Community

Sarai went ahead of Gods plan for Abram to have a son borne to him by her. Sarai came up with a plan for Abram to have the child that God promised him. All that Abram has to do is agree with her plan and he did. Sarai gave Abram her slave Hagar to sleep with so that she could bear him a child. Once her slave was pregnant and gave birth she would adopt the child and her and Abram would raise the child as their own. She blamed God for her not being able to bear children.

Genesis 16: 2-4 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. 3 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. 4 So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes. Here's Sarai trying to help God. When we're waiting on God for a promise, it seems like it's NEVER gonna happen. Then, we begin to doubt that we ever actually heard from God at all. When I read this, I recollect that in vs 4 of the previous chapter, Abram asked God if his heir would come thru His servant, Eliezer. God told Abram that the seed would come from him not his servant. First of all, I notice specifically what that verse does and doesn't say. It doesn't say that Sarai was there, so she, like Eve, received the Word from God thru her husband. It says that the seed was to come from Abram, it doesn't say Abram AND Sarai. So there's some "wiggle room" here. It was customary back then, that if a woman was barren, she would have a surrogate child thru her servant. So Sarai justifies it by saying, perhaps since this is hour "everybody else is doing it", that's how God wants to do it here. When we impatiently try to "help God out" we always end up with an Ishmael, and the promise is delayed. Moses tried to "help God out" by murdering an Egyptian and ended up tending sheep in the desert for 40 years. Sarai doesn't end up getting pregnant for another 13 years. Next, we read, "And she conceived". Sarai's worst suspicions are realized: "I'm the one that's barren, not Abram. Hagar is more of a woman than me." So, next we see that Hagar is prancing around rubbing it in Sarai's nose, na na na na na na, I got pregnant on the first go around and you're barren. Then we see that Sarai blames Abram for the whole thing, which in actuality, he is to blame, because he could've said no. He, like Adam, was the one who received direct revelation from God, and, obviously, when he had Sarai participate with him in lying to the king in Egypt, she went along with that, so, if he'd put his foot down here, she would've gone along with it. Abram then tells Sarai to do whatever she sees fit. Then Sarai becomes abusive to Hagar, and Hagar runs away. This little Egyptian girl is pregnant and all alone In the wilderness, where she probably would've died, when the Angel of the LORD, which is a Christophony, (pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus) appears to her and tells her to go back home and submit herself to Sarai. Then, in vs 10-12, the Angel of the LORD gives her an amazing promise: "I'll multiply your descendants so much that they can't be counted. You're gonna bear a son and call him Ishmael, which means "God will hear". He's gonna be a wild donkey of a man, live among his brethren and basically be a thorn in their flesh forever. All the conflict in the middle east is a prophecy that started here, and nobody's gonna fix it but Jesus Himself, when He comes back and every eye sees Him and every knee bows proclaiming that He's LORD to the glory of God the Father. Hagar calls The Angel of the LORD, "the-God-Who-Sees", and goes back home, where Abram and Sarai see, by her countenance, that she'd had an encounter with God. I believe this, because when the baby is born, Abram names him, Ishmael. This is the first person in the Bible to receive a name before he's born. We never know the consequences of our sin when we're participating in it. Sin ALWAYS takes us farther than we intended to go for longer than we intended to stay. We can repent for our sin, and God will forgive us, but we're still gonna hafta live with the Ishmael that was created as a result of it. Whenever we try to change our circumstances, we end up jumping from the frying pan into the fire. God isn't looking to change our circumstances, He's looking to change us. Just like the serenity prayer says: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can't change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference". I asked lots of people how we get the wisdom to know the difference, and no one ever told me. I finally was in a situation where I was angry about something and was praying that prayer when I got the answer. What about this situation can I change? I realized that the ONLY thing I could change was me and my attitude. Acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. Whenever I'm feeling restless, irritable and/or discontent, without fail, it's a result of me finding something or someone unacceptable, and I won't have ANY serenity until I accept that situation as being EXACTLY the way it's supposed to be at that moment. Then, and only then, will God reveal Himself to me and show me and change me. When I'm being selfish and self centered, get into all sorts of fear and try to change the world around me and end up offending someone. Then they retaliate, with what seems to me like no provocation and I get my feelings hurt. Then I either retaliate or run away. Either way, is participating with the enemy and opens the door to full blown war or self delusion and self pity. Papa God, thank You for revealing this to me. Now, whenever I become restless, irritable and/or discontent, show me how to pause and ask for the right thought and action. Remind me that I'm not running the show, Your will not mine be done. Please give me the, "pause that refreshes", which is only brought about by bringing every stinking thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

Genesis 16: 2-4 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. 3 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. 4 So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes. Here's Sarai trying to help God. When we're waiting on God for a promise, it seems like it's NEVER gonna happen. Then, we begin to doubt that we ever actually heard from God at all. When I read this, I recollect that in vs 4 of the previous chapter, Abram asked God if his heir would come thru His servant, Eliezer. God told Abram that the seed would come from him not his servant. First of all, I notice specifically what that verse does and doesn't say. It doesn't say that Sarai was there, so she, like Eve, received the Word from God thru her husband. It says that the seed was to come from Abram, it doesn't say Abram AND Sarai. So there's some "wiggle room" here. It was customary back then, that if a woman was barren, she would have a surrogate child thru her servant. So Sarai justifies it by saying, perhaps since this is hour "everybody else is doing it", that's how God wants to do it here. When we impatiently try to "help God out" we always end up with an Ishmael, and the promise is delayed. Moses tried to "help God out" by murdering an Egyptian and ended up tending sheep in the desert for 40 years. Sarai doesn't end up getting pregnant for another 13 years. Next, we read, "And she conceived". Sarai's worst suspicions are realized: "I'm the one that's barren, not Abram. Hagar is more of a woman than me." So, next we see that Hagar is prancing around rubbing it in Sarai's nose, na na na na na na, I got pregnant on the first go around and you're barren. Then we see that Sarai blames Abram for the whole thing, which in actuality, he is to blame, because he could've said no. He, like Adam, was the one who received direct revelation from God, and, obviously, when he had Sarai participate with him in lying to the king in Egypt, she went along with that, so, if he'd put his foot down here, she would've gone along with it. Abram then tells Sarai to do whatever she sees fit. Then Sarai becomes abusive to Hagar, and Hagar runs away. This little Egyptian girl is pregnant and all alone In the wilderness, where she probably would've died, when the Angel of the LORD, which is a Christophony, (pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus) appears to her and tells her to go back home and submit herself to Sarai. Then, in vs 10-12, the Angel of the LORD gives her an amazing promise: "I'll multiply your descendants so much that they can't be counted. You're gonna bear a son and call him Ishmael, which means "God will hear". He's gonna be a wild donkey of a man, live among his brethren and basically be a thorn in their flesh forever. All the conflict in the middle east is a prophecy that started here, and nobody's gonna fix it but Jesus Himself, when He comes back and every eye sees Him and every knee bows proclaiming that He's LORD to the glory of God the Father. Hagar calls The Angel of the LORD, "the-God-Who-Sees", and goes back home, where Abram and Sarai see, by her countenance, that she'd had an encounter with God. I believe this, because when the baby is born, Abram names him, Ishmael. This is the first person in the Bible to receive a name before he's born. We never know the consequences of our sin when we're participating in it. Sin ALWAYS takes us farther than we intended to go for longer than we intended to stay. We can repent for our sin, and God will forgive us, but we're still gonna hafta live with the Ishmael that was created as a result of it. Whenever we try to change our circumstances, we end up jumping from the frying pan into the fire. God isn't looking to change our circumstances, He's looking to change us. Just like the serenity prayer says: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can't change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference". I asked lots of people how we get the wisdom to know the difference, and no one ever told me. I finally was in a situation where I was angry about something and was praying that prayer when I got the answer. What about this situation can I change? I realized that the ONLY thing I could change was me and my attitude. Acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. Whenever I'm feeling restless, irritable and/or discontent, without fail, it's a result of me finding something or someone unacceptable, and I won't have ANY serenity until I accept that situation as being EXACTLY the way it's supposed to be at that moment. Then, and only then, will God reveal Himself to me and show me and change me. When I'm being selfish and self centered, get into all sorts of fear and try to change the world around me and end up offending someone. Then they retaliate, with what seems to me like no provocation and I get my feelings hurt. Then I either retaliate or run away. Either way, is participating with the enemy and opens the door to full blown war or self delusion and self pity. Papa God, thank You for revealing this to me. Now, whenever I become restless, irritable and/or discontent, show me how to pause and ask for the right thought and action. Remind me that I'm not running the show, Your will not mine be done. Please give me the, "pause that refreshes", which is only brought about by bringing every stinking thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

Sarai had little faith in what God had promised her so she took matters into her own hands. What a mess she started and is still going on today.

Sarai a very impatient woman! And by this sends the world into conflict that rages today!!

eventhough Sarai was unable to conceive . God made his promise real in a strange way but through this slave Abram had a child .. interesting

The lord has not seen fit to bless Sarai, so she takea matters in to her own hands to get the thing she wants ( a child) . How offten do we do this today? I know I am guilty of this when I start to feel like the Lord Is not providing I start to worry and devise my own plans, when really I should wait for The Lord and pray to him because honestly. I have never gone hungry, been to cold, or with out a place to sleep The Lord God has always taken care of my every need! Blessed is he!

Taking things in our own hands is never the answer, if God promised he will deliver.

Though I don't blame her, the timing of the Lord is often not our timing, Sarai took matters into her own hands. Its hard to wait on the Lord. I can't help but think that her decision resulted in much of the conflict that continues to today in the Middle East. There's a spiritual battle raging that the world just can not understand. There's a mystery here - though God is sovereign, our decisions matter. What decisions am I making? Decisions that foster grace or decisions that foster battle?

Sometimes we don't trust the Lord enough to wait on Him. We become like Sarai and make our own decisions and ended up failing and wondering why things happened the ways they do. If we make a decision to trust in the Lord, we must believe that He has a better plan in mind even when things don't go the way we planned.