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View here: https://bit.ly/3Xkpcna 8 And the child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. 10 So she said to Abraham, "Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac." 11 And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, "Be not displeased because of the lad and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your descendants be named. 13 And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring." 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went, and sat down over against him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, "Let me not look upon the death of the child." And as she sat over against him, the child lifted up his voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, "What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not; for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him fast with your hand; for I will make him a great nation." 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. 20 And God was with the lad, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness, and became an expert with the bow. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt. (Genesis 21:8-21 Revsied Standard Version of The Bible)
A blessed and tremendous Thursday for you dear Reader! Make it your day by making it God's day to speak to you. Listen, respond and rejoice. Let us pray for one another; praying for those who have asked prayers from us, and pray for the needs of your community, your town or city, and our nation. Pray for peace in all places.
The first family had trouble. Make that serious trouble. We read in Genesis about the first murder and it was what is called a fratricide, a brother murdering a brother. Murder is a sin and if you can compound a sin, whenever a sibling kills a sibling, well, it is, in my opinion, doubly sinful. And today's passage reminds us something we tend to forget, that Abraham was the father of faith, the father of Isaac, and the father of Ismael. Isaac is the father of the Jews and Ishmael is the father of the Arabs. And there has never been peace in the Middle East because of this history, and some say there will never be such a thing as long as any from either side still lives.
Was it Sarah's fault? When she thought she would never bear a child for Abe, she ordered him to sleep with their servant girl Hagar and thus he would have a child. That relationship produced Ishmael. And later, after the visit from the Lord, Sarah gave birth to Isaac. We tune in when Isaac was weaned and Abraham threw a big party to celebrate this occasion. It was during the party that Sarah watches as her son and the son of the servant are playing together and that struck her as bad and so she orders Abe to get rid of this woman. You can imagine that Abe was not too pleased, as he loved his son, and in his prayer, God reveals to him that he should do what Sarah has asked,, for through Isaac that all of his descendants; and God promises that through Ishmael another nation would come because he was the son of Abraham.
The next morning Abe awakens early and prepares provisions for Hagar and Ishmael's journey. She and her son set out into the wilderness of Beer-sheba. Soon the water is gone and she puts her son in some bushes and saw down away from the boy thinking that she could not bear to watch him die. Soon Ishmael begins to weep and God hears the cries of the boy and calls out to Hagar asking what troubled her and promises that Ishmael would not die and tells Hagar to hold him tight, "For I will make him a great nation." Hagar must have thought those were comforting words just so that Ishmael's death would be less painful and she closes her eyes. As she opens her eyes, she sees a well of water, so she goes and fills the skin given to her by Abraham, and gives water to the boy. The closing verses explain how God was with him and he became an expert bowsman, as he lived his life in the wilderness of Paran, and Mommy got him a bride from among the women of Egypt.
God provides. God provides even for our enemies, as some might interpret this, but God was with Abraham and Sarah, and with Hagar and Ishmael. Just as God will provide for you. It matters not who your enemies are or your friends; you matter to God and God loves you!
PRAYER: We celebrate awesome God, Your love that knows no borders, nationalities, skin colors, or views on politics; bless us with Your grace and power to do the same with all people; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Be God-like in your love for all people.
Receive my blessings of love and peace for all people,
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
