Isn't it interesting that Hagar is given parallel promises to Abram's promises from God? (16:10) The name Ishmael means God will listen/God will hear.
Hagar is the first (and a foreign woman at that) who names God: El Roi. And even though Ishmael is not the one through whom God's promise is to come to fruit, Ishmael is not abandoned. God takes care of both.
At the start of Chapter 18, we see the importance of hospitality in this culture. Abram shows how hospitality should take shape: watches for a stranger, runs out to meet them, washes their feet, and prepares a banquet. This will be an important example for tomorrow's reading.
Matthew 6 is full of rich truths. Not the least of which is that what we choose to do should glory God, and not ourselves. And Jesus' prayer: 1. Recognize that God alone is God. 2. Seek God's Kingdom to be our reality. 3. Seek that all have what is needed for the day. 4. Seek reconciliation with one another, recognizing it is a two-way street. 5. Seek to do good and to be kept from evil. 5 steps that we are to take each day. What would this world look like if those of us who believe could keep, take, make these 5 steps each day?
Where does this chapter of Matthew speak to you today?
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