THURSDAY, June 18, 2009 READ: Genesis 16: 1 - 16
ABRAM BECAME A FATHER
MEMORIZE: “So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.” Genesis 16:15, 16
When we know that God has promised, we are obligated, as His people, to believe that He will do it. He does not obligate Himself to tell us when, or, even how, He will perform. It is our duty to trust Him to have His way with us. If we become impatient, or lose our focus, we can easily begin to think that we need to help Him out in fulfilling His promises.
With today’s reading, based upon Genesis 16: 1 – 16, we continue to look at the mistake which Abram made in going along with his wife’s request. God had spoken to Abram and assured him the He would give him a son to be his heir. Now they were going to try to fulfill the promise which God made to give them a son. God had not yet opened Sarai’s womb and allowed her to conceive and bring forth the son, which He had been promising. Sarai and Abram decided to take actions which were intended to solve that problem. Things did not go well. When Hagar realized that she could give Abram a son and Sarai was unable to do, she became disrespectful of her mistress. As a result of that indiscretion on her part, she came to expereicne some harsh and austere treatment from Sarai. We are told in v. 6, that Hagar decided to run away from her mistress’ home. In vv. 7, 8 we are told, that “… the Angel of the LORD, found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.” When she was asked, “where are you planning to go?” having no place to go, she could tell why she was where she was, but could not tell where she was going. In v. 9, the Angel instructed her to “Return to your mistress and submit yourself under her hand.” Then, in vv. 10, 11, we get a chance to see the identity of the Angel of the LORD, as He spoke to Hagar. Observe that He spoke with the authority of God. Who was the Angel of the LORD? We can talk about Hagar’s child as being illegitimate, but here it was being revealed that the LORD had large plans for him. God exercised His authority over Hagar’s baby and indicated what his name should be. In v. 12, we are able to see how the name Ishmael was exposited to reveal the character of the man that he would be. In v. 13, we are able to see Hagar’s response to what the Angel of the LORD had said to her. Hagar knew that she was in the presence of the LORD. She knew that the LORD had seen her in her hour of desperation. She knew that she had seen the LORD who had seen her. Halleleujah! She was amazed and asked, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” More than likely she had heard Abram talk about meeting with the LORD, and might have thought that it was far out. Now here she was, having seen Him and having her own first-hand experience. In v. 14, we see that, as a result of this experience, the well where Hagar was found was named, “Beer Lahai Roi” the well of the One who lives and sees me .” What did that name signify? In v. 15, we are told that Hagar bore Abram a son and his name was called Ishmael. Doubtless, when Hagar returned, after meeting the Angel of the LORD, she had related how the LORD had met her and spoken to her concerning her son. Unless the LORD had revealed it to Abram himself. He knew that the name was supposed to be assigned and he assigned it to him. We see in v.16, how old Abram was when Ishmael was born. Abram became a father at eighty-six years old. Abram came to realize that he had made a mistake. His son was not a mistake. He loved his son. He was told by his wife that he had to bear the blame for what had gone wrong in the household. Things went badly quickly. Abram did not give up on himself. It is never over until the LORD says so. Even when we fail God, we must keep on trusting in Him.
PRAY:LORD, God Almighty, I lift Your name on high. LORD, I love to sing Your praises. LORD, I am so glad that You are in my life. Thank You for not giving up on us. Even when things go wrong, we can say with confidence, that You are still in charge. I praise You in Jesus’ strong name. Amen.