Gen. 16:1-3, 15-16; 21:1-21
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INTRODUCTION. Sarah had an Egyptian maid (slave) whose name was Hagar. After
Abraham and Sarah had lived in the land of Canaan for ten years and still had no children, Sarah gave her maid to Abraham to be his wife. Since Hagar was the property of Sarah, any children Hagar might have would also belong to Sarah and thus be considered as Sarah's child. Sarah hoped in this way to fulfill God's promise to have a son. Eventually Hagar bore Abraham a son and called him Ishmael.
Some years passed, and then Sarah conceived as God had promised. She bore Abraham a son, and they called his name Isaac as God had instructed them (Gen. 17: 19). Abraham was one hundred years old and Sarah was ninety years old at the birth of Isaac (Gen. 17:17, 21 :5). Sometime later when Isaac was still a small child, Abraham gave a feast, and Sarah observed Ishmael mocking. Sarah demanded that Abraham cast Hagar and Ishmael out of their household. Although Abraham was grieved, God told him to do as Sarah had asked, for the promises to Abraham would be fulfilled through the descendants of Isaac, not Ishmael. Nevertheless, God said He would also make a nation of Ishmael because he too was Abraham's seed.
Abraham gave Hagar and Ishmael some food and water and sent them away. They
wandered south into the wilderness area, and when the water ran out, Hagar put Ishmael under a shrub and wept, expecting her son to die. But the angel of the Lord spoke to Hagar, showing her a well and assuring her that the descendants of her son would become a great nation.
Ishmael was about sixteen years old when he and his mother were forced out of Abraham's household. When Ishmael was grown, he married an Egyptian woman and had twelve sons and also a daughter who became the wife of Esau (Gen. 21 :21; 25: 16; 28:9). The descendants of Ishmael were desert dwellers, and modern day Arabs claim to be the descendants of Abraham through his son Ishmael.
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