(Apparently the lectionary skips chapter 20 because it is
similar to the last half of chapter 12.
Here, Abraham and Sarah are in Gerar and they use the story that she is
his sister again with the king, Abimelech.
These are different stories, here we get the explanation for why they
tell this white lie and it also sets up a story involving Isaac later in
chapter 26. Liberal scholars, however,
conflate these two stories and make them one.
That is my guess for why we skip the chapter.)
The original child, Cain, was named that because, Eve said,
I have gotten a man with the help of God.
Sarah names her child laughter because God told her to and she knows
without any doubt that this child is a gift of God. She has no credit at all in the process except
to bear the child. Did you notice that
in all the talk about Ishmael here there is no mention of his name? Sarah doesn’t use his name and neither does
the Lord. Whatever Sarah has seen in
this moment of laughter by Ishmael over Isaac has troubled her and, rightfully
so. The Lord says with respect to this
matter Abraham is to obey the voice of his wife even though he disagrees. The Lord clearly sees and hears Hagar as she
weeps for her son, whom she believes is soon to die, but the Lord has a plan
for this child, to make him a nation.
There is a connection between this story and the next chapter, Abraham
is told by God to do something with respect to a son of his. There are major differences between the two
stories but he is father to both.
Now that Jesus has refused to do what they want, they are
having second thoughts about making Him king.
Wait a minute, they say, He isn't anybody, just the son of Mary and
Joseph. They have already forgotten, one
day later, about the feeding of the multitude for which they were prepared to
receive Him as king but when He says He has come down from heaven He has gone
too far. Like with the woman at the
well, Jesus discloses Himself to these people.
He tells them everything they need to know. The entire Gospel is summed up in this
passage and yet it is not yet clear how these things can be. They will have to see it to believe it.
Would most of your prayers reveal that you are looking for a
homeland? The writer tells us, "They
confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who
speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland." Faith tends to make us understand we are
strangers and foreigners on earth. We
recognize that nothing on earth can fully satisfy us, that what we truly want
is to be reunited with our creator in the new creation. We are to live this life as if eternity
depended on it but knowing it is already taken care of, not with detachment
from this life because eternity is all that matters. We were given this life to live for Him, let
us live as those whose eternity is secure and whose life is a living sacrifice.
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