It is impossible to conceive of commenting on this entire
story in 150 words or less. Sarai
essentially asks the question the serpent posed to Eve, "Did God really
say…" The Lord had not said
directly that Sarai would be the mother of the nation, only that Abram would be
the father. Thus, Sarai gave her servant
to her husband and this sin, Abram didn't ask the Lord, gives us further
trouble into the world that afflicts us to this day in the offspring of
Ishmael. This perhaps could all have
been averted if Abram had only prayed to
the Lord and not listened to the voice of his wife (Gen. 3.17). As it is, Sarai's complaint against Hagar is
similar to Hannah's bitterness against her rival wife in 1 Samuel 1, but here
Sarai has power over her servant. The
angel of the Lord found Hagar as she was fleeing and sent her back to her
mistress to submit to her with the promise that the Lord would multiply her
offspring but that he would be a wild donkey of a man. The blessing was quite different from that
promised to Abram that all nations would find blessing in him and his
offspring. The name given to the child
means the Lord hears but Hagar also knows that the Lord has seen her and refers
to Him as the Lord who sees. What does
it say to us that the Lord looked with compassion on her and her child, not
only this time but also in a story we will see in the next few days? What does it tell us about Him and about what
our attitude should be?
Jesus says the Son doesn't work independently of the
Father. He sees what the Father is doing
and does likewise. That requires two
things, seeing and hearing. He sees what
the Father does but knows in conversation and perfect communion with the Father
what He is doing. He keeps His eyes and
ears on the scene all the time. We are
to be looking and listening as well. The
judgment of the eyes was important with respect to who was Jesus. He showed signs that indicated who He
was. He says also that there will come a
time when those who have believed what they have seen will hear the voice of
the Father. Judgment is based in the
Son, what we make of Him is what truly matters.
If we believe in the Son we will hear the Father calling us to life, the
same life that is in the Son. Let us
tune our eyes and ears to that frequency, tuning out all else.
This better covenant required death as well as the first
covenant required death. In the Gospels
we meet a man who asks the question, "Good teacher, what must I do to
inherit eternal life?" Jesus tells
him to sell all he has and give it to the poor then come and follow Him. The writer of Hebrews gives the answer to the
question, in order for a will to take effect, someone has to die. For you to inherit anything requires the
death of the one who is the owner, otherwise it is a gift. Jesus' death opens His inheritance of life to
us all. It is a gift but it is His
inheritance as well, we are the beneficiaries.
In Revelation 5 when Jesus comes before the throne it is in the form of
a sacrifice, a lamb, looking like it had been slain. That is the acceptable sacrifice for sin and
when the judgments are handed over to Him, heaven erupts in worship, the end of
sin is coming. We must worship Him for
His sacrifice as well, through His death we have life and the guarantee is His
resurrection.
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