A Journey through the Bible with Tiglath

4. On we go through Chapters 21 to 24 of Genesis

To remind ourselves how far we have to go we are now in the period about two and a

half thousand years before the birth of Christ. As God had promised Sarah, Abraham’s

wife, conceived and bore a son in extreme old age. Abraham named his son Isaac,

which means ‘he laughed’, which suggests that he was a happy child. The birth of

Isaac brought trouble to Abraham’s household. You may remember that Hagar, the

Egyptian servant, had borne a son to Abraham. He was named Ishmael and he annoyed Sarah by laughing at Isaac. Sarah demanded that Hagar and her son be driven out of the camp. This greatly upset Abraham, but God told him not to be upset as he would have descendants through Isaac. God also promised to make a great nation through Ishmael. Read Chapter 21 verses 14 to 21 to see what happened to Hagar and Ishmael when they were driven out into the desert.

Verses 23 to 34 describe a dispute over water

wells. Southern Palestine has a rainfall of four

inches in January, dwindling to nothing in the

summer months; water is thus very precious and

such quarrels were common among the herdsmen.

Read the story and discover a happy ending.

Chapter 22 contains one of the most interesting

stories in the Bible. God tests the faith of Abraham

by commanding him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac.

The, description of the preparations is interesting

because, in addition to the wood, they had to carry fire

with them (verse 6). When you have read the story ask yourself if God really intended

to have Isaac killed as he had promised Abraham that he would found a great nation

and that would have been impossible if he had lost his son. We can only marvel at the

tremendous trust and faith of Abraham as he raised the knife to slay his son.

Chapter 23 tells of the death and burial of Sarah and describes the lengths Abraham

went to, to secure a fitting burial place for her.

Chapter 24 is a romantic story, not as romantic as it would have been if the man

concerned had been allowed to choose his own wife, but romantic nevertheless. If you haven’t ever read how Isaac acquired a wife you are in for a fascinating read because it is a beautiful story with a very happy ending. I have read it many times and it never fails to move me. The story also throws light on how men and women got together in those days and also the nature of the relationship between a master and a trusted servant.

Next month we will ponder on the words ‘Two nations in your womb, two

peoples, going their own way from birth’.