Genesis 21 Devotional
By Pastor Lawrence

When the promised son is finally born to Abraham and Sarah in their old age, there is laughter all around. In vv.3-4 we see that Abraham responds in faith and obedience to the Lord’s will naming his son Isaac, which means laughter. In some ways this was meant to humble both Abraham and Sarah because they both laughed in doubt at the news that they would become parents. So, calling his son “laughter” would be a constant reminder of his own sin and doubt. Nevertheless, seeing his happy wife toting this tiny little human being around surely would have brought many smiles to his face as well and encouraged him to trust the Lord the next time He made unexpected promises.

Sarah too responds to this promised gift of a son with faith and joy. In v.6, she says, God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me. Certainly, this is an about-face for Sarah who had to actually feel the child kicking in her womb before she would believe the news. The last time we saw Sarah, she was hiding behind the tent listening in on the Lord’s conversation with Abraham overhearing him say that she would be pregnant within the year. And she laughed at His words thinking it was ridiculous since she was old and worn out, and when the Lord confronted her about her laughing; she denied it, lying before the face of God. But now Sarah is full of laughter as her heart is overwhelmed with joy. And she adds unto her joy praise to the God who has given her a reason to laugh again.

Surely the laughter of Abraham and Sarah would be contagious amongst their family and friends. Just seeing what looks like a great-grandmother walking around barefoot and pregnant would be enough to cause anyone to laugh, but then watching her nurse a baby boy would be even more fascinating. This sight alone would also cause many to rejoice in the Lord for doing such marvelous things. But not everyone would respond with such faith. When Isaac was weaned from his mother a few years later, Abraham held a great feast in which everyone was filled with joy and thanksgiving, that is, except for Isaac’s older half-brother Ishmael.

According to v.9 Sarah saw out of the corner of her eye that Ishmael was not rejoicing with laughter, but rather mocking her son in laughter. Literally in the Hebrew he was Isaac-ing Isaac, for the word used here for his derision is an intense form of the word to laugh. Ishmael was not at all happy about having a brother that would undermine any hopes of his own inheritance. Consequently, the state of his heart was revealed not merely by teasing his little brother, but rather scoffing at him. Ishmael was used to being the center of attention and was expecting to inherit all of his father’s riches, but now at sixteen years of age, on the very cusp of manhood, he stands to lose everything to this miracle child born to Sarah.

So, rather than rejoicing with the rest of the family, Ishmael was seething with jealousy and he displayed that through his mockery. The apostle Paul in Galatians 4 referred to Ishmael’s ridicule as persecution. The son of the slave woman was persecuting the rightful heir of Abraham out of resentment. In the same way, the Pharisees persecuted Christ when they saw how his influence in Israel undermined their own spiritual authority. For, unlike John the Baptist, neither Ishmael nor the Pharisees were willing to say “He must become greater, I must become less.”

Of course, Isaac’s miraculous birth is meant to foreshadow the immaculate conception of the Christ. And there is a sense in which we all can identify ourselves with Ishmael, for we are all naturally sons and daughters of the flesh. We had an inheritance at first but we were cast out of paradise, out of the Promised Land because of our sin. But then a miraculous child was born, one who was promised to inherit the earth and who would willingly share that inheritance with all who rejoiced in his coming. For those who delight themselves in his coming there is great joy and laughter, but for those who fear his arrival, there is only hatred and scoffing. Of course, to share in that laughter, we must understand that “He must become greater, and we must become less,” which is the very thing the unbeliever is unwilling to do. But for us who believe, we freely acknowledge Christ’s preeminence over all things and are more than happy to sit in his shadow, for us, to live is Christ.

So, may the Lord fill our hearts with delight again this day in the coming of the Promised Messiah and fill our mouths with laughter knowing that God still does wondrous and unexpected things for the good of those who love him and are called according to His purpose.