The Pulpit Commentaries
Genesis 21:15-21
EXPOSITION
And the water was spent in (literally, from) the bottle,—so that the wanderers became exhausted, and were in danger of fainting through thirst—and she cast the child—a translation which certainly conveys an erroneous impression, first of Ishmael, who was not an infant, but a grown lad (vide supra, Genesis 21:14), and secondly of Ishmael's mother, whom it represents as acting with violence, if not with inhumanity; whereas the sense probably is that, having, as long as her rapidly diminishing strength permitted, supported her fainting son, she at length suddenly, through feebleness, released his nerveless hand as he fell, and in despair, finding herself unable to give him further assistance, left him, as she believed, to die where he had flung himself in his intolerable anguish—under one of the shrubs.
And she went, and sat her down—וַתֵּשֶׁב לָהּ, the pronoun being added to the verb, as an ethical dative, to indicate that the action was of special importance to her, meaning, "she, for herself, or for her part, sat down"—over against him a good way off. The hiph. inf. of רָחַק, to go far away, to recede from any one, is here used adverbially, as in Joshua 3:16 (Gesenius, Furst, Kalisch), though by others it is understood as explaining the action of the previous verbs, and as equivalent to a gerund in do, or a participle, elon-gando se (Rosenmüller), or simply" removing to a distance". As it were a bowshot. Literally, as those who draw the bow, i.e. as far off as archers are accustomed to place the target (Keil). The sense is correctly given by the LXX.: μακρόθεν ὡσεὶ τόξου βολήν. For she said, Let me not see—i.e. look upon with anguish (cf. Numbers 11:15)—the death of the child—τοῦ παιδίου μου (LXX.). And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept. The verbs, being feminine, indicate that it is Hagar's grief which is here described, and that the rendering, "and the child lifted up his voice and wept" (LXX.), is incorrect; although the next verse may suggest that Ishmael, like his mother, was also dissolved in tears.
And God—Elohim; Hagar and Ishmael having now been removed from the care and superintendence of the covenant God to the guidance and providence of God the ruler of all nations (Keil)—heard the voice of the lad;—praying (Inglis), or weeping, ut supra—and the angel of God—Maleach Elohim; not Maleach Jehovah, as in Genesis 16:7-1, for the reason above specified (Hengstenberg, Quarry)—called to Hagar out of heaven,—it may be inferred there was no external appearance or theophaneia, such as was vouchsafed to her when wandering in the wilderness of Shut (Genesis 16:7)—and said unto her, What aileth thee (literally, What to thee?) Hagar? fear not;—so the word of Jehovah addressed Abram (Genesis 15:1), Isaac (Genesis 26:4), Daniel (Daniel 10:12), and John (Revelation 1:17)—for God hath heard the voice of the lad—i.e. the voice (perhaps the mute cry) of the lad's misery, and in that also the audible sob of Hagar's weeping. It is net said that either Ishmael or his mother prayed to God in their distress. Hence the Divine interposition on their behalf non quid a se peterent, sed quid servo suo Abrahae de Ismaele pollicitus foret, respexit (Calvin)—where he is—an ellipsis for from, or in, the place where he is; ἐκ τοῦ τόπου οὑ ἐστιν (LXX.); ex loco ubi est (Calvin); meaning either "in his helpless condition" (Keil), or out in the desolate wilderness, as contrasted with the house of Abraham (Calvin).
Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand. Literally, bind fast ray hand to him, i.e. give him thy support now, and take cars of him till he reaches manhood. Cf. God's promise to Israel (Isaiah 42:6). For I will make him (literally, to) a great nation (vide Genesis 21:13; and cf. Genesis 16:10; Genesis 17:20).
And God opened her eyes. Not necessarily by miraculous operation; perhaps simply by providentially guiding her search for water, after the administered consolation had revived her spirit and roused her energies. And she saw a well of water, בְּאֵר מַיִם, as distinguished from בּוֹר, a pit or cistern, meant a fountain or spring of living water (cf. Genesis 24:11, Genesis 24:20; Genesis 26:19, Genesis 26:20, Genesis 26:21). It had not been previously observed by Hagar, either because of her mental agitation (dolors quasi caeca. Rosenmüller), or because, as was customary, the mouth of the well was covered—and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink—which was certainly the first of the youth's necessities, being needful to the preservation of his life and the reviving of his spirits.
And God was with the lad. Not simply in the ordinary sense in which he is with all men (Psalms 139:3; Acts 17:27, Acts 17:28); not, certainly, in the spiritual sense in which he had promised to be with Isaac (Genesis 17:21), and in which he is with believers (Genesis 26:24; Isaiah 41:10; Matthew 28:20); but in the particular sense of exercising towards him a special providence, with a view to implementing the promise made concerning him to Abraham and Hagar. And he grew (literally, became great, i.e. progressed towards manhood), and dwelt in the wilderness (i.e. led a roving and unsettled life), and became an archer. Literally, and he was רֹבֶה קַשָּׁת i.e. deriving רֹבֶה from רָבַה, to grow great or multiply, either
(1) when he grew up, an archer, or man using the bow (Gesenius, Keil);
(2) growing an archer, or acquiring skill as a bowman (Kalisch, Wordsworth); or
(3) growing, or multiplying into, a tribe of archers (Murphy). With the first of these substantially agree the renderings καὶ ἀγένετο τοξότης (LXX), and factus est juvenis sagittarius (Vulgate). Others, connecting רֹבֶה with רָבַך, in the sense of to cast arrows (cf. Genesis 49:23), read,
(1) "and he was a shooter of arrows from the bow" (Jarchi, Kimchi, Rosenmüller), though in this case קֶשֶׁת would have to be read for קַשָּׁת (Furst);
(2) a marksman, archer, i.e. a marksman skilled in using the bow. Baumgarten translates, a hero (or great one), an archer. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran:—the desert of El-Tih, on the south of Canaan (cf. Genesis 14:6)—and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt (cf. Genesis 24:4, Genesis 24:55; Exodus 21:10).
HOMILETICS
Hagar and Ishmael, or the fortunes of the outcasts.
I. THE LONELY WANDERERS.
1. Banished from home. Hitherto the household of Abraham had been to Hagar and her boy such a pleasant and doubtless much-prized abode; henceforth their connection with the patriarch's encampment was to be completely severed. So God in his mysterious providence and in many different ways frequently bereaves men of the shelter and society of home.
2. Separated from the Church. Practically the expulsion of this Egyptian slave-mother and her son from the household of Abraham, if it did not involve a casting off from God's mercy, amounted to extrusion from the patriarchal Church.
3. Lost in the wilderness. Whether because the region through which they traveled was unfamiliar, or because, impelled by indignation and excitement, they simply drifted on with aimless feet, the narrative depicts the unhappy pair as having "wandered," turned aside into unfrequented paths, and become lost; in that touchingly portraying the sad condition of thousands or homeless and churchless wanderers to-day, roaming purposeless and perplexed across the trackless waste of life.
II. THE FAINTING YOUTH.
1. Perishing through thirst. Extreme thirst one of the most excruciating torments to which the physical frame can be subjected, and a fellow-creature dying for lack of water, one of the commonest of God's mercies, as sad a spectacle as any on which the eye of man can gaze.
2. Sobbing in anguish. Too exhausted to weep aloud, the poor disheartened lad moans out his misery. Happy they who, if they cannot relieve, can at least understand and be affected by their necessities. To recognize and make complaint of one's spiritual destitution is better than to be callous and indifferent to one's dying condition.
3. Praying to God. Though not certain that the "voice" of the lad meant more than the rude cry of his distress, charity may hope that in the day of his calamity he directed his prayer to God. Prayer generally precedes deliverance.
III. THE WEEPING MOTHER.
1. The voice of heathen, superstition. "Let me not see the death of the lad." To a Christian mother Hagar's behavior is simply inexplicable. It is doubtful if Sarah would hate been a bow-shot removed from Isaac had he been expiring. But then Hagar, though she had been Abraham's wife, was still a poor untutored slave-girl. It rosy assist us to understand our indebtedness to the humanizing influences of Christ's religion.
2. The cry of material affection "She sat over against her boy, and lifted up her voice and wept." Even in the breast of this Egyptian bondmaid nature asserted her supremacy. Everywhere beautiful and sacred is a mother's love, worthy of being cherished and reciprocated by those who know its sweetness and strength, never failing to bring down retribution on those by whom it is rejected and despised.
IV. THE COMFORTING GOD.
1. Sympathizing with the sorrowful. "What aileth thee, Hagar?" What a glimpse into the infinite pitifulness of the Divine nature! Only when Christ came was it surpassed in clearness and fullness.
2. Listening to the suppliant. As the prayer of Ishmael came up into the wakeful ear of God, so the cries of dying men and perishing souls never fail to do.
3. Consoling the dejected. As to Hagar the angel spoke words of encouragement, and renewed the formerly-given assurance concerning the future greatness of her son, so God revives the drooping spirits of his people by directing them to his exceeding great and precious promises.
4. Providing for the destitute. "God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water." And so by the leadings of his providence, the teachings of his word, and the illumination of his Spirit does God guide the meek to the wells of salvation.
5. Abiding with the homeless. "God was with the lad." Ejected from Abraham's house, he was not deserted by Abraham's God. Happy they who amid life's wanderings can count on God's companionship. For desertions of friends and deprivations of goods it will prove ample compensation.
Learn—
1. To prize the blessing of a home and the privilege of a Church.
2. To commiserate and succor those who have neither.
3. To use God in all the revealed aspects of his gracious character.
HOMILIES BY F. HASTINGS
Hagar, a weary outcast.
"What aileth thee, Hagar?" Hagar is sent away from Abraham's tents. In the wilderness wandering she is lost. In despair she sinks down and weeps. An angel's voice is heard inquiring, "What aileth thee, Hagar?"
I. HAGAR MAY BE TAKEN AS REPRESENTING THE SOULS STILL CHRISTLESS, They are—
1. Weary.
2. Thirsty.
3. Apparently man-forsaken and God-forsaken.
4. Their dearest comforts slipping from them, as Hagar's child, by death.
5. Death expecting.
II. HAGAR'S ACT INDICATES HOW SUCH SOULS SHOULD ACT IN TROUBLE.
1. Realize it.
2. Seek deliverance from above.
God nearer to us than we imagine. He feels for us, hears us, helps us. He gives sustenance, cheer, guidance.—H.
HOMILIES BY J.F. MONTGOMERY
God's appearance to Hagar.
The greatest truths in the Bible put before us in a setting of human interest and feeling. Our hearts strangely touched by the picture of the desolate woman and the helpless child. The fatherly character of God exhibited. He heard the voice of the lad. All such facts point to the greatest fact, the union of God and man in the man Christ Jesus. We see here—
I. GOD'S NOTICE OF AND COMPASSION FOR HUMAN SUFFERING: our example, The object of pity apart from antecedents.
II. THE WORKING OUT OF DIVINE PURPOSES notwithstanding, and to some extent by means of, human infirmities, errors, and sins. Ishmael must be preserved, and has his part to play in the future.
III. Taken TYPICALLY, Hagar and Ishmael represent the life of man apart from the covenant of God, outside the circle of special privilege. There is God in the wilderness. The eyes which are darkened with ignorance and self-will may yet be mercifully opened to see the well of water. The angel of deliverance follows even the bondwoman and her son. But the way to God through the wilderness is a hard way, a way of suffering, a way of danger. God was with Ishmael. He was with him through Abraham, for Abraham's sake. The course of Ishmael's life illustrates the contrast between a truly religious career and one given up to natural impulse. Cf. Esau and Joseph's brethren.—R.
HOMILIES BY J.F. MONTGOMERY
Hagar in the wilderness.
"And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water." Hagar in the wilderness. Why? She had no pleasure in her home; would not accept her position there. Hence Ishmael's mocking. Compare working of pride in Eden—"Ye shall be as gods;" and its result—Adam and Eve driven out. Observe—a soul despising the position of a child of God is driven into the wilderness by its own act. Pride rebels against terms of salvation (Romans 10:3)-a free gift to sinners seeking it as such (Mark 2:17). Hagar felt her misery, like many who find no peace. "All is vanity." She sat down and wept. Did she cry to God? He had met her there before. Past mercies should move to trust (Psalms 42:6). But pride and unbelief hinder prayer (Exodus 17:3-2). But God had not forgotten her (cf. Matthew 18:11). "What aileth thee?" Compare our Lord's dealing with those he helped.
1. Himself taking the first step.
2. Requiring a confession of their want.
3. Rousing expectation (John 4:14; John 7:37).
I. THE WELL WAS NEAR HER, BUT SHE SAW IT NOT. So is it with the water of life. Why are so many without peace? The well is beside them; the sound of the gospel is familiar to them. The Bible is read in their hearing, but it speaks nothing to them (2 Corinthians 3:15). Christ died for all (2 Corinthians 5:14). His blood the ransom for all (1 John 1:7). We have not to go to seek a Savior (Romans 10:6). No sin too deep for cleansing, no sorrow too great for comfort; nothing required to give a right to trust him (Isaiah 55:1; Luke 15:2). Why without peace? The eyes are closed to the truth (1 Corinthians 2:14). Human teaching cannot give life (Ezekiel 37:8). What is wanted is not a new fountain, but opened eyes. And it is disbelief of this that keeps so many in anxiety. To them the well is not there; they want God to give it. They look for something they are to do to find a Savior. Important to know what is wanted—spiritual discernment. To many this seems a mere fancy; but they whose eyes are opened know it to be a passing from darkness to light (cf. 2 Timothy 1:10). Words often read become full of new meaning.
II. GOD OPENED HER EYES. It is blindness that causes trouble; but as blind cannot see by his own will, so neither can the unspiritual. The way of salvation is before him, but while it commends itself to his reason it brings him no joy. Are we then without effort to sit still? No; all is ready on God's part. "Wilt thou be made whole?" Want of will alone hinders. Often men would like to drink, but not at God's fountain. Make an effort to believe, and power will be given.
III. WHAT SHE SAW. The well of life; the revelation of Jesus Christ to the soul—this is peace. Not our own powers or wisdom, not our own holiness or advance in grace; but trust in him. No more fears. True, the wilderness is there; the work has to be done, temptations overcome, sorrows borne, graces cultivated; but we can do all through Christ. Now troubles become helps (Psalms 84:6), for they make us flee to Christ (2 Corinthians 12:9). And who can count the blessings revealed to him whose eyes are opened? A Father in everything—protection, teaching, guidance. Everything surrounding him, every event that happens to him, are inlets of ever increasing knowledge of God, whom to know is life eternal.—M.
HOMILIES BY F. HASTINGS
God's care for Ishmael.
"And God was with the lad." The encampment of Abraham was the scene of joy and festivity on the occasion of the recognition of Isaac publicly as his heir. It is said in Jewish lore that Abraham called a number of the patriarchs to the feast, and that Melchizedek, Nahor, and even Noah were present. Ishmael had been heir-presumptive up to that time. He was then put in the position of a subject to the son of Sarah. He and his mother despised the weakling and nursling. They "mocked." This roused the indignation of Sarah, and she insisted on the banishment of both. Abraham was very unwilling to consent to the proposal, for he had great affection for Ishmael. No wonder that he loved him, for he was, if not the child of promise, at least the son who first roused in his breast the pride and joy of paternity. He seems to have hoped that Ishmael would be the one through whom the great blessings promised to him would be bestowed. Hence he had prayed, "O that Ishmael might live before thee" (Genesis 17:18). Perhaps unbelief had much to do with the expression of the hope. He indicated his own contentment with that mode of fulfillment of the premise; God, however, has another. Abraham evidently loved the lad, and now that he is grown to be a stalwart youth of about sixteen, it is strongly against his inclination to send him away. Sarah insists. She in her indignation will not even speak of him by his name, but calls him contemptuously "the son of this bondwoman" (Genesis 21:10). Abraham was very grieved (Genesis 21:11), but he can see that there is no prospect of any peace in his encampment unless he should do as Sarah wishes. Two jealous women are enough to embitter his life, and bring discord eventually among his retainers For typical reasons the banishment was permitted by God (Genesis 21:12), and Abraham sends both away, laden probably not only with trinkets, which shall suffice for barter, but with a flask of water and strings of small loaves. Abraham had thus to sacrifice his own inclinations in Ishmael, his son after the flesh, as afterwards his will in offering up Isaac, his child of promise. Away towards Egypt Hagar and Ishmael travel. They enter the wilderness of Beersheba. Happiness and home is behind; desolateness, dreariness, lonely journeyings, imminent dangers from the wild beasts and fierce hordes of men, with Egypt, before them. Hagar, with bread dry and water spent, losing her way, waits for some one to guide. Unable to proceed, she and her son sink down to die, to perish in the scorching heat from that most fearful of all deprivations, water. Hagar, with bitter memories of lost happiness and unjust treatment crowding, cannot bear the sight of her son's woe and sound of his moaning, therefore removes to a slight distance, that she might not see his death nor disturb it as she sought to ease her poor heart with tears. Oh, what moral beauty blossoms in the desert in the maternal love of this outcast bondwoman. No human eye detects it, but God notices and hears her voice, and that of the child. Then comes the direction from heaven, and the promise, "I will make of him a great nation." We are told immediately afterwards in the brief record concerning Ishmael that "God was with the lad," and so the promise was fulfilled. We notice God's care even for an Ishmael, for one who would appear to be outside all covenant blessings. He was one whose "hand was to be against every man, and every man's against him" (Genesis 16:12). God manifested care, however, to this Ishmael—
I. BY PRESERVING HIS LIFE. He heard his cry in distress. He knew his needs. God always knows our needs; whence to supply them, and where to find us even in the wilderness. A well of water is unexpectedly pointed out to the mother. Her eyes were opened to see its whereabouts. So God teaches many a mother, that she may lead her children to the well of living water. Every life preserved is only through the mercy of God. "In his hand our breath is" (Daniel 5:23). There is a well for bondsmen as well as free. God's living well is to be reached in any position of life. It is near to us when we think it far off. "The word is nigh thee, in thine heart," c. (Romans 10:8). If we are to see the treasure, our spiritual understanding must be quickened, our "eyes opened" by the Holy Spirit. If we desire to know the way and well of life, we can pray for that opening. Only as we have this spiritual sight and life can we rejoice in the present existence, in our preservation. God preserved Ishmael that he might know him.
II. GOD ADVANCED HIM IN LIFE. He was with him as he grew up, and gave him favor in the sight of others. God is ever seeking by his Holy Spirit to mould the character of the worst for good. If we have any prosperity and grow up to influence, we should remember that it is from God. The darkest hour for Ishmael had ushered in the dawning of the brightest day. God knew what he would do with Ishmael. Ishmael is to found a nation. It is remarkable that he was the ancestor of the same number of tribes as was Israel (Genesis 25:16). He found various scattered people in the Arabian desert, but the tribes descended from him seem to have absorbed all others. What an honor to be the founder of a house, a dynasty; how much more of a nation! This God granted to an Ishmael.
III. GOD GAVE HIM SKILL. "He became an archer." He had to learn to defend himself, and secure for himself, by God's help, a position. The fighting power is not the highest, but man has always had to protect himself before he could make progress in civilization. Alas, when he supposes himself to be civilized he often clings to the old habit, and still loves the fighting. The archers, like Ishmael, have their sphere as well as the shepherds, like Isaacs. The fiery defenders of faith and the controversial champions of the truth have their sphere as well as the pious, plodding pastors of Christ's flock. If men have skill for the one thing, let them not despise the powers of others. We have all to learn to appreciate diversity of talents, and to remember that skill in any work is the outcome of independence, resolution, and energy. Ishmael had been endowed with these by God.
IV. GOD FURNISHED ISHMAEL WITH A PLACE OF HABITATION. He gave to him the desert for his domain. Here he might roam and pitch his tent at his own suggestion. God knew that the hot blood of his Egyptian mother, which coursed in his veins, would find its most fitting sphere in the desert. Instead of mingling with gentle herdsmen, he had to dwell among the fierce and untrained spirits of the desert. He became an ancestor of those who despised town life, and who were hardy and frugal enough to exist where others would have perished. Thus to Ishmael, the desert, with its widespread, sun-scorched sands, its scant herbage, its infrequent wells and scattered oases, became a fitting home. God chose for him his dwelling-place, and defined for him the bounds of his habitation. And is it not best for us to leave ourselves in God's hands? He knows best where to place any of us, and what work to give us to do, what sphere to fill. We might prefer the green pasture and hills flowing with milk and honey of the Canaan of prosperity, but the desert of trial and loneliness may be the best for training our spirits. We may have losses to endure outwardly, but if we can acquire a spirit of content and faith, that is great gain. That spirit will lead us to say, "He shall choose our inheritance for us."
V. GOD ALSO INSURED ISHMAEL'S HONOR AMONG HIS BRETHREN. He was to "dwell in the presence of his brethren" (Genesis 16:12). Though cast out by Abraham, he was not cast off by God or cut off from all interchange with others. We find (Genesis 25:6) that Abraham gave portions to the sons of his second wife, Keturah, and sent them away. Doubtless he gave a portion to Ishmael, for we find him uniting with Isaac in the funeral obsequies of his father (Genesis 25:9). The two sons were not at enmity now. Further, he seems to have kept up his union with his brother, for his daughter Bashemath (Genesis 36:3) married Esau, Isaac's son. Thus two families in the line of promise, but who had cast themselves out—Esau by his indifference, and Ishmael by his mocking—were united. Thus, although of fierce and fiery nature, Ishmael "dwelt in the presence of his brethren." God was with him. He had a shorter life than Isaac. Ishmael died at 130 years old, Isaac at 180. Evidently the active, restless, wandering, hazardous life was more wearing and consuming than the calm and meditative life of the pastoral Isaac. But when he died God cared for him as well as for Isaac, only his purposes with respect to Isaac were different. Isaac Was an ancestor after the flesh of the Messiah, but Ishmael had not that honor. Still we must not think that God had cast off Ishmael, and left him utterly and everlastingly to perish. Our God cares for those outside the pale of the Church, even as for those within. The former have not taken up their privileges, nor seen how Christ loves them. They are suffering great loss, and are in danger of further loss, but God cares for and pities them. He wills not the death of a sinner. He pitied the people of Nineveh, sent them a warning, and gave them space for repentance. He healed a Naaman; sent his prophet to dwell with a woman of Sarepta, and so conferred honor upon her; and he brought a Nebuchadnezzar to his right mind by a judicious infliction. All this was mercy shown outside the pale of Israel to those who would be accounted as Ishmaelites. Oh, how much more widely flows the channel of Divine mercy and love than we imagine I How little we conceive the depth of the Father's love to all his creatures I In every heart he is seeking to find a reflection of his image. By the side of every soul, however much of an Ishmaelite, he is seeking by his Holy Spirit to walk, that he may win back to the fold of love and mercy. Oh, ye who think yourselves too sinful to have a share in the Divine compassion, see God's treatment of an Ishmael. Remember that Christ came "not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." God is merciful even to thoughtless sinners, and gives streams in the desert. If this be the spirit of our God and Savior, should it not teach us to take an interest in all? As the sun when setting in the west throws his golden and purple rays not only over the broad ocean, but on the dank ditches of the meadows and the puddles of the street, so should we remember that there is no heart so depraved but the love of God in Christ may light it up. If only we looked at our fellows thus, with deeper sympathy, we should see them won to Christ.—H.