2/18 -- God Honors His Own

Genesis 21 God Honors His Own

(Gen 21:17 KJV) And God heard the voice of the lad;

God heard the lad, not the lady! Ishmael was the son of a faithful and righteous man, so God heard his cry. God hears, and honors the cries of His children. God then gave the woman a promise concerning her son, again, because he was the son of Abraham. The entire blessing here was for the sake of the lad, and for Abraham’s sake, and not because of Ishmael. Be assured, oh Christian, that God hears the cries of His people, and comes to their side in time of need. He does it now for Jesus’ sake. Ishmael too became a “great nation” because he was of the seed of Abraham, just as we are to become a great people because we are of the seed of Christ! Spiritually speaking, we are Abraham’s seed. If God hears us, (and we know He does), then we can be assured He will answer our prayers. “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. (1John5:14,15) We are told to “come boldly before the throne of grace,” it is as much a command as an invitation. (See Heb. 4:16) God will honor the faithfulness, and obedience of the parents. (1 Cor. 7:14)

Yes, when the father of the home is a separated, God fearing, and dedicated Christian, God will honor the entire family! Many blessings are bestowed for the faith of one. That’s a picture of Christ, but it is also just the way God is, He is altogether lovely, His grace is unlimited, and His love knows no boundaries; His mercies are new every morning. (Lam.3:22,23) Ishmael, though brought up away from the house of the Lord, was blessed because his father was found faithful. He went on to marry a worldly heathen woman, but God fulfilled His promise in him for his fathers’ sake, and he too became a father of many nations. Because of the “mixed blood” in him, Ishmael was not reckoned in the genealogy of Christ, but had chosen the way of the Gentiles, and the blood line was preserved in Abraham.