Hagar and Ishmael

161 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had given him no children; and she had a servant, a woman of Egypt whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, See, the Lord has not let me have children; go in to my servant, for I may get a family through her. And Abram did as Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had been living for ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai took Hagar, her Egyptian servant, and gave her to Abram for his wife.

4 And he went in to Hagar and she became with child, and when she saw that she was with child, she no longer had any respect for her master's wife. 5 And Sarai said to Abram, May my wrong be on you: I gave you my servant for your wife and when she saw that she was with child, she no longer had any respect for me: may the Lord be judge between you and me. 6 And Abram said, The woman is in your power; do with her whatever seems good to you. And Sarai was cruel to her, so that she went running away from her.

7 And an angel of the Lord came to her by a fountain of water in the waste land, by the fountain on the way to Shur. 8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai's servant, where have you come from and where are you going? And she said, I am running away from Sarai, my master's wife. 9 And the angel said to her, Go back, and put yourself under her authority.

10 And the angel of the Lord said, Your seed will be greatly increased so that it may not be numbered. 11 And the angel of the Lord said, See, you are with child and will give birth to a son, to whom you will give the name Ishmael, because the ears of the Lord were open to your sorrow. 12 And he will be like a mountain ass among men; his hand will be against every man and every man's hand against him, and he will keep his place against all his brothers. 13 And to the Lord who was talking with her she gave this name, You are a God who is seen; for she said, Have I not even here in the waste land had a vision of God and am still living? 14 So that fountain was named, Fountain of Life and Vision: it is between Kadesh and Bered.

15 And Hagar gave birth to a child, the son of Abram, to whom Abram gave the name of Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.

Circumcision the Sign of the Covenant

171 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord came to him, and said, I am God, Ruler of all; go in my ways and be upright in all things, 2 And I will make an agreement between you and me, and your offspring will be greatly increased. 3 And Abram went down on his face on the earth, and the Lord God went on talking with him, and said,

4 As for me, my agreement is made with you, and you will be the father of nations without end. 5 No longer will your name be Abram, but Abraham, for I have made you the father of a number of nations. 6 I will make you very fertile, so that nations will come from you and kings will be your offspring.

7 And I will make between me and you and your seed after you through all generations, an eternal agreement to be a God to you and to your seed after you. 8 And to you and to your seed after you, I will give the land in which you are living, all the land of Canaan for an eternal heritage; and I will be their God. 9 And God said to Abraham, On your side, you are to keep the agreement, you and your seed after you through all generations. 10 And this is the agreement which you are to keep with me, you and your seed after you: every male among you is to undergo circumcision. 11 In the flesh of your private parts you are to undergo it, as a mark of the agreement between me and you. 12 Every male among you, from one generation to another, is to undergo circumcision when he is eight days old, with every servant whose birth takes place in your house, or for whom you gave money to someone of another country, and not of your seed. 13 He who comes to birth in your house and he who is made yours for a price, all are to undergo circumcision; so that my agreement may be marked in your flesh, an agreement for all time. 14 And any male who does not undergo circumcision will be cut off from his people: my agreement has been broken by him.

15 And God said, As for Sarai, your wife, from now her name will be not Sarai, but Sarah. 16 And I will give her a blessing so that you will have a son by her: truly my blessing will be on her, and she will be the mother of nations: kings of peoples will be her offspring. 17 Then Abraham went down on his face, and laughing, said in his heart, May a man a hundred years old have a child? will Sarah, at ninety years old, give birth? 18 And Abraham said to God, If only Ishmael's life might be your care! 19 And God said, Not so; but Sarah, your wife, will have a son, and you will give him the name Isaac, and I will make my agreement with him for ever and with his seed after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have given ear to your prayer: truly I have given him my blessing and I will make him fertile and give him great increase; he will be the father of twelve chiefs, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But my agreement will be with Isaac, to whom Sarah will give birth a year from this time. 22 And having said these words, God went up from Abraham.

23 And Abraham took Ishmael, his son, and all whose birth had taken place in his house, and all his servants whom he had made his for a price, every male of his house, and on that very day he gave them circumcision in the flesh of their private parts as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he underwent circumcision. 25 And Ishmael, his son, was thirteen years old when he underwent circumcision. 26 Abraham and Ishmael, his son, underwent circumcision on that very day. 27 And all the men of his house, those whose birth had taken place in the house and those whom he had got for money from men of other lands, underwent circumcision with him.

Jesus' Attitude toward Adultery

27 You have knowledge that it was said, You may not have connection with another man's wife: 28 But I say to you that everyone whose eyes are turned on a woman with desire has had connection with her in his heart. 29 And if your right eye is a cause of trouble to you, take it out and put it away from you; because it is better to undergo the loss of one part, than for all your body to go into hell. 30 And if your right hand is a cause of trouble to you, let it be cut off and put it away from you; because it is better to undergo the loss of one part, than for all your body to go into hell.

Jesus' Attitude toward Divorce

31 Again, it was said, Whoever puts away his wife has to give her a statement in writing for this purpose: 32 But I say to you that everyone who puts away his wife for any other cause but the loss of her virtue, makes her false to her husband; and whoever takes her as his wife after she is put away, is no true husband to her.

Jesus' Attitude toward Oaths

33 Again, you have knowledge that it was said in old times, Do not take false oaths, but give effect to your oaths to the Lord: 34 But I say to you, Take no oaths at all: not by the heaven, because it is the seat of God; 35 Or by the earth, because it is the resting-place for his foot; or by Jerusalem, because it is the town of the great King. 36 You may not take an oath by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. 37 But let your words be simply, Yes or No: and whatever is more than these is of the Evil One.

Love for Enemies

38 You have knowledge that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39 But I say to you, Do not make use of force against an evil man; but to him who gives you a blow on the right side of your face let the left be turned. 40 And if any man goes to law with you and takes away your coat, do not keep back your robe from him. 41 And whoever makes you go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who comes with a request, and keep not your property from him who would for a time make use of it.

43 You have knowledge that it was said, Have love for your neighbour, and hate for him who is against you: 44 But I say to you, Have love for those who are against you, and make prayer for those who are cruel to you; 45 So that you may be the sons of your Father in heaven; for his sun gives light to the evil and to the good, and he sends rain on the upright man and on the sinner. 46 For if you have love for those who have love for you, what credit is it to you? do not the tax-farmers the same? 47 And if you say, Good day, to your brothers only, what do you do more than others? do not even the Gentiles the same? 48 Be then complete in righteousness, even as your Father in heaven is complete.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Matthew 5:27-48

Commentary on Matthew 5:27-32

(Read Matthew 5:27-32)

Victory over the desires of the heart, must be attended with painful exertions. But it must be done. Every thing is bestowed to save us from our sins, not in them. All our senses and powers must be kept from those things which lead to transgression. Those who lead others into temptation to sin, by dress or in other ways, or leave them in it, or expose them to it, make themselves guilty of their sin, and will be accountable for it. If painful operations are submitted to, that our lives may be saved, what ought our minds to shrink from, when the salvation of our souls is concerned? There is tender mercy under all the Divine requirements, and the grace and consolations of the Spirit will enable us to attend to them.

Commentary on Matthew 5:33-37

(Read Matthew 5:33-37)

There is no reason to consider that solemn oaths in a court of justice, or on other proper occasions, are wrong, provided they are taken with due reverence. But all oaths taken without necessity, or in common conversation, must be sinful, as well as all those expressions which are appeals to God, though persons think thereby to evade the guilt of swearing. The worse men are, the less they are bound by oaths; the better they are, the less there is need for them. Our Lord does not enjoin the precise terms wherein we are to affirm or deny, but such a constant regard to truth as would render oaths unnecessary.

Commentary on Matthew 5:38-42

(Read Matthew 5:38-42)

The plain instruction is, Suffer any injury that can be borne, for the sake of peace, committing your concerns to the Lord's keeping. And the sum of all is, that Christians must avoid disputing and striving. If any say, Flesh and blood cannot pass by such an affront, let them remember, that flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God; and those who act upon right principles will have most peace and comfort.

Commentary on Matthew 5:43-48

(Read Matthew 5:43-48)

The Jewish teachers by "neighbour" understood only those who were of their own country, nation, and religion, whom they were pleased to look upon as their friends. The Lord Jesus teaches that we must do all the real kindness we can to all, especially to their souls. We must pray for them. While many will render good for good, we must render good for evil; and this will speak a nobler principle than most men act by. Others salute their brethren, and embrace those of their own party, and way, and opinion, but we must not so confine our respect. It is the duty of Christians to desire, and aim at, and press towards perfection in grace and holiness. And therein we must study to conform ourselves to the example of our heavenly Father, 1 Peter 1:15,16. Surely more is to be expected from the followers of Christ than from others; surely more will be found in them than in others. Let us beg of God to enable us to prove ourselves his children.