Grievous in Abraham's Sight

In three chapters in a row, Genesis 21-23, we find a terrible trial or sorrow for Abraham. In Genesis 21 we have the story of how Hagar and Ishmael were cast out. We read, “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” (v9-11). Ishmael, older than Isaac, apparently was mocking his younger half-brother. It likely was much more serious than simple teasing of his little brother, and it may be that Sara was worried about the safety of her own son due to the actions of Ishmael. The Hebrew word “mocking” here can mean to “make sport” and Ishmael may have been physically aggressive enough towards Isaac that Sara demanded he be cast out of the family. But this was a terrible blow to Abraham who of course loved his son, and it was “very grievous” to him. So, he turned to the Lord and was told this, “Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called” (v12). And so “Abraham rose up early in the morning, and 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 Beer-sheba” (v14). How guilty he must have felt! He just sent his wife and son into the wilderness to fend for themselves, and he surely prayed fervently that they would be cared for by the Lord.

               In the next chapter, Genesis 22, Abraham was again asked to give up his son. This time it was Isaac. We read, “And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him” (v3). It is telling that Genesis 22:3 uses the same language as Genesis 21:14—“And Abraham rose up early in the morning”—perhaps an indication that in neither case was he able to sleep the night before because of the terrible deed asked of him. Did he not wonder as he walked to Moriah why, if he was just going to lose Isaac, he couldn’t have kept Ishmael? What terrible guilt he must have felt again when he “bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood” (v9). In both the case of Ishmael and Isaac he was following the command of the Lord and yet he must have been tormented by the suffering he was imposing on his sons in each story. Gratefully at Moriah there was a ram in the thicket, and he was spared the awful deed at the last moment. But we should remember that he was not spared the difficult act in the case of Ishmael: he truly did send him away. But it appears that at some point before Abraham’s death he was reunited with Ishmael, for both Isaac and Ishmael buried Abraham together (Genesis 25:9)/ This suggests that by that point Ishmael was in contact with the family again. Either way, these two stories in Genesis 21-22 are heart-wrenching for Abraham and show his unequivocal devotion to the Lord in his willingness to do whatever God commanded.

               In Genesis 23, after he lost one son and nearly had to sacrifice the other, Abraham lost his wife. We read, “And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her” (v2). He mourned and wept, and Abraham asked the sons of Heth: “I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight” (v4). Grieving for Sarah, perhaps this last statement indicated his terrible sorrow that he wanted to bury her “out of his sight,” meaning that he could not bear to be reminded of her passing. These three stories in a row highlight the great suffering that Abraham endured in his life, and as His seed we know that we too must endure trials and tests, sorrows and suffering. We can, though, take comfort in knowing that the Lord blessed him for his faithfulness: “Abraham received all things, whatsoever he received, by revelation and commandment, by my word, saith the Lord, and hath entered into his exaltation and sitteth upon his throne” (Doctrine and Covenants 132:29). And surely He will do the same for each of us as we strive to have the faithfulness of Abraham.