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A SON FOR ABRAM AND SARAI
All Bible references are to the
Anglicised New International Version (NIV-UK)
A serious
dilemma faced the ageing Abram and Sarai. Having
obeyed God’s instructions to leave Ur of the Chaldees and settle in a land He
would show them, Abram had brought his wife, his nephew, and their numerous
servants with their families, to the land of Canaan, an emigration that took
many years to complete.
The Lord had revealed His intentions to Abram, which were quite amazing. This land, as far as the eye could see in every direction, was to belong to Abram and his descendants for all time. He would become the ancestor of many nations, and through him and his offspring the entire human race would be blessed (Genesis 12: 1-3; 13: 14-17). What God did not reveal was the time-scale of this plan, so that the faith of Abram was to be tested for many years before he would understand more fully what the Lord had in view.
The
dilemma facing Abram and his wife Sarai was that they had no children, and with
the passing years it seemed increasingly unlikely that they would ever become
parents. Infertility is still a serious condition today and it is estimated that
one in every ten women is affected. Biological research has in many cases
overcome the problem, and sometimes babies have been born when hope has been
almost entirely lost. In many cases where couples prove unable to have their own
children, they find fulfilment in adopting an unwanted child, perhaps an orphan,
and there is no doubt that a deep and satisfying bond grows between parent and
child in such cases.
Should Abram and Sarai consider adopting a son? This might have been the answer to their childlessness. But the Lord had said:
a son coming from your own body
will be your heir. . . . Look up at the heavens and count the stars – if indeed
you can count them. . . . So shall your offspring
be.
– Genesis 15: 4, 5
Evidently Abram was himself to
be the father of a son, though he was now 85 years of age. But who would be the
mother? Surely Sarai at 75 could never have a baby. Adoption was not the answer,
but perhaps God intended Abram to take a second wife, a young woman who could
give birth to the promised son. They talked over the possibility at length and
decided that this might be the solution. Sarai had an Egyptian maidservant named
Hagar, and if she became pregnant with Abram’s son the child would legally
belong to Abram and Sarai.
This plan went ahead and Ishmael
was born. Abram was of course the father of the boy, and so Sarai regarded
Ishmael as her own child, although he was the offspring of a surrogate
mother. Surrogacy is a relationship in
which a woman gives birth to a baby, usually for a couple with fertility
problems, who then adopt and take legal custody of the child. It is a familiar
practice in the world today, but the experience of Abram and Sarai is one of the
earliest in recorded history.
The Child of
Promise?
Ishmael
was a healthy and lively lad, and Abram and Sarai
loved him
dearly. They believed this was the son destined
to inherit the honours and blessings God had promised. But the
Lord’s dealings with Abram were by no means finished. After the birth of
Ishmael, God spoke to Abram again, confirming the promises already made, but
adding a further astonishing detail:
No longer
will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a
father of many nations. . . . I will make nations of you, and kings will come
from you. . . . As for Sarai your wife . . . her name will be Sarah.
I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. . . she will be
the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her. Abraham fell face
down; he laughed and said to himself, Will a son be born to a man a hundred
years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of
ninety?
– Genesis 17: 5, 6, 15-19
Despite Abraham’s laughter at
the very idea, he believed God, who commended him for his great faith. It may
have been harder for Sarah to accept such an incredible idea, but her faith was
also under test by the Lord, and it may have been for her sake that a further
assurance was soon given.
One day three messengers arrived
outside the tent dwelling and Abraham knew at once that they had come from the
Lord. He made them welcome and they accepted his hospitality – rest and
refreshment, and an excellent meal. In the shade of a tree they talked with
Abraham about the promised child soon to be born, while Sarah listened just
inside the tent door, trying to smother her laughter. The messengers heard and
one said to her: ‘Is anything too hard for the Lord?’ She was nervous and denied
that she had laughed, but the messengers knew better (Genesis 18:
1-15).
Within a year, the miracle had
happened! Sarah gave birth to the long-promised son, whose God-given name was
Isaac, which means ‘laughter’.
Copyright May 2009 ukbiblestudents.co.uk
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