"Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away"
Sarah, essentially and to my speculations, was jealous for Isaac of Ishmael with regard to the promise from God of inheritance. She went to Abraham and asked him to throw Hagar and Ishmael out.
It was in the midst of this dilemma that God revealed two things to Abraham:
- Isaac was the son through whom the promise would be fulfilled
- Ishmael and his descendants would prosper by virtue of him being Abraham's son.
Therefore, with very little qualms, Abraham provisioned Hagar and Ishmael then sent them off.
God had an immediate chance to prove His word when the two ran out of food and water. Hagar had all but given up when an angel came to her bearing a message that God had heard them and that God would make a great nation from him. God then revealed water to Hagar and was present with them as Ishmael grew.
Right here we can see how God cares for the marginalized, the hungry, and the hopeless. God provided for Ishmael despite not being the child of the promise. Hagar had no food or hope and God came and restored both to her. God cared and provided for both Hagar and Ishmael even though they were not of apparent (as I can see) significant import to the greater plan of salvation.
Why? Why didn't God leave them to die? Part of it boils down to the promise he had made to Abraham, then Abram, that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars and that he would make of them a great nation. While the promise was wholly fulfilled through Isaac, God kept His word even with Ishmael, making a large and impactful nation from his descendants, the Arabs.
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