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A Plan for Ishmael - The Book of Genesis · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech
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  Speaker 1: and Phicol, the chief captain of his host, spake unto Abraham, saying,
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  Speaker 1: God is with thee in all that thou doest. Genesis
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  Speaker 1: 21-22 Lord, thank you that, through your faithfulness, you watch
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  Speaker 1: over your word to make sure that no one of
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  Speaker 1: your promises falls short. Thank you that, even though time passes,
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  Speaker 1: Your word to me and my family will come to pass.
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  Speaker 1: I praise you because even through family dysfunction, you still
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  Speaker 1: preserve your promise for us all. Even when I experience
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  Speaker 1: moments of abandonment like Hagar and Ishmael, I know you
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  Speaker 1: will provide divine miracles and refreshing wells for me to
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  Speaker 1: drink from. Thank you, Lord, that you hear my prayers.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for the warrior spirit you've placed in me.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for showering me with talent and grace. I
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  Speaker 1: will continue in my attitude of gratitude by also thanking
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  Speaker 1: you for your many signs of steadfast love and for
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  Speaker 1: making all things work together for my good. My future
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  Speaker 1: is safe, and my promise is secure in you. In Jesus' name.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for making prayer a priority in your day.
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  Speaker 1: To learn more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story.
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  Speaker 1: Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: A plan for Ishmael. Before this story, we learned about
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  Speaker 2: Abraham and how he told King Abimelech Sarah is my
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  Speaker 2: sister to protect himself. He took her, but God warned
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  Speaker 2: him in a dream and restored Abraham and Sarah. Now
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  Speaker 2: we will learn about how Abraham and Sarah will have
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  Speaker 2: a son named Isaac, just as God promised, inspired by
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  Speaker 2: the book of Genesis.
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  Speaker 3: We're so glad you joined us on the Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. The Bible in a Year podcast
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  Speaker 3: is an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come
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  Speaker 3: to you each week through the support of listeners just
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  Speaker 3: like you. Your support today is so important that we
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: want to thank you for your gift by giving you
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  Speaker 3: a copy of my book called The Jesus Book. It
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: is a powerful guide that shows how every book of
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  Speaker 3: the Bible points to Jesus and how his living word,
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  Speaker 3: the truth of God's word, will transform your life. So
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  Speaker 3: to get a copy of The Jesus Book, Simply go
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  Speaker 3: to jackgraham.org slash Jesus. That's jackgraham.org slash Jesus. And thank
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  Speaker 3: you for your support. A long-awaited birth. That's where we
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  Speaker 3: begin today. Long-awaited seems like an understatement. Abraham and Sarah
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  Speaker 3: have waited and prayed and strayed so many times over
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  Speaker 3: these decades. And now God is giving them a son, Isaac.
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  Speaker 3: It's a joyous celebration of a promise fulfilled. But not
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  Speaker 3: everyone is thrilled. And today we're going to see what
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  Speaker 3: happens with Abraham's first son, Ishmael, and his mother, Hagar.
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  Speaker 3: As you listen to the story, try to imagine what
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  Speaker 3: each of the characters would have been feeling. Sarah, who
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  Speaker 3: finally has her son and now sees him being mistreated
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  Speaker 3: by the offspring of her servant, Hagar, whom she gave
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  Speaker 3: to Abraham to try to speed up and short-circuit God's plans. Ishmael,
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  Speaker 3: the eldest son who knows he's not the chosen one,
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  Speaker 3: he was not received with this kind of fanfare and jubilation.
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  Speaker 3: And Hagar, who is sitting on the sidelines again, knowing
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  Speaker 3: that Sarah holds a deep contempt for her and her son,
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  Speaker 3: even though it was her idea, Sarah's idea, in the
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  Speaker 3: very beginning. And think of Abraham, caught in the crossfire,
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  Speaker 3: trying to handle such a very messy family situation with wisdom.
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  Speaker 3: caring for his new son and his oldest son and
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  Speaker 3: his wife, Sarah. Finally, watch how God works in the
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  Speaker 3: situation to bring good out of such a dysfunctional family dynamic.
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  Speaker 3: How once again, he pours grace out on his children,
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  Speaker 3: just as he does for you and me. Now, let's
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  Speaker 3: listen to the passage today and hear Ishmael's story.
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  Speaker 2: Abraham was a hundred years old and Sarah was 90
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  Speaker 2: years old. At last the promises of God were realized.
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  Speaker 2: After months of an unexpected pregnancy, Sarah gave birth to
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  Speaker 2: a son. The promised son of God emerged from the
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  Speaker 2: once barren womb of Sarah. Abraham named him Isaac, which
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  Speaker 2: means laughter. A suitable name, since Sarah's old age had
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  Speaker 2: made it impossible for her to have children, yet nothing
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  Speaker 2: was impossible for God. Sarah rejoiced, saying, God has made
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  Speaker 2: laughter for me, and everyone who hears of this will
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  Speaker 2: laugh over me, for I have had a child in
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  Speaker 2: my old age. Isaac grew older, and when he was weaned,
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  Speaker 2: Abraham held a great feast in his honor. During the feast,
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  Speaker 2: Sarah noticed that Ishmael, the son of her servant Hagar,
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  Speaker 2: was scoffing at Isaac. Ishmael, no doubt feeling jealous and unloved,
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  Speaker 2: looked upon Isaac with contempt. Sarah erupted with anger and
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  Speaker 2: once again lashed out at Abraham and Hagar. Banish this
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  Speaker 2: slave woman and her son, for the son of this
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  Speaker 2: slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.
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  Speaker 2: Abraham grieved over this. Though Ishmael was a son born
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  Speaker 2: from disobedience, he was his son nonetheless. Distressed and frustrated,
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  Speaker 2: Abraham looked to God once again. Be not disheartened because
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  Speaker 2: of the boy and his mother, God said. Whatever Sarah
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  Speaker 2: says to you, do as she tells you, for I
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  Speaker 2: have chosen Isaac to be your heir. Yet I will
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  Speaker 2: not forget Ishmael, and I will make a great nation
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  Speaker 2: out of him as well. So Abraham did as the
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  Speaker 2: Lord and Sarah had asked. He packed water and food
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  Speaker 2: and sent Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness alone. Abraham cried,
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  Speaker 2: who had spent years raising Ishmael, said his final goodbye.
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  Speaker 2: The two wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba, slowly losing water, food,
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  Speaker 2: and hope. The days grew longer and the nights colder. Thirsty, starving,
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  Speaker 2: and alone, Hagar had lost all hope. She let Ishmael
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  Speaker 2: sleep under a bush and walked several yards away. She
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  Speaker 2: could not bear to watch him die, so she would
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  Speaker 2: abandon him altogether. Hagar, as she did before when in despair,
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  Speaker 2: lifted her voice to heaven, and God, as he did before,
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  Speaker 2: heard her. Fear not, for I have heard the voice
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  Speaker 2: of the boy where he is. Up, lift up your child,
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  Speaker 2: and hold him fast with your hand, for I will
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  Speaker 2: make him into a great nation just as I promised.
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  Speaker 2: Soon after, Hagar discovered a well filled with water. The
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  Speaker 2: two drank, regained their strength, and found a life for themselves.
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  Speaker 2: God continued with Ishmael. As he promised, he showered Ishmael
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  Speaker 2: with grace, giving him talent and a warrior's spirit. Hagar
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  Speaker 2: would do right by her son, finding him an Egyptian
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  Speaker 2: wife and helping him start a family. This would be
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  Speaker 2: another sign of the steadfast love of God working in
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  Speaker 2: family brokenness, restoring all things to make them better.
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  Speaker 3: The birth of a child is an occasion that calls
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  Speaker 3: for great celebration as a new life enters the world.
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  Speaker 3: This is true of any birth. So how much more
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  Speaker 3: was this true for the birth of Isaac? For years
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  Speaker 3: and years, God had promised the day would come. And finally,
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  Speaker 3: it was here. I love how Sarah again turns to laughter.
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  Speaker 3: This time, a laughter of joy and astonishment at what
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  Speaker 3: has happened, what God has done. We've seen her laugh
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  Speaker 3: in disbelief before. now is the laugh of faith. Now
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  Speaker 3: she is experiencing pure joy. And not only that, she
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  Speaker 3: knows that she will no longer be laughed at by others,
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  Speaker 3: but laughed with. Look at what it says in Genesis 21,
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  Speaker 3: six and seven. Sarah said, God has made laughter for me.
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  Speaker 3: Everyone who hears will laugh with me. And she said,
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  Speaker 3: who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children?
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  Speaker 3: Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.
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  Speaker 3: Once Isaac was weaned around the age of two or three,
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  Speaker 3: there was a great feast in his honor. This was,
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  Speaker 3: after all, cause for extravagant celebration. I can just imagine
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  Speaker 3: the party that Abraham and Sarah threw for their son,
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  Speaker 3: their pride and joy, the fulfillment of God's promise. But
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  Speaker 3: not everyone was excited. Someone who was bound to feel
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  Speaker 3: left out, rejected, and replaced. His name is Ishmael. Ishmael,
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  Speaker 3: no doubt, he wasn't anyone's first choice other than Hagar,
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  Speaker 3: his mother. He probably knew this day would come, but
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  Speaker 3: now that he was here, the sting of rejection would
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  Speaker 3: have been almost too much to bear. This child, of course,
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  Speaker 3: had done nothing to him, but his existence alone was
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  Speaker 3: a threat and an insult. So what did he do?
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  Speaker 3: Ishmael mocked Isaac. Sarah witnessed this and understandably burned with anger.
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  Speaker 3: She would protect this child, her child, at all costs.
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  Speaker 3: especially from the son of her servant Hagar, whom she
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  Speaker 3: had resented for years. So she tells Abraham to drive
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  Speaker 3: them off, send them away into the wilderness. Abraham is torn.
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  Speaker 3: He doesn't know what to do. He cares deeply for
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  Speaker 3: both his sons and for his wife and for Hagar.
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  Speaker 3: There seems to be no good answer. So what does
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  Speaker 3: he do? You and I often face tough issues. possibly
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  Speaker 3: even family strife and separation. Situations that seemingly have no solutions.
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  Speaker 3: We can try to figure it out ourselves and risk
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  Speaker 3: making things even worse. Or we can do what Abraham did.
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  Speaker 3: He turned to God. And God told him to remember
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  Speaker 3: his first loyalty, his first commitment, the one to his wife, Sarah.
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  Speaker 3: Isaac is, after all, the one through whom God's promise
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  Speaker 3: of a chosen people, a great nation to rescue all
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  Speaker 3: other nations, would be fulfilled. This does not mean that
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  Speaker 3: God neglected Ishmael and Hagar or that he would abandon them.
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  Speaker 3: He reassures Abraham of this very thing, saying that he
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  Speaker 3: will also make Ishmael into a great nation because he
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  Speaker 3: is Abraham's descendant. Wandering in the wilderness, nearly out of water,
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  Speaker 3: It probably seemed to Hagar and Ishmael that God had
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  Speaker 3: forgotten them. But at the right moment, God comes in
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  Speaker 3: and rescues them, promising Hagar that he would prosper Ishmael
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  Speaker 3: and multiply his descendants as well. One thing this passage
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  Speaker 3: shows us is that God's blessings and promises for one person,
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  Speaker 3: in the case of Isaac, do not preclude him from
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  Speaker 3: also blessing others, people like you and me. And rather
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  Speaker 3: than envying and mocking Isaac, Ishmael could rest in what
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  Speaker 3: God has also promised him, knowing God will deliver just
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  Speaker 3: as he is doing to Isaac, that he would deliver Ishmael.
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  Speaker 3: This is still a very tragic and sad story. A
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  Speaker 3: family has forever been divided, but God's grace abounds, and
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  Speaker 3: even in the messiness of his family, he blesses and
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  Speaker 3: provides according to his purpose and fulfillment of his promises. God,
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  Speaker 3: thank you for the story of Isaac and Ishmael. Thank
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  Speaker 3: you for the hope it gives us for your ability
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  Speaker 3: to intervene in family conflicts and strife and bring about
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  Speaker 3: blessing for all who are involved. May we trust in
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  Speaker 3: you and the promises that you have given us. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: And before we go, I wanted to let you know
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  Speaker 3: that the Bible in a Year podcast is an outreach
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come to you each
• 13:07
  Speaker 3: week through the support of listeners like you. Your support
• 13:12
  Speaker 3: today is so important that we want to thank you
• 13:15
  Speaker 3: for your gift by giving you a copy of my
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: book called The Jesus Book. This book is a powerful
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: guide that shows how every book in the Bible points
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: to Christ and how you can better read and understand
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: the Bible. And How God's Word Transforms Our Lives. So
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: to get your copy of the Jesus book, simply go
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: to jackgram.org slash Jesus. That's jackgram.org slash Jesus. And thank
• 13:41
  Speaker 3: you for your support.