In part 3 of this mini-series on Abraham’s Descendants, I wrote that “God does not change His promises in order to right our wrongs; His Will will not be thwarted by anyone.” As I am bringing this mini-series to a conclusion, I want to remind us of the importance of reading the entire Word of God and putting things in God’s order. It is important for us to understand this, and subsequently form our worldview in accordance to His Word, without compromising. Let us review a crucial portion of Genesis that we’ve been studying:

“Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. “And I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before Thee!” But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. “And as for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. “And My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.”
Genesis 17:15-21

God’s plan of blessing was very specific: His covenant, which included a certain blessing and a land, began with Abraham, and was to continue on through a son, who would be birthed by Sarah. God choose to do this in order for us to understand that He is indeed the God of the impossible, Who can do everything through His creation, in order that no one would doubt His greatness.

Our faith as men is limited and at times we take things into our own hands; when we do this, we get into trouble, and not only us, but the byproduct of any sin, any disobedience in our lives is that others will be affected. While God can redeem any wrongdoing in our lives for His own Glory, there are still consequences that we must endure as a result.

Abraham took matters into his own hands, and created an heir to the Promise with Hagar…or so he thought. What resulted was terrible anguish for Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, and Ishmael! But God exhibited His amazing mercy by promising to also bless Ishmael by not only sparing his life, but also making him the father of a great nation. However, His covenant was to be realized through Sarah’s son, Isaac, as verse 21 clearly spells out. While this may not seem “fair” to us in our flesh, we also must understand that His ways are not ours!

My brothers and sisters, as I wrote before, I would like to end this blog with a plea for each one of us to make a choice: God or the World. We cannot serve two opposing masters; we must choose this day whom we will serve! (Joshua 24:15)

Shabbat Shalom,

Moran