Another lesson the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to see in the story of Ishmael (in Gen 16-21) is that automatic blessings can be allocated to an individual without needing to work for it.
For background to Ishmael, please read my post here. At some point Sarah could no longer tolerate Hagar and Ishmael in the house and she sent them away. Abraham was grieved with this decision and God comforted him in 21:13 saying, “And I will also make a nation of [Ishmael] the son of the maid, because he is your descendant.” The same words were spoken to Hagar in 21:18.
Ishmael need not work for it. He automatically qualified for it due to the lineage. Whao! Some stash of inheritance awaiting him – his Father’s, Abraham, will so to speak.
In Luke 13, Jesus referred to a woman who was bound over as ‘a daughter of Abraham’. And here, he said this woman qualified to be healed! I have tried to plot out this woman’s family tree to check out the connection and which generation she was in: 1st, 2nd, 3rd…, 20th….40th? It was not easily traceable however there were 42 generations between Abraham and Jesus Christ. Therefore, I guess this woman will possibly be in either the 41st or 42nd generation. The point is that she was not in the 1st generation yet she qualified for automatic healing. The question is what made her qualify?
According to Galatians 3-5, if an individual confesses Christ as his Lord and Saviour, then he automatically qualifies for this stash of inheritance too, irrespective of the place you are in the family tree. Apart from being established as a nation and healing, the contents of this stash can be found in Gen 12 -17 and other chapters of the bible.
I study and claim those promises today and continually. From the story of the woman in Luke 13, apparently, she knew God however she was bound over for 18 years! Could it be that she was unaware of her full right to the stash?
temitopebj 