1. The Birth of Isaac

KJV · Verses 1–3

1 And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. 2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.

“And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him” [1–2].

Although Isaac was of Abraham's seed and born from his own body, he was, in truth, God's gift to him and to Sarah. He was the fruit of the Lord's visitation to Sarah and of His promises to her and her husband. For this reason the Fathers regard Isaac not simply as Abraham's natural son, but as “the son of promise.” Thus Scripture emphasizes, “The LORD visited Sarah,” and declares that she “bare Abraham a son in his old age.” He truly was Abraham's son, yet he came in Abraham's old age, after the Lord had visited Sarah and removed her barrenness. As we have already said, Sarah's womb was as though dead, or like a stone from which Isaac came forth. He was a type of the Church of the New Testament, born from the new Sarah, whose members came from the Gentiles as though from stones. As Saint Cyprian says:

“In the Gospel we find children of Abraham raised up from stones (Matthew 3:9), for they were gathered from among the Gentiles. [308]”

Abraham and Sarah remained childless for decades. Yet God visited her with a child worthy of the divine promise, bringing joy to their old age and, indeed, to the hearts of all humanity. He came “at the set time of which God had spoken.” God's promises are true and faithful. We receive them in their appointed time if we remain faithful, waiting in faith. Therefore the Apostle Paul affirms: “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9). We shall reap our true Isaac, that is, the manifestation of the Lord Christ within us, if we do not grow weary in our spiritual struggle, which springs from a living faith that never grows cold.

2. The Circumcision of Isaac

KJV · Verses 4–7

4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. 6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. 7 And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.

On the eighth day Abraham circumcised Isaac, “as God had commanded him” [4]. Sarah thus represents the Church, filled with joy at the spiritual birth of her children, who are circumcised not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, through the waters of baptism. When, through the Holy Spirit, a person puts off the old man and puts on the new, made in the image of his Creator, the Church is filled with spiritual laughter: she has gained a child who brings joy to heaven!

3. The Weaning of Isaac

KJV · Verse 8

8 And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.

Abraham made a great feast not on the day of Isaac's birth, but on the day of his weaning. We cannot deny the intense joy that filled the hearts of Abraham, Sarah, and all who loved them on the day of his birth. Yet Abraham longed to see Isaac grow, passing from one stage to another until he reached full maturity.

May we be like Abraham, rejoicing not only in Isaac's birth, but also in his weaning and maturity. In other words, may we rejoice in every spiritual growth of our inner man, who is continually renewed, that he may attain “unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).

Origen comments on Isaac's weaning, saying:

“Isaac means laughter or joy. Who can beget such a son? The Apostle said to those whom he had begotten in the Gospel, “For ye are our glory and joy” (1 Thessalonians 2:20). These newborn children are weaned, and we make a feast, and there is great joy, for they no longer need milk, but strong meat (Hebrews 5:12); their senses have been “exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14). Therefore a great feast is held on the day of their weaning. But no feast can be held, and there can be no joy, for those of whom the Apostle says, “I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal” (1 Corinthians 3:2–3); and, “I… could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:1). [309]”

4. The Son of the Inheritance and the Son of the Flesh

KJV · Verses 9–13

9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. 10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. 11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son. 12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. 13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.

The great feast Abraham held on the day of Isaac's weaning inflamed Hagar and her son with distress and resentment. Hagar remembered the bitterness of fleeing from Sarai (Genesis 16:6). Until recently, she had regarded her son as Abraham's sole heir. These feelings took shape in her son's life: he mocked Isaac (Genesis 21:9) with a foolish mockery that revealed an inward bitterness he could not easily conceal. The Apostle Paul even called this mockery persecution (Galatians 4:29). This stirred Sarah, and she demanded that Abraham send him away with his mother, saying, “For the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac” [10].

The matter was very grievous in Abraham's sight, for he considered Sarah's demand unjust. Nor could he disregard his son, even though the boy had been born of a bondwoman. God's voice came to him: “Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed” [12–13].

Undoubtedly Abraham's heart was attached to the son whom, for many years, he had considered his only child. Even after Isaac came, sending the first son away was no easy thing. Yet the divine command was explicit: he was not to inherit. The Apostle Paul explained the prophetic symbolism of this command. The first and older son was born according to the flesh; the second came according to God's promise and represents the children born according to the Spirit. The first thus points to the Jews who clung to the letter and outward forms of the Law, living on the level of the flesh rather than the Spirit, and so were cast out. The Church of the New Testament, however, came as the fruit of divine grace and possesses the right of inheritance. The Apostle says plainly:

“But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar… Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free” (Galatians 4:23–31).

Having received faith in the Lord Christ, we have become, through the Holy Spirit, children of the freewoman Sarah, the Church of the New Testament. But if we walk according to the killing letter of the Law and outward forms without the Spirit, we return to the spirit of bondage and become associated with the bondwoman. Origen says:

“If you walk according to the flesh, you become children of Hagar, and consequently you oppose those who live according to the Spirit. [310]”

If we walk according to the killing letter and live inwardly as carnal people, we become like the son of the flesh, who represents the first, earthly man. But if we walk according to the Spirit, we become firstborn children, not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit, and are counted spiritual. As the Apostle Paul says:

“Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly” (1 Corinthians 15:46–49).

When Isaac is within us, that is, when we bear the spirit of the living Gospel, the killing letter of the Law is driven out!

5. Hagar and the Well of Water

KJV · Verses 14–21

14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. 15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. 16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow shot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. 19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. 20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. 21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

In obedience to the divine command, Abraham sent Hagar and her son away after supplying them with bread and a waterskin. He bade them farewell early in the morning, perhaps so that they could find shelter before midday. The boy was about sixteen years old. The two went out into the wilderness, heading south, and lost their way in the wilderness later called Beersheba. When the water in the skin ran out, the boy collapsed from thirst. His mother left him lying in the shade beneath the trees, saying, “Let me not see the death of the child” [16]. She sat opposite him, lifted up her voice, and wept.

While the infant Isaac drank without ceasing from the springs of his parents' love, Hagar's son drank from a skin made from dead animals. It could quench his thirst only briefly, leaving him thirsty, exhausted, and very near death. This image reveals the difference between the spirit of the Gospel life and the carnal thinking that springs from the letter of the Law. If we receive the spirit of the Gospel, we dwell in the tent and drink from the springs of the love of God our Father and the Church our mother. We become like Isaac, refreshed by the love of Abraham and Sarah. But if we walk according to the killing letter, we enter the wilderness in a state of wandering, drinking from dead skin water that runs out, and exposing our inner souls to spiritual death.

What is remarkable is that Hagar lifted up her voice and wept, while the boy was too exhausted to speak. Yet the lad's silence was a voice heard by God more than Hagar's weeping, for it is said: “And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is” [17]. If Hagar represents the letter of the Law, then those who fall under the Law will be heard if they recognize the death overtaking them and cry out in their hearts. Their eyes will be opened to see a well of water [19], so that they may drink of the living water of which they have deprived themselves. Scripture says: “And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink” [19]. Origen says:

“Today the Jews are beside the wells, but their eyes are darkened, so they cannot drink from the wells of the Law and the Prophets. [311]”

He also says:

“Our eyes have been opened, and the veil of the letter of the Law has been lifted. Yet I fear that we may close our eyes again through deep sleep, through our failure to remain alert to the spiritual meaning, and through our neglect of watchfulness and of driving sleep from our eyes so that we may contemplate spiritual things and not be deceived. We would then be like a carnal people sitting beside the waters without seeing them. Therefore let us keep watch with the prophet, saying, “I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for the LORD, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob” (Psalm 132:4–5). [312]”

Finally, Ishmael dwelt in the wilderness of Paran as a hunter and married a woman from the land of Egypt, for his mother chose a wife for him from among the daughters of her people.

6. A Covenant between Abraham and Abimelech

KJV · Verses 22–34

22 And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest: 23 Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned. 24 And Abraham said, I will swear. 25 And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away. 26 And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing; neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but today. 27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant. 28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. 29 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves? 30 And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well. 31 Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them. 32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines. 33 And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God. 34 And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines' land many days.

Abimelech, king of Gerar, greatly honored Abraham and allowed him to remain in his land. But when he saw Abraham growing very great, he recognized that God was the source of his greatness and success, and he became afraid of him. He therefore came with Phichol, the commander of his army, to make a covenant with Abraham, so that Abraham would not deal falsely with him or his descendants and offspring.

We have already spoken of the pagan king Abimelech and how very gently he treated Abraham. When he took Sarah, he did not seize her by force, but sought her with an innocent heart. He was generous toward them both and feared God. Now, seeing Abraham prosper and grow, he attributed all his success to his relationship with God. Instead of envy or jealousy, he came asking for a covenant. He showed wisdom and sound judgment!

We have said that “Abimelech” was probably a title of the kings of Gerar, reminding the people that the king was a father to them, since the title means “my father is king.” The army commander bore the title “Phichol,” meaning “the mouth of all.” It appears that the commander was like a prime minister or chief minister, speaking on behalf of all the people as their mouthpiece.

Abimelech asked to establish a covenant with Abraham. Abraham then reproved him because Abimelech's servants had seized a well of water belonging to Abraham. With wisdom and an open heart, Abimelech told him that he had known nothing about the well.

Abraham offered sheep and oxen to Abimelech as a gift of love when they made the covenant. He also set apart seven ewe lambs. When Abimelech asked about them, Abraham said that they were “a witness unto me, that I have digged this well” [30]. The place was named Beersheba, so that anyone asking about its name would be told of the seven ewe lambs Abraham had offered. It still bears that name today. Wishing to establish his ownership, he planted tamarisk trees there, to enjoy their shade and pitch his tents beneath them, “and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God” [33]. “And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines' land many days” [34].

We know Abraham's great generosity and his sense of being a stranger, seeking to possess nothing. Why, then, did he reprove Abimelech over the well? Why did he insist on receiving it? Why was it called Beersheba, and why did he plant tamarisk trees around it?

Undoubtedly the well points to the Church, overflowing with the waters of the Holy Spirit, whom the Lord Christ gives from the Father. Abraham therefore offered the seven ewe lambs as testimony that he possessed the well, as though selling everything to gain membership in the Church and drink deeply of the waters of the Holy Spirit. Its name, Beersheba, points to the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church, especially in the seven sacraments. Planting trees around it points to the believers who gather around the waters of the Holy Spirit and enjoy His presence within them (Ezekiel 47:7). Thus the everlasting God is glorified in them and His name is called upon them, even though, with Abraham, the believers remain strangers in the world for many days.

We do not know how human language began in human life.

Notes and References

[308] Ep. 62:4.

[309] In Gen. hom. 7:1.

[310] Ibid., 7:2.

[311] Ibid., 7:5.

[312] Ibid.