Genesis 18B (2011) As we began this chapter last week, I made mentin f tw utstanding issues in Abraham s relatinship that Gd must reslve befre the prmised child is brn First was the issue f Sarah Mre specifically, the issue is Sarah s faith r lack theref We have been watching Abraham grw in his faith and reliance n Gd, but until chapter 18, we heard little abut Sarah and her relatinship with Gd We knw she has been fllwing Abraham bediently and patiently And we heard last week frm 1Peter that Sarah is an example f hw a wman s beauty is best exhibited in her willingness t shw respect fr her husband Nevertheless, her bedience t Abraham is nt a substitute fr faith in Gd s wrd And when she persnally heard Gd s wrd - prbably fr the first time - her initial respnse was unbelief But the Lrd in her presence revealed her unbelief and brught cnvictin Thugh Sarah initially lied t cver up her sin, Hebrews tells us that this encunter led her t faith And by that faith, she gained the ability t cnceive S nw Abraham s faith is matched by a wman f faith, and int that family f believers, the child f prmise will be brn The secnd issue Gd will reslve in chapter 18 is Abraham s lack f appreciatin fr Gd s full nature and character Up t this pint, Gd has revealed nly ne side f His character and nature 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 18B 2 Abraham has experienced Gd s mercy when He called Abraham ut f Ur Abraham has experienced Gd s grace when He prnunced Abraham righteus by faith He has experience Gd s faithfulness when Gd kept His wrd t rescue Abraham ut f Egypt and bless him thugh Abraham sinned He has experienced Gd s gdness as he received assurances f an inheritance and a sn Yet if Abraham is t fully understand the Gd he wrships and serves, Abraham must appreciate the full nature f Gd s character That means Abraham must understand that Gd is als a Gd f justice, and judgment and wrath against sin Withut a healthy perspective f Gd, Abraham and his family wuld fail t appreciate and understand the seriusness f Gd s wrd And the high expectatins that hliness requires S as we pick up again in this chapter, the Lrd unflds a plan t shw Abraham anther side t His character and nature And the Lrd gives Abraham an pprtunity t participate with the Lrd in this plan s that Abraham might learn thrugh his relatinship Gen. 18:16 Then the men rse up frm there, and lked dwn tward Sdm; and Abraham was walking with them t send them ff. Gen. 18:17 The LORD said, Shall I hide frm Abraham what I am abut t d, Gen. 18:18 since Abraham will surely becme a great and mighty natin, and in him all the natins f the earth will be blessed? Gen. 18:19 Fr I have chsen him, s that he may cmmand his children and his husehld after him t keep the way f the LORD by ding righteusness and justice, s that the LORD may bring upn Abraham what He has spken abut him. After the meal, the Lrd and the tw angels (which Mses cntinues t call men ) prepare t mve tward Sdm Abraham we re tld mves with the men t send them ff 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 18B 3 This was t be expected, much like we walk a guest t the dr f ur hme tday In that day, Abraham wuld have accmpanied the men t limits f his encampment, prbably t pint f where his livestck were grazing As they walk, Mses recrds the wrds f the Lrd Curiusly, these wrds are nt spken t Abraham, as far as we can tell By the Spirit, Gd revealed this detail t Mses That s n different then the way Mses received all the details f these stries It s n less remarkable that Mses knew abut Sarah in the tent r any ther detail f Abraham s life In all cases, Mses must have received these details frm the Lrd As students f Scripture, ur respnsibility is t ask why did the Lrd want us t knw these thughts, thughts the Lrd didn t even reveal t Abraham himself The thught is phrased in the frm f a questin Shall I hide...? But since the questin is never asked t anyne (and because we knw the Lrd already has the answer), then we recgnize this is really a statement I want t shw Abraham... Gd is ging t invite Abraham int the next series f events And what exactly is Gd trying t shw Abraham? Gd gives us the answer in vs.18-19 We need t rephrase the Lrd s wrds frm a questin t a statement t understand it 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 18B 4 Gd begins: Abraham will surely becme a great and mighty natin, and thrugh that natin, I will bless all the natins f the earth I have chsen him t raise up this natin, and by his experiences and example, I will train up his husehld and all thse wh will fllw Tgether, they must understand that the way f the Lrd is bth righteusness and justice s they may receive all that I have prmised. The key t understanding the Lrd s thughts is in the tw halves that define the way f the Lrd Righteusness and justice Gd is a Gd f righteusness: perfect in nature and thught and deed always ding what is gd Perfect in mercy and lve and blessing But He is als a Gd f justice: perfect in judgment, always bringing wrath fr sin and never verlking injustice Gd s perfectin and righteusness cmpel Him t bring a just penalty against every sin in His creatin Gd s peple must understand and appreciate bth sides f Gd s character if we are t truly knw Him, serve Him and be blessed The Gspel at its cre is a message f bth judgment and mercy We have sinned against Gd He is a Gd f righteusness, s He must judge all sin and there must be a payment fr ur debt But because He is als merciful and lving, He has made a payment available n ur behalf in Christ Jesus Christ lived a perfectly righteus life that pleased a righteus Gd, and then paid ur debt n the crss t satisfy the wrath f Gd against sin 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 18B 5 That s the full Gspel message But increasingly, churches preach nly ne half f the Gspel Sme are preaching Gd s lve withut justice They talk f Gd s mercy withut acknwledging his wrath fr sin Cnveniently, they never draw attentin t the depravity f ur hearts, the hliness f Gd and the terrible price He requires fr sin, eternal death They give n attentin t the crss f Christ, nr the atnement f His bld sacrifice, nr Gd s expectatins that His peple have been bught with a price and must nw put aside sin and live a life that is hly and pleasing Instead, they preach Gd lves everyne regardless f the cnditin f their heart, that He wants us t be rich and that ur best life is nw rather than in the glry f His presence On the ther side, sme preach f Gd s justice and wrath fr sin withut the grace f Gd s frgiveness and mercy This message wrks t expse and cndemn ur sin, always emphasizing we are sinners and in debt t Gd They verlk that ur righteusness befre Gd is nt btained by ur wrks but by faith alne in Christ s wrk Typically, this view emphasizes Gd s judgment s much that they aspire t the rle f judge themselves, judging and cndemning thers fr sin In place f Gd s mercy and grace, they teach legalism, because they cnfuse fllwing human rules with pleasing Gd by faith These unbalanced messages are nt the gspel and they d nt yield true disciples Thse wh preach nly lve withut justice will attract unbelievers wh seek apprval fr their sinful lifestyles and the desires f the flesh, and want Gd s acceptance withut repentance f sin 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 18B 6 Thse wh preach nly Gd s wrath withut grace will appeal t unbelievers wh seek t be saved by their wrks rather than by humbling their hearts and relying upn Christ s wrk alne Gd wants Abraham t be a man wh can teach a husehld and a natin abut the full nature f Gd s that the Gspel might be truly understd Hw des Gd accmplish this plan fr Abraham? Simply put: thrugh prayer in actin Gd will reveal His intentins t Abraham s heart and s that Abraham may act t intercede thrugh prayer And by thse prayers, Gd will d a wrk in Abraham as well Gen. 18:20 And the LORD said, The utcry f Sdm and Gmrrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. Gen. 18:21 I will g dwn nw, and see if they have dne entirely accrding t its utcry, which has cme t Me; and if nt, I will knw. Gen. 18:22 Then the men turned away frm there and went tward Sdm, while Abraham was still standing befre the LORD. In Abraham s presence, the Lrd annunces His next stpping place He and His messengers had visited Abraham, where they had been refreshed And nw the Lrd annunces He will make Sdm His next stp Sdm and Gmrrah were tw sister twns lcated in the fertile valley at the suthern end f the Dead Sea There is virtually n archelgical evidence f their existence tday, fr reasns that will becme apparent later in this stry But they were renwn in their day - and still tday - fr their depravity, in particular unnatural sexual practices Of curse, the wrd sdmy cmes frm these practices We als remember this is the place Lt decided t settle when he separated frm Abraham 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 18B 7 As Abraham ffered Lt the pprtunity t select any place in the land, Lt saw the well watered land f Sdm and pitched his tents utside the city Later, we discvered that Lt had mved int the city, S when the kings f the nrth invaded and captured the city, they tk Lt and his family as well The Lrd annunced t Abraham that the sin f this city is exceedingly great and grave and He must visit the city t inspect the situatin The Hebrew wrds in v.20 carry imprtant meaning The wrd great in Hebrew means numerus, as in quantity The wrd fr grave means abunding in hnr r respected Taken tgether, the Lrd says the perversins f Sdm have becme cmmnplace (everyne is ding it) and hnred and respected (everyne says it s OK) We shuld take nte that anytime a culture begins t practice and accept sinful perversins, they are ripe fr Gd s interventin Hw He chses t respnd is a matter f His timing and purpses, but even if delays fr a time, that shuldn t ffer cmfrt fr the sinner Judgment will cme eventually fr everyne, whether in death at the Lrd s cming In this case, Gd decided t bring earthly judgment tday t train Abraham, s He says He will visit this city t learn if the reprts are true Like the questin in vs.17-18, we knw Gd desn t lack fr understanding r knwledge f the situatin He knws hw sinful these cities are already S the Lrd s statement was given fr a purpse, t accmplish a wrk in Abraham And we can see that in the way the Lrd sends messengers t investigate, yet He Himself stays with Abraham 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 18B 8 It s clear t us as we read this descriptin that the Lrd is waiting with Abraham fr a reasn And that reasn is s that Abraham will engage with the Lrd in the cnversatin that fllws Befre we lk at the exchange, take a mment t ntice hw much the Lrd lves His children and desires a relatinship with them D yu see hw the Lrd is wrking all things here fr Abraham s benefit? He has planned his visit frm the beginning t expse Abraham t Gd s wrk n earth He visited with Abraham, ate with him, walked with him And nw reveals his His heart fr justice and His plans t inspect the city Obviusly, the Lrd need nt d any f these things The Lrd culd have brught judgment upn the cities withut s much as a wrd t Abraham But the Lrd lngs t make Himself knwn t His children, and He des that by inviting us int His wrk And Abraham fr his part, received the Lrd, ate with the Lrd, walked with the Lrd and listened t the vice f the Lrd As Christians we are given instructin in the New Testament t adpt all f these same practices T receive the Lrd and fellwship with Him thrugh the Spirit in ur hearts and baptism T eat with the Lrd in remembrance f His sacrifice n the crss T walk with the Lrd in seeking the cunsel f His wrd and beying it T listen t the vice f the Lrd speaking thrugh the Spirit in prayer and study 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 18B 9 Having taken thse steps, we will be in a psitin fr the Lrd t invite us int His wrk s that we may be trained up thrugh it But if these disciplines are lacking in ur life, the wrk f the Lrd ges n with r withut us He is dependent n n ne, but He ges ut f His way t include His children in His wrk Because that is the heart f a father Yu may have heard me tell the stry f father wh has a yung sn And the father intends t cmplete a prject in his garage He has an ld car that needs sme engine repair And thrugh a lifetime f experience wrking n engines, the father has learned many valuable lessns He learned patience t practice the right techniques He learned attentin t detail He learned hw t rganize his wrk and hw t care fr his tls He learned hw t vercme set backs and persevere when his first attempts fail And nw the father wants t share thse learnings with his yung sn S the father puts n his wrk clthes and annunces ludly s as t make sure his sn will hear him, I m ging t spend sme time in the garage, and I sure culd use sme help... What des the father hpe t see happen next? He hpes his sn will jump at the chance t be included in his wrk He wants the sn t recgnize the signs f his father at wrk (i.e., the clthes, the tls in his hands, the annuncement) 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 18B 10 And he wants the sn t accept the invitatin The sn culd chse t ignre the signs Or the sn culd recgnize there was wrk ging n yet simply decline t jin in In either case, the father s wrk will be dne anyway But what a shame that the sn wuld lse an pprtunity t jin his father He never receives the lessns the father was prepared t teach He frges the maturing pprtunity that these experiences will prduce Mst f all, what a shame that the sn wuld frfeit an pprtunity t build a clser relatinship with his father That s what s at stake fr us a sns f ur Father in Heaven If we re willing t be hnest with urselves, we knw hw t recgnize the Father at wrk We see the telltale signs all arund us Gd steps int ur day with an annuncement that His wrk is at hand and He invite us t participate with Him Smetimes He speaks thrugh a church annuncement r missin trip r vlunteer request where we have pprtunity t serve Smetimes it s a jb change r persnal tragedy Smetimes it s a cwrker r a friend wh asks us fr advice Smetimes it s a prayer request Smetimes it s a knck at the dr, literally And when we see these pprtunities, we can stay silent r we can jump in The chice is urs as are the blessings 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.