The men rose up

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.”

Abraham entertained angels and then he went with them to start them on their journey. It is always good for any person who trusts the Lord to be willing to help the Lord’s servants on their way. It is not enough just to entertain them but to give them some more encouragement as they move along their way of service. It is also interesting to note that these angels did the Lord’s work with Abraham but then they had more work to do and so they moved on to do this work as well. We all have tasks allotted for us to complete along the way. If we don’t do these tasks then the Lord will find someone else to do them but that other person will not be able to do our task as well as we can. When we have done something there is no time to hang around and wait for praise because there is another task to do so we should get on with the next task. In the end the glory belongs to God and we should enjoy this fact because we have everlasting life through the Lord Jesus Christ and that is far better than any earthly praise.

Is any thing too hard for the LORD?

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.”

Sarah was sitting inside the tent and heard this conversation. The Lord intended her to hear it because she was one of the participants in this miracle. However, she also knew the basic facts of life, a post menopausal women cannot have a child. We know that it is possible today with both a donor egg and donor sperm and IVF but these things had not been invented yet. She was still struggling with the problem of hope deferred. ( Prov 13: 12, “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.”) She was happy at the prospect but laughed because she couldn’t understand how it would happen. One of the big questions of the Bible is brought to our attention here, “Is any thing too hard for the LORD?” The biggest lie that people believe today is the fact that there are things that are too hard for the LORD. Too many people believe in small god who cannot do whatever he pleases. The truth is stated in this passage: nothing is too hard for the LORD and hence it is best to trust in Him.

Just as He promised

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.”

Abraham had already believed God but he was still waiting. Sarah had also believed God but she was still waiting. However, God had a perfect timetable and He wasn’t going to compromise His plan so they both waited. Finally the angel of the Lord came and gave them a timeline for the promise to come to pass. At last they knew that their waiting was coming to an end. God is generous and gracious, He knows that we are just people who need encouragement from time to time so He gives us that encouragement when it seems as though things are at their worst. Both Abraham and Sarah had given up hope by this time but God had not forgotten them, in fact, just as God remembered Noah while he was in the ark God remembered Abraham and Sarah. God is always faithful and He always keeps His promises. Before the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross He told His disciples “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14: 1-3. After He went back to heaven the angels told His disciples “this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1: 11). As we read of God’s faithfulness in Abraham’s life we can rejoice that God is still faithful today and He will come back at the right time just as He promised.

Giving the best

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.”

There are time when people send support to missionaries but they only send their secondhand items. I have seen cases where people have sent used teabags to missionaries. Apart from the fact that we do to the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt 25: 40) whatever we do to the least of His servants we need to remember that each time we entertain or give to people working in Christian work we might just be doing entertaining angels. On the other hand, Abraham and Sarah gave the best that they had to the strangers that came to visit. This is the right approach for any person who is Christian. It doesn’t matter if that person is a refugee or an outcast from society, we are to give them the best that we can rather than the leftovers.

He ran to meet them

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.”

There is a very important principle illustrated in this section and we read about it in Matt 25: 31-46. Specifically verse 40 says, “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me”. Notice that this refers to the plural, that means any one of us can either do good things to the Lord Jesus Christ or bad things to Him simply by dealing well or badly with His servants. This is a very sobering thoughts. It is easy for us to get caught up in playing politics so that we can win power and control in our local Christian organisation but sometimes we have to tread on a few toes. Everyone knows that you have to break some eggs to make an omelet. However, the eggs that you just broke might be some of the least of the Kings servants so you have just done something bad to the Lord Jesus Christ. I am sure that Paul was referring back to this passage when he, inspired by the Holy Ghost, wrote Heb 13: 2, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” How wonderful to entertain angels, even if we don’t really know that we are doing it at the time. This also leads us to ask about our own giving patterns as well. Remember this that the gospel is all about priorities, if we get the Lord Jesus Christ first in everything that we do then everything else will follow naturally.

And the LORD appeared

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;”

Abraham followed the right procedures and then God appeared to him. This demonstrates the age old principle that if we want to know God or His will in our lives then we have to do what He wants us to do. This is not a matter of salvation by works but simply of loving God. The Lord Jesus Christ said “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14: 15) This principle is as true today as it was on the day that God appeared to Abraham. There are so many people today who tell us that God has told them something but it goes against the teaching of the Bible. If that is the case then God has not appeared to that person and God didn’t tell them to do what they said they were told to do. In 1 Thes 5: 13 we are told to be at peace among ourselves. If we have a vision that doesn’t promote peace among our Christian brothers and sisters then that vision is not from God. If a person wants to be involved in leadership in the church then that person must have a good report of them which are without (1 Tim 3: 7). Any person that has a vision that gives them a bad report among the people who aren’t Christians does not have a vision from God. If we want to do God’s will in our lives then we have to do what He tells us to do in the Bible.

In the selfsame day

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him. And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.”

As soon as the Lord gave Abraham the sign of the covenant he went straight ahead and obeyed the Lord. If we read from Gen 34: 25 we find that this was an extremely painful procedure to go through. In spite of the pain, Abraham and all the men in his household went through this rite because God had commanded it. It is not such a traumatic experience for a boy who is eight days old and that is why the Lord told them to perform the rite at that time for future generations. Abraham had believed God and followed His commands as he travelled around the region but, now, he did something to show that he was willing to follow the Lord all the way. It is important for each person to do exactly what God requires of them when He calls upon them to do it. We often want to know how we can find God’s will for my life. The best way to do this is to realise that 99% of God’s will is exactly the same for every person and the last 1% will be immediately obvious to anyone who is doing the other 99%. This 99% is based on the Lord’s words to Joshua when he took over from Moses as leader of Israel “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” (Josh 1: 8, 9) Get that right and everything else will fall into place at the right time.

O that Ishmael might live

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.”

It is very hard to live by faith. It is much easier to plan and scheme because they we feel that we have some control over our situation. However, “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.” (Psalm 118: 8) Abraham set out at God’s command without a clear idea of his objective, this is a sin in our modern day when everyone wants to be in complete control. But God was in control and Abraham trusted the LORD to oversee his life. Along the way he and Sarah had their crises and hope and there were certain problems remaining. Abraham was still struggling with the idea that a post menopausal woman would have a child. He wanted the Lord to think about the son that he already had, Ishmael, after all it would be so easy for all the blessings to go to Ishmael. But God doesn’t work that way, He always has a perfect plan and a perfect purpose and He will not bend from His plan or purpose just to suit our arrangements. In this case, the LORD did promise that Ishmael would indeed become the father of a great nation but he would not be the one through whom the promised deliverer would finally come. Sarah would have son, even though it was impossible, and the Promised One Who would bruise Satan’s head would come from that son. At this stage God finally gave Abraham a timeline and said that the son would be born at the appointed time one year away.

God is faithful, still.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?”

We have seen how Abraham waited for twenty five years after the Lord promised him that he would have a son but Sarah also had to wait for those long years as well. At some stage she had experienced menopause and she knew that she would never have the baby that she longed for. That was probably the reason that she asked Abraham to take her slave Hagar and give her a child. Hagar was Sarah’s slave so that any child born to Hagar would belong to Sarah. However, this was not the same as having her own child, the child that she had longed for all those years and now believed that she would never have. We also learn from Heb 11: 11 and 1 Peter 3: 6 that Sarah supported Abraham through these long barren years and trusted God as well. God understood what was in her heart and He knew that she suffered from a crisis in hope rather than a crisis in faith. It was time for her to be given a new name as well. Abraham believed in the Lord and he counted it to him for righteousness and God changed his name from Abram to Abraham to show that this was a fact. This section shows us that Sarah believed God as well and this was counted to her for righteousness as well, hence God changed her name as well. Abraham, however, was still suffering a crisis in hope and he laughed when God gave him this promise. God didn’t punish Abraham for laughing for it was not Abraham’s faithfulness that was being tested, it was God’s faithfulness and God is faithful (Lam 3: 23).

You are what you think

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.”

The Lord gave Abraham a reminder that he belonged to God. Every morning when he got up from his bed and went outside he would be reminded of the fact that he had a covenant with God. God would never forget the contract but Abraham would need to be reminded because God knows that people are likely to forget. Now that the Lord Jesus Christ has died on the cross and dealt with the legal problems that flow from sin we don’t need to have any physical reminder. The Lord Jesus Christ gave us the Lord’s Supper so that we can remember from week to week that He died in our place for our sins. However, it is not enough just to go to the Lord’s Supper each week. Abraham was reminded every day of the covenant that God had made with him; it is good for every Christian to prepare every day so that the do not offer to God something that cost them nothing when the come to the Lord’s Supper ( see 2 Sam 24: 24). If we prepare for the Lord’s Supper every day of our lives then we will become what we think. That is, the more time we spend meditating on the Lord Jesus Christ and everything that He has done for us we will become more like Him. As we become more like Him, the Holy Ghost will change the world through our witness. This is not a time for self indulgence but a time to preach the word about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Believed God

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

At this stage Abraham had just believed God and did what God had told him to do. He didn’t do anything to earn God’s respect. It is important to remember that Abraham was not a “salvation by works” man, he was a “believed God” man. He had no legitimate heir at this stage even though he had an illegitimate son with one of his wife’s slaves. However, God declared the end from the beginning (Is 46: 10).He knew that Isaac would be born and that a great nation would descend from this son. The Lord also promised that the Land would be given to the descendants of the promised son for an everlasting possession. This was not a spiritual promise but a physical promise. Later, when these descendants took possession of the Land the Lord told them that they would have to obey the Law to stay in the Land. After all, the Lord had driven the former inhabitants from the Land because they degraded the Land through their sin. If Israel was going to degrade the Land through their sin then they, too, would be driven out of the Land. But, there was a great difference. The other people were driven out in punishment, Israel was driven out to bring them to their knees so that they would submit again to their God. This is well illustrated in Deut 30: 1-6. God is faithful (see Lam 3: 23).

He fell on his face

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.”

The Lord came back to Abraham and gave him some encouragement. However, Abraham showed the correct response for any person to have before God. It is not a matter of being a great man or a great woman of God, we need to be men and women of the Great God. Abraham understood that God could do anything. He knew that nothing is to difficult for God but he assumed the correct attitude to God, he fell on is face. The Lord changed his name to show that he was no longer an exalted father but he would be the father of many nations. God controls all of time but he works according to His own timetable for our good. The quicker we fall on our faces before the Lord, the sooner we will be useful in His service.

The problem of pain

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.”

Even though the Lord asked Abraham and Sarah to wait for twenty five years, He still took the time to remind them of His promise every now and then so that they could continue to hope and have faith in the Lord. This raises the old question of pain. Why do good people suffer? Surely, if God is God and does control everything why does He let His people suffer. There are many people who say that we will never know why we suffer or have to wait for many years. Others say that one day will realise why we suffered when we are able to help someone else but this implies that God lets one person suffer for another person’s benefit. What kind of God is this? The only time one Person suffered for the benefit of another person was when the Lord Jesus Christ suffered to become the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. The real clue is found in Deut 8: 2 “And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.” The Lord works to humble us and to prove us so that we can do what He wants us to do. In many cultures it is bad to be humble because that means we feel bad about ourselves but in God’s economy we are to be humble so that we realise God’s absolute majesty and feel good about God. If we feel good about God then “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4: 7) Everyone wants peace of mind and contentment and God works in our lives to make sure that we have free access to this blessing from God whenever we want to take advantage of it. After all there is only room for One God and we do best if we understand Who He really is (see Is 42: 8; 48: 11). Surely God is good to His people for He made us and knows what is best for us, corporately and individually.

These are the generations

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Just a quick word about the “these are the generations” theory. The fact that Moses had original source documents that had been preserved since the beginning of time doesn’t mean that Moses wasn’t inspired by God when he wrote the book of Genesis. In 2 Tim 3: 16 we read that all scripture is given by inspiration of God. It also doesn’t mean that the chapter and verse divisions are not inspired. Moses had a different reason for writing the book of Genesis than the original writers had when they wrote their documents. However, the fact that Moses did have access to original source documents means that he was working with the truth and was used by God to preserve the truth. The last source document for the book of Genesis was written by Joseph and completed by one of his sons for it records Joseph’s death. This is also a very important part of the true history of salvation for it reminds us that people die and that after they die they face judgment. However, for those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their own personal Saviour, our sins were judged at Calvary and we have everlasting life instead.

Laughter

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.”

Chapter 16 ends with a summary of the forgoing history. Abraham was seventy five years old when he was promised a son. At this stage he is 86, this means that he had to wait about ten years before he tried to solve the issue, with Sarah’s involvement, rather than waiting for the Lord to work the issue out in His own way according to His own timeline. However, the Lord still did work the issue out according to His own timeline, in His own way. The only penalty, if we could call it a penalty, was the son born according to God’s promise was named “laughter” (Gen 21: 3-6). Abraham was one hundred years old when that happened, he waited for twenty five years but God was still faithful.

God is faithful

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me? Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.”

The Lord promised Abraham that He would bless His descendants and He kept His promise. Even though Ishmael was not at the head of the line through which the Lord fulfilled the promise that He made to Eve on the day that she first sinned, He still remained faithful to His promise and Ishmael became the head of a large family of people. These people, along with Isaac’s descendants, survive in great numbers to this very day. This is the way that God always works. He will bless His people even though they choose to go their own way from time to time. God always allows us to experience the consequences of our choices but then He uses these consequences for good in the end.

Submit thyself

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.”

There is always a temptation for a Christian to rebel against God and to refuse to do what He wants. We must remember that we obey God because we love Him (John 14: 15), not because we want to earn His pleasure. This doesn’t meant that God will abandon us completely and we can no longer have any relationship with Him. As soon as we try to run away from God, God begins to work in our lives to bring us back to Himself. In this case Hagar, who was still part of God’s long term plans, tried to run away from God. God had also made promises concerning Ishmael and these would certainly fail if Ishmael was to die. The Lord came to Hagar and told her to return and submit to His plan for her life. This is a good thing for all of us to do in life. If we submit to God we then have complete access to all of the good things that He will do for us day by day. He will not stop loving us and He will continue to work in our lives to bring us back under the shadow of His wings (see Matt 23: 37). This also reminds us of the story of Mark. When he was young he left the missionary band that was led by Barnabas, his cousin (Acts 13: 13). Later, when Barnabas wanted to take Mark on their second missionary journey Paul didn’t want to take him (Acts 15: 37-41). The Lord used this event to form two missionary bands instead of one and caused His work to prosper. Much later, Paul asked Timothy to bring Mark because Mark was profitable to his ministry (2 Tim 4: 11). The Lord will not give up on any entirely unless they refuse to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord.

Yet He abideth faithful

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee. But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face”.

While it is true that God is slow to anger and plenteous in mercy (Psalm 103: 8), He will not remove actions from their consequences. This still remains the basic rule of His creation. Even science acknowledges this rule with Newton’s third Law, action and reaction are equal and opposite. Everyone knows that you will get apples if you plant apple seeds and oranges if you plant orange seeds. Even evolutionary biologists believe that a mutation will lead to changed genotypes in the next generation. In this case the minute that Sarah  (Sarai) chose a certain course of action she chose the consequences of that action. Hagar was Sarah’s slave and everything that belonged to Hagar actually belonged to Sarah. If Hagar had a child then that child would belong to Sarah. By this time Sarah was also suffering a crisis in hope and chose to help God deal with her problem of childlessness. This was quite legitimate under the rites of that day. However, Hagar had the child that Sarah had not be able to have, at that stage. This reminds us of Proverbs 30: 21-23, “For three things the earth is disquieted... an handmaiden that is her to her mistress.” At this stage Hagar had the heir that Sarah could not produce and she started to forget that she was still Sarah’s slave. Sarah blamed Abraham so Abraham let Sarah did whatever she wanted to Hagar and Hagar ran away. Even though Sarah had her crisis in hope the Lord remained faithful and, according to God’s perfect timing, Sarah had the son that God had promised and that son was an ancestor of the One person Who was able to bless all the families of the earth. Even though we lose hope and act without godly wisdom God always remains faithful (2 Tim 2: 13)