'''CHAPTER NINE: ABRAM GETS A SON'''

CHAPTER NINE

ABRAM GETS A SON

Though Abram had great courage, wisdom and wealth, he still made mistakes. He was an ordinary human being who sometimes gave in to the pulls and desires of his carnal nature. Like all righteous servants of God, Abram occasionally had doubts.

The Creator understood this and was mercifully patient with him.

Many years had passed since God had promised the land of Canaan to Abram. One day, while fighting wrong thoughts that tempted him to doubt God’s promise, Abram received a surprise visitor: God!

The Eternal spoke to him in a vision. To Abram, it appeared as though God was literally right in front of him, but he wasn’t. Abram bowed down on his knees and listened.

“Abram, do not be afraid. I am your shield; I will protect you from anything that comes against you. I am also your great reward. Your gold, silver and the rest of your riches are nothing compared to what I will give you” (Genesis 15:1).

Abram knew that God was trying to encourage him, but his doubts would not go away.

He reminded God, “You promised that I would have many descendants who will inherit the Promised Land. Yet I am still childless, and Sarai and I are growing too old to have children. I have no choice but to make my servant, Eliezer of Damascus, my heir” (Gen 15:2-3).

According to tradition then, if the head of a ruling family did not have an heir to pass the family wealth and right to, a servant could be chosen as an heir.

God said, “Abram, Eliezer shall not be your heir. I will give you an heir from your own flesh and blood.”

Abram began to feel relieved. In the vision, he followed God outside the tent. The Creator told him to look up into the sky and count all the stars, if that were possible for him to do.

“So shall be your descendants,” God promised. “So many, they will be hard to number” (Gen 15:4-5).

Abram felt complete relief. He believed God. And God considered his belief—Abram’s faith—as righteousness (Gen 15:6). (Righteousness means keeping God’s commandments.) Because of his belief, Abram is known today as the father of the faithful (Galatians 3:6-9).

Though Abram believed God, he naturally wanted to know how and when he would inherit Canaan (Genesis 15:8).

After following God’s command to sacrifice some animals to Him, Abram fell into a deep sleep. His dreams quickly turned into a nightmare, filled with horror and darkness (Gen 15:9-12). Waking up, he listened to God explain what the nightmare had meant.

“Your descendants will be strangers in a strange land, a land not their own. They will serve the people there as slaves, and will suffer pain and heartache for many years. But I will judge the people who will harshly rule over your descendants. Your offspring will escape from them and carry off great possessions. As for you, Abram, you shall not live to see this. But do not worry, your descendants will return to the Promised Land. Then they shall be My instrument of judgment against the people of Canaan” (Gen 15:13-16).

Then God made a special covenant, or agreement, with Abram. He enlarged the gift of the Promised Land to extend from the River of Egypt in the south, to the Euphrates River far in the north (Gen 15:17-21).

Sarai Imposes HerWill

Some time had passed and Sarai still did not have a child. She began to doubt that God could fulfill His promise through her.

“After all,” she reasoned, “God did not say that Abram’s descendants would be through me. Perhaps there is another way…”

She went to her husband and said, “God has kept me from having children, so I want you to have children through my handmaid, Hagar.

Unlike me, she is still young and healthy and able to bear you many children. I will provide you an heir through her.”

It was the custom for women who could not give birth, to have children through their personal servants.

Sarai took charge and gave Hagar, an Egyptian, to be Abram’s wife.

Sarai did not trust God to deliver His promise, and Abram did not stand up to his wife’s demands.

Soon Hagar became pregnant—she was going to give birth to Abram’s first child! Sarai should have been pleased; after all, she got what she wanted. However, she did not carefully consider the trouble that would result from not waiting on God.

Hagar, having married Abram and now carrying his child, began to think herself equal to Sarai, instead of being a servant under her. She began to despise Sarai and refused to obey her commands (Genesis 16:1-4).

Instead of taking responsibility for her mistake, Sarai blamed Abram. “You are the reason why Hagar no longer respects me. May God judge between you and me” (Gen 16:5).

Again, Abram gave in to his wife’s demands. He said, “Hagar is still your maid and is in your hand. Do to her as you wish.”

Like a secondary wife, Hagar had certain rights of protection from Abram. But when he removed this protection, Sarai treated Hagar harshly—so harsh that Hagar ran away (Gen 16:6).

God Speaks to Hagar

Feeling sad and lonely, Hagar headed for Egypt. Along the way, she drank from a well of water in the wilderness on the way to Shur. The

Hagar runs away into the wilderness.

Messenger of the Eternal (the member of the God Family who would later become Jesus Christ) appeared to her.

He reminded Hagar that she was still Sarai’s handmaid. “Return to your mistress and do as she says.”

As she thought this over, the Messenger of the Eternal said, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will not be able to be numbered. The child you now carry is a son. You shall call him Ishmael, which means ‘God hears,’ because the Eternal has heard your sorrow. Ishmael shall be a wild man and will always be fighting or at war with other peoples. No one will be able to control him. And he shall dwell in the safety of all his brethren” (Genesis 16:7-12).

Hagar found comfort in these words. She called the Eternal “You-Are-the-God-Who-Can-See.” She then called the well “Beer Lahai Roi,” which means “well of the One who lives and sees me” (Gen 16:13-14).

Hagar slowly came to understand what most people do not: God sees all and desires to give mercy and help those will obey Him.

She walked back home to Abram and obeyed Sarai’s commands. Sometime later, she gave birth to Ishmael. Abram was 86 years old (Gen 16:15-16).

God Changes Abram and Sarai’s Names

Thirteen years after Ishmael was born, God appeared to Abram and said, “I am El Shaddai—Almighty God! Walk before Me and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1).

Abram quickly fell to his knees and listened.

God said, “I will make a covenant with you and will increase your descendants. You shall no longer be called Abram. From now on, your name is Abraham, which means ‘father of many nations,’ for I will make through you many nations of people and kings. My covenant is between Me and you and your descendants forever, and they shall inherit the land of Canaan. It will belong to you forever” (verses 5-8).

Again, God’s words increased Abraham’s faith.

Then God said, “As for Sarai, you shall call her Sarah, which means ‘Princess.’ I will bless her, and she will be a mother of many nations.

Many kings and countries shall come from her” (Gen 17:15-16).

Hearing this, Abraham fell on his face and laughed. He thought to himself, “I will be 100 years old by the time Sarah gives birth! And she is already 90 years old! How can God expect her to bear a child?” (Gen 17:17).

Remembering that he was in the presence of Almighty God, Abraham said, “Lord, please consider my son Ishmael. He is already born. He is healthy and available to be my heir—choose him” (Gen 17:18).

But God said no. “Sarah shall bear you a son, and you shall name him Isaac, which means ‘laughter,’ because you laughed at My promise.”

“But what about Ishmael?”

“I have already blessed Ishmael,” God said. “I will make him prosper and he will have many descendants. Twelve princes shall come from him, and I will make him into a great nation. But as for My covenant, it is with Isaac, not Ishmael. Sarah will bear Isaac at this set time next year.”

Then God left Abraham (Gen 17:19-22).

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