Gods Sabbath

152

E NTERING INTO G OD ’ S S ABBATH R EST

Pressure of Circumstances

Abram and Sarai

Promise of a son

10 years

Ishmael

Finally, in desperation, Sarai proposed to her husband that he take Hagar to be the mother of his son, and Abram accepted this proposition. Sarai said to Abram: “‘The L ORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.’ Abram agreed to what Sarai said.” Genesis 16:2. In no sense were they rebels against the Almighty when they took this step. They believed in God and it was out of love for His cause that they were prepared to make this great sacrifice for Him. They desired nothing more than to build God’s kingdom in righteousness. All these were wonderfully commendable attrib utes for Sarai and Abram to possess and exhibit, but that did not prevent them from working to build God’s cause in their own way, nor did it cancel out the evil consequences of the choice they made and the course they chose to follow. The pressure to do something, combined with their earnest desire to advance the work of God, led the godly couple to miss the promise of God.

Abram’s Mistake

After the birth of Ishmael, Abram regarded his firstborn son with unbounded affection, apparently never doubting that God had accepted him as the true fulfillment of His promise. For