(4/22/15) By doing this God added to His verbal promise (covenant) to Abram by now entering into a formal covenant with him.

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Ellen Banks
5 years ago
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1 Genesis 17:15-18:33 (4/22/15) Genesis 17:1-2 (NKJV) 1 the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. 2 And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly." Now as we said last week, don t let this throw you, God had already made a covenant with Abram back in chapter 12 and then reaffirmed it in chapters 13 and 15. In chapter 15 we saw how that God added force to this covenant to make it absolutely sure by having Abram kill some animals, lay them on the ground (finish). By doing this God added to His verbal promise (covenant) to Abram by now entering into a formal covenant with him. And now in chapter 17 God adds a sign to the covenant a visible symbol of the covenant He had made with Abram and his descendants circumcision. Now once again, circumcision was not the covenant but the sign of the covenant. Circumcision was to be the outward sign that represented an inward spiritual truth it symbolized the cutting away of the uncleanness of the flesh to be holy before God as His covenant people. 1

2 Once again circumcision although important did not save Abram was saved 14 years before he was circumcised. Unfortunately, the Jewish people eventually made this ritual a means of salvation. Rituals like circumcision and water baptism never save they are simply outward symbols that point to inward spiritual truths without the reality the symbol is meaningless (like the wedding ring on the finger of an unfaithful spouse) Genesis 17:15-16 (NKJV) 15 Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her." Earlier, in verse 5, God changed Abram s name to Abraham Abram means exalted father Abraham means father of a multitude And now God changes Sarai s name to Sarah and says that she will be the mother of nations. God inserts a breath sound into their names the Hebrew word for breath is ruach which is also the word for spirit (or in this case Spirit ). Some believe that the name Sarai means contentious but by breathing His Spirit into her she became Sarah which means princess. But the real lesson here is that God waited for Abraham and Sarah to be dead reproductively before He gave them Isaac. 2

3 God wanted Isaac s birth to be a total miracle something Abraham and Sarah couldn t accomplish in their own strength. In a symbolic way God was saying that He needs to wait for us to die to self and be filled with the Spirit before He can multiply us (John 12:24). Genesis 17:17 (NKJV) 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" Now at a glance it seems that Abraham is laughing out of unbelief at the promise of God that He could give him and Sarah a child in their old age but that s where the N.T. comes in. The best commentary on the O.T. is the N.T. and in Romans 4:18-22 Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tells us that Abraham didn t doubt the promise of God in unbelief but was fully convinced that what God had promised He was able to bring to pass. So in the light of that we know that Abraham s laugh was a laugh of joy however in chapter 18 when Sarah heard the promise she also laughed but it was a laugh of unbelief as we re going to see. However, if Abraham didn t doubt God s promise why does he seem to say in verse 18, that s okay Lord, I don t need another son fulfill Your promise through Ishmael. Genesis 17:18 (NKJV) 18 And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!" Ishmael was thirteen years old at this time a man by Jewish standards. 3

4 Abraham loved Ishmael and because he was his first born he considered Ishmael his heir. I think in part he was saying to God, I already have a son whom I love deeply. Let him be the one through whom the covenant and your promises are fulfilled. It wasn t that Abraham doubted God s promise it seems he was trying to change God s mind on the subject. One pastor interpreted Abraham s petition this way In other words, Abraham is saying, I know I got ahead of You when Ishmael was conceived. I know that was not Your plan. I know I made a mess, but, Lord, bless my mess. Have you ever done that? Maybe your motives were sincere, your intensions were right. But you didn t wait on God or talk things over with Him. Instead, you just plunged into that relationship, that job opportunity, that ministry. And when it turned out to be a mess, you asked God to bless it anyway. Look, God will forgive our mess, He will work around our mess but He will never bless our mess! Abraham s mess (lapse of faith) was forgiven by God but the consequences are still being felt by the Jewish people to this day (Ishmael became the father of the Arabs). And that s often the case with our acting in the flesh and creating a mess God can and will forgive us but the consequences often remain with us so much better to just obey and trust God! Genesis 17:18-19 (NKJV) 18 And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!" 19 Then God said: "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. 4

5 So Isaac, whose name means laughter, is the son of promise or in other words the son through whom God would fulfill His promise to Abraham to make him the father of many nations and a blessing to all the families of the earth. Genesis 17:20 (NKJV) 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. We all know of the twelve tribes of Israel but God promised to give Ishmael 12 sons that would go on to be the princes of 12 tribes their names are recorded in 25: Genesis 17:21-23 (NKJV) 21 But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year." 22 Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. 23 So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him. Abraham must have been well respected as a leader and in his relationship with God for everyone to have submitted to this procedure. I mean that had to be painful! No novocaine, no anesthesia wow! Entering into the covenant with God was painful it isn t easy becoming one of God s covenant people. The flesh has to be cut from our life and that is often painful as old relationships have to be cut away, old habits etc. 5

6 Sometime it s our own flesh and blood that is cut away from us as our parents and/or siblings forsake us when we receive Jesus and enter into the New Covenant. (Comment) Genesis 17:24-27 (NKJV) 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael; 27 and all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him. Again, I m impressed with the respect Abraham received from his family and servants for them to submit to being circumcised. He was obviously a man of character, a man that didn t tell others to live in obedience to God while he himself didn t (he submitted to circumcision first v tell us). As fathers and leaders of our families our relationship with God must be genuine we must be an example first of obedience if our families are going to take us seriously when we press them to walk in obedience to God. The father that says do as I say and not as I do will never be respected nor taken seriously by his children. This is something we re going to see in the life of Lot in Genesis 19 (finish). Chapter 18 6

7 Genesis 18:1-2 (NKJV) 1 Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him The Hebrew implies that these men appeared suddenly to Abraham one minute he s looking out over the desert, he looks down for a minute and then when he looks up there they were. I believe Abraham knew these were not ordinary visitors in fact we re going to find out that One of the visitors was the Lord Jesus Christ and the other two were angels Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. (Hebrews 13:2) Genesis 18:2-5 (NKJV) 2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, 3 and said, "My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. 4 Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant." They said, "Do as you have said." The hospitality of the Bedouin peoples in that area of the world is legendary they considered it a grave sin not to show strangers hospitality. (Explain) Genesis 18:6 (NKJV) 6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, "Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes." Three measures of meal in the making of cakes (pan cakes) was considered a fellowship or friendship offering. 7

8 I have to admire Sarah s respect for her husband and her hospitality toward these strangers. I don t think many wives today would be so hospitable if their husbands brought home 3 dinner guests unannounced remember Sarah s 90 years old! 1 Peter 3:1-6 (NKJV) 1 Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. 3 Do not let your adornment be merely outward--arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel-- 4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. 5 For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror. Genesis 18:7-8 (NKJV) 7 And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. 8 So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate. Abraham is called the friend of God three times in Scripture 2Chron.20:7; Isa.41:8; and James 2:23. Why did God single out Abraham to call him the friend of God many believe it was because of the hospitality he showed the Lord in Genesis 18 Well, if the Lord showed up at my door I d show Him hospitality too! Well, just remember that the Lord can come to us in a variety of ways 8

9 One night a cobbler dreamed that the next day Jesus was coming to visit him. The dream seemed so real that he got up very early the next morning and hurried to the woods, where he gathered green boughs to decorate his shop for the arrival of so great a Guest. He waited all morning, but, to his disappointment, his shop remained quiet, except for an old man who limped up to the door asking to come in for a few minutes of warmth. While the man was resting, the cobbler noticed that the old fellow s shoes were worn through. Touched, the cobbler took a new pair from his shelves and saw to it that the stranger was wearing them as he went on his way. Throughout the afternoon the cobbler waited, but his only visitor was an elderly woman. He had seen her struggling under a heavy load of firewood, and he invited her, too, into his shop to eat; he saw to it that she had a nourishing meal before she went on her way. As night began to fall, the cobbler heard a child crying outside his door. The child was lost and afraid. The cobbler went out, soothed the youngster s tears and, with the little hand in his, took the child home. When he returned, the cobbler was sad. He believed the Lord hadn t kept His word to come and visit him that day. In his anguish, the cobbler cried out, Why is it, Lord, that Your feet delay? Have you forgotten that this was the day? Then, soft in the silence a voice he heard: Lift up your heart for I kept my word. Three times I came to your friendly door; three times my shadow was on your floor. I was the man with the bruised feet; I was the woman you gave to eat; I was the child on the homeless street. When Jesus returns and sits on the throne of His glory He will say to His people, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' And as far as being called a friend of God that wasn t limited to just Abraham John 15:12-17 (NKJV) 12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. 17 These things I command you, that you love one another. 9

10 Genesis 18:9-11 (NKJV) 9 Then they said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" So he said, "Here, in the tent." 10 And He said, "I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son." (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. So Sarah had passed menopause and she laughed at the idea that she could still have a son Genesis 18:12 (NKJV) 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, "After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?" Now we know that Sarah s laugh was a laugh of unbelief because the Lord calls her on it Genesis 18:13-15 (NKJV) 13 And the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?' 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son." 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. And He said, "No, but you did laugh!" Mark verse 14 and remember it the next time the Lord makes you a promise that seems utterly impossible (as He did for me many years ago explain). Now before we get too hard on Sarah I believe she was basically a woman of faith in spite of this momentary lapse 10

11 Hebrews 11:11 (NKJV) 11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Genesis 18:16-19 (NKJV) 16 Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. 17 And the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, 18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him." Once again we think of what Jesus said to His disciples in John 15 about being His friends if we obey Him and how He reveals to us what He is doing. Genesis 18:20-21 (NKJV) 20 And the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know." Genesis 18:20-21 (NIV) 20 Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know." Be careful here God knows everything but is speaking anthropomorphically to Abraham (like a mere human being) to assure Abraham that He would base His judgment on the facts. God would send his angels on a fact-finding mission to gather information he already perfectly knew. Genesis 18:22-25 (NKJV) 22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. 23 And Abraham came near and said, "Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? 25 Far be it 11

12 from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" Abraham knew his nephew Lot and his family lived in Sodom and so now he begins to intercede for them to the Lord. Notice that he doesn t intercede for them based on their righteousness he does so based on God s righteousness. And the whole basis for Abraham s intercession is built on the principle that a righteous Judge would not judge and punish the righteous with the wicked. Luke 17:26-29 (NKJV) 26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 2 Peter 2:6-9 (NKJV) 6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; 7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)-- 9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, Genesis 18:26-28 (NKJV) 26 So the LORD said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes." 27 Then Abraham answered and said, "Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: 28 Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?" So He said, "If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it." 12

13 Abraham is doing something that is very ethnically characteristic to that culture he is haggling with the Lord. (Elaborate) Genesis 18:29-33 (NKJV) 29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, "Suppose there should be forty found there?" So He said, "I will not do it for the sake of forty." 30 Then he said, "Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?" So He said, "I will not do it if I find thirty there." 31 And he said, "Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?" So He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty." 32 Then he said, "Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?" And He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of ten." 33 So the LORD went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place. As we will see in chapter 19 the angels say to Lot that they could not judge the city until he was gone. So even one righteous person is enough to stay God s judgment the rapture has to happen before the Tribulation Period can begin Revelation 4:1 (NKJV) 1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, "Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this." (this is the rapture) And then starting in chap.6 we see God s judgment poured out on the unrighteous. 13

Birth of Isaac Announced Genesis 15:1-18:15

Birth of Isaac Announced Genesis 15:1-18:15 Name some promises that people have made to you. How do you feel when promises are not kept? Why is it difficult for some people to keep their promises? Today,