Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
Then they said, "Let's call the girl and ask her about it." So they called Rebekah and asked her, "Will you go with this man?"
"I will go," she said. -- Gen 24:57-58, NIV84
Years passed; Isaac grew to manhood, Sarah died and was buried. And Abraham, feeling his age, called his chief servant in with a request. Isaac should not marry any of the women of the nations around them, he said. Isaac should marry a woman of Abraham's clan...someone who would share his heritage and who would not bring strange gods into the household. So Abraham sent his most trusted servant back to the land he left...Haran...to seek out a bride for his son.
We know his side of the story well; how he came to the place and asked God for a specific sign to show him the woman God had chosen for Isaac's wife...and how quickly a beautiful young lady appeared who fulfilled the sign to the letter and turned out to be Abraham's great niece, the daughter of his brother Nahor's son, Bethuel.
We know very little else about this remarkable young lady at this point.
But we know something of her family.
Her grandfather, Abraham's brother, had died. Bethuel was now the head of the clan...at least, in name. But Rebekah's brother Laban was the one who greeted Abraham's servant and gave orders regarding him. It was Rebekah's mother and Laban who attempted to set the terms for Rebekah's journey. This makes me wonder how much actual influence Bethuel had in his own household.
And we know from later dealings with Laban that he was not a man of integrity.
So...what was life like for Rebekah, living in that household? With maidservants of her own, she still went to the spring to draw water. Was that an indication of her servant's heart...or her opportunity to get out of the house and away from an atmosphere that was oppressive to her? Or was it just an unusual set of circumstances that had her making the trip for water that particular night? Or all three in combination?
That night started out no different than any other night when she would draw water...she took her jar down to the spring, with the sun slanting low in the west. She was a little surprised to see a travel-worn man near the spring, with ten camels kneeling nearby with servants attending them. But the man said nothing, and it was not proper for her to ask a stranger about his business, so she continued to the spring and filled her jar, as always. But when she turned and headed back with it, the man stopped her and asked for a drink of water. As she was apparently the first young lady to come and get water that night, that may not have seemed odd to her. He had nothing to use to draw water, and he was thirsty. And there were all those camels...
Again, what prompted Rebekah to offer to water the camels? Her servant's heart? Her interest in a legitimate excuse to stay away from her family? Or maybe her curiosity...perhaps she could learn the stranger's purpose if she watered his camels. He appeared to be a wealthy man. She didn't even hesitate, once the idea occurred to her.
She carried jar after jar to the animal trough to water those camels. Camels can go for weeks without drinking, but when they have water available, they drink...and drink...and drink...and drink...and drink. She kept filling the trough until the last camel turned away.
The man then pulled out a gold nose ring of impressive size and two hefty gold bracelets and offered them to her...and asked whose daughter she was, and if there would be room for him and his attendants to spend the night. She was impressed...if the jewelry was his appreciation for watering the camels, he was a man of honor and significance. She told him she was Nahor's granddaughter, and welcomed him on behalf of her family.
Then the man surprised her...he bowed to the ground and worshiped God, thanking Him for bringing him straight to his intended destination.
God led him here? That was...different. Rebekah hurried to her mother and told her what had happened. Laban, who was standing there, saw the jewelry and the moment he'd heard enough to find the man, took off for the spring. "I have prepared the house and a place for the camels" could hardly have been exactly true...there had been no time...but unexpected guests were the only kind of guests in those days, so there were things that were just always ready.
The camels were bedded down, the travelers all had footbaths, and food was brought for them. But the servant waved it off. "I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say."
Now they were down to business. "Then tell us"...every translation I have handy at the moment attributes that statement to Laban, but every one has it marked that that is the implication, as Laban has clearly been playing the role of host up to that moment. But the entire household...including Bethuel, as we see in verse 50...had assembled to learn what had brought this man to their doorstep.
Now, consider. It had been close to sundown when Rebekah went to the well. She watered all the camels, then returned. Laban had gone down to the well, and all the servants and camels were brought back to the compound and were fed and bedded down. Then the men were welcomed and food prepared.
It was getting late in the evening when he began his story.
None of them there would remember Abraham, unless there were very old servants around. Bethuel was not yet born when Abram left Haran, but news had traveled around somewhat. They may or may not have known of Isaac, they may or may not have known about Abraham's wealth. But the servant had come with camels and servants and the gold jewelry that Rebekah was now wearing and it was all proven.
The servant's story was impressive...that he and Abraham agreed that there was one woman he was to seek, and she would have the power to choose to come or not come. He was not obligated to find another if that woman declined the journey. He related how he had asked God to show him that specific woman...and that Rebekah had precisely fulfilled that description.
Laban and Bethuel looked at each other, amazed, and replied,
This is from the LORD; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has directed.'
But notice...no one asked Rebekah. Her father and her brother agreed that if this was God's doing, they had no business having an opinion. I wonder what Rebekah thought as she returned to her place, took off the jewelry and settled down to sleep. I rather suspect it all seemed rather dream-like and unreal. Was she excited? Disappointed that she wasn't going to marry some young man that she'd had her eye on? Or maybe the person who'd made inquiries about marrying her wasn't young and handsome but a local middle-aged landowner who was interested in adding her to his harem in order to make an alliance with her father?
Maybe she was seeing a way out of something that was becoming intolerable.
Or, maybe for the first time in her life, she was seeing herself as significant to God. He had, after all, led the servant straight to her.
The next morning, Abraham's servant got up and asked for permission to leave with Rebekah that very day.
Rebekah's mother and Laban balked. Ten days, they said. 'Let her stay home with us for ten days or so, then we'll let her go.'
But he was insistent. He had obtained his objective; his master was waiting to see if he was successful. There was no reason to delay his return.
Then...Rebekah's family hit upon the idea of asking her. I'm not sure what they expected her to say, but I'm convinced it wasn't what she said. She'd had the night to think...to imagine life differently than it was...to ponder the idea that God had a destiny for her unlike any she had considered. So when they asked her, "Will you go with this man?" she simultaneously took her future into her own hands and released it into God's when she surprised them by saying, "I will go."
The woman that the servant was seeking chose to return with him.
In less than 24 hours, she had changed from the daughter in a house of manipulation and tension to a bride on the way to her husband, whom she'd never met, in a land she did not know. But she did know that God had selected her for that place...and it was her own choice to step into it.
And God, in His ways, put her in the arms of a man who loved her.
Are there areas in my life in which God is calling me to leave what is familar absolutely and without hesitation? Will I go where the Spirit calls, trusting Him? At once? Today?
Friday, July 17, 2015
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Late Again: SSMT Verse 14: Ps. 121:7 - 8
Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
Sigh. SSMT Verse 15 was due yesterday...but Wednesdays are still crazy days, even without a class to teach at the moment. So...glad we get a little grace. ;-)
The last two verses of the psalm:
The LORD will keep you from all harm -- he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Ps. 121: 7 - 8 NIV 84
I've enjoyed studying one passage for the last couple of months; this one has reminded me that, even though the world around us has been going crazy, God is steadfast. He's got us covered in the midst of the insane and crazy.
Because He sees the end from the beginning and knows how it will all turn out.
Sigh. SSMT Verse 15 was due yesterday...but Wednesdays are still crazy days, even without a class to teach at the moment. So...glad we get a little grace. ;-)
The last two verses of the psalm:
The LORD will keep you from all harm -- he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Ps. 121: 7 - 8 NIV 84
I've enjoyed studying one passage for the last couple of months; this one has reminded me that, even though the world around us has been going crazy, God is steadfast. He's got us covered in the midst of the insane and crazy.
Because He sees the end from the beginning and knows how it will all turn out.
Friday, July 10, 2015
All Things New: Sarah, the Unhoped-for Road, part 2
Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
In my reader's mind, I see Abraham returning from the interaction with God recorded in Genesis 17 differently than any of the others. God had renewed both the covenant and the promise, and he now understood that God was not finished with him yet; God had more in store for Abraham than he had ever imagined. Striding into the compound of tents, he calls for the men to assemble. 'Go find them!' He instructs his household servants to collect the herdsmen from the pastures and the servants from the fields. 'I need every man and boy who belongs to me!' Then he turns to find his wife. He finds her in her place, tending to the business of the household. There is something different in the way he looks at her, and she notices. Something stirs in her spirit that had lain dead for years and years and years, something that brought a glimpse of youth and virility and desire that she had long forgotten. He smiles and takes her face in his hands and says for her ears alone, 'Sarai -- the Lord says you are Sarah, His princess, and you are part of His promise.' In an American telling of the tale, there would be a passionate kiss at that point, but I think Abraham had other things on his mind at the moment and after sharing that tidbit gets to the business at hand. 'I need every knife we have...and I need them to be as sharp as we can get them as quickly as we can get them. I have heard from El-Shaddai!'
Sarah would have heard the declaration before his assembled household...that God had changed Abram's name to Abraham and Sarai would now be Sarah; the ordeal the men and boys were about to undergo had been declared by God to distinguish Abraham and his descendants from all other people groups from that time on.
Who actually wielded those knives, what kind of pain relief or follow up care they would have had available to them is beyond my knowledge. The women of the household may actually have had very little involvement in the process...or they may have been holding hands, bringing towels, changing water, sharpening knives...who knows. It had to have been a trying day for everyone. But Abraham had God's promise, and he believed that God would do what he said; I rather believe there was a worship service going on the whole time. It was a smaller scaled version of the event that confirmed the covenant for the whole nation hundreds of years later on the west bank of the Jordan River.
The covenant was in effect. The promise was coming. A nation and a people to be God's own.
But at this point, Sarah was cleaning and cleaning and cleaning again. And trying to get used to her new name.
I don't think Abraham had passed along the rest of the word concerning her. For when Abraham's heavenly guests arrived shortly afterward, and Abraham was told once more, this time within Sarah's hearing, that Sarah would have a son within the next year, she thought it ridiculous and laughed to herself...a disillusioned, derisive laugh, I'm sure. After all this time and disappointment and the conflicts they'd endured to see the promise come to pass...no, it couldn't be so.
I think if Abraham had told her what God had said, Sarah would've received that as a confirmation and been amazed, perhaps; I don't think her reaction would've been to have scoffed at the news, even privately. But there, in the tent, out of sight and hearing of Abraham and his guests, Sarah heard that ludicrous statement and laughed.
And was terrified when she was called out on it.
Probably in her mind she didn't laugh...that is, she didn't consider that bitter chuckle to be laughter. Not really. But the Lord not only called her out for laughing, but repeated her thoughts and answered them. 'Is anything too hard for the LORD? ...This time next year, you'll have a son.'
'No,' she insisted, 'I didn't laugh. Really'
And he replied, I would almost say tenderly, because here was a lady who had given up on God ever noticing her, 'Oh, yes, you did.'
Here was the paradigm shift for Sarah. Abraham talked to God. Hagar had a supernatural word. But all Sarah had was Abraham's statement that God changed her name...and that was only recently. But now...God asked for her by name, told her what she thought, answered the questions of her heart, and assured her that, even though she was afraid and disillusioned, her weaknesses were seen and yet did not disqualify her from the promise.
Everything new for Sarah came from that moment, when she could no longer consider herself someone who didn't matter. God saw her. He knew her. And she was part of His plan.
Before God changes circumstances, He changes hearts. The paradigm shift that needs to happen for so many is to believe that 'God sees and has a plan for ME'. We find it's relatively easy to believe God speaks to others, acts on behalf of others, but when it comes to believing He would do the same for each of us, individually and personally...we struggle.. Believe we're invisible to Him, or disqualified in some way.
But He asks for us by name, and will tell what we need to hear, if we will but listen. He'll even deal with unbelief, if we will give Him the chance.
What can I do to put myself in the place where I can hear Him call my name? What question do I need to hear Him answer?
In my reader's mind, I see Abraham returning from the interaction with God recorded in Genesis 17 differently than any of the others. God had renewed both the covenant and the promise, and he now understood that God was not finished with him yet; God had more in store for Abraham than he had ever imagined. Striding into the compound of tents, he calls for the men to assemble. 'Go find them!' He instructs his household servants to collect the herdsmen from the pastures and the servants from the fields. 'I need every man and boy who belongs to me!' Then he turns to find his wife. He finds her in her place, tending to the business of the household. There is something different in the way he looks at her, and she notices. Something stirs in her spirit that had lain dead for years and years and years, something that brought a glimpse of youth and virility and desire that she had long forgotten. He smiles and takes her face in his hands and says for her ears alone, 'Sarai -- the Lord says you are Sarah, His princess, and you are part of His promise.' In an American telling of the tale, there would be a passionate kiss at that point, but I think Abraham had other things on his mind at the moment and after sharing that tidbit gets to the business at hand. 'I need every knife we have...and I need them to be as sharp as we can get them as quickly as we can get them. I have heard from El-Shaddai!'
Sarah would have heard the declaration before his assembled household...that God had changed Abram's name to Abraham and Sarai would now be Sarah; the ordeal the men and boys were about to undergo had been declared by God to distinguish Abraham and his descendants from all other people groups from that time on.
Who actually wielded those knives, what kind of pain relief or follow up care they would have had available to them is beyond my knowledge. The women of the household may actually have had very little involvement in the process...or they may have been holding hands, bringing towels, changing water, sharpening knives...who knows. It had to have been a trying day for everyone. But Abraham had God's promise, and he believed that God would do what he said; I rather believe there was a worship service going on the whole time. It was a smaller scaled version of the event that confirmed the covenant for the whole nation hundreds of years later on the west bank of the Jordan River.
The covenant was in effect. The promise was coming. A nation and a people to be God's own.
But at this point, Sarah was cleaning and cleaning and cleaning again. And trying to get used to her new name.
I don't think Abraham had passed along the rest of the word concerning her. For when Abraham's heavenly guests arrived shortly afterward, and Abraham was told once more, this time within Sarah's hearing, that Sarah would have a son within the next year, she thought it ridiculous and laughed to herself...a disillusioned, derisive laugh, I'm sure. After all this time and disappointment and the conflicts they'd endured to see the promise come to pass...no, it couldn't be so.
I think if Abraham had told her what God had said, Sarah would've received that as a confirmation and been amazed, perhaps; I don't think her reaction would've been to have scoffed at the news, even privately. But there, in the tent, out of sight and hearing of Abraham and his guests, Sarah heard that ludicrous statement and laughed.
And was terrified when she was called out on it.
Probably in her mind she didn't laugh...that is, she didn't consider that bitter chuckle to be laughter. Not really. But the Lord not only called her out for laughing, but repeated her thoughts and answered them. 'Is anything too hard for the LORD? ...This time next year, you'll have a son.'
'No,' she insisted, 'I didn't laugh. Really'
And he replied, I would almost say tenderly, because here was a lady who had given up on God ever noticing her, 'Oh, yes, you did.'
Here was the paradigm shift for Sarah. Abraham talked to God. Hagar had a supernatural word. But all Sarah had was Abraham's statement that God changed her name...and that was only recently. But now...God asked for her by name, told her what she thought, answered the questions of her heart, and assured her that, even though she was afraid and disillusioned, her weaknesses were seen and yet did not disqualify her from the promise.
Everything new for Sarah came from that moment, when she could no longer consider herself someone who didn't matter. God saw her. He knew her. And she was part of His plan.
Before God changes circumstances, He changes hearts. The paradigm shift that needs to happen for so many is to believe that 'God sees and has a plan for ME'. We find it's relatively easy to believe God speaks to others, acts on behalf of others, but when it comes to believing He would do the same for each of us, individually and personally...we struggle.. Believe we're invisible to Him, or disqualified in some way.
But He asks for us by name, and will tell what we need to hear, if we will but listen. He'll even deal with unbelief, if we will give Him the chance.
What can I do to put myself in the place where I can hear Him call my name? What question do I need to hear Him answer?
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Goin' Old Skool
Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
For some strange reason, I had a hankerin' for some Old Skool Christian rock...and the likes of the Allies and Whiteheart are in the CD changer.
'Freedom' is probably one of my favorite discs ever. Just sayin'.
Back in the day, I actually made an effort to do low-impact aerobics at the little church we were attending. Sometimes I'd have 3 ladies come, sometimes it was just me and a friend. Workin' up a sweat to pretty much the same playlist...on a cassette tape in my boom box...every week.
Those songs will get IN your head when you do that.
To this day, I have a heard time not doing the knee-kick knee-kick routine to the title cut from that Freedom CD.
But as the songs have cycled through the disc changer, I've been hearing the lyrics again, fresh.
It's been a while.
break out of the dark land you live in
set the bridge on fire
cross over the deep troubled water
set the bridge on fire
stand up for the truth you believe in
it is a higher power
strike back with the bright torch of freedom
set the bridge on fire....
('Set the Bridge on Fire' - Whiteheart, 'Freedom' - 1989)
And WAAAYYY before Elsa started throwing ice fractals around...
it's like after the storm
there's a ray of gold
that's how it feels
to let it go
it's like heaven has come
and opened the gates of your soul
it's a journey back into innocence
you feel the touch of tenderness
your heart turns to gold
when you let it go
let it go
('Let It Go' - Whiteheart, 'Freedom' - 1989)
Yeah. Sometimes it's good to go Old Skool. Sometimes I need reminding.
For some strange reason, I had a hankerin' for some Old Skool Christian rock...and the likes of the Allies and Whiteheart are in the CD changer.
'Freedom' is probably one of my favorite discs ever. Just sayin'.
Back in the day, I actually made an effort to do low-impact aerobics at the little church we were attending. Sometimes I'd have 3 ladies come, sometimes it was just me and a friend. Workin' up a sweat to pretty much the same playlist...on a cassette tape in my boom box...every week.
Those songs will get IN your head when you do that.
To this day, I have a heard time not doing the knee-kick knee-kick routine to the title cut from that Freedom CD.
But as the songs have cycled through the disc changer, I've been hearing the lyrics again, fresh.
It's been a while.
break out of the dark land you live in
set the bridge on fire
cross over the deep troubled water
set the bridge on fire
stand up for the truth you believe in
it is a higher power
strike back with the bright torch of freedom
set the bridge on fire....
('Set the Bridge on Fire' - Whiteheart, 'Freedom' - 1989)
And WAAAYYY before Elsa started throwing ice fractals around...
it's like after the storm
there's a ray of gold
that's how it feels
to let it go
it's like heaven has come
and opened the gates of your soul
it's a journey back into innocence
you feel the touch of tenderness
your heart turns to gold
when you let it go
let it go
('Let It Go' - Whiteheart, 'Freedom' - 1989)
Yeah. Sometimes it's good to go Old Skool. Sometimes I need reminding.
Friday, July 3, 2015
All Things New: Sarah, the Unhoped-for Road, Part 1
Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
In all of Abraham's story, Sarai/Sarah is a secondary character.
She left Haran with Abram, traipsed with him through Canaan to Egypt, where she went along with Abram's story that she was just his sister, which, according to Genesis 20:13, was the story they presented regularly. She must have been incredibly beautiful; even as an elderly woman her beauty captured the eyes of foreign kings. But it may have been more than just her beauty that caught their eye; in that time, alliances were often formed via marriage. Kings married into each others' families as a way to reinforce treaties and agreements...blood being thicker than ink and all. So the kings who took Sarai/Sarah into their harems may not have been simply infatuated by her, although her beauty is mentioned as a factor, but they may also have been making an alliance with Abram/Abraham.
By our standards, this is an outrageous situation, a great failure on Abram's/Abraham's part to protect and cover his wife. How could he have trusted God so little here, when he trusted Him with so much elsewhere? But Sarai/Sarah did not betray her husband. God stood guard over her and protected her and turned the situation around so that Abram/Abraham even gained wealth as a result of the whole deal.
She endured much for the sake of her husband.
And then...one day he returned from a prayer retreat, dazzled. He spoke of covenant and visions and smoking pots and God's promise that, even in his mid eighties, God was going to bless him and make him a father of a son.
Sarai, well past the age of childbearing herself, cannot have thought for even a moment that she would be the child's mother. She is not mentioned in Genesis 15. What part did she have in Abram's promise...after all the years of moving around and presenting herself as his sister to make him less of a threat to those around them? Would she have to send her husband to the bed of a second wife or concubine...or die altogether...for Abram to even have an opportunity to be a father?
How long did it take her to come to the conclusion that her only chance of having any part in the promise was to offer her maid Hagar as a surrogate mother? How much did it cost her emotionally to go to her husband and say, 'Since God has prevented me from having children, I have a suggestion....'
Now, in that time, what she suggested was perfectly acceptable. Common. And, you know, Abram may not have agreed right away; the narrative does not include much of a time frame. Eventually, however, he did.
There's no indication that they ever asked God for His direction in their planning.
I think she knew, when she first saw Hagar's smirk of superiority once her pregnancy was confirmed, that they'd made a mistake. There was no joy in the family that the promise was manifesting. Instead, petty jealousies and accusations began to multiply. Hagar, who had to have been Sarai's closest companion and confidante, now despised Sarai. Sarai blamed Abram. Abram refused to act on behalf of his wife. Sarai, no doubt feeling betrayed by her best friend, her husband and even her God, mistreated Hagar. Hagar ran away.
You can tell the root of a thing by its fruit. And this fruit was turning out to be both bitter and sour.
Hagar returned to Sarai, subdued for a time after her supernatural encounter, but the damage was done. Whatever their relationship had been before, the trust was broken. They now were rivals.
You know, in a world of men, it had to be painful to Sarai to lose that relationship with her closest female companion. There is no enmity so bitter as that where true friendship has been broken. And Hagar had both a son...Abram's joy and delight and, so far as they all understood, the promise fulfilled..and a supernatural visit from the angel of God. Sarai...all Sarai had was the responsibility of running Abram's household. She had no word from God, no assurance on any account that she was part of the promise. All her attempts to be included had turned to ashes in her hands. What hope did she have? There was nothing left to hope for.
For thirteen years, Sarai lived with that. Then Abram had another encounter with God.
There is no situation so bleak as the one taken at face value. Even when there is no visible evidence of God's plan, His plan is still in place. The promise is still coming. God will not hold back what He has spoken, even if we give up looking for it.
In all of Abraham's story, Sarai/Sarah is a secondary character.
She left Haran with Abram, traipsed with him through Canaan to Egypt, where she went along with Abram's story that she was just his sister, which, according to Genesis 20:13, was the story they presented regularly. She must have been incredibly beautiful; even as an elderly woman her beauty captured the eyes of foreign kings. But it may have been more than just her beauty that caught their eye; in that time, alliances were often formed via marriage. Kings married into each others' families as a way to reinforce treaties and agreements...blood being thicker than ink and all. So the kings who took Sarai/Sarah into their harems may not have been simply infatuated by her, although her beauty is mentioned as a factor, but they may also have been making an alliance with Abram/Abraham.
By our standards, this is an outrageous situation, a great failure on Abram's/Abraham's part to protect and cover his wife. How could he have trusted God so little here, when he trusted Him with so much elsewhere? But Sarai/Sarah did not betray her husband. God stood guard over her and protected her and turned the situation around so that Abram/Abraham even gained wealth as a result of the whole deal.
She endured much for the sake of her husband.
And then...one day he returned from a prayer retreat, dazzled. He spoke of covenant and visions and smoking pots and God's promise that, even in his mid eighties, God was going to bless him and make him a father of a son.
Sarai, well past the age of childbearing herself, cannot have thought for even a moment that she would be the child's mother. She is not mentioned in Genesis 15. What part did she have in Abram's promise...after all the years of moving around and presenting herself as his sister to make him less of a threat to those around them? Would she have to send her husband to the bed of a second wife or concubine...or die altogether...for Abram to even have an opportunity to be a father?
How long did it take her to come to the conclusion that her only chance of having any part in the promise was to offer her maid Hagar as a surrogate mother? How much did it cost her emotionally to go to her husband and say, 'Since God has prevented me from having children, I have a suggestion....'
Now, in that time, what she suggested was perfectly acceptable. Common. And, you know, Abram may not have agreed right away; the narrative does not include much of a time frame. Eventually, however, he did.
There's no indication that they ever asked God for His direction in their planning.
I think she knew, when she first saw Hagar's smirk of superiority once her pregnancy was confirmed, that they'd made a mistake. There was no joy in the family that the promise was manifesting. Instead, petty jealousies and accusations began to multiply. Hagar, who had to have been Sarai's closest companion and confidante, now despised Sarai. Sarai blamed Abram. Abram refused to act on behalf of his wife. Sarai, no doubt feeling betrayed by her best friend, her husband and even her God, mistreated Hagar. Hagar ran away.
You can tell the root of a thing by its fruit. And this fruit was turning out to be both bitter and sour.
Hagar returned to Sarai, subdued for a time after her supernatural encounter, but the damage was done. Whatever their relationship had been before, the trust was broken. They now were rivals.
You know, in a world of men, it had to be painful to Sarai to lose that relationship with her closest female companion. There is no enmity so bitter as that where true friendship has been broken. And Hagar had both a son...Abram's joy and delight and, so far as they all understood, the promise fulfilled..and a supernatural visit from the angel of God. Sarai...all Sarai had was the responsibility of running Abram's household. She had no word from God, no assurance on any account that she was part of the promise. All her attempts to be included had turned to ashes in her hands. What hope did she have? There was nothing left to hope for.
For thirteen years, Sarai lived with that. Then Abram had another encounter with God.
There is no situation so bleak as the one taken at face value. Even when there is no visible evidence of God's plan, His plan is still in place. The promise is still coming. God will not hold back what He has spoken, even if we give up looking for it.
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
SSMT Verse 13 - Ps. 121:5-6
Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
Insert expected exclamation of disbelief that it is July 1 already and time for the 13th Verse in the 2015 Siesta Scripture Memory Team assignment. (BTW, Beth is teaching today on the blog on her chosen verse...Gal. 6:1. Good stuff)
My journey through Psalms 121 brings me to verses 5 and 6:
The LORD watches over you -- The LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day nor the moon by night. -- Ps 121:5-6 NIV84
I've always thought this was kind of an interesting concept...of course, the sun has potential to cause harm...blistering sunburn, dehydration, heat stroke, etc.; in contrast, the moon itself is rather harmless. I think the poetic language implies protection from the threat that comes under the cover of night.
Because God is the shade; the One who stands between the threat and the threatened to protect, cover and shield.
Just the idea of being in the shade is restful and restorative.
A good passage for July 1.
Insert expected exclamation of disbelief that it is July 1 already and time for the 13th Verse in the 2015 Siesta Scripture Memory Team assignment. (BTW, Beth is teaching today on the blog on her chosen verse...Gal. 6:1. Good stuff)
My journey through Psalms 121 brings me to verses 5 and 6:
The LORD watches over you -- The LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day nor the moon by night. -- Ps 121:5-6 NIV84
I've always thought this was kind of an interesting concept...of course, the sun has potential to cause harm...blistering sunburn, dehydration, heat stroke, etc.; in contrast, the moon itself is rather harmless. I think the poetic language implies protection from the threat that comes under the cover of night.
Because God is the shade; the One who stands between the threat and the threatened to protect, cover and shield.
Just the idea of being in the shade is restful and restorative.
A good passage for July 1.
Monday, June 29, 2015
An Evening with the Whip-poor-wills
Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
Y'know, before this past Saturday, I had never actually heard a whip-poor-will call.
The Princesses' in-laws have a cabin on a lake about an hour and a half away. After three years of failed attempts, she finally managed to get us and her siblings all there for a weekend.
It's one of the places in the country where there is ABSOLUTELY NO CELL PHONE RECEPTION.
Which meant no internet, no instagram posts, no facebook conversations...just a weekend of family interaction.
The main attraction is the lake and the kayaks were put to use, along with inflated rings and other flotation devices. I'm not a water person...a couple of bad experiences with water as a kid have pretty much convinced my autonomic nervous system that water is Not To Be Trusted...so I hiked from the cabin down the hill to the lake and back a few times taking pictures. Played some dominoes with My Sweet Babboo. Listened to the Actor and a buddy of his who tagged along playing worship music, rotating amongst the available instruments...ukelele, guitar, harmonica and djimbe. Sat on the porch swing and polished up the song for the month of June (I wrote a Christmas song. That's when it should be written, right, if it's possibly going to be used at Christmas?).
We had a bit of rain in advance of a cold front that finally went through Saturday afternoon, so Saturday evening was cool and clear; the gibbous moon was bright enough to cast shadows. My Sweet Babboo, the Princess and I sat outside as the fire we'd used to roast weenies and marshmallows died to embers. We looked at the brighter stars that were visible in the moonlight and listened to a handful of whip-poor-wills calling in the woods around the cabin.
Those are the moments that make a summer. They come way too seldom.
Y'know, before this past Saturday, I had never actually heard a whip-poor-will call.
The Princesses' in-laws have a cabin on a lake about an hour and a half away. After three years of failed attempts, she finally managed to get us and her siblings all there for a weekend.
It's one of the places in the country where there is ABSOLUTELY NO CELL PHONE RECEPTION.
Which meant no internet, no instagram posts, no facebook conversations...just a weekend of family interaction.
The main attraction is the lake and the kayaks were put to use, along with inflated rings and other flotation devices. I'm not a water person...a couple of bad experiences with water as a kid have pretty much convinced my autonomic nervous system that water is Not To Be Trusted...so I hiked from the cabin down the hill to the lake and back a few times taking pictures. Played some dominoes with My Sweet Babboo. Listened to the Actor and a buddy of his who tagged along playing worship music, rotating amongst the available instruments...ukelele, guitar, harmonica and djimbe. Sat on the porch swing and polished up the song for the month of June (I wrote a Christmas song. That's when it should be written, right, if it's possibly going to be used at Christmas?).
We had a bit of rain in advance of a cold front that finally went through Saturday afternoon, so Saturday evening was cool and clear; the gibbous moon was bright enough to cast shadows. My Sweet Babboo, the Princess and I sat outside as the fire we'd used to roast weenies and marshmallows died to embers. We looked at the brighter stars that were visible in the moonlight and listened to a handful of whip-poor-wills calling in the woods around the cabin.
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