Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the Book of Genesis.  Tonight is study #18 of Genesis, chapter 21.  I am going to read Genesis 21:9-11:

And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had 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 in Abraham's sight because of his son.

Let us turn to Galatians 4.  You are probably not surprised.  God has helped us by revealing the spiritual dimension of this historical parable, so we have been taking advantage of it.  After telling us that the two women and their two children are the two covenants, we read in Galatians 4:28-31:

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.

God is giving us spiritual information concerning that historical situation of Ishmael mocking Isaac.  Again, it said in Galatians 4:29:

But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.

We can sum up the two covenants.  There are children of the bondwoman born after the flesh.  There are children of the freewoman born “after the Spirit.”  The Bible says, “Ye must be born again.”  God grants His people a new heart and a new spirit.  We have a new resurrected soul, but not so for natural-minded individuals.  They have no spiritual life.  They are related to God outwardly through His Law and through their use of the Bible.  They are related to God through works of the flesh.  The Bible tells us in many places about the flesh versus the spirit.  It says in the next chapter of Galatians, in Galatians 5:16-18:

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Then it goes on to contrast the works of the flesh and the fruit of the spirit.  The flesh is contrary to the spirit.  Ishmael was in opposition to Isaac.  Cain was in opposition to Abel.  Esau was in opposition to Jacob.  It is simply how things are when God saves a people for Himself, and there are those that only have an outward relationship to Him because of God’s program of working with Israel in the Old Testament and the churches during the New Testament.  It is bound to happen that children come forth that are not true elect children.  They are physically circumcised, perhaps, but they are not circumcised in heart.  They are physically baptized, perhaps, but they are not spiritually baptized by the Holy Spirit in the inward man.  It is a fact that the children of the flesh far outnumber the children of the Spirit.  It happened to Israel.  It happened during the church age.  And it happened in the world.  God saved a remnant of mankind.

Again, it says in Galatians 4:29:

But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.

Notice that it says that Ishmael persecuted Isaac.  The only record we have of Ishmael persecuting Isaac was when he mocked as Isaac was coming off the milk and was beginning to eat “strong meat.”   So, the one born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit. 

The word “persecute” is a very interesting word.  It is found in both the New Testament and Old Testament, where it is translated in a similar way in both the Greek and the Hebrew.  The word “persecute” also means “to follow after.”  First, I will show a verse where this word is found and translated as “persecuted,” in Acts 7:51-52:

Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:

After Stephen was persecuted and stoned to death, it says in Acts 8:1-3:

And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.

This refers to Saul of Tarsus, who later became known as “Paul,” whom the Lord moved to scribe many of the New Testament Epistles.  Before his conversion, Saul pursued the Christians, even unto other countries.  It says in Acts 9:1-5:

And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

Saul was pursuing the Christians – those that had the Spirit.  At that time, Saul was not saved.  He was a child of the flesh, a Pharisee.  He had a “works gospel” and he thought it was the true Gospel.  He thought that people that followed that “way” (which was Christ) were heretics that were to be cast into prison or even killed; he consented unto Stephen’s death, thinking he was doing service to God.  And, yet, he was involved in “persecution.” 

The Greek word translated as “persecution” is also found in Romans 9:30-31:

What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.

The word translated as “followed after” is the same word translated as “persecuted.” 

This word is also found in Luke 17:23:

And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.

Again, it is to “follow after.”  This is the word for “persecute.”  Let me lay it out another way, so you can see just how this word translated as “follow after” is the same idea as “persecution.”  Just think of “another gospel,” like the Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses or Pentecostals.  Do God’s people “follow after” them to denounce, correct or point the finger at them to let everyone know it is a false gospel?  No – we just let them go; that is not our business.   Just let them do whatever they want to do, just like all the false religions of the world.  We are not to try to correct everyone; that would be a fulltime job.  Instead, we are to focus on the true Gospel of the Bible.  This is what God’s elect children do.  We do not go around “haling men and women,” and trying to stop them from teaching heresy.  We were not concerned about that because we knew God is in control and He would save and gather His people together.  There was nothing men could do to stop Him.  Christ would bring every one of His sheep safely into the fold and into His bosom.  No one can take us from Him.  God’s people are safe and secure, so we do not worry about these things.  We do not pursue or follow after those that are corrupting the truth of the Word of God.  It is not our job. 

When God’s elect people are teaching, we are teaching that the church age is over.  And there are all kinds of people coming around, listening closely and trying to catch us with a “misspoken word,” and trying to find fault.  They are like vultures circling around.  I do not know if you remember this, but there was a frequent caller on the Open Forum that listened better than almost anyone else.  He would say to Mr. Camping, “On such-and-such a date and at such-and-such a time, you said, and I quote,” and then he would proceed to criticize what Mr. Camping said.  But you could not deny that this man listened as closely as anyone could listen, but he was not listening for a good reason – he was listening to find fault.  He was “following after” Mr. Camping and his teachings to persecute him, looking for a fault or a misstatement. 

You see, that is the nature of the natural-minded individual.  He will listen to EBible Fellowship.  He will listen to my studies or to studies of others that teach at EBible, and he is trying to find an error.  Then he can say, “Oh, he said this.  Do not listen to him.”  That is the nature of the children of the flesh.  They “follow after” the children of the Spirit.  It is not the other way around.  They are pursing God’s people, just as King Saul pursued David.  He pursued him for quite a long time.  We read in 1Samuel 23:25:

Saul also and his men went to seek him.And they told David: wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.

The Hebrew word for “pursued” here is Strong’s #7291 and it is also translated as “persecuted.”  He pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.  Then it says in 1Samuel 23:26-28:

And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them. But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land. Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Selahammahlekoth.

In verse 28, the word translated as “pursuing” is that same word.  We can see that Saul literally pursued David with an army.  David fled before him, so we can clearly see the persecution when someone is literally chasing someone.  But it is the same thing, figuratively, when someone is pursuing us to catch us up in a misspoken word. 

You know, some of this activity has calmed down a bit because as we live in the Day of Judgment, God has been stirring up division among various groups of people in the world and causing them to pursue after one another, so they are not as intensely focused on God’s elect at this time, although they still do so.  Now they are pursuing and persecuting one another, in this case and that case.  Again, it is because God is bringing judgment on the world, and He has brought “division” to the kingdom of Satan.  Satan used to be more unified in His focus against the children of God, but now that the battle for the salvation of souls is completed, Satan has fallen, and Christ has taken his kingdom.  They are not as intently focused on God’s elect as they were before.

Again, we are not surprised to find that Ishmael is focused on Isaac.  Ishmael is focused on Isaac during the feast given for Isaac’s weaning.  It says in Genesis 21:9-10:

And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had 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.

The word translated as “cast out” is a very interesting word.  It is a word that is translated as “put away” or “divorce,” in a few places.  Historically, that is exactly what Sarah is asking Abraham to do – divorce this bondwoman.  She wants him to remove her as his wife.  Remember, Sarah had given Hagar to Abraham and that is how Ishmael was conceived and born.  Hagar was a concubine.  She was a wife.  We can see how this would be grievous to Abraham, but he listened to Sarah.

The word translated as “divorce” or “put away” is also translated as “cast out” in Proverbs 22:10:

Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.

When the wheat and the tares were growing together, the tares were cast out of the kingdom of heaven through God’s mechanism of “separation” of the two.  The contention between the two would cease because the flesh is always contrary to the spirit.  When God’s elect were positioned outside of the churches and congregations, there was movement by those of the flesh to come against them on a smaller scale, but the massive contention that was within the churches and churches ceased.  It ceased between the children of the bondwoman and the children of the freewoman because the children of the bondwoman had been cast out.

It says, “Cast out the scorner,” and that word “scorner” was also translated as “mock” a couple of time, although it is not the same word translated as “mocking” regarding Ishmael.  So, cast out the scorner and contention will cease.

We also read in Proverbs 1:20-23:

Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

Scorners delight in their scorning.  They have no delight in the truth of the Word of God, but they delight in scorning. 

Let us look at one more place where this word translated as “cast out” is found regarding man, in Genesis 3:24:

So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

God cast out the man Adam because he sinned.  It was a judgment upon all mankind.  No longer could he stay in the Garden of Eden.  Lord willing, when we get together in our next Bible study, we will see this word translated as “cast out” is used in a few places that identify with the wrath of God or judgment.  That is how it is being used in the historical parable in Genesis 21.