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Hagar

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Hagar

(Based on Genesis 15&16)

6 minuten leestijd Arcering uitzetten

Have you ever tried to count the stars? Did you come up with a number? You probably soon found out that there were too many to count and that every time you stopped counting, you found many more that you missed the first time. Soon you became so confused that you just quit counting. It is just not possible to count them all.

Astronomers, people who study the stars, tell us that you can count about two thousand stars just by using your eyes and no extra instruments. With a special telescope you can see many, many more stars. We sometimes call that a multitude of stars. All of these stars are part of God’s glorious Creation.

We will learn how God promised Abram that he would have as many descendants (children, grandchildren) as the stars in the sky. Why did God use that example? Just as you and I cannot count the stars, Abram would not be able to count all of his “descendants.”

When God first told Abram that he would have many children, Abram could not believe it. He said, “How can I have many children when I am already so old, and I have not even received one child yet?” Then Abram remembered his servant. Maybe, since his servant lived in his house, his servant would have all the children. Maybe that is what it meant. However, God said. “No, your servant’s children shall not be your children. You will have your own children, and they will have children.”

When God told Abram this, He also showed Abram all the stars in the sky. God told him to count the stars, but of course, Abram was not able to do that. Then God said, “That is how many descendants you will have.” Did Abram now believe what God had promised? Yes, the Bible tells us that he did. Abram received faith to believe what the Lord promised even though it looked impossible to him. Now he believed that the Lord would keep His promise and one day would give him a child.

God always keeps His promises. You and I may forget that we promised to do something, or we may even break a promise, but God never forgets and always keeps His promises. The Bible tells us that God changes not.

We must always remember that God keeps all of His promises. That means He remembers His promises of punishment as well as promises of good things. God promised Noah that He would never destroy the world with a flood again, but He has also said that the punishment for sin is death forever. God is not like our parents or our teachers who may sometimes forget to punish us when we do something wrong. God cannot forget, and He must punish sin because He has said He would do so. God cannot lie, and He must do all that He has said He will do. That is why it is so important we pray to God to forgive us our sins, that we ask Him for a new heart, and that He will have mercy upon us.

God continued to speak to Abram. He told him that his descendants would become prisoners in another country, but after many years the Lord would bring them back to the land of Canaan, and the Lord would take care of them so that they would leave with many riches. God also made a covenant with Abram that He would give unto him and his descendants all the land around him.

Did Sarai then have children right after God promised Abram him that he would have many descendants? No, time passed, but still Sarai did not receive any children. Sarai was worried. She was getting old, and she did not think she could have children anymore. What could she do to help Abram get children? Sarai had an idea. She had a maid, or helper, named Hagar. Hagar was young, and she could have children. Why not have Abram marry her? (In those days men frequently had more than one wife. God did not approve of that but permitted it to happen.)

Abram agreed with Sarai, and Hagar became his wife. After a time Hagar found out that she was going to have a baby. When she found out that she was going to have a child, she became very proud, and she mocked with Sarai because she could not have children. She began to act like she was in charge of the house and not Sarai.

Sarai became very upset. She realized that she had sinned in not having faith in God’s promise that He would give them a child. She told Abram, “I have sinned. I was wrong to tell you to marry Hagar. Now Hagar does not listen to me anymore, and she dislikes me.”

Abram told Sarai that Hagar was her maid and that she should make her obey and serve her. Sarai then began to treat Hagar very harshly and was unkind to her. Soon Hagar could not bear it anymore, and she ran out of the house. While Hagar was sitting crying by a fountain of water, she heard a voice. It was an angel of the Lord. The angel asked her, “Hagar, from where did you come? Where are you going?”

Hagar told him that she had run away from Sarai. Then the angel told her, “Go back to Sarai, and do whatever she tells you.” Was that all the angel said unto her? No, the angel had a promise for her from God. He told her that she would have a baby boy and that his name would be Ishmael. Ishmael would be a wild man and would always be fighting with everyone. He also would have many children and grandchildren. Hagar listened to the angel and obeyed him. She went home, back to Sarai, just like the angel told her to do. She became Sarai’s maid again and obeyed her. When she gave birth to a little boy as the Lord had promised, she called him Ishmael.

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Bekijk de hele uitgave van zaterdag 1 april 2017

The Banner of Truth | 24 Pagina's

Hagar

Bekijk de hele uitgave van zaterdag 1 april 2017

The Banner of Truth | 24 Pagina's