Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

Chapter 13
The Offering of Isaac: Test of Faith
19.
This chapter is based on Genesis 16; 17:18-20; 21:1-14; 22:1-
Abraham had accepted the promise of a son, but he did not wait
for God to fulfill His word in His own time and way. God permitted
a delay to test his faith, but he failed to endure the trial.
In her old age, Sarah suggested a plan by which the divine
purpose might be fulfilled--that Abraham take one of her servants as
a secondary wife. Polygamy was no longer regarded as a sin, but it
was a violation of the law of God and was fatal to the sacredness
and peace of the family. Abraham's marriage with Hagar resulted in
evil--not only to his own household, but to future generations.
Flattered with her new position as Abraham's wife and hoping
to be the mother of the great nation to descend from him, Hagar
became proud. Jealousies between Sarah and Hagar disturbed the
peace of the once happy home. Forced to listen to the complaints of
both, Abraham tried to restore harmony, but without success.
Though Sarah had urged him to marry Hagar, she now blamed him
as the one at fault. She wanted to exile her rival, but Abraham
refused to permit this because Hagar was to be the mother of his
child--as he dearly hoped, the son of promise. She was Sarah's
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