Day 5- Who's In Charge?
📖Daily Reading
Genesis 16-20
🎥 Video
Join me on my morning walk as we rise and shine together by walking through the Bible daily and learn a practical applicable coaching nugget from the ultimate life coach - our creator (whatever that means to you). No judgement zone here, all are welcome, we are all on a spiritual journey because we are after all spiritual beings having a human experience.
📝 Reflection
Genesis 18: 13-14
'Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord ? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” '
We have parallel but different stories with the birth of Ishmael, Isaac, John the Baptist and Jesus. So fascinating. Both seemingly ‘impossible’ pregnancy’s with Isaac and Jesus. Ishmael precedes Isaac and Hagar is told he will be a wild man, untamed, sounds kind of like John growing up in the wilderness eating locusts and honey.
Zechariah and Elizabeth parents of John the Baptist are visited by an angel and told they will have a child. They too are very old and so Zechariah doesn’t believe it, so he is literally silenced until the birth and circumcision of John as a consequence. Elizabeth believes and is told that his name will be John, which means God is Gracious.
There the three ‘men’, very similar to the three wise men in the Jesus story, that visit Abraham to tell him that Sarah will give birth to a son. She overhears and laughs, because of their old age. God calls her out and she denies it. Sarah does indeed get pregnant and gives birth to a son and Abraham names him Issac which means laughter or ‘he will laugh’.
Let’s back up a minute, before Sarah gets pregnant though, a few years earlier. Sarah and Abraham take matters into their own hands. They get impatient waiting on Gods promise of having descendants, wouldn’t you too after waiting decades?). So they think that maybe they are supposed to make it happen, so they agree that Abraham should sleep with her servant Hagar. The name Hagar means flight or to be dragged off. She also gets visited by the Lord and told that she will give birth to a son and he will be named Ishmael. The name Ishmael, means God Hears.
She is also told that Ishmael will be a wild man and untamed. The parallel is Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist. The name Elizabeth means God is an oath. The name John means God is gracious. Both men are wild, but in different ways. The old way and the new way. Ishmael will raise his fist and be openly hostile against his relatives. John will humble him self and announce that Jesus is the way and be his servant.
Sarah is old and believes it is laughable that she could be come a mother at such an old age. It is unlikely but not impossible. Mary is young and a virgin, it is impossible for her to get pregnant. She doesn’t laugh when told, she surrenders and says yes. I get goose bumps with the parallels.
The old way is that man is in charge. God is in the picture and is being worshipped but he is removed and not a part of daily life and being relied upon in the same way. I don’t mean to imply that Abraham didn’t trust God, there just seems to be an element of self sufficiency and manipulating that is in the mix. In the new way we get a parallel picture of people living in a more fully surrendered way with God being in charge fully. Old way of taking matters into their own hands vs. trust in the new covenant. Jealousy and competition vs. joy and fellowship. Hagar is viewed as a rival by Sarah and sent away. Elizabeth and Mary are excited for each other and happy.
✍🏼Daily Journal Prompt
Who is in charge in your life? Are you? Is God out there, removed and separate? Are you surrendered, do you fully trust and say yes?
📖Tomorrows Reading
Genesis 21-25
Coaching Opportunity
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