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SARAH    5'0m1f Monologue: Sarah, firstborn vs first born, islam

SARAH -- (elderly, dressed in tunic, head dress and sandals,
enters carrying baby)

It's a miracle! There's no other way to describe it!

How else would you describe a ninety-year old woman giving birth
to a baby?!

Isn't he beautiful?!

His name is Isaac. Isaac means "laughter" in my native language
of Hebrew. You see, when the Lord told my husband Abraham that
he and I were going to have a baby, I laughed. It was a
bitter-sweet laughter because Abraham and I have never been able
to have children of our own. And now that I was way beyond my
child-bearing years, all I could do was laugh.

The name Isaac will be a constant reminder to me that when God
promises something, it's no laughing matter. He means what he
says. Boy, did I learn that lesson well!

You have no idea what the Lord had to go through to make sure
that HE got the credit for this baby. When Abraham and I went to
Egypt during the famine, the Pharaoh took me as his wife. So,
the Lord had to give Pharaoh's entire family a disease in order
to prevent him from getting me pregnant. The Lord had to make
sure that everybody knew that this baby was a miracle of God,
not of man.

Then, again, when we moved to the Negev, the king there took me
as his wife. This time the Lord threatened the king's life if he
got me pregnant. So, the king gave me back to my husband
Abraham. Now, thanks to direct intervention from the Lord, there
is no doubt whose baby this is. It is a miracle baby. And now,
just as promised, Abraham will indeed be known as the father of
many nations.

I wish I could tell you that's all there is to the story. But my
biggest lesson in life came when I began to doubt the Lord. You
see, the Lord first promised that Abraham and I would have a
baby over ten years ago. After a few years, I began to doubt
that the Lord would make good his promise, so, I encouraged
Abraham to make a baby with my maid servant Hagar.

Listen, I don't want to make excuses, but it's a common practice
in this region for married couples who can't have children of
their own to make children with their servants. So, I did that.
And Ishmael was really our first born son.

But I can tell you right now, that was not God's plan for us.
God made it very clear that it was "I" who was going to have the
baby. It was "I" who would fulfill the promise that Abraham
would be father of many nations.

But now we had a problem. We had two babies and one promise. In
this region the first born son was supposed to inherit the
father's destiny. Ishmael was our first born son, so, by
tradition Ishmael SHOULD inherit the title of "father of many
nations".

Fortunately, God knew I would lose patience. His solution to my
weakness turned out to be prophetic. That is, God's solution to
my impatience turned out to be God's own mark on history.

God created a concept called FIRSTBORN.

Now, if you think you've heard that before, listen again. I
said, FIRSTBORN. Ishmael was the first (pause) born. But, Isaac
was the FIRSTBORN... one word. FIRSTBORN means the preeminent
one, the one given the promise.

My husband Abraham is a prophet and he tells me that many of our
grandchildren and great grandchildren through the ages will be
FIRSTBORN without being the first one born. It will be a sign
for the people of their time that the Lord is as intimately
involved with them as he was with us.

So, I urge you people to look at the record of history and see
all the places in history where God selects the second baby or
even the eighth baby to become the FIRSTBORN. You will notice
that every time THE LORD selects the second or third baby to be
called FIRSTBORN, he will make that baby grow up to be among the
greatest names in the history books.

Now, don't get me wrong. Our son Ishmael, who was the first baby
born, will be the father of a great nation. But his nation,
because Ishmael himself was born out of the works of man, will
have a religion that stresses the works of man.

But Isaac, who was born by the will of God, will be the father
of MANY nations, even nations who are not blood relations of us.
Isaac will be the first of many FIRSTBORNS whom God chooses to
do his will. Our messiah, our savior, the son of God himself,
who will be the savior of the world, will be called the 
FIRSTBORN over all creation. And the savior's people will have a 
religion that will stress the works of God.

So, the next time you read the scriptures and see a reference to
FIRSTBORN, see if he is born of the will of man or of God. The
difference will amaze you. (exiting) It certainly amazed me!

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