The Birth of Three Sons

When we consider the unique circumstances surrounding the conception and birth of each of these sons, we’ll be able to determine which one represents the life coming bringing forth in us. We are accountable to the Lord for the life that we have, and as we approach the end of this age, the "son" we bring forth will determine our spiritual reward and eternal destiny.

One of these three sons was born as a work of the flesh, one was born to covenant people who had compromised with their God, and the third was a spiritual son, born supernaturally when his parents were in years beyond their natural ability to have children.

A Son is Promised

After telling Abraham that he would be his shield and exceeding great reward, the Lord told him that an heir would be born out of his "own bowels." This was hard for Abraham to understand, seeing that Sarai, his wife was still barren, and he was already over 75 years old! Nevertheless, "he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness." (see Gen.15:1-6)

After giving Abraham this wonderful prophetic word, the Lord entered into a covenant with him by sacrifice and offering. Through that covenant, he assured him that his word to him would be fulfilled in due time. (see Gen.15)

Ten long years passed and still no son had been born to Abraham. Scripture does not record a further word from the Lord during this time. Sarai was still barren and both of them were getting older by the day! Perhaps in their excitement over God’s promise of a son, they had misinterpreted what he had said.

Although Abraham did not understand the implications of what was happening, he and Sarai were in God’s test of time. The test of time is that period between the word of God coming and its fulfillment. It is the space of time God provides to prove our faithfulness to the word he has spoken. It is "the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire." (1 Pet.1:7) Abraham didn’t know it at the time, but he was about to fail the test.

The Birth of Ishmael

"And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes." (Gen.16:2-4)

Abraham and Sarai had obtained Hagar while they were in Egypt during the time of a great famine in Canaan. (Gen.12:10-20) She was very much part of the family by this time, and Sarai thought she was a likely "provision" for God to use to fulfill his word! There was just one problem: Hagar was the wrong woman! (See Gal.4:22-26)

There are some lessons we can learn from this situation. First, all of us are subject to the test of time after God gives us a word. God must teach us to become people who are full of faith. If we immediately received the fulfillment of every word that he gave us, we would remain spiritual babes and not have our faith or trusting relationship with him developed to any extent. "But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." (Rom.8:25)

Waiting for a word to be fulfilled that God has given us often causes us to question whether he can actually accomplish what he said! It is during such a time of waiting that we are most likely to compromise what he has said. Then, just like Sarai and Abraham, we’re tempted to try and fulfill his word with our own efforts.

We feel we must try and "help" God fulfill his word because he "hath restrained me from bearing." (vs.2) But the moment we give in to that temptation, we loose the inner peace and harmony we’ve enjoyed, and a work of the flesh is conceived. That conception will produce sin, which in turn brings forth death. (Ja.1:12-15)

That loss of inner peace is God’s initial signal to us that something is not right with what we are doing. God, in faithfulness to us, allows our peace to slip away because he does not want us to bear the wrong son! If we’re sensitive to that signal, we can repent and come back into alignment with his word to us.

Sarai responded in the same way that we’re prone to do in a similar situation. First she blamed God for her lack of fruitfulness, ("the Lord hath restrained me from bearing") then after Abraham joined with her in her plan to help God perform his word, she blamed him! "And Sarai said unto Abram, ‘My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.’" (Gen.16:5)

Abraham wisely told her, "Behold thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee." Although Sarai recognized something was wrong, she would not acknowledge her responsibility in it so she blamed Hagar and "dealt hardly with her," causing her to flee from before her face! (vs.6)

God came to Hagar in the desert and told her to return to her mistress. He then made a promise to her concerning the son she would bear, saying he would be a wild man and that he would multiply exceedingly. Although he would live in the presence of his brethren, his hand would be against them and their hand against his. But in spite of this, God promised to preserve him all the days of his life. (Gen.16:7-13)

(If we had no other evidence of the authenticity of the scriptures than this promise God made to Hagar, we would have amble testimony that God’s word is true. All the tension and conflict in the Middle East between the sons of Abraham give confirmation to its accuracy. The Palestinians and Arabs, who are the descendants of Ishmael, are still dwelling in the presence of their brethren (Israel) and each hand is against the other.)

In the due process of time, "Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram." (Gen.16:15-16)

Thirteen years passed and Ishmael grew into a fine young lad. His father had taught him all about taking care of his flocks and herds. He’d heard him rehearse all the wonderful promises God had given him concerning the land of Canaan and how it was to become the inheritance of his seed. All of Abraham’s servants and herdsmen treated him with respect such as is due the master’s heir.

The Silent Years

Abraham watched his son grow up and was pleased that he’d learned responsibility and other related skills so readily. Surely this was the heir God had promised so long ago. Or was he?

Why was heaven so quiet? Abraham had lived in Canaan for 24 years, but after God made the covenant with him and confirmed that he should have an heir out of his own loins, he had not given him any further word – at least none is recorded. Faint memories of distant Mesopotamia flirted with his mind. Had God forgotten him? Was Ishmael really his awaited heir? Somehow, he thought it would have come about differently.

And then it happened! It was as though a trumpet sounded, the sky parted, and suddenly the glory of God was all around him.

"And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, ‘I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.’" (Gen.17:1-2)

It was an awesome moment!

Overwhelmed by God’s presence, "Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, ‘As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.’" (Gen.17:3-8)

The Lord continued speaking to Abraham, telling him that he needed to keep the covenant he had made with him with the rite of circumcision. That meant every male of Abraham’s household who was more than eight days old would need to be circumcised: "He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant." ( Gen.17:13-14)

Circumcision? Taking a knife to the flesh? The uncircumcised man cut off from the covenant? What could this mean?

Ishmael is not the Heir

The word was almost more than Abraham could bear, but the Lord wasn’t finished! He continued, "As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations." (Gen.17:15-16)

Abraham, who had by this time regained his composure, again fell on his face and laughingly said in his heart, "Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?" (vs.17)

In an instant, a myriad of thoughts raced through Abraham’s mind: Ishmael was not the heir! But I’m too old to father a son! And Sarah has passed the age of childbearing! What is this? Why had God waited so long? How could this be?

A deep, heart-wrenching cry rose out from among Abraham’s swirling thoughts as he turned to God and said, "O that Ishmael might live before Thee!" (vs.18)

It was the cry of a helpless and broken man. To Abraham the situation was absolutely hopeless. After thirteen years of convincing himself that Ishmael was his heir, suddenly all the dreams and ambitions he’d had for him collapsed right before his eyes. And he realized that it was now impossible for him to do anything to help God fulfill this word.

The Lord confirmed that he would only establish his covenant with Isaac, the son Sarah would bear to him at the set time in the next year. He also told Abraham he would bless Ishmael and multiply his seed exceedingly. His mission having been completed, God "went up from Abraham." (vs.19-22)

Abraham had a decision to make. God had promised to bless Ishmael and increase him, so he could settle for that. After all, Ishmael was a fine young man, and he was his own flesh and blood. Or should he circumcise Ishmael and all the men of his house, and believe God for another son as the Lord had promised?

He sharpened his best knife and called all his servants and the men of his house together. "And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.

"And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him." (Gen.17:23-27)

How would you have liked the task of convincing all those men that you had a word from the Lord which required each of them to be circumcised? And their circumcision was necessary so you could have the proper heir, especially when you already had a 13-year-old son who everyone thought was your heir!

There was much discomfort and pain in Abraham’s house that day. Grown men were humiliated, and some probably wept. It was a bloody day. Although we’re not told how many men were circumcised, we are told Abraham had at least 318 trained servants who had been born in his house. All of them went under the circumcising knife along with Abraham and Ishmael.

As the Spirit of God shines his searchlight of truth into our hearts, we too must make a decision: If we’re to have part in the full inheritance God promised to his seed, every "Ishmael" we’ve brought forth through our impatient efforts during the test of time must be circumcised. And God is not going to do the circumcising for us: WE MUST DO IT OURSELVES!

Every "Ishmael" of compromise, every "Ishmael" of fleshy indulgence, every "Ishmael" that we’ve used to make a name or ministry for ourselves, every "Ishmael" we try to present to God and want to live before him, must come under the cutting knife of the circumcising word of the Lord and be put away from us. From God’s point of view, every one of them is an unclean work of the flesh and totally unacceptable to him as the heir.

But if we insist that our Ishmael lives before the Lord, he will bless him and multiply him exceedingly. Most people will not know the difference, and some will even complement us on the wonderful "son" we’ve brought forth. The only problem is, he was born of the wrong woman and is therefore not the heir God intended for us to bring forth!

The Second Son

Israel had been in their promised land for approximately 400 years. The foreign nations they had failed to eliminate under Joshua were continual "thorns in their sides," often bringing them back into bondage and servitude. God brought forth judges who would champion his cause for a while, only to have the people return again to the practices of the neighboring heathen. Things had deteriorated to the point where "every man did that which was right in his own eyes," and consequently, "there was no open vision" anywhere in the land. (Jud.21:25b; 1 Sam.3:1c)

The priesthood had degenerated until it was so corrupt that men were serving by office instead of by the anointing. The sons of the high priest, Eli, "were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord." (1 Sam.2:12) Their practice was to take for themselves the best of the offerings the people brought to the Lord instead of the portion he had designated for the priests. If anyone didn’t oblige them, they would take what they wanted by force. (1 Sam.2:13-17)

The priests were living in immorality, causing untold scandal in the land and transgression among the people. Using the poor example of their renegade priests, the people also broke their covenant with the Lord. (1 Sam.2:22-25) Chaos was the order of the day.

The Lord sent a word to Eli, telling him that because he had honored his sons above his God, he was changing his previous commitment of passing the priesthood from one generation to the next. "I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, ‘Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

"Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house.’" (1 Sam.2:30-31)

At the same time the child Samuel was growing up in the house of the Lord and "was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men." (1 Sam.2:26) Although he did not yet know the Lord personally, the Lord visited him in the night and gave him a further word about His plans for the judgment of Eli’s house.

"And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.

"For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever." (1 Sam.3:11-14)

Over the next 20 years Samuel continued to grow in his relationship with the Lord. He walked so uprightly that the Lord "let none of his words fall to the ground." It became known from one end of the country to the other that the Lord had established Samuel as his prophetic voice. The word of the Lord was being established in Israel once again. (1 Sam.3:19-21)

The Parallel Today

We’ve witnessed a similar situation developing in the church in the Western World over the last several decades. Men with great anointing have fallen prey to ravaging temptations of lust, schemes, and gimmicks. Some who God had once used mightily to bring great deliverance to his people died in utter disgrace and shame. Others have swindled well-meaning supporters out of their hard earned money, using it to fuel their own lavish life styles. Seminaries turn out professional "men of the cloth" instead of equipping them with the anointing. Godless psychology has replaced spiritual discernment and Holy Spirit-led counseling.

Too often men in pulpits are not crying out against sin and calling for repentance and holiness in the lives of God’s people. They withhold the truth because they know it could impact the support of their measly self-centered programs. Consequently, they honor men more than they honor God, and once again, "every man is doing what is right in his own eyes." But the winds of pending judgment are beginning to blow across the spiritual horizon.

The word of the Lord has become so scarce and the organized church so ineffective that Global 2000 strategists have planned a "post Christian era" after the year 2000. Satanists boldly proclaim the next century to be the "satanic century." New Age hucksters "set up shop" in liberal congregations and dupe the unsuspecting.

No wonder multitudes of Christians have become disillusioned with God and the church and have gone back to their old ways, saying, "If that is Christianity, who needs it." Although failure in others is never a reason to turn away from God for anyone else, many people have withdrawn themselves from any fellowship with other believers because of the hypocrisy they have encountered.

But in the Lord’s house, right under the nose of a corrupt religious system, a "Samuel company" is quietly growing "in favor both with the Lord and also with men." This company of saints is not flashy, neither does it have a high profile and large building programs. The word of the Lord has been established in their midst once more and a clear prophetic voice is being heard again – and it is cropping up everywhere!

Judgment Comes

Almost 25 years had passed since God first gave the word through Samuel that he would judge the corrupt priesthood and house of Eli. But no one would have imagined that a war with Israel’s Philistine neighbors would be the means through which God would bring the fulfillment of his word.

"And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Ebenezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek." (1 Sam.4:1)

The war campaign was disastrous for Israel. In the first battle they suffered about 4000 casualties. Somehow they would need to reverse the battle and gain a much needed victory over the dominating Philistines. The smitten people and anxious elders hurriedly got together for a brief strategy meeting. Without consulting the Lord, they devised a plan to bring the ark of the Lord into the battle. They reasoned that its presence would assuredly get them a quick and decisive victory!

"And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again. And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, ‘What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews?’ And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, ‘God is come into the camp.’

"And they said, ‘Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods?’ ‘Be strong, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.’" (1 Sam.4:5-9)

When the battle was engaged again, the determination and absolute fury of the Philistines was so overpowering that Israel lost 30,000 footmen! Those heathens were determined that they would not lose the battle and become servants to Israel. Those of Israel’s army who could escape "fled every man into his tent." (vs.10)

For us to understand the spiritual significance of this decisive battle, we need to remember that when Israel came out of Egypt, God had told them to completely annihilate all the heathen nations of Canaan. The reason was that the idolatry of those nations had polluted the land God had promised to Abraham and his seed, and the land needed to be purged. God said the only way it could be purged was to destroy the people who had polluted it.

God’s formula for cleansing the land might seem quite harsh to us, but we need to remember that all those heathen nations in Canaan represent the demon forces and lustful flesh nature that contaminate our own spiritual inheritance. As long as those influences are permitted in our spiritual "land," the inheritance will not be ours to possess.

The nature and culture of the various nations living in Canaan typify specific areas of our own spiritual warfare. For instance, the Philistines were governed by five lords. (see Jud.3:1-4) Those five lords represent the five senses of our flesh nature that we’re called to completely subdue so that we’re not governed by them.

The ongoing struggle Israel had against the Philistines is a perfect example of the day-to-day struggle we have with our own flesh nature. This specific battle was significant because of the son that was born after the battle was over. But before we look at that son, let’s see where the battle was fought.

Israel was pitched beside Ebenezer and the Philistines were pitched in Aphek. (1 Sam.4:1) That doesn’t mean much to us until we learn that in Hebrew, Ebenezer means "the stone of help" and Aphek means "fortress." This gives us a "behind the scenes" view: Israel should have been IN the Stone of Help, not BESIDE it!

That stone of help is a prophecy of Jesus, the true Stone (Rock) of our salvation. The Rock was WITH Israel but he couldn’t help them because they weren’t IN him. Their present sin had put them beside the Rock, just as during the wilderness journey their disobedience had caused the Rock to FOLLOW them instead of being able to LEAD them into the land. (1 Cor.10:1-4)

Because Israel was not "in the Rock," the Philistines had a great advantage in their "fortress" against them. The outcome of the battle was inevitable, just as our battle with the flesh is when we attempt to war against it without first being IN Christ. We will be defeated and humiliated every time.

The Glory Departs

When Israel saw the battle was not going well for them, they presumptuously, and contrary to the order of God, brought the Ark of the Covenant into the battle arena with them. They hoped that its presence with them would "turn the tide" in their favor. But unfortunately, having "a form of godliness" without the power of sanctification did not win the war! Not only did they lose the battle; "the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain." (1 Sam.4:11)

Think of it! The ark that represented the very presence of the Lord was no longer in the camp of Israel! This had never happened before! The thought of that ark being anywhere other than in the place God had ordained for it was devastating to anyone who knew what the fear of the Lord was. It was unthinkable.

Word of the defeat and loss of the ark came back from the battle front just as Phinehas’ wife was in labor to deliver her child. When the devastating news reached her, "and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her.

"And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, ‘Fear not; for thou hast borne a son.’ But she answered not, neither did she regard it. And she named the child Ichabod, saying, ‘The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.’ And she said, ‘The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken." (vs. 19-22)

The stark awareness of her husband and father-in-law’s death was numbed by the awesome realization that the ark of God had been taken out of Israel and was now in the hands of the heathen. The reality of its loss could only be expressed in the name she gave her son – Ichabod, meaning, "the glory has departed." Almost 25 years after it had first been declared, God’s judgment had come on the corrupt religious system of Israel in one devastating day.

Ichabod was not born to just a woman in Israel: He was born to a whole nation who had compromised their covenant with God. Because they had not heeded the word of the Lord and repented of their own evils ways, the glory they had once known and taken for granted, was stripped from them. It was time for a new and prophetic order in the land.

How does all of this relate to our day?

God has used many voices in an attempt to appeal to the religious systems of men, calling them to repentance and a life of holiness. But for the most part, that cry has gone unheard. On every side, Philistine "flesh" is getting the upper hand. Scheme after natural scheme has been invented by the church to try and bring "the ark of the Lord" into the camp and coax his glorious presence to deliver a has-been order. But it has all been of no avail.

Every effort and attempt we make to try and "bring God on the scene" when we are beside the Rock will serve to strengthen the flesh in its battle against us. It is just like unrepentant Israel’s attempt to get God on their side, but instead of helping them, it only served to reinforce the Philistines against them. Their willful neglect of holiness and unbridled tolerance of sin caused the glory of God to depart, leaving them in utter humiliation and defeat before their enemies.

If you find yourself in a state of lethargy and losing the battle with the flesh, or if you’re more interested in putting up a good front to the people around you than you are about getting honest before the Lord, or if you’re in a congregation which is negligent and faithless in its responses to the Lord, rise up out of that precarious place BESIDE the Rock and get INTO him before the Lord laughs at your calamity. (Prov.1:24-33) If you stay there, you’ll surely become part of that company who brings forth Ichabod. Let God stir you awake, and "remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." (Rev.2:5)

The Birth of Isaac

Back in Mamre, the men of Abraham’s house were becoming whole again. The pain and humiliation of their circumcision were fading in their memories, and everything around camp was settling back into their normal routines. It was midday, and Abraham was sitting in the tent door. Suddenly through the shimmering heat, his eyes focused on three strangers standing by him.

As Abraham recognized who his visitors were, "he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, And said, ‘My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort your hearts; after that ye shall pass on.’" (Gen.18:2-5)

Abraham hastened back to the tent and told Sarah to quickly bake some cakes for the visitors to eat with the calf that he was preparing for them. Instructing a servant to prepare the trimmings, he ran back to his tent to stand before the Lord.

Another visitation from the Lord! Abraham trembled with an anticipation of what this could mean. One thing was certain, he was not going to let this be just a passing visit! He was going to get as much time with the Lord as he possibly could.

After having eaten and communed with Abraham, the Lord asked him where his wife was. He then confirmed his earlier word saying, "I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him." (vs.10)

This was almost more than she could bear! She, have a son? And at this stage of life? She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, ‘After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also.’" (vs.12)

Although Sarah denied laughing, the Lord had heard her, and said to Abraham, "Wherefore did Sarah laugh... Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.’" (vs.13-14)

Remember, "Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women." (vs.11) Bringing forth a son was for them a physical impossibility. It would take a divine visitation and supernatural enabling for both conception and birth.

At first the struggle to believe God’s word at this late time of their lives was almost beyond them. How could it be? If only this confirmation had come to them sooner!

Neither Abraham nor Sarah could possibly understand all the implications of what God was doing in them. They didn’t know he had allowed their situation to become this completely hopeless so he could bring Abraham forth as "the father of faith to them that believe." Neither did they know God was teaching them how to become his people of faith, and that the life they would bring forth would really be an expression of his life in them.

A strange new phenomenon began taking place deep within Abraham’s spirit. Knowing his own inability to fulfill the word God had just given him, he began to believe God in spite of what he could understand naturally. By faith, he began calling "those things which be not, as though they were!" (Rom.4:17)

Against all of his natural reasoning, Abraham "believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, ‘So shall they seed be.’ And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, ...neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb:

"He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform." (Rom.4:17-21)

Abraham didn’t know how this son was going to come forth, neither did he understand how he was going to be "quickened," nor how Sarah could possibly conceive in her old age. All he knew was God had spoken, and for him, that settled it! In the face of all possible odds, and his own helpless condition, he was fully persuaded that what God had promised, he would also perform!

Every time a shadow of doubt tried to cloud his faith, Abraham would lift his hands and give glory to God! I can almost hear him say every time he looked at his century-old face in the mirror, "I don’t know how it’s going to be done, but glory to God, IT WILL BE DONE!" Abraham just wasn’t "psyching himself up" either. He was actively believing the word of his God above everything that he could see through his own intellect and rational.

In due time "the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him." (Gen.21:1-5)

It had taken a supernatural visitation to bring about the conception and birth of Isaac, but God responded to Abraham’s faith in the word he had received and did what he had promised!

Never before had a son been born to a couple under such impossible circumstances! Twenty five years had passed since God first told Abraham he would give him a son to inherit the promised land. Now in their old age, when all their natural ability was gone, God fulfilled that wonderful promise.

Putting it all Together

Isaac, the son of promise, is the only one of these three sons the Lord desires for us to bring forth. His life is the only quality of life that God will bring into full spiritual inheritance because he was the only son truly "born of God." Like the law given under Moses, the other sons were "added because of transgression, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made." (Gal.)3:19

When we carefully consider the principles surrounding Isaac’s conception and birth, we can learn many applications for our own lives. Armed with these, we can be among the people who’ll bring forth true spiritual life. Let’s look at a few of these principles.

When Abraham had filled up his obedience to the last word he’d received from God – the word of circumcision – he was ready for another visitation. (See 2 Cor.10:6) Then as he became aware that it had come, he was not content to have just a passing visitation that would bless him momentarily. He "pressed into" the presence of the Lord and ministered to him! He "ran to meet them" (Gen.18:2) and insisted that he and the Lord spend time together. That time of deep communion brought him so close to God that afterward God called him his "friend." (Ja.2:23)

Many people around the world are sensing the beginnings of a fresh moving of the Spirit and visitation of God. Perhaps you are among those. But what is the purpose of such a visitation? Is it just that we might experience more natural and temporary blessing? Is it that we might increase our programs and "build bigger barns"?

No! A thousand times, no! Any visitation of the Lord in these last days is for the express purpose of preparing his people to bring forth the quality of life (son) he promised in his word! It is to be a fully matured son, a son coming forth in "the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." (Eph.4:13)

As I write these lines, a new millennium is fast approaching. Many parts of the world are in serious conflicts as political strongholds unravel. Total chaos and anarchy is brooding just under the surface of society. Natural calamity after calamity is sweeping across the planet. It’s time for the sons of God to come forth!

It’s time to press into the presence of the Lord and get our priorities straight. It’s time to honor God in all that we say and do, and to distance ourselves from everything that hinders our faith from bringing forth the son God promised!

There are no books at the Bible book store that will tell us how this son will be born. Neither can we look to previous generations and analyze how they brought him forth, because they didn’t! We can’t look to ourselves and hope to bring him forth by our natural abilities, nor can we consider the "deadness of our womb." We must simply be fully persuaded that what he has promised, he alone will perform as we become helpless before him! Glory to God!

Which of these sons is coming forth in you? Are you failing the test of time, and through compromise and your flesh, bringing forth Ishmael? Has the gradual tolerance of sin dulled your senses until the only son you can bear is Ichabod? Or is hope increasing in your bosom that in spite of the things you see, you ARE expectant and fully persuaded that the final visitation you need to bring forth Isaac is on its way?

This study written by:
Eli Miller,
Insight Ministries,
PO Box 8000-474,
Abbotsford, BC V2S-6H1 CANADA
http://www.insightministries.com

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