Thru the Bible

Guest (Male): Of what foundation ye saints of the Lord is laid for your faith in His excellent word.

Guest (Male): Abraham has come home. He's living in the land of promise and God is ready to fulfill His promise of a son when Abraham is 100 years old. Welcome to Thru the Bible where our teacher Dr. J. Vernon McGee tells us more about this incredible story in Genesis chapter 21. I'm Steve Schwetz, inviting you to grab your seat on the Bible bus as we celebrate God's work in the lives of our fellow listeners. And to help me do that, I've got Greg with us to talk about what's going on with home groups in India. And let's talk a little bit about what's going on with Chattisgari.

Greg: Yeah, Steve, it's just, it never gets old. We love this, this picture that that you and I have seen in in real flesh and blood of people sitting in a group with their Bible open listening to the teaching of Dr. McGee in one of hundreds of languages. In India, it's 150 languages. And and then just responding and I mean, that it really doesn't get any more pure than that in terms of ministry.

Guest (Male): Yeah. Yeah, and it's such an encouragement because people are growing in their faith. People that are, as we've talked about before, like mentioned in Bangladesh, uh, 30% ish of the people that are in those groups are not believers. They may be Muslims.

Greg: That's right. Yes. Muslims, maybe Hindu. We met some Hindus when we were together in Bangladesh.

Guest (Male): Yeah.

Greg: And it is, it's what what may be surprising to many of you who live here in the West is that even though it can be very hostile against Christianity, there's also a lot more openness to discussing religious faith, uh, in other parts of the world. So, um, let let's hear from this first uh person who started a with a single home group and watched God turn that step of faith into something much bigger.

Guest (Male): Yeah, it says, I received a media player and started a small home group in my village. We've been blessed by listening to the teachings and are growing day by day in our understanding of scripture. At present, I'm leading eight groups in my area. Don't miss that. The guy has eight small groups he's leading.

Greg: Wow. And probably one player, one media player.

Guest (Male): Yeah, that's very tired.

Greg: Yes.

Guest (Male): I thank God for this privilege and I'm also grateful for your ministry for providing this wonderful opportunity. Please pray for us that we may continue to grow in our fellowship with the Lord.

Greg: And, you know, we we laugh about that, but we are trying as hard as we can to get as many media players into these countries because it's it's just logistically challenging. Um, but you and I have both seen this with our own eyes where people will say, yeah, I'm leading 17 groups, or eight groups, or 12 groups.

Guest (Male): Yeah.

Guest (Male): Yeah, it's amazing.

Greg: It it just shows how hungry people are. Now, here's a note from a pastor who again, a Chattisgari speaking pastor, who's seeing the same thing happen in his own community. Faithful teaching, steady growth, and God providing the increase. His name is Menaj and he tells us, I'm a pastor and I also lead a home group. We received a media player through your ministry. Since then, we've had the opportunity to study the word today. It has been a great blessing for me and my community. At present, I am leading four radio home groups in my area.

Guest (Male): Wow. He's a lightweight compared to the other guy.

Greg: Only half. Yeah.

Guest (Male): I know.

Greg: Uh. But he's a pastor too. That's right. We love pastors. And he said, uh day by day, we are growing in knowledge. We are truly thankful to God for providing the wonderful opportunity and for the systematic Bible study materials. Please pray for our groups to move along smoothly and bear much fruit.

Guest (Male): Well, what an encouragement. And Greg, why don't you pray for us and for this particular pastor as he continues to shepherd these groups.

Greg: Father, we praise you for the thousands of tens of thousands of home groups that have been started around the world and these wonderful brothers and sisters that have such a hunger to share your word. We pray you'd prosper your word, that you would protect your servants and use all of us to get the whole word to the whole world in Jesus name. Amen.

Guest (Male): Now, here's our study of Genesis 21 on Thru the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now, last time, we saw in chapter 20, that Abraham and Sarah had to make confession and put away that sin, which was a habit that went back to an agreement they had made 25 years before, that wherever they went, that Sarah would say that Abraham was her brother and not her husband. And they had two very unfortunate experiences. One was in Egypt and this one in the 20th chapter. But this sin must be dealt with, confessed and put away before Isaac could be born. Now, in chapter 21, we have the birth of Isaac. Will you listen? 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.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now, you'll notice that there is a very striking similarity between the birth of Isaac and the birth of Christ. And I believe that the birth of Isaac is given to us for that reason to set mankind before Christ came this great truth. Isaac was born at the set time God had promised. And Paul says in Galatians 4:4, that in the fullness of time, God sent forth His son, born of a woman, born under the law. Now, I'm reading on here in Genesis 21 verse 3. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac, being eight days old as God had commanded him. And Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born unto him. And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh so that all that hear will laugh with me. 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. And the child grew and was weaned.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar, the Egyptian, which was born unto Abraham, mocking. 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. And the thing was very grievous to Abraham's sight because of his son. Now, I break off the reading there at verse 11, because here there's some very remarkable truths that we need to lay hold of. First of all, the birth of Isaac was a miraculous birth. It was contrary to nature. In the fourth chapter of Romans, Abraham did not count his own body, which was dead, nor yet the deadness of Sarah's womb. Now, out of death, God brings forth life. Now, this is a miraculous birth. And we need to call attention to this. That God did not flash on the world the birth of Christ, the supernatural birth of Christ as being something new.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: He began to prepare men for it. And so way back here, at the birth of Isaac, you have a miraculous birth. Now, we find also here that God had to deal with both of these, both Sarah and with Abraham. And we saw that in the last chapter. God had to deal with them. They had to recognize now that they could do nothing, that it would be impossible for them. Abraham's 100 years old. Sarah's 90 years old. In other words, the birth of Isaac must be a birth that they have nothing really to do with. Now, the coming of this little boy Isaac into the home, sure did produce a great deal of difficulty. Fact of the matter is, we find that this boy that was the son of Hagar, Ishmael, he was mocking. And we begin now to see the nature and the character of this boy Ishmael. Up to this point, he seems to be a pretty nice boy. But now with the appearance of this other son in the family, he really shows his true colors.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: That is an illustration, by the way, the fact that a believer has two natures. Now, until you're converted, you got an old nature and that old nature controls you. You do what you want to do. Or as the popular secular song has it, doing what comes naturally. And what man does that comes naturally is not always the nicest sort of thing. But when you're born again, you receive a new nature. And when you receive a new nature, then that's where the trouble always begins. Paul could say in the seventh of Romans, that there was this battle going on between the old nature and the new nature. Paul could say what I would not I do it. That is the new nature doesn't want to. But the old nature wants to do it. And the old nature is in control. So that the time comes when you have to make a decision which one you're going to live by. You've got to make a determination and that is in this matter of yielding to the Lord. You have to either permit the Holy Spirit to move in your life or else you have to do it by the energy of the flesh.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: There's no third alternative for the child of God. Now, you have something that's quite interesting here, the son of the bondwoman must be put out. That's exactly what we have here. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son. After all, Ishmael's his son just as much as Isaac is. As far as the flesh is concerned. And after all, Isaac has just been born. A little bitty baby doesn't know too much about him yet. But this boy Ishmael has been in the home there and Abraham's attached to him. And the thing's very grievous. If he's going to have to send him away. Now, again, I go back to the thing we said at the time that the thing that Sarah and Abraham did, God did not approve of it. Now, this is a heartbreak to Abraham. He's going to have to send this boy away. And it's going to be a heartbreak to him. But God can't accept him. This sin is sin. God just didn't approve of it. And God doesn't intend to approve of it at all. It was a heartbreak to Abraham to send that boy away. And it was to relieve the embarrassment. And for Sarah just couldn't take it with that boy around mocking her this older boy.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: You can't live in both natures. You're either going to have to make a decision. James says a double minded man's unstable in all of his ways. And that explains the instability, the insecurity among many Christians today. They want to go with the world and yet they want to go with the Lord. They are spiritual schizophrenics. They are trying to do both. And you can't do that. They have a race among the Greeks years ago. They put two horses together and a man puts one foot on one horse, one foot on the other and he starts out. Well, that's a great race as long as the horses are together. But you and I have got two natures. One's a black horse and the other's a white horse. And when they take out, I tell you, it's great if they go together, but these two horses, you just can't hitch them together. They won't work together. One goes one way and one the other. And when they do, you and I have to make up our mind which way we're going, whether we're going with one horse or with the other, with one nature or the other. And that's where we're told today to yield ourselves. Yield your members as instruments of righteousness. And what the flesh could not do, or the law could not do through the weakness of the flesh, the Spirit of God can now accomplish.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: The law tried to get a hold on man, but the old nature couldn't measure up to it. But now the Spirit of God can. That is the great message that you find here. Then we're going to see something else that took place here that the child grew and he was weaned. You'll notice, and Abraham then made a great feast because of that. And that was the thing that this little fella did. He first lived by feeding on his mother's milk. But there came a day when he has to be weaned and we're told today that newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word. You see a little baby in the crib. Mama getting the bottle ready for him. And everything in his entire body is working. He's got his feet up in the air. He's got his hands up in the air and he's yelling at the top of his voice. He wants his bottle. As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that you might grow. Now, there comes a day when you really want to grow up. And instead of just reading Psalm 23 and John 14, they are very wonderful. But instead of just reading those two chapters, then try going through the Bible. Read the entire Bible. Grow up. Don't be a babe all the time. So that we find this boy Isaac growing along and he's a real lesson for us today. And that is something that you and I need to recognize.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now, this does begin now to reveal the character of the son of Hagar, Ishmael. This is the nature that you'll see manifested later on in the nation. A nation that is antagonistic, his hand is against his brother. And that's been the picture of him down through the centuries, that has been the picture of him. Now, there is something else for us to note here that is quite remarkable. And that is in the birth of Isaac, you have as I've already suggested, actually a comparison or a foreshadowing of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the birth of Isaac is that which sets it before us. And as we've said, God did not spring on mankind all of a sudden the virgin birth. He had had several miraculous births before this. The birth of John the Baptist was. The birth even of Samson was. And now here the birth of Isaac. And there's quite a comparison and I'd like to call your attention to the comparison between the birth of Isaac and the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. First of all, both had been promised. You will recall that when God called this man out of Ur of the Chaldees, 25 years before this, why God had said, I'm going to give you a son. I'm going to give a son to you and Sarah. And 25 years went by and God made good his promise.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now, God had said to the nation Israel, a virgin shall conceive, bring forth a son. And that day came when he was born in Bethlehem and it was the fulfillment of prophecy. You see, both had been promised. Then there was a long interval between the promise and the fulfillment. Actually, you have about 25 years from the time God promised this. Now, you could even go back as far as David. God had promised that'd come one in David's line. And that's a thousand years before Christ was born. It's quite a remarkable parallel here. And then the third thing is the announcement of the birth to Sarah and Mary seemed incredulous and impossible. Now, you'll recall that when these servants of the Lord visited Abraham when they were on the way to Sodom, they announced the birth and it just seemed impossible. Sarah laughed and said, well, this thing just can't be. It's just beyond belief. It's just something that just seems impossible. And after all, who was the first one to raise a question about the virgin birth? Well, it was Mary herself. When the angel made the announcement, she says, how can these things be, seeing I know not a man. Note that this parallel is quite striking indeed. And then both Isaac and Jesus were named before their birth.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee McGee: You find that both Abraham and Sarah were told, you're going to have a son and you're going to name him Isaac. And then you find out at the birth of the Lord Jesus that He was named before. That's the thing that the angel said to Joseph. He said, you're going to call his name Jesus because he'll save his people from their sins. So that this is something that we need to note here. Then there is a fifth parallel. Both births occurred at God's appointed time. Now, I've called attention to that here in the second verse. It says at the set time, which God had spoken to them of, Sarah brought forth Isaac. And Paul in Galatians 4:4 says, in the fullness of time, God sent forth His son, born of a woman, born under the law. And then the sixth thing is both births are miraculous. And I've called attention to that. And then the seventh thing. Both sons were a particular joy of their father. This is the thing about this man Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. This was the name he gave back at the time when God made the announcement, he laughed because of the sheer joy of it all. And then out of heaven, the Father spoke and said, this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. Both were a joy.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And then both sons are obedient to the Father even unto death. Now, the next time we're going to get into the 22nd chapter and when we get in there, we're going to see that this boy Isaac was offered up by his father. Now, he's not like the Sunday school card that was given to me as a boy portrayed it. It showed a little bitty fella and because it says lad, we assume that he's probably eight or nine years old. Well, he just happened to be about 33 years old when this took place, but he was obedient to the Father even unto death. That was true of Isaac and that was true of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we find here this is a marvelous picture of the birth and the life of Christ in the birth of Isaac. But not only that, but the miraculous birth of Isaac is a picture of the resurrection of Christ. Now, we've already turned on another occasion to Romans 4. There Paul said that Abraham not counting that his own body that was then dead and then the deadness of Sarah's womb. So out of death came life. That's resurrection, you see. And when Paul emphasizes that, he mentions the fact he was delivered for our offenses. He was raised for our justification. And so you have in Isaac here the entire picture. And it's quite a remarkable picture, by the way.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now, let's advance on into this chapter here and you'll find how God graciously deals with Abraham and also with Hagar and her son Ishmael. Verse 12 and God said unto Abraham, let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, because of thy bondwoman. In all that Sarah had said unto thee, hearken unto her voice. For in Isaac shall thy seed be called. God makes it clear to Abraham, he's not going to accept Ishmael as the one he'd promised. And also of the son of the bondwoman, will I make a nation because he's thy seed. Now, he'd said of thy seed, I'll make nations to come from you. So God says a great nation will come from this boy Ishmael. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, 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. And the water was spent in the bottle and she cast the lad under one of the shrubs. 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 lifted up her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad. And the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, said unto her, what aileth thee, Hagar? Fear not. For God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad. Hold him in thine hand. For I'll make him a great nation.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: 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. And God was with the lad. He grew and dwelt in the wilderness. He became an archer. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran. And his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt. Now, if you read the rest of this, you find out that you drop the line of Ishmael. We're not following it. But they're out there in the desert today. The Arab would qualify. Now, we find here in verse 22, it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phicol, the chief captain of his host, spake unto Abraham saying, God's with thee in all that thou doest. Now, thou fair swear unto me, hereby God, that thou wilt not deal falsely with me. In other words, Abimelech wants to make a contract or a treaty with this man Abraham. And Abraham and Abimelech became good friends because of this. Verse 32, thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech rose up and Phicol, the chief captain of his hosts and they returned into the land of the Philistine. And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba. And call there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God. He's calling upon God's name everywhere he goes. And Abraham sojourned in the Philistine's land many days. Now, we're told later on Abraham was always a stranger and a pilgrim in this land that God had promised him. And this is an evidence of it at this point. Now, next time we see the offering of Isaac. And friends, this is one of the highlights of the Bible, this chapter we're coming to. So until next time, my beloved, may God richly bless you.

Guest (Male): Next time, Dr. McGee paints a graphic picture of the cross of Christ presented to us in the lives of Abraham and Isaac. Until then, to listen again or find more resources, get our app or visit ttb.org. And remember, it's letter month, so send us a note at Bible bus@tttb.org or anytime you can leave a voicemail at 1-800-65 Bible. We'd love to hear from you. I'm Steve Swetz, and I'll be here saving you a seat on the Bible bus.

Guest (Male): Our story on the Bible bus today is just one step in a five-year journey through the entire Word of God. Come along for the ride, and you'll study both the Old Testament and New Testament, discovering God's great redemption story. Is this your story too?