Gen. 16:1-16 Hagar and Ishmael

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Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; 2so she asid to Abram, "The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her."

Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.

When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 5Then Sarai said to Abram, "You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me."

6 "Your servant is in your hands," Abram said. "Do with her whatever you think best." Then Sarai mistreated Hagar, so she fled from her.

7 The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?"

"I'm running away from my mistress Sarai," she answered.

9 Then the angel of the LORD told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her." 10The angel added, "I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count."

11 The angel of the LORD also said to her:

"You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall
name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man, his hand will be
against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will
live in hostility toward all his brothers."

13 She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me." 14That is why the well was called Beer Labai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.

15 So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. 16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

Even though he had already given Sarai as the Pharaoh's wife, it is at this time where I can see the trouble between women and men starting. Actually, it started back in the garden when Adam, instead of taking responsibility for his own actions, pointed the finger at Eve, and vis versa.

Yet this practice was to continue until this day. How can a man claim to love one, yet lay with another? How can a woman not feel awful? This is one thing I do not understand.

Another thing comes into my mind as a question. Is this where Muslims come from? Or do cousins still need to be Christians? I know there is only one way to enter Heaven...

The real problem I have with this is exactly this: If people could get to Heaven without the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus, then why did He have to die for our sins? This is something we do not earn, for God did not give this to us because of our works but our faith.

If He did not have to die, then the whole thing is foolish, and we are fools. This, however, is not so! For it is written from the beginning:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.

3 Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. 4In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. 11He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. 12Yes to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God-- 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision of a husband's will, but born of God.

14 The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 3:1-14

I believe this. With every cell of my body, so I cannot accept that the other is true as well.

What can I do? I can pray, I can befriend people, I can offer, I can be bold, I can be wise as to when not to be so bold (I'm still working on that one), there are many ways we can effect other's lives. If only by our actions, I have had people come up to me after I accepted Jesus back into my heart and say, "What happened to you? You have changed. I want to be happy like you are!" That opens a door for at least a conversation.

Why is it this way? Why do some go to Heaven and others do not? When I figure out how to make a universe out of nothing, I'll try to answer that for you. Right now I believe it is our choice. We cannot demand choice, and then cry because we have it. Life is very fragile, yet it is very strong. We are to go out and make disciples of all the peoples. Let us hope and pray we do a well job. Thanks.

9Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in Heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Phil 2:9-11 NIV

Originally posted 1/19/2006 @ 12:58 am