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The Bible Says
Genesis 21:18-21 Meaning

The angel of God tells Hagar to "Arise." This is not the end for her or her son. She is commanded to lift up the lad, Ishmael, and hold him by the hand. God has plans for Ishmael, plans similar to His plans for Abraham and Isaac, that He will make a great nation of Ishmael's descendants. The declaration that Ishmael will be the originator of a great nation is repeated again (Genesis 21:13, 16:10-12). As the creator of everyone and everything, God loves and is concerned about all mankind, not just Israel.

God opens Hagar's eyes and she saw a well of water. God somehow intervened and caused Hagar to find a water well. Perhaps it had been there all the time and she had not seen it because of her own exhaustion and the probable death of her son. Perhaps He put it there for her. The discovery of the well prevents Ishmael and Hagar from dying of thirst. Wells in a semi-desert country are priceless possessions. Ishmael received two blessings from God, a destiny and a drink.

We are then told that God was with the lad, and he grew. God protected Ishmael throughout his growth into manhood. Ishmael continued to live in the wilderness, specifically the wilderness of Paran. Paran is the main desert in the eastern Sinai Peninsula. It stretches as far south as the Red Sea and as far north as Kadesh or even Beersheba. Ishmael grew up to become an archer. Archery was a necessary skill for surviving in such an environment, for both hunting and battle. The descendants of Ishmael were known as expert marksmen (Isaiah 21:17; Genesis 25:13).

When the time came, Hagar took a wife for her son from the land of Egypt. Hagar was also a native Egyptian (Genesis 16:1). It was customary in those days for the father to secure a wife for his son, but Hagar was forced to assume this responsibility since Abraham had sent them away. Ishmael was the rejected son, the son of a slave woman, and married to an Egyptian. But he was looked after by God.

 

Genesis 21:14-17 Meaning ← Prior Section
Genesis 21:22-24 Meaning Next Section →
Revelation 1:1-3 Meaning ← Prior Book
Exodus 1:1-7 Meaning Next Book →
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Daily Devotionals

Blue Letter Bible offers several daily devotional readings in order to help you refocus on Christ and the Gospel of His peace and righteousness.

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Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year.

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CONTENT DISCLAIMER:

The Blue Letter Bible ministry and the BLB Institute hold to the historical, conservative Christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of Scripture. Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not necessarily affirmed, in total, by this ministry.