In this section of Genesis, God gives Abram the new name Abraham, and his wife Sarai is renamed Sarah. Earlier, Sarai had decided to handle God's work for him by presenting her maid Hagar to Abram to make a baby (Ismael). Not quite the plan God had in mind.
And Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before Thee!"
But God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve great princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year."
In this case, God directly answers Abraham's prayer with a firm 'No.' Even so, God brings blessing to Abraham's son Ishmael; but Isaac (the younger son) will be the heir to the covenant.
Some notes on names:
Ishmael means "God hears"
Isaac means "He laughs"
Abram means "Exalted father"
Abraham means "Father of a great number"
Sarai means "My princess"
Sarah means "Princess"
God had a long-range plan in mind when he first called Abram out of Ur and later Haran. Abram and Sarai meddled in that plan, but were unable to misdirect it. Abraham spoke with God in a direct way, asking God to let Ishmael enter into covenant with him. God gave back a direct answer. Abraham aligned his faith with that answer and proceeded forward into God's will. In this case, it meant Abraham and the rest of the males in the household were circumcised. That's some dedication.
The prayer by Abraham is for his child, Ishmael. It might also be an intercessory prayer - on behalf of his son.
The prayer by Abraham is for his child, Ishmael. It might also be an intercessory prayer - on behalf of his son.
An interesting thing about the digital age is how many translations of the Bible we have at our fingertips. My default version is currently the NIV, and verse 19 says "Then God said, 'Yes,...'" which as opposite of the NAV(?). Surprising. So I checked a few others, like the ASV which states "And God said, 'Nay...'", and others that range from "But God answered: No! ..." to a gentler "But God said, 'No. ...'" As we study prayer, we can't help but study the answer to the prayers. While a "No" from God may seem harsh, I am comforted to know that my meddling and prayer requests will not misdirect God's plan. The message I got from this text is not to be afraid to pray for what is in your heart. You will not upset His eternal plan by praying for the wrong things because we will get what is required, not what is desired.
ReplyDeleteIn the 9/15 discussion, a point was raised which will need some additional study and further discussion: Is conversation with God prayer? Is prayer to God something closer to worship than to conversation?
ReplyDeleteApologies if I didn't capture the gist of this correctly.