9”And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. 10 Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.” 11 And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son.”
(Ishmael persecuting Isaac.)
There are beautiful pictures of Jesus hidden in the story of these two boys. Some in typologies; some in the Hebrew meanings of names and places.
Isaac and Ismael were brothers, but each had a different mother. Everything was going along fine until the day Isaac came of age to be weaned from milk to solid food.
Did you ever notice that there weren't any problems between the two boys until this point in time? Isaac would have been somewhere around 2 or 3 years old at this time which would make Ishmael 13 or 14. Why All the fuss?
Milk To Solid Food.
You see, back in those days, weaning from milk to solid food was a big deal. In fact, Abraham threw a big party in honor of this special day day. From then on, Ishmael began to persecute Isaac. Can you imagine? A big kid like that persecuting a little baby! Ridiculous, but true.
Paul contrasts these boys and their mothers in Galatians 4:29-30. He says:
29” But, as he who was born according to the flesh {Ishmael} then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.”
Notice, LADIES, God calls her words “scripture!”
(Abraham casts out the bond woman, Hagar.)
This persecution had a murderous intent actually punishable by death under Mosaic Law. At first, Abraham was not pleased that Sarah wanted Hagar cast out. But God assured her that this was the right thing to do.
Kinda strange that this young teenager had to be taken care of by his mother, isn't it? It’s usually the other way around, son caring for the mother. But the account in Genesis 21 says,
“…she {Hagar}departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. 15 And the water in the skin was used up, and SHE PLACED THE BOY UNDER ONE OF THE SHRUBS. 16 Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, “Let me not see the death of the boy.” So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept.”
“…she {Hagar}departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. 15 And the water in the skin was used up, and SHE PLACED THE BOY UNDER ONE OF THE SHRUBS. 16 Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, “Let me not see the death of the boy.” So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept.”
Weak And Beggerly.
“SHE PLACED HIM UNDER A SHRUB?” He was obviously weak and sickly!
(Hagar wandering in the wilderness with Ishmael.)
Sounds very much like what Paul said in Galatians 4:9 about the very confused Galatians who had mixed the law in with the Gospel:
9”But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the WEAK AND BEGGARLY ELEMENTS, {the law} to which you desire again to be in bondage?”
He calls the law “WEAK AND BEGGARLY ELEMENTS.” The point is that if you are under grace but you go back to trying to keep the Law, you'll be just like Ishmael: Weak, sick, hungry, poor and destitute.
Typologies Of Two Covenants.
Further on in Galatians 4 it says,
24” For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— 25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— 26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.”
Those who think they have to obey the Ten Commandments, THEIR MOTHER IS HAGAR. They are in bondage, weak, poor, sickly and destitute.
Those under grace, however, THEIR MOTHER IS SARAH of the Jerusalem above, which is FREE.
Further on in Galatians 4 it says,
24” For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— 25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— 26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.”
Those who think they have to obey the Ten Commandments, THEIR MOTHER IS HAGAR. They are in bondage, weak, poor, sickly and destitute.
Those under grace, however, THEIR MOTHER IS SARAH of the Jerusalem above, which is FREE.
One is law--Hagar; the other is GRACE--Sarah.
Your Ex Or Your Wife?
Inviting the law into the church is like allowing your husband to invite a former girlfriend or worse, his ex wife, and their and child to come live under your roof! How many of you women out there would agree to that? I'm guessing.......ZERO?
It's STUPIDITY!
Here's the picture: You and I, as Christian brothers and sisters, all have the same Father. But we do not all have the same mother. Some are children of Sarah and are free. The others are children of Hagar. They are in bondage to the law.
(Abraham, Sarah and Isaac.)
The children of the bondwoman cannot, WILL NOT, INHERIT THE BLESSINGS OF GOD with the children of the freewoman.
The Promises Come Through Isaac.
Romans 9 adds this bit of enlightenment:
"6 For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise {of Sarah's son, Isaac} who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. 9 For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”
The promises are to Isaac, not Ishmael, though they have the same father. Both groups are Christians but only one is blessed. Isaac inherits; Ishmael just lives an ordinary life outside of the greatest blessings. This group struggles with sickness, poverty and lack where breakthroughs are always just out of reach.
As musc as you would love to see your brothers and sisters in Christ flourish, only our Daddy can open the eyes of these who are supposed to be free but are still under the law.
So, Church: What's it gonna be? Grace or Law? Who's your Mama?
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