A True Beginning – The Boys (Genesis 21:1-21)

“In Genesis 13 we saw that Abraham and Lot could not co-exist together. It’s a picture of how the life of faith cannot co-exist with lust and materialism. Now, we swing to the other side and find that we cannot coexist with legalism. A legalistic mentality will do on a spiritual level what Ishmael does. It’s not a shepherd, it’s a hunter, and it’s hunting the work of the Spirit! It persecutes and it seeks to supplant the true work of God’s grace. It’s always looking to snipe some prey and keep you settled in the wilderness, rather than in the bountiful blessings of grace.“