being the father of both, felt a paternal affection towards each of them : nor was he indifferent towards Hagar, whom he had considered, and lived with, as a legitimate wife. Perhaps too he suspected that Sarah's proposal originated in an irritation of temper, and that less severe measures would in a little time satisfy her mind. He was grieved exceedingly at the thought of proceeding to such extremities : but finding how resolutely she was bent upon it, he committed the matter to God, and sought direction from above. God directed him to acquiesce in Sarah's wishes ; and reminded him, that her proposal, how- ever grievous it might be to him, accorded exactly with his repeated declarations, that "in Isaac should his seed be called," and that all the blessings of the covenant exclusively belonged to himh. The divine will being thus made known to him, he deferred not to comply with it, but dismissed them early the very next morning. The provision winch he gave them for their journey, was not such as might have been expected from a person of his opulence ; but we can have no doubt but that he acted in this by the divine direction, and that the mode of their dismission, as well as their dismission itself, was intended for their humiliation and punishment, and probably too for the shewing unto us, that the natural man has no claim upon him for even the most common blessings of his providence. That Hagar and Ishmael were reduced to straits, was owing to their having "wandered" out of their way in the wilderness of Beersheba: had they prosecuted their journey in the direct path to Egypt, where Hagar's friends were, we take for granted that they would have found their provision adequate to their support.]
Hitherto we have seen nothing but a domestic occurrence: we must next contemplate,
II. The mystery contained in it —
Here, as in multitudes of other passages, we are entirely indebted to the New-Testament writers for the insight which we have into the meaning of the Old Testament. Here also we see the advantage that is to be derived from the study of the Old-Testament history : since in very many instances the incidents that are recorded, are not mere memoirs of what has passed, but types and shadows of better and more important things. This family quarrel was designed to instruct the whole world; and to shew us,
1. That the children of promise would always be objects of hatred and contempt to the natural man —
» Gen. xvii. 19, 21.