21 Feb 2018, Gen 21 创21章, Family Joy and Sorrow 家庭的欢乐与悲伤

Posted on Jan 31, 2018 in Devotions, Genesis |

Scripture Reading        : Gen 21

Theme                             : Family Joy and Sorrow

           

Family joys (1–7).

God kept His promises, followed His schedule, and did not fail. This time, Sarah’s laughter was open and sincere, not hidden and skeptical (Gen. 18:12). The name Isaac means “laughter,” and the boy brought much joy to the aged couple. Through him, joy has come to the world. God makes “everything beautiful in its time” (Eccles. 3:11).

Family sorrows (8–21).

Abraham reaped the sad consequences of forgiven sin. He had lived with Ishmael for perhaps seventeen years, and he loved the lad, so the parting was painful. There comes a time when we must “cut off” the past and make a new beginning. The apostle Paul saw this as a picture of law and grace (Gal. 4:21–31). For Abraham’s sake, God blessed the lad and made him a great nation.

Family testimony (22–34).

Abraham’s unsaved neighbors could tell that he was a man whom God had blessed. Abraham didn’t try to lie his way out of this problem; he boldly told the truth and trusted God to work. The possession of water is an important thing in the East, and people will fight over wells. God’s people must be careful in their relationships with “those who are outside” the faith (Col. 4:5; 1 Thess. 4:12). 
 
Life is a balance of joys and sorrows, problems and blessings. We must learn to accept what God gives us and walk by faith [1]


Praying the Scripture

  1. Relationships can be messy. The same people who bring us joy can also bring us sorrow. Relationships can also change overnight. The arrival of Isaac brought both sorrow and joy to the family. Joy because the burden of childlessness was a really heavy burden in that culture and finally it came to an end. It is ironic that the name Abraham means “father of a multitude” yet he had no child of his own. This made him a laughing stock for many years. Yet Abraham believed in God and waited on him. So the arrival of Isaac was a promise fulfilled and a reward to Abraham who waited on God. Let’s pray that we will learn from Abraham in trusting God no matter what others say about us or our God.
  1. It was also a time of sorrow because Abraham had to accept the consequences of his sin. It was time to say goodbye to Hagar and Ishmael. Sin is messy especially it has to do with family. Let’s pray that we love our family and pray for them that whatever we do will bless them rather than pain them. We might be a victim of someone’s sin but let’s pray that the vicious cycle stops with us. Let’s pray that we bring God’s grace, salvation and blessing to our family rather than curse and pain to them.

[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, With the Word Bible Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991), Ge 21:1.

 
 
 

经文：创21章

主题：家庭的欢乐与悲伤

 

家庭的欢乐 (1–7)

神按着自己的时间遵守了祂的承诺，没有失败的。这一次，撒拉的笑声是公开和真诚的，并不是隐藏和怀疑的。（创18:12）以撒这个名字的意思是“笑声”，而这男孩为这对高龄夫妇带来许多的欢乐。通过他，快乐已来到这世上。神“按其时成为美好”。（传3:11）

家庭的悲伤 (8–21)

虽然亚伯拉罕的罪已被原谅了，但他仍然承担罪所带来悲惨的后果。他与以实玛利生活了17年，他爱这小伙子，所以离别时必定是痛苦的。有时，我们必须“切断”过去，才能迈入新的未来。使徒保罗认为这代表了律法和恩典。（加4:21-31）由于亚伯拉罕的缘故，神赐福给这小伙子，使他成为大国。

家庭的见证（22-34）

亚伯拉罕未得救的邻居们看得出他是一个蒙神祝福的人。亚伯拉罕并没有试图以谎言来脱离责任；他大胆地说出实情，并相信神的工作。拥有水源在东方是一件重要的事，人们会为了泉源而打起来。神的子民必须小心对待他们与在信心之“外”的人的关系。（西4:5；帖前4:12）。

人生有悲欢离合、有问题、也有祝福。我们必须学会接受神所赐给我们的，并在信心里行事为人。

 

用经文祷告

  1. 人际关系是可以很复杂的。带来给我们欢乐的人，同样的也能带给我们悲伤。关系也可以在一夜之间有所改变。以撒的出生带给这家庭欢乐，也带来了悲伤。欢乐，因为他们的社会文化里，无子女是一个非常沉重的担子，这烦愁终于结束了。最讽刺的是，亚伯拉罕这名的意思是“多国之父”，但他自己却没有孩子。这使他这几十年成为一个笑柄。然而，亚伯拉罕坚信神，并等候祂。因此，以撒的到来是这应许的实现，也是亚伯拉罕等候神的奖赏。让我们祷告，我们学习亚伯拉罕一样，不管别人如何说我们或我们的神，我们依然信靠神。
  1. 这也是一个悲伤的时刻，因为亚伯拉罕不得不接受自己罪的后果。这时候是与夏甲和以实玛利说再见的时候了。罪可以很复杂，尤其是牵涉到家人。让我们祷告神使我们爱我们的家人并为他们祷告，无论我们做什么都能成为他们的祝福，而不使他们痛苦。我们可能成为别人罪的牺牲品，但让我们祈祷这恶性循环将在我们这里停止。请祷告我们能把神的恩典、救恩和祝福带到我们的家庭里，而不是带给他们诅咒和痛苦。