Abram to the rescue! He goes after his nephew as we start up today's reading. What interested me was that he had 318 men trained and ready to go. Talk about being prepared for battle! He didn't wait until the bad guys was upon him to get ready. He had done the work ahead of time. I need to be prepared for the battles in my life -- whether they be problems at work or car problems or just day-to-day trials that Mom calls life. I know God will take care of me during those moments. But I need to do some work on the front end so that I am ready to face those problems emotionally, financially or physically.
A lot of today's reading revolves around Abram's desire for a son as heir. God promises that Abram will receive that blessing. Abram's not so sure. Especially as the years go on. And Sarai is getting frustrated. So she decides to take matters into her own hands. Yeah, that never works. When we start trying to fix the problem our own way, we just make things worse. So did Sarai. She has her servant Hagar sleep with Abram, and then gets mad when Hagar gets pregnant. I feel for Hagar sitting in the desert after being mistreated. I would have run away, too. But the angel tells her not to run from her problems. Instead, she must submit to Sarai's authority. What I love about this part of the story is that Hagar refers to God as "the God who sees me." (16:13) I read it as the God who "gets" me. He sees me, He knows me, He understands me -- and He still loves me. What a beautiful picture of grace.
Then we see another of God's promises. And it starts with Abram getting a new name -- Abraham. I, of course, keep thinking of "Father Abraham" when I read this. And yes, I can still remember the words from when I was a kid. Altho maybe not the motions. But the point is Abraham is promised that he will be father of many nations. All the land of Canaan will be his. All Abraham has to do is obey God and have every male in his household circumcised. I'm not sure why God required circumcision. Some commentaries I've read said it could be so that they would be identified as one of God's chosen. The Bible even says they will bear the mark of his everlasting covernant. Another commentary said it could have been for health reasons. But whatever the reason, they would receive God's blessing if they obeyed. Is my obedience key for God's blessing today? I know it must make God smile when we obey. I'd better try to do better at it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
15
Would it be hard having children knowing that they would be enslaved and mistreated
for 400 years?
16
Do you think Abram prayed over the decision to have a child with Hagar? I am guessing no. Makes me wonder how some of my decisions would have been different had I prayed over them. And how some of those decisions come back to haunt us – like the relationship between Sari and Hagar. And would they make different decisions if they knew their hostility would be passed down to their children?
17
I think the name changes in the Bible make it confusing – Abram to Abraham and Sari to Sarah – I wonder why God does this. I might have to ask some Seminary friends this too…I wonder if it a rebirth of sorts – here is a new name and now your life will be different.
I know the names back them had a lot of meaning. One web site I looked them up on said Sarai meant contentious and Sarah meant lady or princess. Of course, it didn't really distinguish between Abram and Abraham. Altho Abraham means father of many. So that was part of the covenant.
And yes, it always amazes me when I think that most of the battles in the Middle East go back to Isaac and Ishmael. The names may have changed, but I'm guessing the hostilities are the same.
Post a Comment