August 12, 2006

Laughter
Genesis 17: 15 -27

Have you ever really read this section of scripture? Have you tried to make a judgment on Abraham’s faith as you read? Me too. But lets look in this section from a new perspective today and see why we do not find God castigating also maybe we'll catch a glimpse at the true Father heart of Abraham.

Notice though before we begin that God is careful to point out that Sarah is part of His covenant plan here. He carefully changes her name from Sarai, which may mean combatant or heroine it is really unclear, to Sarah which means Princess or Queen. remember Hagar the Egyptian? Egypt is often referred to as a picture of the world, Ishmael was born of the World, flesh, but Sarah is a picture of freedom in Christ, the real Israel according to Gal. 4.

Now in v.16, God blesses SARAH here as well as Abraham. Gods blessing turns barrenness into fertility.

Perhaps in a spiritual sense we could see a hope that His blessings on us will bring forth offspring too, others won to Christ.

Note that God says here I will Give thee a Son. Children are gifts of God and the fact that God names this child and determines its gender lets me know that He is still in control of all the workings of birth and life. And it is a child!

God also says here in verse 16 that “She shall be a mother of Nations.” Literally she shall become nations. From Sarah descended Edom, Israel and Judah. In a spiritual sense all who believe are children not only of Abraham but of this lady as well.

I. The faithful heart of Abe

In verse 17 Abraham fell on his face, rather like Gerald Ford? No rather like Job, in abject worship of the creator. But look at the reaction of Abraham when God tells him that Sarah will give birth. Laughter.

Now in Chapter 18 Sarah will laugh, but hers is definitely contemptuous unbelief at that point. But here is that the case? If it was a laugh if unbelief God ignored it and there is other evidence to support a different sort of laugh here, a laugh of exultant Joy over the wonderful provision of God. flip over to Romans 4:19-21 a moment and see Paul’s perspective. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

Does that sound like a laugh of unbelief? Not to me it doesn’t!

He was fully confident that God would overcome the physical difficulties. It is reasonable to surmise that this laughter was an exultant triumphant exuberant laughter of know so faith.

We too may laugh for the same reasons and definitely will in the world to come acc to Is. 65 13&14 and 17-19 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed: Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit. 17 ¦ For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever [in that] which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.

So let us say that Abraham laughed in exultant Joy.

I want to add here that sadly today there is a movement afoot called HOLY LAUGHTER. Some friends of mine, dear sweet people, finally left their church because each service was nothing but a laugh fest. Now I believe that Spirit filled people will easily laugh with joy, but I believe that with every good thing God makes, the adversary pushes it to excess through emotions. This sort of thing is not what God is talking about here at all.

Now look further with me. Abraham expresses his frustration inwardly here and God heard him as if they were spoken aloud. “Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?”

Now we've seen the faithful heart of Abraham, look with me at the Father heart of Abraham. In verse 18 we see Abraham crying out to God for Ishmael his 13 year old son as the fact dawns on him of what is about to be. This child of His, and don't misunderstand him he loved Ishmael ask any dad if that's so, His father heart cries out for Ishmael.

“Oh that Ishmael might be alive in the eyes of God rather than dead and unnoticed, that HE might be real to God and the object of Gods care. This is a Hebrew prayer that any Father might pray for his children. It is a prayer that is in harmony with the deep principles of which Abraham may have known very little. The elect are those who live before God.

This sort of attitude is well known to you if you are a godly Dad. You have perhaps prayed similar prayers for your children; Still do I suspect.

Now The Father heart of God does two things here: first he reassures Abraham about the birth of Isaac, then answers him about Ishmael.

“Sarah thy wife” This promise is (1) Definite, (2) detailed, (3) and emphatic. Sing O barren, thou that didst not bear (Is 54:1) Sarah pictures Jerusalem above, [Gal 4:26], which before the time of the gospel was quite barren, The child will be named Laughter, The commemoration of the laughter of verse 17, showing that God is pleased with that laughter that sprang from exultant faith.

I will establish my covenant with him. Isaac was to be the one who continued the godly succession of the Hebrews, This covenant leads on to the new covenant established in the blood of Jesus Christ. It extends to Isaac and “his seed after him“. Israel was in a special relationship after the flesh with God under the old covenant, the church is in a special relationship under the new.

A note here, there are some people termed “messianic Jews” these are Jewish people who have seen that Jesus is the messiah. They are blessed indeed, BUT LISTEN TO ME: They have NO closer a tie to God than you do. They are simply blood bought Christians, brothers and sisters in Jesus. God is PLAIN that there is to be NO division between Jew and Gentile in the church. Look at Eph 2: 11 -16 Wherefore remember, that ye [being] in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called circumcision. That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition [between us]; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, [even] the law of commandments [contained] in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, [so] making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: See? here God is emphatic. ONE NEW MAN! The Church.

Also note in Gal.3: 6 -9 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

It is not our PHYSICAL descent that matters any more to God but our spiritual descent. If you have accepted Jesus Christ, you are spiritually a child of Abraham and heir to the spiritual promises. The Jews who believe in this age are your brothers and sisters. NO Division.

This precludes any Anti-Semitism if you are a true brother in the faith. Rather “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper who love thee.”(Psalm 122:6)

Now having reiterated His promise to Abe of Isaac, God turns to him again and answers His request for Ishmael. “As for Ishmael,” he says“ ..Ishmael and his blessings were sort of by products of the covenant. In much the same way that blessing in the physical realm have accompanied the gospel in the world. A man converted from a life of vice is blessed in his home life. The home of a truly converted drunkard is immeasurably changed. Happiness and order take the place of chaos and selfishness.

The man who dedicates his substance to God is often blessed materially. I think of R.G. Letorneau who dedicated ALL to God and became wealthy.

I look at my Dad and Mom who gave it all to God and saw His blessing on them. Also a Nation that recognizes the gospel and allows its establishment gains a dignity and freedom that are absent where the gospel is suppressed or unknown. These things are by products, they are not the central focus of the gospel but they are valuable evidence of its truth. So Ishmael's blessing, while outside the covenant, might be seen as proof that the God of Abraham was the true and living God. God says “I have heard thee” Here showing that He hears and answers the prayers of is people.

5 Statements here about Ishmael:

1. I have blessed him. This is past tense recall that in the last chapter God met with Hagar and gave Isaac a special blessing but also He is answering Abraham's prayer. Our heavenly Father knows our needs before we ask.

2.I will make him fruitful.

3. I will multiply him exceedingly. blessings and multiplication are also walking together in scripture. In the spiritual realm that is true as well, Gods blessings bring spiritual multiplication.

4. 12 nations, God setting the boundaries of nations, continues in is blessing.

And (5)finally He will be a great nation. He surely became one and interfered many times in Israel’s history, mostly in a hostile sense, as in Gen.37 and Judges 6-8.
Ishmael is used as a type of the old covenant and Israel the new in Gal. 4:25. The blessings of Abraham overflowed on Ishmael as a nation though they never became the nation of God. If they had obeyed God they might have become a godly nation.
Note in verse 21 my covenant will I establish with Isaac ....

Ishmael , though blessed, is not the child of promise, the child of promise is to be the forbear of Christ. Isaac is the promised child. Abraham did not procrastinate, He obeyed. His obedience in faith is a pattern for the obedience of all faith walkers, no dallying, just “God says it, I will lovingly obey.”

Abraham had a faithful heart Do ,you have a faith filled heart????

Are you one who trusts God and obeys God and puts God first?

Where do you draw the line with God? Say, “this far but no further?”

Also Abraham Had a Fathers heart like God. He loved even the child of his selfishness as well as the child of His faithful God.

Do you love the wayward ones? The ones who aren't like you? Can you honestly say that you have a heart from God?

Do you let pride, or self will interfere with the plan of God “By this will all men know that ye are my disciples if ye love on another.” (John 13)

Seek out those who you have anything against and make an attempt to confess your faults and do YOUR part to restore the relationship.

Make a conscious commitment to repair those relationships and obey the God you love. And watch out ... you may get blessed!

You think about that, Amen