We skipped past Genesis 20 where once again Abraham passes off Sarah as his sister and we then learn that they are in fact half-siblings, with a shared father and different mothers! But lets carry on with the bigger story – finally a son is born …

Genesis 21

v1 Children are the gift of God. God’s promise is fulfilled. The narrative continues in a patriarchal manner – “Sarah … bore Abraham a son.”

v3-7 Isaac is named – for laughter. 

“While Abraham and Sarah’s previous laughter was engendered by incredulity, however, this laughter springs from joy. Isaac not only reminds his parents of their lack of faith in the face of of the ridiculousness of a possible pregnancy at such an advanced age but also is the source of their joy. the advanced age of the couple is a constant reminder of the marvels that God can and does work to accomplish divine promise.” Trible p44

v8-9 laughter becomes the problem. “Sarah saw the son of Hagar, the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing.” Is this happiness? mocking? threat? status? v6 laugh at? Isaacing? It doesn’t matter Sarah perceives a threat and in asserts power within patriarchal limits. – “her son”, “my son” – possession, intimacy, exclusivity, attachment, 

v11-12 “his Son, Ishmael” non-exclusive, non-intimate, “the lad.” Not named – distancing, God sides and names Sarah & Isaac. Sarah, “the princess” is secure within the patriarchy – “hear her voice.”

“For God to put Sarah on the pedestal saves her from a threat but nonetheless deprives her of healing and freedom. And it damages those whose she encounters.” Trible

“cast out” – Eden, Exodus, Exile.

v14 “send away”, first slave to be freed, first wife to be divorced. When pharaoh sent A/S away from Egypt, they left wealthy. “Hagar leaves Abraham’s house with Ishmael, and eager nourishment, she departs a poor woman of non stature. In these two stories, the verb “send away” reverberates with dissonance.”

From Abraham’s great wealth – Hagar and Ishmael are given meagre resources to survive in the desert. In contrast “the disobedient couple stay in the “garden”, while the “fruits” of their unfaithfulness are expelled. Within the “garden”, Sarah and Abraham, claims life with Isaac; outside in the wilderness, Hagar and “the child” face death. For certain the design of God do not conform to the logic of justice.”

v15 “cast” better translated “put” as in “lays a body in a grave”. The child is dying, she prepares him and she prepares herself. – distancing, helplessness, loneliness, “she becomes the mother of all weepers. Yet she does not cry out to God. Instead, her voice sounds and resounds in the desolate wilderness of exile and despair. A madonna alone, she laments the approaching death of her only child.”

v17 God hears “the lad.” God’s messenger speaks to Hagar – “Do not be afraid,…”  The promise Hagar was given at Sher, now shifts to the “the lad,” Hagar continues to live under Patriarchy  – but now the Patriarch is her son.

v19 God opens her eyes, she sees the well, physical restoration begins

v 20 The wilderness becomes home to Ishmael, he learns to live in and to thrive. 

v21 Hagar’s last action, “”Hagar redirects the divine promise her way.In finding  for Ishmael an Egyptian wife, she seeks for herself a future that God has diminished. For the last time Hagar appears in the Hebrew Bible, and for the first time she is called “mother.”

The story of Hagar, Sarah, and their children is a story of struggle – struggle with each other and against patriarchal oppression. As we study the story and the trajectory of its interpretation through history and into the twenty-first century, we sees the seeds of conflict and struggle we have inherited. the question for us now seems to be : How can we get women and their children back together? Is there anyway to overcome the hidden and not so hidden injuries of class, race, gender, economics and politics that use our faith traditions to excuse continuing conflict? (Russell p185)

“As Muslims, Jews and Christians we are all children of struggle even to the thousandth generation. One discovery we can make as we reflect together on the enmity between Hagah and Sarah is that the struggle between us will not cease unless we become children who struggle for the wider gift of God’s justice, peace, and wholeness in our lives and the whole creation. (Russell, p 197)