when
we observe how God, in them all, acts as he has said, as he has
spoken. 1. Isaac was born according to the promise. The Lord
visited Sarah in mercy, as he had said. Note, No word of God shall
fall to the ground; for he is faithful that has promised, and God's
faithfulness is the stay and support of his people's faith. He was
born <i>at the set time of which God had spoken,</i> <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.2" parsed="|Gen|21|2|0|0" passage="Ge 21:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. Note, God is always
punctual to his time; though his promised mercies come not at the
time we set, they will certainly come at the time he sets, and that
is the best time. 2. He was born by virtue of the promise: <i>Sarah
by faith received strength to conceive</i> <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Heb.11.11" parsed="|Heb|11|11|0|0" passage="Heb 11:11">Heb. xi. 11</scripRef>. God therefore by promise gave
that strength. It was not by the power of common providence, but by
the power of a special promise, that Isaac was born. A sentence of
death was, as it were, passed upon the second causes: Abraham was
old, and Sarah old, and both as good as dead; and then the word of
God took place. Note, True believers, by virtue of God's promises,
are enabled to do that which is above the power of human nature,
for <i>by them they partake of a divine nature,</i> <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:2Pet.1.4" parsed="|2Pet|1|4|0|0" passage="2Pe 1:4">2 Pet. i. 4</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p5">II. Abraham's obedience to God's precept
concerning Isaac.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p6">1. He named him, as God commanded him,
<scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.3" parsed="|Gen|21|3|0|0" passage="Ge 21:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. God directed
him to a name for a memorial, <i>Isaac, laughter;</i> and Abraham,
whose office it was, gave him that name, though he might have
designed him some other name of a more pompous signification. Note,
it is fit that the luxuriancy of human invention should always
yield to the sovereignty and plainness of divine institution; yet
there was good reason for the name, for, (1.) When Abraham received
the promise of him he laughed for joy, <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.17.17" parsed="|Gen|17|17|0|0" passage="Ge 17:17"><i>ch.</i> xvii. 17</scripRef>. Note, When the sun of
comfort has risen upon the soul it is good to remember how welcome
the dawning of the day was, and with what exultation we embraced
the promise. (2.) When Sarah received the promise she laughed with
distrust and diffidence. Note, When God gives us the mercies we
began to despair of we ought to remember with sorrow and shame our
sinful distrusts of God's power and promise, when we were in
pursuit of them. (3.) Isaac was himself, afterwards, laughed at by
Ishmael (<scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.9" parsed="|Gen|21|9|0|0" passage="Ge 21:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>), and
perhaps his name bade him expect it. Note, God's favourites are
often the world's laughing-stocks. (4.) The promise which he was
not only the son, but the heir of, was to be the joy of all the
saints in all ages, and that which would fill their mouths with
laughter.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p7">2. He circumcised him, <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.4" parsed="|Gen|21|4|0|0" passage="Ge 21:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. The covenant being established
with him, the seal of the covenant was administered to him; and
though a bloody ordinance, and he a darling, yet it must not be
omitted, no, nor deferred beyond the eighth day. God had kept time
in performing the promise, and therefore Abraham must keep time in
obeying the precept.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p8">III. The impressions which this mercy made
upon Sarah.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p9">1. It filled her with joy (<scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.6" parsed="|Gen|21|6|0|0" passage="Ge 21:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>): "<i>God has made me to
laugh;</i> he has given me both cause to rejoice and a heart to
rejoice." Thus the mother of our Lord, <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.1.46-Luke.1.47" parsed="|Luke|1|46|1|47" passage="Lu 1:46,47">Luke i. 46, 47</scripRef>. Note, (1.) God bestows
mercies upon his people to encourage their joy in his work and
service; and, whatever is the matter of

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our
joy, God must be acknowledged as the author of it, unless it be the
<i>laughter of the fool.</i> (2.) When mercies have been long
deferred they are the more welcome when they come. (3.) It adds to
the comfort of any mercy to have our friends rejoice with us in it:
<i>All that hear will laugh with me;</i> for laughing is catching.
See <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.1.58" parsed="|Luke|1|58|0|0" passage="Lu 1:58">Luke i. 58</scripRef>. Others would
rejoice in this instance of God's power and goodness, and be
encouraged to trust in him. See <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p9.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.119.74" parsed="|Ps|119|74|0|0" passage="Ps 119:74">Ps.
cxix. 74</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p10">2. It filled her with wonder, <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.7" parsed="|Gen|21|7|0|0" passage="Ge 21:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>. Observe here, (1.) What
it was she thought so wonderful: That <i>Sarah should give children
suck,</i> that she should, not only bear a child, but be so strong
and hearty at the age as to give it suck. Note, Mothers, if they be
able, ought to be nurses to their own children. Sarah was a person
of quality, was aged; nursing might be thought prejudicial of
herself, or to the child, or to both; she had choice of nurses, no
doubt, in her own family: and yet she would do her duty in this
matter; and her daughters the good wives are while they thus <i>do
well,</i> <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.3.5-1Pet.3.6" parsed="|1Pet|3|5|3|6" passage="1Pe 3:5,6">1 Pet. iii. 5,
6</scripRef>. See <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:Lam.4.3" parsed="|Lam|4|3|0|0" passage="La 4:3">Lam. iv. 3</scripRef>.
(2.) How she expressed her wonder: "<i>Who would have said it?</i>
The thing was so highly improbable, so near to impossible, that if
any one but God had said it we could not have believed it." Note,
God's favours to his covenant-people are such as surpass both their
own and others' thoughts and expectations. Who could imagine that
God should do so much for those that deserve so little, nay, for
those that deserve so ill? See <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p10.4" osisRef="Bible:Eph.3.20 Bible:2Sam.7.18-2Sam.7.19" parsed="|Eph|3|20|0|0;|2Sam|7|18|7|19" passage="Eph 3:20,2Sa 7:18,19">Eph. iii. 20; 2 Sam. vii. 18, 19</scripRef>.
Who would have said that God should send his Son to die for us, his
Spirit to sanctify us, his angels to attend us? Who would have said
that such great sins should be pardoned, such mean services
accepted, and such worthless worms taken into covenant and
communion with the great and holy God?</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p11">IV. A short account of Isaac's infancy:
<i>The child grew,</i> <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.8" parsed="|Gen|21|8|0|0" passage="Ge 21:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef>. Special notice is taken of this, though a thing of
course, to intimate that the children of the promise are growing
children. See <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.1.80 Bible:Luke.2.40" parsed="|Luke|1|80|0|0;|Luke|2|40|0|0" passage="Lu 1:80,Lu 2:40">Luke i. 80; ii.
40</scripRef>. Those that are born of God shall increase of God,
<scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Col.2.19" parsed="|Col|2|19|0|0" passage="Col 2:19">Col. ii. 19</scripRef>. He grew so as
not always to need milk, but was able to bear strong meat, and then
he was weaned. See <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Heb.5.13-Heb.5.14" parsed="|Heb|5|13|5|14" passage="Heb 5:13,14">Heb. v. 13,
14</scripRef>. And then it was that Abraham made a great feast for
his friends and neighbours, in thankfulness to God for his mercy to
him. He made this feast, not on the day that Isaac was born, that
would have been too great a disturbance to Sarah; nor on the day
that he was circumcised, that would have been too great a diversion
from the ordinance; but on the day that he was weaned, because
God's blessing upon the nursing of children, and the preservation
of them throughout the perils of the infant age, are signal
instances of the care and tenderness of the divine providence,
which ought to be acknowledged, to its praise. See <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p11.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.22.9-Ps.22.10 Bible:Hos.11.1" parsed="|Ps|22|9|22|10;|Hos|11|1|0|0" passage="Ps 22:9,10,Ho 11:1">Ps. xxii. 9, 10; Hos. xi.
1</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gen.xxii-p11.6" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.9-Gen.21.13" parsed="|Gen|21|9|21|13" passage="Ge 21:9-13" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.21.9-Gen.21.13">
<h4 id="Gen.xxii-p11.7">Hagar and Ishmael Expelled. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.xxii-p11.8">b. c.</span> 1892.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gen.xxii-p12">9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian,
which she had borne unto Abraham, mocking.   10 Wherefore she
said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son
of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, <i>even</i> with
Isaac.   11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight
because of his son.   12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not
be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy
bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her
voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.   13 And also of
the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he <i>is</i>
thy seed.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p13">The casting out of Ishmael is here
considered of, and resolved on.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p14">I. Ishmael himself gave the occasion by
some affronts he gave to Isaac his little brother, some think on
the day that Abraham made the feast for joy that Isaac was safely
weaned, which the Jews say was not till he was three years old,
others say five. Sarah herself was an eye-witness of the abuse: she
<i>saw the son of the Egyptian mocking</i> (<scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.9" parsed="|Gen|21|9|0|0" passage="Ge 21:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>), mocking Isaac, no doubt, for it
is said, with reference to this (<scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.29" parsed="|Gal|4|29|0|0" passage="Ga 4:29">Gal.
iv. 29</scripRef>), that <i>he that was born after the flesh
persecuted him that was born after the Spirit.</i> Ishmael is here
called the <i>son of the Egyptian,</i> because, as some think, the
400 years' affliction of the seed of Abraham by the Egyptians began
now, and was to be dated hence, <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.15.13" parsed="|Gen|15|13|0|0" passage="Ge 15:13"><i>ch.</i> xv. 13</scripRef>. She saw him <i>playing
with Isaac,</i> so the LXX., and, in play, <i>mocking him.</i>
Ishmael was fourteen years older than Isaac; and, when children are
together, the elder should be careful and tender of the younger:
but it argued a very base and sordid disposition in Ishmael to be
abusive to a child that was no way a match for him. Note, 1. God
takes notice of what children say and do in their play, and will
reckon with them if they say or do amiss, though their parents do
not. 2. Mocking is a great sin, and very provoking to God. 3. There
is a rooted remaining enmity in the seed of the serpent against the
seed of the woman. The children of promise must expect to be
mocked. This is persecution, which those that will live godly must
count upon. 4. None are rejected and cast out from God but those
who have first deserved it. Ishmael is continued in Abraham's
family till he becomes a disturbance, grief, and scandal to it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p15">II. Sarah made the motion: <i>Cast out this
bond-woman,</i> <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.10" parsed="|Gen|21|10|0|0" passage="Ge 21:10"><i>v.</i>
10</scripRef>. This seems to be spoken

<pb id="Gen.xxii-Page_133" n="133"/>

in
some heat, yet it is quoted (<scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.30" parsed="|Gal|4|30|0|0" passage="Ga 4:30">Gal. iv.
30</scripRef>) as if it had been spoken by a spirit of prophecy;
and it is the sentence passed on all hypocrites and carnal people,
though they have a place and a name in the visible church. All that
are born after the flesh and not born again, that rest in the law
and reject the gospel promise, shall certainly be cast out. It is
made to point particularly at the rejection of the unbelieving
Jews, who, though they were the seed of Abraham, yet, because they
submitted not to the gospel covenant, were unchurched and
disfranchised: and that which, above any thing, provoked God to
cast them off was their mocking and persecuting the gospel church,
God's Isaac, in its infancy, <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:1Thess.2.16" parsed="|1Thess|2|16|0|0" passage="1Th 2:16">1 Thess.
ii. 16</scripRef>. Note, There are many who are familiarly
conversant with the children of God in this world, and yet shall
not partake with them in the inheritance of sons. Ishmael might be
Isaac's play-fellow and school-fellow, yet not his fellow-heir.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p16">III. Abraham was averse to it: <i>The thing
was very grievous in Abraham's sight,</i> <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.11" parsed="|Gen|21|11|0|0" passage="Ge 21:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>. 1. It grieved him that Ishmael
had given such a provocation. Note, Children ought to consider that
the more their parents love them the more they are grieved at their
misconduct, and particularly at their quarrels among themselves. 2.
It grieved him that Sarah insisted upon such a punishment. "Might
it not suffice to correct him? would nothing less serve than to
expel him?" Note, Even the needful extremities which must be used
with wicked and incorrigible children are very grievous to tender
parents, who cannot thus afflict willingly.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p17">IV. God determined it, <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.12-Gen.21.13" parsed="|Gen|21|12|21|13" passage="Ge 21:12,13"><i>v.</i> 12, 13</scripRef>. We may well suppose
Abraham to be greatly agitated about this matter, loth to displease
Sarah, and yet loth to expel Ishmael; in this difficulty God tells
him what his will is, and then he is satisfied. Note, A good man
desires no more in doubtful cases than to know his duty, and what
God would have him do; and, when he is clear in this, he is, or
should be, easy. To make Abraham so, God sets this matter before
him in a true light, and shows him, 1. That the casting out of
Ishmael was necessary to the establishment of Isaac in the rights
and privileges of the covenant: <i>In Isaac shall thy seed be
called.</i> Both Christ and the church must descend from Abraham
through the loins of Isaac; this is the entail of the promise upon
Isaac, and is quoted by the apostle (<scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.9.7" parsed="|Rom|9|7|0|0" passage="Ro 9:7">Rom. ix. 7</scripRef>) to show that not all who come from
Abraham's loins were the heirs of Abraham's covenant. Isaac, the
promised son, must be the father of the promised seed; therefore,
"Away with Ishmael, send him far enough, lest he corrupt the
manners or attempt to invade the rights of Isaac." It will be his
security to have his rival banished. The covenant seed of Abraham
must be a peculiar people, a people by themselves, from the very
first, distinguished, not mingled with those that were out of
covenant; for this reason Ishmael must be separated. Abraham was
<i>called alone,</i> and so must Isaac be. See <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.51.2" parsed="|Isa|51|2|0|0" passage="Isa 51:2">Isa. li. 2</scripRef>. It is probable that Sarah little
thought of this (<scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p17.4" osisRef="Bible:John.11.51" parsed="|John|11|51|0|0" passage="Joh 11:51">John xi.
51</scripRef>), but God took what she said, and turned it into an
oracle, as afterwards, <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p17.5" osisRef="Bible:Gen.27.10" parsed="|Gen|27|10|0|0" passage="Ge 27:10"><i>ch.</i>
xxvii. 10</scripRef>. 2. That the casting out of Ishmael should not
be his ruin, <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p17.6" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.13" parsed="|Gen|21|13|0|0" passage="Ge 21:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>.
He shall be a <i>nation, because he is thy seed.</i> We are not
sure that it was his eternal ruin. It is presumption to say that
all those who are left out of the external dispensation from all
his mercies: those may be saved who are not thus honoured. However,
we are sure it was not his temporal ruin. Though he was chased out
of the church, he was not <i>chased out of the world. I will make
him a nation.</i> Note, (1.) Nations are of God's making: he founds
them, he forms them, he fixes them. (2.) Many are full of the
blessings of God's providence that are strangers to the blessings
of his covenant. (3.) The children of this world often fare the
better, as to outward things, for their relation to the children of
God.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gen.xxii-p17.7" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.14-Gen.21.21" parsed="|Gen|21|14|21|21" passage="Ge 21:14-21" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.21.14-Gen.21.21">
<h4 id="Gen.xxii-p17.8">God's Mercy to Hagar and
Ishmael. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.xxii-p17.9">b. c.</span> 1892.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gen.xxii-p18">14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and
took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave <i>it</i> unto Hagar,
putting <i>it</i> on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her
away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of
Beer-sheba.   15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and
she cast the child under one of the shrubs.   16 And she went,
and sat her down over against <i>him</i> a good way off, as it were
a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And
she sat over against <i>him,</i> and lift up her voice, and wept.
  17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God
called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee,
Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he
<i>is.</i>   18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine
hand; for I will make him a great nation.   19 And God opened
her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the
bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.   20 And God was
with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became
an archer.   21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and
his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p19">Here is, I. The casting out of the

<pb id="Gen.xxii-Page_134" n="134"/>

bond-woman, and her son from the family of Abraham,
<scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.14" parsed="|Gen|21|14|0|0" passage="Ge 21:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. Abraham's
obedience to the divine command in this matter was speedy—<i>early
in the morning,</i> we may suppose immediately after he had, in the
night's visions, received orders to do this. It was also
submissive; it was contrary to his judgment, at least to his own
inclination, to do it; yet as soon as he perceives that it is the
mind of God he makes no objections, but silently does as he is
bidden, as one trained up to an implicit obedience. In sending them
away without any attendants, on foot, and slenderly provided for,
it is probable that he observed the directions given him. If Hagar
and Ishmael had conducted themselves well in Abraham's family, they
might have continued there; but they threw themselves out by their
own pride and insolence, which were thus justly chastised. Note, By
abusing our privileges we forfeit them. Those that know not when
they are well off, in such a desirable place as Abraham's family,
deserve to be cashiered, and to be made to know the worth of
mercies by the want of them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p20">II. Their wandering in the wilderness,
missing their way to the place Abraham designed them for a
settlement.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p21">1. They were reduced to great distress
there. Their provisions were spent, and Ishmael was sick. He that
used to be full fed in Abraham's house, where he waxed fat and
kicked, now fainted and sunk, when he was brought to short
allowance. Hagar is in tears, and sufficiently mortified. Now she
wishes for the crumbs she had wasted and made light of at her
master's table. Like one under the power of the spirit of bondage,
she despairs of relief, counts upon nothing but <i>the death of the
child</i> (<scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.15-Gen.21.16" parsed="|Gen|21|15|21|16" passage="Ge 21:15,16"><i>v.</i> 15,
16</scripRef>), though God had told her, before he was born, that
he should live to be a man, a great man. We are apt to forget
former promises, when present providences seem to contradict them;
for we live by sense.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p22">2. In this distress, God graciously
appeared for their relief: he heard <i>the voice of the lad,</i>
<scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.17" parsed="|Gen|21|17|0|0" passage="Ge 21:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>. We read not
of a word he said; but his sighs, and groans, and calamitous state,
cried aloud in the ears of mercy. An angel was sent to comfort
Hagar, and it was not the first time that she had met with God's
comforts in a wilderness; she had thankfully acknowledged the
former kind visit which God made his in such a case (<scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p22.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.16.13" parsed="|Gen|16|13|0|0" passage="Ge 16:13"><i>ch.</i> xvi. 13</scripRef>), and therefore
God now visited her again with seasonable succours. (1.) The angel
assures her of the cognizance God took of her distress: <i>God has
heard the voice of the lad where he is,</i> though he is in a
wilderness (for, wherever we are, there is a way open heaven-ward);
therefore <i>lift up the lad, and hold him in thy hand,</i>
<scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p22.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.18" parsed="|Gen|21|18|0|0" passage="Ge 21:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>. Note, God's
readiness to help us when we are in trouble must not slacken, but
quicken, our endeavours to help ourselves. (2.) He repeats the
promise concerning her son, that he should be <i>a great
nation,</i> as a reason why she should bestir herself to help him.
Note, It should engage our care and pains about children and young
people to consider that we know not what God has designed them for,
nor what great use Providence may make of them. (3.) He directs her
to a present supply (<scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p22.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.19" parsed="|Gen|21|19|0|0" passage="Ge 21:19"><i>v.</i>
19</scripRef>): <i>He opened her eyes</i> (which were swollen and
almost blinded with weeping), and then <i>she saw a well of
water.</i> Note, Many that have reason enough to be comforted go
mourning from day to day, because they do not see the reason they
have for comfort. There is a well of water by them in the covenant
of grace, but they are not aware of it; they have not the benefit
of it, till the same God that opened their eyes to see their wound
opens them to see their remedy, <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p22.5" osisRef="Bible:John.16.6-John.16.7" parsed="|John|16|6|16|7" passage="Joh 16:6,7">John
xvi. 6, 7</scripRef>. Now the apostle tells us that those things
concerning Hagar and Ishmael are <b><i>allegoroumena</i></b>
(<scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p22.6" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.24" parsed="|Gal|4|24|0|0" passage="Ga 4:24">Gal. iv. 24</scripRef>), they are to
be allegorized; this then will serve to illustrate the folly, [1.]
Of those who, like the unbelieving Jews, seek for righteousness by
the law and the carnal ordinances of it, and not by the promise
made in Christ, thereby running themselves into a wilderness of
want and despair. Their comforts are soon exhausted, and if God
save them not by his special prerogative, and by a miracle of mercy
open their eyes and undeceive them, they are undone. [2.] Of those
who seek for satisfaction and happiness in the world and the things
of it. Those that forsake the comforts of the covenant and
communion with God, and choose their portion in this earth, take up
with a bottle of water, poor and slender provision, and that soon
spent; they wander endlessly in pursuit of satisfaction, and, at
length, sit down short of it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p23">III. The settlement of Ishmael, at last, in
the wilderness of Paran (<scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.20-Gen.21.21" parsed="|Gen|21|20|21|21" passage="Ge 21:20,21"><i>v.</i>
20, 21</scripRef>), a wild place, fittest for a wild man; and such
a one he was, <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p23.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.16.12" parsed="|Gen|16|12|0|0" passage="Ge 16:12"><i>ch.</i> xvi.
12</scripRef>. Those that are born after the flesh take up with the
wilderness of this world, while the children of the promise aim at
the heavenly Canaan, and cannot be at rest till they are there.
Observe, 1. He had some tokens of God's presence: <i>God was with
the lad;</i> his outward prosperity was owing to this. 2. By trade
he was an archer, which intimates that craft was his excellency and
sport his business: rejected Esau was a cunning hunter. 3. He
matched among his mother's relations; she took him a wife out of
Egypt: as great an archer as he was, he did not think he could take
his aim well, in the business of marriage, if he proceeded without
his mother's advice and consent.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gen.xxii-p23.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.22-Gen.21.32" parsed="|Gen|21|22|21|32" passage="Ge 21:22-32" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.21.22-Gen.21.32">
<h4 id="Gen.xxii-p23.4">Abimelech's Covenant with
Abraham. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.xxii-p23.5">b. c.</span> 1892.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gen.xxii-p24">22 And it came to pass at that time, that
Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto
Abraham, saying, God <i>is</i> with thee in all that thou doest:
  23 Now therefore swear unto me here by God that

<pb id="Gen.xxii-Page_135" n="135"/>

thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son,
nor with my son's son: <i>but</i> according to the kindness that I
have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein
thou hast sojourned.   24 And Abraham said, I will swear.
  25 And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of
water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.  
26 And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither
didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I <i>of it,</i> but to day.
  27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto
Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.   28 And Abraham
set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.   29 And
Abimelech said unto Abraham, What <i>mean</i> these seven ewe lambs
which thou hast set by themselves?   30 And he said, For
<i>these</i> seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they
may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.   31
Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba; because there they sware
both of them.   32 Thus they made a covenant at Beer-sheba:
then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host,
and they returned into the land of the Philistines.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p25">We have here an account of the treaty
between Abimelech and Abraham, in which appears the accomplishment
of that promise (<scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.12.2" parsed="|Gen|12|2|0|0" passage="Ge 12:2"><i>ch.</i> xii.
2</scripRef>) that God would <i>make his name great.</i> His
friendship is valued, is courted, though a stranger, though a
tenant at will to the Canaanites and Perizzites.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p26">I. The league is proposed by Abimelech, and
Phichol his prime-minister of state and general of his army.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p27">1. The inducement to it was God's favour to
Abraham (<scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p27.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.22" parsed="|Gen|21|22|0|0" passage="Ge 21:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>):
"<i>God is with thee in all that thou doest,</i> and we cannot but
take notice of it." Note, (1.) God in his providence sometimes
shows his people such tokens for good that their neighbours cannot
but take notice of it, <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p27.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.86.17" parsed="|Ps|86|17|0|0" passage="Ps 86:17">Ps. lxxxvi.
17</scripRef>. Their affairs do so visibly prosper, and they have
such remarkable success in their undertakings, that a confession is
extorted from all about them of God's presence with them. (2.) It
is good being in favour with those that are in favour with God, and
having an interest in those that have an interest in heaven,
<scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p27.3" osisRef="Bible:Zech.8.23" parsed="|Zech|8|23|0|0" passage="Zec 8:23">Zech. viii. 23</scripRef>. <i>We will
go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.</i> We do well
for ourselves if we have fellowship with those that have fellowship
with God, <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p27.4" osisRef="Bible:1John.1.3" parsed="|1John|1|3|0|0" passage="1Jo 1:3">1 John i. 3</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p28">2. The tenour of it was, in general, that
there should be a firm and constant friendship between the two
families, which should not upon any account be violated. This bond
of friendship must be strengthened by the bond of an oath, in which
the true God was appealed to, both as a witness of their sincerity
and an avenger in case either side were treacherous, <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p28.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.23" parsed="|Gen|21|23|0|0" passage="Ge 21:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>. Observe, (1.) He
desires the entail of this league upon his posterity and the
extension of it to his people. He would have his son, and his son's
son, and his land likewise, to have the benefit of it. Good men
should secure an alliance and communion with the favourites of
Heaven, not for themselves only, but for theirs also. (2.) He
reminds Abraham of the fair treatment he had found among them:
<i>According to the kindness I have done unto thee.</i> As those
that have received kindness must return it, so those that have
shown kindness may expect it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p29">II. It is consented to by Abraham, with a
particular clause inserted about a well. In Abraham's part of this
transaction observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p30">1. He was ready to enter into this league
with Abimelech, finding him to be a man of honour and conscience,
and that had the fear of God before his eyes: <i>I will swear,</i>
<scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p30.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.24" parsed="|Gen|21|24|0|0" passage="Ge 21:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>. Note, (1.)
Religion does not make men morose and unconversable; I am sure it
ought not. We must not, under colour of shunning bad company, be
sour to all company, and jealous of everybody. (2.) An honest mind
does not startle at giving assurances: if Abraham say that he will
be true to Abimelech, he is not afraid to swear it; an oath is for
confirmation.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p31">2. He prudently settled the matter
concerning a well, about which Abimelech's servants had quarrelled
with him. Wells of water, it seems, were choice goods in that
country: thanks be to God, that they are not so scarce in ours.
(1.) Abraham mildly told Abimelech of it, <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p31.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.25" parsed="|Gen|21|25|0|0" passage="Ge 21:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>. Note, If our brother trespass
against us, we must, with the meekness of wisdom, tell him his
fault, that the matter may be fairly accommodated and an end made
of it, <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p31.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.18.15" parsed="|Matt|18|15|0|0" passage="Mt 18:15">Matt. xviii. 15</scripRef>.
(2.) He acquiesced in Abimelech's justification of himself in this
matter: <i>I wot not who has done this thing,</i> <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p31.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.26" parsed="|Gen|21|26|0|0" passage="Ge 21:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>. Many are suspected of
injustice and unkindness that are perfectly innocent, and we ought
to be glad when they clear themselves. The faults of servants must
not be imputed to their masters, unless they know of them and
justify them; and no more can be expected from an honest man than
that he be ready to do right as soon as he knows that he has done
wrong. (3.) He took care to have his title to the well cleared and
confirmed, to prevent any disputes or quarrels for the future,
<scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p31.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.30" parsed="|Gen|21|30|0|0" passage="Ge 21:30"><i>v.</i> 30</scripRef>. It is
justice, as well as wisdom, to do thus, <i>in perptuam rei
memoriam—that the circumstance may be perpetually
remembered.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p32">3. He made a very handsome present to
Abimelech, <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p32.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.27" parsed="|Gen|21|27|0|0" passage="Ge 21:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>. It
was not any thing curious or

<pb id="Gen.xxii-Page_136" n="136"/>

fine that he
presented to him, but that which was valuable and useful—<i>sheep
and oxen,</i> in gratitude for Abimelech's kindness to him, and in
token of hearty friendship between them. The interchanging of kind
offices is the improving of love: that which is mine is my
friend's.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p33">4. He ratified the covenant by an oath, and
registered it by giving a new name to the place (<scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p33.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.31" parsed="|Gen|21|31|0|0" passage="Ge 21:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef>), <i>Beer-sheba,</i> the <i>well
of the oath,</i> in remembrance of the covenant they swore to, that
they might be ever mindful of it; or <i>the well of seven,</i> in
remembrance of the seven lambs given to Abimelech, as a
consideration for his confirming Abraham's title to that well.
Note, Bargains made must be remembered, that we may make them good,
and may not break our word through oversight.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gen.xxii-p33.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.33-Gen.21.34" parsed="|Gen|21|33|21|34" passage="Ge 21:33-34" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.21.33-Gen.21.34">
<p class="passage" id="Gen.xxii-p34">33 And <i>Abraham</i> planted a grove in
Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.xxii-p34.1">Lord</span>, the everlasting God.   34 And Abraham
sojourned in the Philistines' land many days.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxii-p35">Observe, 1. Abraham, having got into a good
neighbourhood, knew when he was well off, and continued a great
while there. There he planted a grove for a shade to his tent, or
perhaps an orchard of fruit-trees; and there, though we cannot say
he settled, for God would have him, while he lived, to be a
stranger and a pilgrim, yet he sojourned many days, as many as
would consist with his character, as Abraham the <i>Hebrew,</i> or
<i>passenger.</i> 2. There he made, not only a constant practice,
but an open profession, of his religion: <i>There he called on the
name of the Lord, the everlasting God,</i> probably in the grove he
planted, which was his oratory or house of prayer. Christ prayed in
a garden, on a mountain. (1.) Abraham kept up public worship, to
which, probably, his neighbours resorted, that they might join with
him. Note, Good men should not only retain their goodness wherever
they go, but do all they can to propagate it, and make others good.
(2.) In calling on the Lord, we must eye him as <i>the everlasting
God, the God of the world,</i> so some. Though God had made himself
known to Abraham as his God in particular, and in covenant with
him, yet he forgets not to give glory to him as the Lord of all:
<i>The everlasting God,</i> who was, before all worlds, and will
be, when time and days shall be no more. See <scripRef id="Gen.xxii-p35.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.28" parsed="|Isa|40|28|0|0" passage="Isa 40:28">Isa. xl. 28</scripRef>.</p>
</div></div2>