The Wilderness of Hagar and Ishmael 12-9-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Wherever I go, You are there. Wherever I am, You are here. … “The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And He said, ‘Hagar, slave-girl of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?’ She said, ‘I am running away from my mistress Sarai.’ The angel of the Lord said to her, ‘Return to your mistress, and submit to her.’ The angel of the Lord also said to her, ‘I will so greatly multiply your offspring that they cannot be counted for multitude.’ And the angel of the Lord said to her, ‘Now you have conceived and will bear a son; you shall call him Ishmael, for the Lord has given heed to your affliction. He shall be a wild ass of a man, with his hand against everyone, and everyone’s hand against him; and his shall live at odds with all his kin.’ So she named the Lord who spoke to her, ‘You are El-roi,’ for she said, ‘Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing Him?’ Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered. Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael” (Genesis 16:7-16). Right now, I’m flying over the wilderness. I don’t mean any wilderness. I mean, “The Wilderness”—where Moses led the children of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt, where Moses took off his shoes on the holy ground of the burning bush, and where Hagar fled from her harsh mistress, Sarai, who had grown bitter and jealous from the delay of the promises of God in her life (v. 16:1-6). Somewhere beneath the wings of this plane lie both Mount Horeb and Mecca, the land where the descendants of both Isaac and Ishmael have walked and lived, as revealed and recorded in the Word of God. In this wilderness, You appeared to Hagar, the mother of Ishmael, the mother of the Arabic nations, who would later follow a religion called Islam. And here in this wilderness, You spoke to Hagar a command to return to Abram and Sarai, with her son in her womb. And, at the same time, You spoke a blessing over her, that the descendants of her son would be greatly multiplied, even though they would also experience contention and strife with all people all around them. Even before Isaac was born under the blessing of Your covenant with Abraham, You first called Abraham and his son Ishmael to be circumcised as a mark and seal of their place in Your heart (v. 17:23-27). And before Abraham and Sarah held Isaac in their arms, the son of the covenant of Your promise, You first spoke a blessing over Ishmael: “As for Ishmael, I have heard you; I will bless him and make him fruitful and exceedingly numerous; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year” (v. 17:20-21). Sadly, Sarah seemed to be jealous of Hagar and her son Ishmael, concerned for the inheritance of Sarah’s son Isaac. And though “the matter was greatly distressing to Abraham on account of his son,” Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away into the wilderness, but with the promise of God to “make a great nation of him also” (v. 21:9-14). But there in the wilderness, through their sense of rejection, abandonment, and shame, You did not forget Hagar and her son, Ishmael. You spoke to her through Your angel in the desert: “Do not be afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Come, lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him” (v. 21:15-19). Though it seemed Ishmael was cast away by his earthly father along with his mother, You did not leave him nor forsake him. And Despite what he must have thought and what his descendants of the nations and generations since him may think, You were always with him: “God was with the boy, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother got a wife for him in the land of Egypt” (v. 21:20-21). O Lord, as I continue on in my journey across this ancient wilderness and on to ministry among the sons and daughters of Ishmael in Pakistan, give me Your heart for each of them and for their land. With Your heart and Your words, with Your message of hope and love, and Your prayers for restoration of peace in their souls and toward their neighbors, let me be a light in the midst of darkness. In the healing love of God, let me lead them to the One who is the Light, to the One who has never forgotten them, never rejected or abandoned them, and never forsaken them. Though these sons and daughters of Ishmael, through the brokenness, confusion, and devastation of generations dating back to their first father, may believe that God is no Father and He has no Son, let them hear Your heart and know Your truth. Continue to reveal Yourself to them in their dreams and through the mercy and power of Your grace as Issa—Jesus who is their healer and prince of peace. And let them come to know that God is a Father, that God has created them for a personal relationship of love, for “God is love” (1 John 4:8). And that God loves them so much He gave His only begotten Son for them so that they would never feel Fatherless, rejected, abandoned, or ashamed (John 3:16). They are welcome home into the arms of the One who promised to bless them and make a fruitful and mighty nation of them, as sons and daughters of Abraham and Ishmael (Genesis 17:20). In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I have now made it to Pakistan safely into the home of my host pastor and his family for a day to visit and rest. Tomorrow night I will be preaching my first revival meeting. Please keep us in your prayers and thank you for joining and sharing with me in the journey of proclaiming the good news of the gospel of the kingdom to the nations. "For the share of the one who goes down into battle shall be the same as the share of the one who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike" (1 Samuel 30:24). 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