Genesis 21 - Turning Sorrow into Laughter

For their entire marriage, Abraham and Sarah were unable to have children. Sarah was barren, and thus unable to have children. This was a source of sorrow for Sarah, because her desire (like most women in that day) was to bare a son for her husband, Abraham.

God promised Abraham and Sarah a son, and years passed before He followed through on that promise. Nevertheless, Abraham and Sarah continued to believe the Lord, and they continued to serve Him. This continued until Genesis 21, where Sarah finally had a son. God kept His promise.

Abraham and Sarah named their son, Isaac, which means "laughter." Sarah said the Lord had made her to laugh. From her experience, we learn that God turns our sorrow into laughter.

In verses 1-2, the Bible says "And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him."

God kept His promise to Abraham. Even though years had passed, God kept his promise in His time. God delivered the promised son to Abraham and Sarah. This teaches us that God keeps all His promises, in His time. He kept His promise to Abraham, and He keeps His promise to us.

The Lord has promised us that He will return to earth and establish His Kingdom, and He will wipe away our  tears. Those promises will be kept, in His time. 2 Peter 3:9 says "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Christians have been looking forward to the return of Christ for nearly 2,000 years. Though a long time has passed, we can still trust Christ to follow through on His promise to return and set up His Kingdom.

Genesis 21:6 says "And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me." By fulfilling His promise of a son to Abraham and Sarah, God had caused them to laugh with joy. He had turned their sorrow into laughter. The Bible teaches that God will one day turn our sorrow into laughter as well.

In John 16:20, Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament, but the world will rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned to joy." Jesus told His disciples that the day was coming when He would no longer be with them in body, and the world would celebrate and persecute them. Nevertheless, the day would come when their sorrow would be turned to joy. Jesus would welcome them into Heaven.

In John 16:22, Jesus continued, "And ye now therefore have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." When Jesus returns, our sorrow will be turned to joy, and that joy will be everlasting. No more will we mourn the loss of loved ones, fear the wrath of the creditors, or face ridicule for our beliefs. Our sorrow will be turned to everlasting joy.

So, keep living your faith, knowing that one day, your sorrow will be turned to joy. God will keep His promise.

God gives comfort. After the birth of Isaac in Genesis 21, we have an incident. Isaac was being weaned (which happened at the age of 5), and Abraham threw a feast to celebrate Isaac's weaning. Ishmael (who would have been an older teenager by this point) mocked Isaac, which infuriated Sarah. So, Sarah told Abraham to kick Ishmael and Hagar out. In verse 11, the Bible says the whole situation was very grievous to Abraham.

However, God comforted Abraham. In verses 12-13, God says "Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed." God comforted Abraham by reminding him of His plan for Isaac, and by promising to take care of Ishmael and Hagar. God comforts us today in similar ways. He reminds us of His plan, and He reminds us to trust Him with the things beyond our control. He speaks to us through His scriptures.

God also comforted Ishmael and Hagar. In verses 17-18, the Bible says "And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of Heaven, and said unto her, what aileth thee, Hagar? Fear not, for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, and lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand, for I will make him a great nation."

God comforted Hagar by reminding her that He hears. He heard the lad's (Ishmael's) cries. He knew their hearts. He hears our cries, and our prayers. He also reminds Hagar of His promises to her concerning her son, Ishmael. God still gives us these comforts today. Pray to Him in faith, knowing that He hears your prayers... and trust Him to answer your prayers.

God provides. In verse 19, "God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water, and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad to drink." God provided their needs by leading her to a well. He supplies our needs as well.

Then, in verse 20, "God was with the lad, and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer." God was with Ishmael, blessed his efforts, and grew his talents. God is with us today. He blesses our efforts and blesses us with talents and gifts.

We serve an awesome and wonderful God... one Who loves us, comforts us, turns our sorrow to laughter, and supplies our needs. He is more than worthy of our worship. Do you worship Him? Do you trust Him? Do you believe in Him?

May God bless you today.

Genesis 20: In League with God

At the end of Genesis 16, Abraham had to be feeling low. He had followed Sarah's advice to father a child with Hagar, which led to problems between Sarah and Hagar, and Sarah and Abraham. In Genesis 17, God spoke with Abraham, and reconfirmed His covenant to give Abraham a son, through whom all the promises would come. The lesson we learn from that is that God forgives sin, He incorporates the effects of our sin into His plan, and He confirms His covenant with us. He keeps us in His plan.

God reiterated His plan for Abraham in Genesis 18, once again promising a son. Abraham prayed that God would deliver Lot from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and we see the spirituality of Abraham was once again on the rise.

However, in Genesis 20, Abraham fell again, committing one of the oldest sins of which he was prone. Fearing his life, he told the people of Gerar that Sarah was his sister. This led to a repeat of the situation that happened with Pharoah in earlier chapters. Sarah was taken from Abraham and given to Abimelech to be his wife, but God intervened, and Sarah was given back to Abraham.

The more you study the life of Abraham, the more you learn that Abraham was far from perfect. His faith wavered. On two separate occasions, he said Sarah was his sister instead of his wife. He did that because he feared for his life. He was afraid that the people would kill him and take Sarah. He also violated God's plan for marriage by fathering a son with Hagar (Genesis 16) and fathering children with concubines (Genesis 25:6). Despite his failures, God still forgave him, and continued to work in his life. God kept His promises to Abraham.

When we fail, God forgives us and re-establishes His covenant, His plan with us. He calls us to repent, and calls us out of the sin we in which we trapped ourselves, but He restores us all the same.

God is with us, even when we fail. Abraham failed. He told the people of Gerar that Sarah was his sister. He also compelled Sarah to lie and say she was his sister. While this was actually half-true (verse 12), the aim was to deceive, thus it was a lie and a spiritual failure.

That failure came from a lack of faith. Even though God made promises to Abraham about his future and heritage, Abraham still feared the people of Gerar would kill him to take Sarah as their wife. (Sarah was nearly 90 years old at this time, which was still old back in that day. She must have been a looker.) The result is that Sarah was taken from Abraham and given to the king, Abimelech, as a wife. (They didn't know they took Abraham's wife, they thought they took his sister.)

Nevertheless, God was still with Abraham. He protected Sarah from Abimelech (verse 6), He confronted Abimelech, and He told Abimelech to return Sarah to Abraham. Abimelech obeyed.

If you know Jesus Christ as your savior, you are in league with God. He stays with you, even when you make the wrong decision. He'll discipline you, but He'll stay with you. He will also restore you from that bad decision, if you know Him as Savior. He will get you back on track. God does not cast you aside, withdraw from you, revoke your salvation, or throw you away. He will lovingly discipline you, and get you back on track. If God can not get the wayward Christian to repent, He calls them home.

God calls heathens to repentance. Abimelech was a pagan king. He had multiple wives, but was basically a good ole boy. However, he didn't fear the LORD. God used the occasion of Abraham's failure to reveal Himself to Abimelech. He warned Abimelech to return Sarah, and promised healing and life for obedience. God gave Abimelech space to repent. Abimelech responded by obeying God.

God calls the lost to repentance. He confronts them for their sin, calls them to repent and believe, and gives them time to repent. Have you repented and believed in Christ? Will you, if you haven't?

God wants us to be a blessing. At the end of the chapter, Abraham prayed for Abimelech, and God healed Abimelech and his people. God identified Abraham as a prophet, which means that Abraham spoke for God. Abraham was God's representative. God's will for Abraham was for him to pray for Abimelech. Abraham did. God healed Abimelech, and God revealed His power. By praying, Abraham was a blessing.

God wants us to be a blessing. We are God's ambassadors on Earth. Represent God well. Present God to the lost, evangelize, and pray for the lost. Be a blessing.

If you are a child of God, that is, if you know Christ as your savior, you are in league with God. God will work through your life. He will work around your shortcomings (possibly incorporating them into His plan), and forgive your sin. Whatever happens, God is still with you. His hand is still on you.

May God bless you in a special way today.

Genesis 16:1-13 - When Good Christian People Attack

You don't have to look very far to see someone express anger at Christians for doing something wrong, hurting their feelings, or betraying them in some way. Some days, all you have to do is log on to Facebook.

Some of this anger toward Christians is unwarranted. Sometimes, people are angry at what Christians stand for, and thus express that anger toward them. Some feel convicted of their sin, and justify it by saying the Christian is "judging them," or being "legalistic" or "hypocritical." But we'd be naive to think that Christians never sin, and Christians never hurt people.

In Genesis 16:1-13, we read about a woman named Hagar, who wound up in a world of hurt because of the actions of Abraham and Sarah.

God promised Abraham and Sarah a son, but they were old, and beyond childbearing years. So, Sarah devises a plan to have her children through her servant, Hagar. Back in those days, it was a custom that a woman could use her handmaid as a surrogate... to have children by having the handmaid have children with her husband. Hagar, a handmaid, has no say in this.

This situation causes problems. Sarah's plan, in spite of the custom of the day, was still sin. Customs and cultures do not excuse sin. This sin leads to problems between Sarah and Hagar, and it leads to hardships for Hagar.

Through reading Genesis 16, we see that even God's people mess up. Abraham and Sarah were Godly people. They lived their lives following God. They are listed in the Hebrews Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11. Some theologians have even suggested that their actions with Hagar were acts of faith. (Sarah was trying to deliver the promised son). However, what they did to Hagar was still sin. It violated God's plan for marriage (one man-one woman), and Hagar wasn't even given the option.

Now look at the level of Hagar's victimization. She's a slave. She has nothing. She has no rights. She is an Egyptian, which means she is in a foreign country serving foreign owners. Now, she even loses control of her body. Once she does have a son, he will be taken away and given to Sarah (or at least, that was the plan). When things go south, Hagar is treated harshly (Genesis 16:6)

Sometimes, Godly people hurt you. They might have good intentions, but they still hurt you. (Sometimes the intentions weren't good, but it still hurts.)

Sin always causes problems. Genesis 16:4 says "And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes." Hagar conceived a child by Abraham, and despised Sarah for it. Her anger toward Sarah led to disrespect toward Sarah, which led to problems in Abraham and Sarah's relationship, and led to Sarah dealing harshly with Hagar... to the point that Hagar had to flee.

Sin destroys peace, relationships, and lives. It creates chaos, discord and conflict.

When people hurt you, even when Godly people hurt you, God sees it. Hagar fled from Sarah, and the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water. The LORD told Hagar to go back to Sarah, and submit to her, and make amends. He then tells her that He has heard her affliction, and made promises concerning her son.

Genesis 16:11 says "And the angel of the LORD said unto her, behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shall call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction." God's message to Hagar was that He heard her affliction, and He was going to work it out for her. That's why God wanted her to go back, so He could work it out for her.

God hears our afflictions. He knows what we struggle with, what hurts us, who hurts us, and He will work those things out for us. We need to allow Him to work. We need to trust Him to work.

In Genesis 16:13, Hagar responds by saying "Thou God seest me... have I also here looked after Him that seeth me?" Hagar realizes that God sees her, and that gives her reason to trust and obey Him. God is watching, God will protect, God will avenge, God will care for you.

God is real, He's living, He interacts with us. That is why we should trust Him. That is why we should obey Him.

Healing begins with forgiveness, and forgiveness begins when we take the first steps. Forgiveness simply means that you will no longer hold the person who hurt you accountable. Forgiveness is an act of faith, because you are trusting God to take care of you, to protect you, and to deal with the one who hurt you. Trust God to do that.

Hagar returned home to Sarah, and life sort of went back to normal for a while, before Abraham and Sarah had their own son. After that, an incident involving Ishmael and Isaac would lead to Hagar and Ishmael getting kicked out. Even after that, God provided for Hagar, and Abraham even continued to visit and care for her and Ishmael.

A bad experience doesn't have to end in a dark hole. It can end in a light of faith in the Lord, forgiveness and healing. Which path will you choose?

Genesis 12-13: The Beginnings of Abraham

In Genesis 12, we meet a man named Abram, who will go on to become Abraham, a hero of the faith. Abraham is mentioned many times in the New Testament to illustrate salvation by grace apart from works, as well as the fact that if you have faith, works will result.

As great a man as Abraham was, he started small. He was called by God to go into a foreign land, he followed God, but his faith faltered on a few occasions... one of those occasions is in Genesis 12.

Abram, or Abraham, followed God. Genesis 12:1 says "Now the Lord had said unto Abram, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee." God called Abraham to leave home and go to a place where the LORD would lead. So, at this point, Abram has no idea where he is headed. He still follows God, though, because he has faith. In following God, we don't always have to know how things will turn out, or where the road will lead. We should follow God without having all the answers, because we have faith.

In Genesis 12:8, Abraham, or Abram, arrives. "And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD."

Abram followed God until he landed at a place called "Bethel," which literally means "House of God." There, he built and altar, worshiped God, and called upon His name. If you follow God, it will lead to His house... the church. God does not lead people out of His house, or His church, He leads them into it. There, believers are to worship, pray, and encourage each other.

Sometimes, though, our faith falters. In Genesis 12:10, "There was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land." There was a famine in the land. Food was hard to come by, Abram's ability to feed himself and his wife, and to keep his livestock was threatened. So, He went down into Egypt.

The problem with this is that Egypt symbolizes sin in scripture. People always "Go down into Egypt." They never "travel over to Egypt." They "go down" there. Then, they "come up out of" Egypt. They don't "travel from," rather, they "come out of" Egypt.

Tempted by famine and the possibility of losing everything, Abram went down into Egypt. He went down into sin. Often, God's people go down into sin when they are tempted and tried by hardships and tribulations. There, the destruction continues. Abram, in an attempt to save his own life, lied about who Sarai, his wife, was. He said she was his sister. The result is that Pharoah took Sarai to be his wife. So, Abram has gone down into Egypt, lied, and thus has lost his wife. Going down into sin leads to more sin, which results in lost blessings. But, there is time to repent.

God protected Sarai by placing a plague on the men of Egypt. Pharoah returned Sarai to Abram, and they left Egypt. They came out of Egypt.

Genesis 13:1 says "Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south."

They came out of Egypt, they came out of "sin." There comes a time in a prodigal believer's life when he has to repent and return to the Lord... notice where that repentance leads...

Genesis 13:3-4 "And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; (4) Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first, and there Abram called on the name of the LORD."

Abram returned to Bethel, the house of God, and there he worshiped and prayed. The repentant believer's path returns to the house of God, and there he should pray and worship.

Are you stuck in sin, are you stuck in Egypt? Has Egypt, or sin, robbed you of your blessings? Come out of that today, and return to the house of the Lord.