Sunday, July 25, 2010: Two Kinds of People

Two Kinds of People
Genesis 21: 8 – 21.


I. Introduction.

For some reason, most of us feel a need to place people into categories. An example of this is the common expression, “There are two kinds of people in the world…” Here are some examples I found this past week:

· Those who work, and those who take the credit…
· Those who love and build, and those who hate and destroy…
· Those who suck the life out of every day, and those who allow every day to suck the life out of them…
· Those who want the world for themselves, and those who want the world for everyone…
· Those who are willing to work, and those who are willing to let them…
· Those who love to talk, and those who hate to listen…
· Whosoever will, and whosever won’t…
· Happy, and unhappy—both have no reason to be that way…
· Those who finish what they start, and so on and so on…
· (My Favorite) There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who think there are two kinds of people in the world, and those who know better…[1]


When I was a child, I remember hearing someone say “there are two kinds of people in the world…” It bothered me, because I never thought it could be that simple. Other than saying God has created us male and female, I have never found a fool proof way to divide the world into two groups.

However, one of the basic tenets of our Christian faith is that one day we will all face God’s judgment. And, on that day of judgment, God will divide all of humanity into two groups of people. Some will spend eternity with God in Heaven. Others will spend eternity separated from God in Hell.

So, there really are two kinds of people in the world. We might consider these two categories as the people who have accepted God’s offer of salvation and those who have refused God’s offer. We might also call these two groups of people the insiders and the outsiders…The story of Abraham’s two sons, Isaac and Ishmael, is a story of insiders and outsiders.


Read Genesis 21: 8 – 21.

There is no good reason for this story to appear in the Bible. It is a shameful end to a shameful story. It should not have happened. But, once Abraham and Sarah felt the need to take matters into their own hands, there was no turning back.

God made a promise to Abraham to make him the father of a great nation. This seemed like an impossible promise to Abraham. God told him this when Abraham was 75 years old and when it appeared that Abraham would never have any children of his own. But, God always keeps his promises.

Abraham and Sarah developed a contingency plan, just in case God was not able to keep his promise. Abraham took a second wife—Sarah’s slave girl, Hagar. Abraham and Hagar had a son they named Ishmael. Abraham presented Ishmael to God and said, “You were right, God. I did have a son.” God responded to Abraham, “This is not the son I promised you.” Abraham had to wait on God to give him the promised son. But, God always keeps his promises.

God does not always do what we expect him to do. God does not always do what we want him to do. But, God always keeps his promises.

When Abraham’s son, Ishmael, was about 15 years old, Abraham and Sarah had a son. When Abraham and Sarah discovered that God could be trusted to keep his promises, they responded with obedience. They named their son Isaac, just as God had commanded them.

The name, Isaac, is significant in the story. On one hand, it demonstrates Abraham and Sarah’s obedience to do what God commanded. On the other hand, it is a reminder of the way both Abraham and Sarah laughed at God’s promises to them. The name Isaac is a form of the Hebrew word for “laughter.”

When God kept his promise to Abraham and Sarah, God turned their laughter of disbelief into laughter of joy.

We get a brief look at Abraham and Sarah’s joy in Genesis 21: 8. Abraham held a great feast as a way to celebrate the birth of his promised son. This celebration quickly turned into a conflict when Sarah noticed Abraham’s other son at the party.

The New International version tells us in verse 9 that Sarah saw Ishmael “mocking” her son Isaac. “Mocking” is one of several ways we could translate what Sarah witnessed. It could also be translated as “playing.” But, the literal word is the word “laughing.” Ishmael was either “laughing with” Isaac, or he was “laughing at” Isaac. The translators used the word “mocking” to translate “laughing at.”

But, I don’t think we have to accuse Ishmael of anything other than simply “laughing.” The name Isaac is derived from the Hebrew word for “laughter.” Therefore, when Sarah saw Ishmael “laughing” she saw him trying to act like Isaac. He was trying to out-Isaac Isaac.

This is what enraged Sarah. Hagar’s son was acting like her son. She was not angry about how the teenager was treating her toddler. She was angry about what might happen in the future. If Ishmael could bring joy and laughter to Abraham and his family, then there was a danger in Ishmael receiving a portion of the inheritance that ought to belong to Isaac alone.

And, Ishmael did have a legitimate claim to Abraham’s wealth. Ishmael was a legitimate son of Abraham. He was not adopted from another family. And to make matters worse, Ishmael was the firstborn son. Later Mosaic Law determined that the firstborn son would receive a double portion of the father’s estate when the father died.

This is a story about conflict and competition. It is a competition between Abraham’s two wives. It is a competition between Abraham’s two sons. It is a conflict between insiders and outsiders.

Sarah took drastic measures to protect her son’s inheritance. She demanded that Abraham send Hagar and Ishmael away. It’s obvious that Abraham did not want to do this. On one hand, he hesitated. On the other hand, he went to God in prayer about his situation. In this prayer, God offered Abraham two things. He gave him comfort and instructions.

God offered comfort to Abraham in two ways. First, he calmed him down with reassuring words. Second, God promised to take care of Ishmael. This was not something Abraham could control. But, it was well within God’s control.

God’s instructions to Abraham were very closely related to God’s comfort. Since there was nothing Abraham could do to control the situation, God instructed Abraham to do as Sarah had insisted. Send Ishmael and Hagar away…But trust God to take care of them.

Sending a woman and a teenage boy into the desert was nothing short of a death sentence. They would not live very long in the hard environs of the desert. They needed food and water for the short term. They needed the safety and security of a community for the long term. Abraham could only help them with their short term needs. He provided them with food and water for their journey.

Hagar was realistic about her situation. She knew they would not last much longer than their provisions. So, when the food and water were gone, she sent Ishmael away from her. I think Hagar sent Ishmael away, because she could not bear to watch her own son die. She sent him away so she could be both blind and deaf to his sufferings.

Hagar might have been blind and deaf to suffering, but God was not. God heard Ishmael’s cries for help. God took notice of their desperate situation. And, God intervened.

God’s intervention is significant for a couple of reasons. First, the name, Ishmael, comes from the Hebrew phrase, “God hears.” Second, God heard the cries and saw the pain of those who were not a part of God’s covenant community.


II. Insiders and Outsiders.

If there really are two kinds of people in the world—those who are inside God’s covenant community, and those who are outside God’s covenant community—then this is significant! God does not only hear the cries of insiders. God hears the cries of BOTH insiders and outsiders.

God’s words to Abraham in Genesis 21: 12 make it certain that Isaac is the insider in the story, “But God said to him, "Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Isaac is not Abraham’s only son. However, Isaac is the only son who will carry on Abraham’s name. Isaac is the only son who will fulfill God’s promise that all nations will be blessed through Abraham.

Ishmael’s actions at the end of the story prove to us that he is the outsider in the story. Genesis 21: 20 – 21, “God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.”

Ishmael lived in the desert, outside of the social norms and never assimilated into God’s covenant community. Ishmael became a skilled archer, a necessary skill for one who lived outside the covenant community to hunt for his own food and live in hostility with all other people. Ishmael married an Egyptian woman, completing his rebellion against God’s covenant by marrying another outsider.

Ishmael chose his mother’s heritage over his father’s future!

We can explain the differences between Isaac and Ishmael by comparing their births.

Ishmael was born as a result of careful planning and skillful determination. Ishmael’s birth was natural, human, acceptable in the eyes of the world, and without consulting God’s will.

Isaac’s birth, on the other hand, was the miraculous result of God’s outrageous promise.

Can you see a difference between the two?

Ishmael represents the very best human effort has to offer.

Isaac represents the miracle of Grace!

We can make a similar comparison to men and women in our world and culture today. Some people live their lives according to the very best of human effort—planning, determination, natural course of events, work, work, work… Other people live according to God’s promises. God’s promises do not depend on our ability to plan and work things out. God’s promises are a gift of Grace. You don’t deserve it. You can never earn it. All you can do is receive God’s promises and Grace.


III. Two Kinds of Responses.

Isaac and Ishmael represent two kinds of people—insiders and outsiders. But they also represent two kinds of responses to God’s Grace.

It’s interesting to me that Jesus told a similar story in Luke 15. We typically refer to Jesus’ story as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. I think it is better to think of it as the Parable of the Two Sons.

In the parable there is a father with two sons. The father did not love one son more than the other son. He loved them equally.

We normally focus on the son who ran away from home. He cashed in his inheritance early and squandered it in a foreign land. When he was finally out of money and living among the pigs, this son came to his senses and went home to his father.

His father welcomed the son home with open arms and celebrated with the biggest party their little town had ever seen. The runaway son did not deserve to be welcomed home by his father. The runaway son did not deserve a party and a feast. It was a gift of Grace from his father who loved him.

We often forget about the son who stayed home. He didn’t run away. He didn’t ask for his inheritance early. He didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, we can probably say that this son did everything right. He demonstrates the very best of human nature. He was loyal, dedicated and hard working. The problem was the way he thought his loyalty, dedication and hard work earned him the right to have his own party. He thought he deserved the love of his father.

The Grace of God is not something you can work for until you are eventually good enough to deserve it. God offers his Grace to everyone. Some people accept God’s Grace for what it is—a free gift, which no one can earn. Some people just prefer to do the very best they can without accepting God’s gift.


IV. Conclusion.

There are two kinds of people in the world: Insiders and Outsiders. The insiders accept God’s offer of Grace. The outsiders try to work hard, hoping to one day be good enough.

C. S. Lewis captures this in his book The Screwtape Letters.

“There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, "All right, then, have it your way” C. S. Lewis


Will you receive God’s gift of Grace and say, “Thy will be done?” Or will you continue to insist on doing things your way?





[1] http://www.legendinc.com/Pages/ArchivesCentral/QuoteArchives/TwoKindsOfPeople.html