{"id":15857,"date":"2021-05-25T22:00:16","date_gmt":"2021-05-26T05:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/genesis_21_1-16-copy\/"},"modified":"2021-05-25T22:24:25","modified_gmt":"2021-05-26T05:24:25","slug":"genesis_21_17-34","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/genesis_21_17-34\/","title":{"rendered":"Take Him By the Hand"},"content":{"rendered":"

Genesis 21:17-34\u00a0\u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"

Hagar in the Desert<\/p><\/div>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Genesis 21:17-34.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Genesis 21:17 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 17:\u00a0\u00a0Ishmael\u2019s name means \u201cGod hears\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0Just as God heard the cries of Hagar when she was first pregnant with Ishmael, so God was now hearing Ishmael\u2019s cry.\u00a0\u00a0God is a God who hears the cries of His people.<\/p>\n

Genesis 21:18 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 18:\u00a0\u00a0This verse shows me that every child needs two things: support (\u201clift the boy up\u201d) and leadership (\u201ctake him by the hand\u201d).\u00a0\u00a0As a parent, teacher or leader, if all you give to your child is gentle support but no pressure to improve, the child may never grow.\u00a0\u00a0And if all you do is give your child is pressure to improve but no support, the child may crack under the pressure.\u00a0\u00a0What a child needs is both forward-moving pressure and gentle support.<\/p>\n

Genesis 21:19 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 19:\u00a0\u00a0In the desert of Beersheba, with her skin of water emptied (see verses 14-15), Hagar was desperate to find water for herself and her son.\u00a0\u00a0God opens her eyes to see a well of water.\u00a0\u00a0Likewise,\u00a0spiritually the world we live in is \u201ca dry and weary land where there is no water\u201d (Psalm 63:1).\u00a0\u00a0But God sent Jesus Christ to be our well in the desert, from Whom we can draw living water to satisfy our thirst.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Genesis 21:20-21 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer.
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 20-21:\u00a0\u00a0Ishmael grew up without an earthly father by his side, but \u201cGod was with the boy\u201d (v20) while he grew up living in the desert and becoming an archer.\u00a0\u00a0Likewise,\u00a0you may not have a close relationship with your earthly father, but you have a Heavenly Father who cares for you and who is always watching over you<\/strong>\u00a0(Matthew 6:26).<\/p>\n

Also, Hagar finds a wife for Ishmael from Egypt, which makes sense since Hagar herself was Egyptian (Genesis 16:1).<\/p>\n

Here, even in the desert, God was providing for Ishmael.\u00a0\u00a0What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0God provides for us even in our desert seasons when things feel colder, dryer or more lifeless than we might like (see Matthew 6:30-34).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Genesis 21:22-32 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his forces said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants. Show to me and the country where you are living as an alien the same kindness I have shown to you.”
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Abraham said, “I swear it.”
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech’s servants had seized.
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But Abimelech said, “I don’t know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I heard about it only today.”
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a treaty.
\n28\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock,
\n29\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set apart by themselves?”
\n30\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He replied, “Accept these seven lambs from my hand as a witness that I dug this well.”
\n31\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So that place was called Beersheba, because the two men swore an oath there.
\n32\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0After the treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his forces returned to the land of the Philistines.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 22-32:\u00a0\u00a0Here we see Abraham moving on after having to let go of his maidservant Hagar and Ishmael their son.\u00a0\u00a0A dispute breaks out between Abraham\u2019s men and Abimelech\u2019s men (led by Phicol) over a well that both groups laid claim to.\u00a0\u00a0Rather than escalating the dispute, Abraham settles the dispute with Abimelech by offering him seven ewe lambs in exchange for undisputed ownership rights of the well.\u00a0\u00a0Abimelech accepts Abraham\u2019s offer and Abraham calls that place Beersheba, meaning \u201cwell of seven\u201d or, perhaps more likely, \u201cwell of the oath\u201d since verse 31 says that Abraham and Abimelech \u201cswore an oath there\u201d.<\/p>\n

The fact that Abimelech required Abraham to swear an oath (v23) may be a slight rebuke of Abraham, suggesting perhaps that Abimelech did not trust Abraham (since Abraham had not been honest with him earlier in Genesis 21).\u00a0\u00a0Thus he needed Abraham to swear an oath.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s a reminder that\u00a0we want to be men and women of our word, trustworthy, dependable people who keep our promises<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Instead of settling disagreements with violence and going to war, seek to settle matters peacefully in a mutually agreeable way.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For me Abraham offering seven ewe lambs to Abimelech for the well reminds me of how\u00a0God paid the highest price, offering His Son the lamb of God, so that He could ransom us and have undisputed ownership over us.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Genesis 21:33-34 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n33\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the\u00a0LORD, the Eternal God.
\n34\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 33-34:\u00a0\u00a0Why did Abraham plant a tamarisk tree in Beersheba?\u00a0\u00a0While some scholars say that the planting of a tamarisk tree may have been a symbol for expecting or hoping for a child, it was clear that Abraham was worshiping the Lord.\u00a0\u00a0Wherever you go, make it your goal and your priority to worship the Lord.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus, thank You for being our well in the desert, that we can always draw from You and be renewed.\u00a0\u00a0Thank You for being the one who provides for all of our needs in every season.\u00a0\u00a0I pray I would be a trustworthy person, someone others can count on, and that my priority would always be to worship You.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Genesis 21:17-34.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Genesis 21:17 (NIV)
\n17\u00a0\u00a0God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there.<\/p>\n

On verse 17:\u00a0\u00a0Ishmael\u2019s name means \u201cGod hears\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0Just as God heard the cries of Hagar when she was first pregnant with Ishmael, so God was now hearing Ishmael\u2019s cry.\u00a0\u00a0God is a God who hears the cries of His people.<\/p>\n

Genesis 21:18 (NIV)
\n18\u00a0\u00a0Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”<\/p>\n

On verse 18:\u00a0\u00a0This verse shows me that every child needs two things: support (\u201clift the boy up\u201d) and leadership (\u201ctake him by the hand\u201d).\u00a0\u00a0As a parent, teacher or leader, if all you give to your child is gentle support but no pressure to improve, the child may never grow.\u00a0\u00a0And if all you do is give your child is pressure to improve but no support, the child may crack under the pressure.\u00a0\u00a0What a child needs is both forward-moving pressure and gentle support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15859,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15857"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15858,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15857\/revisions\/15858"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}