4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When sheknew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mis-tress. - P148
6 "Your slave is in your hands," Abram said. "Do withher whatever you think best." Then Sarai mistreatedHagar; so she fled from her. - P148
8 And he said, "Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have youcome from, and where are you going?" "I‘m runningaway from my mistress Sarai," she answered.
- P149
9 Then the angel of the LORD told her, "Go back to yourmistress and submit to her." 10 The angel added, "I willincrease your descendants so much that they will be toonumerous to count." - P149
11 The angel of the LORD also said to her: "You are nowpregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall namehim Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery.
- P149
Often, when the Bible recounts someone‘s sin, it plainly shows that as a
person‘s faith in God wavers, their trust in something else takes over.
- P150
This is what happened in the garden when Eve believed the serpent‘swords and ate the forbidden fruit. - P150
It happens here again when Sarai
trusts in the lie that she cannot bear children and must take matters
into her own hands. Abram goes along
with the plan, trusting in human
ability rather than God‘s promise. - P150
We must be careful not to let the lies
of the world lure us away from God‘s trustworthy Word. - P150
God will fulfillall His promises to us, no matter what the world or our circumstances
seem to say. - P150
Abram and Sarai‘s sin affects Hagar and her unborn son. We often forget that sin
has a tendency to spread and cause collateral damage. - P150
We sin against God first and foremost,
but other people are also affected byour sins. - P150
In Hagar‘s distress, however, God graciously reveals Himself to her in the wilderness.
In the same way, God sees our affliction,
whether caused by others‘ sin
or by our own foolishness. - P150
In this passage, we see
a glimpse of Jesus‘ heart of compassion
when He sees us suffer on account of sin. - P150
We have a God who is attentive to us, not only when we are doing well,
but also in those moments when we are
grappling with the painful
consequences of sin. - P150
God of truth, Your Word is trustworthy and sure. In Jesus Christ, You promise
to be our God and make us Your people. - P151
Regardless of my circumstances,
help me to trust in Your Word and the reality of Your presence. Thank you fordrawing near to us! In Jesus‘ name, amen. - P151
In response to this issue, turning to the gospel of Jesus presented in the
Word of God is ever more important. - P151
Jerry Bridges reminds usthat, amid all our pursuits, nothing is more important than "learningto preach the gospel to yourself
every day." - P151
We must daily listen to thetruth that God
proclaims to us in the gospel to dispel the
lies that seekto become the ultimate
object of our faith. - P151
|