VIII. Theme: The Promised Seed 20-Jul-03 Genesis 18:1-33 Duguid Chapter 8 The birth of the Seed involves the destruction of the wicked. Key Verse: Genesis 18:25 Far be it 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? Review Last week we looked at the covenant seal of circumcision in Genesis 17. God renews His covenant with Abram for a fourth time (Genesis 12:1-3, 13:14-17, 15:4-5, 17:4-8). God changes names to indicate His sovereignty. Abram becomes Abraham and Sarai becomes Sarah. We see a further narrowing of the Seed line. The promised Seed is not going to be Ishmael, who is now 13 years old. Instead, the promised Seed is going to come from Sarah and be named Isaac. So the issue is coming more and more into focus. However, there are still problems. Abraham is 99 years old and Sarah is 90 years old. Not only is Sarah barren, but she s post-menopausal. Her womb is doubly dead! How can Sarah bear a child? And so Abraham laughs he laughs at the twist of God s humor, when he realizes that the promises are not for Ishmael but for Isaac to come; and he laughs at the impossibility of it all. And God takes that laughter and gives it a name Isaac for Isaac, the miracle child, will be God s great joke that what is impossible with man is possible with God. Furthermore, Abraham is instructed to cut off the old flesh in circumcision as a seal of the covenant. We have here resurrection language. Abraham is to cut off the dead flesh before the promised Seed can be born. Sarah s dead and barren womb must be revitalized by the promises of God before the promised Seed can be born. The seal of circumcision speaks to the covenant promises of God to create a covenant community of believers. It is practiced on all those in Abraham s household, not just himself. Abraham s children and servants are to have the covenant seal marked on their bodies, signifying God s claim upon them. Does the covenant seal of circumcision guarantee their salvation? By no means! But it does mark one as a member of the covenant community, with all the blessings thereunto. The covenant seal in the New Covenant is baptism, and it has essentially the same meaning and purpose for believers today. The external mark of the covenant sign, baptism, needs to reflect an internal change of heart. We baptize our children in the hope that they too can look to our God in repentance and faith and receive the promised Holy Spirit. We cannot save our children but God can, and will, if they look to Him in repentance and faith. Introduction Jordan: Genesis 18-19 forms a single unit (broken over two lessons). In chapter 18, three persons come to visit Abraham. Abraham shares a communion meal and receives the promise concerning Isaac. The discussion turns toward Sodom as God turns His face toward Sodom to judge and destroy it. There is another exodus from the destruction of Sodom. The overall theme of these two chapters is that the birth of the seed involves the destruction of the wicked. A. Communion with God (18:1-8) 1. Oaks (18:1) 2. Day (18:1) Genesis II Notes. Doc p. 67 DSB 9-Sep-05
3. Door (18:1) 4. Seeing (18:2) 5. Communion (18:3-8) B. Promise of Laughter (18:9-15) 1. New Life (18:9-11) 2. Salvation and Judgment (18:12-15) C. Evaluation of the Wicked (18:16-33) 1. Friend of God (18:16-19) 2. I Will Go Down (18:20-21) 3. The Fate of the Righteous and the Wicked (18:22-33) A. Communion with God (18:1-8) Wallace: God is represented in Genesis 18-19 as actually taking a journey from heaven in order to be present in this real and special way both within the home of Abraham and in the night-life of Sodom. The service and hospitality in Abraham s home are given to the actual person of God Himself. And what happens in Sodom before its judgment happens to God Himself. God takes on such a humble disguise, because on this journey He desires to get in to the places where people live, and He wants to find the people just as they are when they are there. Eveson: The continual shift from the singular to the plural in the first fifteen verses is of special interest. This unusual feature, along with the clear impression that the three men are associated with the appearance of the one Lord, has led Christians from earliest times to see the doctrine of the Trinity foreshadowed here. 1. Oaks (18:1) Jordan: Abraham is under the terebinth trees of Mamre, near Hebron. This is one of the sanctuary altars that Abraham had set up in the Land. He is shaded by the trees in the heat of the day, shade being the symbol of God s covenant protection. 2. Day (18:1) Jordan: The setting for this passage is the heat of the day. In other chapters of the Abraham story, the setting is a Passover scene at night (e.g., Gen. 15&19). This is a day scene, reminding us of the Day of the Lord when God comes in judgment and blessing. God draws near to Abraham to announce the blessing of Isaac is nigh. He also comes to judge the wicked of Sodom. The Day of the Lord brings both blessing and judgment. 3. Door (18:1) Jordan: Doorways are associated with birth in the Bible (cp. Sarah listening at the tent door in verse 10). 2 Kings 4:15-17 contains a clear parallel to Isaac, where the Shunamite woman in the doorway gives birth to a son who later dies and comes back to life. Likewise, Isaac is born unexpectedly, is sacrificed, and received back alive again. Ecclesiastes 10 presents the body as a house; there is a doorway of the human body which has to do with birth. The adoption ritual of the Old Testament of punching a hole through the ear was done in the door post of the doorway. When you pass through the doorway, you are born into or enter into the kingdom. The passage in 1 Kings 14:5-6, 17 has this truth with a twist in this passage, the doorway is not associated with birth, but instead death (judgment). Genesis II Notes. Doc p. 68 DSB 9-Sep-05
4. Seeing (18:2) Jordan: In verse 2, Abraham lifted up his eyes, looked, and behold. There are three different words for seeing here. The repetition is for emphasis. Seeing in the Bible is for evaluation and judgment. This sets up the theme in this passage of man s evaluation vs. God s evaluation. Abraham evaluates the visitors and recognizes something special about them (or perhaps he is always this hospitable). Wallace: We may suppose that when Abraham ran from the tent door (18:2) to meet his visitors at first, his haste was simply the unguarded spontaneity of one who was always keen to offer hospitality without question to strangers. But soon Abraham knows with more certainty the importance of the visit and the visitors, and we find the excitement mounting. Four times in two sentences we find him running and making everyone else run (18:6-7). 5. Communion (18:3-8) Jordan: Abraham shares hospitality with the three visitors. Abraham asks the men to rest under the shade tree, washes their feet, and shares a meal with them. The dust of the ground is cursed and needs to be washed off the feet. When Moses and Joshua meet God they take off their shoes, because the ground is holy and the dust is no longer cursed. So, washing feet is a ministry of removing the curse from the feet. Resting in the shade is a picture of being under God s protection. Abraham prepares a feast (3 measures = 33 quarts, a lot of meal; 1 calf = lot of meat). Abraham stands while they eat this is the attitude or position of a servant. Washing the feet, resting in the shade, sharing a fellowship meal these are all pictures of the kingdom. Eveson, Duguid, & Jordan: The event had covenant overtones. Throughout their encounter, the Lord treated Abraham as His friend. He shared an intimate occasion with him, a common meal. It was the only case before the Incarnation in which the Lord ate food set before him. Communion with God here is fulfilled in the Lord s Supper when we eat with the Lord and the angels. Jesus washes feet and serves food at the Last Supper and treats His disciples like kings. God honors us in this way and sets the example for us to follow. B. Promise of Laughter (18:9-15) Wallace: After the meal comes the business. God, as Abraham s friend, has come to consult him about what he is to do in one of the biggest social and international problems of his day: that of Sodom, its social injustices and its homosexuality. This is the climax of Abraham s day of astonishing privilege. He is being given a share of the responsibility of world government. But there is a domestic issue to be settled before world affairs can be discussed. Abraham has failed here in the home. This is brought out in a series of three questions (18:9-15) which God gently puts before Him: 1) Where is Sarah your wife? Abraham has neglected to bring Sarah in from her kitchen supervision for the after-dinner conversation. 2) Why did Sarah laugh? The answer is obvious. She was completely taken by surprise had never heard till then of such a thing and never thought even of the possibility. The fact now becomes obvious that though Abraham had heard weeks before about what God was going to do in this house, the husband had not even tried to share it with his wife. It is significant that God does not reproach Sarah for her laughter. He reproaches Abraham. 3) Is anything too hard for the Lord? This too is a reproach. 1. New Life (18:9-11) Duguid: The good news is that God is more gracious than we expect. Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah also, gently reaffirming His promise to the beloved doubter. Genesis II Notes. Doc p. 69 DSB 9-Sep-05
Eveson & Jordan: The message was for Sarah herself to hear. It is therefore wrong to think of her as eavesdropping in the door. When Elisha called the Shunammite woman she stood in the doorway while he prophesied that she would have a son (2 Kgs 4:15). The phrase according to the time of life or when the time revives (18:10, 14) could mean at this time next year which would parallel the phrase at this set time next year (17:21); it also could refer to springtime when the world comes back to life. It is the time of Passover, of Easter, of death and rebirth. Elisha used the same phrase in his prophecy (2 Kgs 4:16-17). Jordan: In Genesis 17 we have circumcision, which points to God s judgment on the righteous, cutting away the old flesh, but leaving the righteous alive and able to bear seed. It points to the crucifixion of our Lord. In Genesis 17-18 we have God s laughter, which points to resurrection, new life for the righteous now that the old flesh has been cut away through judgment. It also points to the destruction of the wicked. Analogically, the circumcision of chapter 17 points to the crucifixion. The new birth of chapter 18 points to the resurrection and Pentecost new birth. The destruction of Sodom in chapter 19 points to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the wicked in general. The pattern is crucifixion Pentecost holocaust. Eveson. Baldwin, & Jordan: We are told that Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Sarah had moved beyond the stage of being barren. She had passed menopause. Humanly speaking, it was now doubly impossible for her to have a baby. The delay, far from indicating any limitations of God s power, showed rather God s total control over events. The theme of the miracle birth is throughout the Old Testament, with the Virgin Birth of Christ as the fulfillment. Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and the mothers of the three great Nazirites (Samson, Samuel, John the Baptist) were barren. The Shunamite woman was also barren. The miracle of the closed womb opening with new life for the world is central here. How can the Seed come into the world to destroy the Serpent? God has to act. He acts by taking away sin through circumcision, giving new names, and entering into a new world through resurrection. 2. Salvation and Judgment (18:12-15) Baldwin: Though it is usual to link Sarah s laughter with the name Isaac, there is no mention of the name in this narrative, but only an assurance that Sarah will indeed have a son. Abraham s laughter and Isaac s name are given back in 17:17-19. Jordan: The promise of laughter is God s surprise in history that changes things. In 18:15, the Lord does not give Sarah a big rebuke. Instead, He is encouraging Sarah to laugh. That s the whole point Isaac is laughter. Laughter is a response to the unexpected (responses are either fear or joy). When God acts, there is a sudden turn of events that establishes the righteous and crushes the wicked. Jordan: Isaac is a sign of both salvation and judgment. Isaac s announcement brings joy to Abraham and Sarah, and brings destruction to Sodom and Gomorrah. Samson is another miracle son (like Isaac) who does humorous things to encourage the hearts of the saints. Satan thought he had won at the cross surprise! Salvation and judgment often come together in the Scriptures. For example, the Flood saved the righteous but destroyed the wicked; the Red Sea saved Israel and destroyed Egypt. The birth of Isaac is a sign of hope for the righteous and of judgment on the wicked. Eveson: Abraham and Sarah were taught that the coming of the promised seed would involve the direct activity of God. Isaac, the type, was the result of a divine miracle in the womb of Genesis II Notes. Doc p. 70 DSB 9-Sep-05
Sarah. Christ, the antitype, was born as a result of God s miraculous activity in the womb of Mary (cp. Lk. 1:34-38; Mk. 10:26-27). C. Evaluation of the Wicked (18:16-33) 1. Friend of God (18:16-19) Jordan: In 18:16, God looks toward Sodom. God lifts His eyes to judge Sodom, and Abraham is there with Him. He is part of the evaluation team he is a council member. Jordan, Eveson, & Duguid: Abraham is the only person in the Old Testament to receive the title friend of God (2 Chr. 20:7; Is. 41:8; James 2:23). This phrase, friend of God has a technical meaning. The idea is not of God s befriending Abraham, but of God s taking Abraham into his confidence like a friend (Jn. 15:14-15). In John 15:14-15, Jesus says that a slave doesn t know what the master is doing, but a friend knows what the master knows. A friend is the closest privy counselor to the king and appears to be an official position in Israel (cp. 1 Kgs. 4:5; 2 Sam. 15:37; 16:16-17; 1 Chr. 27:33). Mordecai is a king s friend. Joseph is an example of one who goes from a slave to king s friend. This is the passage that shows God treating Abraham as God s friend. Abraham has access to the privy council of God. Duguid & Baldwin: Abraham, the friend of God, was the man to whom God opened His heart and with whom He shared His thoughts. The Lord brought Abraham into His deliberation concerning Sodom. It was as though for a few moments they were again in the garden of Eden. This extra privilege was included as part of the relationship. Abraham was, after all, a prophet, and in the Bible the Lord regularly announces His plans in advance to His prophets (cp. Amos 3:7). Eveson: God gave three reasons for sharing with Abraham (18:17-19). Firstly, he had promised that Abraham would be a great and mighty nation. Secondly, God had singled him out. Thirdly, God had in mind the creation of a God-fearing community. Duguid & Jordan: Abraham was directed to instruct his own children and his household to keep the way of the Lord (18:19). First came grace; after grace there must follow obedience. Grace was not transmitted automatically to Abraham s offspring, but rather, as a general rule, through godly parenting. Abraham was directed to instruct his children properly. The earth is to be blessed by the children of Abraham as they are raised righteously, then as today. In the mysteries of providence, the Holy Spirit commonly works through the influence, teaching, and discipline of godly parents from the earliest of days. The same message is illustrated in reverse by the example of Lot s family. Every one of Lot s children was lost, even the two that escaped the judgment on Sodom. Meanwhile, Abraham will raise all his children not just Isaac to spread the gospel and permeate the nations (at least temporarily). This lesson should not have been lost on the first readers of Genesis. Judgment could fall on disobedient Israel as easily as on unrighteous Sodom and Gomorrah. Their fate was a warning to Israel not to ignore the reality of the judgment to come. 2. I Will Go Down (18:20-21) Jordan & Eveson: Why does God say I will go down, when it was actually the angels who went? It reminds us of previous acts of divine judgment (11:5, 7). God s estimate of the situation (18:20) recalls the introduction to the Flood account (6:5). The cry of shed blood from the wickedness of Sodom called out, just like Abel s blood (cp. Gen. 4:10). This is parallel to the Exodus where the cry of the people in Egypt leads to the Angel of Death delivering judgment Genesis II Notes. Doc p. 71 DSB 9-Sep-05
on Egypt and deliverance to Israel by pulling the people out. God sends His angels because they are His messengers and His eyes. The cherubim of Ezekiel are full of eyes. In Zechariah, the angels are God s eyes to inspect. So God sends His angels to inspect and judge Sodom. Also, the two angels brings to mind the concept of two witnesses to confirm the judgment. 3. The Fate of the Righteous and the Wicked (18:22-33) Duguid: The friend of God was also the friend of sinners. He was not a friend of sinners in the way that Lot was, so hopelessly compromised with them that there was little that was distinctive about him. His friendship with sinners led him to intercede on their behalf. Eveson: This was the second intervention of Abraham on behalf of Sodom. He was concerned not only for his nephew, but for others in that doomed city. In this Abraham is unique among the great intercessors of the Old Testament, such as Moses, Samuel, Amos, and Jeremiah, who prayed for their own people only. Abraham points us to the great Intercessor of the new covenant, the Lord Jesus, who prayed for His enemies and taught His followers to do the same. Baldwin & Duguid: Despite his intimacy with the Lord, Abraham never becomes familiar. Abraham didn t suggest that God would be unrighteous to take vengeance. Abraham simply argued that it would be unjust to include the righteous in the fate of the wicked. Abraham built his prayer upon what he knew of God s character, and argued on the basis of God s integrity. Once our prayers are squarely based on God s word we can, like Abraham, be bold and persevering, and continue until we receive the Lord s reassurance. Duguid: Abraham was concerned with the possible leavening influence of the righteous. Abraham was concerned that premature destruction might root out the Lord s harvest (cp. Mt. 13:24-30). Was that why he stopped his intercession at ten righteous men? A minimum number of righteous people was needed to have that leavening effect. That number was later laid down as the minimum necessary to form a synagogue. Jordan: Another traditional view of this debate is that Abraham is a Jewish merchant arguing down the price! Why did Abraham get down to 10 righteous individuals? The common view is that ten represents the number of Lot s family. We know of Lot, his wife, sons (plural 2 at least), sons-in-law (at least 2, with married daughters), and unmarried daughters (2 of them), for a total of at least 10 people. However, that s not what is going on here. Jordan: Abraham knows this is the final judgment. Abraham has already saved the city once after it was destroyed by Chedorlaomer in Genesis 14. Abraham brought Melchizadek in and the gospel had been preached here, but it was rejected by the king of Sodom. Sodom had heard the gospel and turned away. Abraham knows that the wickedness of the Amorite is now full. Abraham s point is will God ever destroy the righteous with the wicked? God does not destroy the righteous with the wicked ever! Before the destruction of Sodom, He takes the righteous out. That s what Abraham learns from all these questions. The question is not, does God ever chastise the righteous with the wicked? Of course, the righteous do suffer in history, but at the end, when the wheat and tares are separated, the righteous are never destroyed. Even in Sodom, God pulls the righteous out. The righteous do suffer along with the wicked in history, but in the Final Judgment, the righteous are always separated. Jordan: The destruction of Jerusalem is always compared with the destruction of Sodom. Nebuchadnezzar besieged the city and the people in their desperation let the slaves go (as they should have long before). When Nebuchadnezzar leaves, they take the slaves back. The next Genesis II Notes. Doc p. 72 DSB 9-Sep-05
time Nebuchadnezzar comes, he destroys the city. In AD 66, the Romans surround the city. When they are called away, Jerusalem does not repent, and so the second time the Romans come, Jerusalem is destroyed in AD 70. Here, Sodom was destroyed once (Gen. 14) and there was no repentance; so now comes total destruction (Gen. 19). Conclusion Rom. 9:6b-9 6 For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, 7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but In Isaac your seed shall be called. 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. 9 For this is the word of promise: At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son. So, God comes to visit Abraham. And what a visit it was. After a fellowship or communion meal, God gives further revelation concerning the promised Seed to come (cp. Rom. 9:6b-9). But along with the good news of the promised Seed, God has also come in judgment. For the wickedness of Sodom was full. When God comes in blessing, He also comes in judgment. This is the Day of the Lord. Jordan: Abraham was the Friend of God (James 2:23). He had access to God s council in a special way. Today, we are all King s Friends in the New Testament. We have God s complete revelation we have all the knowledge of God. We have access to come to the Most Holy Place in prayer to discuss with God. We can bring our petitions and advice to God we have access to God. Duguid: Ezekiel 16 describes in graphic detail the wickedness of Jerusalem and the judgment coming upon it. Jerusalem is portrayed as more wicked than Sodom. But then Ezekiel goes on to speak of a restoration a restoration not only for Jerusalem, but one that includes Sodom. Sodom was to be destroyed, but it can be restored. Even though Sodom was the very height of wickedness, it is not beyond the reach of God s grace. The wickedness of Sodom, left to itself, is inevitably doomed. Wickedness will be judged. In Genesis 18, we have before us two different peoples. On the one hand, there are the people of faith, joined to Abraham. On the other hand, there are the children of wrath, facing certain destruction. Which group are you in? Close in Prayer. Next week: Lesson 9 The Destruction of Sodom Gen. 19:1-38 (Duguid chapter 9) Genesis II Notes. Doc p. 73 DSB 9-Sep-05