January 8, 2021 Taking Matters Into My Own Hands

Genesis 15-16

Psalm 6:1-5

Proverbs 1:20-23

Matthew 6:19-34

Taking Matters Into My Own Hands

“Sarai said to Abram, ‘Since the Lord has prevented me from bearing children, go to

my slave; perhaps I can have children by her.’ And Abram agreed to what Sarai said.”

Genesis 16:2

God had promised Abram that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. He had promised to make Abram into a great nation. At the time God made the promise to Abram, Sarai was already very old and past her childbearing years. She must have come to grips over the years with the fact that she was barren and would not have children. Then God gave her hope. He promised that she would have descendants. But a long time passed and still she was childless. She grew impatient and decided to take matters into her own hands. Instead of trusting God to fulfill His promise to her, she came up with a plan to help God out. She did what seems unthinkable to us. She gave her husband to another woman.

Sarai’s actions seem crazy to us. Unfortunately, too often we are just like Sarai. When we think God is taking too long and we begin to doubt if he is going to come through, we come up with plans to help Him out. Instead of waiting and trusting, we come up with our own solutions. Taking matters into our own hands is extremely dangerous. The byproduct of Sarai and Abram’s impatience was a baby named Ishmael. Ishmael is the father of the Arab nation. The promised child of Abram and Sarai was Isaac, whose descendant’s are the Jewish nation. Centuries of conflict between the Arab and Israeli people have resulted.