God had promised Abram that he shall have a seed and that a nation that cannot be numbered (as many as the dust of the earth and as the stars of heaven) shall arise from him, speaking of the promised son, Isaac and ultimately referring to Jesus Christ, the Seed of the Woman (Genesis 3:15; Galatians 3:16). But Abram, taking matters in his own hands, listens to his wife Sarai, and lies with her servant maid, Hagar, an Egyptian. She conceives and encounters the angel of the Lord, while Hagar is running away from her mistress Sarai for Sarai dealt harshly with her, as Hagar had started to despise her mistress upon conception. The angel of the Lord. interesting promises a similar blessing on Hagar, telling her that “He will multiply her (Hagar’s) seed exceedingly, so much so that they cannot be numbered.”
From this account, first, we can see the impartial and generous nature of God. Jew or Gentile or anyone else, they are all the same in God’s eyes for he does not show favoritism (Romans 2:9-11). Second, the blessing of God to his Hebrew servant Abram is seen extrapolated even to the Egyptian, who was associated with Abram.
Points to ponder:
God does not show favorites and while he is Sovereign and chooses to do what he wills, as he wills, we can all be assured of his impartial and generous nature. What is equally important is whether others around us get to see God’s blessings extrapolated to them through us, who belong to God? If you are a servant of God who belongs to him for having believed in his Son, Jesus Christ, then, are you a channel of God’s innumerable blessings, sharing God’s love story with mankind, wherein his only Son (Jesus Christ) is sacrificed to take man’s rightful place, through whom all nations are blessed (Genesis 22:18; Galatians 3:16)? Don’t let this question go unanswered!
Genesis 16:10 (KJV)
10 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
