Northern Kentucky's Evening Interdenominational Community Bible Study Text of Presentation, Lesson 10, Gen 16-17 Click Here for Lesson 10 Photos Click Here to return to GENESIS Home Page

Genesis 16:1-17:27
Ishamel and Isaac: Faith Falters and is Renewed

Two weeks ago the subject was God’s first covenant with Abraham . . . made via an ancient treaty ritual in which the participants killed animals, split them in half, and walked “between the pieces” to signify the weighty significance of the agreement. In this way God forcefully emphasizes He is making an unconditional promise to Abraham, describing how his descendants will take possession of the land of the Canaanites.

But this covenant still fails to provide details about God’s promise of countless offspring. This is crucial, because as chapter 16 opens, Abraham is 85 years old, and his wife Sarah is 75. Despite God’s promises, she’s remained childless all these years. How can Sarah bear children now? And how can the land promise be fulfilled without offspring? We’ve discussed before that wealth in Abraham’s culture was not just property – it was sons. So the people of Abraham’s time had a solution to problems like this.

This week’s web site includes the famous "Code of Hammurapi": laws compiled by a ruler of Mesopotamia not long after Abraham. This code included a provision for a childless wife to give her husband a slave girl to bear children on her behalf. If the slave girl produced children, the law allowed her to claim equality with her mistress; and though she could be given a slave mark, the law prohibited her sale. Other ancient middle eastern documents refer to similar practices; this was probably common during the time of Abraham . . . but it’s not clear whether the practice was voluntary or obligatory.

Who is Hagar? Recall in chapter 12 that Abraham went to Egypt because of a famine in Canaan – an action taken without God’s instructions, and usually interpreted as questioning God’s promise of provision. Sarah was taken into Pharaoh’s harem . . . and as a “thank you” (or dowry) Pharaoh gave Abraham livestock and male and female slaves (12:16). One of these female slaves was Hagar, who apparently became Sarah’s personal maid. Therefore, everything that happens to Abraham and Sarah because of Hagar is a direct result of Abraham’s disobedience by going to Egypt . . . and arguably, the Arab/Jewish conflict 4000 years later has the same root!

As chapter 16 opens, Sarah apparently chooses to follow tradition and give Hagar to Abraham to start a family. We don’t know what conversations may have gone on in the Abraham household while God’s promise of offspring remained unfulfilled for 10 years. Nothing in the bible implies Abraham pressures Sarah to give him a slave girl, but she is surely aware of Abraham’s disappointment not having children, as he shared with God so eloquently in chapter 15; and she must be aware of God’s promise of countless offspring. Who knows what’s going through her mind . . . does she even think Hagar may be part of God’s plan and feel guilty she hasn’t already offered this option to Abraham . . . ??

The bible implies Abraham plays a passive role – so passive, in fact, he neglects to consult God! When Sarah offers Hagar, he agrees. The bible refers to Hagar as “his wife” (16:3) – but it implies nothing happens but sex; neither Sarah nor Abraham even use Hagar’s name.

Hagar conceives, and the pregnancy causes big problems within the family. Sarah seems resentful; Hagar may become arrogant, knowing she can claim equality with Sarah when the child is born. Sarah blames Abraham, and demands justice from God; Abraham is again passive. “Your servant is in your hands,” Abraham says; “do with her whatever you think best” (Gen 16:6). Apparently the wife had the right to settle such a dispute under the Code of Hammurapi, and Sarah exercises this right: treating Hagar as a slave . . . mistreating her so badly she runs away. Where would Hagar go? Probably back home to Egypt – and she seems well on the way there when the Angel of the LORD approaches her in the northeast Sinai Desert, far south of Abraham’s home in Hebron.

Who or what is the Angel of the LORD and what does He look like? One commentator – after reviewing the 58 appearances of the Angel of the LORD in the Old Testament – calls it “a visible manifestation (either in human form or fiery form) of YHWH that is essentially indistinguishable from YHWH Himself . . . a representation of God” (Hamilton, V. P., The Book of Genesis, Chapters 1-17, Eerdmans, 1990, p 451). In other words, it’s God appearing in a form that makes clear to anyone who sees Him that it’s God Himself. It’s often referred to as the “preincarnate Jesus Christ” – but I don’t like to make that presumption.

The Angel of the LORD appears to Hagar in the middle of nowhere – yet knows who she is. Hagar realizes she’s in the presence of God, and confirms to God she is running away; she apparently complains of mistreatment by her mistress. God acknowledges her complaint in naming her son (16:11), but God says, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her” (16:9). There’s no indication Hagar even protests (16:13).

Then God tells Hagar what’s going to happen: “I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count. You will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael. . . . He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility towards all his brothers” (16:10-12). In the Hebrew, this “wild donkey” is the untamable onager, which roams the desert at will – somewhat like the freedom-loving Bedouin, who claim descent from Ishmael and move across vast stretches of desert. Hagar is the only woman in the bible to whom a prophesy about descendants is made; all other such prophesies are to men. She obviously has a role in God’s plan – even though God’s prophesy about Ishmael doesn’t sound that great!

Nevertheless, Hagar returns to Sarah; and when Abraham is 86, she delivers her son Ishmael, ancestor of the Arab race. Notice Abraham names the child (16:15) – which is significant because the wife names the child on other occasions where a slave girl bears children on her behalf. We’ve discussed that in the Middle Eastern culture, giving a name implies ownership; this is not Sarah’s surrogate child. Not only must there be continuing tension between Sarah and Hagar, this confirms Abraham and Sarah know Ishmael is not the son of God’s promise (as the bible verifies in chapter 17 when Abraham says to God: “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” (17:18)).

The bible is silent as another 13 years pass; Abraham is 99, Sarah is 89, and Ishmael is 13 – a man now. Why the long silence? It’s been suggested this is a test of Abraham’s faith . . . or Abraham is “punished” for not trusting God for offspring. Nevertheless, now God appears to Abraham a second time. Again the bible neglects to say in what form God appears, but God’s purpose is to make another covenant . . . this time with more specificity about Abraham’s offspring. Moreover, whereas the first covenant was unconditional, this one is conditional in the sense that it has an “if/then” clause.

God opens with the “if” clause, given in the form of instructions: “Walk before me and be blameless” (17:1). “Walk before me” is a contemporary expression describing the faithfulness of a devoted servant to his king; the expression “blameless” was first applied to Noah (6:9). Next comes the “then” clause; God says “I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers” (17:2). God wants to establish His covenant with a person who is faithful and who is like Noah. If Abraham is like that, God will multiply him abundantly.

When God came to Abraham 15 or more years ago for the first covenant, his reaction was to complain; but this time his reaction is total awe: he falls face down before God (17:3).

God gives the promise of offspring the force of covenant by changing Abraham’s name (17:5). His given name was Abram, popularly translated “exalted father,” but actually having a more subtle connotation: “the father is exalted” or “he is exalted by his father” (ie, noble by birth). This sounds like “lingo-babble,” but the point is the name Abram does not imply fatherhood, but the new name Abraham is directly tied to God’s promise that Abraham will be the “father of many nations” and forefather of kings (17:5-6). In the context of Middle Eastern naming customs, God is claiming Abraham; God stakes his reputation on this promise to Abraham.

God goes on to say: “I will establish . . . an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants . . . for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants” (17:7). And God reaffirms His promise of the land of Canaan “forever” (13:15): “The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants” (17:8). “Everlasting” is a long time. But God emphasizes the conditional nature of this covenant: “You must keep my covenant, you and your descendants” (17:9).

The use of the word “alien” in 17:8 may reveal additional information about Abraham. We assume Abraham is a herdsman because of the reference to his large “flocks and herds” in chapter 13 . . . but it’s possible these are just to provide meat and skins and milk to a large household; Abraham’s main business is a merchant in the caravan trade. This would explain why “318 trained men” (14:14) are at his disposal to pursue Lot’s captors . . . and it might also explain why Abraham is referred to as an “alien” even though he has lived in Hebron as long as 20 years. Ancient documents imply caravan merchants were not allowed to purchase land in Canaan – and chapter 23 reveals the only land Abraham ever owns is his burial site (23:20).

In this covenant God emphasizes He will be the God of Abraham and his descendants (17:7-8), but God requires a sign of acceptance of the covenant . . . and appropriately, an eternal covenant is accompanied by a permanent sign: circumcision . . . of Abraham, everyone in his household, and all descendants who accept the covenant . . . forever (17:10-13). Every male baby 8 days old must be circumcised (17:12) – and this commandment is so important Jews even perform circumcision on Yom Kippur. Furthermore, “any uncircumcised male . . . will be cut off from his people (because) he has broken (God’s) covenant” (17:14).

After the first part of chapter 17 dealing with Abraham’s offspring in general, the balance of the chapter deals with one child in particular: the son Isaac, who will be born to Sarah. God leads up to this by changing Sarah’s name: from Sarai to Sarah. The change in meaning is insignificant – from “my princess” to “princess” – so God’s purpose may be to claim Sarah as his own, and stake His reputation on the promise to “surely give (Abraham) a son by (Sarah) . . . She will be the mother of nations; kings . . . will come from her” (17:16). God will show His power by giving a son to a ninety-year-old woman!

Abraham seems to think this is funny: “Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” he “laughed” (17:17). But God assures him: “Yes, . . . your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants” (17:19). Natural law is no barrier to God’s plans and purposes. God makes clear Ishmael is not the child of the covenant. God “will surely bless him . . . (and) make him into a great nation” (17:20), but there is no mention of covenant.

The chapter ends as Abraham carries out God’s instructions to circumcise “every male in (his) household” (17:27). Some commentators seek special meaning to the circumcision of Ishmael: if the covenant is with the unborn Isaac – not Ishmael – why is Ishmael circumcised? We can see how Moslems might read into this that Ishmael is the child of the covenant. Yet God gives clear instructions to circumcise “every male among you . . . (as) the sign of the covenant between me and you” (17:10-11). Circumcision as a sign of God’s covenant with Abraham.

Next week we’ll discuss what happens to pervasive evil . . . in particular, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. We’ll see Abraham negotiate with God like a rug merchant, and we’ll see Lot rescued . . . again.