Latest / Scripture Central / Genesis 12-17 & Abraham 1-2 I Come Follow Me I Handmaidens, Harems and Heroines

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Genesis 12-17 & Abraham 1-2 I Come Follow Me I Handmaidens, Harems and Heroines · Scripture Central

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  It's been centuries since Noah and we now have these false
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  Egyptian practices across Mesopotamia and the ancient
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  world, and we are having human sacrifices.
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  And as Abraham describes his own experience, he says, before me
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  there were three virgins at one time who were daughters of
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  Oneida, one of the royal descendants who's from the
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  direct loins of Ham. The family relationship between
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  Abraham and Sarai is a little bit different because one says
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  she's his half sister, same father Tara, different mother.
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  Another suggests that she is his niece.
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  Well, as we continue reading in Abraham, it sounds like hello,
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  welcome back to Scripture Central.
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  I'm Lynn Hilton Wilson, part of the team that tries to build
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  enduring faith in Jesus Christ by illuminating and defending
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  the Scriptures. And I'm thrilled to be able to
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  be talking about the Old Testament is specifically the
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  women on handmaidens, harems, and heroines.
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  And we've got a fabulous heroine today in our second week on
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  Sarai or Sarah Abraham's wife, we're going to talk about the
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  Egyptian maidservants from Genesis 12 to 17.
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  And we get to be introduced to Hagar.
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  So we're in the Middle Bronze Age.
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  Go back in history to about 2000 BC up to about 1800 BC, and you
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  are in the right place. I want to start in the book of
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  Abraham, you know, this is a tragic period of time when false
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  traditions have come. It's been centuries since Noah
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  and we now have these false Egyptian practices across
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  Mesopotamia and the ancient world and we are having human
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  sacrifices and is. Abraham describes his own
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  experience on the altar. He says before me there were
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  three virgins at one time who were daughters of Oneida, one of
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  the royal descendants who was from the direct loins of Ham.
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  And these daughters, these young women gave up their lives.
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  Now remember the royal lines of Ham is through the righteous
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  line. Ham and Zepta or sometimes
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  called Egyptus were married. They were on the ark.
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  Ham is the youngest son of Noah and their daughter Egyptus is
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  the one who discovers Egypt and their son Pharaoh or her son
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  Pharaoh becomes a righteous leader.
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  And they don't have the priesthood that goes through the
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  lines of Shem, but they want to follow the laws of God.
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  And so they organize their country after that same
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  practice. But it's been 800 years, a lot
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  of wickedness has come in. And in first Abraham verse 11,
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  it says because of their virtue, they would not bow down to
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  worship gods of wood or stone. Now these are are young women
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  who are monotheistic. It's a tragic example of the
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  depravity of the people, but it is a fabulous example of these
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  young women who are not only willing to stand for what they
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  believe, but they are willing to die for what they believe.
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  Sometimes I think it's harder to live for what you believe, but
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  in their case, their very lives were given.
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  These are some of our first martyrs.
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  I also want to remind you that when it says a virgin, this
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  means a young girl who has not been married, and in the ancient
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  world, marriages often took place as soon as a girl could
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  procreate. That means these girls are in
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  their very very early teens. These are 11/12/13 year olds,
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  maybe 14 at most, but these are very young girls.
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  Probably we'll find out in heaven for the exact
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  information, but just just tragic as we now move on to the
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  next female. In this week's lessons, we go
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  back to Genesis 12 and look at some of the writings on Sarai,
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  Abraham's wife. And in this section for this
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  week, she's 54 years old up to age 89.
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  And we have so many wonderful writings on Sarai that will just
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  touch on her details from this period of time.
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  Remember, she's closely related to Abraham.
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  The family relationship between Abraham and Sarai is a little
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  bit different because each text states it differently.
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  One says she's his half sister, same father Tara, different
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  mother. Another suggests that she is his
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  niece and in the ancient world, whether you were the daughter of
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  or the granddaughter, sometimes the father and the mother
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  claimed you as theirs. So we aren't exactly sure on the
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  relationship if if it's first generation or second generation
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  way, but we know they are very tightly connected.
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  They are very deeply committed to each other and they have a
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  remarkable relationship for the ancient world.
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  In Genesis chapter 12, we learn there's another famine in the
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  land. And by verse 10, as Abram and
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  Sarai and their huge group of people have to head South, they
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  cannot say in Canaan as they're leaving from Harrim and they go
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  all the way down to his growing household S into Egypt where
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  there is food. And in verse 15, he describes
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  that not only is he going with his family and he's also
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  bringing his nephew Lot and his family, but he says we brought
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  not only our substance, but the souls that we had won in Heron.
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  What does that mean? This is Abraham 2 verse 15.
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  Who are these souls they had won?
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  Well, as we continue reading in Abraham, it sounds like there
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  are many people who chose to worship the God of Abraham and
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  he has a whole community with him.
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  It's about the size of a ward, I think maybe a large ward because
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  he has 316 people who are young enough to go fight who are male.
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  So we assume that we have over 600 people that are with him.
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  Now as Abraham head South, he's a little bit worried about the
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  customs of the Egyptians and that life is a little cheaper.
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  And so the Lord commanded him. Now in Genesis it just says they
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  talked about it. But in the Book of Abraham
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  chapter 2 verse 23 and 24, it said the Lord commanded Abraham,
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  Let Sarai or Sarah, let her say unto the Egyptians, she is thy
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  sister, and thy soul shall live. So he's received revelation to
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  use part of the truth, but not the whole truth.
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  They're related, but it's going to be presented that way rather
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  than at their marriage covenant. Now interestingly, God commanded
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  Sarai to speak to the Egyptians, not Abram.
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  Now in the ancient culture, women usually did not speak out.
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  So this is really wonderful that we see God's examples here and
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  Abraham's willing to follow it as well.
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  We learned that Sarai was a praying woman.
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  We learned that she receives divine direction.
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  In fact, Isaiah later, you know generations later in Isaiah 51
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  says that Sarai was his example of righteousness.
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  He says hearken unto me, O ye that follow after righteousness,
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  and look unto Sarah that bear you.
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  You know, she is their example in chapter 51, verse one and
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  two, and that very chapter happens to be repeated in the
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  Book of Mormon in Second Nephi chapter 8.
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  So it's something that was important to also Lehi and Nephi
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  and their posterity. But Abraham and Sarai discuss
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  this conversation. I just don't want you to miss
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  this fact that as Abrams is telling Sarai about this
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  revelation that he received, he told Sarai, my wife, all that
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  God had said unto me. That's verse 25, and I see as I
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  continue reading, especially in the restored Scripture, this
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  same pattern where this couple is discussing important matters
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  in their marriage. And that may seem common to you,
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  but in the ancient world this is very unusual.
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  I also wanted to point out that Sarai or Sarah is used in the
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  New Testament at least three different times as a positive
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  example. I already mentioned Isaiah, but
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  she's also a prototype for the Baron Elizabeth the Priestess
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  and for our wonderful Virgin Mary.
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  We also have Apostle Peter talking about to the female
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  Saints and they he says you are daughters if you do what's
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  right, daughters of Sarah, and he says don't give way to fear.
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  I thought that was interesting that Sarah was his example of
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  not being fearful in chapter 3, verse 6.
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  And then in the book of Hebrews, Sarah's faith is our wonderful
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  example. This is Hebrews 11/11 Through
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  faith. Also Sarah herself received
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  strength to conceive seed. So we not only have restored
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  scripture to look at Sarah or Sarai at this time, we also have
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  the New Testament. And I'm very grateful for Isaiah
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  and Peter and Paul's writings or whoever wrote Hebrews on this.
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  But let's get back to the text in Genesis.
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  Genesis 12 sounds as if Abram wants to sell Sarah's for his
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  safety. I mean, it's, it doesn't sound
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  right at all. And in fact, it happens again in
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  chapter 20 next week because Sarai is poisoning as Abraham's
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  sister twice. But because we have the other
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  text, I just want to step back and say we do not have the whole
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  picture. That is not what's happening.
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  I'm so grateful for the Book of Abraham and also for the Dead
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  Sea Scrolls. Now the Dead Sea Scrolls section
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  on this story speaks of the beauty of the biblical Sarai.
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  And then it goes on in one of the scrolls to say the
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  punishments and plagues were given to the Pharaoh and his
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  household and quote all the healers of Egypt, UN quote.
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  They couldn't solve this problem.
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  They didn't know why Pharaoh and all his people were were being
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  plagued until they realized that Sarai was Abram's wife.
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  And so the Pharaoh asks Abram, would you please pray for me?
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  And so we learn that Abraham placed his hands upon Pharaohs
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  heads, and afterward his household was able to recover
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  his palace. All the women were able to bear
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  again, and as gratitude for this, Pharaoh gave Abraham
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  sheep, an oxen. This is Genesis 1216.
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  Asses, menservants, maidservants, and camels.
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  And they all return back again to the area where he's from.
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  Now I was a little surprised about this menservants,
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  maidservants things, but I have to remind you that in the
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  ancient world, especially in the Hebrew language as well as Greek
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  from the New Testament, the word servant and slave are this the
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  same word. And because I trust that Abraham
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  is a man of God, because I trust he is a prophet, I do not think
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  he is abusing these people. I also want to remind you that
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  in the New Testament the Lord does not get rid of servitude.
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  So I don't want to look at this as if it were slavery in our day
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  and age, or slavery in early Americana, or slavery and the
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  horrific aspects of it throughout the history of the
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  world. I believe these people are
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  absorbed into the community. I think they're living a sort of
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  a law of consecration, from what the best I can read out of this
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  text is. And the men, women, and children
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  are working together to make this community work.
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  And I admire that they are able to come and change and be
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  converted and work. The next section I'd like to
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  talk about is with Hagar. Now, at this point, Surai is 75
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  years old, and she's been working with Hagar now for at
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  least a decade or so. We aren't given the exact dates
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  from when they leave Egypt, but we know that Sarai is beyond the
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  ability to bear children. And so she goes back to the way
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  that they did it in that day and age, and she wants to have a
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  child through a surrogate mother.
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  And so she goes to Abram and asks if he would bear children
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  through her maid. Now this is how it says it in
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  Genesis. But as we compare this to
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  Abraham chapter 2, verse two and four and 15 and 22 and 25, and
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  we also look at section 132 verse 65, we realize that the
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  Lord is calling this the law of Sarah and it is through His
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  command and His direction. I don't know all the insurance
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  and outs. It's complicated, it's
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  difficult. But this sweet relationship that
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  Sarah trusted Hagar, that Abraham trusted Sarah, and that
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  they were willing to do something very uncomfortable and
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  very difficult, but it was part of the culture at the time in
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  order to try to fulfill God's command.
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  They had already been promised seed for a long time and Abraham
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  does not want to take on another wife, but he will take on a
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  surrogate because Sarah has asked for it.
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  However, once Hagar conceives, as you well remember from the
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  text, their relationships change dramatically and in fact, this
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  servant girl becomes very proud and slight.
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  Sarai who feels despised and unfortunately Sarah's hurt and
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  she feels jealous and displaced and she's confused and
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  frustrated and and this heart full of emotion blurts out and
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  who does she blame but her, her husband.
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  She blames Abraham. And I'm going to read from the
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  NIV translation of Genesis chapter 16, verse five.
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  You are responsible for the wrong.
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  I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms.
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  And now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me.
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  May the Lord judge between you and me.
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  And the most amazing thing for me about this is that Abraham
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  does not respond defensively. He is humble and meek and he
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  demonstrates his love for Sarai and he trusts her and he he
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  empowers her and he even says your slave is in your hands.
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  Do with her whatsoever you think is best.
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  And Sarai and Hagar both overreacted.
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  You know, Sarai's upset, Hagar's upset, and it says that she
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  mistreated her, she afflicted Hagar.
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  And then Hagar overreacts and she runs away.
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  So we're, they're both in a bad shape.
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  We're we go back to the text and we learn in Genesis chapter 14
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  that an Angel of the Lord comes to intervene and the Angel calms
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  down Hagar and we understand that he gives her a prophecy and
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  he says, go back and get to work and remember your position.
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  And I just want to remind you that angels often come to
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  redirect someone you know, if you're doing what's right, you
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  rarely get an Angel visitation. Angels usually come to either
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  turn people around or refocus them, but in this situation,
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  Hagar follows the angelic direction.
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  And not only does she go back, but in Genesis 16 verses 11 and
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  15, it says that she shares this prophecy with Abraham with as as
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  the father of the child that she's bearing.
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  I want to talk for just a minute though, about this wonderful
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  experience of an Angel coming and telling Hagar that not only
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  is she going to go back, but that she will have a son and
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  what the son is to be named and a sign and he goes on and on.
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  This is a biblical Annunciation that is repeated in at least
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  seven different women that are recorded.
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  I don't know how any other got this experience, but there's a
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  pattern that the biblical enunciations follow.
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  Almost all of them begin with an appearance by an Angel of the
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  Lord, and then the person in great fear prostrates themself.
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  Then there's a divine message given.
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  The Angel often calls them by name.
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  The Angel often urges them to not be afraid.
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  The the then the Angel tells the woman that or the man that they
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  will have a a male child. They give the name of the child.
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  The Angel or the divine personage often gives the
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  etymology of the name of the child.
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  Why this child is to hold this name?
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  And then the 4th step is an objection by the visionary and
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  they usually request a sign and then a sign is usually given to
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  the person receiving this. Now this Hagar is our first one
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  to have it, but we see it in the next chapter in Sarah or in
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  Sarai, as also in Rebecca. We see it in Manoa's wife.
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  We see it in Hannah and Elizabeth and Mary, but the time
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  period between Hagar and Sarai is is 12 years.
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  And I assume that Sarai knew about Hagar's experience and
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  it's, it's very precious to me. But by the time Hagar delivers
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  her child, the relationship is healed enough that for over a
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  decade they're living peaceably together and the two women are
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  back In Sync. At least the best they could.
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  I'm sure it was very difficult, but they all love to this child,
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  this little Ishmael. But when Sarah is 89 years old
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  and Abraham is 99, do you remember the three visitors
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  come? The three visitors are angelic
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  beings of some sort of translated beings.
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  I personally think they're translated because they eat and
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  I don't think you could do that if you're pre mortal or post
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  mortal because there's no resurrected beings yet until
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  after the Lord's, the savior of the earth's resurrection.
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  So as we look at Genesis chapter 17, verse 15, these three
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  visitors come to Abram and give him prophecies and they change
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  their names. Abram receives a new name, now
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  father of many nations, and Sarai, my Princess, receives a
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  new name of a grander Princess or a woman of strength.
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  There's two or three different definitions of what Sarah means,
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  but there's a prophecy given, and Sarah, in addition to
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  receiving a new name, is told. I will bless her, and I will
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  give thee a son also of her. Yeah, I will bless her, and she
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  shall be the mother of nations. Kings of people shall be of her.
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  That's verse 15 and 16 in chapter 17, and that's where our
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  readings end this week. That's where the Lord is able to
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  move forward and begin the fulfillment of this prophecy
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  that for decades they have been looking forward to.
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  The timing of the Lord is always part of the miracle, and I hope
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  and pray in your lives as you are striving to live worthy of
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  the blessings that the Lord has given you, that we, like Sarai,
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  like Abram, can be patient for the day when the Lord can
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  fulfill all those promises. And whether they're on this side
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  of the veil or the other, I can trust in God.
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  I know His ways are just, and I know He is the God of not only
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  the Old Testament. But now and we have a prophet in
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  the land now. I am so grateful for this
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  witness through the Spirit of God.
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  And pray in your scripture study today that you can draw closer
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  to the Lord in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.