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Dear Bro. John:
I just want to share my feelings that are still stirring from yesterday’s tract reading.
I have wept this morning reading in Genesis about Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael. Something you said yesterday during reading the tract “The Master’s Net“, as you were talking about Ishmael being cast out and him being the firstborn of Abraham, really went into my heart and made me want to read again about them. I may not quote it exactly, but what you said when you were talking about Ishmael, Abraham’s firstborn, being cast out was akin to this: “The OT covenant was also first, and it was cast out!” Whew! That was so good! So this morning as I read in Genesis, I really felt the mercy of God’s love not only for Ishmael but for God’s people who are still wandering out away from Him.
I noticed some things that really touched my heart concerning the relationship between God and Abraham. When God told Abraham that Sarah would have Isaac, Abraham laughed and then said to God: “O that Ishmael might live before thee!” Then God spoke with wonderful, loving authority. And isn’t it wonderful to feel how God sets everything in order as it should be according to His plan?! All that is left to do is walk in it.
Genesis 17: 19-21:
And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
What love and mercy in what God told Abraham. God had a purpose! But, how like Abraham we are! Only seeing what is right before our eyes but not what God has beyond that. But when we cannot see, we must trust in God’s love for us. God loved Abraham and heard his plea for Ishmael, but His covenant was with Isaac who had not even been born yet. As I read on in Genesis, I came to the part where Ishmael was cast out and Abraham was grieved. But God spoke to Abraham again: “Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad . . . . for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.”
As I continued reading where Hagar took her son and wandered in the wilderness and her supply of water ran out, I began to see what a merciful good God we have. Hagar sat opposite her child “a good way off” because she could not bear to watch him die. God’s heart even went with Hagar and Ishmael that day.
Genesis 21: 17-20:
And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.
And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.”
Then, I got to the part where God said to Abraham: “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” Brother John, I wept through the reading of this whole scene. But what I saw in reading this was very sobering to me. God knew that Abraham had more than one son, He knew Ishmael existed, but He referred to Isaac as the ONLY son Abraham had. To God, Isaac was the only son Abraham had because God’s covenant was established only with Isaac.
The story reminded me of when I searched for my birth certificate and ran into problems finding it. I was giving my biological father’s name to the people who were looking for the certificate. I was surprised to find that my biological father had been replaced on my birth certificate by the father who had adopted me. In the eyes of the law, my adopting father was the only father I had ever had, and it was as if my biological father never existed. Jesus taught me by that example who my real Father is; the day I received His Spirit and was adopted into the family of God, my New Birth certificate said I belonged to Him, and that He is the only Father I have ever had. So it is today, the everlasting covenant: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”
Brother John, the story of God, Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac, and Hagar and Ishmael is a beautiful story, full of heartache, encouragement, tenderness, mercy, love, and many more feelings of God than I am able to express here. But isn’t that how it always is when God is the main character? I am finding that God is a God of many feelings because He deals with many hearts. This question came to mind as I read about Abraham and Isaac, “What made Abraham so willing to sacrifice Isaac, yet only a short time before, Abraham had grieved so to cast out Ishmael?” Maybe it was that God conquered that part of his heart that did not believe the love of God. But is the question what really matters? The answer is to always do the will of God.
Yesterday’s reading of the tract “The Master’s Net” was wonderful, and I continue to be blessed by it today. I also read the TFE’s (2-12-05 and 2-13-05) “Two Mothers, Part One and Two” and again loved what was written! Father Abraham (and Sarah, too) would love these feelings that come with the New Covenant! Jesus said so: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.” I am glad, too!
Sandy
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Yes, Sandy, yesterday was a special time together with the Lord. I am sorry our Skype listeners missed it because of technical difficulties, but I think that is permanently fixed now. We had our computer guy here today, running a direct line into the meeting room so that John David will no longer have to depend on a wireless connection for Skype. I hope that will solve the problem of the signal being dropped. Yesterday’s meeting was just too good to miss!
jdc