30 June 2021

The child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. So she said to Abraham, ‘Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.’ The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son. Abram fathered a son, Ishmael, by Hagar. When Abram and Sarai eventually 

Genesis 21:5,8-20, NRSV

God had promised Abram and Sarai a child but after several years had gone by without this promise being fulfilled, Sarai arranged to obtain a surrogate child through her maid-servant Hagar. According to the custom of the time, Hagar belonged to her mistress and her children would also belong to Sarai. By the time that Isaac was born, Sarah, as she was now known, had reason to become jealous of her maid-servant and as a result, Hagar and Ishmael were banished. God had assured Abraham that he did not need to worry about Hagar and that Ishmael would thrive and become the father of a nation. Hagar and Ishmael went off into the wilderness where they ran out of water and came close to death. Whatever Hagar’s misdeeds may have been, God remained faithful and Hagar given water and a place of refuge for herself and her child.

• • Why do you think that God intervened to help Hagar and Ishmael?
  • What is your experience of God’s saving help even when you have not felt deserving of this?

Pray today for those who are forced by circumstance to leave their homes and families to face the unknown.

Image – Hagar and Ishmael – Sir Charles Lock Eastlake 1830