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Abraham’s and
Sarah’s family is the
progenitor of the Jewish nation. Sarah was Abraham’s half-sister yet God
allowed them to marry each other because those who belonged to God’s
chosen
race at that time were still few. Later, God forbade such a marriage.
Abraham
and Sarah had their faith tested and they passed before they could be
admitted
into the hall of faith.
Test of Faith
First, when God
told Abraham to leave
his country, his relations and his father’s house and go to a land that
he
would show him, he obeyed promptly. Even though a lot of promises were
attached
to his call, Abraham had a choice to make. He could choose to either
obey God
and became a reference point throughout history or disobey and remained
in an
obscure place and passed away with his period. He was also faced with
choosing
between the security of what he already had and the uncertainty of
travelling
under God’s leading to an unknown destination.
Second, God
promised Abraham and Sarah
a child through whom they would become father and mother of nations.
This
promise was delayed. In spite of this, they continued to live together
in love
and peace. Sarah remained loyal and submissive to Abraham and Abraham
loved her
intimately. At last when all evidences proved otherwise, they had the
promised
child (Isaac).
Third, their
inability to have children
did not affect their relationship to people who happened to have contact
with
them. For example, Lot’s family and their herdsmen lived with them until
they
parted peacefully.
Fourth, the
love of Abraham and Sarah
to God was tested after receiving the promise child. Naturally, they
could have
loved Isaac so much that he would become Sarah’s pet and Abraham’s hope
of
living. But when God told Abraham to go and offer Isaac for a burnt
offering, Abraham
obeyed God without resistance from Sarah.
Fifth, Abraham
and Sarah passed the
test of taking joint decisions. Even though some of their decisions were
carnally made, they always reasoned together and took joint decisions.
Abraham’s and Sarah’s Failures
Abraham and
Sarah failed in the
following areas:
- Under
fearful circumstances they agreed to
distort the truth. Twice they both agreed to deny that they were
husband
and wife.
- They had trouble to continue
believing God’s
promises when evidences were pointing to the contrary. When Sarah
considered her ageing condition and that of Abraham, she succumbed
to the
custom of the heathen around them. She gave her maid, Hagar to
Abraham so
that she could get a child through her. This later caused a lot of
distresses
in the family. Though restitution was finally undertaken, their
failure
affects the whole history up till today.
Lessons From Their Family
We can learn
the following lessons from
their failure.
- Husbands
and wives must remain together no
matter the situation they are passing through.
- Barrenness is never a ground
to divorce a
woman or picking another wife so as to raise children. It should
not cause
hatred or confusion. Staying and praying together under this
condition
always move God to open the closed womb and the child that comes is
always
great. Examples are Isaac, Joseph, Samuel and John the Baptist.
- When husbands and wives
notice their failures,
they must come together and prayerfully make restitution that will
please
God.
- The promises of God for each
family will never
fail. Even though they may be delayed and our circumstances may
change,
God is always faithful to his promises.
- God’s love must be first in
our hearts. We
should not love our spouse, children, works or anything more than
God.
Whatever God demands from us, we must willingly and cheerfully give
to
Him.
- Husbands and wives must
always seek the face
and approval of God in all their decisions. When there is an advice
from
one’s spouse, the mind of God must be sought whether the advice
conforms
to His will for the family or not. When God speaks to us concerning
such
an advice, we must submit to the will of God. Abraham was not happy
to
send Hagar and Ishmael away but when God told him to do so, he
obeyed God
without delay.
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