ABRAHAM: DEATH PAYS A VISIT

Welcome to Bible study online as we look for a final time at Abraham's life. Don't forget to grab your Bible!

As we look at this last moment in the life of Abraham and Sarah together, let’s remember the typology we have mentioned before. The relationship between Abraham and Sarah is a picture of God the Father and His relationship with the nation of Israel. Just as the union of Abraham and Sarah brought forth the promised son, Isaac, the relationship between God and Israel brought forth the Promised Son, Jesus, who was foreshadowed in the life of Isaac. When Isaac was offered to God on Mount Moriah, he was fulfilling the type for the offering of Jesus as a sacrifice for sin.

Genesis 23:1 says, “Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.” We see that Sarah has been blessed with a long life. Isaac would have been born to her at about age 91; therefore, Isaac is now about 36 years old—a man in his prime. Not only did she get to give birth and raise her son, she has seen him well into adulthood. So God has been very gracious to Sarah.

Genesis 23:2: “And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.” This is a great personal loss for Abraham. They have had a very long life together. Sarah has faithfully followed him along, leaving her home and traveling throughout the Promised Land, and dying in Hebron, just south of Jerusalem. Her faith has grown right along with his and it has become an element that binds them together. In the customs of that day, mourning was an important time. Our modern mindset seems to want to rush everything along, including grief, but we see Abraham’s example was to take time to reflect on Sarah’s life and to grieve over her loss.

Keeping in mind that Abraham is a picture of God and Sarah of Israel, we see here a prediction of the death of the nation. In Jesus, we see the grief of God over Israel’s coming death. In Matthew 23:37-38 Jesus lamented,

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! See, your house is left to you desolate.

Likewise in Luke 19:41-44, it is recorded And when He drew near and saw the city, He wept over it, saying,

"Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

So with the death of Sarah, we see a prediction that the nation of Israel would one day die.

Genesis 23:3-4 says,

And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites, “I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight."

Abraham is presently living in Hebron and the people group controlling this area is the Hittites. There were three different groups called Hittites and they seem to have originated in Anatolia—part of modern day Turkey. Apparently at some point, a group moved south and settled in Canaan.

Notice that even though Abraham has been living as a nomad in the land of Canaan for more than 60 years, he still considers himself a sojourner and a foreigner. He never “integrated” with the people. It is important as Christians to realize that we are also strangers and foreigners, sojourning in the world—in it, but not of it (John 17:14-16). Even though we are not of this world because we do not follow its ways, our bodies are of the earth and when death comes the body must be buried out of sight. I Corinthians 15:42 says, “So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.” So we know that the body has to be dealt with when it dies, but it is buried with the hope of its resurrection.

Genesis 23:5-6 says,

The Hittites answered Abraham, "Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead.”

We see from these verses that Abraham’s integrity is known and respected. He is still “possessing the land” by force of his faith as evidenced in his character and influence. Abraham most likely has come to the city gate at Hebron where business was normally conducted and is asking to purchase property to be used as a tomb.

Genesis 23:7-9 says,

Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land. And he said to them, "If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as property for a burying place.”

Having stated his business and been respectfully received by the Hittites, the negotiation for purchase of a tomb begins. Abraham describes the tomb he has in mind, naming the present owner and its location. His request is for the cave only and it will be the first and only property he purchases in the land of Canaan.

OBSERVATION: The less you own of the world, the less the world owns of you. It is fitting in Abraham’s life that all he owned of this world was a grave. Likewise, Jesus said that He did not even own a place to lay His head and in the end, He was buried in a borrowed tomb.

Genesis 23:10-11 continues,

Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who went in at the gate of his city, "No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the sight of the sons of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.”

Ephron counter-offers here by naming not only the cave, but also the field attached to it. It should probably be understood at this point that Ephron doesn’t mean he will relinquish the field with no price. “I give it” is most likely a negotiating phrase. He has “upped the ante” a bit by requiring Abraham to buy more than just the cave, as he originally requested.

Genesis 23:12-13 says,

Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. And he said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, "But if you will, hear me: I give the price of the field. Accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there.”

As the negotiation progresses, Abraham agrees to buy both the field and the cave. This will place him in the position of taxpayer and will tie him with all the responsibilities of a landowner.

OBSERVATION: Property certainly ties up people today. Do we possess our possessions, or do they possess us?

Genesis 23:14-15 concludes the negotiation:

Ephron answered Abraham, My lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”

These folks had a certain artistry in their business negotiations. We see here that Ephron names his price in a delicate manner. Four hundred pieces of silver will make the purchase.

Genesis 23:16 says,

Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.

The purchase is now complete. Abraham pays the agreed upon price in the presence of the leaders and makes his first and only real estate purchase in the land of Canaan.

Genesis 23:17-19 says,

So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, was made over to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city. After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.

We see that Abraham received not only a cave and field, but also all the trees associated with that land. It is interesting to note that the name “Machpelah” means “to double over.” Possibly this name signified that the opening was situated low to the ground and required crouching in order to enter.

Property is the basis on which this world’s system revolves. The Bible tells us that the world is passing away. Remembering Lot’s wife, who looked back at all she was leaving in Sodom and became a pillar of salt, and also the Rich Young Ruler whose heart was tied up in his possessions, we would do well to limit our desire to own a part of this world.

Our story concludes in Genesis 23:19-20:

After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. The field and the cave that is in it were made over to Abraham as property for a burying place by the Hittites.

Just as Sarah died and was buried, Israel “died” spiritually as a nation 20 centuries ago when she rejected the Son of promise. The nation officially “died” in 70 AD when the Roman general Titus destroyed Jerusalem. Accordingly, God “buried” her throughout the world. Ezekiel 36:18-19 says,

So I poured out My wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols with which they had defiled it. I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries.

Let’s look at two more passages in Genesis as we conclude our study of Abraham. Genesis 24:67 says, “Then Isaac brought her (Rebekah) into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.” Here we see Isaac, the promised son and a picture of Christ, marrying Rebekah after his mother’s death. His marriage to Rebekah brought him comfort. Likewise Jesus “married” His bride, the Church, after the death of Israel. Just as Abraham’s servant Eleazar went out and searched for Rebekah and persuaded her to marry Isaac, so the Holy Spirit has been moving throughout the world, searching for those willing to leave all and be joined to Christ. He has been betrothing the Bride to the Promised Son for two thousand years.

QUESTION: Do we bring comfort to Jesus as Rebekah comforted Isaac?

Finally, Genesis 25:1 says, “Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.” Abraham married another woman after the death of his beloved Sarah. The name “Keturah” means “thick clouds or smoke.” This is very interesting because thick clouds and smoke are associated both with the presence of God and with climactic end times events foretold in the Bible. Isaiah 6:1-4 says,

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!" And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of Him Who called, and the house was filled with smoke.

Likewise, Psalm 97:2 says, “Clouds and thick darkness are all around Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.” Concerning the Day of the Lord, Joel 2:1-2 says,

Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness!

And in Joel 2:30-31, it says,

And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.

Finally, Revelation 15:8 says,

and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

So we see that the name “Keturah” can be associated with the glory and presence of God as well as end times phenomena. What does this have to do with Israel and the death of Sarah? Let’s take a look at Ezekiel 37. This is a famous vision and prophecy in which God shows Ezekiel a valley full of dry bones and tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones. As Ezekiel prophesies to the bones, they come together and are covered with sinew and flesh. Finally, Ezekiel is instructed to prophesy to the wind to come and bring the bodies to life, and he prophesies to the wind and breath comes into the bodies and they live. What does the vision and prophecy mean? Let’s pick up with verse 11.

The He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.' Therefore prophesy, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O My people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O My people. And I will put My Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.’”

So we see from this vision that at the end of the age, Israel will be “resurrected” from all the places where she has been buried among the nations. In AD 70, after Israel had died spiritually and then literally, the Romans deported the Jewish people all over the Roman empire. The nation was “buried” throughout the world and had been for centuries until 1948 when the nation of Israel was officially recognized again. Keturah, then, is a picture of the resurrected Israel, coming back into being at the end of the age when the judgment of God is beginning to be felt on the earth. Immediately after the prophecy of the valley of dry bones, Ezekiel prophesies of the War of Gog and Magog, an end times battle in which God defends Israel from a massive invasion headed by Russia, Iran, Libya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Turkey, and others. This battle proves conclusively that the true God is the God of Israel. Looking at these prophecies makes reading the news a bit eye-popping!

Thanks so much for joining in our study. I hope it was helpful in your personal growth and discipleship. Tax season is now approaching and I work for a CPA firm, so it will be several months before I can return to posting. I hope to be able to present a study on The Kingdom of Heaven. Blessings and grace to you!

ABRAHAM - A PROVEN FAITH

Welcome again to Bible study online. We are almost finished with the life of Abraham, so grab your Bible and let's take a look at the momentous day in Abraham's life.

ABRAHAM – A PROVEN FAITH

I Peter 1:6-7 says, “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Up to now, God has been growing Abraham’s faith. From pagan beginnings in Ur, God has led him step by step to and through the Promised Land. He has had mountains to climb that resulted in victory and valleys to walk through that resulted in perplexity. Now, there is one final mountain—and this will be hardest climb of Abraham’s life.

Genesis 22:1 says, “After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here am I.’” Some translations render the word “tested” as “tempted.” It is important to understand that his was not a temptation to evil. James 1:13 says, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil and He Himself tempts no one.” God does not ever try to get someone to do evil, nor is He able to do evil Himself or desire to do any evil. Exodus 16:4 makes this kind of testing, sometimes called temptation, a little plainer. “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not.’” The people of Israel were in the desert and there was no food, so God was going to rain bread, called manna, from heaven for them to eat. But He had given specific instructions about how they were to gather it, and He was using this occasion as a test to see if they would follow His instructions about something as simple as gathering food. So we see that when God tests someone, He is not trying to tempt him to do wrong, but He is seeing if the person will be obedient. There is always the hope that the person will do right. God is never happy if we fail in a test of obedience. The kind of testing we are about to see in Abraham’s life will show us his faith—is it really real? How do we know? We can’t see faith, so how do we know it is really there?

Have you ever used yeast? Yeast is actually a living organism, but by itself, it doesn’t do anything. And over time or under certain conditions, yeast can die. So when you open up some yeast, how do you know it is still alive? If you mix the yeast into your dough and knead it and let it set for awhile, you will know. Either the dough will rise, proving that the yeast is alive, or it won’t rise, proving that the yeast is dead and your bread is going to be more like a cracker. Just like the yeast was proven in the dough, our faith is proven when mixed in the circumstances of our lives.

In Genesis 22:2, God says to Abraham, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” Wow! This verse is really loaded with points to notice. First, Isaac was Abraham’s only son. Ishmael had been sent away into the wilderness. Isaac was the one through whom God had sworn to accomplish His redemptive purpose for mankind. Everything was riding on Isaac as the son of promise. Also, God knew that Abraham loved Isaac. This is the first use of the word “love” in the Bible and it is a father’s love for his son. God knows all about this love because when He spoke from heaven at Jesus’ baptism, He said, ‘This is My Beloved Son.” (Luke 3:22)

What are Abraham’s instructions? He is to take his only son, whom he loves and sacrifice him as a burnt offering! This is not a lamb, or a goat, or a bull to be sacrificed and burned to ashes—this is Isaac—laughter—his only son! His nearest and dearest is the offering that God is requiring.

QUESTION: Can you give to God that which is dearest to you, not knowing what He plans to do?

This offering is not to be made just anywhere—there is a special place where Abraham must go. Mount Moriah is the site of Jerusalem—the temple mount—and this is no accident. II Chronicles 3:1 says, “Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to David his father…” So we see that the place to which God directed Abraham to make his sacrifice was destined to be the same place where the temple would eventually be built and where the Israelite people would offer sacrifices in the future. This is the exact same place that is in dispute now between the Jewish people and the Muslim people today. So God has always had His eye on this particular mountain as a place of sacrifice. Finally, the offering is a burnt offering. The body is to be totally consumed—nothing left.

Do you think at this point that Abraham would have been tempted to rationalize and argue with God about it? So how does Abraham respond?

Genesis 22:3-5 says,

So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”

First, we see that there was no delay. He got up early the next morning. Must have been a long night for Abraham! He cut the wood for the sacrifice—just like God grew the tree that was destined to become the cross. It was forty-five miles from Beersheba to Jerusalem—a three-day journey. The third day is significant—three stands for perfection. When God was preparing to meet with His people in the desert, Exodus 19:10-11 says, “the LORD said to Moses, ‘Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.’” So we see that there were two days of preparation and then on the third day the people met with God. Also, Jesus was in the grave two days in preparation for His resurrection on the third day. Thinking back to Abraham’s journey, don’t you know there was a lot of inner personal preparation going on as he traveled to Jerusalem to offer Isaac on the third day?

At last they came to Mount Moriah. The name “Moriah” means “Where the LORD provides” or “Where the LORD appears.”

OBSERVATION: The only place we can really worship is at the cross—the place where we die together with Jesus.

Hopefully by now it is becoming evident that this episode in Abraham’s life is a picture, a type, of what God the Father and Jesus the Son did for us at Calvary.

Next we notice that the young men are left behind. This is a picture of the disciples of Jesus who fled the scene before His crucifixion. Also notice that Abraham says they are going to worship. This is the first use of the word “worship” in the Scriptures.

OBSERVATION: Worship is the obedient sacrifice of self to God—all our hopes, dreams, desires, plans, everything must go up in ashes on the altar.

The Hebrew language in verse 5 is especially forceful and is difficult to translate. Abraham actually says, “We are determined to go, we are determined to worship, and we are determined to return to you.” This is the first hint we have that Abraham believes that God will somehow resurrect Isaac, even from death.

Genesis 22:6 says, “And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and knife. So they went both of them together.” As we continue with the specific points in the story, it is still very apparent that this is a type of Jesus. Just as the wood was laid on Isaac to carry up the mountain, the cross was laid on Jesus to carry up the same mountain to the place of sacrifice. Abraham carried the fire—this would have been a jar full of hot coals. In his vision of the throne of God, Isaiah 6:6-7 says, “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.’” Also Hebrews 12:29 says that “Our God is a consuming fire.” So we see that Abraham is serving as a type for God the Father, carrying fire with which the sacrifice is to be consumed, as well as the knife, a pre-figuring of the spear that was later stuck into Jesus’ side. Also notice that Abraham and Isaac went together. Salvation was a joint plan between the Father and the Son. Jesus was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world.

Continuing in Genesis 22:7-8:

And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here am I, my son." He said, "Behold, the fire and wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" Abraham said, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together.

Departing a little from the type here, Isaac doesn’t understand that he is to be the sacrifice. Jesus always knew that He had come into the world to die, but Isaac doesn’t understand yet that he is the intended sacrifice. Abraham has obviously been carrying the burden of this knowledge alone.

He answers Isaac’s question by giving us a new name for God—Jehovah Jireh—“The LORD Will Provide.” Our English word “provide” is actually two (Latin, I believe) words—“pro” meaning “before” and “vide” meaning “to see.” Abraham’s answer to Isaac literally means “God Himself has already seen the sacrifice.”

Genesis 22:9 says, “When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.” Abraham has been building altars in various places in the Promised Land. This is the last one recorded in Scriptures. Remember that an altar is a place of death. To worship means to identify with the sacrifice—this animal symbolizes me—my life, my so-called right to myself—given totally to God. To have one’s sins atoned for in Christ, one must identify with Him in His death. “I am crucified with Christ.” (Galatians 2:20) My life is no longer mine, but given up to God. After we make this identification with the death of Christ, we are baptized, picturing His burial and resurrection. You don’t bury a person until he is dead. Baptism presupposes that we are dead to self. Coming out of the water, we are raised to life in Christ.

After Abraham built this final altar, he bound Isaac and laid him on it. Notice that Isaac doesn’t protest or run away. Now, he understands. He is the sacrifice! True to the type, Jesus was bound to the cross, His sacrificial altar, but He never protested His fate, but humbly submitted. (Mark 14:36)

Genesis 22:10-11 continues,

Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I.”

Abraham has raised his knife and is about to strike Isaac. In Abraham’s heart, Isaac is already dead, just as Jesus was the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. (I Peter 1:19-20) Suddenly, God calls twice from heaven. Calling twice signified the urgency of the situation.

Genesis 22:12-14 says,

He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, "The LORD will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”

The test has been finished and Abraham’s faith has been proven to be genuine through his obedience. Faith that cannot obey isn’t real. Oswald Chambers taught that we must give to God the things we love so that He can make them His and ours forever.

OBSERVATION: The difference between a creed and faith is obedience.

Attention focuses in verse 13 on the ram. The ram was there all along, but Abraham was so caught up in what he was doing that he didn’t see it. Notice that the ram was caught by his horns. Horns are a symbol of strength. Jesus was the only One strong enough to be the sin-bearer of the world, so He became our sacrificial Lamb—a substitute for us, just as the ram was a substitute for Isaac.

Jesus told the woman at the well in Samaria that God is a Spirit and He desires those who worship to worship in spirit and in truth. Worship doesn’t happen at a specified physical location. It happens when the heart of a person stops holding on to self, sacrifices his own life by surrendering to God in obedience, and grabs hold of Jesus in his heart. Jehovah-jireh—in the Mount of the LORD, salvation is provided.

Genesis 22:15-19 says,

And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, "By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice." So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.

Hebrews 6:13 says, “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater by whom to swear, He swore by Himself.” When people swear an oath, they swear by something they consider to be greater than themselves. When people swear an oath in court, they swear by the Bible. God had nothing greater than Himself, so He swore by Himself when He gave this oath to Abraham. There are four points to notice in this great oath that God swore to Abraham. First is that He would bless Abraham. Four thousand years later, Abraham’s name is still famous throughout the earth and honored among Christians, Jews and Muslims. Abraham is remembered especially for his faith. Second, God promised to multiply Abraham’s offspring. This multiplication applied to both the physical and spiritual children of Abraham. The Jews and the Arabs are all the physical children of Abraham, the Jews through Isaac and the Arabs through Ishmael. However, only those who climb Mount Moriah and find Jesus Christ as the substitute sacrifice for sin and worship at the foot of the cross can be the spiritual children of Abraham—and that opportunity is open to all. Third, God promised that the Offspring of Abraham would possess the gate of His enemies—notice that the promise goes from the nation of Israel and the people of faith to the One Offspring. The Scripture says “His enemies,” not “their enemies.” This predicts the triumph of Jesus over Satan. In Genesis 3:15, God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” This oath to Abraham confirms the promise made in the Garden of Eden when sin first entered into the world, proving that salvation was a well-thought-out plan before the world even began. Paul makes this plain in Galatians 3:16 when he says, “Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, ‘And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, ‘And to your offspring,’ who is Christ.” The fourth point in the oath that God swore to Abraham is that all nations will be blessed in his Offspring. This is a promise that salvation will be for all people, not only to the Jews, and accordingly we know that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been spread to every land on earth.

FINAL THOUGHT: This is the first appearance of the words “love,” “worship,” and “obey” in the Scriptures. These are all inter-related words. True worship of God requires obedience to Him. Sacrificing our dearest love to God will result in a more perfect love both for God and for others.


Thanks for joining us. We will have one more lesson from the life of Abraham. Hope you will check it out!

ABRAHAM: DOWNPAYMENT ON A PROMISE

Welcome to Bible study online. Today we will study Sarah's great moment in history, so grab your Bible and let's take a look together!

God has been promising Abraham for twenty-five years that He will make him a great nation and a blessing to all the nations of the world. So far, Abraham has been left waiting and wondering about it all. Now, the time has come for God to begin making the promise a flesh-and-blood reality.

A CHILD IS BORN

Genesis 21:1-2 says,

The LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as He had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him.

The Hebrew verb “paqad” is translated “visited” in this verse, but it is a strong verb that is difficult to translate. Far from a simple social call, it means here an action on the part of God which produces a beneficial result for His people. However, this verb is most often used in association with drawing up troops for battle. It is as though Sarah has been waiting all her life and now God has said, “It’s time now for you to get involved in My plan.” God had promised Abraham in Genesis 17:21 that Sarah would soon have a son and then He promised Sarah herself in chapter 18:14 that it was time. These verses and the preceding chapter involving Abimelech and his household make it clear that conception is the Lord’s doing. No child comes into the world apart from His action. Now this opens up a lot of questions for us because we simply can’t understand why good and loving women are sometimes not enabled to have children or why parents who neglect and abuse their children are allowed to have them in the first place. Just as Job did not understand why his situation was allowed to happen, neither do we understand all that God does or allows. However in the final chapters of Job, Job discovered that God was bigger than all of his “why’s” and so, like Job, we must let ourselves rest in God.

God is at last beginning to build a house for Abraham. Let’s look at Psalm 127 in connection with this idea of building a house.

Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
The watchman stays awake in the vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early
And go late to rest,
Eating the bread of anxious toil;
for He gives to His beloved sleep.
Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
Are the children of one’s youth.
Blessed is the man
Who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

This Psalm works on the idea of building a house, guarding a city, and building a family. It points out that God is the true builder and watcher and without Him, our human labor is in vain. How does this relate to Abraham and Sarah? They had previously tried to build a family in their own way. Hagar and Ishmael were the result, and although Ishmael was a gift from God, he was also a symbol of man trying to work by his own common sense and effort in the strength of his own flesh.

Up to now, it seems that Sarah has not believed God. It was she who suggested the surrogate mother idea involving Hagar and when God finally told her it was time to have a baby, she laughed at the idea. So on the face of it, we wouldn’t think she had a lot of faith. But Hebrews 11:11-12 says,

By faith, Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered Him faithful Who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

So we see that Sarah herself was able to conceive because she believed God was faithful to His promises.

Verse 2 of Genesis 21 says that Sarah gave birth at the time God had told Abraham this would happen. Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 says, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die.” So we see that God had planned beforehand the exact time of Isaac’s birth. The times that God has set for all the things that happen on earth are a great mystery for us. We don’t understand why or when He does as He does. Romans 11:33 says, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!”

OBSERVATION: Learn to rest in the mysteriousness of God, trusting in His goodness.

Returning to our text of study, Genesis 21:3 says, “Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.” The literal understanding of the name “Isaac” in this context is “God is Laughing Now.” In Genesis 17:17, Abraham laughed when God told him that Sarah would have a son. In Genesis 18:12, Sarah herself laughed when she heard God say that she would soon have a son. But God gets the last laugh. This is not a derisive or mocking laugh, but a laugh of joy.

Genesis 21:4-5 says,

And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

Notice here that Isaac was the first of the Hebrew line to be circumcised on the eighth day. Abraham was an old man and Ishmael a young boy when God made His official covenant with Abraham and instituted the rite of circumcision as a sign. The significance of the number 8 is that it marks a new beginning. The new week began on the eighth day and so the number 8 stands for new beginnings. Circumcision itself was meant to symbolize a new beginning, putting off the old nature that we are born with so that the new spiritual nature can be revealed. Now we see Isaac being circumcised on the eighth day, so something new is beginning. From Adam until Abraham, God dealt with man by means of his conscience. Eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil aroused the conscience of Adam, so God worked through that for 2,000 years. Now He is getting ready to work through a nation, so we see that in Isaac, there is a new beginning in God’s dealings with man.

It is also important here to begin to look at Isaac through the eyes of Old Testament typology. In the past, God gave “pictures” in the lives of people that pre-figured Christ and also the Church and even in some cases God’s plan for future ages. This is what the scholars call “typology.” In the life of Isaac, we see a pre-figuring of Jesus. First, we see that both Isaac and Jesus were born by the promise of God. God promised Abraham and Sarah that He would give them Isaac. God promised the human race through Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:15 that He would send a Redeemer (the Seed of the woman) to destroy the work that Satan began in the Garden of Eden. Jesus was the fulfillment of that promise. Second, both Isaac and Jesus were born by supernatural intervention. Finally, they were born according to God’s pre-determined time. We have already mentioned this in connection with verse 1, but let’s look at Galatians 4:4-5. “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” So we see that the timing of the birth of Jesus was pre-determined by God.

GOD MAKES LAUGHTER

Genesis 21:5-7 continues,

Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me." And she said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age."

Verse 5 emphasizes the extreme age of Abraham. Hebrews 11:12 says that Abraham was so old he was “as good as dead.” In these verses regarding Sarah, we can feel some of the pain she must have endured for long decades as she watched other women having babies, nursing little ones and seeing them grow up around her, unable to identify with the pride and joy of the parents. She must have asked herself, “Why not me? What’s wrong with me?” Don’t we all sometimes ask ourselves, “Why do other people get all the lucky breaks? Why did that guy get a miraculous answer to prayer, but I didn’t?” I recently heard a person say, “I’ll believe in miracles when God tells me the winning lottery numbers!” To help correct our perspective on this, let’s look at Isaiah 54:1.

“Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;
break forth into singing and cry aloud,
you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
Than the children of her who is married,"
Says the LORD.

Sarah was barren except for one child, but she was blessed under the covenant of marriage, unlike Hagar. Like Sarah, we may not have a lot to show off in this life, but we are blessed under a covenant of grace with God Himself. What more do we want?

Sarah utters at this point what seems to me like a prophecy. She says, “All who hear of it will laugh.” This birth is good news for all people because through him, the Promised Redeemer will come. The angel in Luke 2:10, announcing the birth of Jesus, said, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” The birth of Isaac was a foreshadowing of the great event announced by the angel.

Our text continues in Genesis 21:8, “And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.” All is happy and joyous up to now. Isaac would have been about three years old when he was weaned and this was a first milestone in his development. The proud and happy parents are celebrating the life and growth of their son by proclaiming a feast. Likewise, in our own spiritual lives, after the life of the Son of God has been born into us when we trust Him for salvation, we are meant to nourish that new spiritual life with the milk of God’s word. The fellowship with other believers and the teaching, mentoring, and discipling of other more mature believers helps us to grow to the point that we can be spiritually “weaned” and begin to take on the solid meat of the word of God as His Spirit reveals truth to us. Just as every proud parent celebrates when a child becomes able to feed himself, those who watch over the spiritual lives of others rejoice when they begin to be able to understand God’s word and apply it for themselves. The Apostle Paul grieved over the failure of the Corinthian church to grow spiritually in I Corinthians 3:1-2 when he said, "But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready.”

TROUBLED WATERS

All seems happy and joyful, but a fly is about to land in the ointment in chapter 21, verses 9-11.

But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing. So she said to Abraham, "Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac." And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son.

The party is in full swing when Sarah notices Ishmael laughing at Isaac. The word used here for laughter relates to Isaac’s name, but Ishmael is not rejoicing over Isaac—he is mocking his little brother. Ishmael is about 17 years old here and is probably jealous. It is easy to poke fun at the little fellow. Ishmael is strong, fast, and has probably been popular in the family all along. Isaac is toddling around, barely eating table food. So Ishmael relieves his jealous feelings by mocking little Isaac.

It’s important at this point to notice the typology of Isaac and Ishmael. Isaac is a type of the spiritual life and Ishmael is a type of the flesh. Isaac was born by the supernatural intervention of God but Ishmael was completely natural, born solely by the strength of the flesh. The flesh will always mock the spiritual. The flesh always seems smarter, more sophisticated, stronger, and ahead of the game, while the person who prays and waits for God to lead and move will seem weak and ineffective—at least for a time.

Sarah’s reaction is immediate, “Throw those two out!” This is obviously not a good moment of grace and tender mercy for Sarah. However, her instinct will be proved right. Abraham, we see, is unhappy with the idea. In this culture, dismissing a surrogate mother and her son was unthinkable. It also appears that Abraham loved Ishmael because he was his own son. So a bitter situation has developed here. What will Abraham do?

Genesis 21:12-13 continues,

But God said to Abraham, "Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named. And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.”

When Sarah first suggested to Abraham the surrogacy scheme all those years ago, Abraham jumped right in with it. There is no record that he consulted with God at all. Here, however, he apparently spends the night seeking and listening to God regarding this problem. God’s response might seem a little surprising to us. He tells Abraham to do as Sarah said and send away Ishmael. But he consoles Abraham by telling him not to feel badly or worry about it. Although Isaac is the one through whom the promise will come, God promises to make Ishmael into a great nation because he, too, is Abraham’s son.

The Apostle Paul uses this occasion to illustrate the spiritual lesson seen in these two sons. Let’s look at Galatians 4:21-31.

Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written, "Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband." Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. But what does the Scripture say? "Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman." So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

In this passage, we see that Isaac was born of a promise and thus typifies the spiritual, while Ishmael is born as an effort of the flesh and typifies the flesh. Paul uses this to illustrate that receiving Christ by faith under the new covenant is spiritual while keeping the law is an effort of the flesh. The Law itself acknowledges its inability to save from sin because it contains elaborate provisions for sacrifices for sin. But we see here that the flesh will always mock the Spirit. The world will always mock the faith of the believer. But sadly, within the Church, the carnal Christian will mock the spiritual Christian, because it will always seem that busy activity accomplishes more than prayer and waiting on God. It will also seem that injecting a little sensuality and worldliness into the church’s activities produces faster results than the simplicity of prayer, faith and resting in God.

THE PLACE FOR THE FLESH

Our text continues in Genesis 21:14-16:

So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, "Let me not look on the death of the child." And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept.

Notice that Abraham obeys God immediately. He gets up early the next morning and sends Hagar and Ishmael away with a little bread and water. He has God’s promise that Ishmael will prosper, so he trusts him into God’s hand and cuts ties at this point. Verse 15 tells us that Hagar wandered in the wilderness. She had no idea where to go. The wilderness is a place where you are definitely not in control. You are at the mercy of whatever comes along and there is no one to help you. If God doesn’t take care of you, you will die. It is a place where the proud are humbled and the humble are strengthened in their faith because they have no place to go but to God.

The lesson for us in all this is that the flesh must give way to the spiritual. Romans 13:14 says, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” Notice that the provisions sent for Ishmael were very meager. Jesus said, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.” (Matthew 5:29) Likewise, Paul told the Corinthians, “I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (I Corinthians 9:27) Once Christ has been born in us, He is to be the center of our attention. The flesh has to go. Notice also that if we will obey God by disciplining the flesh and “sending it away” figuratively, He will provide for it as He deems proper.

The story ends in verses 17-21:

And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, ‘What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.’ Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Here we see that the flesh, which generally seems so strong, is actually pitifully weak. Hagar and Ishmael don’t last long in the wilderness. That skin filled with water is now empty and Ishmael will soon be as dead as the skin itself if something doesn’t give. (Incidentally, the skin that held the water might be seen to typify the Law, unable with its system of sacrifice to impart the Living Water so essential to life.) This is all too painful for Hagar to bear, so she lays him down and goes off a little way. But something happens when she leaves Ishmael alone. Ishmael’s father is Abraham and he had heard all his life about the God of Abraham and he even saw Sarah having a baby at the age of 90, so as death closes in around him and his pride crumbles away, he calls out to God—and God hears him. In Ishmael’s brokenness, God hears and answers and saves him from death. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (I Peter 5:5), so Ishmael in his repentance has found the place of grace.

In Genesis 16:10, God had promised Hagar that Ishmael would be greatly multiplied, and He renews that promise to her again. When we consider all the suffering that the descendants of Ishmael have caused the descendants of Isaac, we again find ourselves asking, “Why?” This remains another mystery in which we must rest and trust God. God opens Hagar’s eyes to another well. The well was there all along, but Hagar could not see it for herself.

QUESTION: How often are we too distracted with life to “see God?”

So we see that God did not abandon Ishmael after Abraham cut ties with him. While Ishmael stayed in the wilderness, God blessed and cared for him and made him mighty. If we will likewise reckon the fleshly things in our life as dead, God will then be free to make what He chooses of our physical lives.

Thanks for joining us. We are almost finished with our study of Abraham. Thanks for persevering.

ABRAHAM: FROM MOUNTAIN TO VALLEY

Welcome to Bible Study online. We are getting close to the end of our study of Abraham. Be sure to grab your Bible and let's look at how Abraham handles fear.


The life of faith has some glorious mountains where we connect with God in our understanding and see His way clearly. We love these moments and they are often accompanied by emotional ecstasy. On the Mount of Transfiguration when Peter saw the glory of Jesus unveiled and heard the voice of God, he just wanted to build a shelter and stay forever. But God’s plan was not long term mountain top experiences and emotional ecstasies. His plan was the valley filled with burdened, demon-possessed people. Abraham has just experienced the presence of God. He spoke to the Lord face to face and interceded successfully with God on behalf of his nephew. But now, he has awakened to the valley of destruction. Smoke is rising from the direction of the Jordan Valley and he sees the furnace of God’s judgment. Suddenly, Abraham doesn’t feel so comfortable by the oaks of Mamre. So he packs up and heads away from the smoke of Sodom.

Genesis 20:1 says, “From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar.” The Negev (Negeb) is the southern-most part of the land promised by God to Abraham. The town of Gerar was part of ancient Philistia and we are about to see the first meetings and the relationship established between the father of the Israelites and the ancient Philistine race. These two groups of people are going to eventually become bitter enemies, but how do they start off? Let’s take a look first at the origins of the Philistines.

The name “Philistia” literally translates “land of sojourners” and word is rendered “Palestine.” So we see immediately that the Philistines were immigrants to this land. They were not the original indigenous population. The land of the Philistines itself is a 40-mile plain along the Mediterranean coast that is ten miles wide at its northern end and twenty miles wide at its southern end. It has extremely rich soil, allowing prosperity for its inhabitants. This plain was very useful for war chariots, allowing the Philistines to develop a very successful military advantage. The plain was dotted with elevated sites which proved very useful and strategic for strongholds. Situated between Phoenicia and Syria to the north, and Egypt and Arabia to the south, Philistia easily became an important commercial center. So the Philistine people had every possible advantage from a worldly standpoint.

The Philistine people themselves originated from a group called Caphtor. Genesis 10:13-14 says, “Egypt fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, Parthrusim, Casluhim (from whom the Philistines came), and Caphtorim.” This verse ties the Philistines to Casluhim, the brother of Caphtor. Deuteronomy 2:23 says, “As for the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and settled in their place.” Gaza was one of the five major Philistine cities. So it seems apparent that the Philistines actually came from two brothers, Caslu and Caphtor, who were sons of Egypt. Finally, in Amos 9:7 the Lord says, “Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Syrians from Kir?” So we see that God Himself established the Philistine people in the land, and that they were not the original people, but they destroyed the people who lived there before them and took their land. This is interesting in light of the present attitude of the “Palestinian” people who resent the presence of Israel in “their” land. Many historians believe that the people of Caphtor had settled in Crete, a Mediterranean island, but later migrated to Egypt before moving on to Palestine.

Now that we have established the identity of the Philistine people, let’s look at Abraham’s first encounter with them. Genesis 20:2-3 says,

And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, "Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife."

Abraham has once again defaulted from faith to fear. As before in Egypt, he does not build an altar at Gerar and he denies his true relationship with Sarah.

OBSERVATION: Jesus’ most frequent command in the gospel accounts is to not be afraid.

Fear is the total opposite of faith. So we see in the life of Abraham, who stands as a type of the life of faith, he struggles with fear. Why was Sarah so desirable? We’re talking about a 90-year-old woman. Why would Abimelech want to add her to the harem? The most likely reason is that Sarah is a woman of some wealth herself and she is obviously of noble birth. She may have been living in a tent for 25 years, but that hasn’t erased the unmistakable signs of a noble lady. Her “brother” is obviously wealthy and a noble man also, so an alliance through marriage with Sarah would add considerably to Abimelech’s wealth and prestige. In that day, being married was a necessity for life for most women, so he would have had no doubts that he was doing Sarah a great favor in marrying her.

Genesis 20:4-5 continues the story,

Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, "Lord will You kill an innocent people? Did he not himself say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she herself said, 'He is my brother.' In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this."

God has just told Abraham that in about a year Sarah will have his son and heir. Having Sarah in Abimelech’s harem is most definitely mucking up God’s plan, so God intervenes to set things straight. Notice in these verses that God does speak sometimes to unbelievers.

OBSERVATION: God is not careless or indifferent to man. He does not “flatten” the opposition indiscriminately. He has appeared to Abimelech to tell him of his error and the danger that he is in in order to give him a chance to set things straight himself.

Notice also in this passage that Abimelech says he has not come near Sarah. This strengthens the idea that he desired a material connection and alliance with Abraham through Sarah. Abimelech pleads his innocence in the matter and points out the deception of both Abraham and Sarah. Oswald Chambers said, “Abimelech does not stand for the sinful, but for the noble, upright and perfectly natural.” Abimelech is a morally upright man—he is just not a man of faith.

God responds to Abimelech’s defense in Genesis 20:6-7:

Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against Me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”

In this dream-state conversation between God and Abimelech, God acknowledges Abimelech’s integrity. Adultery and wife-stealing was not in Abimelech’s mind. On the contrary, he thought he was doing a good thing for everybody involved.

We also see in these verses that God Himself directly intervened to prevent Abimelech from any physical relationship with Sarah. God is perfectly capable of keeping His plan on track despite the foibles of man. God also acknowledges that Abraham is a prophet. He is certainly not a perfect man, but God is not going to give up on Abraham and find somebody else.

OBSERVATION: We may not openly acknowledge God in all our ways as we ought, but He doesn’t give up on us. He sees what He will make of us in the end.

There is one final note of warning here: God is prepared to kill Abimelech and all his household in order to protect Sarah. God’s plan of ultimate redemption will not be denied.

Genesis 20:8 tells us how Abimelech responds to God’s warning. "So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid.” Can you imagine, sitting as a king and suddenly finding out that you have gotten yourself into a life-threatening predicament? You have messed up “royally!” Would you tell your servants, or try to cover it up? I think most of our politicians today would brazen it out and cover up the problem. Abimelech is not too proud to call all the servants and tell them what has happened. Fortunately, Abimelech and his servants are god-fearing and they react appropriately to God’s warning.

Genesis 20:9-13 says,

Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, "What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done." And Abilmelech said to Abraham, "What did you see, that you did this thing?" Abraham said, "I did it because I thought, 'There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.' Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. And when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, 'This is the kindness you must do to me: at every place to which we come, say of me, "He is my brother.”’”

Abimelech calls for Abraham to come see him and confronts him with the truth. “You have caused me to sin” is the charge that Abimelech makes. Can there be any more serious accusation to make against a person of faith than to say that you have been a stumbling block by causing me to sin? Yet Abraham’s fear has caused him to do this very thing.

What did you see that made you do this? Abimelech knows there must have been something to cause this, and Abraham admits his fear. In his fear, he misjudged the people of Gerar. Keeping in mind that he has known the wickedness of Sodom and has left the sight of its ash heaps, it is easy to understand why he thought the people of Gerar were also wicked. But here he has made a misjudgment. He repeated a past mistake and defaulted from the mountain of faith to the valley of fear. Now, he must make an answer. Oswald Chambers also said, “When we realize that we have repeated a sin, the danger is to be down in the mud and refuse to get up.”

The story continues in verses 14-16:

Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelech said, "Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you." To Sarah he said, "Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.”

Abimelech’s true nobility is seen here where for the second time he attempts to form an alliance with Abraham. This time, the alliance is based on giving rather than taking. He first attempted an alliance by taking Sarah as his wife. This almost cost him his life. Now, he is making an alliance by giving livestock to Abraham and by extending hospitality to live among them wherever he chose, in contrast to Pharaoh who politely but firmly threw them out of Egypt.

Abimelech’s parting words to Sarah include a sarcastic reference to her “brother.” Although she acted under his instructions, it is sometimes necessary for a noble woman to do what she knows it right without regard to her husband’s wishes. His words to her, however, and the witness of the silver coins vindicate Sarah in the eyes of the world and the paternity of her son will not be questioned.

This first meeting between Abraham and Abimelech concludes as follows in verses 17-18:

“Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. For the LORD had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.”

Considering that God told Abraham before the destruction of Sodom that in about a year Sarah would have a son, we can imagine that the time Sarah was actually in Abimelech’s house was not very long at all. These verses indicate that when Sarah entered his house, both Abimelech and all his women began to be afflicted in such a way that no children could be born. Abimelech’s affliction was most likely the means that God used to keep him from coming near Sarah. It also seems likely that miscarriages and other reproductive problems would have become immediately noticeable among the women. With all the affliction going on, is it any wonder that Abimelech was so terrified when God appeared to him?

The Bible records one more encounter between Abraham and the Philistine king, Abimelech. Let’s look at Genesis 21:22. “At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, ‘God is with you in all that you do.’” Oswald Chambers said, “Abimelech stands as the type of civilization with its organizations and culture and good sense. Between the Church, which is an organism, and organization which is pagan, there must be arbitration. Much of our organization in the Church is pagan, and it is our salvation to see that it is.” We have seen that the Philistines were immigrants in the Promised Land. Although they did not bring the wickedness of the Canaanites, they did bring the worldliness of Egypt and the commercialism of the Mediterranean peoples with them, resulting in love of the world and of money. Like Esau, they were noble, natural, and full of good sense, but also like Esau, they felt no need of God.

OBSERVATION: These same “immigrants” of worldliness and commercialism wander into the lives of Christians and into the Church. How will we deal with things? Will we do what “seems right” and “makes good sense” or will we walk in faith?

Genesis 21:23-24 continues:

“Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned." And Abraham said, "I will swear.”

Abimelech is proposing a perpetual peace treaty between the Philistine people and Abraham’s people.

QUESTION: Is this a wise treaty? Will there be peace between faith and worldliness for future generations? How can people of faith relate to worldly people?

To have peace between faith and worldliness, there must either be compromise or arbitration. Let’s see what happens.

Genesis 21:25-32 says,

When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech’s servants had seized, Abimelech said, "I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today." So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant. Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart. And Abimelech said to Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?" He said, "These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this may be a witness for me that I dug this well." Therefore the place was called Beersheba, because there both of them swore an oath. So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines.

From the text, Abraham does apparently have a problem with the Philistines. He has apparently moved out of Gerar, but a well he has been using has been taken over by Philistines. Abimelech denies all knowledge of the matter, so he has not instigated or condoned it. Do they agree to compromise and share the well? No. There is no compromise, no intermingling of interests, but instead there is arbitration. Abraham settles his right to the well with seven ewe lambs and Abimelech accepts his terms. So we see the pattern set here for peace between faith and the world must never rest on compromise.

Covenants were normally established to signify a oneness of life between two parties. This covenant, however, appears to have been mostly a peace treaty. Abimelech made the covenant because he wanted the favor of God, not because he wanted a relationship with God.

The story concludes in verses 33-34:

"Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines."

Planting a tree was a common part of covenant because normally the tree would live a long time as a reminder of the covenant. After successfully arbitrating with Abimelech, Abraham’s faith is apparently strengthened and he once again builds an altar and calls on the name of the LORD – El Olam, the Everlasting God. He is beginning to believe that God really will see him though—everlastingly.

So what became of the covenant between the Philistine people and the Children of Abraham? After the Israelites returned to the land from Egyptian captivity, these people became enemies and fought off and on for many centuries. The Philistines were finally wiped out, except for a small remnant, by Alexander the Great. Today, people who bear the name “Palestinians” are still fighting with the Children of Abraham.


Thanks for joining us. Our next study will cover the birth of the promised son!

ABRAHAM - THE INTERCESSOR

Welcome back to Bible study online. We are still working our way through the life of the great patriarch Abraham, so grab your Bible and let's take a look.


ABRAHAM: THE RELATIONSHIP OF COMMUNION TO INTERCESSION


What is the natural outcome of communion between two parties? Their interests become shared interests and their burdens and problems become shared and understood. Abraham has just spent time offering hospitality to God and enjoying His Presence. Now, it is up to God to make the next move.

Genesis 18:16-19 says,

Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has promised him.”

As the heavenly Visitors got up to leave, we notice two things. First, they were heading for Sodom. They had other business on earth besides visiting Abraham. Second, Abraham followed along to see them off. This continues to show his desire to be with God. He hangs around as long as he can and this desire to be in God’s presence is about to present a great opportunity for Abraham.

Amos 3:7 says, "For the Lord God does nothing without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets.” God was getting ready to act in a way that would reveal His righteous character and His power and it would also change the geography of the land Abraham had been promised in a very distinctive way. So God, based on His relationship with Abraham, begins to reveal His next errand. Before He tells Abraham His business, He reminds him that he is a chosen individual. He did not initially choose God, but God chose him for his own purposes. He also reminds Abraham that his own responsibility in all of this is to teach his children and his household to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness. Abraham is about to get a lesson in how far God will go in dealing with unrighteousness, so He impresses on Abraham to remember this.

QUESTION: Do we really fear God and teach our children to walk in righteousness or are we quick to relax righteous standards in the guise of “love and acceptance?”

OBSERVATION: In order to keep the way of the Lord and do righteousness, Abraham must know God. This is why communion with God is so essential.

Verses 20-21 of Genesis 18 continue:

Then the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to Me. And if not, I will know.”

Sodom is famous for one sin in particular, but let’s see some of the other things of which Sodom was guilty. Jeremiah 23:14 says, “But in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his evil; all of them have become like Sodom to Me, and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.” Years later, God likens the sinfulness of Jerusalem to that of Sodom and Gomorrah and accuses them of adultery, lying, and favoring those who choose evil. Ezekiel 16:48-50 also says,

“As I live," declares the Lord God, "your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before Me. So I removed them, when I saw it.”

So we see that Sodom’s chief sin was the pride that came with an excess of prosperity. In their haughtiness, they looked down on the poor and would not offer them assistance. Instead, they spent their time in lewdness and filth. It takes a lot of spiritual focus to keep wealth from leading to decadence and boredom, followed by moral decay and finally societal collapse.

OBSERVATION: The US and the West in general are dangling from this very precipice.

Let us also notice that God is going to personally look into the matter. This outcry is a cry of great moral distress. Although God already knows what the outcome will be, He will give Sodom a chance to do right when He comes to visit them.

Continuing in Genesis 18, verses 22-26 say,

So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. Then Abraham drew near and said, "Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will You then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?" And the LORD said, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

The two “men”, who we understand are really angels, have separated from the LORD and are heading for Sodom. But Abraham keeps waiting with God. He sees that God has revealed to him His intention toward Sodom. Now Abraham is no babe in the woods. He knows that Sodom is a wicked place. He warned Lot a few chapters back that settling near Sodom had the drawback of Sodom’s wickedness to contend with. We also saw that after Abraham went to battle to rescue Lot, he would have nothing to do with the king of Sodom or his stuff. So Abraham pretty well knows that Sodom is toast. But his concern is not for the fate of the wicked—his concern is the fate of the righteous. So he approaches God and begins to intercede for Sodom, not for the sake of the wicked, but for the righteous because he knows that Lot is there.

Abraham keeps interceding for Sodom on behalf of Lot. What will it take for God to relent in His judgment so that Lot can be spared? Abraham keeps at it until God says that He will spare the whole city if He can find ten righteous men. In Luke 11:5-13, Jesus gave a parable about a friend who, through his importunity, succeeded in persuading his friend to get up at midnight and give him some bread to offer to his guest. Jesus continued immediately after this parable to emphasize the need to keep asking, seeking, and knocking in the matter of prayer, and assures us that continued perseverance will receive a righteous answer from God. He taught His disciples that God does want to give good gifts to His children. So we see in this passage with Abraham that he demonstrated persistence in prayer, together with a spirit of humility. He appealed to God’s righteousness toward the righteous, never forgetting that he himself was a mere man.

OBSERVATION: This is one area where God is definitely not like man. He does not get tired or offended if we keep asking Him for what is needed. In fact, He wants us to keep asking until the time comes when He is ready to act on our behalf. He only requires a humble heart that is aligned with His own, and He will act when the time is right.

Genesis 19:1-3 begins to describe the situation that the angelic messengers find when they reach Sodom.

The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth and said, "My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way." They said, "No, we will spend the night in the town square." But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

One of the first things we notice in the passage is that Lot is sitting at the gate of the city. This indicates that he has risen to distinction in the city because the elders sat at the city gate to discuss city business and to dispense justice among the people. Lot is at the gate, so he is probably now a town elder. Next we see Lot himself as a provider of hospitality to strangers. He has essentially mirrored Abraham by providing water to wash, food, and a place to rest. The fact that he presses them not to stay in the square, but to come to his home, is probably a good indicator that he knows Sodom is not a safe place to be out in the night. As a little aside, it is interesting to note that when these angels assumed the form of men, they were able to eat, drink, wash, sleep, walk, and talk just as human beings do.

Continuing in our text, verses 4-5 say,

But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them."

Little do the people of Sodom realize that their fate is riding on their behavior in the presence of these two strangers. Notice that all the men of the city, both young and old, surrounded Lot’s house at bedtime. They have no idea who these men are, but they know that Lot has offered them his hospitality and they have come to challenge Lot because of it. They have probably been mulling this over for hours, working up a good head of steam, and they have formed a mob around Lot’s house. The Scriptures say this mob includes everybody in the city—all the men. Now, according to Middle Eastern tradition, providing hospitality includes providing protection. Because Lot is honor-bound to protect his guests, this is really a direct challenge to Lot. They are going to take Lot down a notch or two politically by demeaning and defiling his guests right in front of his face!

Verses 6-8 of Genesis 19 say,

Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, and said, "I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.”

Well, Lot is in quite a jam now! He has sought to protect these strangers from the evils of Sodom. He may have thought that his position as a town elder would be enough to assure that they would be safe under his protection. But alas, it seems that his enemies have been able to use it to turn public opinion against him. Now why should he have any enemies in Sodom? I think the probable answer is his righteous conduct. Wickedness is never comfortable around righteousness. It usually seeks to assert itself by trying to chip away and bring the righteous down a notch or two morally. But if that won’t work, a more frontal assault is tried. Remember how the Pharisees first tried to trap Jesus with tricky questions, but when that didn’t work, they began plotting a “legal” assassination. Likewise, the enemies of Daniel sought first to find some base of accusation, but when they couldn’t, they made righteousness illegal!

So how does righteous Lot handle these wicked assailants? He goes out to them and closes the door first. Does he have any idea who these visitors are? By closing the door, he is protecting them on the inside, but is also able to talk privately with the men of the town. If he knows why his visitors have come, perhaps he hopes to hush everything up before judgment can be passed. Or perhaps he hopes to persuade them with reasoning. Notice that he calls them “my brothers” trying to use their relationship as neighbors to dissuade them. He also reminds them that their intent is wicked.

Verses 9-11 say,

But they said, "Stand back!" And they said, "This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them." Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.

How do people respond if you call a sin a sin? They get mad! “Who are you to judge,” they say. Or they start quoting Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount, “Judge not that you be not judged!” Isn’t it interesting? They may not listen to another word Jesus said, but they will try to use His words to exonerate their sin! They will try to use the fact that He visited sinners as a comfort while they wallow in unrepentant sin.

OBSERVATION: Judging sin is not the same thing as judging people. If God has said that something is a sin, we must agree with Him that it is. Judging people, on the other hand, means trying to look into their hearts and determine motive for actions. This is what we must not do, and it is the thing we are most guilty of doing. This type of judging reflects what we actually know to be true in our own hearts. We are merely ascribing to others what we have seen within ourselves. This is why Jesus said that the way that we judge will determine how we ourselves are judged because it reveals the truth about our own hearts. This does not ever mean, however, that we are not to recognize sin for what it is and agree with God’s righteousness.

So the wickedness of an entire town is pressing in upon the one lone righteous man and they are seeking to overwhelm him. Folks, wickedness simply cannot stand righteousness. It may wear a pleasant smile for awhile, but eventually a showdown will come. The angels inside now begin to intervene. They have seen and heard enough and judgment has been determined. The morally blind are now struck with physical blindness and the angels begin to deliver Lot.

Continuing on in verses 12-14,

Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it." So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, "Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city." But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.

The angels have determined to rescue Lot because of Abraham’s prayer, but they are willing to rescue anyone under his influence. Sadly, there is no one under his influence. He may have occupied a place of some prominence, but in the end, there was no one who would listen to him. It is also distressing to see that he was willing to receive into his family men who were evil and who apparently had no respect for him. As in the days of Noah, Sodom had become so evil that only one man and his family had enough faith to follow God’s instructions in order to be saved.

QUESTION: In our society, how many people have heard the gospel and know something about heaven and hell, but won’t repent and be saved?

Genesis 19:15-16 says,

As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city." But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.

The LORD gave Lot all night to round up the righteous, but there were none. As the day of judgment dawned, the angels began insisting that Lot get his own family and go. Still, Lot dithered around. Was he wondering what to take and what to leave behind? Where will I go and what will I do? At last, the angels grabbed his indecisive hands and dragged him out the gate with his family, and apparently with nothing else. Again, we see that their actions in delivering Lot were a result of God’s mercy. Even though Lot couldn’t find ten righteous men, God was still remembering Abraham’s prayer, and He showed mercy toward Lot and his family.

The angels’ final instructions to Lot are found in verses 17-22:

And as they brought them out, one said, "Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away." And Lot said to them, "Oh, no, my lords. Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!" He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar (meaning “little”).

The props are being kicked out from under Lot because he hasn’t been standing firmly on faith, and so he is still clearly indecisive and doesn’t know what to do. Nor does he appreciate the urgency of his situation or he would have headed for the hills and then figured out later what to do. Instead he asks if he may go to a small city not far away. So, is a smaller amount of wickedness ok for him? He wants the security of a city with other people, but this is a false sense of security. He does not have the dependence upon God that Abraham has. This angel understands the merciful nature of God and allows Lot to go to the city in question. I think that Jude 22-23 describes how to deal with the Lot’s of this world. “And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.”

Verses 23-26 describe the overthrow of Sodom:

The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Notice that when God executed judgment, He did it in broad daylight. There was no room for doubt that God was carrying out justice. Also, this is a total destruction, including vegetation. We see also that Lot’s wife, lingering behind him, looked back and became a pillar of salt. Her heart was in Sodom. The maps of ancient Bible lands place the probably location of Sodom and Gomorrah at the southeast edge of the Dead Sea, with the Jordan River emptying into the Dead Sea at its north shore. Knowing that the Genesis record has already told us that these cities were in the well-watered plain of the Jordan River, it becomes readily apparent that there was a massive geographic change in that area, and it seems reasonable to believe that it came about as a result of the supernatural destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The means that God used to destroy this area apparently resulted in the formation of a great pit into which the Jordan River now empties, forming the Dead Sea. We already know from studying the battle of the kings in Genesis 14 that the area was filled with bitumen pits. It seems reasonable that God may have caused a major eruption in the area, throwing burning sulfur and tar into the air, after which it rained down upon the entire area, forming crystallized salts. The Amplified Bible has a notation concerning these verses that says:

In fact, at the southern end of the Dead Sea there is a mountain of table salt called Jebel Usdum, “Mount of Sodom.” It is about six miles long, three miles wide, and 1,000 feet high. It is covered with a crust of earth several feet thick, but the rest of the mountain is said to be solid salt.

QUESTION: When the Lord says it is time to leave this world, will your heart be yearning back for something here?

We return to Abraham for the final verses of our text, 27-29:

And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked, and behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.

So what was the result of Abraham’s intercession? Was the city saved? No. But the righteous man was saved, and we know that Lot really was considered righteous, even though he chose to live in Sodom, because II Peter 2:7-8 tells us that he was righteous and that his soul was tormented by the things that he saw going on in Sodom. We must always intercede in the way that seems right and best, but we must also leave the result to God. It probably won’t turn out exactly as we had thought, but we have seen from Abraham’s life, that God moves when His people pray. We have also seen that prayer is based on our communion with God. We can’t begin to know how to pray for others until we know God’s heart.

Thanks for joining us again! We only have a few more lessons in the life of Abraham. Thanks for persevering in your study.

ABRAHAM: COMMUNION WITH GOD

Welcome to Bible Study online! We are picking back up with the life of Abraham, so grab your Bibles and let's see what happens to Abraham.


ABRAHAM: COMMUNION WITH GOD

In our last lesson with Abraham, we saw God Himself directly entering into a blood covenant by passing between the bloody carcasses of the animals that Abraham had brought for the purpose of enacting a covenant. Normally, a communion meal would follow such an oath, and so, a short time later, we will see that God visits Abraham and partakes of a meal which Abraham provides, thus continuing the ancient covenant ritual.

Let’s look at Genesis 18:1-5.

And the LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said, "O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by Your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash Your feet, and rest Yourselves under the tree, while I bring a morsel of bread, that You may refresh Yourselves and after that You may pass on—since You have come to Your servant." So they said, "Do as you have said."

First as we read this passage, let’s notice that Abraham is still living in a tent. He has come to Canaan from a city called Ur, but he has made no attempt to build a city. Instead, he built an altar. He is not looking for any earthly thing, but instead has pinned all his hope on God and His promises. So we see that his faith is abiding, not transitory. He doesn’t say one thing at the altar and go out and live in a totally opposite way from his professed faith.

As he sits at the door of his tent in the heat of the day, three “men” appear before him. Although they appear to be men, Abraham recognizes immediately his new Covenant Partner, for he rushes out to them and calls one of the three “Lord.” The Hebrew word employed here is “Adonai” and refers to God.

QUESTION: Are we communing with God closely enough to recognize Him as He works in our midst?

Let’s look at Abraham’s reaction. He gets up and runs out to these heavenly Visitors. Now Abraham is about 100 years old and it is probably at least 100 degrees at that time of day. He has been sitting still, trying to keep cool, but these Visitors produce such great excitement that he gets up and runs out to meet them like a kid! Next, he bows down and calls his Visitor “Adonai.” Again, he recognizes the One Who has been leading him all these years and he worships Him. He also proclaims himself the servant of God, so we see his genuine devotion and humility toward God. Finally, he begs God not to pass him by, but to stay and accept his hospitality.

QUESTION: Are we humble enough to beg God to visit us? Do we really want Him to come in and stay with us?

QUESTION: Are we willing to show hospitality to God? If so, how does one do that?

HOSPITALITY

Hospitality has become a rather difficult and fading aspect of our culture. People are often in such a rush they don’t even want “hospitality” because it requires that we actually stop for awhile and accept hospitality. Also, there are sometimes hidden agendas involved in hospitality and since we are typically “takers” rather than “givers” we shy away from accepting hospitality lest we feel some obligation. But in an environment where there is a real desire to help others, accepting their hospitality becomes a doorway for service and the development of a relationship.

The first aspect of hospitality mentioned by Abraham was the washing of feet. In that culture, foot washing was a great service, though it was normally reserved for the most menial slave to attend. People wore only sandals or went barefoot, so their feet were typically hot and dirty almost continually. I have no problem imagining that Abraham himself was absolutely excited to wash his Visitors’ feet. Luke 7:36-50 records another man, Simon the Pharisee, who also invited Jesus in for a meal, but the course of the story reveals that his motivation was not genuine communion with God, but actual hostility. Jesus points this out by commenting that Simon did not bother with the simplest courtesy of providing water to wash, let alone washing His feet himself. And as the gospels record for us how Jesus Himself washed the feet of His own disciples, I can’t help but wonder if, as He washed their feet, He thought back to the day that Abraham was overjoyed to wash His feet.

The second aspect of Abraham’s hospitality was that of rest. He offered his Visitors a comfortable place to rest. Now, we know that on the seventh day of creation, God rested from all His creative work. He is still resting in that Sabbath because He has finished making all He planned. However, when sin entered the world, He began to work again, not to create, but to redeem. Abraham is offering God, Who has appeared as a man, physical comfort, but more than that, a place where He can be comfortable in His Holy Person. There have been places where I sat down, but I knew that I could not afford to relax my guard and get too comfortable because some sort of danger or distress was near. Abraham is offering God a safe place where nothing will cause His Holy Character any distress.

The third aspect of Abraham’s hospitality was a meal. In his humility, Abraham says “a morsel”—let me bring You a bite to eat, but he is really planning a large feast. Now the most important thing to bear in mind with this meal is that it serves the purpose of continuing to consummate the covenant between God and Abraham. In The Blood Covenant by H. Clay Trumbull, the idea of the joining of two lives by blood covenant has been described as follows:

From the beginning, and everywhere, blood seems to have been looked upon as pre-eminently the representative of life; as, indeed, in a peculiar sense, life itself. The transference of blood from one organism to another has been counted the transference of life, with all that life includes. The inter-commingling of blood by its inter-transference has been understood as equivalent to an inter-commingling of natures. Two natures thus inter-commingled , by the inter-commingling of blood, have been considered as forming, thenceforward, one blood, one life, one nature, one soul—in two organisms.

In the ritual covenant meal, a cup of wine, symbolizing blood, and often with drops of each partner’s blood mixed into it, was shared between the parties, and often food was given by the hand of one partner to the other, signifying the commingling of their lives. By accepting Abraham’s food, God is symbolically accepting Abraham’s life and allowing Abraham to become one with Him in covenant. Incidentally, we see this same ritual carried out at weddings when the bride and groom feed each other cake and punch or wine.

SHOWING HOSPITALITY TO GOD

How can we wash the feet of a God Whom we can’t even see? In Matthew 25:34-40, Jesus said,

Then the King will say to those on His right, "Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me." Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see You a stranger and welcome You, or naked and clothe You? And when did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?" And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.”

So we see that one way in which we can “wash the feet of God” is by serving others. I Corinthians 10:31 says, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” We serve God by seeing to it that every activity we engage in, right down to the food that we eat, is done with an attitude of serving God, not pleasing ourselves. Finally, Hebrews 13:2 says, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” This verse again reminds us that when we are serving others, we are serving God Himself.

How can we provide rest for God as we strive to show Him hospitality? We saw from our study in Zechariah that sin is what disturbs God’s rest. Therefore, if we want to make God comfortable, we must repent of all known sin in our lives. But we really have to go farther than that. We have to allow Him to search our hearts and remove all the things that would discomfort and disturb Him before our hearts can become a place where He is comfortable and at rest. (Psalm 139:23-24)

Continuing in Abraham’s pattern of showing hospitality, we need to discern how we may provide “food” for God. Now we know that God is a spirit, and does not need physical food. But let’s take a look at John 4:31-34 immediately following Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well.

Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." But He said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about." So the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him something to eat?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him Who sent Me and to accomplish His work.”

So we see that Jesus’ “food” was doing the will of God and accomplishing His work. So when we allow Him to work in our lives and accomplish His good purpose in redemption, this is His food. Isaiah 53:10b-11 says, “When His soul makes an offering for guilt, He shall see His offspring; He shall prolong His days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. Out of the anguish of His soul He shall see and be satisfied; by His knowledge shall the Righteous One, My Servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and He shall bear their iniquities.” If you look at that word “satisfied” in verse 11, it describes the feeling that you get after eating. You eat the food and are satisfied. Here, Jesus sees the salvation of His loved ones through His own sacrifice and is satisfied. So when we progress in our salvation, not merely saying a prayer and getting baptized, but actually grow in our faith towards God, this is the food that satisfies Jesus.

One other little idea regarding food for Jesus is this: when we receive Christ as Savior and Lord, His life enters in and we become a babe in Christ. We are like Bethlehem, and the life of Christ has been born in us. It is up to us to nourish that life, just as Mary nourished the baby Jesus. We nourish that new life by studying God’s Word, prayer, and above all else, heartfelt obedience.

Returning to our text in Genesis 18, verses 6-8 say,

And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, "Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes." And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

Notice that Abraham is still running! It may be 100 degrees in the shade, but he is too excited to take it easy.

QUESTION: Are we excited by God? Are we eager to serve Him, eager to commune with Him?

Notice also that Abraham is not doing this all by himself. He is involving others. First he goes to Sarah his wife and gets her involved in serving God. Next, we see that he involves a servant in preparing the calf.

QUESTION: Do we involve others in what we are doing or are we “lone ranger” servants? In II Timothy 2:2, Paul gives final instructions to Timothy, saying, “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” Don’t try to go it alone, Timothy. We must pass on what we know from God to others who will be faithful.

Also notice the fact that Abraham is lavish in his service. He tells Sarah to take 3 seahs of fine flour. A seah was about 7 quarts, so this is a lot of bread that is being prepared. It is way more than the three Visitors would be expected to eat and it is fine flour. That means that it is the best for making bread. A lot of time has been put into grinding it out. He also selected a tender young calf personally. He is clearly putting out the best that he has for God.

QUESTION: Do we put forth our best effort for God, not just on Sunday, but in every action every day?

Finally, we see that after everything is prepared, Abraham brings it all in personally and then stands by, in the role of a servant, and attends to them while they eat. He wants to be right there with them, hearing what they say and learning Who God really is.

QUESTION: Do we want to “hang around God”?

THE OBJECT OF THE VISIT

The following verses from Genesis 18 give us the real object of God’s visit with Abraham.

They said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "She is in the tent." The LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.

God brings up the subject of His visit and this time, it’s not really about Abraham. Sarah is on God’s mind. So He asks the question, “Where is Sarah?” Now that seems like a surface question, but I think we will see that God was not primarily concerned with Sarah’s physical location. After Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, God came looking for him and in Genesis 3:9, it says, “But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” God didn’t need to know that Adam was hiding or why, but rather, Adam needed to confess where he was in his relationship to God. When God last appeared to Abraham, He changed Abram’s name to Abraham, symbolizing that Abram’s life was joined to Yahweh, so the “ah” was put in his name. But Sarai’s name was also changed at that time to Sarah, including the “ah” of Yahweh in her name as well. So, although God has appeared to Abraham, Sarah is also a part of this covenant relationship and God has come to get her directly involved. So, where is Sarah in her faith? Will she believe in God together with Abraham?

Abraham answers by telling God that Sarah is in the tent. She is not in pharaoh’s harem and she hasn’t run back to Ur. She is hanging in there with Abraham even though things might not have been as successful from a worldly standpoint as they might have been if she had married someone else.

God then repeats His promise that Sarah will have a son and this time, He names a date. In a year’s time, Sarah, who is 90 years old and barren, will be a mother! Big promise! And Sarah is listening from inside the tent. Now the symbolism of the tent is that the tent is our earthly life. It is transient, short-lived, and not permanent. Sarah is inside the tent when God comes, but Abraham is outside the tent. Sarah is all bound up in the tent and its limitations, but Abraham is looking outside the tent. Hence, we see that God’s question about Sarah is an attempt to get her thinking “outside the tent.”

WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?

In verses 11-12, we see Sarah’s initial response to God’s promise.

“Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself saying, ‘After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?’”

Sarah is way too old to have a baby. Surely it is a sad joke! It has been a long time since she was young enough to hope for a baby. All her life was spent waiting, hoping, praying, and crying because the months and years rolled by and no baby ever came. Now, long after she accepted the physical fact that she would never have the joy of a child, God says in one year she will be a mother, and He isn’t talking about surrogacy or mysticism. Have you ever reached the point where you refused to hope any more because the pain of disappointment was simply too much to carry around? So Sarah laughs out right in her tent. At this point, disbelief is a much safer and less painful avenue. Even supposing by some miracle, and it would take a miracle, she got pregnant, how could this 90-year-old body carry a baby, deliver it, and nurse it?

SARAH—I’M TALKING TO YOU!

Now, God is never unaware of what is going on inside our “tents.” Verses 13-15 say,

The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son." But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, "No, but you did laugh.”

God is carrying on this interesting dialogue with Sarah through Abraham. He is reaching out to her, touching her unbelief, extending His promises to her, and ultimately awakening her faith. He makes it plain to her that He knows what is going on inside her “tent,” thereby proving that He really is God. Hebrews 11:11-12 says, “By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered Him faithful Who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.”

By the end of this section, we see that God has succeeded in getting Sarah to believe Him. She has begun talking to Him, and although she has not been very honest with God, we see that she has begun to fear Him. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” Although God might very well have punished Sarah for her disbelief, He showed grace to her and awakened her faith in Him.

CONSIDER: In what ways and times has God visited you to awaken your faith? How did you respond? Are you “inside your tent” like Sarah, or are you “outside your tent” looking for God?


Thanks for joining us! Next time, we will look at Sodom and Gomomrrah.