Can you imagine a first baby shower for a 90 year old mom? Me neither! But that’s the scene of this week’s passage in the book of Genesis, with the long awaited birth of Abraham and Sarah’s son, Isaac. It has been over 25 years now since God promised Abraham an heir to their covenant and all the blessings it entails. The promise would not have been fulfilled without an heir. Yet, despite their best efforts, Abraham and Sarah had not been able to bring forth the promised heir on their own. It took the Spirit of God to bring forth that which was humanly impossible. It is, as you can see in the passage, a scene of much rejoicing!
Why does all this matter to us? Because through the promise to Abraham, God will bring a Messiah to free the children of Abraham from their sin, from God’s eternal judgment and bring those children into eternal communion. All the people of the world are enslaved unless they obtain freedom through the promise.
In one sense, the tension is now relieved with the birth of Isaac, but in another sense, the Apostle Paul reveals in a commentary on our passage in the book of Galatians, that your struggle with bondage may not be over at all! Many who think they are free, are really still enslaved, even those Jews born in the flesh, coming from the ancestral line of Abraham may still be enslaved. How can that be? What about you? Come hear what God’s word has to say this Sunday.
holdfirmly 