The August Visitor
Bible Texts
(Concordant Version of the Old Testament and Concordant Literal New
Testament with keywords Concordance (Main text: Genesis 18:9-15; Numbers
23:19 and Isaiah 46:9-10)
Genesis 18:9-15:
“9
They asked him: Where is your wife, Sarah? He replied: Behold, in the tent.
10 Now He said: I shall return, yea return to you; according to the season of
life, behold, your wife Sarah will have a son. Yet Sarah had been hearing at
the opening of the tent, and she was behind Him.
11 Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in days; and the path in accord with
women was halted to continue for Sarah.
12 So Sarah laughed within herself, saying: After I have become worn out, will
luxury occur to me while my lord is old?
13 Then Yahweh said to Abraham: Why was this that Sarah laughed, saying: Shall
I indeed truly bear a child, when I am old?
14 Is anything too difficult for Yahweh? At the appointed time I shall return
to you, and according to the season of life, Sarah will have a son.
15 Yet Sarah dissimulated, saying: I did not laugh for she stood in fear. He
replied: No, but you did laugh”.
Numbers
23:19:
“El
is not a man that He should lie. Or a son of humanity that He should feel
regret. Does He say it and then not do it Or speak and then not carry it out?”
Isaiah
46:9-10:
“9 Remember
the former things from the eon, For I am El, and there is no other! Elohim! and
no other like Me!
10 Telling from the beginning, the hereafter, And from aforetime what has not
yet been done, Saying, All My counsel, it shall be confirmed, And all My desire
shall I do.”
I am in
awe of Yahweh. He has no other way to swear by anything but by his own name
(Hebrew 6:13). He carries out his counsel through his wills. Humans may try to
reason Yahweh’s ways out but always come to naught because God is not human.
Whoever he shows the glimpse of his ways to is always blown away at the
strategies and somehow humanly unreasonable steps he follows to fulfil his
counsel.
In
the midst of Yahweh’s plan to execute a severe judgement on the city of Sodom
and Gomorrah, Yahweh sent his son, Yeshua and two other messengers (Angels) to bring
a joyful news to Sarah. Of all people that should least expect any joyful news,
Yahweh showed mercy on Sarah when it appears it was no use for her to bear a
child. For those of you who have read my past blogs on the book of Genesis, you
would have found that Sarah appeared not to have faith or was having a fainted
faith. She actually rubbed her weakness on the faithful Abraham concerning God’s
promise of a son. Through Sarah’s persistent persuasions, Abraham decided to take
Haggai (an Egyptian) as a wife with the hope to have a child through her.
Haggai was one of Sarah’s maidservants. She was one of the partying gifts given
to Sarah by Pharaoh of Egypt (Genesis 12). Sarah only saw Yahweh through
Abraham but she had not had a personal encounter with him until Genesis chapter
18.
With
all that Sarah had done, one would have thought that Yahweh would never give
her a child. She had demonstrated lack of faith. She had also pushed her
husband to find an alternative way to have a child. She should have been
punished for her deeds but our ways are not God’s ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). From
human’s perspective, she had experienced a lot of pressure and sadness but
Yahweh did not share her feelings. This is why she trembled at the response
given to her by Yeshua. He simply told her that she laughed when she tried to
deny it. I would expect Yeshua to say, do not worry, Sarah, I can understand but there is nothing to
difficult for Yahweh. Be cheerful. You deserve it. It has been a very long
time. Nothing like this
was said to Sarah. Yeshua and the two messengers just stood up and left her. Wow.
Just like that.
You
may be wondering why this scripture passage was brought up this week. Yahweh is
not a man that he should lie. He carries out the counsel of his will (Ephesian
1:11 and Isaiah 46:10). He is all about fulfilling his counsel. So, this is why
Sarah’s behavior did not move him. Sometimes, we think our actions or deeds of impatience
are the reasons for missing out God’s mercy but it may not be so. To Yahweh,
there is no mistake. Every action or deed we carry out are known to him before
we execute it. See Acts 17:28.
The
last woman Yahweh’s son and the two messengers should visit should be Sarah
judging from her unbelief. For without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews
11:6). Yahweh overlooked Sarah’s lack of faith or fainted faith (if she had
any). Her attitudes did not stop God’s plans for her life. Yahweh sent an
August visitor to her.
Who
is this August visitor?
It
was Yeshua! Indeed, you would have read the word, Yahweh in this scripture
content, but it was the title Yeshua took just like you may take the surname of
your father on a formal assignment. Please, remember that nobody can see God (John
1:18). The only one we can see is his son who bears the title of his father
sometimes. So, the two other messengers were his company. He was the unexpected
visitor.
Why
did Yahweh not send just two messengers (angels)?
The inclusion
of Yeshua in the judgment mission was by the way remark. His inclusion was to
physically see who his great grandmother would be. He was excited to visit his
great grandmother. This is why he could not have let the two other messengers
deliver the good news to Sarah. He wanted to deliver it by himself!
How
do I mean?
Sarah
was placed in Abraham’s life to carry the seed of covenant between Yahweh and
Abraham. Therefore, from Isaac to King David down to Mary and Joseph (the
carpenter), the plans of Yahweh were executed. Therefore, Yahweh who tells the
end from the beginning knew the future of the seed that would come from Sarah.
How this
week’s blog may apply to you:
God’s
ways are not ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). He does not recompense us according to our
deeds. During the time of executing judgement on Sodom and Gomorrah, Yahweh
showed mercy, grace and favor on Sarah. What a mighty God we serve! You may be
thinking that you are suffering because of your sins, mistake or misdeed but it
may not be so. It may be because of your ignorance, cavalier attitudes or
nonchalant attitudes towards things in your life. Human’s behaviors do not
deter Yahweh from fulfilling his plans in their lives. What is human that Yahweh is mindful of him...(Psalm 8:4). He is mindful of humans to fulfil his plans through them in spite of their deeds.
Paul mentioned
that it is not of him who is willing, nor of him who is racing, but of God, the
Merciful (Romans 9:16). Being educated does not guarantee success. Being
careful does not guarantee safety either. Being smart does not mean you can
rule. The stupidity of the world God chooses, that He may be disgracing the
wise, and the weakness of the world God chooses, that He may be disgracing the
strong (1 Corinthians 1:27). Be mindful that if his grace and mercy are upon
your life, he will carry out his will in your life to fulfil his plans not only
for you but through you to execute his future plans to others that may be
connected to you directly or indirectly.
In
conclusion, Sarah may not understand the gravity of this August visit but down
the line, we are all benefitting from the only seed she gave birth to. This
seed was called Isaac. Through Isaac, Yeshua was finally born as a human. He
was able to pay for our sins on the crucifixion tree to fulfil the overall plan
of his father, Yahweh. This is why Yeshua told his father on the crucifixion
tree that it was completed (John 19:30). Now, you can understand the gravity of
what had happened to Sarah despite her demonstration of unbelief or fainted
faith. God is indeed merciful. Nothing is too difficult for him to do for us. It
is never too late for him to make a change we have been yarning for. He broke
the news that brought tears of joy to Sarah. What an August visitor. I pray that despite our unbelief and shortcomings,
may Yahweh show us mercy, grace and favor to fulfil his beautiful plans in our
lives too. It is our turn to laugh!
Thanks
for your time to read this week’s blog. I hope you have been blessed by it.
More
to come next week.
Shalom!
References:
https://www.concordant.org/version/read-concordant-old-testament-online/the-book-of-genesis/
https://www.concordant.org/version/read-concordant-old-testament-online/the-book-of-numbers/
Awesome Yahweh. How marvelous are you plans. You carry out your plans through humans despite their flaws and inconsistencies!
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