Genesis 21 – The Promised Son and the Greater Son to Come
Genesis 21 – The Promised Son and the Greater Son to Come Genesis 21 opens with four powerful words: “The LORD visited Sarah.” What God promised decades earlier, He now fulfills exactly on time. Sarah conceives and gives birth to Isaac—not by human strength, but by divine intervention. This miracle birth is not just a family moment; it is a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ . Isaac is born when hope seemed impossible. Sarah was barren. Abraham was old. Nature said “no,” but God said “yes.” In the same way, Jesus would later be born of a virgin—another impossible birth that could only happen by God’s power. Isaac’s name means laughter , and Sarah declares that God has made her laugh. Christ, too, brings joy to a world long waiting for redemption. But Genesis 21 also carries tension. Ishmael mocks Isaac, and Hagar and her son are sent away into the wilderness. This painful separation reveals a spiritual truth later explained in Galatians 4: the child of the flesh cannot inherit with the chi...