The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 12 July 2024 – Divine Versus Human Arrangement
TOPIC: Divine Versus Human Arrangement
READ: Genesis 16: 1-16 (NKJV)
- Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no [children.] And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar.
- So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing [children.] Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.
- Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan.
- So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.
- Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong [be] upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The LORD judge between you and me.”
- So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid [is] in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.
- Now the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.
- And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”
- The Angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.”
- Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.”
- And the Angel of the LORD said to her: “Behold, you [are] with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has heard your affliction.
- He shall be a wild man; His hand [shall be] against every man, And every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”
- Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?”
- Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, [it is] between Kadesh and Bered.
- So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.
- Abram [was] eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
THE MESSAGE:
After waiting for about 10 years in the Promised Land for the promised son, Abraham and Sarah grew weary in faith, and succumbed to human traditions. They worked out an alternative plan of making Abraham have a child through Hagar. The plan was acceptable in the cultural environment of the time, and is still acceptable in some communities today. But it was not God’s plan for them, and there is no evidence that they sought for or received divine approval.
Soon, the contempt, rivalry and competition that many polygamous families face, crept in, and Hagar fled from Sarah (verses 4-6). God saw Hagar’s affliction and directed her to return home (verse 9), which she did. The promises made to her and her forthcoming son, Ishmael, were great blessings, but mixed with thorns (verses 10-12).
How often do we behave like Abraham and Sarah, by trying to “help” God to secure our motives? After praying over a particular challenge or difficulty for a long time, do you resort to self-help, the occult, native doctors or prayer houses? In Galatians 4: 22-31, Paul contrasts those born according to the flesh with the children of promise. Are you a child of God? Then wait for Him patiently in all situations.
PRAYER: O God, help brethren facing extended delays in key areas of their lives.
