Genesis 17:18-21 "And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year."
Ishmael was Abraham’s son by Hagar who was Sarah’s maid. It is obvious that Abraham was ecstatic that he would finally have a son with Sarah. However, that did not lessen Abraham’s love for Ishmael. He desired greatly that Ismael might live before God.
It is obvious that not waiting on the LORD caused a situation where Abraham’s attention was divided. God had just told Abraham in verse sixteen that Sarah would be the mother of nations. Kings would come from her offspring. God was fulfilling his promise to Abraham in a wonderful fashion, but Abraham could not forget about the son that was born out of his and Sarah’s failure to fully trust in God.
God immediately called on Abraham to focus on His purpose. He would have an heir born into his house with Sarah. The angel of the LORD told Hagar what to name her son, but God told Abraham directly what this son’s name would be. He made sure that Abraham understood that His covenant was with Issac and his seed according to God’s purpose.
God heard Abraham’s concern for Ishmael. God promised Abraham that he had blessed Ishmael and would make him fruitful. Ishmael would begat twelve princes and become a great nation. And the nation that sprang from Ishmael caused great distress for Issac’s offspring.
No matter what we may devise in life, God’s will cannot be overruled or undone. God purposed to make from Abraham and Sarah many nations. He made a covenant with Abraham that He kept in Issac. From Issac’s lineage through Jacob, our Redeemer was eventually born into the world. Notice in verses twenty-one that God returns Abraham’s attention again to the fact that it was His purpose to establish His covenant with Issac.
We may grow impatient while waiting on the LORD. We may decide that He has tarried too long, and somebody needs to do something. If that happens to us, I pray that God will remind us of His dealings with Sarah and Abraham. May we be reminded that our choices have consequences that may complicate our lives. But God is going to do His will according to His purpose, and nothing we many devise is going to prevent that!