Advent Day 18: Blessed is She...

These pictures are from a trip we took 3 years ago to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, near Telluride, Colorado.  The first time I saw the view in the top photo, I lost my breath because of its beauty.  As I took the shot, I noticed this woman  down at the very edge of the chasm, arms raised in worship.  I could certainly understand her reaction that day.

Traditionally, arms are raised to worship God and also to deliver or pronounce a blessing on loved ones. 

"Blessed", "bless", "bless it", "bless you" - - - even that old Southern staple "Bless her heart!"  These are, for the most part so overused they have moved into the realm of meaninglessness.  In fact, the New York Times wrote an article 3 or so years ago, proclaiming that the hashtag #blessed had gone viral on social media! But, what is meant by these terms?  How are they used in Scripture?

Let's look again at the two women in Luke 1:41-48 - - - Elizabeth and Mary. 

...and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.42In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Mary’s Song

46And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord

47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48for he has been mindful

of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

49for the Mighty One has done great things for me—

holy is his name.

Both of them claimed to be "blessed by God".  What does that mean, in their contexts, and in ours?

When Luke interviewed Elizabeth for his gospel, she reported to him that she had called Mary "blessed" (vs. 42).  This particular form of the Greek word used for "blessed" here is "eulogemene", which means "to be well-spoken of by another". You might recognize that our English word "eulogy" derives from this same Greek word.  The dictionary defines "blessed" as "divinely favored" or "consecrated".  "Consecrated" means "designated for a holy purpose".

So, Elizabeth and Mary were both proclaiming that God had favored them by fulfilling His holy purposes through them.  

They were both ordinary women of the day who loved God.  They were not rich or prominent.  They were typical, godly Jewish women - - - one in middle age or later, and the other in her early teens.

Do you realize that, if you are a Christian, a disciple of Jesus Christ, then you too are blessed? 

"But I don't feel blessed", you say.

Sometimes, our feelings or our circumstances can lead us into unbelief, error...a pit.  Let's look at the truth, presented in Scripture.

• We are blessed with salvation through Jesus Christ.
• We are blessed with the indwelling in our hearts of the Holy Spirit.
• We are blessed with purpose, God's calling to each of us, according to the unique spiritual gifts and talents He has given us. "Consecration"
• We are blessed with everything we need.  (I didn't say "want"; God is not Santa Claus.)
• We are blessed with the many promises of God.  

Elizabeth made the following statement to Mary:
"Blessed is she who has believed the Lord would fulfill His promises to her." (vs. 45)

Listen to this powerful truth:  the promises of God transcend current circumstances and feelings.
Faith.  Belief.  Trust.  Rest.  Do you struggle with believing the promises of God?  Do you really believe that He is good....all the time?  Do you believe that He is at work behind the scenes, even when you can't see it?

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28 (NASB)

Oh Blessed One!  Oh Child, consecrated, "called according to His purpose"!
Maybe, like me, you need to remind yourself of God's precious promises to you.  Here is a link that may bring you comfort today.  Go here and read about just a few of His many precious promises to His children.

http://www.intouch.org/you/article-archive/content/topic/god_s_precious_promises_article#.VJQIH8AAJA

Let's agree together this morning, this day, that our God is greater than all our blind stumbling around in the dark, our frantic groping for peace in the midst of severe pain.  Let's affirm that He will be faithful - - - that He who called you out of the pit of sin and eternal damnation LOVES YOU and WILL keep His promises to you. Let's hold on with everything we've got to the beautiful truth - - - that He does not change.  His word is eternal. 

Fellow Believers - - - we don't have to "feel it" to believe it!

Ah Lord God!  I declare that You are the Most High, the God of Angel Armies, and that what you promise, you will do.  Just as you fulfilled Your promise of a Messiah, prophesied in Genesis, through Isaiah, Micah, Zechariah and elsewhere, you will fulfill your promises to Your children. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I will praise You! (Psalm 63:3)  In Jesus' name, that Name which is above every name, that Name at which every knee will eventually bow, amen.

Advent Day 5: The Waiting Room

Most of us do not like to wait, especially in our mostly "instant" society.  Advent, though, is all about waiting for the Messiah to be born, looking forward eagerly to Jesus' birthday. Concurrently, as Christians, our resplendent walk is about walking by faith, in all of the year's seaons.  Today's Scriptures are Genesis 15:1-6, Luke 2:25-38 and Psalm 18:30.

Abram was the earlier name of Abraham.  He lived in a land called Ur, among the Chaldeans.  God called Abram out of that land and in Genesis 15 made him a tremendous promise, one which flew in the face of reason.

1 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." 2 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir." 4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." 5 He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars--if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Abram had no trouble believing God when this promise, this agreement, this covenant was made - - - a covenant initiated by God and agreed to by Abraham.  But, as time went on, he and his wife got older and older, with no "heir  apparent".  No baby boy was appearing on the scene, to be the start of those "descendants who cannot be numbered".  Later on in his life, Abraham began to doubt the goodness of God, the truth of God, because of his life circumstances.  Have you "been there"?

Similarly, the Jews of Jesus' day had heard nothing but "God silence" for about 400 years....no prophets, only aseemingly endless, tiresome parade of false messiahs...until John the Baptist came on the scene.    Many of the Jews had begun to doubt in the face of their circumstances, namely, being subject to the Romans. However, the gospel account of Luke (who was extremely diligent about interviewing eyewitnesses), records two faithful Jews who had tremendous faith that God's promise of Messiah would come. Luke 2:25-38 - - -

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29 "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel." 33 The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother:"This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too." 36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. 

Simeon and Anna, what giants of faith!  In a day of tremendous doubting and, yes, even great apostasy, they were found in "the waiting room", seeking God, being faithful.  Not sitting and waiting, but instead, watching, working, worshipping and waiting!  As such, they are role models for us as we wait on God's promises in our own lives.  As a result of their faith, God allowed them to see His Christ, the Messiah, the Promised One.

 Oh, don't tell me it is difficult to believe God's promises.  How well I know!  But, look at these two - - - Simeon and Anna.  They saw God's promises fulfilled in the very dusk of their lives, shortly before their own deaths.  God's timetable is not our own!  We also see this with Abraham, whose wife Sarah conceived after Abraham and Sarah's faiths drooped, flagged, withered.  God fulfilled His promises in His own time, for His own glory, not ours.

When I was a teen, I greatly admired the mother of one of my childhood friends.  Martha was a jovial, peaceful, godly woman.  I can remember her pounding this verse into my head, and at the time, I didn't understand what was so great about it, truly.  Now, with the benefit of hindsight, I realize anew how wise she really was.  Take a look at Psalm 18:30 - -

As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD's word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.

If, like me, you are struggling with God's promises today, during this season of waiting, let's encourage one another to draw near to God, and just hold on!  Pray and trust, dear ones!  Let's ask Him to make His glory evident in marvelous ways in us, whether we see promises fulfilled and prayers answered today, or whether they are not fulfilled in our lifetime.  We serve the One, True God, and His ways are perfect!

Dear Lord, You see each one of our hearts.  Speak to each of us today as we draw near to You in prayer, in thanksgiving for how You are growing our faith.  Thank you for Your precious promises and for those times you allow us to see them come true.  Thank you, Lord God, for teaching us to wait, in patience and faith, until Your glory is revealed.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Children of God

There's a popular phrase, passed around the secular world.  It goes something like this:  "We are all children of God."  Applying that name to everyone indiscriminately is a lie, according to the Bible.
Although the human race was created by God "in His image", we are all born with a sin taint that, uncorrected, will forever separate us from Him.

The text for this morning is Romans 9:8.

8 This means it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God; rather, the children of promise are counted as descendants.

Paul was speaking to the 1st century Jews of Rome, emphasizing to them that no one is a child of God, by birth.  The reason he was emphasizing this point was that the Jews believed that merely because they were born Jews they had an automatic path to Heaven, whereas Gentiles (non-Jews) were simply "out-of-luck" in the spiritual lottery.

Unfortunately, people tend to do this today.  If we were to conduct a "Jimmy Kimmel"-style people-on-the-street interview to ask this question: "Who are the children of God?", we'd get a plethora of answers.  Some would say that all human beings are "children of God." Others would say, "those who were born into a Christian family, or were baptized as babies or "raised in church". But, I'll bet you that most people would answer "those people who live upright and moral lives, treating others with tolerance and respect".

Those qualities are certainly desirable and admirable in a person.  However, according to the Bible's definition, they do not make a person a "child of God".  The lineage of grace does not flow through a person's human bloodline.  Paul makes clear (and John makes even more clear in 1 John) that children of God are those who have become children through God's promise.  In other words, it is the "children of promise" who are God's true descendants.

What in the world does that mean?

In the Scriptures, God the Father and God the Son made many promises.  However, in Romans 9:4 and 8, Paul was primarily referring to the promises of the Old Testament.  This is because he was writing to Jews, who did not at that time possess the complete New Testament.  In the O.T., God's promises are anchored by 5 major covenants.  But, the scarlet thread that runs throughout all of God's promises, beginning with Genesis 3:15 (the protoevangelium), is the promise to send a Messiah, a Redeemer - - - one who would purchase back mankind for God.  This One would be He who would enable people to become children of God.  That One was, and is, Jesus Christ.

John, one of the 12 apostles, said it more beautifully and succinctly in John 1:12.

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the children of God, even to them that believe on his name:

KJV 2000

To become a child of God, a person must believe God (take Him at His word revealed in the Bible) and make a personal, intentional decision to receive Jesus Christ as Savior.   When that occurs, a person is then "a Christian", God's child through spiritual re-birth.  We grab hold of God's promises and then He keeps His promises to us.  He "keeps hold of us".

If you are or have been a parent of small children, you realize that they are yours by birth.  At times, you are embarrassed by their behavior, even though your love for them remains constant.  Many times, they do not act like members of your family should act.  However, despite their foibles and flops, they remain your child.  And, hopefully, through much prayer and God's grace, they will grow up to act like it.

This process is analogous to the Christian walk.  In our spiritual infancy and toddler and youth phases, we will make many mistakes as we "grow up" into our relationship with Christ.  Although we became children of God through God's grace and through our faith decision for Jesus, we may not always act like God's children.  That does not negate his promises to us.  He is faithful, even though we are at times wayward in our obedience.  I thank God for that.  His promises are not dependent on my perfection (which is non-existent).

We are not finished with Romans 9.  I'll return to it in my next post.

Father, thank you for extending Your mercy to me, so that I could become Your child.  I am so grateful to be forever Yours.  Please mold me more and more into the image of Your Son, Jesus, my Savior.  In His name, I pray, amen.

Ladder

Good morning,

He was on the run, having committed a heinous deception.  He had been driven from his home and pursued by an angry man, as a result.  He was young and fearful, having traveled 40 miles on foot that day, through a desert wilderness.  It was nighttime.  He was cold and exhausted.  

His father was Isaac, the one nearly sacrificed by Abraham, the one to whom God promised that his descendants would be as "the stars of the sky" (Genesis 26:4).  He knew, however, that it was not assured a living relationship with God came with one's parentage or birth order.  He had proven that, through the committing of his dastardly scheme, in which he had received his father's blessing.  No doubt he was questioning the efficacy of that blessing, as well as everything he had ever known. He found himself at the "end of himself".  His name was Jacob.

Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder[a] set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold,the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! 13 And behold, the Lord stood above it[b] and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac.The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

Genesis 28:10-14

Perhaps you have met someone like Jacob who, by the very means of his talents and wily ways, is able to achieve anything his heart desires. Perhaps you are like him.  Jacob had, all his life, trusted in his own abilities. Admittedly, they had taken him far... until this point, where they had taken him to Bethel, a desolate stopping point on his 500-mile trek to his uncle Laban's house, the place his mother had sent him to find refuge.  (Jacob did not suck his scheming ways out of a baby bottle, you understand...)

As he slept the sleep of the dog-tired, bone-tired, dead-tired, with a stone for his pillow, God revealed Himself to him.  Isn't it that, sometimes, we are so busy trying to carry out our own plans during our waking hours it is only during our sleep that God can get our attention?  I'm laughingly thinking about how there've been times I was praying and suddenly find myself worrying about my to-do list...right?  Come on, now, can I get an amen?!

But, look!  It was when Jacob was "at the end of himself" that God came to Him.  God peeled back the veil which separates Heaven from Earth and shifted Jacob's paradigm, big-time.  This was the first time God had appeared to Jacob.  To remove all question, from the top of the ladder God introduced Himself, after which He reaffirmed to Jacob the promises He had made to his forefathers, Abraham and Isaac.

There was never any invitation extended for Jacob to climb that ladder.  If you are familiar with the old spiritual, "We are climbing Jacob's Ladder", you can retire that one.  It is unscriptural. Attempting to "climb a ladder to God" is man's way of salvation.  It is the way of every other religion on earth, apart from Christianity. False religions are sets of steps, like rungs on a ladder, which supposedly will restore one to God by climbing them. You see, the ladder in Jacob's dream is a foreshadowing of Jesus. (He alluded to Jacob's dream, establishing Himself in it, in John 1:51.)  He is the only way to God. Yet, in proclaiming Himself to be the only way, He does not ask us to climb up to Him.

God came down to us, at Christmas.  We rejoice at His coming, because we are all so horribly unable to reach up to God ourselves.  All of our attempts eventually come crashing down.

Jacob probably rejoiced at God's affirmation that he would get the land on which he was sleeping. But, God's promise was for a much, much greater blessing - - the blessing of His Son, whose human lineage would come from Jacob's descendants.  One of the names of Christ is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah - - the same Judah who was one of Jacob's 12 sons.

and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

And, we are.  Hallelujah, we are!

Look up, you weary, you debtors, you abandoned, you broken, you beleaguered, you lost.  See the Christ who descends to you, who condescends to you.  See Him in this Advent season, and claim Him as your own, your glorious salvation.  His coming - - - this is amazing grace.

Oh Lord Jesus Christ, regardless of what family we are from, regardless of our past, we find true and eternal blessing only in You.  None of any family are excluded from Your blessings, unless they exclude themselves by rejecting Your salvation.  Open our hearts to receive You today, whether by taking that initial step to ask You to be our Savior or to ask You to give us who already know You more of You.  May we not profane Your coming down to us by regarding it as trivial or meaningless. Reveal Yourself to us, not only on this day of Advent, but more and more every day, as we stop to listen for Your voice, as we open our hearts to you.  It is in Your name I pray, Lord Jesus, amen.

Sources:

http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/genesis/28.html

 Voskamp, Ann. The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas. Print. 

Wait For It....

Good morning,

Happy Labor Day!

There are only two women mentioned by name in "the roll call of faith".  That is what I've often heard Hebrews 11 called.  Such a beautiful and heart-breaking chapter!

Since Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, called these two particular women by name, I thought it sensible to look at their lives.  We'll start with Sarai/Sarah (Hebrews 11:10-11).

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.

There is an American cultural saying that is used when telling a joke or a story right before the ending or the punchline.  As the teller is nearing that point, he or she says, "Wait for it....wait for it...." and then comes the zinger!  This saying reminds me of the life of Sarai/Sarah.

Here are some facts about this remarkable woman:

1.  She is not even mentioned in Scripture until she is 65 years old.  At that time, we find her living in a land called Ur, which most scholars place in southern Mesopotamia, near the Euphrates River.  This would be modern day southern Iraq or Kuwait.
2.  She was married to Abram/Abraham, her half-brother.  In those days, there was no biblical prohibition against marrying a close relative.  It was not part of God's law, delivered through Moses and the Levites, that such prohibitions were issued.  (See Leviticus 18:16-18 and 20:17-21.) Their mutual father was Terah.   Ur was an incredibly wealthy city of that day; it is reasonable to conclude that Terah also was rather wealthy.
3.  Abram and Sarai left Ur as relatively young people, at the urging of Terah.  Ur was a highly pagan society, where the moon god was widely worshipped.  Perhaps Terah wanted to move his family to more pure surroundings.  Abram was nine generations descended from Shem, Noah's son.  The fact that Abram knew and followed Jehovah God indicates that knowledge of Yahweh had flowed through that family line since the Great Flood. Other contemporaries of Abram (Job and Melchizedek {Gen. 14:18} ) indicate that true followers of Yahweh were scattered throughout the general region of the middle east.
4.  (Gen. 11:13) Terah went with them on the first leg of this journey.  After about 650 miles they temporarily lived at Harran, until Terah's death some years later.  Speculation is that he was unable to journey farther.  It is not recorded exactly how long they stayed there.
5.  At age 65 (Abram was 75), Sarai again left all that she knew to follow her husband on the remainder of the 1000-mile journey across the desert to the land of Canaan.  They left because they both worshipped Yahweh, who had given them the command to go, along with a tremendous promise (Gen. 12:1-3).  Even considering that people lived much longer than we do, in those days, this was still quite a physical and emotional challenge for a woman of 65.  Yet, Sarai respected and obeyed her husband.

5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

1 Peter 3:5-6 (NIV)

See also Genesis 18:12, where we indeed find Sarah addressing Abraham as "lord".
6.  Sarai was extremely beautiful, even into her old age.  The Bible records two instances where Abram presented her as his sister (which technically was true) in order to preserve his life and her safety.  Two kings, a pharaoh of Egypt (Gen. 12:12-20) and also Abimelech, king of Gerar (Gen. 20) wanted to take Sarai/Sarah as wife, but were prevented by God. On this latter occasion, she was nearly 90!
7.  Despite her obvious beauty, her marriage to a wonderful man and being a woman of great wealth, Sarai/Sarah lived with a deep, all-consuming grief over her barrenness.  For approximately 60 years, she had tried to conceive with her husband, to no avail.  She had heard of God promising and reiterating His promise to Abram/Abraham no less than 3 times (Gen. 12:3, 13:16 and 15:1-6)!
8.  By the time Sarai/Sarah was 75, she had made a trip to Egypt, as mentioned above, and returned with her husband to the area of Bethel, a fertile land of many springs.  Sarai/Sarah, however, continued to be infertile.  She had heard from Abram the promise of God (Gen. 12:2-3) to her husband ten years earlier (note that the promise was not to her, but to her husband); and, accordingly, she determined to step into the role of God.  Let's have a personal moment of silent reflection....
Can any of us women unequivocally declare that we would have done any different?  This foolhardy ploy was the greatest mistake of her life, one that she would regret for the rest of her days. (Don't miss, though, that Abram agreed to this ill-hatched {pardon the pun} plan!)

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slavenamed Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”

Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years,Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife.

Gen. 16:1-3

{Polygamy was never God's design.  Genesis 16:3 is the first recorded instance of polygamy involving a righteous man.  It was a poor example that Abram set for his descendants, one which was later seen with Jacob (Leah and Rachel), David (Michal, Abigail, Bathsheba, etc.), Solomon (1000 wives/concubines!) and has carried on in the Ishmael branch of the Abrahamic line to this day.}

Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.

Psalm 127:1

9.  In spite of this strategic error and gross lapse of faith Sarai/Sarah is mentioned in "the roll call of faith".   Why?  Because even after all the debacle with Hagar and Ishmael, Sarai/Sarah still judged God to be faithful in His promises.  It was only in this, the 4th reiteration of God's promise to the couple, that God specifically included Sarai/Sarah in the promise.  Prior to this....listen now....she was only taking Abram's word that "God said so".  Think about the implications of that!  I marvel at how she trusted her husband.
Let me ask you to go read Genesis 17.
It was at this time that God gave the couple their covenant names:  Abram ("exalted father") to Abraham ("father of many") and Sarai ("princess") to Sarah ("mother of nations").

10.  We find in Genesis 18:1-15 that El Shaddai (the new name Jehovah God revealed to Abraham in Gen. 17:1) appeared to Abraham a 5th time.  It was at this appearing He gave a timeline to the promise (18:10).  And, it seems He visited with the express purpose of allowing Sarah to hear this promise personally since He asked (rhetorically) where Sarah was.  Sarah was listening to the conversation, behind a fold of the tent.
What are we to make of the fact that Sarah laughed when she overheard El Shaddai (which means "all-sufficient, all-powerful God (El)"?  Who can blame her?  I certainly do not.
Her laughter was replaced by fear as she realized that God Himself was sitting under her tree, eating her food.  How did she know this?  She had not laughed aloud, only to herself.  Yet, God had heard her, and said so (18:15).  This so terrified Sarah that she lied about having laughed to herself.

11.  Despite it all, we see that Sarah had a sense of humor about how God had dealt with her.  When Isaac was born, she obediently (and bemusedly, most likely) named him "Laughter".  That is what the name Isaac means, in Hebrew.

6 Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” 7 And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

Genesis 21:6-7

12.  The last time we see Sarah mentioned in Genesis, she makes a demand of her husband that is rooted in her deep faith in God's promise to Isaac.  Sarah demands that Hagar and her son, Ishmael, who was at that time about 16 years old, be sent away.  Things had come to a head when the family was celebrating Isaac being weaned.  Isaac would have been a 2-3 year old toddler at this time. Ishmael made the serious error of ridiculing Isaac.  This action caused Sarah to realize that Ishmael's continued presence would continue to be a threat to God's purpose for Isaac.  God affirmed her actions in Gen. 21:12.  Furthermore, neither Ishmael nor Hagar was utterly abandoned by God. Some type of family ties did remain, as we discover both sons burying their father in Gen. 25:9-10.

So, we see both a great woman of faith and also of great flaws.  The hallmarks of her character were her submissive obedience to her husband, her faith in God's promises and her sense of humor.

Dear El Shaddai, 
Like Sarai/Sarah, I have had trouble holding on to Your promises revealed in Scripture.  I understand her struggles in that area.  This truth has been brought home to me through my study of such a great woman of faith.  It has been terribly humbling.  I confess my own personal faith deficit and ask You to please increase my supply.  I also want to emulate her in her submissive obedience to her husband, and area in which I also fall short of the "gold standard".  Help me to keep my sense of humor when doubt threatens to creep in and take over.  Help me to keep my heart's eyes firmly focused on You. 
In Jesus' name, amen.


Sources:

MacArthur, John. "Sarah: Hoping Against Hope." Twelve Extraordinary Women: How God Shaped Women of the Bible and What He Wants to Do with You. Nashville, TN: Nelson, 2005. 27-50. Print.

http://www.bible-history.com/geography/ur_of_chaldees.html

https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/all-women-bible/Sarah-Sarai-Sara

http://www.myredeemerlives.com/namesofgod/el-shaddai.html