“So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in our hand; do to her as you please.”  And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.”

Genesis 16:6

This is so like us, we foolishly make decisions apart from God, and then we start lashing out on everyone around us when we start to reap what we have sown.  Here we see that neither Abram nor Sarai showed conduct becoming of those who were faithful to God; the Bible is so honest like that, showing both the good and the ugly in every particular story. 

The great thing is that God comes to the rescue and redeems the gnarly actions of Abram and Sarai.  I like that, because I too have behaved foolishly, I have gone out of God’s will and lashed out on people when I had to pay the piper for my stupidity. 

God is so faithful to us even when we blow it and turn people off to God like Sarai and Abram did here with Hagar.  Praise God that He faithfully “sees” and intervenes in each of our lives, not only redeeming our mistakes but at the same time reconciling everyone to Him.

“But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father.  Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.”

Genesis 9:23

Ham pointed out Noah’s sin and walked on, neglecting to help his father in a serious time of need.  Shem and Japheth chose instead to understand the situation, not overlooking the reality of sin, but looking to the work of atonement.  What a lesson we all can learn from these three boys. 

Often when confronted with someone in a compromised situation we self-righteously pick apart the situation instead of tenderly helping the one in need.  Shem and Japheth didn’t disregard their father’s condition and abandon him in his time of need; they actually handled it in the same love and tender-heartedness that Jesus showed when He covered our sin and shame.  After understanding the situation they chose not to focus on the problem but to fix their sights on the solution.  Noah was “dead drunk”, not being able to cover himself in his sinful condition, so as ambassadors of atonement (2 Cor. 5) Shem and Japheth stepped in to cover over their helpless father.  In the same way while we were dead in our sin, Jesus came and covered over us with his blood, and later instructed us through the word to not look at anyone in the flesh but to see others through the redemptive blood of Christ and to minister reconciliation to those in need(2 Cor. 5:16-21).

  “And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.  Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.  And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”

Ephesians 4:32 – 5:2

Finally we learn that those who gossip only bring a curse upon themselves.  Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the merciful for they will receive mercy”.  If you aren’t blessing others with mercy you just might not get any when you’re in need of it, and you can be sure the time will come when you will be in need of it.