Hagar: An Extensive Study of People in the Bible

Hagar of the Bible

Hagar means reward.

Hagar was an Egyptian slave, a handmaiden of Sarah, whom Sarah gave to her husband Abraham as a wife to bear him a child. Some scholars believe she became Sarah’s concubine when Abraham and Sarah journey to Egypt in Genesis 12. Abraham pretended that Sarah was only his sister and Pharaoh took her as his wife. Pharaoh uncovered the truth because God sent many plagues upon Pharaoh. He cried to Abraham who came clean about Sarah being his wife. Abraham and all he had was exiled. Some believe this is when Hagar is gifted but Biblically it is not written. The Bible does state that Hagar was an Egyptian in Genesis 16. Some Jewish scholars believe Hagar was actually Pharaoh’s daughter, a Princess given to Abraham and Sarah during their departure but this is not Biblical either.

Abraham and Sarah had been promised children by God but both were well into their old age. Sarah decided it is best to have children through Hagar and took matters into her own hands. Abraham agreed and had intercorse with Hager. The resulting conception and child created much animosity between Sarah and Hagar.

Sarah, with Abraham’s permission, began to treat Hagar harshly, prompting her, while pregnant, to flee into the desert. God tells her in Genesis 16:9 to “Return to thy mistress and submit thyself under her hands.” God promised to multiply her seed exceedingly, so much they would be too numerous to count. He directs her to name her son Ishmael, for the Lord had heard her misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, he will live in hosility toward all his brothers. (Genesis 16:8-12.) Her son would become the patriarch of the opposition to the Jewish people. During this desperate time Hager became the first person in the Hebrew Bible who gives God a nam “El  Roi” meaning “God who sees me” (Genesis 16:13).

Hager obeys God and returns to Abraham and Sarah. Shortly after her return she gave birth to Ishmael. Abrahem loved the boy and prayed that God would include him in the prophetic blessing. When Sarah gave birth to Isaac, Ishmael was 14 years old. A few years later when he was weaned from his mother, Abraham had a great feast. Ishmael now 16-18 years old, mocked the occasion according to some translations. As was prophesied before, Ishmaal was already “living in hostility toward his brother.” Sarah asked Abraham to cast out Hager and her son. God advised Abraham to listen. Abraham obeyed God’s word and sent Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness with water and bread. Not long after then provisions ran out and the situation became dire. Ishmael was weak and fading so Hagar abandoned him in the shade of a bush to prevent herself from watching her child die. They each cried out in anguish.  God heard their cries and provided a well of water in the desert.

The story of Hager puts a spotlight on God goodness. She was a lowly slave girl yet God worked miracles in her life. The Lord heard and saw her affliction and came to her rescue. Hagar’s story reminds us that God sees and hears us all. He always will provide comfort and take care of our needs. We must trust God word and plan for us.



That concludes the wonderful story of Hagar. I hope all my readers enjoy my in-depth study of people of the Bible. Thank you for reading and God bless!

Daily Bible Study #95

I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. Psalms 77:11 KJV
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Psalms 77


To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of Asaph.

1 I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me.

2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted.

3 I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.

4 Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

5 I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.

6 I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.

7 Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more?

8 Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore?

9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.

10 And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.

11 I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.

12 I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.

13 Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?

14 Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.

15 Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.

16 The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled.

17 The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad.

18 The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.

19 Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.

20 Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Source: https://kingjames.bible

As always, thanks for reading and God bless.

Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous

Do you practice religion?

Do I practice religion? I would say no I do not “practice religion”. Christianity should not be something someone only practices. It should go way beyond Sunday services and being spoon fed by a preacher. It should be a lifestyle. Each and everyday I make a point to spend time with God as well as study His word.  My walk with God is a way of life, not something I do from time to time.  God doesn’t appreciate luke-warm Christians, so if you’re practicing Christianity as a religion I urge you to take the next step and make it your lifestyle. Remember Matthew 25 and the parable of the ten virgins?

1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:

4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

Do you have enough oil? Are you ready and prepared for His return? Or will you stand before him and hear “Verily I say unto you, I KNOW YOU NOT!”.

Leviticus 19:5 –  19:26

Welcome back to our in-depth Bible study. We are still working our way through the book of Leviticus.I pray these studies with Shepard Chapel guides you to an incredibly close relationship with our heavenly Father. May you have listening ears and eyes to see as God would want you to have.

Leviticus 19:5

5 And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will.

6 It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire.

7 And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted.

8 Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.

10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.

11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.

12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

13 Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.

14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.

15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.

16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.

17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.

18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

19 Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.

20 And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.

21 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass offering.

22 And the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he hath done: and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him.

23 And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of.

24 But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD withal.

25 And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the LORD your God.

26 Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.

This concludes our lesson today. Come back tomorrow as we finish chapter 19 and begin chapter 20 of the great book of Leviticus. Have  a great day and God bless! 

Peace

Heaven CAN heal

The only peace to be found
is when You are around.

Lost within your words,
a safe place to be heard.

Your my anchor in the storm,
guiding me and helping me transform.

No matter the struggle, no matter the pain,
I will forever call upon Your name.

I’ve had highs and I’ve had lows,
but everyday I choose

to worship the one true King.
That alone is reason to sing.

I’ve had bad days and some days I’m sad,
other days I’m just plain mad.
Nowhere in the Bible does God say emotions are bad.


The important is to stay tried and true,
after His heart forever I’ll pursue.

Through the trials and the test
I will always do my best

to see God’s blessings before my eyes
rather than the devil’s lies.


Daily Bible Study #94

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
Proverbs 9:10 KJV
https://bible-strong.app

Proverbs 9


1 Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars:

2 She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table.

3 She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city,

4 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,

5 Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled.

6 Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

7 He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot.

8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.

9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

11 For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.

12 If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.

13 A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing.

14 For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,

15 To call passengers who go right on their ways:

16 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,

17 Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.

18 But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

Source: https://kingjames.bible

Thank you for reading and God bless!

Gone but not Forgotten

Who would you like to talk to soon?

Who would I like to talk to soon. My brother, he passed away about 11 years ago. I was 19 and 8 months pregnant with my first child, he was only 23. I still remember that day vividly and the days to follow. I cannot explain how it felt to wake up and relive his death over and over again. I hated going to sleep. They say time heals everything but I say it only makes it bearable. You get used to it, it doesn’t heal necessarily, it just becomes the way of life. I would love to talk to him just for a minute and hug him once more. One day I will, until then I wait.

WWW.

Do you remember life before the internet?

Do I remember life before the Internet? As in before it was invented in 1969? No, I was just a twinkle in my daddy’s eye during that era. However, I remember a time before the internet existed in my world. I was almost a teenager before we had such a luxury in our home. I can remember playing outside with my brother. I can reminisce for hours about the time we spent outside. I loved making mud pies and collecting rocks. I enjoyed picking flowers and chasing the chickens. My favorite was playing in the creek and coming home filthy and soaking and wet. My mom would hose me down with a water hose and I was good to go. It saddens me some days that my kids will never experience a time before the internet. If only I could go back to those days one more time and set down to make a mud pie. 

Leviticus 18:7 – 19:4

Welcome back to our in-depth Bible study. We are still working our way through the book of Leviticus. If you are just not stopping by, I highly recommend going back to Genesis 1:1. These Bible studies are meant to go chapter by chapter, verse by verse, of God word in order to gain a deeper and more in-depth understanding. Some of what is taught in these lessons you will not find in your average church. That being the main reason I have left churches that teach false doctrine and traditions of men. I pray these studies with Shepard Chapel guides you to an incredibly close relationship with our heavenly Father. May you have listening ears and eyes to see as God would want you to have.

Leviticus 18:7

7 The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

8 The nakedness of thy father’s wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father’s nakedness.

9 The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.

10 The nakedness of thy son’s daughter, or of thy daughter’s daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness.

11 The nakedness of thy father’s wife’s daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

12 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s sister: she is thy father’s near kinswoman.

13 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister: for she is thy mother’s near kinswoman.

14 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt.

15 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son’s wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

16 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother’s wife: it is thy brother’s nakedness.

17 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness.

18 Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.

19 Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness.

20 Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour’s wife, to defile thyself with her.

21 And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.

23 Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.

24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:

25 And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.

26 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:

27 (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;)

28 That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.

29 For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people.

30 Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 19
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.

3 Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.

4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.

Come back tomorrow as we finish chapter 19 of the good book Leviticus. Thank you for joining our in-depth Bible study. God bless.

Sarah: An Extensive Study of People in the Bible

Sara of the Bible

Sarah is one of the most important women in the Bible. She was Abraham’s wife and Isaac’s mother. Just like her husband, God changed Sarah’s name to (Genesis 17:15). Originally called Sarai meaning “my princess”, while Sarah means “princess”. This name change symbolizes her role as the mother of nations. Abraham and Sarah were technically half siblings, sharing the same father but different mothers. (Genesis 20:12). Marrying within the family was a common practice at this time. She was known for her beauty, and was sought after by Pharaoh in Egypt and Abimelech, King of Gere.  Most people remember Sarah for her infertility issues. For many years her womb was barren, resulting in Sarah giving Hagar to Abraham to insure an heir. The decision lead to tension and strife within the household.

When God told Abraham that Sarah would bear a child in her old age, she laughed in disbelief, (Genesis 18:12). Her laughter reflected doubt but also led to her naming her son “Isaac, ” which means “He laughs.” She was 90 years old when she finally gave birth (Genesis 17:17). Her story is a testament to waiting on God’s timing and trusting His promises. Sarah’s role in God’s plan was significant. Through her son Isaac, God carried forward the covenant God made with Abraham, (Genesis 17:19). This covenant promised that Abraham’s descendants would become a great nation. She was the first person to be buried in the Cave of Machpelah, the land Abraham purchased as a family burial site (Genesis 23:19). This site became significant as the burial place of the patriarchs and matriarchs of Israel.

Sarah’s story embodies faith and resilience, showcasing unwavering faithfulness and perfect timing.



That concludes the wonderful story of Ishmael. I hope all my readers enjoy my in-depth study of people of the Bible. Thank you for reading and God bless!


Source: Watermarkwaves.com.