Genesis 17: Who's Laughing Now?
Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" Then God said, Yes...I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" Then God said, Yes...I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
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According to custom, a man could sleep with a servant and include her children in his household. Remembering God's promise of more descendants than the stars in the sky, Abraham was desperately trying to get the children he and his wife longed for and decided to "help God out" in fulfilling His promise of a son.
Abraham and Sarah's way, though, was not God's way; their actions led to considerable jealousy and sorrow. Obviously Sarah felt deep inner conflict about this decision, for when Abraham got Hagar (Sarah's maidservant) pregnant, Sarah mistreated her and sent her away. Hagar eventually returned, but Sarah's inner conflict persisted. She would ultimately drive both mother and son into the desert leaving Ishmael, the innocent child victim of this scheming, to suffer the consequences.
Meanwhile, God kept repeating the amazing promise of a son to this elderly couple. Abraham was a man of faith, but his faith was less than wholehearted at times. Nearing the age of 100, he falls face down and laughs incredulously at the notion of he and Sarah parenting a son. But, the joke turns on them both when Sarah finally becomes pregnant. After all her years of waiting, her longings were fulfilled.
Life Question: Have you ever tried to "help God out" when you thought He couldn't, or wouldn't, help you in the way you wanted? What was the result?
Abraham and Sarah's way, though, was not God's way; their actions led to considerable jealousy and sorrow. Obviously Sarah felt deep inner conflict about this decision, for when Abraham got Hagar (Sarah's maidservant) pregnant, Sarah mistreated her and sent her away. Hagar eventually returned, but Sarah's inner conflict persisted. She would ultimately drive both mother and son into the desert leaving Ishmael, the innocent child victim of this scheming, to suffer the consequences.
Meanwhile, God kept repeating the amazing promise of a son to this elderly couple. Abraham was a man of faith, but his faith was less than wholehearted at times. Nearing the age of 100, he falls face down and laughs incredulously at the notion of he and Sarah parenting a son. But, the joke turns on them both when Sarah finally becomes pregnant. After all her years of waiting, her longings were fulfilled.
Life Question: Have you ever tried to "help God out" when you thought He couldn't, or wouldn't, help you in the way you wanted? What was the result?
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Yeah...every time I'm quick to judge someone. It's very easy to justify my words and actions by believing that you're doing what you think God would do. The person who doesn't necessarily share the same views as I may very well be part of the "big picture" that God is trying to lay before me. It is these times where prayer can be invaluable. Trust that God knows what He's doing and listen to Him when He calls upon us.
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On a lighter note, I've often wondered if- as just a bit of retribution/ sense of humor towards Abraham's wavering faith at times- God waited to call him until the age of 99 to be circumcised. I would guess that Abraham would have preferred that part of the covenant to have been implemented when he was a baby.
2 comments:
It is definitely worth studing the various translations of the Bible...the King James Version certainly provides us with the image of a smaller child or even an infant who left with Hagar. However, the New International Version as well as the New American Standard Bible replaces the word child with boy. Furthermore, the phrasing used in the latter two versions support the notion that Hagar traveled with her son by her side...not on her back.
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. And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. (Genesis 21: 14-15 King James Version)
Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. (Genesis 21:14-15 New International Version)
So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was used up, she left the boy under one of the bushes. (Genesis 21: 14-15 New American Standard Bible)
Here is a timeline study from the book of Genesis on this issue : Gen.16:16 (Abraham was 86 when Ishmael was born ) Gen.17:24 (Abraham was 99 when Ishmael at age 13 and he were circumcised ) Gen.18:14 (the same year the Lord sent 3 visitors to give the prophecy of Issac's birth in one year) Gen.21:5 (Abraham was 100 years of age when Issac was born ).
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