Tuesday, May 6, 2025
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Genesis 16-18
Key Verse
Genesis 17:23 — “And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.”
Devotional Thought
In Genesis 16, we are introduced to human scheming and divine faithfulness. Sarai, weary of barrenness, takes matters into her own hands. She gives her Egyptian handmaid Hagar to Abram as a wife, hoping to build a family through her. When Hagar conceives, the fragile peace of the household shatters. Hagar despises Sarai; Sarai deals harshly with Hagar; Hagar flees into the wilderness. Yet there, by a fountain on the way to Shur, the angel of the LORD finds her. He calls her by name, promises her a son named Ishmael, and reveals God as the One who sees. Hagar responds with wonder: “Thou God seest me.” How often we run from our problems only to discover that God is already there, seeing, hearing, and speaking.
Thirteen years later, in Genesis 17, God appears to Abram again. Abram is ninety-nine, still waiting. God declares, “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” He changes Abram’s name to Abraham, Sarai’s to Sarah, and institutes circumcision as the token of an everlasting covenant. He promises a son through Sarah—Isaac—and confirms that Ishmael, too, will be blessed. Abraham laughs in disbelief, but God is not deterred. “Is any thing too hard for the LORD?” The question echoes through the ages. In Genesis 18, three visitors come to Mamre. Abraham runs to serve them, and Sarah laughs behind the tent door when she hears she will bear a son in her old age. God repeats the question: “Is any thing too hard for the LORD?” Then Abraham intercedes for Sodom, bargaining with God from fifty righteous down to ten. God’s justice and mercy meet in that conversation.
These chapters speak to us in early May, a season of planting and waiting. Gardens teach us that growth happens in hidden places, often after long delay. Sarai’s plan produced strife; God’s promise produced laughter. We are tempted to hurry God’s promises, to manufacture our own Ishmaels. Yet the God who saw Hagar in the wilderness also sees us in our impatience and fear. He is not offended by our questions or even our laughter. He invites us to walk before Him, to trust His timing, and to intercede for others with bold humility.
Reflection
- Where in your life are you tempted to take matters into your own hands rather than wait on God’s promise, and what “Ishmael” has that produced?
- When you consider God’s question, “Is any thing too hard for the LORD?”, what impossible situation in your life or the world today do you need to bring before Him in prayer?
Prayer
Almighty God, Thou who seest me and hearest my affliction, forgive me for the times I have run ahead of Thy promises and made a mess of things. Teach me to wait on Thee, to walk before Thee, and to trust that nothing is too hard for Thee. Help me to intercede for the lost and the perishing with the boldness of Abraham, and to rest in the covenant of grace. In the name of Jesus, who makes all things possible, Amen.