14 And 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 Beersheba.
15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.
16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.
19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
The word "sanctify", according to the Mirriam Webster's Dictionary, means "to set apart to a sacred purpose or to religious use : CONSECRATE"
According to the New Testament, when you are saved, your closest loved ones are "sanctified" with you. This does not mean they are saved, too, however. It just means that God is paying them special attention, giving them more conviction, drawing them more strongly, and using them to fulfill His purpose, for good or bad. They still have free will to contend with.
What does that have to do with today's lesson, you ask?
Abraham had already been told that Ishmael would become a great nation. (He was "sanctified", because he was Abraham's son.) So, he did what God told him to do. He believed God at His word, which is why he was chosen to begin with.
Hagar left with her son and wondered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
Beersheba has an interesting history. Even in it's present state, it is an interesting subject. Click Here to learn more
The land was dry and barren. There was no water or food to be had for miles. There were only desert shrubs and hot sand and rocks.
The water was gone. They had no food. Without divine intervention, they would die. Hagar did not want to see her son die, so she laid him down under a shrub to protect him from the sun, and walked away.
But, God already had a plan. He had already sanctified Ishmael, so He was not going to let Ishmael die.
She cried, not knowing what to do. But, it was not her voice that God heard. Ishmael, too, was crying. Verse 17 said, " And God heard the voice of the lad".
When you are "sanctified", God hears your voice, as He hears one of His own children, saved or not. When you pray for someone, you are sanctifying them in the name of Jesus, and that is why praying for others is so important.
1 Timothy 4:5 speaks of two ways that sanctification occurs: The Word of God, and prayer. This is why it is so important to pray for your children and your loved ones.
God told Hagar what He told Abraham, that Ishmael would become a great nation. Then, He gave her water to drink.
This tells us that those whom God sanctifies, He provides for until their purpose is fulfilled.
Hagar arranged, in due time, for her son to marry an Egyptian woman. All of Ishmael's descendents are more Egyptian than Hebrew because of this, and it has served as a thorn in Israel's side even until today.
But, God has a plan. We must always remember that even the enemy of Israel is sanctified. To pray for the peace of Israel and Jerusalem is to pray that Muslims around the world turn to Jesus for salvation.
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