This Prophecy Is Over 4,000 Years Old And We See It Happening Today

Gen. 16:11-12 - The angel of the LORD said to her further, "Behold, you are with child, And you will bear a son; And you shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has given heed to your affliction. 12 "He will be a wild donkey of a man, His hand will be against everyone, And everyone's hand will be against him;…"  NASU 

• How Much Trouble Can One Bad Decision Cause? 

Abram made one bad decision that we know of for sure. He listened to his wife, Sarai, when she told him to go and have a sexual relationship with her handmaiden, Hagar.
 
(Now I am not saying men should never listen to their wives. But I will say this, "Men, if your wife ever tells you to go and have sex with another woman don't do it.")
 
God told Abe and Sarai, they were going to have a son (Their names would later be changed to Sarah and Abraham). Sarai and Abram were both old when they were given the promise by God. It is going to take 25 years for the promise to come true.  He didn't say when the promise would be fulfilled. He simply said they would have a son.
 
They must have thought He meant immediately and when it didn't happen immediately Sarai decided to formalize a plan of her own. Sarai decides she can help God by replacing His plan with one of her own.
 
So she tells Abram to have a sexual relationship with her handmaiden, Hagar, and then she will raise the child as her own. This may have been accepted culturally but it surely wasn't going to work when it was in direct opposition to God's plan.
 
I can't imagine anything going wrong with that plan, can you? 

• Descendants Of Ishmael: The Fulfillment Of This Prophecy 

Little did Abram, Sarai and Hagar know that this plan was going to cause so much pain in the world.  Some of the descendants of Ishmael that are in our world today make up the radical group of Muslims who continue to kill innocent people.
 
America's 911 was caused by the descendants of Ishmael. Last week the headlines read: More Than 130 Children Killed by Pakistan Taliban in School in Peshawar. Everyday there are new headlines about Ishmael and his descendants being a "wild donkey" or a "wild ass" (as one version translated this text) and fighting against everyone.
 
They have bombed England, France, Pakistan, USA and the list goes on and on as this prophecy is fulfilled day after day. His hand is against every man and every man's hand is against him.

• What Am I To Learn From This Pump Up 

What can we apply from Genesis 16 to ourselves?
 
When God makes a promise believe it and don't put a time limit on it.
 
If you think that God should act within a certain time frame does that make it so? God made Abram and Sarai a promise and 25 years later He fulfilled his promise.
 
Sarai and Abe waited 11 years and when they were not the parents of this promised child they took matters into their own hands. Then after another 14 years or a total of 25 years God fulfilled His promise.
 
If I can give you any encouragement today let it be this: God Always Fulfills His Promises and below are some I hope will encourage you.
 
Ps 9:8-10 - And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity. 9 The LORD also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, A stronghold in times of trouble;     NASU
 
Ps 34:15 - The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and His ears are open to their cry.   NASU
 
Ps 34:19 - Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.    NASU
 
Think on These:
 
When God allows a burden to be put upon you, He will give you the strength to carry it.
 
There is one thing for which you should be thankful -  only you and God have all the facts about you.

Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word