Welcome to Bible Talk with Jessica! Today’s reading has so much. Hagar and Ishmael being sent away. The Lord promising to make a great nation in spite of that. Abraham giving the ultimate sacrifice. The death of Sarah. And we meet Rebekah. Of course my motherly heart cannot even fathom what it was like to be Abraham when he was walking up to present Isaac as a sacrifice. But I’d really like to focus on something else that’s important in today’s reading.
Let’s get started – on to today’s reading. And my little disclosure before we get there.
Please note – I am not a pastor. I have had no bible training, gone to bible school, or anything like that. I do not consider myself a bible scholar at all. I am just someone who loves the Lord, loves reading the bible, and would love to talk with others about it. This is a place for me to do that. We may not agree on everything I post. I ask that all comments remain polite, and honoring to the Lord. I am just here sharing what the Lord lays on my heart, what I’ve learned, and what jumps out at me as I read. I hope you’ll join me in reading your bible as well and share what you’ve learned!
Scripture Reading for Today
Genesis 21:8-23:20
Genesis 11:32
Genesis 24:1-67
Verse of the Day
Bible Talk
Have you ever been excluded from something? Or maybe been asked to leave? It doesn’t feel very good. You might feel discouraged, alone, insignificant.
I can’t imagine being Hagar. I mean, basically Sarah offered her to Abraham and said “Here, go have a kid.” I imagine Hagar would have been reprimanded if she has said no. Some horrible punishment. (side note – I am not saying Hagar’s act in sleeping with Abraham was justified, just trying to show maybe her point of view). So she does it, and produces a child. It didn’t go well with Sarah from that point on essentially. And why would it? Sin never makes things go smoothly.
Here is a woman who has concern for her son, Ishmael. She wants to make sure that he’s taken care of, and that he’ll benefit from Abraham’s inheritance as well. But Sarah gets him kicked out of the family so to speak. And Abraham, being the “good” husband that he is (and also because God told him to listen to Sarah!), sends Hagar and Ishmael away. She does what any mother would do, tells her son to stay somewhere for a moment so that she can cry and mourn without him seeing. And in her distress, she gets a visit. A very special visit.
This is the part that blows my mind.
God says that He will still make a great nation from Ishmael.
The same God that knows everything. He knows the life Ishmael had up until that point. He knows what the rest of Ishmael’s life will bring. He knows when and how often Ishmael will turn his back on God.
And God blesses him anyway.
Let’s take a moment to soak that in.
Ishmael, who back in chapter 16 was told would basically be in constant conflict with others. Ishmael, who we are going to learn more about another time, would have 12 children who probably won’t remain faithful to the Lord. God knew exactly how Ishmael’s descendants would turn out, even the ones that are living this very day! (I mean, I have no idea who they are or how they are living their life obviously.)
I guess my point here is this – even though God knew that He would have heartache down the road with Ishmael’s relatives, He still chose to make a promise to Hagar that He would make a great nation from Ishmael. When God makes a promise, He keeps it, and so we know there was a great nation that came from Ishmael. Not the same kind of nation that came from Isaac, but if we’re being honest they had their own struggles too.
If you think about it, God does the same thing for us.
We are a sinful people, there is just no way around it. We are going to make mistakes in our future whether we want to or not. They may be minor, or they could be major ones. But we will fail. And yet, God blesses us all the time. I think of all the blessings that God has given me over the years and how many times I have let Him down. I just think, wow Lord, I am so unworthy of everything You have given me, and yet You do so anyways.
My challenge for you today is to look back on all the blessings the Lord has given you over the years. Then think on how many times you’ve let Him down. It’s a humbling exercise, but an important one. God loves us so much that He’s willing to bless us, even when we don’t thank Him. Even when two days later we fall flat on our face. Even when three months down the road we stop reading our bible for a period of time. Even when…… you fill in the blank. I don’t know about you, but this certainly makes me want to be more aware of the blessings, and to be sure that I thank Him even more. For the big stuff and the little stuff. I hope you’ll join me in that.
What stood out to you in today’s reading? Share in the comments!