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Family Conflict

Words of Faith Final

Family Conflict
Words of Faith 4-14-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL    
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Genesis 21
    [8] The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. [9] But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, [10] and she said to Abraham, "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac."
    [11] The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. [12] But God said to him, "Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. [13] I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring."
    [14] Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba.

          The Bible is brutally honest about the family conflicts of God's people. If this were an imaginary book, surely some effort would have been made to create a more pleasing story! The very first "faith family" was blended, broken, and painful. But God was still there.
            As for Ishmael, Abraham's son by Hagar, grew older, he began to "mock" or "laugh at" little Isaac. The word for "mock" is similar in root and sound to the word "Isaac," which means "to laugh." But the word "mock" means to laugh in scorn or make sport. We might distinguish between "laughing with me" and "laughing at me."
         Ishmael was practicing the childish cruelty of the play yard, but he was an undisciplined young man! Isaac was only about 3 to 4 years old, and Ishmael was about 17! This bullying by the much older half-brother shattered an already fragile situation.  
            How did this happen? The seeds of discontent between Sarah and Hagar (Ishmael's mother, the maidservant) went back to the pregnancy of Hagar. Hagar had "despised" her mistress Sarai (16:4). Carrying the child of the Patriarch Abram had given Hagar either a sense of power or of being "used." The resentment grew. Sarai blamed Abram, and Abram did nothing to deal effectively with the situation. Eventually, Sarai mistreated Hagar so badly that she fled into the desert. Only the intervention of the Lord saved Hagar and Ishmael.
           17 years later, the same seeds of animosity were tearing this blended family apart! Ishmael's mocking was too much for Sarah. Abraham was greatly distressed because Ishmael was his firstborn son. What a tangled mess this was due to Abraham and Sarah refusing to trust and wait upon the Lord God to fulfill His promise to them.
         Things became so painful that God actually sanctioned a separation here, a divorce of sorts, because of the stubbornness of this family. We know that God hates divorce, but sometimes it is the only solution given our hard hearts. God said, "Listen to whatever Sarah tells you because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring."  
         Hagar and Ishmael were sent into the desert with very little to sustain them. It would only be by the Lord's mercy that they would survive. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
           Who was at fault here? Well, virtually everyone except little Isaac! Abraham and Sarah had been impatient. Abraham had never really led the family. Sarah was jealous. Hagar was arrogant. Ishmael was mean and undisciplined. And we thought the modern family had problems!
         What is remarkable is how God sustains and cares for families even when they are in terrible conflict. God was still very much at work in this dysfunctional family even when they were stubborn and rebellious! He was still planning a marvelous design for redemption.
         The larger family of Abraham is still in turmoil today. There is mocking and derision. There is despising and violence. But God is still in charge. He is still working toward His sovereign goals.
         Are there problems in your family? Are there difficulties resulting from disobedience or neglect years ago? God is still in charge. He is working to heal and, most of all, to glorify Himself. Surrender your problems to Him today. Surrender Your plans to Him today. Surrender Yourself and Your claims to Him today. Surrender your hurt, resentment and animosity to Him today. God is still very much in charge and very much at work today.

           Father, I give my life and family to You. I surrender my claims and plans and will to You. Guide me and show me how I can be an instrument of Your peace. I pray for Your larger family in this world. Bring us peace. In Jesus' name.

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© 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
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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.