Genesis 21:17
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. 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.
God heard the cry of the exhausted lad where he was in his distress in the wilderness after he and Hagar were sent away, and had mercy on them there. The angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, asking what troubled her and telling her not to fear because God had heard the boy, succoring them rather than sending them back to bondage. He told her to lift up and care for the lad, promising to make him a great nation because he is Abraham's seed, and directed her to a nearby well whose water revived the child and kept them from perishing. The verse shows God as attentive to those in need and compassionately remembering them, so that distress over provision already at hand need not become fretful worry, and it shows angels commissioned to bring God's messages to men. Hagar the bondwoman and Ishmael her son stand for the covenant from Sinai and its children in bondage through human scheming, while Sarah the freewoman and Isaac her son stand for the other covenant and its children, for the promised Seed was to come through Isaac and not through Ishmael.
Wilderness Rescue Account
Hagar and Ishmael were sent away according to Sarah's word, and this sending belongs within Abraham's test of faith and obedience. It is the account of Hagar being sent away and then receiving God's mercy in the wilderness. God heard the voice and cry of the exhausted lad where he was in his distress in the wilderness. He heard Ishmael's cry in his distress and responded to him, attending to those in need.
The angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, asking what troubled her. The angel was sent to comfort Hagar and reassure her, telling her not to fear because God had heard the voice of the boy where he was. That help succored Hagar and her son in their need rather than returning them to bondage. God told her to lift up and care for the lad, promising to make him a great nation because he is Abraham's seed, and Ishmael afterward grew up in the wilderness as an archer and leader of wild tribes.
The angel then showed and directed Hagar to a well, and the water she drew revived the child and spared his life. Water was nearby and available to save her son, and that direction to water kept her and Ishmael from perishing in the desert. Hagar had lost her way while traveling to an encampment intended to become her own, rather than being cast out without provision. Ishmael later received a large share of Abraham's property and rose to a high position among the Arab tribes.
God's Care and Angels
God heard the boy's voice where he was in the wilderness and sent an angel to speak to Hagar, asking what troubled her and telling her not to fear. The hearing of Ishmael's cry in his distress shows attention to those in need. It is compassionate remembrance of Hagar and her son in their need, with reassurance given to the mother through the angel.
The angel's delivery of God's message to Hagar shows that angels are commissioned to bring messages to people as part of their ministry on earth. God's hearing of Ishmael in the desert and sending of an angel by whom Hagar was saved along with her child is an example of such angelic ministry, and not communication with the dead. The angel's reassurance to Hagar came when water in a nearby well was available to save her son, so her distress did not need to become fretful worry.
Covenant Allegory and Lessons
The history of Hagar and Abraham's two sons is the starting point for studying the two covenants. Hagar the bondwoman stands for the covenant from Sinai and Sarah the freewoman stands for the other covenant, while their sons stand for the children of those covenants. Ishmael born of the maidservant Hagar and Isaac born of the freewoman Sarah illustrate the two covenants, testaments, or dispensations, the two systems typical and antitypical, and the two peoples literal Israel and true Israel, or Jews and Gentiles, as representatives of the Lord and His work in two special periods of its development in the earth.
The promised Seed was to come through Isaac, not through Abraham's other son Ishmael. Ishmael's birth came through human scheming and led to bondage and trouble rather than fulfilling God's promise through Sarah. The history shows the unhappiness that polygamy brought into Abraham's family.