Genesis 18 - "Is there anything too marvelous..."

We are super excited for tomorrow's Reading in chapter 18, of the Book of Genesis...that we just could wait until tomorrow to release our FREE - Week 4 Genesis Bookmark!! 

We are sure you've picked up on the themes of Faith & Sin that are highlighted in Genesis chapters 16-22. The web of complications that are illustrated between Abram and his wives aren't so easily categorized, thus we thought they were worth investigating further. 

We have been reading, for several chapters now, all about Abram's faith in God's plan for his life, as well as his faith in God's marvelous wonders. Yet in the midst of his proclamations of faith we cannot ignore Abram's sins, that seem to go unnoticed or unpunished, or are they...

In chapter 16, Sarai, Abram's wife, appears to be too old to conceive, she is actually referred to as barren. In order to give her husband children, she offers up her maid, Hagar to him instead. 

Who else was disappointed when Abram accepts?! He and Hagar are seemingly getting away with adulterous affair, that appears at first to bother no one. They facie no punishment for theur sin and even more are seemingly rewarded for it, with the birth of several sons. 

It would appear as though adulterous affairs are not such a sin after all, that possibly its even accepted by God...(insert record scratch here, followed by silence) of course that isn't right! 

Upon further reading in Genesis 16 & 21, we learn that Ishmeal, the son born of Hagar, becomes a point of contention between Abram's family, causing great upset between Sarai and Hagar. This familial upheaval turns physical, when Sarai attacks Hagar, who has grown cocky in her ability to produce sons. When Hagar runs away because of the abuse God sends Hagar back, back to Sarai. Why? Is it to atone for her sins, to possibly pay some kind of debt to Sarai? Maybe it is a punishment for Sarai that Hagar return, for not having had faith in God, for offering up her maid instead of waiting for God's plan for her to come to fruition? Or is it so much more? Maybe it's to fulfill the scripture or could it be to bring all three of them to rock bottom? At rock bottom we are more open to God. We turn to him, we yearn for him and his mercy. Maybe we'll never know. 

Either way, we do know that the fruits born of the affair between Hagar & Abram will eventually become the father's of the Arabs, where as the fruits of Sarai's womb will become the father's of the Jews. Why is this important? History has shown us that the Jews & Arabs have been in conflict for centuries. We'd say this conflict shows that God values fidelity after all, that future generations have suffered because of it. 

In chapter 17, Abram speaks with God, who changes his name to Abraham, to renew his covenent with him. The covenant to make him [Abraham] the father of a multitude of nations. 

Abraham assumes that God is referring to his son, Ishmeal as the father of these nations, because at this time Abraham is nearly 100 years old, but God has other plans. It is Sarai, his wife, whom God now calls Sarah, that will bear him [Abraham] a son, who is to be named Isaac.
Upon hearing this sensational news, Abraham commits yet another sin. He laughs at God's declaration, at God's promise of a son from Sarah. Sarah has been barren for years, is it so far fetched that he'd question how on earth she could bare him children now?

Let's see...the notion itself might seem impossible or maybe miraculous, but what Abraham is neglecting to understand is that all along God had promised him a son for his marriage with Sarah, not his affair with Hagar. 

It makes total sense then that the "promised child" would have to be born of Sarah, even though she herself is nearly 90 years old and Abrsham is pushing 100. 

This is where this chapter has even more to reveal to its reader, for God's all knowing ways are revealed in yet another way. 

Let's look at what each of the family members' names really mean:
Abraham = "the father of a multitude"
Sarah = "princess"
Isaac = "he laughs"
Every time Abraham address his son, calls his name, speaks of him, he will be reminded of his sin - for laughing at God's promise of a son from Sarah. Wow!

That's not all, in chapter 18, Abraham is visited by the Lord, who has come to him as 3 men, to whom Abraham offers hospitality, even bowing before them on the ground at their feet. The three men are the Lord and two messengers, but Abraham doesn't know that. 

After Abraham offered hospitality the lead visitor (God) asks "where is your wife Sarah?" (Gen. 18:9), specifically calling her by name. Sarah is there in the tent, with the others...it is here that God tells her that this time next year she will have a son. Sarah laughs to herself and says:
"Now that I am so withered and my husband is so old, am I still to have sexual pleasure?"
But the Lord said to Abraham: "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'shall I really bear a child, old as I am? Is anything too marvelous for the Lord to do? At the appointed time, about this time next year, I will return to you, and Sarah will have a son." (Genesis 18:12-14).
Sarah too, laughs at God's promise, yet He still fulfills it! 

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