December 11, 2007

Genesis Chapters 16, 17:18-21, 21:8-21

In chapters 16, 17, and 21we learn about God through Ishmael. In the next lesson, we will discuss the chapters pertaining to Isaac and pick up the verses in chapter 17 that we skipped.

 

A Picture of the Omniscient God

 

To receive the greatest possible blessing from this Bible study, please take a moment to read the passage.

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        Prayer:

            Dear Lord, when I’m tempted to run ahead of You, help me to remember my decisions affect more people than I can ever imagine. In Jesus’ name, amen.

            Introduction:

“Brenda, Rachel had an accident on the way to school,” a teacher said as calmly as possible. “She’s not hurt, but you need to come get her.”

“What happened?” I tried desperately not to lose control while talking to him.

“She hit a twelve-year-old girl. Seems the girl darted out in front of her. Luckily, it happened in the school zone and Rachel was only going about 10 mph so the girl wasn’t hurt just shook up a bit. There were plenty of witnesses that said it wasn’t Rachel’s fault.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” After I hung up from that call, I phoned a neighbor to take me to the school since Rachel had driven my car that day.

On our way home, Rachel’s voice quivered from the shock. “Mom, she was on the curb and waited until I got close then ran out in front of me. Why would she do that?”

I had no clue and no answer to help Rachel cope with situation.

Later, the girl admitted that she and some of her friends had been playing chicken on their way to school for several weeks. Unfortunately, their poor choice of games cost Rachel dearly and she didn’t drive a car for a long time after the incident.

 

        The Lesson:

            We have all made decisions that ultimately affected lives we had no idea about. But none compare with Abram’s and Sarai’s decision to become parents through their own plans. Since we are studying the characteristics of God and not human’s, we will skip the obvious lessons we can all relate to with this familiar event.

            Omniscient God: Although Abram and Sarai acted outside the perfect will of God, the Lord was not surprised, frustrated, or angry about their decision. No child is formed without the hand of God, so how could He be surprised by it? When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body (Psalm 139: 15b-16a NIV).

          When Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai—apparently flaunting the her condition in her mistress’s face. Sarai complained to Abram and he told her to deal with the problem in whatever way pleased her. Sarai treated Hagar so harshly the servant fled to the desert. The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring. It does not say that Hagar prayed for help, but that the LORD came to her aid because He had plans for the child she carried. This would have been a good time to allow Abram’s and Sarai’s mistake die, if God would not have intended the child to live. Although Hagar and her son were not the chosen of God to fulfill His covenant through Abraham, God did not ignore them nor did He take lightly their suffering. Instead, He promised to bless them. Here is the essence of the child’s existence and God’s plan for him:

1.      The boy’s name will be Ishmael, which means God hears—God heard the misery of Hagar

2.      Ishmael will be a wild man—his hand will be against everybody and in return everyone’s hand will be against him

3.      Ishmael will live in hostility toward his brothers—Isaac and his heirs

4.      Ishmael’s descendants will be too numerous to count.

            This text strongly emphasizes God’s love for humanity and His gracious provision for our every need. Jesus said, “for he [God] maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45b). This reveals God’s love for all people, but in no way, implies that all people are saved. It does, however, illustrate that God’s blessings are not limited to a select group and that God is deeply concerned about the welfare of all people. Although it pleases God to bless all people, only those who accept God’s terms of salvation through faith as Abraham had are His chosen and will receive eternal life. God desires to bless us, but on His terms and for His purposes. God does not belong to us—we belong to Him.

            Thirteen years after Ishmael’s birth, God appeared to Abram again, reassured him of His covenant through a son promised to Sarai, and changed their names as a token of that promise. Abraham laughed, not disrespectfully nor in disbelieve, but out of sheer amazement. He then suggested that Ishmael receive the blessing instead.

            God repeated His promise to Ishmael because he was Abraham’s son. However, God reminds Abraham that Ishmael would not be the chosen son. God’s covenant was between Him, Abraham, and his wife Sarah. Isaac was the fulfillment of that promise.

            By the time Isaac was four years old, Ishmael openly tormented him to the point that Sarah demanded that Abraham cast both Ishmael and Hagar out of camp. While Abraham was grieved by the adversity that grew between his sons’ mothers, God told him to heed Sarah’s demands. But the Lord also reassured Abraham of His continued provisions for Ishmael and Hagar. And for the third, God mentioned His promise to make Ishmael the father of a great nation. Again, Hagar and Ishmael faced possible starvation until the Lord heard the boy’s cry and offered comfort to Hagar and opened her eyes to the spring of water.

            While the spring of water from which Hagar and Ishmael drank quenched their thirst temporarily, but Jesus offers something much better. He told the woman at the well, “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into  everlasting life” (John 4:14). In Revelation 21:6 God promises, I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

           

              Conclusion and Challenge:

 

As Sarah dealt with Hagar and Ishmael out of concern for Isaac, most of us exert our authority in the name of good parenting. Unfortunately at times, our children would be better off we’d let them handle their problems their way.

Before her accident, Rachel’s lack of confidence, while behind a steering wheel, was a problem. In fact, she drove so seldom that I became concerned that she’d lose the skills she had acquired. On the day of Rachel’s accident, I had insisted that she drive to school just for the experience. But my eagerness to take control of her problem opened the door to an experience I hadn’t counted on and almost eliminated the little desire to drive she did have.

However, God knew our needs long before the accident occurred and began the healing process immediately through our church’s revival meetings the same week. Rachel and I both spent a considerable amount of time on our knees at the altar seeking forgiveness and healing.

Eventually, Rachel did get behind the steering wheel again and is now a very competent driver.

Although we may never make a decision that will affect the entire populace of the earth as Sarah and Abraham had, every decision we make affects others. Let’s seek guidance from our Omniscient God. He is waiting to help us.

 

       Start a Ministry

 

            Start a new ministry. Print some business cards with a picture of a penny and the slogan “In God We Trust.” Under the slogan write: But are we trusting the one true God? If you like, place my website on it or yours or your church’s site. Hand them out—with your tip a restaurants, to passers-by, to cashiers, put them in all your outgoing mail. Pray earnestly for our nation’s revival.

            If you don’t have a computer or time to make cards, but would like to invest in this ministry, write to me via e-mail and I’ll send you some-FREE.