Christian Stories - Biblical Stories
We now find Abraham sitting at the entrance to his tent which was located near the great trees of Mamre. It was in the midst of a heated day when Abraham noticed three men standing nearby. Abraham would immediately get up and hurry out to meet with these strangers. Once he was in their presence, Abraham would bow low before them. "If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. "Let a little water be brought, and then you may wash your feet and rest under this tree. "Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way -- now that you have come to your servant," Abraham would tell the three angelic strangers.
"Very well -- do as you say," the three angelic strangers would tell him. So Abraham hurried out and made his way to his tent, as he went inside he saw his wife Sarah sitting there. "Quick! Get three seahs of fine flour and knead it and bake some bread," Abraham would tell his wife. Then he would head out to his livestock and pick out a nice choice tender calf and have his servant prepare it for the three angelic strangers to eat. Next, he would go and pick up some curds and milk and return back to his servant to pick up the prepared calf. Abraham would then take the food items out to the strangers and place the meal before them. Abraham would stand nearby under a tree while the three angelic strangers ate the food. "Where is your wife?" they called out to Abraham as he stood under the tree. "There, in the tent," Abraham replied. "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son," one of the three angelic strangers would say to Abraham. Sarah would hear the foretelling of this prophecy while she stood inside near the entrance of the tent. With Abraham being at the advance age that he was and with her being well past childbearing years herself, Sarah would laugh to herself thinking. "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?" Even though Sarah had not laughed and spoken out loud, the Lord would still hear her skepticism. "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?' "Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah would have a son." Thinking that she would be judge and punished by the Lord, Sarah quickly spoke out, saying -- "But I didn't laugh." But the Lord would have none of what Sarah was trying to convince Him of and quickly replied, "Yes Sarah, you did laugh." Now Sarah was not punished for her disbelief in what the Lord had said. For in her own right it was reasonable that she thought the way that she did. After all, she had been through quite a bit up to this point in her life. She was faithful right along with Abraham and left everything that she knew to follow her husband as he went out to follow God's calling on his life. After running into a severe famine in Canaan, Abraham went to Egypt and was going to allow Sarah to become Pharaoh's wife in exchange for some comfort in his life. But God would quickly disrupt this plan. She would become impatient and have Hagar her Egyptian maidservant marry Abraham and bear him an heir. Sarah had came up with this plan, after she had given herself over to the idea that she was barren and couldn't have kids of her own. Some time would go by and Hagar would indeed bear Abraham a son in which they named him Ishmael. Because of this, Hagar would begin to look down and ridicule Sarah when it came to her childbearing dilemma. Being that Hagar was able to provide Abraham with an heir, she deemed herself to be better than Sarah. Finally, Sarah had reached the point of frustration and became angry towards Hagar. This would cause Sarah to seek revenge against Hagar, by pulling rank and started being ill-tempered towards her. So much so, that Hagar would eventually flee from Abraham's household. This would lead to a visit from the Lord, in which He had to convince Hagar to humble herself and go back to Abraham's household. Hagar soften her heart and obeyed the Lord and went back to Abraham's household. So I can't blame Sarah for having the thoughts that she did, I can't blame her for giving up on the notion that she would be able to have a family of her own. After all, she was well into her advance years, and perhaps that's why God did not punish her for doubting his Him. Come to think about it, Sarah probably thought that she was already being punished by the Lord? But God would remind her to never doubt His Word, and He was going to prove to her that nothing is too hard for Him to do. This is why I love God so much, He has done so much for us already, and yet He continues to prove Himself to us. I would call that -- providing love to the highest degree, because He doesn't have to do it, but He does it anyway -- because He loves us so much. Thank you God for all that you have done and continue to do in our lives - thank you so much - thank you. 01) Introduction of Abraham - Before He was Called 02) The Divine Calling of Abraham 04) The Strife between Abram and Lot 10) Abraham the Father of a Multitude 11) Sarah the Mother of Nations 12) <-CURRENT PAGE-> 13) Abraham Bargains for Sodom 14) Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed 15) The Judgment of Lot's Wife 17) Abimelech Angry with Abraham  CrossDaily.com Web Search where you can VOTE FOR THIS SITE & other great ones. Christian search engine, directory & voting index. You'll find Bible, chat, churches, jobs, music, reviews, software, theology, & more. See the best sites!
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