A great deal happens in this chapter including the birth of Isaac, the divorce and banishment of Hagar (and Ishmael), and a water rights treaty between Abraham and Abimelek.
“But Sarah… said to Abraham, ‘Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.’ Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. And as she sat there, she began to sob. God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, ‘What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.’ Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.” (v9,10,14-19 abr)
Abraham was in a predicament – he had two wives and two heirs, and Ishmael being the firstborn son would have a double portion of the inheritance. There is a difficult family dynamic here and Sarah pressures Abraham to divorce Hagar, so he does (with God’s permission). Note: according to my study notes, the Hebrew word for the phrase “sent her off” in v14 is the same word used for divorce. By divorcing Hagar, Ishmael no longer has a claim to any inheritance from Abraham.
Again we see Hagar wandering in the desert, days or maybe hours away from dying of dehydration, though this time she has Ishmael too. Again, the Angel of God (a.k.a. the Angel of the Lord) speaks to Hagar and reassures her that Ishmael will become a great nation, and then points them in the direction of a well.
The third part of this chapter involves Abraham and Abimelek discussing water rights since Abraham is still living in the vicinity of Gerar. They make a treaty about the use of a well (it was very difficult to locate a water source and build a well, so wells were always a point of negotiation).
My takeaway this is insight into rights and claims – Ishmael had the birthright until Hagar was divorced (then Isaac received it), Ishmael still received his Heavenly Father’s birthright promise of many descendants despite losing his human father’s inheritance birthright, and Abraham was able to secure water rights because he had gone to the work of building the well himself (and paid a treaty price to the king).
Every human being has rights and claims, though all of those rights and claims are only ours because they were given to us. Birthrights are given to us at birth, blessings of descendants are given by God, water rights are given by the ruler of the land, property rights need to be purchased, etc. The dictionary defines rights as “a moral or legal entitlement” and a claim as “a demand or request for something considered one’s due”, yet both of these things are still contingent upon permission. Those in authority over us still have the “right to refuse” us these rights and claims, such as Abraham had the authority to divorce Hagar and nullify Ishmael’s inheritance birthright. Thankfully, God promises us rights and claims that can never be revoked since there is no higher authority and no possibility of God breaking His promises.
Thank you Father God, for blessing us with rights and claims through adoption into your family, making us co-heirs with Jesus. We share the inheritance birthright of Jesus Christ, the bridegroom, through the promise of His marriage to us the church. Your Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are indeed your sons and daughters. For we are made in your image and restored to righteousness through the death and resurrection of Jesus. May you be the Lord of each of our lives and help us submit to you as our authority in all things. (2 Cor 6:18, Jer 29:11, Jn 1:12-13, Gal 4:4-5, Rom 8:14-17 par)
~ Conqueror in Training