SERVICES: SATURDAY 6PM | SUNDAY 9AM & 10:45AM. 

We Livestream at www.FaithFellowshipWeb.com/livestream, through the FFC App, and YouTube.

Call him Ishmael

Words of Faith Final

Call him Ishmael
Words of Faith 3-23-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL    
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><<><

Genesis 16
    [7] The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. [8] And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?"
    "I'm running away from my mistress Sarai," she answered.
    [9] Then the angel of the Lord told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her." [10] The angel added, "I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count."
    [11] The angel of the Lord also said to her: "You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery. [12] He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility         toward all his brothers."
    [13] She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me." [14] That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
    [15] So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. [16] Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

        What are the consequences of trying to do God's job for Him? Well, they can be enormously far-reaching.
       When Abram and Sarai decided, without prayer or consultation, to take the matter of having children into their own hands, the consequences continued for centuries! This might have been perfectly fine in any other situation. Still, these were chosen people who had been given a promise by God. Their impatience resulted in the birth of Ishmael and his descendants. We are still seeing the consequences this very day.
        Of course, the Ishmaelites comprise many of what we today call the Arab peoples. Although obviously there were other people groups in the regions of Egypt, Canaan, and to the east before the descendants of Ishmael, the descendants of Ishmael populate the region.
         Islam claims that the Muslim people are the descendants of Ishmael. The writings of Muhammad in the seventh century AD claim that the Ishmaelites are the rightful descendants of Abram, but these writings came from one man centuries after the time of Christ. This is not the teaching of the Bible.
       The Arab peoples are actually much more extensive than this narrow origin. They include many other groups including many Christians in the Middle East.
      It is an expression of God's heart and mercy that He looked after Hagar and Ishmael. There was a blessing upon them even though the Ishmaelites would eventually become hostile to the people of Israel. God does not go behind us and clean up the results of our disobedience. While there is forgiveness and reconciliation, we must often live with consequences. Literally, our newspapers are filled with conflict that came from the disobedience of Abram and Sarai.
        So are these people the enemies of God? Certainly not for this reason. Without Christ, we are all enemies of God because of our sin. But the descendants of Ishmael are not specifically enemies of God unless they refuse the light of God's grace offered in Christ. They are among the nations to be blessed by Israel (Genesis 12) and the coming of Israel's Messiah. In God's sovereign plan, He has allowed this conflict over the ages. Still, He has also planned for the Prince of Peace to rule for a millennium in Jerusalem one day.
        Our prayer for today? Let us pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Let us pray for peace in our world. Let us pray for the Gospel of Christ to be known. Let us pray for the truth of God to prevail.
        Our walk for today? Let us carefully bring every decision before the Lord, not rushing impatiently or taking things into our own hands. Let us wait upon the Lord as He renews our strength, orders our steps, and guides our way.

        Father, I give thanks to You for Your sovereign watch over this world. Keep us in Your care. May the message of the Prince of Peace be known in my life and words today. May I be an Ambassador for Christ in every place You lead me. In His Name, Amen.
 
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)        
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SUBSCRIPTIONS - To receive the Words of Faith devotion five days a week, send an e-mail message addressed to join-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. To stop receiving Words of Faith, send an e-mail message addressed to unsubscribe-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. The daily devotion and archive are posted at http://www.faithfellowshipweb.com/cgi-bin/devotions/displayMonths.cgi
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -      
The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.