God Telling Hagar to Return and then to Leave
Upvote:4
You want to know how chapter 16 of Genesis "fits" with chapter 21.
Abraham was 86 years old when his barren wife gave him her servant-maid for the express purpose of producing children. Succeeding in becoming pregnant by Abraham, Hagar then despised Sara, which resulted in Hagar being cast out. An angel found her on the verge of death, telling her to return, and that the son to be born would be called Ishmael, and be antagonistic in nature.
Fast-forward to chapter 21 when Abraham was 100 years of age. God then fulfilled his promise to Abraham and Sarah who miraculously conceived by Abraham and bore the first child of the couple. On the feast-day of Isaac's weaning, Ishmael the 14-tear-old mocked little Isaac. That infuriated Sarah (again) who told Abraham:
"Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, with Isaac." Then God told 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. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed." Genesis 21:9-13 A.V.
This is a key point. The explanation of its significance does not arise in the Bible until the New Testament, when the apostle Paul explains it all. Galatians chapter 4 goes into the details. The previous chapter has explained how certain Jews and Gentiles are counted by God as true spiritual heirs of Abraham. Now comes the explanation of the allegory of Sarah and Hagar, and their respective sons.
Those who are spiritual sons of God are heirs of God, through Christ (putting their faith in him). From verse 22 comes the revealing of the historic account:
"For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory, for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Hagar. For this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free." Galatians 4:22-31 A.V.
That's how the two Genesis chapter 'fit'. The explanation in Galatians reveals the spiritual significance of those earthly, historic events regarding two women and two sons. Those with faith in Christ become heirs of Christ - "Wherefore thou are no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." (Galatians 4:7). They are free in Christ as represented by Sarah and her miraculous child of promise, Isaac. They inherit spiritually, as rightful heirs. But those who are in spiritual bondage, not miraculously set free in Christ, are represented by Hagar and her son.
More post
- 📝 Roughly how many churches were built in each century?
- 📝 Do Lutherans define Justification and Atonement as different things?
- 📝 Why do Catholics believe that it is a priest's blessing that transforms the elements into the body and blood of Christ?
- 📝 Under divine simplicity, how can God do anything?
- 📝 Does a classic Trinitarian formulation consider God to be his own "Family"?
- 📝 How do Methodists understand the Apostle's Creed?
- 📝 If heaven is not monotonous why would this world be monotonous if God willed to happen in that fashion?
- 📝 Why do Jehovah's Witnesses have a problem with my relationship with one of their members?
- 📝 Who are the "Sons of Israel" mentioned in Numbers 28
- 📝 Why is Mary's mantle blue?
- 📝 What is the proper use of money in Luke 16:1-13?
- 📝 What innovations in ethics occurred within Christendom during the 9th Century?
- 📝 Are there different views on the nature or/and understanding of the Trinity among Trinitarians?
- 📝 How were people baptized in the name of Jesus without the Holy Spirit in Acts 8?
- 📝 Does "Mere Christianity" represent the core of Christian belief?
- 📝 What did Jesus mean by "many" beneficiaries of His ensuing bloodshed?
- 📝 Is the practice of seeking the intercession of Rachel admonished in the New Testament?
- 📝 Did Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John write anything other than the Gospels?
- 📝 Does believing in Christ activate God's word or just make us think and act different?
- 📝 Were all the various systems of Gnosticism Docetist?
- 📝 Is Mary omniscient (by participation, not by nature)?
- 📝 How can the gospels use omniscient narration?
- 📝 Where did the religious symbol of the 'halo' come from?
- 📝 Prayer and accepting God's will in Catholicism
- 📝 How does mainstream Christianity view "Heaven is for Real"?
- 📝 How does transubstantiation account for the amount of Christ's body eaten over the last 2000 years?
- 📝 When, and by whom, did what we now call Easter Sunday first become known as Resurrection Sunday?
- 📝 Why does the Christian doctrine seem so far from the Bible?
- 📝 If God were going to send another Biblical flood, would He warn us?
- 📝 Meaning of the Parable of the Talents
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 God Telling Hagar to Return and then to Leave
- 📝 If the Holy Spirit is God, and God can not be in the presence of sin, then how can the Holy Spirit dwell in me a sinner?
- 📝 If the Bible contains all of the word of God and there can be no more, then why do we need the Nicene Creed?
- 📝 If we will have free will and be sinless in Heaven at the same time, then why did God not create a world with sinless free creatures to begin with?
- 📝 If the name of God and His Son are so important to the faith, then would it not be imperative that we use the proper name?
- 📝 If God is all knowing then why didn't he prevent Adam and Eve from sinning?
- 📝 Why is God on Sarah's side when she asked Abraham to cast out Hagar and Ishmael?
- 📝 If God created us with the capacity of free will. I choose to leave this life and be up there and watch the world beside him, why is it not happening?
- 📝 Did God change from a wrathful God to a loving God between Old Testament and New Testament?
- 📝 What are the different names of God in the Bible and what do they mean?
- 📝 Does God create some people Heterosexual and others Homosexual?
- 📝 How could Jacob wrestle with God if no one can see God and live?
- 📝 If God set the maximum age to 120, then how could Jacob be 130 years old?
- 📝 What is the scriptural basis for "Love God and do whatever you please"?
- 📝 Why did God accept Abel's offering and not Cain's?
- 📝 Does God need our praise and glory?
- 📝 What is the argument and Biblical basis that it is possible to know God from nature?
- 📝 The Greatest Commandment - Loving God with all our 1) heart, 2) soul, and 3) strength
- 📝 How is it that an unchanging and omniscient God can have "regret" as He did in Gen 6:7?
- 📝 If we are saved by grace, then why does Jesus say we must be baptized in both spirit and water?
- 📝 According to Calvinism, why does God give mercy to some and not to others?
- 📝 According to Protestant trinitarians, what is the significance of the father-son relationship between God and Christ?
- 📝 Why did God make garments of skin for Adam and Eve when they had already made clothing for themselves?
- 📝 God created male and female.... What about those who do not fit in the box?
- 📝 Do Mormons secretly pray about you and then consider you included in their church?
- 📝 What's the difference between judging God and questioning God?
- 📝 Why did God need to plant the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden in the first place?
- 📝 Why did Adam claim he was "naked" before God when he and Eve had clothed themselves with fig leaves?
- 📝 Can the Word of God and God's wisdom be beneficial to an unbeliever?
- 📝 Does God lie? And does the devil tell the truth?