The Gospel According to Matt

In Genesis 15 and 16 we discover an epic dilemma in the life of Abraham and Sarah.  The dilemma is that Sarah is barren and cannot produced an heir, and that she is now well beyond her child-bearing years.  Therefore, in Genesis 15 Abraham decides to choose his highest-ranking servant Eliezer as his heir.  But when Abraham prays about this decision, God intervenes and says “no.” 

Then in Genesis 16 Sarah suggests that Abraham should take her servant Hagar as a surrogate wife and conceive with her, producing an heir vicariously.  Apparently, Abraham likes this idea and (rather than praying for direction) sleeps with Hagar, who conceives.  This creates all sorts of struggles within the family—prompting feelings of inadequacy and bitterness for Sarah, and rivalry for Hagar.

The bigger problem is that Abraham and Sarah, rather than waiting on God’s plan and promise to be fulfilled, decide to take matters into their own hands.  This creates all sorts of trouble for them and even for us today (if you know your history).

For us, it means that we must wait on God’s will to become evident in our lives–we cannot run ahead of His will.  Things must take place in His time.  We need to be diligent and proactive, but everything we do should be (1) bathed in prayer; (2) approved by the Word; and (3) affirmed by godly Consults; because the consequences of going ahead of God can be disastrous.

Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds a house, its builders labor in vain.  Unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.”