Genesis 16

(Genesis 16:1-16): This takes place approximately 10 years after Abraham left Haran out of Mesopotamia (Gen 12:4). The last word Abram got from the LORD concerning his offspring was that his heir will come from his own seed (Gen 15:4).

It is unknown how old Abram was at the smoking oven and the burning torch manifestations, but he was 86 with the birth of Ishmael (Gen 16:16); Sarai was 76 and still without a child. God can forgive us for our lapses of faith, but the repercussions of disobedience will still run their course. While in Egypt, Pharoah gave to Sarai or Abram a maidservant named Hagar who later was given to Abram by Sarai in an attempt to have an heir since they were getting up in age. Each passing day made the prospect of the promise less likely….

God was silent, however, concerning from whose womb the heir of promise would come; we would assume that the obvious need not be stated, Sarai. But her age made it not so obvious. Sarai had other ideas. Perhaps this is where her grandson, Jacob, learned the technique – “if you don't hear from God, take matters into your own hands.” Jacob had four wives: Rachel and Leah and their handmaidens, Bilhah and Zilpah; a baby battle ensued. Interestingly, there is no biblical record of the son of Abraham and father of Jacob, Isaac, ever knowing any other woman but Rebekah!

Circumstances can play havoc with our faith if we allow them. God's timetable is different than ours. Time is a tool God uses to test our faith by waiting upon Him. Abram and Sarai tried to rush an unconditional promise made by having a son through the Egyptian handmaiden, Hagar after 10 years had passed and still without an heir.

Abram would be 100 (Gen 21:5) and Sarai 90 before the promise of the covenant made with Abram was realized, 25 years after leaving Ur of the Chaldeans. The consequences of Abram’s failing to wait on God and listening to Sarai, Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her (Gen 16:2) still reverberate today. Ishmael, Hagar’s son, became an ancestor to the Arabs. Hostility between the Arabs and the Jews has never ceased.

Rather than rationalizing the situation and taking matters into his own hands, Isaac prayed to the LORD, for Rebekah was barren, and she gave birth to twins, Esau and Jacob (Gen 25:20-21, 24).

Isaac was 40 when he married Rebekah (Gen 25:20) and 60 (Gen 25:26) when Rebekah was no longer barren. 20 years went by before God granted his prayer! But we never read of Isaac marrying anybody else to speed the process along. I think Isaac saw firsthand all the problems encountered by his parents not waiting on God for the promise of an heir. They waited but not long enough. Isaac remained faithful. Though there is no absolute proof, I believe Isaac remained monogamous.

Father, as with father Abraham, I, too, had been impatient. Often hours, days, months, and years separate a promise from fulfillment. "How long, O LORD?" is the heart's cry. It is so easy to criticize Abraham and Sarah for their impatience, but their biological clock was questioning the nature of Your promise. How often have I looked at the circumstances and taken matters into my own hand, only to make a mess of things, and oh, how it lingers.
Isaac, the son of promise, waited and prayed. He stayed the course over the next twenty years, and You honored him and Rebekah. They took matters into Your hands, unlike Abram and Sarai. 

Father, thank you for your mercy and compassion upon poor Hagar. O, that Ishmael’s descendants would know You as Abraham who believed in Yahweh, not Allah, and the LORD accounted it to him for righteousness (Gen 15:6)! You are the God who sees me. In the circumstances of life, O LORD, be my Beer Lahai Roi, in whom I trust, as I wrestle in the waiting and wading through the circumstances of life to accomplish Your will. This is my plea. <><