Week 31, Day 2: Circumcision
Today’s Reading: Genesis 17:1-27
Some thoughts from the reading…
God changes Abram’s name to Abraham, meaning “father of a multitude”. Sarai’s name is also changed to Sarah. Abraham is now 99 years old and Sarah is 90. God tells Abraham that he will have a child with Sarah. Abraham laughs in his heart thinking about how old they are. But God tells him that he will have a child with Sarah and name him Isaac, meaning “he laughs”. Abraham had now been waiting at least 13 years to receive the son promised to him (he was promised a son in chapter 15, in chapter 16 we are told Abraham is 86 and now he is 99). You can understand why Abraham would laugh in his heart, to think that such an elderly man could have a son with an elderly woman. But with God all things are possible. This should be a reminder to us that God can do the impossible and that we should never loose heart, God will always keep his promises, even if we have to wait longer than we would prefer before we see them fulfilled.
Abraham is told to circumcise all in his household as a sign of the covenant with God. We are told that Abraham did this that same day. I believe the quick obedience of Abraham is an indication that Abraham believed what God told him. We are told by Paul in Rom 4:20-21 that Abraham did not waver in unbelief regarding God’s promise. I believe we can see from Abraham’s quick response to the command to circumcise himself and his household his committment to God and his acceptance that God would do as he told him.
One last note. It was pointed out to me one time what significance Abraham’s name had. We don’t usually have a meaning behind the names we have or give to our children. We just like how the name sounds and select to name our child such because of that. Often in the OT we see a child named something and the meaning of the name given. Often their names had significance and a message behind it. Abraham meant father of a multitude. Here is a 99 year old man with one son by a maid who is given this name. Can you imagine when Abraham met someone and told them his name, I can see them asking him how many children he had. One. But another is coming! This would probably seem very odd to those who would come across Abraham. The father of a multitude with one child and claiming that he will have another at 99. Again, no matter what the situation looks like to man, all things are possible with God. Do we believe this. Do we believe that God hears our prayers and will answer them. Pray believing and we will receive. God can cure the sick and God can aid us, comfort us and give us peace. Let us keep in mind that although the way may seem hard or impossible, God is able. We walk by faith not by sight. Faith in God, not in the things we see or what man thinks are possible.
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Week 31, Day 1: Hagar conceives
Today’s Reading: Genesis 16:1-15
Some thoughts from the reading…
I appologize for not having done the post yesterday. So there will be two posts today.
Poor Sarai. She has been unable to bare any children for so long. In an act of desperation she talks Abram into taking her maid for a wife. Abram does so and Hagar conceives a child. But everything is not well. Hagar despises Sarai after she is able to conceive. It appears to me that Hagar now wants to be more highly regarded than Sarai since she has conceived a child for Abram. It is seen several times in the scriptures that multiple wives would try to out do each other and gain the love and approval of their husband by bearing more children to him than the other wife. I believe here we have another situation such as that. But instead of being able to rise above Sarai and gain more favor from Abram, Sarai is given permission to treat her how she deems fit – harshly.
This situation makes me think of what happens when man decides he is going to “take things into his own hands” and chooses some course of action that disregards God’s instruction. How many times do we come across a situation where a person appears to have good intentions but they have decided to do something that is clearly so unwise. When man makes these hasty decisions or decides to compromise his morals to try and gain something, the result is often catastrophy. Sarai took things into her own hands and ended up causing a big mess of things. I would hope that we could learn from such examples that God’s way is always the best way and we need to trust that God will take care of things, wait upon the Lord.
Ishmael, Hagar’s son, was born when Abram was 86 years old. Abram had now been in Canaan for 10 years. Ishmael’s descendants would indeed be too many to count. The area of nothern Arabia would become home to nomadic tribes who were descendants of Ishmael. Later we will see Joseph sold to a band of Ishmaelites (Gen 37:25-28). Ishmael was to be a “wild donkey of a man” and everyone’s hand would be against him. It is interesting that many Arabs today claim to be descendants of Ishmael. Many adherants of Islam claim a connection to Abraham through Ishmael. Islamic tradition claims that Abram built a house with Ishmael, the Kaaba, in Mecca. This is now a shrine that many Muslims make a pilgrimage to see. I find this interesting because of the statement that everyone’s hand will be against Ishmael and his against theirs and to see the conflict between those who claim to be descendants of Ishmael and those around them. Interesting.
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