MONDAY, June 29, 2009                                                       READ: Genesis 21: 8 - 21                                                                                                        

ABRAHAM SENT HAGAR AND ISHMAEL AWAY

MEMORIZE: “So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba.”         Genesis 21:14

It is true that if anything unfortunate can happen, it will actually happen. When it happens, it is usually the most inopportune time. We stand a watch and see good things happen to bad people, and bad things happen to good people. Unless we have placed our faith in the sure mercies of our God, we can be made to wonder if He sees and cares about us. Are you in touch with that?

Our own children, despite our pleading with them for caution, can act up and act out some of the bad habits which they learnt at home to our surprise and disappointment. Here in our text for today’s reading, Genesis 21: 8 – 21, we are able to see how Ishmael was observed scoffing – laughing and ridiculing, what was being done for Isaac, and how, as a result, he and his mother were expelled from the encampment and wandered about in the Wilderness of Beersheba. Abraham was displeased with the situation, but at God’s direction, he acceded to Sarah, his wife’s demand. We are able to see in v. 12, how God reminded Abraham of the focus and intentionality of His will. “… in Isaac your seed shall be called” (Genesis 17: 18; Romans 9: 7; Galatians 3: 16; Hebrews 11: 18). In v. 13, we are able to see how God renewed His promise to care for Ishmael and to “… also make a nation…”of him “… because he is your descendant.” We often forget that God made this promise and is blessing Abraham’s other descendants as well. So, here in vv. 14 – 16, we are able to see how Abraham was prompt in doing what he knew that God was requiring of him. Early the next morning, he sent Hagar away her son, Ishmael. It must have come as a shock to her system, but she departed from the encampment and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. Was that God’s best for Hagar and the lad? I believe that it was hardly His best for them. What happens to other people when we refuse to do the right things for them? What kind of person was Sarah? Hagar seemed to have expected Ishmael to perish under the harsh co9nditions which they were now facing. Is it not true that God had made faithful promises about the future of Ishmael, as descendant of Abraham (cf. 16: 9 – 12; 17: 20; : 13)? Why did she even believe that God would ignore His faithful promises and allow the lad to perish? God’s word is true and He keeps His promises. In vv. 17, 18, we are told that “… God heard the voice of the lad.” Exactly what did that mean? The verse tells us further that ‘… the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is….”’ Very possibly, Ishmael was hungry in desperation. His mother had given up on surviving. But God assured her that though her situation had changed, His will for her and her son had not. He then commanded her to “Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.” The issue for Hagar and for us today, is this, “Will I trust God to be Almighty God to me?” “Am I willing to wait patiently in obedience to Him as He fulfills His word?” Look at vv. 19 – 21! We are able to see that Hagar obeyed God. We are also able to see how God responded to her. He enabled her to witness and enjoy His bountiful resources for her and her son (cf. Philippians 4: 19). In v. 20, we have a summary statement, which helps us to understand how God cared for him and for his mother. “So God was with the lad” tells us about God’s faithfulness. He “became an archer.” He learned to live in the wild and managed to survive. In v. 21, this single mother raised her son with the focus of the future and the fulfillment of God’s promise in view. If he was going to be the father of a great nation, then he had to become a father. So, she took a wife for her son

PRAY:LORD, God Almighty, thank You for being faithful and true. Please teach me and help me to trust You to be Almighty to me. Help me to live as a trophy of Your grace. I am asking this in Jesus’ strong name. Amen.