Abraham had two sons born to two different mothers. (See Genesis 16 and Chapter 21) Isaac (the father of Jacob and Esau) was the son of Sarah who, it is said, was one hundred years old when she had him in fulfilment of God’s promise that Abraham’s descendants would be as numerous as the starts in the firmament. Ishmael was the son of Sarah’s servant girl Hagar who, following custom was given to Abraham to secure a descendant who would be brought up as a member of the family. Ishmael had been the apple of his father’s eye, and was very put out when the new baby arrived and usurped his favoured position. Abraham held a feast in honour of the baby at which Ishmael behaved badly, prompting Sarah to banish him and his mother to the desert where the boy grew up, fortunately under God’s protection. Sarah may have felt happier that Hagar and Ishmael were out of the way, but Abraham was distressed.
Mothers, it seems, can be overly protective of their sons, but also risk being too pushy or too demanding. Some mothers only reluctantly relinquish their position of influence and allow their sons to grow up properly. This mother son relationship provides a fertile source of jokes in situation comedy. Mothers need to be careful not to try to live out their hopes through their sons.
Have you ever tried to intervene in a family situation and just made things worse like Sarah did? Pray that God will be able to use this situation to move your whole family on.
The characters we have been considering this week are all part of the same family (why not have a go at drawing a family tree!) and all prone to weaknesses in character such as jealousy, favouritism and deceit. Amazing then, that God chose them to found his favoured nation, despite their faults. Like them we can be reassured that even when we make bad choices, God can still come alongside and turn them to good.
Mairi Mowbray
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