A well in a dry land
Jane Denniston
June 21, 2026
Add to Favourites
Listen to this daily worship
Genesis 21: 8-21 (NIV-UK)
8 The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. 9 But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, 10 and she said to Abraham, ‘Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.’
11 The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. 12 But God said to him, ‘Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring[a] will be reckoned. 13 I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.’
14 Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba.
15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went off and sat down about a bow-shot away, for she thought, ‘I cannot watch the boy die.’ And as she sat there, she began to sob.
17 God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, ‘What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.’
19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
20 God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. 21 While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.
What a soap opera this is, worthy of the most heart-stopping plot of EastEnders or Corrie. In this tale we have sweet, then bitter, then sweet. And contrary to all expectations, the ending is sweet for both Sarah and Hagar.
It’s an intriguing tale of the unfaithfulness of humanity and the faithfulness of God. Abraham and Sarah doubt God’s ability to bring what he has promised to pass – a child to Sarah in her old age – and so they take matters into their own hands. I wonder how often we do that? In our impatience and lack of faith we rely on our own strength and ingenuity rather than wait for God to act. Yet God is faithful, and God keeps his promises. And in the end, he blesses Hagar and Ishmael as well as Sarah and Isaac because, despite Abraham’s infidelity, Ishmael is also his son and heir to the promise.
This reminds me of Joseph’s journey from his father’s favour to slavery, to power and riches. We should never underestimate the power of God to take the bitterness of our misfortunes, or our mistakes and errors, or even our deliberate acts of disobedience, and, like Hagar’s spring in the desert, turn them into something good and wonderful and sweet.
Prayer:
God of history and the future,
forgive us when we take matters into our own hands.
Forgive us when we doubt your promises.
Help us to be faithful
even when what you have promised seems impossible,
for we know, in our heart of hearts,
that nothing is impossible for you, Amen
Login to comment.