THE BARREN SHALL BEAR FRUIT
(by brother Tarran Dookie)
SARAH
Gen 18:9-15 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.
The Bible tells us that Sarah was ninety years old when the promise was made to Abraham that she would bear him a son (Gen 17:17). When Sarah heard the promise from inside the tent she laughed. It was not the laughter of rejoicing but of doubt. How could someone of her age have a child? The Lord's word was 'Is anything too hard for the Lord?' When the voice of God speaks to us, we must be attentive. We must be ready and willing to trust and obey. Let us not have unbelief but let us have faith in the word of the Lord that He will make us to bear fruit.
Sarah doubted because of her age. You may be a believer for a number of years and you may long for a blessing in your life. You want to be used of the Lord, to bear fruit. Is anything too hard for the Lord? Notice that after God's promise to Sarah even though she was 90 years old she was made beautiful as a princess so that Abimelech wanted her as a wife (see Genesis chapter 20). When the barren bear fruit they shall be made young again. We shall experience seasons of refreshing in the presence of the Lord. God is able to restore the years that the cankerworm has eaten if you yield to Him and trust Him.
REBEKAH
Gen 25:20-21 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-aram, the sister to Laban the Syrian. And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
It was not Rebekah's prayer but Isaac's prayer that caused Rebekah to bear fruit. He entreated the Lord on her behalf and she conceived. There are situations where the barren will not bear fruit without an intercessor. As we look around us we shall see many who are not bearing fruit. Let us entreat the Lord on their behalf.
We are to bear one another's burdens. We are to seek the interests and the good of others. We are told in Isa 59:16 that God wondered that there was no intercessor. God is looking for those who will stand in the gap and make intercession, so that more and more of God's children will come to maturity and bring forth abundant fruit.
HANNAH
1Sam 1:9-11,27-28 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD. And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore. And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no rasor come upon his head... For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.
1Sam 2:1-5 And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.
1Sam 1:5-6 tell us that it was the Lord who had shut up Hannah's womb. The barrenness was ordered by the Lord for His own purpose. There are times when we cannot understand why such and such is the situation. The Lord is in control. Hannah's condition made her cast herself upon the Lord. Her adversary also provoked her sore. She cried out to the Lord for a manchild and she promised that if He would grant her this manchild she would give him unto the Lord all the days of his life. This is exactly what the Lord wanted. Samuel, the son of Hannah, became a mighty prophet of God.
God may give us barrenness so that we will come to the end of ourselves and recognize that it is God who gives the increase. He wants us to cast ourselves upon Him and make a vow unto Him. Let us vow that the fruit shall be for the Lord's use and His glory. Hannah's exultation and praise of God is one of the most sublime in the scriptures. We too shall rejoice even as Hannah rejoiced for 'the barren hath borne seven'. Hannah later had three sons and two daughters. May the Lord cause us to bear much fruit and cause the mocking of the adversary to cease.
ELISABETH
Luke 1:13-17,24-25,36 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.… And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men... And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
We learn from the Bible that it was a reproach for a woman not to have a child. Elisabeth was old and yet had no child and therefore her reproach was all the more difficult to bear. Are you a barren Christian? Does it disturb you? To be a barren Christian is a reproach to the name of Jesus and there is a need for the reproach to be taken away. Let us cry out to the Lord for He is faithful and shall cause us to bear fruit.
Luke 1:6 tells us 'And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless'. And yet Elisabeth had this reproach. But the timing of the Lord is perfect and He is faithful to His own. Jesus was about to be born into the world and God wanted a prophet to go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways. Elisabeth's son, John the Baptist, was to be that prophet. Let not the barren lose heart for God will hear and answer in His chosen time.
JERUSALEM
Isa 54:1-5 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD. Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
Gal 4:26-27 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.
Today the Lord Jesus is building Jerusalem. He is calling a people unto Himself. He is gathering the outcasts, the despised and the rejected. He has a remnant that has not bowed the knees to Baal. He will take away their reproach. The desolate and the barren are crying out today while many are gloating in their self-satisfaction. Many are the Laodiceans of today who say they are rich and have need of nothing.
Those who have kept His word and not compromised are not the many but the few. But these few shall rejoice and bear much fruit. They shall do exploits in the name of the Lord. Therefore, let the weak say I am strong (Joel 3:10) and the barren be glad.
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