Abraham through Joseph

I'm reading in Genesis again, and it is hard not to write comments every few verses.  There are so many thoughts that jump out at me when I read through Genesis that I think I would be writing a commentary if I wrote everything down that spoke to me. Here are a few things:   1) Two Peoples- Gen. 21:12,13 "for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.  And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed."  Two great nations are born through Abraham.  Ishmael and Issac.  One of the flesh, and one of promise.  This is caused because Abraham was a man like we are and had lapses of faith.  You see, he was 75 when promised to the father of a great nation.... but when several years went by with no son, he had a son through Hagar...and several more years went by until at 100 he has Isaac with Sarah.  Now he sends Hagar and Ismael away and has Sarah and Isaac.  But when Sarah dies at 127, Abraham is thinking... I still only have two sons!!  Isaac is forty when he gets married to Rebecka and doesn't have children until he is 60!!  That makes Abraham 160 with only two sons!!  Now, Abraham marries Keturah and has six more.  But... here again... he is glad to see Isaac finally marry, but then Rebecka is barren for 20 years!!  So... Abraham has another lapse of faith and seemingly helps God out by marrying Katurah and having six more children who have children right away.  What I'm saying is that the flesh always wants to help God out, but it never works out when the flesh does it.  God wants us to wait on His timing, and that is the most difficult thing to do!!  Wait on God! 2) A FEW DAYS- In Gen. 27:44, Jacob is told to go to Laban's, his uncles, and to "tarry with him a few days".  That few days turned into 20 years!!  Life sure has a way of keeping you side tracked when you are off track, and keeping you there!!  Thus it happened to Jacob.  Jacob met his future wife by the well, the same place Abraham's servant found Jacob's mother Rebecka about sixty years earlier!!  Jacob went away "a few days" to avoid strife, but he found himself in a hotbed of strife!!  His bride was switched after seven years of labor, he had to marry a sister to get the one he wanted, his father-in-law changed his wages ten times, and his two wives (sisters) fought constantly about who was giving birth to whom, and .... he still had to run away from his father-in-law and met his brother Esau!!  We think we will avoid strife doing things our way, but we pile it on!  Let's do things God's way and take what comes knowing He will help and guide us through every storm.  Well, I didn't get far in writing today, because there is so much to say about every single point.  But, tomorrow, I'll say some more.  Have a blessed day!! Pastor Mike Mutchler