The Story of God: The Promise Keeper
July 25, 2016
Are you man of your word? It used to be in our country that when you gave your word and a handshake your word was good; your word was binding. Not so much today. We live in a day where almost everyone knows what it feels like when someone breaks a promise. Many know what its like to experience the broken promise of “I will love you in sickness and health, till death do us part.” Many know what it’s like to feel the disappointment of a father who says, “I will be there for your play, your game, your match” but then he never shows. Others know the broken promise of friend who says, “You can count on me to help,” but then is never available when you need them. And most all of us struggle with believing anything a politician might say, because we’ve heard them make promise after promise and then make-up clever excuses when they fail to deliver. So, yes, I think everyone of us knows what it’s like to be on the wrong end of a broken promise… But we also know what its like when someone is true to their word, when they do follow through on what they say they will do – We like people who are true to their word. We trust people who are true to their word. There’s a security and a comfort that’s found in knowing someone who keeps their promises. And God is a person like that!
In fact, today as we return to the Story of God, this is precisely how God reveals Himself – as the Promise Keeper. There is something good in knowing that we have a God who keeps His promises. That’s what we’re going to discover today as we finally come to the birth of the promised child in Genesis 21 where we will see how knowing that God is true to His Word can give us joy, hope and even comfort in a difficult and often uncertain world.
1. God Keeps His Promise to Sarah (Genesis 21:1-7) Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
This has been quite a journey for Sarah. It’s been 25 years since she left Harran, her family and her life behind to begin this crazy adventure with Abraham. After all, God appeared to Abraham, not to her. Yet she agreed to go with Abraham to the land God promised. She held onto the hope that maybe, somehow God would deliver on His promise to give Abraham a son. Being a barren woman all her life, there was hope for her in what God had promised. So she left with Abraham and traveled to the land of Canaan. But when famine made it impossible to stay there, she went with Abraham to Egypt, and did what Abraham told her to do. She told the Egyptians that she was Abraham’s sister. But being an attractive woman, this plan backfired and she ended up in Pharaoh’s court, to soon become a wife to Pharaoh. But then God intervened and brought them back to the Promised Land, where their tribe grew and prospered. Life was pretty good. So good, that Abraham and Lot needed to go their separate ways.
Then there was the war that made Abraham famous as he routed the four Kings led by the mighty Kedorlaomer and rescued Lot. Then there was the time God visited her husband where God then made a binding covenant with Abraham over all the promises He had made. Now it was almost certain that they would have a son. But Sarah still wasn’t convinced it was to come through her, so she told Abraham to go hook up with her Egyptian maidservant, Hagar. Well, that worked, sort of. Hagar conceived, but once she did life was never the same. Hagar held Sarah in contempt, and Sarah treated her like dirt. Something had to give. So Hagar ran away. Again, the Lord intervened, rescued Hagar and sent back to Sarah. Then around the time she turned ninety, God again visited Abraham: This was quite an encounter. This was when God had Abraham be circumcised as well as all the men of their tribe. Not only that, but God changed Abraham and Sarah’s names. And then God got very specific about His promise and told Abraham that in a year’s time the child of promise would be born. Not only that, but indeed, this child would be born by Sarah.
But then came the three visitors, and for the very first time, Sarah heard the Lord himself say that she would give birth to a son about this time next year. And Sarah, thinking how old and worn out she was couldn’t help but laugh at his possibility. Problem was, the Lord heard her laugh and called her on it. This frightened her, so she lied and said to the Lord, “I did not laugh.”
But you got to love how God works. Despite her skepticism and lying the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. God keeps His promise to Sarah! Now, Abraham, when this happens, we see that he just steps right in and keeps his part in this covenant agreement. He names the boy Isaac and God commanded. And he circumcises him as God commanded. But Sarah? What does she do? She laughs! Sarah laughs! This time however, it’s not a skeptical laugh, but a laugh of pure joy. Hers is an expression of God’s goodness to her, a barren woman no more: “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” Hers is a laughter of praise. She wants everyone to know what God has done. God has kept his promise. God has blessed her womb. Her, a barren woman, and Abraham… make no mistake; he’s 100 years old. “And everyone I share this with, they will laugh with me!” All will laugh with joy and amazement with Sarah!
Don’t miss this: Laughter is meant to be shared! Laughter is a message we send to other people. Rarely do we laugh alone. Laughter is a relational language, and this laughter has its source in the grace of God. Think about God’s grace to you in Jesus Christ. He sent His Son to you, to remove your sin, your guilt and your shame. He gave you His Son so you could have a new life, a forgiven life, a pure life – the very life He’s always wanted you to have – a life with Him as His beloved. You, who were once an enemy of God have been made a friend of God. You, who were once alone in the world have been brought home to God. He rescued you, redeemed you, and made you His very own. He is crazy about you. He is for you. And because He gave His Son for you, there is now nothing He won’t do for you. God has been gracious to you! And you know what happens when this all becomes real for you… when you believe? You will have an unspeakable joy, and, yes you will laugh. You will laugh with a freedom that comes from knowing the promise keeper.
Listen to His promise: “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 Or this promise: “Anyone who hears my word and believes Him who sent me, has eternal life and will not be condemned but has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24 And this promise: “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1 God keeps His promises. He is trustworthy. His word is true. He is the Promise Keeper. We see this with Sarah, and she laughs with joy at the arrival of the son of promise. So yes, when God keeps His Promise there is joy, there is laughter! But at other times, His promises work something else in us. That’s what we will see next as…
2. God Repeats HIs Promise to Abraham (Genesis 21:8-13) The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. Genesis 21:8
In Abraham’s day, the rite of passage from infancy to childhood was celebrated, and this took place at about three years of age. Isaac had been weaned, which meant that it was time for a feast. The child of promise was thriving. There was great joy in the camp, that is, for all save one: But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she 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.” Genesis 21:9-10
Notice, that Ishmael is not mentioned here by name, but what is mentioned is that he was his mocking. Ishmael was 16 or 17 years old by this time. And he’s witnessing all the grand attention being paid to his half-brother: this Son of Promise. This Son of God’s Favor is getting all the favor. And so Ishmael is mocking. And this word “mocking” is a choice word, for at the root of this word is the same word for Sarah’s laughter. But his laugh is not of joy, but of malevolent intent. It is a mocking laughter of ill will. It’s the laughter of a bully who seeks to make fun of his little brother. It’s the kind of laughter that looks at all the fuss and says, “What a joke.” But he knows the joke is on him, and his laughter betrays him. For Sarah recognizes it for what it is: the same disdain that was once focused on her from Hagar. And knowing this, Sarah comes to Abraham with a command: “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.” Genesis 21:10 Sarah makes a request for Abraham to disinherit Ishmael. This is not an emotional nor vindictive appeal. She sees a conflict brewing and she calls on Abraham to not allow this conflict tear his family apart, but to sever ties once and for all.
Now, we see how this affects Abraham: The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. Genesis 21:11 Abraham found himself stuck in the middle. He loved Sarah, he was thrilled with little Isaac… but he also loved Ishmael. He was greatly distressed. He was extremely troubled. You might say, he was rocked to the core and was in agony over this predicament, all brought on by the compromise he made years ago. Sarah was right. But it killed him to do anything about it. So what happens?
But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.” Wow. The Promise Keeper reminds Abraham of His promise. This is the son through whom the blessing will come. Don’t worry about Ishmael. He too will become a great nation. In other words, God is telling Abraham, “Trust me. I started this plan. I brought you into this plan. And my plan will come to pass, no matter how terrible you feel right now.”
We can learn from this: At times of great distress we need to be reminded of God’s promises to us. God is encouraging Abraham with hope. Things may look bleak right now. You may feel helpless right now. You may even want to scream out and say, ”You don’t know how I feel right now. You don’t know how miserable I am.” You only see the darkness. You don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. But mark this: God’s promises are the light at the end of the tunnel. God’s promises are our hope.
The Psalmist can’t say it any clearer: My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life. Psalm 119:50 That’s what God is doing here. He is reminding Abraham that blessing will come through Isaac, and He will take care of Ishmael. So God encourages Abraham with hope.
There’s going to be times of distress in our lives. We don’t like those times. We don’t like having our insides shredded. But God wants us to remember His promises. His promises give us hope in hard times. That’s what His promises did for Abraham. And that’s what God’s promises can do for us. Even though it was gut wrenching, God promise to Abraham gave him the fortitude to disinherit Ishmael: 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. Genesis 21:14
Notice now how Abraham didn’t hesitate. He supplied Hagar and Ishmael with enough food and water to last about a week, and sent them away. And now the story turns from Abraham’s distress to Hagar’s dismay. Hagar set off with Ishmael, but the narrator tells us that she wandered in the Desert. This was a cruel turn of events for her. How quickly we forget how God once rescued her and sent her back to Sarah. At that time God saw here dilemma and cared for her. At that time God brought her relief and secured her future. But now, she is adrift in the Desert. You can almost hear her asking, “Where is the God Who Sees Me now?” And so her wandering pictures a loss of hope. Where was the promise keeper now? And then we read: When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she began to sob… All hope is lost. When she puts her son under the bush, the narrator uses the Hebrew word “abandon.” She has abandoned Ishmael and can’t bear to watch him die. Not only that, but she feels abandoned by God and so does the only thing left to do: she begins to sob.
But it is now here, at her lowest point possible, the Promise Keeper calls out and…
3. God Makes a Promise to Hagar 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. Genesis 21:17
God heard the boy crying. He knows our sorrows. God called out to Hagar. He knows our deepest fears. What greater fear is there than loosing a child? So what does God do? He comforts her fears. He acknowledges the boy’s plight. He then instructs her and gives her this promise: Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” Genesis 21:18
This is the similar to promise God had made to her years before. At that time she was pregnant with the boy, but now the boy lay dying and now the Lord expands on His original promise, stating that He Himself will make him into a great nation. This is indeed good news. But the boy is still dying of thirst in this desert. So what does God do to affirm His promise? Look at verse 19 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. Hagar’s deepest fear was gone in an instant. God’s Words gave her comfort. God’s mercy gave her hope. Ishmael will not only live, but God will make his life matter! For now she too understood that God was not just a promise maker, but a promise keeper, even to her abandoned son. Abraham may have abandoned them, but God will never let them go. God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.
And so we conclude with one of the most beautiful pictures of God’s grace in Scripture. One that most of us never see: Although Abraham abandoned Ishmael, God never did. God was with the boy as he grew up.
This is who our God is! He is the Promise Keeper. He is true to His Word. He rescues the perishing. He gives us life. He never lets us go. He is with us.
Listen to these words of David as echoes the truths we’ve discovered today:
Father to the fatherless, defender of widows – This is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families; He sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. Psalm 68:5-6
This is our God: The Promise Keeper
The Promise Keeper gives us joy!
The Promise Keeper renews our hope!
The Promise Keeper removes our fears!
For the Promise Keeper is with us always!
Let’s pray.
Gerald Ainslie says
Dear pastor Larry
My wife and I were happy to have meet you and your wife and the church family. My daughter and son in law Nancy & Dave Hogan have also enjoyed and learned a lot from the services. I would like if the church could pray for me as I am having a total foot surgery on Aug. 4
Thank you Gerry Ainslie gainslie@telus.net Hope to see you in Feb./17
Edmonton,Alberta, Canada
A lot