Sunday School Lesson

1. Genesis 21:1-21
The God of Promises
November 15, 2015
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA
What’s the number one thing?
The Glory of God!
https://twcdaily.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/glory-of-god.jpg
1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV
31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of
God.
November Memory Verse
Acts 1:8 NIV
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be
my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth.”
Please Pray For: The Pastor Search Committee
Ross Aven Rodney DePriest
Laurel Ditto Susan Lindsay
Chris Maddux Joe Young
Paul Moak, Jr. (Chairman)

2. REFERENCES
• Feiler, Bruce. 2002. ABRAHAM: A Journey to the Hearts of Three Faiths.
New York: Harper Publishing.
• The NIV Study Bible, The Zondervan Corporation, 1985.
• The MacArthur NKJV Study Bible. 1997. Nelson Publishers.
• Dr. Chuck Missler, YouTube Video on Genesis: Chapters 21, 22 & 24 Part 1.
Promises in the Bible
• There are at least 3,573 promises in the Bible.
• The word “promise” is used 50X in the KJV Bible.
What is a promise?
Crossed fingers…….promise doesn’t count?
Introduction to Genesis 21
• Ishmael, the son of Abraham by Hagar is 17 (?) years-old.
• Ishmael is Abraham’s only son at this time.
• Ishmael is a legal heir to Abraham’s wealth even though his mother is a
maidservant (type of slave) from Egypt.
• Hagar had some civil rights as Abraham’s wife.

3. God’s Promises to Abraham
1. The promise of land: Gen. 12:1; 13:14-18; 15:18-21.
2. The promise of descendants: Gen. 12:2; 17:4; 17:6.
3. The promise of blessing and redemption: Gen 12:3; 21:12; 26:3-4; 28:14-15.
4. Circumcision of males was the sign of this covenant: Gen 17:1-27.
God’s Promise to Sarah
• Genesis 17:15-16
15 God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to
call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. 16 I will bless her and will surely give
you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations;
kings of peoples will come from her."
God’s Promise to Hagar
• Genesis 16:10-11
10 The angel added, "I will increase your descendants so much that they
will be too numerous to count."
11 The angel of the Lord also said to her:
"You are now pregnant
and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,
for the Lord has heard of your misery.
Genesis 21:1-8
1 Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah
what he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in
his old age, at the very time God had promised him. 3 Abraham gave the name
Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. 4 When his son Isaac was eight days old,
Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred
years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
6 Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this
will laugh with me." 7 And she added, "Who would have said to Abraham that
Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age
8 The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham
held a great feast.

4. Why a great feast for weaning?
• High infant/child mortality rates (death before 5 years of age).
• Celebration when a child reached the weaning age range of 1-5 years.
• Considered a transition from mother’s responsibility to father’s role to train
a child.
Weaning to table food!!!
Genesis 21:9-10
9 But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham
was mocking, 10 and she said to Abraham, "Get rid of that slave woman and her
son, for that woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac."
What is happening here?
• Ishmael is 15-17 years-old and mocking (scoffing) a very young child.
• Actions could have ranged from childish mocking or
verbal/physical abuse to sexual molestation.
• No clear meaning – unacceptable behavior.
• The “Protective Mother Syndrome”.
• Sarah does not want Isaac to share the inheritance.
• Sarah saw nothing but trouble ahead between the sons.
• Sarah was resentful of Hagar (dysfunctional family dynamics).
Genesis 21:11-13
11 The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. 12 But
God said to him, "Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman.
Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring
will be reckoned. 13 I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because
he is your offspring."
• NOTE: Isaac – Promised lineage for Abraham’s descendants and the
“Children of the Promise”.
• NOTE: Ishmael – Only promised a nation (many descendants).

5. Genesis 21:14-16
14 Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave
them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy.
She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba.
15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes.
16 Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, "I
cannot watch the boy die." And as she sat there, she began to sob.
From Gerar to the Desert of Beersheba
Genesis 21:17-21
17 God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven
and said to her, "What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the
boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will
make him into a great nation."
19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled
the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
20 God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an
archer. 21 While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him
from Egypt.
• (Last recorded information about Ishmael until Abraham dies about 58
years later)

6. Google map of Genesis 21
Ishmael returns for Abraham’s funeral
• Genesis 25:7-10
7 Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. 8 Then Abraham
breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of
years; and he was gathered to his people. 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael
buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron
son of Zohar the Hittite, 10 the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites.
 Genesis 25:12-16
12 This is the account of the family line of Abraham's son Ishmael, whom
Sarah's slave, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraham.
13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their
birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma,
Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. 16 These
were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal
rulers according to their settlements and camps. 17 Ishmael lived a
hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he
was gathered to his people. 18 His descendants settled in the area from
Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur.
And they lived in hostility toward all the tribes related to them.

7. Ishmaelites dwelt from Havilah to Shur
The Prophecy of Ishmael’s Hostility
• Genesis 16:12
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone
and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his
brothers."
• Genesis 25:18
18 …And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.
Islam’s Claims to Abraham
• Muhammad is a direct descendant to Ishmael.
• Ishmael was the child offered as a sacrifice in Genesis 22.
• Ishmael and Hagar were banished to Mecca and not Negev.
• Abraham expelled Ishmael from the land but not his love and paternity.
• 17 of 25 Islamic prophets are descendants of Abraham.
Islamic Claims
• Muhammad saw Abraham when transported to heaven.
• Abraham told him, “The only faith in God’s sight is Islam.”
• Islam was the faith of Abraham and God prefers people who worship him
correctly.
• God prefers Ishmael over Isaac.
• Muslims should rule the world and should act for God**.
Islam in History
• Islam emerged 6 centuries (600 years) after Christianity and 2500 years
after Abraham.
• Messages of the Old and New Testaments were available to Muhammad
to incorporate into Koran.

8. Isaac as a fulfillment of promise
• Gen 21:12
12 …it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.
• For Judaism – The lineage of the patriarchs begins... Abraham > Isaac >
Jacob > Judah > David > …
• For Christianity –
Romans 9:8
8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God's
children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as
Abraham's offspring.
Galatians 4:28
28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
Is there a connection between a promise and faith? Hebrews 11
• Hebrews 11:1-2
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what
we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
• Hebrews 11:11-12
11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled
to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the
promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came
descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the
sand on the seashore.
A connection between promise and faith
• Romans 4:13 & 16
13 It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the
promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness
that comes by faith.
16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and
may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are
of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father
of us all.
• Romans 4:20-25
20 Yet he (Abraham) did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise
of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being
fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is
why "it was credited to him as righteousness." 23 The words "it was credited
to him" were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will
credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord
from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was
raised to life for our justification.

9. How did Abraham and Sarah show unfaithfulness to God’s promise?
• Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham as a wife to have a child.
• Abraham accepted the offer and fathered Ishmael.
• They did not wait for God’s timing and miraculous plan.
• The result of their unfaithfulness goes on 4000 years later.
Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of all of God’s promises.
• Hebrews 1:3
3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his
being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided
purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in
heaven.
• 2 Corinthians 1:20
20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in
Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.
What are the first and the last promises in the Bible?
• First Promise:
Genesis 3:15
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your
offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
• Last Promise:
Revelation 22:20
20 He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen.
Come, Lord Jesus.
7 Key Promises of God to Man
1. To supply every need we have: Philippians 4:19.
2. His grace is sufficient for us: 2 Cor. 12:9; Eph. 2:8; Rom. 5:2.
3. His children will not be overtaken with temptation: 1 Cor. 10:13; Jude 24;
Daniel 6:16.
4. Victory over death: Acts 2:32; 1 Cor. 15:3, 4; 15:57.
5. All things work together for good to those who love and serve Him
faithfully: Romans 8:28; Eph. 1:11.
6. Those who place faith in Jesus are saved and forgiven – Mark 16:16, Acts
2:38
7. Eternal life – John 10:27-28.
The Plan of Hope & Salvation
 John 3:16 NKJV
16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

10. The Plan of Hope & Salvation
 John 14:6 NKJV
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through Me.”
 Romans 3:23 NKJV
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
 Romans 6:23a NKJV
23a For the wages of sin is death,
 Death in this life (the first death) is 100%.
 Even Jesus, the only one who doesn’t deserve death, died in this life
to pay the penalty for our sins.
 The death referred to in Romans 6:23a is the second death
explained in Revelation 21:8.
 Revelation 21:8 NKJV
8 “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually
immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake
which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
 Romans 5:8 NKJV
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us.
 Romans 6:23b NKJV
23b but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
 Revelation 21:7 NKJV
7 “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he
shall be My son.”
 Romans 10:9-10 explains to us how to accept Jesus as our Savior.
 Romans 10:9-10 NKJV
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your
heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with
the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation.
 Romans 10:13 NKJV
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

11. If you have questions or would like to know more, please, contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/