Verse 11, the angel of the Lord said
unto her, Behold, thou art with child, shall
bear a son, shall call his name Ishmael,
because the Lord hath heard thy affliction.
He'll be a wild man, his hand will
be against every man, and every man's hand
against him, and he shall dwell in the
presence of all his brethren.
Have you looked at this verse in light
of about 4,000 years of history out
there in the Middle East, and what's going
on out there today?
He's a wild man.
That's been the story of those Bedouin tribes
of the desert down through the centuries, and
it's a fulfillment of the prophecy that God
gave.
These are offspring of Ishmael, and they'll tell
you out there that they are sons of
Ishmael.
They are sons of Abraham, but also they
are sons of Ishmael, and they go to
Abraham through Ishmael.
Now, verse 13, and she called the name
of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou
God seest me?
For she said, Have I also here looked
after him that seeth me?
Now, how gracious God is to her.
It's not her sin, so God very graciously
deals with her, and I believe firmly that
the angel of the Lord hears none other
than the pre-incarnate Christ, gone out to
seek the lost again.
He's that kind of a shepherd, and he
brings to her this good word, and she
called the name of the Lord that spake
unto her, Thou God seest me?
Now, that is something new to her.
She did not realize that.
You see, they did have a very primitive
idea and conception of God.
For she said, Have I also here looked
after him that seeth me?
And she's overwhelmed by the fact that she's
seen of God.
Now, that doesn't seem to be very impressive
to us today because we have a higher
view of God than that.
But wait just a minute.
We probably come just as far short of
really knowing about God as she does.
You see, it's difficult for a little finite
man to conceive of the infinite God, and
all of us come short of understanding and
of knowing him.
I think that's a theme that will engage
us throughout the endless ages of eternity, is
just coming to know God.
And that's worthy of any man's study.
That is something that will dignify man's position
throughout eternity, is to come to know God.
Now, verse 15, And Hagar bore Abram a
son.
Remember, Ishmael was Abram's son, and Abram called
his son's name, which Hagar bore Ishmael.
And Abram was fourscore and six years old
when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
Now, he was 86 years old.