I continue to prepare sermons to keep my mind active.  Here is the one for today.

June 25 Genesis21:8-21Sibling rivalry 3^rd Sunday after Pentecost

Abraham begat the sons who still fight as Jews and Muslims.

Psalter reading Psalm 86:1-10

“1 ¶ «A Prayer of David» Bow down Your ear, O LORD, hear me; For I am poor and needy. 2 Preserve my life, for I am holy; You are my God; Save Your servant who trusts in You! 3 Be merciful to me, O Lord, For I cry to You all day long. 4 Rejoice the soul of Your servant, For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 5 For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You. 6 Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; And attend to the voice of my supplications. 7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, For You will answer me. 8 ¶ Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord; Nor are there any works like Your works. 9 All nations whom You have made Shall come and worship before You, O Lord, And shall glorify Your name. 10 For You are great, and do wondrous things; You alone are God.” (Psalm 86:1-10 NKJV)

“8 So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned. 9 ¶ And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. 10 Therefore she said to Abraham, "Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac." 11 And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, "Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called. 13 "Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed." 14 ¶ So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. 15 And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. 16 Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, "Let me not see the death of the boy." So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, "What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18 "Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation." 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. 20 So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. 21 He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.” (Genesis 21:8-21 NKJV)

We are a fast food people.  We are not good at waiting.  Sarah was like that and pushed Abraham to “help” God. 

Many of us think Sarah was making a rational decision that if what God said didn’t work when we wanted we must find a way to make it work.  The problem is the unintended consequences.

The child born because of trying to hurry God would become the people who currently are fighting the son of Sarah!  The wars in the Middle East are really just sibling rivalry.

This can be seen in that both Jews and Muslims claim their authority as coming from being a child of Abraham!  Both see their child of Abraham as being offered in sacrifice to God!

Just as fast food often causing gut problems the fast work of Sarah caused centuries of burning, death and despair. One decision has brought about religious warfare and division of people claiming to be people of the Book, the Bible.

As well as Sibling Rivalry this could be called unintended consequences.  Wait on the Lord and you will pass good things on to those who follow and not consequences that destroy!