120111 - Genesis 20-21 - Scandal of the outcast
S: Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. (Ge 21:10).
O: This story is troubling—and it's meant to be. Ishmael is now 14 years old (Gen. 17:24-25) - but it could be that in this time of great longevity, 14 is not as mature as our experience (see 21:14, 18 - proportionally if Abraham's 175 is like 90 is today, 14 would be like 7!) God wanted to be able to say "your ONLY Son," (22:2, c.f., John 3:16), and for the story to serve as the allegory Paul gives in Galatians 4:21-31.
A: The Law came because of transgression: marriage to the bondwoman of Egypt, a type of the world. The children of legalism do not inherit alongside the children of promise. But the children of promise who were born under previous dispensations, from righteous Abel to John the Baptist, had to wait for the promise to be fulfilled and for things like this to be explained. Still in our day, many things await explanation - but now as then, faith waits for the ultimate fulfillment.
P: Father, it's important for me to mark your promises, to see how they're working out and wait expectantly for their ultimate fulfillment. Build my faith to know specifics, see your hand and wait for that better country.
O: This story is troubling—and it's meant to be. Ishmael is now 14 years old (Gen. 17:24-25) - but it could be that in this time of great longevity, 14 is not as mature as our experience (see 21:14, 18 - proportionally if Abraham's 175 is like 90 is today, 14 would be like 7!) God wanted to be able to say "your ONLY Son," (22:2, c.f., John 3:16), and for the story to serve as the allegory Paul gives in Galatians 4:21-31.
A: The Law came because of transgression: marriage to the bondwoman of Egypt, a type of the world. The children of legalism do not inherit alongside the children of promise. But the children of promise who were born under previous dispensations, from righteous Abel to John the Baptist, had to wait for the promise to be fulfilled and for things like this to be explained. Still in our day, many things await explanation - but now as then, faith waits for the ultimate fulfillment.
P: Father, it's important for me to mark your promises, to see how they're working out and wait expectantly for their ultimate fulfillment. Build my faith to know specifics, see your hand and wait for that better country.
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