In Genesis 21, God fulfills His promise to Abraham and Sarah by granting them a son named Isaac in their old age. Sarah, who had previously laughed at the idea of bearing a child, rejoices at the birth of her son. Abraham circumcises Isaac on the eighth day, as God had commanded. When Isaac grows, Sarah notices Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar, mocking him. This distresses Sarah, leading her to request that Abraham send Hagar and Ishmael away.
God reassures Abraham and instructs him to heed Sarah’s words. Abraham, troubled by the thought of sending his son away, receives assurance from God that He will also make a great nation of Ishmael. Early the next morning, Abraham gives Hagar some bread and water, and they wander in the wilderness of Beersheba.
Running out of water, Hagar places Ishmael under a shrub and distances herself, unable to bear the sight of her son’s suffering. God hears Ishmael’s cries and assures Hagar that He will make a great nation of him as well. He then opens her eyes, revealing a well of water nearby.
Ishmael grows up in the wilderness and becomes an archer. He marries an Egyptian woman, and Hagar finds him a wife from her homeland of Egypt. Meanwhile, Abimelech and his commander Phichol approach Abraham to make a covenant, recognizing God’s blessings upon him. Abraham presents seven ewe lambs, and the two parties make an oath.
To delve deeper into the context and meaning of each verse in Genesis 21 (KJV), click the following links: