GOD TO THE RESCUE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham, "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac."

The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. But God said to him, "Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring."

Early the next morning, Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she thought, "I cannot watch the boy die."

And as she sat there nearby, she began to sob. God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from Heaven and said to her, "What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation."

Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

Genesis 21:8-21

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

It didn’t take long after Isaac was born before family conflicts started to arise between Abraham’s wife Sarah and her servant Hagar who had bore Abraham’s son Ishmael. Now, you may remember that Sarah and Hagar had a bit of a history of conflict with one another.

Going back to Genesis, chapter 16, Sarai (Sarah’s prior name) and Hagar got into it while Hagar was pregnant leading to Hagar running away after Sarai mistreated her. During that time, we read where God ordered Hagar to return to Sarai and submit to her, promising that He would "increase (her) descendants (so) that they (would) be too numerous to count." In return, Hagar praised God and did as He commanded, giving birth to Ishmael soon after.

Fast forwarding to chapter 21 we see that Sarah is once again brought to anger, this time after Ishmael "was mocking". We don’t know about the nature of the mocking but it lead Sarah to demand the following from her husband, Abraham:

"Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac."

Obviously, Sarah was placing Abraham in a very difficult position, one that caused him great distress. On one hand, he wanted to appease his wife who was angry, demanding he evict Hagar and his son Ishmael. On the other hand, he loved Hagar and their son Ishmael as well and couldn’t bear the thought of exiling them from his home.

So what was he to do?

There seemed to be no easy solution.

Before we go any further, a quick question:

Have you ever been in a similar position, wanting to do the right thing while finding yourself dead in the middle of a conflict?

Well, I don’t know about you but I don’t handle conflict very well and so thank goodness we see in our passage how God can come to our rescue in these times when they come. Look again at our verses for today:

The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham, "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac."

The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. But God said to him, "Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring."

Early the next morning, Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she thought, "I cannot watch the boy die."

And as she sat there nearby, she began to sob. God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from Heaven and said to her, "What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation."

Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. Vv.8-21

Here, we find the Lord entering into the matter when Abraham needed Him most. For with Abraham torn between two choices, God tells him the way he should go:

"Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring."

And so Abraham did what anyone should do when God provides direction. He followed God’s command and sent Hagar and Ishmael away.

The scriptures tell us that Hagar and Ishmael found great hardship during their journey that took them into “the desert of Beersheeba”. The water Abraham had given them when they departed had been used up and under the heat of the desert sun, Hagar knew their chances of survival were slim if they didn’t get something to drink and fast. Unsurprisingly, she became terribly afraid and cried out for help, afraid of having to watch her son die from dehydration.

The scriptures tell us that Ishmael was crying as well and it was that weeping that is heard by God who says the following to Hagar:

"What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation."

Immediately, we read where God opened Hagar’s eyes, revealing "a well of water" from which they could drink from. Her desire for Ishmael to have water so he would survive was answered by a God who had come to their recue.

Another question.

Have you ever had one of these experiences where you were in need and cried out to the Lord and then experienced His providence as He gave you what you needed to get through your trial?

I think we can all remember a time or two when we were there so the Word of God speaks powerfully to us today and delivers one very key point to remember. For when we get into conflicting or complex situations, we serve a God will provide for us and guide us through.

Abraham was anguished over the decision he had to make regarding Hagar and Ishmael. God entered in and led him to the right decision.

Hagar anguished over being out of water, afraid that Ishmael would die from thirst. God entered in and brought a well of water.

So what is that you need today as you read this? Are you under circumstances that have you confused as to what to do, how to feel, how to act, what to say and/or what to think?

If so, trust and believe that God is ready to step in and show you the way.

Before I close, here’s one other very important point to ponder.

Abraham’s decision led to Hagar’s God-moment.

Had Abraham not obeyed God and sent Hagar out into the desert with Ishmael, then Hagar wouldn’t have had her close and personal encounter with the God who had blessed her with Ishmael, an experience that was vital to her faith development and relationship with the Lord.

One led to the other.

So what’s the lesson for believers today?

The Lord is teaching us that we can’t possibly understand how he works and so we don’t know what He might be up to at any one time. He may be using you or me in the life of another so He can have a God-moment with Him. There’s always a chance that we may be an Abraham to a present day Hagar so let us never underestimate what God might be doing through us as He continues to come to the rescue of those in need of Him.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.