Genesis 20:1-21:34

This passage is going to bring us face to face with two problems we all face rooted in two questions we all ask as it points to two promises we all long for.

Outline

  • First, the problem of our fear (20:1-18) 
  •  Second, The problem of our fear is overcome by the promise of a new place (21:22-34)
  • Third, The problem of our flesh (21:1-7)
  • Fourth, The problem of our flesh is overcome by the promise of a new people (21:1-21)

Christ Connections

  • Isaac’s birth previews the coming of Christ, just as Isaac continues the line of the seed of the woman, Christ fulfills this pattern. Isaac’s miraculous birth to a barren woman foreshadows the miraculous new birth of Jesus, the miraculous new birth of the church at Pentecost, and the miraculous new birth in each one of us at salvation.
  • Galatians 4:28-31 show us that Hagar and Sarah represent two covenants: Ishmael, the Mosaic covenant that ultimately binds us to lifelong slavery to sin and Isaac, the Abrahamic covenant that finds its fulfillment in Christ as he brings us freedom from sin.

Applications

  • We can find ourselves in a similar place as Abraham, wrestling with the question “where am I going?” Abraham had been doing so well but his fear drove him back to past patterns and sins. Yet, we have been rescued from our sin, God’s provided for us in the past, he has healed the wounds of our pain. Yet, we still struggle to trust him with our future. We can say to God “I know you’ve got me” but we struggle to say “I know you’ve got this.”
  • The way to fight the problem of your fear is to remember the promises of your God, whenever your whole life feels out of place, remember that God has already provided a place for you.