Glory, Heartbreak, and Glory Again - Part 1 (Genesis 21) [Jay Thomas]

One of the hardest things to do as a Christian is to give something over that you depend upon, you are fond of, that seems to give you some semblance of vitality and yet you know it is getting in the way of the Lord. In Genesis 21, we have a story of that crisis in Abraham's life. He was called to give over a son. He will be called to do that twice in this section. But this son, Ishmael, is the son of the slave woman and not the son of Promise. He is a stumbling stone and Abraham needs to do the right thing. So Abraham, in much grief, obeys. And then God does something stunning... just as he will in Chapter 22. Please read both chapters. See the parallels. And picture the shadow of Chapter 22 casting itself upon Chapter 21.