barren

Wilderness Day 8 The Empty Undoing

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Genesis 17:15-21
Genesis 18:9-15
Genesis 21:1-7
Hebrews 11:11-16

Wilderness, Day 8

Longing. Waiting. Aching. Barren.

These are not words we think of when we begin following Jesus. We hear about new life, joy, and abundant life, and we are eager to experience them! Yet, in times of wilderness suffering God meets us, reminding us He is faithful and He keeps His promises. 

Imagine you lived in the time of Abraham. You are a wife and expected by everyone in society to take care of your home, bearing and raising children. You wait, year after year, but your womb remains empty. How would you feel?

This is the condition in which we find Sarai in Genesis 11:30. In her culture, a woman who was unable to conceive was subject to shame and disgrace. Children were considered a blessing from God, as well as heirs to their father’s possessions.

In addition, God promised Abram his offspring would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. (Genesis 15:5) For Abram, with no street lights to dull the brightness of all the stars, this visual of God’s promise must have been stunning!

. . . And confounding.
How was this possible for a couple who were beyond child-bearing age?

Faced with this apparent impossibility, Sarai attempted to “help” God fulfill His promise by offering her slave girl, Hagar, to Abram, in order to build a family through her, which was a common practice at the time. (Genesis 16) However, Sarai’s plan only created more pain.

But God’s promise was still in place! He met again with Abram, reminding him that He would multiply his offspring through Sarai. As symbols of His promise, He changed their names to Abraham and Sarah. (Genesis 17:15-21) God promised He would bless her!

Overhearing God’s words, Sarah laughed. (Genesis 18:9-15) I imagine her muttering, “Yeah, like that’ll happen.” Yet, just as He promised, she conceived and gave birth to Isaac, who became the father of Jacob, later named Israel, who would become the father of a great nation. (Genesis 21:1-7)

Can you relate to Sarai’s story?
I’m sure we all can, as we experience difficult, wilderness seasons.
Maybe like Sarah, we long for a child.
Perhaps we’re in a situation where we thought God was giving a direction, but it sure isn’t working out like we planned.

I don’t know what you may be experiencing, but through my own wilderness wanderings, I have learned God is faithful and He keeps His promises.

After giving birth to our first daughter, I knew I wanted more children. I was sure I was made for motherhood, and enjoyed most moments (just being real here, moms!). But I had no idea how difficult it would be to conceive again.

After two years, and multiple negative pregnancy tests, I became discouraged. What was wrong with me? I thought I was a good mom with a happy child, and didn’t the Bible say children are a blessing? I prayed and prayed. I saw the doctor, and tried some medication, praying and hoping it would work.

It did not. The despair I felt was unlike any I’ve felt before, but in my wilderness, God met me. He reminded me that while it seemed He was far away, He was present with me in my excruciating pain. I did not get pregnant in the years following. But that moment of wilderness meeting will always stand out to me.

It would be several years before I would experience motherhood again with the adoption of our youngest daughter. We happily welcomed her into our family, and yet, I’ve also had some pretty sad moments, wishing we could grow our family more. I know the ache. But I also know the joy! In the midst of the struggle, God is so good to comfort and to show me how He has loved me through the years.

In my longing for a baby, I felt barren. Forgotten. However, the Holy Spirit reminded me I am not barren! In fact, God has given us an amazing legacy. Recently, my husband completed nearly 20 years of ministry in our church, and we spent some time in reflection. The Lord brought to mind the faces and names of so many students we have had the honor of knowing over the years.

I have had the privilege of walking through some really hard times with students, parents, and even leaders.
I have had the honor of listening to stories, both of pain and of celebration!

God is good! He knows our hearts and will accomplish His purposes. He is with us in wilderness seasons of sadness and doubt, walking beside us in comfort. Even if life doesn’t look exactly as I imagined, God has blessed me with an abundant life. He can be trusted to bring good out of suffering.

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

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Here’s a link to all past studies in Wilderness!

Redeemed Day 2 Once Upon A Time: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days

Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out Once Upon A Time!

The Questions

1) What time period is “the judges” and why does that detail matter? (verse 1)

2) Why would we care about the detail of this family being “Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah”? (verse 2)

3) Why would the Lord allow such hardship for Naomi if He truly loved her? (verses 4-5)

Ruth 1:1-5

During the time of the judges, there was a famine in the land. A man left Bethlehem in Judah with his wife and two sons to stay in the territory of Moab for a while. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife’s name was Naomi. The names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They entered the fields of Moab and settled there. 3 Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 Her sons took Moabite women as their wives: one was named Orpah and the second was named Ruth. After they lived in Moab about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two children and without her husband.

Original Intent

1) What time period is “the judges” and why does that detail matter? (verse 1)
Historical dates feel cumbersome to many, but they play an important role when studying Scripture as they help provide context and cultural norms based on the timing. For this book, we don’t get a specific date, but a general time period. The time of the Judges lasted 400 years and was post Joshua (who succeeded Moses who led Israel across the wilderness and out of Egypt), and pre king. The prophet Samuel was the transitionary figure between judges and the kings, so Ruth’s story happened before him. We also have another clue to determine the timing. Boaz! Boaz was the grandson of Rahab the prostitute who married the Israelite, Salmon, after Joshua led Israel to victory against Jericho and the city walls collapsed. (Joshua 6) When we read the book of Judges (which is extremely fascinating! We even wrote a Journey Theme for it!), Othniel is the first judge who dies after 40 years as judge, so we are getting close to the approximate age of Boaz. The best guesses for Ruth’s timeline fit within the period when King Eglon ruled Moab, which is after Othniel’s death. (Ah! Moab is Ruth’s native homeland and the location Naomi and Elimelech moved during the famine in Israel. (Verse 1)) In reading Judges 3:12-14, we discover how the Lord handed Israel over to King Eglon of Moab for eighteen long years as a result of their rebellion against God. It’s somewhere in these nearly two decades, we find our characters living out their “Once Upon A Time”.

2) Why would we care about the detail of this family being “Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah”? (verse 2)
When God freed Israel from slavery in Egypt, He promised to lead them into a land flowing with milk and honey, a land of great abundance and prosperity. As long as they walked in the ways of the Lord, Yahweh promised to bless them; if they rebelled against Him, He would remove their prosperity and bring consequences upon them as a reminder to return to the Lord who loved them. (Joshua 1:8, Deuteronomy 31:29) The Promised Land was inhabited by the Canaanites, but when Israel finally arrived, the Lord handed over Canaanite cities one by one as Israel followed the Lord into battle. (Deuteronomy 7:22) Often, but not always, Israel would rename Canaanite cities as they overtook them. During this time period, names carried weighty significance. For example, Naomi means “good and pleasant”, but when Naomi returned empty-handed to Bethlehem, she told everyone to call her Mara, which means “bitter”. (Ruth 1:20) Scholars believe a renaming of cities is what happened with Bethlehem. In Scripture, every time Ephrath, the Canaanite name, is mentioned, it is in conjunction with Bethlehem, the Israeli renaming. By calling out Naomi and Elimelech as Ephrathites, which means “fruitful”, and Bethlehem, which means “house of bread”, it was a blatant reminder of judgement from the Lord. The Promised Land, meant to flow with milk and honey, even in Bethlehem, the city of “bread” and “fruitfulness”, was now barren without food because of willful disobedience by its inhabitants.

3) Why would the Lord allow such hardship for Naomi if He truly loved her? (verses 4-5)
No one would blame Naomi for how she felt towards God. Later in chapter 1, she voices, “I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” When troubles wash over our lives, leaving us feeling swamped and broken, it’s easy to blame God, but we do have two heart responses available to our choosing. Naomi chose to cut herself off, resigning her heart to being empty and broken the rest of her days. Job, on the other hand, chose to bless the Lord, even after he lost his children, his livelihood, his wealth, his friends, and his health. (Job 1:20-22) When extreme suffering hit them, both Job and Naomi did share one similarity between them, they both gave themselves permission to grieve. Worshipping the Lord in the midst of tragedy does not negate our need to process our grief, but it does the critically important work of shifting our hearts off ourselves and onto the Author of life. This shift made all the difference between Job and Naomi. Naomi’s grief grew steadily into cold bitterness. Because he responded first, and over again, with worship, Job’s grief, though deep, eventually gave way for Job to lift his head, and realize how God’s character was vastly wiser than his own. In response to this humble act of worship, the Lord graciously ushered in a sweet, intangible peace. (Job 42:4-3) We may never know the answers to all of our “whys”, but we can always grow deeper in knowing the God who does indeed love us!

Everyday Application

1) What time period is “the judges” and why does that detail matter? (verse 1)
The historic timeline paints a fuller picture as to why Naomi and Elimelech fled their hometown of Bethlehem nestled in their homeland of Judah. They lived in a period of great moral decay. Their culture, though only two generations removed from Moses and the giving of the Ten Commandments, had become exceedingly stubborn in their rebellion against the Lord. The author of judges describes their rebellious heart attitude like this, “everyone did whatever seemed right to him.” (Judges 17:6) How closely does this seem to fit our own culture today?! In a world where right and wrong are only relative to the person making a moral decision, we have an entire culture acting in whatever way seems best to them. Israel experienced many consequences from the Lord as a result of their rebellion because He loved them and wanted them to live with abundance and fullness. However, they continued to consume the lie that their ways would bring better happiness over dwelling within the loving boundaries of the Lord in sweet relationship with Him. Any deviation from how the Lord calls us to live detracts from a truly full life of increasingly deep joy and satisfaction. Where might you be pushing away from His ways to choose your own?

2) Why would we care about the detail of this family being “Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah”? (verse 2)
When Elimelech decided to move his family out of the region of famine, he could have chosen another Israelite city that was not experiencing such severity. Perhaps a region closer to the Jordan river was more fertile than Bethlehem. Instead, he chose Moab, a city clearly outside of the land God had given Israel as an inheritance. It was as if Elimilech had decided God could no longer provide for him. God administered the consequence of famine to direct Israel’s attention back to God’s heart as the Giver of all good things and remind them of Who He was and His heart for the people He had rescued from slavery. Recognizing this, however, necessitated one to self-reflect, then repent of rebellion, then return in humility to God. Elimelech, however, took his family and left the entire land God had given as an inheritance. Going further, he allowed his sons to marry Moabite women, which was also strictly forbidden. (Deuteronomy 7:3) Elimelech decided God was not good enough for him. He would rather depend on himself than face sin and repent. Perhaps, as a further consequence of his rebellion, this is the reason for Elimelech’s death and those of his sons. Choosing to keep ourselves as the final judge of God’s character based on our circumstance, instead of the truth of Scripture, is always a dangerous position to take. Consider your own beliefs about God and His heart-attitude towards you. Do your beliefs match up with what the Bible says is true of Him? Are you tender to the Lord’s rebuke in your life, ready to return to Him in humility?

3) Why would the Lord allow such hardship for Naomi if He truly loved her? (verses 4-5)
It’s an age-old question each of us have likely wrestled with from time to time. “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Or, said a different way, “Why does a good God allow suffering?” Few answers to these questions give us peace in our hearts. In the end, it’s much about our willingness to acknowledge God’s supremacy, linked inextricably with His wisdom, goodness, tenderheartedness, and His love, over our own shortsighted understanding. (Isaiah 55:8-9) Only the Lord knows all things. (Psalm 147:5) Only the Lord has the power to work beautiful things out of our smoldering ashes. (Isaiah 61:1-4) Only the Lord loves us deep enough to use His power for good, even when we can’t see through the smoky haze of our brokenness. (Romans 8:28) If we trust His heart, over ours, if we choose to worship Him with thanksgiving for Who He is, then He will safeguard our hearts and our minds with His peace which passes all understanding. (Philippians 4:6-7) Where can you begin to choose worship over worry, trust over fear, and humility over the need to control or understand?

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
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Catch up with Once Upon A Time!

Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!

Digging Deeper Community

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Why Dig Deeper?

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Study Tools

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Memorize It!

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Day Two
Desperate For Significance: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper posts are intended to help us go farther into God’s word than a simple surface reading
and are designed to help us discover new tools in the process.
Curious as to why we Dig Deeper? Here’s Why! 

The Passage

Looking for yesterday’s Journey Post? Check out Desperate For Significance!

Genesis 16:1-3

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar.

 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.

My Questions

1) Why is Sarai’s description in v.1 important to her story?

2) How common at this time was it for women to give their servants to their husbands?

3) What is the significance of Abram “listening” to his wife in this matter?

4) Where is Canaan and what is its importance in the story of Israel?

The Tools

A trip to www.studylight.org is in order here.
We will get super cozy with this site as we study Scripture together!
Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom!
It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse?
Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage?
Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

The Findings for Original Intent

1) Sarai is described in v.1 as “bearing him no children.” She is barren and that is extremely important to her personal story. The Israelite culture valued women who could bear lots of children. It was a mark of God’s blessing in your life if you had a large family, especially if you had boys. It was a culture driven by family, community, and legacy. Children carried the family name into the next generation and the legacy and heritage of a family rested on the shoulders of the women bearing children.

2) It was not God’s original intent for men to have a harem of women. In Genesis 2, God clearly designs the marriage relationship with one man and one woman. However, in Genesis 4:19 we see Lamech taking two wives which would be the first time in Scripture that we see multiple wives. Throughout the Old Testament we see men taking many wives, including King David and King Solomon. In the New Testament, Paul clearly delineates marriage between one husband and one wife. We do not see the same pattern of multiple wives under the New Covenant.

3) As we read through Scripture there are times when the original meaning of a word can give a clearer definition. In 16:3 we are told that Abram “listened to the voice of Sarai”. The word listen there implies obedience, perception, understanding, and yielding to. When we have that word foundation the statement that Abram listened to Sarai tells us Abram was prepared to obey his wife, he was yielding to her request.

4) Canaan was the son of Ham, who was the son of Noah. The land of Canaan was settled and enlarged according to Genesis 10. Terah, Abram’s father, left the land of Ur to travel to Canaan but they settled in Haran. Terah stayed in Haran but Abram and Sarai, along with Lot, Abram’s nephew continued on to Canaan. Canaan is very significant in the history of Israel because it is the land that God promises to Abram in Genesis 17. Canaan is considered present day Israel (Gaza and the West Bank), as well as parts of Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.

Some Applications for Our Everyday Lives

1) In her culture, Sarai was shunned because of her barrenness. In her desperation to “save face”, she concocted her own plan instead of trusting God’s promise. Are you tired of waiting on God’s plan to unfold? Are you tempted to take matters into your own hands? Even in our darkest hours of waiting on God, clinging to the Truth to what we know of His character, His will, and His timing is our only protection. In Genesis 21, Isaac was born and in v. 2 it clearly states, “at the appointed time.” God knows our heart, our desires, and He simply asks that we trust Him with our worth, our value, and most importantly our lives!

2) Sarai “owned” Hagar as a slave and gave her to Abram as another wife in hopes of bearing children through her. Sarai got what she wanted, however, her decision only created bitterness and strife. Although she had her own plan and still had to live with the consequences of that plan, God’s plan was not thwarted! Despite our sin and disobedience God is steady and His plan is eternal, but our lives will be sweeter if we choose submission to Christ instead of our own ideas apart from Him.  

3) Abram “listened”. It seems simple enough but when his wife approached him with her plan to speed up God’s plan, Abram simply listened. He did not question her. God had already made the promise to Abram that he would have descendants. In Abram’s defense, he probably wanted to make his wife happy. But in his attempt to make her happy, he missed the mark on holy! Our happiness, our desires do not trump the holiness that God has called us to. We need Godly men and women in our lives to question our motives, to force us to question ourselves when we put our happiness, our desires before God’s will and His desire for holiness in our lives.

4) Canaan represents freedom and points to a faithful God that had made a promise to the Israelites. Current day Jews see what would have been Canaan as their territory for the nation of Israel. As believers we can read Revelation 21 and see that our promised land is the New Heaven and the New Earth where Christ returns and there is no more sin, sadness, brokenness or pain. Canaan represents a two-fold promise by God, one that has been literally fulfilled when Joshua and the Israelites walked into the land flowing with milk and honey, and a promise for what is to come, the glory of eternal life! It may seem long in coming, but remember that freedom in Christ is promised by a faithful God; salvation is sure for those choosing Jesus as Lord!

Want To Try It For Yourself?!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read through it (always more than a verse or two).
3) Write down your questions as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers.
Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes
(click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and
embrace the fullness of God in your everyday!

Share Your Thoughts with the GT Community!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Desperate! Don’t miss out on the discussion – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme? See all past studies in Desperate!