Day Five: Genesis 14-17

In Genesis 14, the drama within Abraham's life story begins to escalate. We read first about a battle involving several allied the kings in the Land of Canaan, and a few kings from eastern lands. This battle would likely have gone unmentioned, except for the fact that, after defeating the Canaanite kings, the kings from the east went into the Canaanite cities, such as Sodom, and began looting possessions and taking prisoners. Among those who were taken captive was Abraham's nephew, Lot. (I'm sure he hadn't counted on getting caught in the middle of someone else's fight.) When Abraham received word of Lot's capture, he gathered an army made up of men from his own household, numbering 318. Now, we are never told the size of these opposing armies, but think of the bravery (what might even be considered foolishness), of chasing after and engaging in battle with four kings and their armies. It wasn't as though Abraham had demonstrated himself to be proficient in warfare. But somehow, Abraham and his army won handily, and they were able to deliver those who had been taken captive, and take back the possessions that had been stolen—and possibly even more. It is at this point in the story that we begin to see how God would bless Abraham, in spite of the odds. Abraham seemed doubtless that he would achieve victory and deliver Lot from these kings, due to his trust in God's protection.

Still, Abraham himself has no children, and all the promises that God had made him to this point were meaningless without a son to inherit them. Abraham addresses this concern with God in Chapter 15, and God responds by performing a solemn covenant ritual. While Abraham himself sleeps, God assures Abraham that he will indeed have children, and He even describes how events will unfold in their near future: four hundred years of slavery and oppression, followed by deliverance that would increase their wealth and possessions, and finally they would return to the Land of Canaan, which would become their own territory.

I'm sure we can all understand the experience of waiting on God to fulfill His promises. It becomes increasingly difficult, especially as we see opportunities pass by without any change in circumstances. We might even wonder if somehow we missed an opportunity we were supposed to take. In Chapter 16, Abraham is presented with an opportunity that could provide him with the heir that he had been longing for: he could take another wife, namely, Hager his wife's handmaid. While Sarah was beyond her child-bearing years, Hagar was young, and very likely would be able to give Abraham the child he had been expecting. Abraham would not have dared making the suggestion himself, lest he risk Sarah's wrath. But given that the idea had been proposed by her, it may have seemed like a clear green light. And since Sarah was still barren, it was logical to consider that this could have been according to God's plan. So Abraham consented.

And wouldn't you know it, Hagar became pregnant. Rather than being a cause for celebration, however, it became the source of strife in Abraham's household. Hagar began to ridicule Sarah, because it was now evident that she had indeed been the reason for Abraham's childlessness. Sarah does not take this ridicule well, and even seems to blame Abraham for bringing this mistreatment upon her. I wonder if Abraham began to suspect that he had made a mistake, and that perhaps this wasn't God's plan after all; this situation had brought more problems than solutions. Still, when the dust settled, Hagar gave birth to a son, and Abraham named him Ishmael.

If this was our first time reading this story, in hearing God's words to Abraham in Chapter 17, we might begin to think that Sarah's plan had worked. God officially changed Abram's name to Abraham, which means "father of a multitude." (I have been using the name Abraham this entire time, for familiarity's sake, but it isn't until Chapter 17 that this becomes his actual name.) God reiterates His desire for a covenant relationship with Abraham and his descendants, and he provides a visible token of that covenant, in the ritual of circumcision (I suppose we might see this was a request for a greater investment on Abraham's part, as the ritual would have caused great discomfort and even pain).

After all of this, God then turns the conversation to Sarah, who is almost the forgotten woman in the equation (again, we might think so if this was our first time reading the story). God gave Sarah a new name (in reality, her name was Sarai, and she receives her more-familiar name in Chapter 17 as well). But Abraham had clearly moved on from the idea that Sarah was going to be the covenant mother, because he suggests that God should simply honor his promises through Ishmael, Hagar's son. God assures Abraham that he would bless Ishmael for Abraham's sake, but that his promise would be fulfilled through Sarah's son, not Hagar's. Never is it more clear than now that Abraham had stepped outside of God's plan when he consented to take Hagar as a second wife.

Notice how gently God handles this conversation with Abraham. We might acknowledge that Abraham could have used some correction—perhaps even punishment. He had acted outside of faith in God, had he not? But God does not speak even a word of condemnation. He does not criticize. He even graciously adds a blessing to Ishmael's life, when he might have "disowned" Ishmael as "not My idea." His rebuke of Abraham simply came as a reminder that His own plan was still in motion. Sarah was going to have the son that God had promised to Abraham all along, which meant that Ishmael was definitively not the child of promise.

From this story, we might learn that manmade solutions will never satisfy God's plans. We may grow impatient waiting to receive what has been promised to us, but no result that is achieved through our own cleverly crafted ideas is a substitute for the result intended by God—no matter how similar they might appear. We have already seen that the plan that led to Ishmael's birth brought with it some painful relational challenges. This is frequently what happens when we move outside of God's will and plan—people get hurt. However, when we walk in the steps He has ordained, there ought not be any unnecessary trials or pain.

Was there anyting in these chapters that especially spoke to you? I'd love to hear about it.