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In the last article we learned that because of Sarah's intense pressure and demands, Abraham decides to put Hagar and Ishmael out of his household and into the wilderness. This unfortunate event stems from the fact that Sarah and Hagar still weren't getting along and Ishmael had begun to disrespect Isaac. The breaking point came when Sarah had found Ishmael mocking his younger half brother Isaac during a feast that Abraham was throwing for Isaac. Sarah had become enraged when she saw what Ishmael was doing to Isaac and eventually she demanded that Abraham throw Hagar and her son out of the household. Understand that Abraham loved Ishmael very much and he was bother by Sarah's request. But the Lord would visit Abraham in a dream giving him the okay to carry out Sarah's wishes. As that night had passed and the next day was ushered in, Abraham would supply Hagar and Ishmael with some food and water and sent the two on their way away from his household and out into the wilderness. After this had happened, we now find that Hagar and Ishmael had wandered around for a bit and found themselves at the desert plains of Beersheba. Now Beersheba was a place that was located near the southernmost borders of Canaan, which played host to the Philistine town and district called -- Gerar. The name Beersheba which means "The Well of Oath" got it's name from an oath covenant that was made later on between Abraham and Abimelech. Sometime later we find that Hagar and Ishmael had ran out of water, being that they had traveled a great distance and would find their food resources to be very limited at this point during their journey. The Sacred Record confirms that the two were very hungry and weak, but it was Ishmael that was suffering the most. For he could not continue on in the condition that he was in, and this would cause Hagar to place him under one of the nearby bushes. After she had done this, Hagar had become very sad and concerned about her son Ishmael. For she just knew that he wasn't going to make it; and so therefore walked off and found a place nearby: "And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, 'Let me not see the death of the boy.' So she sat opposite him , and lifted her voice and wept." -- Genesis 21:15,16 Soon after this had happened to Ishmael, we find God responding... "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.'" -- (Genesis 21:17-18) Now it's at this point we need to make sure we pay close attention, for if we don't, we could miss a very special moment that's about to take place. For it would seem that all of a sudden the attention shifts immediately towards Ishmael or does it? I mean after all, up to this point, we've been reading about how Hagar was fighting for their survival while they were wandering around in the wilderness. Next we're told that Ishmael had become sick and very weak from the journey, which caused Hagar to lay him down by a bush so he could rest. But Hagar was afraid that Ishmael would probably die at this point, so she went off from the boy. She didn't go too far, but far enough so she couldn't see Ishmael suffering from starvation and dehydration. Now it was Hagar who began to cry. Then God comes on the scene and acknowledges the cries of Ishmael. So what about Hagar? Understand that I'm pointing these things out, because I don't want you to think that God felt that Hagar's cries weren't worth His attention. As a matter of fact, it was the complete opposite? It was the concerns of Hagar that actually brought God down for a visit. Hagar's main concern was not for her well-being, instead it was for her son Ishmael. They were out in the wilderness of Beersheba with no food or water resources to be found. Hagar knew that if Ishmael did not get anything in his body soon that would help him to be refreshed and strengthen -- then he would surely die. This would lead to a visitation by God, in which He had come down to reassure Hagar that everything was going to be alright and that she should go back over to Ishmael and take his hand and lift him up, for he will become a great nation. I also would like to point out real quick that the Scriptures seem to suggest that Ishmael was very young child. In fact, Ishmael at this time had to be between seventeen and nineteen years old. Remember he was fourteen years old when Isaac was born unto Abraham and Sarah. At such an age, I often wonder why it wasn't Ishmael being the leader and fighting for their survival? I figure that Ishmael was a child that was given everything by his father. Abraham loved him so much that I truly believe that Ishmael had a pampered life up to the time that he was forced to leave because of the feud between his mother and Sarah. Be that as it may, we now find that God had to calm Hagar down so that she could come to her senses. She was so distraught and distracted by her concerns and fears for Ishmael that she could not see or think straight. So this is why the next Scripture reads like this: "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." -- Genesis 21:19 So this doesn't mean that Hagar was at this time blind, or that God did a miracle and created a well from out of nowhere. It just means that Hagar was too distracted by her fears and concerns to notice that God had already placed provisions around her and Ishmael. Next we find that the Scriptures would confirm that God was with the boy as he grew into a man. We are also told that Ishmael had settled in the "Desert of Paran" and became an archer. He would also get married to an Egyptian woman that his mother had found for him. I find it very interesting that the possible unfair treatment that Hagar and Ishmael had suffered, could perhaps, have been a blessing in disguise? I state that the harsh treatment was "possibly unfair", being that their situation that they were now suffering from was indeed brought on by themselves, behind the mocking and ridicule that they were directing towards Sarah and Isaac. But was this a blessing in disguise, for Hagar and Ishmael? Personally I truly believe that it was and here's why? Understand that Hagar now had the peace and joy in her life that she never had before. Also keep in mind, that Hagar was a maidservant while she lived in Abraham's household. I point this out, because even though she was living out in the desert on her own, she was a free woman at this point and through Ishmael, became the mother of a great nation. Know that Ishmael had to be removed for his true purpose, which dealt with him becoming a great nation in his own right. This had to have happened, because God had made a promise both to Abraham and Hagar, and know that God always keeps His promises: God's Promise to Abraham "Do not be so distressed about the boy [Ishmael] and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your [Abraham's] offspring." -- Genesis 21:12,13 God's Promise to Hagar "God heard the boy [Ishmael] 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.'" -- Genesis 21:17-18
**YOUR CURRENT BIBLE STUDY ONLINE SERIES WOULD BE HERE** Jacob - The Path of Uncertainty 16) Abimelech Angry with Abraham 18) Hagar & Ishmael - Sent Away 19) <-CURRENT PAGE-> 20) Abraham & The Well of Oath 21) Abraham & The Great Sacrifice 25) Rebekah gets Permission to Leave 28) The Twelve Rulers of Ishmael 
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