Genesis 16: The Coming of the Arabs
Abram and Sarai still had no children so they conspired to hurry things along by having Sarai’s handmaid have a child with Abram. But things didn’t work out cozily and Sarai ended up making Hagar run away. Hagar runs into an angel of the Lord (was it the Lord?) who convinces her to return and prophecies that Hagar would birth a nation.
When the Lord tells you to do something, you should just wait on Him no matter how long it takes. But it is different with us today – we don’t get specific instructions from the Lord, we get the Word, we get guidance from the Spirit. Still, we should wait on the Lord.
So, if God knows the Arabs are going to cause so much turmoil in all future generations, why did He allow Hagar to live? I have no answer. Perhaps it is all part of a master plan. Perhaps it is just the inevitable result of Abram and Sarai’s and Hagar’s foibles. Could it be that Satan made some sort of agreement with God that he would get a following too. The Arabs, through Muhammad, have certainly not been friendly with Christians in general, though they too are invited to salvation. And no matter what spin you put on it, the Muslim religion is antithetical to Judaism and Christianity. So much turmoil from such small beginnings – sin is a gust that can beget a hurricane.
Father, help me to wait on You with faith, prayer and perseverance.