Day 12 of 21
Circumcision, Ishmael, and the Test of Patience
When faith falters and God remains faithful
Scripture Readings
Today's Reading
Read Genesis 16:1-16 and Genesis 17:1-14. A decade has passed since God's promise in chapter 12, and still there is no child. Sarah's plan to use Hagar produces Ishmael — but this is not the child of promise. Then God appears again, establishes circumcision as the covenant sign, and reaffirms that the promise will come through Sarah.
Reflection
Waiting is one of the hardest acts of faith. Abraham and Sarah have believed God's promise of a son, but the years keep passing. Sarah is now well past childbearing age. And so she proposes a plan: "Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her" (Genesis 16:2). Abraham agrees.
The plan "works" — Hagar conceives and bears Ishmael. But the consequences are immediate and painful. Hagar despises Sarah. Sarah mistreats Hagar. The household fractures. Francis Schaeffer observed the lesson: "The story of Hagar and Ishmael is the story of what happens when man tries to help God fulfil his promises. Abraham and Sarah grew tired of waiting and took matters into their own hands." The child of human effort is not the child of divine promise.
Yet God does not abandon Hagar. He meets her in the wilderness, promises to multiply her descendants, and tells her to return (16:9-12). She names the Lord "the God who sees me" — El Roi (16:13). Even those outside the line of promise are seen, known, and cared for by God.
Thirteen years later, God appears to Abraham again. He changes his name from Abram ("exalted father") to Abraham ("father of a multitude") — a name that must have sounded absurd for a man with one son born of a slave woman. And God institutes circumcision: "Every male among you shall be circumcised ... It shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you" (17:10-11).
Wright explains the significance: "God's covenant with Abraham was sealed in flesh through circumcision — a permanent, bodily reminder that Abraham and his descendants belonged to God and were marked out for his purposes." Circumcision was not a human achievement but a mark of divine ownership — cut into the body itself, impossible to forget.
The promise remains. God has not changed his mind. The child will come through Sarah, not Hagar. But the waiting continues — and the waiting is itself part of the formation.
Going Deeper
Why does God make Abraham wait 25 years for the promised son? What is accomplished by the delay that could not be accomplished by immediate fulfillment? How does Romans 4:18-21 describe Abraham's faith during this period of waiting?
Key Quotes
“The story of Hagar and Ishmael is the story of what happens when man tries to help God fulfil his promises. Abraham and Sarah grew tired of waiting and took matters into their own hands.”
“God's covenant with Abraham was sealed in flesh through circumcision — a permanent, bodily reminder that Abraham and his descendants belonged to God and were marked out for his purposes.”
Prayer Focus
Confess the times you have tried to 'help' God by running ahead of his timing. Ask for patience and trust that God's delays are not denials.
Meditation
Abraham waited 25 years between the promise and the fulfillment. What are you waiting for? How is the waiting shaping your faith?
Question for Discussion
When Sarah offered Hagar as a surrogate, she was following an accepted cultural practice of the time. How do we discern whether we are faithfully solving problems or running ahead of God's timing -- and how can our faith communities help us tell the difference?