BRAGADAYJAH 62

Thus assured of Ishmael’s future, Abraham rose early the next morning and took bread and water and gave it to Hagar; and so Hagar departed from the house of her mistress Sarah and her master Abraham and, taking her Son Ishmael, left and went inter the wilderness of Beersheba. Being in a dry place, the water eventually ran out and Hagar, put the boy to sit under some shrubs, and sat within hailing distance thinking that at least the boy would die without the additional agony of sunstroke. But as she sat there crying, the lad was also crying; and the Lord heard their cry. Then the angel of the Lord called to Hagar and asked her why she was crying, and what was ailing her. Of course the angel already knew and was sent to bring relief; for he told Hagar “God has heard the cry of your son. Go ahead, the angel told her; lift up your son, and hold him close to you; for God will not let him die of thirst. God has a plan for him to make a great nation out of him.” And straightway her eyes were opened and she saw that there was water nearby from which she went and filled her bottle with water and gave her son to drink. Hagar’s problem was, her eyes were on water; and though water was nearby, she couldn’t see it; but once her attention and thus her eyes were drawn to God and her thoughts directwed towards God, she was able to see that which hitherto her eyes could not see. Thereafter, Ishmael continued to live in the wilderness. As he grew, God gave him the wisdom and skill to survive by hunting for and obtaining food. In course of time when he became of age, his mother procured him an Egyptian wife; so Ishmael began his God ordained heritage of nation building, there in the land of Paran. More