At the time of Abraham, it was a common practice for an infertile wife to give her husband children via one of her maids. It was a form of surrogacy, and the belief was that if the child were born on the knees of the wife, it belonged to her, and not to the maid. We see this same practice followed later by Jacob, whose wives gave him their handmaids. In the Hebrew language, the word for this "handmaid" is "shiphchah," which the lexicon may say can mean part of the family, but which actually has a nuance of meaning "family builder," and multiple records in the Old Testament see these "handmaidens" becoming surrogate mothers for their masters/mistresses.
Yes.
However, I believe that even though Sarai and Abram were following local custom, they were not in line with God's will, and should have known better.
You acknowledge that this continued with Isaac and Jacob, why do you assume they should have known better. Better than what?
Abraham thought the seed would be from his hosehold servant....Common practice as well, that a purchased slave a (bondman) given a wife (bondwoman), if he were to go free and children would not leave with him, they belonged to Abraham.....
God told Abraham, no his homeborn servant would not be heir...
Ge 15:4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but
he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
Their actions, taking matters into their own hands, showed a lack of faith in God and in His promises.
What promises?
He first understood this to be speaking of his steward of his house. Just like a barren woman with a servant woman... God corrected that From his own bowels....
God did not say anything about Sarahs womb, as a correction. Instead of heirs through his household servant, it is by his own loins...
There was no promise to Sarah, her womb until years later.
This was not a mistake, there is no such testimony Concerning Abraham and Sarah in that way at all...
It was because of their faithlessness that Abraham was later brought to the severe test on Mount Moriah.
No, no, no, The women are an allegory, for 2 covenants, 2 sons....No mistake...
Moriah was a test of Abrahams' faith because of this
Gen 15:12 ¶ And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
******What is specifically said to Abraham here........He dies in this covenant.........
15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
*****Which seed is specific to this covenant? The 4th generation of his seed.
16 But in
the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
17 ¶ And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
*****The land is to the 4th generation of his seed. Not only does Abraham die, So does Isaac, Jacob and all the patriarchs...... Dieing and death for them all in this covenant....
Right here sets the foundation of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacobs, and the 12 Patriarchs of Israel, to faith in the resurrection from the dead to inherit the land themselves....
And so it was...
Ex 1:6 And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.
Joseph understood it to be after he was dead, and to another generation (the fourth)
Ge 50:25 And
Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.
Ex 13:19 And
Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.
The book of Hebrews as well as the book of Acts testifies to this.
Heb 11:13 T
hese all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
14 For they that
say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
Acts 7:2 And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,
3 And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.
Clearly, it was no mistake.......Inheriance in the land to 4th generation....
4 Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead
, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.
Abraham given no inheritance in it Gen 15 they die
5 And
he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.
6 And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.
Interestingly the Levites also had no inheritance in the land among their brethren, the Lord, was their inheritance, the tithe, their priesthood.
So as all of us have our faith tested so did Abraham. Abraham had to be alive After death to inherit, so too Isaac, , so too Jacob
Heb 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
The resurrection from the dead, the second covenant of life after death Gen 17
The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, Not the God of the dead but of the living....
