WEBVTT 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:04.719 Thank you. And when we applaud that way, it's 00:00:04.719 --> 00:00:07.400 not so much for those who've played, as it is 00:00:07.400 --> 00:00:10.539 a praise to the Lord, isn't it? We're grateful, 00:00:10.720 --> 00:00:14.560 though, for their ministry to us in music. Have 00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:19.559 you ever felt treated unfairly? If so, you may 00:00:19.559 --> 00:00:21.699 be able to identify with one of the characters 00:00:21.699 --> 00:00:26.940 in our text today in Genesis chapter 16. If you 00:00:26.940 --> 00:00:29.039 are childless and you have watched longingly 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:33.399 as your friends have had children, You may find 00:00:33.399 --> 00:00:37.299 someone in today's text to identify with. If 00:00:37.299 --> 00:00:40.920 you've ever taken a job and then you were assigned 00:00:40.920 --> 00:00:45.299 responsibilities that you hadn't expected, only 00:00:45.299 --> 00:00:48.039 to find that you were in trouble then because 00:00:48.039 --> 00:00:53.200 of performing your job, you will find an incident 00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:57.060 in today's event of Genesis chapter 16 to identify 00:00:57.060 --> 00:01:05.349 with. Life is not fair. At some point in our 00:01:05.349 --> 00:01:08.030 growing up, we have to learn that lesson. Life 00:01:08.030 --> 00:01:15.349 is not fair. God, however, is just. Yet in the 00:01:15.349 --> 00:01:20.329 affairs of life, in the flowing out of the circumstances 00:01:20.329 --> 00:01:22.670 of the people we meet and the events that take 00:01:22.670 --> 00:01:26.829 place around us, very often we witness injustice. 00:01:27.549 --> 00:01:31.079 And we do in today's text. In this text, we read 00:01:31.079 --> 00:01:36.239 about the birth of Ishmael. And the chapter before 00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:39.560 seems to unfold actually in four chapters of 00:01:39.560 --> 00:01:43.680 the story. To each one of these chapters in Genesis 00:01:43.680 --> 00:01:47.400 16, I'm going to assign a title. Chapter number 00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:51.900 one, I've entitled, Ten Long Years. We see this 00:01:51.900 --> 00:01:56.180 in verses one through four. Now, Sarai Abram's 00:01:56.180 --> 00:01:59.950 wife had borne him no children. And she had an 00:01:59.950 --> 00:02:06.209 Egyptian, her maid, whose name was Hagar. And 00:02:06.209 --> 00:02:09.469 so Sarai said to Abram, now behold the Lord has 00:02:09.469 --> 00:02:13.169 prevented me from bearing children. Please go 00:02:13.169 --> 00:02:16.689 into my maid, because I shall obtain children 00:02:16.689 --> 00:02:19.870 through her. And Abram listened to the voice 00:02:19.870 --> 00:02:26.530 of Sarai. In chapter 15 we observed God establishing 00:02:26.530 --> 00:02:30.979 a covenant with Abram. in which he again promises 00:02:30.979 --> 00:02:37.319 to his servant a son, one who would come from 00:02:37.319 --> 00:02:41.599 Abram himself. But you see, time is marching 00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:46.919 on. Abram had entered Canaan at 75 years of age, 00:02:47.439 --> 00:02:49.780 believing God's promise that his descendants 00:02:49.780 --> 00:02:55.719 would be as the sand upon the seashores. He is 00:02:55.719 --> 00:03:02.539 now 85, and Sarai His wife is 84. Their biological 00:03:02.539 --> 00:03:08.300 clocks are winding down. How is this promise 00:03:08.300 --> 00:03:13.780 from God going to be fulfilled? Couples who are 00:03:13.780 --> 00:03:16.699 struggling with infertility can perhaps identify 00:03:16.699 --> 00:03:21.599 with the frustration that Sarai felt. And so 00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:25.280 she, in this case, suggested a scheme in verse 00:03:25.280 --> 00:03:29.330 2. Undoubtedly, she did it with good intentions. 00:03:31.110 --> 00:03:33.669 The promise of a son had, after all, been made 00:03:33.669 --> 00:03:37.610 to Abram and not to her, at least at this point. 00:03:38.969 --> 00:03:41.050 The suggestion that she makes here regarding 00:03:41.050 --> 00:03:45.550 Hagar was one that fit well with the cultural 00:03:45.550 --> 00:03:50.069 values of that day. In fact, what happened here 00:03:50.069 --> 00:03:55.150 conforms even to the legal codes of those centuries. 00:03:55.789 --> 00:04:00.990 Back in 1901, 1902, there were some excavations 00:04:00.990 --> 00:04:05.409 at the city of Susa. The archaeologist uncovered 00:04:05.409 --> 00:04:09.930 a seven foot high stone monument called a stele 00:04:09.930 --> 00:04:16.050 on which were written some laws that were applicable 00:04:16.050 --> 00:04:21.730 to a very complex urban kind of culture. These 00:04:21.730 --> 00:04:25.790 came to be known as the code of Hammurabi because 00:04:25.790 --> 00:04:29.810 he was the king of Babylon who had these laws 00:04:29.810 --> 00:04:34.430 inscribed on the stone. Hammurabi lived about 00:04:34.430 --> 00:04:39.149 300 years or so after Abram. And so this was 00:04:39.149 --> 00:04:41.550 not inscribed in Abram's day, but it reflects 00:04:41.550 --> 00:04:44.689 the kind of thinking and codes of law that were 00:04:44.689 --> 00:04:51.350 in existence in Abram's day. And law 144 on this 00:04:51.350 --> 00:04:58.519 stele says, that it is permitted for a slave 00:04:58.519 --> 00:05:03.879 to be exalted for this purpose in a home where 00:05:03.879 --> 00:05:08.000 the wife is unable to bear children. It was, 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:12.899 in a sense, a law for a surrogate mother. And 00:05:12.899 --> 00:05:17.240 that is what they followed. This is what Saray 00:05:17.240 --> 00:05:22.240 followed. Now did Moses, who wrote these words, 00:05:22.399 --> 00:05:26.819 approve of what was... schemed out here, but 00:05:26.819 --> 00:05:29.939 his language does not seem to indicate that. 00:05:30.839 --> 00:05:33.199 In fact, the verbs that are used here to describe 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:38.000 what happens very closely parallel what is said 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:43.300 regarding Adam and Eve in Genesis chapter 3 with 00:05:43.300 --> 00:05:46.779 the fall. In both of these incidents there was 00:05:46.779 --> 00:05:51.600 an attempt to gain advantage or even blessing 00:05:52.040 --> 00:05:58.720 by circumventing God's plan. And so because he 00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:01.759 uses language that reminds us of Genesis chapter 00:06:01.759 --> 00:06:05.560 3, Moses is subtly saying to us that this was 00:06:05.560 --> 00:06:08.480 not something that was approved, but it happened. 00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:13.199 This story, like several of the things that have 00:06:13.199 --> 00:06:17.519 happened in Genesis already, was an attempt to 00:06:17.519 --> 00:06:20.480 preclude the coming of the divinely promised 00:06:20.480 --> 00:06:27.660 Redeemer of Genesis You say, how is that? Because 00:06:27.660 --> 00:06:33.720 you see, this produced a son of Abram who was 00:06:33.720 --> 00:06:41.600 of the line of Ham. Because you see, the Egyptians 00:06:41.600 --> 00:06:48.110 were descendants of Ham, the son of Noah. The 00:06:48.110 --> 00:06:50.889 divinely promised Redeemer, however, had to come 00:06:50.889 --> 00:06:57.009 through the line of Shem, the son of Noah. And 00:06:57.009 --> 00:07:00.149 that was the case with Sarai. It is not the case 00:07:00.149 --> 00:07:04.910 with Hagar. And so here we see an attempt on 00:07:04.910 --> 00:07:08.290 the part of Satan, most likely, to bring about 00:07:08.290 --> 00:07:12.110 a son of Abram who could not fulfill the promise 00:07:12.110 --> 00:07:17.430 of Genesis 3 .15. And so although this was a 00:07:17.430 --> 00:07:19.490 scheme that was culturally acceptable, it was 00:07:19.490 --> 00:07:23.589 not pleasing to the Lord, yet Hagar became pregnant 00:07:23.589 --> 00:07:26.709 and was with child. That brings us to chapter 00:07:26.709 --> 00:07:30.370 number two, which I've entitled, Trouble at Home. 00:07:31.410 --> 00:07:36.029 It begins in verse four. It says, Abram went 00:07:36.029 --> 00:07:39.329 into Hagar, she conceived, and when she saw that 00:07:39.329 --> 00:07:43.930 she had conceived, her mistress was despised 00:07:43.930 --> 00:07:47.660 in her sight. Hagar became pregnant, and when 00:07:47.660 --> 00:07:50.000 she became pregnant, she began to look down upon 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:55.259 Sarai. She made light of her. She slighted her. 00:07:55.860 --> 00:07:59.019 The word despised here is the same word as in 00:07:59.019 --> 00:08:04.060 Genesis 12 .3, where God gives the promise to 00:08:04.060 --> 00:08:08.160 Abram that those who curse him, he the Lord will 00:08:08.160 --> 00:08:15.420 curse. And so it almost sounds as though Hagar 00:08:15.420 --> 00:08:20.379 was cursing Sarai in despising her and making 00:08:20.379 --> 00:08:23.600 fun of her. And so there's this tension building 00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:26.959 up. The handmaiden is pregnant with Abram's child, 00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:31.779 and she is despising and making life miserable 00:08:31.779 --> 00:08:35.720 for Sarai. So who do you think hears about the 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:39.879 problem? That's right, Abram. The husband hears 00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:46.409 about it. And Sarah said to Abram, may the wrong 00:08:46.409 --> 00:08:50.230 done to me be upon you. He looked at her and 00:08:50.230 --> 00:08:54.750 said, you did this to me. I gave my maid to your 00:08:54.750 --> 00:08:57.610 arms. And when she saw that she had conceived, 00:08:57.610 --> 00:09:02.370 I was cursed in her sight. May the Lord judge 00:09:02.370 --> 00:09:06.269 between you and me. When she said that, she wasn't 00:09:06.269 --> 00:09:10.679 saying, good night honey, I love you. May the 00:09:10.679 --> 00:09:12.759 Lord judge between you and me was a statement 00:09:12.759 --> 00:09:14.980 that is used other places in Genesis between 00:09:14.980 --> 00:09:18.580 two people who didn't trust each other. They 00:09:18.580 --> 00:09:20.539 said because we don't trust each other the Lord 00:09:20.539 --> 00:09:25.840 judged between us. Sarah is a little upset and 00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:29.340 so of course she goes to Abram. You see Sarah 00:09:29.340 --> 00:09:32.159 was not a strong believer, but she was a very 00:09:32.159 --> 00:09:38.080 good blamer. So Abram responds and he permits 00:09:38.409 --> 00:09:42.970 Sarai to handle the situation as she chooses. 00:09:44.169 --> 00:09:48.769 Again, within the Code of Hammurabi, in Law 146, 00:09:48.990 --> 00:09:52.990 written 300 years later, the reduction of a person 00:09:52.990 --> 00:09:58.029 to the former status of slave is permitted. And 00:09:58.029 --> 00:10:02.389 so that's what Sarai did. She had exalted Hagar 00:10:02.389 --> 00:10:04.809 for this purpose of being a surrogate mother. 00:10:05.289 --> 00:10:09.210 Now she places her back in slavery. and makes 00:10:09.210 --> 00:10:16.870 life miserable for Hagar. Life is tough. Like 00:10:16.870 --> 00:10:19.350 somebody said, if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody 00:10:19.350 --> 00:10:24.250 happy, and Hagar is unhappy, and Abram is unhappy. 00:10:26.529 --> 00:10:29.590 Warren Wisbee writes regarding this by way of 00:10:29.590 --> 00:10:33.070 application, when we walk by sight and not by 00:10:33.070 --> 00:10:38.740 faith, we get impatient. We scheme and blame 00:10:38.740 --> 00:10:42.259 others. Then, when things go wrong, we try to 00:10:42.259 --> 00:10:47.940 get rid of our mistakes. Isn't that right on 00:10:47.940 --> 00:10:51.919 with where we live? The commentator George Henderson 00:10:51.919 --> 00:11:12.490 says, There is trouble at home. That brings us 00:11:12.490 --> 00:11:15.570 now to the third chapter, which I've entitled, 00:11:15.889 --> 00:11:20.669 Rendezvous in the Desert. Because you see, Hagar 00:11:20.669 --> 00:11:27.509 leaves. She flees from her mistress. Verse 6 00:11:27.509 --> 00:11:32.169 says, Sarai treated her harshly and she fled 00:11:32.169 --> 00:11:35.259 from her presence. Now the angel of the Lord 00:11:35.259 --> 00:11:39.620 found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, 00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:44.139 by the spring on the way to shore." This is the 00:11:44.139 --> 00:11:47.519 first time that we have seen this figure that 00:11:47.519 --> 00:11:51.000 is called here the angel of the Lord in the Bible. 00:11:52.539 --> 00:11:54.320 When you see something for the first time, you 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:57.580 need to take note of it. And we remind ourselves 00:11:57.580 --> 00:12:00.960 that the angel of the Lord was no mere angelic 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:04.480 creature. as the name might imply, but this was 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:07.820 a special messenger of the Lord, indeed the Lord 00:12:07.820 --> 00:12:12.240 himself. And thus the angel of the Lord is often 00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:17.299 spoken of as the appearance of the pre -incarnate 00:12:17.299 --> 00:12:22.360 Christ. That is, before Jesus Christ was born 00:12:22.360 --> 00:12:25.460 in Bethlehem, he appears in the Old Testament 00:12:25.460 --> 00:12:30.379 as this figure, the angel of the Lord. And so 00:12:30.379 --> 00:12:34.159 we can say it is our Lord Himself, the Son of 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:40.120 God, who finds Hagar there in that wilderness. 00:12:41.340 --> 00:12:45.179 I like the way it says it. It wasn't that Hagar 00:12:45.179 --> 00:12:50.600 was looking for Him. It was that He found her. 00:12:51.500 --> 00:12:57.200 And He said, Hagar, surise maid, where had you 00:12:57.200 --> 00:13:02.700 come from? And where are you going? Does that 00:13:02.700 --> 00:13:05.539 remind you of another question that God asked 00:13:05.539 --> 00:13:10.799 in the garden one day of Adam? Where are you? 00:13:12.639 --> 00:13:14.679 Did God know the answer to that question? Of 00:13:14.679 --> 00:13:19.740 course He did. And obviously He knew who this 00:13:19.740 --> 00:13:22.379 was that He was talking with. He calls her by 00:13:22.379 --> 00:13:27.440 name and identifies what she is. She is Hagar's 00:13:27.440 --> 00:13:31.600 slave. And then he asks her this probing question, 00:13:32.100 --> 00:13:34.519 where did you come from and where are you going? 00:13:36.460 --> 00:13:38.919 And she said, I'm fleeing from the presence of 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:44.299 my mistress Sarai. Then the angel of the Lord 00:13:44.299 --> 00:13:47.259 said to her, and we have a rather long paragraph 00:13:47.259 --> 00:13:51.139 here of some statements that the Lord makes to 00:13:51.139 --> 00:13:54.559 Hagar there in the wilderness. You see, he had 00:13:54.559 --> 00:13:59.399 been watching these events unfold. He had tracked 00:13:59.399 --> 00:14:02.500 Hagar through the wilderness, and he came to 00:14:02.500 --> 00:14:08.039 her at this well in the wilderness." May I say 00:14:08.039 --> 00:14:10.759 that this is not the last woman at the well to 00:14:10.759 --> 00:14:16.500 whom he will reveal himself. The Lord's words 00:14:16.500 --> 00:14:20.360 to her are marvelous words. In verse 10, they 00:14:20.360 --> 00:14:25.120 are the words of a prescription. You see, Hagar's 00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:27.980 life was miserable. In fact, that Hebrew word 00:14:27.980 --> 00:14:31.399 is found three times in this chapter, tucked 00:14:31.399 --> 00:14:35.600 away. Not so obvious in the English translations. 00:14:36.299 --> 00:14:41.659 But her life became harsh. It was a miserable 00:14:41.659 --> 00:14:47.299 existence for her. She needed to know how to 00:14:47.299 --> 00:14:50.139 get out of that misery. And so the first thing 00:14:50.139 --> 00:14:53.250 the Lord tells to her are words of prescription. 00:14:54.590 --> 00:14:58.309 In verse 9 we see them, where it says, return 00:14:58.309 --> 00:15:03.110 to your mistress and submit yourself to her authority. 00:15:20.300 --> 00:15:22.799 These are words of prescription. Let me explain 00:15:22.799 --> 00:15:27.299 to you why the angel of the Lord tells her to 00:15:27.299 --> 00:15:30.139 submit herself. By the way, the word submit is 00:15:30.139 --> 00:15:34.100 one of these words for misery. He says to her, 00:15:34.279 --> 00:15:38.639 go back and be miserable again with your mistress 00:15:38.639 --> 00:15:44.899 Sarai. Why would the Lord say that to her? Is 00:15:44.899 --> 00:15:47.879 the Lord telling people who are abused to go 00:15:47.879 --> 00:15:50.720 back to the relationships of that abuse? Is that 00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:54.539 what he means here? There are some who would 00:15:54.539 --> 00:15:58.879 probably use this verse for that purpose. That 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:00.779 is not the meaning of the Lord telling her to 00:16:00.779 --> 00:16:08.840 go back to her misery. You see, she, Hagar, had 00:16:08.840 --> 00:16:14.500 cursed Sarai, despised her. What had the Lord 00:16:14.500 --> 00:16:21.320 said in Genesis chapter 12? to Abram and his 00:16:21.320 --> 00:16:25.120 descendants. The one who curses you, I will." 00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:30.200 What? I will curse. That is what Hagar had done. 00:16:31.799 --> 00:16:36.299 She was in danger of the curse of God. And so 00:16:36.299 --> 00:16:39.620 the angel of the Lord says to her, go back and 00:16:39.620 --> 00:16:44.740 submit yourself to Sarai and bless her. Because 00:16:44.740 --> 00:16:48.509 the Lord had also said, to Abram, the one who 00:16:48.509 --> 00:16:53.389 blesses you, I will what? I will bless. That's 00:16:53.389 --> 00:16:56.590 why the Lord told her to go back. She had to 00:16:56.590 --> 00:17:01.350 go back in order to be blessed. So it's a prescription 00:17:01.350 --> 00:17:05.049 you see. Here's what you need to do, Agar. And 00:17:05.049 --> 00:17:07.130 then the Lord gives her a promise. The blessing 00:17:07.130 --> 00:17:11.849 begins to unfold. He says in verse 10, I will 00:17:11.849 --> 00:17:15.619 greatly multiply your descendants. so that they 00:17:15.619 --> 00:17:19.940 shall be too many to count." This is the same 00:17:19.940 --> 00:17:23.680 thing that God had already said to Abram and 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:28.200 will say again. I will bless you with many descendants. 00:17:28.579 --> 00:17:31.799 Chapter 17 verse 2, almost the identical language. 00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:35.039 The Lord is speaking here to Abram. I will multiply 00:17:35.039 --> 00:17:39.759 you exceedingly. But here, the promise is to 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:44.470 Hagar. That's the promise of God. She had to 00:17:44.470 --> 00:17:47.630 go back to get the promise, but this is what 00:17:47.630 --> 00:17:53.789 God promises her. Then there's a prophecy. Beginning 00:17:53.789 --> 00:17:56.930 in verse 11, the angel of the Lord says to her, 00:17:56.970 --> 00:17:59.910 behold, you're with child, and you shall bear 00:17:59.910 --> 00:18:04.809 a son. She did not know this yet. So the Lord 00:18:04.809 --> 00:18:08.210 says, you're going to have a son. You shall call 00:18:08.210 --> 00:18:12.799 his name Ishmael. And so this name is not one 00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:18.240 that was given by Hagar. But the Lord Himself 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:22.940 says, call His name Ishmael. Which means, God 00:18:22.940 --> 00:18:27.400 hears. And the angel explains that because the 00:18:27.400 --> 00:18:32.380 Lord has given heed to your misery. There's that 00:18:32.380 --> 00:18:37.119 word again, your affliction, your misery. And 00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:41.650 then the Lord says, and He will be A wild donkey 00:18:41.650 --> 00:18:45.130 of a man. I've known some people like that, haven't 00:18:45.130 --> 00:18:50.130 you? A wild donkey of a man. And that sounds 00:18:50.130 --> 00:18:53.890 like it's not a very pleasant prospect. Because 00:18:53.890 --> 00:18:57.710 we think of donkeys as rather stubborn beasts. 00:18:59.049 --> 00:19:01.369 Well, in fact, they can be, but in those days, 00:19:01.470 --> 00:19:05.849 a donkey was a very valuable beast. Because you 00:19:05.849 --> 00:19:09.710 see, a donkey was one who bore burdens. A donkey 00:19:09.710 --> 00:19:16.369 was an economic asset. And so the Lord is saying 00:19:16.369 --> 00:19:19.349 that this is a positive thing regarding Ishmael, 00:19:19.369 --> 00:19:21.950 but not everything is positive. Look at the text. 00:19:23.329 --> 00:19:26.829 His hand will be against everyone and everyone's 00:19:26.829 --> 00:19:31.710 hand against him. And then he says, and he will 00:19:31.710 --> 00:19:35.710 live to the east of all his brothers. When it 00:19:35.710 --> 00:19:38.029 says he will live to the east of all of his brothers, 00:19:39.129 --> 00:19:41.730 That can also be understood to mean he will live 00:19:41.730 --> 00:19:49.910 in the face of hostility with his brothers. And 00:19:49.910 --> 00:19:51.990 so there are some positive things said and some 00:19:51.990 --> 00:19:55.430 other things that are rather difficult. But nonetheless 00:19:55.430 --> 00:19:58.329 the Lord gives these predictions, these prophecies. 00:19:58.829 --> 00:20:01.029 She will have a son, his name will be Ishmael. 00:20:01.049 --> 00:20:04.150 He will be a wild donkey of a man. His hand will 00:20:04.150 --> 00:20:06.349 be against everyone and everyone's hand against 00:20:06.349 --> 00:20:09.390 him and he will live in the face of his brothers. 00:20:10.509 --> 00:20:14.009 The Lord gives her this information and then 00:20:14.009 --> 00:20:18.130 she gives the Lord a name. Verse 13, she called 00:20:18.130 --> 00:20:22.329 upon the name of the Lord who spoke to her. Thou 00:20:22.329 --> 00:20:27.069 art a God who sees. Here's the name of the Lord 00:20:27.069 --> 00:20:31.869 that we see here, El -Rohi. El -Rohi. You see 00:20:31.869 --> 00:20:36.059 it in the name of the well in verse 14. The well 00:20:36.059 --> 00:20:43.240 where she was, was named B 'er lehai rohi. The 00:20:43.240 --> 00:20:47.380 well of the living one who sees. Here's one of 00:20:47.380 --> 00:20:50.079 these great names of God that we see in the Old 00:20:50.079 --> 00:20:54.200 Testament, el rohi. Here was Hagar and all of 00:20:54.200 --> 00:20:59.299 her misery at this well in the wilderness. And 00:20:59.299 --> 00:21:05.440 el rohi knows. And he understands. He sees. her 00:21:05.440 --> 00:21:11.700 plight, and he comes to be kind to her. And you 00:21:11.700 --> 00:21:15.720 may be at some well today, in the bitterness 00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:21.880 of being treated unfairly. And you wonder, does 00:21:21.880 --> 00:21:27.059 anybody know? Friend, there's a God who sees. 00:21:29.259 --> 00:21:32.740 And He will meet you there, at that will of your 00:21:32.740 --> 00:21:37.799 bitterness. and show kindness to you. Listen 00:21:37.799 --> 00:21:44.339 to his heart. Listen to his words. Hagar, though 00:21:44.339 --> 00:21:47.559 she was not without fault in what happened here, 00:21:47.660 --> 00:21:51.420 had been treated unjustly. After all, this pregnancy 00:21:51.420 --> 00:21:55.740 was not her idea. Abram and Sarai had greatly 00:21:55.740 --> 00:21:59.619 wronged her. She was a lonely and distressed 00:21:59.619 --> 00:22:04.450 girl. She had little hope. because of the injustice 00:22:04.450 --> 00:22:07.509 that was done to her. But Jesus Christ steps 00:22:07.509 --> 00:22:12.029 in and He meets her there and He treats her with 00:22:12.029 --> 00:22:19.109 grace as He does with all who will look to Him, 00:22:19.450 --> 00:22:23.950 all who will listen to Him. Donald Gray Barnhouse 00:22:23.950 --> 00:22:26.730 writes, Hagar learned that all which happened 00:22:26.730 --> 00:22:29.869 to her was known to the Heavenly Father. who 00:22:29.869 --> 00:22:32.829 was interested in her sighs and groans and cries. 00:22:34.170 --> 00:22:36.910 She had seen that God was able to meet her in 00:22:36.910 --> 00:22:39.930 the midst of her need and to extricate her from 00:22:39.930 --> 00:22:43.289 all her difficulties. In the midst of trouble, 00:22:43.789 --> 00:22:47.069 we are tempted to think that our case is desperate, 00:22:47.690 --> 00:22:50.569 but at the fountain in the wilderness He teaches 00:22:50.569 --> 00:22:57.660 us that He looks upon all our afflictions. That 00:22:57.660 --> 00:23:01.599 brings us to chapter four, a brief chapter simply 00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:06.539 entitled, It's a Boy. Verses 15 and 16. Hagar 00:23:06.539 --> 00:23:09.819 bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of 00:23:09.819 --> 00:23:14.660 his son whom Hagar bore Ishmael. And Abram was 00:23:14.660 --> 00:23:19.480 86 years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him. 00:23:19.859 --> 00:23:23.740 Time is marching on, and still Abram does not 00:23:23.740 --> 00:23:29.319 have the son of the promise. And there's a reason. 00:23:30.980 --> 00:23:33.759 There's a reason. We'll talk about that another 00:23:33.759 --> 00:23:37.680 time. Those who are familiar with the New Testament 00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:40.519 will remember that this story is an allegory. 00:23:41.660 --> 00:23:45.039 It's an allegory regarding salvation as a gift 00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:49.099 of faith apart from human effort. Read about 00:23:49.099 --> 00:23:53.819 it in Galatians chapter 4. Paul says that Hagar 00:23:53.819 --> 00:24:00.420 represents the law. And Sarah represents grace. 00:24:01.839 --> 00:24:05.539 And he says the promise of God cannot be obtained 00:24:05.539 --> 00:24:08.420 through human efforts of rule keeping through 00:24:08.420 --> 00:24:12.980 the law. But God's promise of salvation rather 00:24:12.980 --> 00:24:18.640 is gained through believing in the gift of God's 00:24:18.640 --> 00:24:25.299 grace. It's a wonderful allegory of this historical 00:24:25.299 --> 00:24:30.940 event. Are you today, depending upon Hagar, as 00:24:30.940 --> 00:24:34.119 it were, to earn your own way to God? Are you 00:24:34.119 --> 00:24:37.859 trying to get God's blessing, to try for advancement 00:24:37.859 --> 00:24:45.920 the human way? Or will you come to God in faith 00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:49.099 and believe the promise of God, which is righteousness 00:24:49.099 --> 00:24:54.900 by faith given to all who will trust in the Savior? 00:24:56.970 --> 00:24:59.569 What this story teaches us devotionally is this, 00:24:59.690 --> 00:25:03.390 that when we fail to act in faith, we create 00:25:03.390 --> 00:25:06.269 trouble in the lives of others and consequences 00:25:06.269 --> 00:25:10.589 for ourselves. Did you hear what I said? When 00:25:10.589 --> 00:25:15.450 we fail to act in faith, we create trouble in 00:25:15.450 --> 00:25:18.390 the lives of others and consequences for ourselves. 00:25:18.670 --> 00:25:21.670 Think about this. Think of the pain that Abram 00:25:21.670 --> 00:25:24.539 and Suri could have avoided if they had patiently 00:25:24.539 --> 00:25:29.799 believed God. Home problems. Misery for Hagar. 00:25:31.460 --> 00:25:33.579 Future stress that will come into their home 00:25:33.579 --> 00:25:38.980 when Isaac is born. And then generations of antagonism 00:25:38.980 --> 00:25:42.259 between the two branches of Abram's family through 00:25:42.259 --> 00:25:47.200 Ishmael and Isaac. Antagonism that is still being 00:25:47.200 --> 00:25:52.559 played out today in the Middle East. as the descendants 00:25:52.559 --> 00:25:55.779 of Ishmael are in the face of, with hostility, 00:25:56.200 --> 00:26:01.720 their brethren the Jews. All of that could have 00:26:01.720 --> 00:26:07.880 been avoided if only Abram and Sarai had patiently 00:26:07.880 --> 00:26:13.880 waited upon God. And so let us learn to act in 00:26:13.880 --> 00:26:18.119 faith so that we may know blessing and that blessing 00:26:18.119 --> 00:26:21.910 may be experienced by those around us. instead 00:26:21.910 --> 00:26:25.750 of acting in impatience and unbelief and bringing 00:26:25.750 --> 00:26:30.089 trouble into our lives and theirs. Let's bow 00:26:30.089 --> 00:26:37.109 together in prayer. Father, in the chapters of 00:26:37.109 --> 00:26:42.609 this story of the birth of Ishmael, we are wonderfully 00:26:42.609 --> 00:26:47.130 reminded that you are El -Rohi, the God who sees. 00:26:49.130 --> 00:26:52.170 And you are the God today who sees our need. 00:26:54.549 --> 00:26:57.410 And you have come into the world in the person 00:26:57.410 --> 00:27:04.230 of your Son and given yourself for us. You have 00:27:04.230 --> 00:27:07.769 provided what we have needed through the death 00:27:07.769 --> 00:27:12.829 and resurrection of the one who appears here 00:27:12.829 --> 00:27:16.349 as the angel of the Lord. We bless you that you 00:27:16.349 --> 00:27:23.109 have met us in our miserable sin and have brought 00:27:23.109 --> 00:27:29.089 to us salvation by faith. As we partake of these 00:27:29.089 --> 00:27:35.269 elements at the table, we pray that you would 00:27:35.269 --> 00:27:39.390 help us to partake of them with gratitude and 00:27:39.390 --> 00:27:44.130 with the realization that they represent Jesus 00:27:44.130 --> 00:27:48.640 identifying with us. But we remember that He 00:27:48.640 --> 00:27:52.660 too was treated unfairly. He did not deserve 00:27:52.660 --> 00:27:59.779 to die, but willingly did die for our sake. Amen.