Genesis 16 : “The Tragedy of the Shortcut”

SUMMARY:

·        Gen.12:1-9:  God's covenant with Abraham. God would bless him, make him a great nation;  through him all the families of the earth would be blessed. His descendants would inherit the land of Canaan. God would bless those who blessed him, and curse those who cursed him.

·        Gen.12:10-20:  Abram's faith is tested and he fails because  he does not trust God  when he  goes to Egypt. 

·        Gen. 13 &14,  by contrast  reveals  the triumph of Abram’s faith. 

·        Gen. 15: Here God reaffirms His covenant with Abram in a most striking and picturesque way. Here we also find that great declaration that Abram was justified by faith.  Genesis 15:6 is a fundamental text for Paul when he established the doctrine of justification by faith. This covenant  is more fundamental than Sinai, and its basis  was  grace and not law. Here God does two important things for Abram.

(i)                God reiterates His covenant promises to Abram.

(ii)              God confirms that covenant by a  sacrifice of blood. God binds  Himself  with a strong  oath to Abram. 

That is the background which brings us to Genesis 16, and sadly here we find another crisis in Abram’s faith.   This chapter   teaches us something about the unhappy consequences of trying to force God’s hand. It is the age old tragedy of taking the spiritual shortcut.   Just when we had thought that Abram had learned all the vital spiritual  lessons   following his  previous lapse of faith,  just when we  would have expected him to  move on in  spiritual victory, we find him capitulating  yet again to faithlessness  and unbelief.

Central to the story of Abram is the promise of a son. The opening verse, “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children…” [16:1], needs to be read in the context of the preceding chapter 15. In 15:2 Abram asks God, “What will you give me, for I continue childless?” God answers him,“… your very own son shall be your heir” [15:4].  And in 15:8   Abram presses God concerning the promise of land again, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”  Then, in 15:9-21 follows the making of a solemn covenant of which God is the instigator. In this irrevocable covenant God binds himself to giving Abram a promised land and an heir from his covenant wife Sarai.

Now, back to 16: 1b-2 and these tragic words: ” (Sarai) had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram. ‘Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children (never mind the promise of 15:4). Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.’ And Abram  listened to the voice of Sarai.”

You would have  thought that if you had  had such a close encounter  with God  and such strong reassurance  from  God  as Abram did,  or from a NT perspective,   if you had  seen the miracles, works, wisdom  and weighty words  of Jesus,  you would have  thought  that you would never doubt God again. Think again.  All these experiences failed to keep Abram from trusting in God’s promises.   

And all this  begs us to ask  those  great questions  again, “Who then can be righteous?  “Who can be saved, if no one is righteous…if no one is faithful?”,[1] and, “How can I be saved from this corrupt and faithless mind and body?”[2]  The entire basis  of  Abram’s  justification  and our justification  becomes  a talking point  for us , and we know  that it cannot be  our personal righteousness or faithfulness  that justifies us  before  this holy God.   The Bible insists that our justification is by grace through faith in God alone. Our works do follow, and in the main we see that Abram loves  and follows God, but he would never meet the criteria  of having perfectly obeyed  God in everything.  Only Jesus would do that!

And so, the very first   insight from this passage is this: Our salvation  and our life before God  is all of grace and never on the basis of our works. Our salvation is a miracle.   God  sovereignly chose Abram out of a pagan society , and God  eventually chooses  to glorify  Himself in  a miracle birth. Sarai’s  eventual conception of Isaac, will be against all human odds. God remains that God who brings  things out of nothing , and He shares His glory with no one!

The second insight is this: We human beings, even we Christians  have a hard time trusting God for His promises.  God has made a clear and strong commitment  to Abram and Sarai in Chapter 15 , and   yet according to  Abram and Sarai things are not happening fast enough. And so Sarai began to scheme. The modern equivalent of that scheme is called ‘surrogate motherhood’. Many years ago a woman came to me  and  told me that she had  been approached to be  a surrogate mother. Having studied the ethics and the emotional  implications  I advised her against it. Whether she went ahead or not, I do not know.  

From my reading, I also  learned that it was not an uncommon custom  even  in that day  for childless  women  to obtain children  through  another woman. For instance,  Hamurabi,a Babylonian king (c.1750 BC)  produced a  code of laws. Law 146 refers to a childless   wife giving  a female slave to her husband  to bear children[3].  In Genesis 30, in the family drama of Jacob   we also find this practise repeated as Rachel and Leah take turns in the baby race.  So, the prevailing culture was sanctioning this, but God did not. 

 

Paul makes reference to this in Galatians 4:21-23 in which he makes a contrast between Hagar and Sarah:  "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 the 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…". Paul’s plain point here is that the slave woman’s son was the result of a fleshly act. The sinful will of Abram and Sarai produced Ishmael-  which is  essentially a failure to trust  in the Lord . The will of God was to wait for Isaac, the son of the promise.  And here is the problem. Patience and trust in God’s purposes! It has been 10 years since Abram has arrived in Canaan, and still no offspring.  And so, he buckles under the persistent pressure of his wife, and the consequences are there for us to see. In many ways this story reminds us of the Garden of Eden.  That was exactly what Sarai’s first parents, Adam and Eve, did.   And why did Abram not rebuke Sarai for her unbelief and remind her  of the promises of God?  Why did he not say to her, “Sarai, God will provide a child. He always keeps his promise. Let’s keep trusting him. We don’t need  Hagar to get a child.”    But he did not do that. And so they went against God’s explicit command.  

Now, it is clear that Sarai knew that her childlessness was from the Lord - cf.  16:2, and as far as that was concerned she understood the doctrine of the sovereignty of God. So what was the problem? Well, the doctrine of the sovereignty of God  was in conflict with her desire!  And so, even though Abram and Sarai knew good theology , they weren’t good at  practical theology  in terms of waiting upon God’s  fulfilment, and so  they  began to think pragmatically , and they began to scheme as to how they might help God  out  this matter – after all , as the oft quoted Proverb says, “ God helps those that help themselves!”  This is  probably the most often quoted phrase that is not found in the Bible. Whatever the original source of this saying, the Bible teaches the opposite. God helps the helpless!

From this impatience and this lack of trust in God flow all the negative consequences in this decision and so in vv. 3-6 we see a  string of  consequences of Abram and Sarai's decision.  It's a mess!  And no one is happy. 

Hagar, as soon as she conceives, looks with contempt on her mistress (vv. 4,5).Sarai herself is filled with envy and with bitterness, and that bitterness overflows into blaming Abram (v.5). Abram in return does what men do so well. He throws the ball back into her court:   ‘I thought this was your idea’, and he takes the hands off approach … ‘Do as you please… I’m out of here!’ (v.6)    The next  thing which happens is that Sarai abuses Hagar  to the point  at which she can take it no longer and she flees from her.  Abram’s unhappy, Sarai is unhappy, Hagar is unhappy.  Nobody wins. This is the tragedy of the  shortcut.

...AND AGAIN,   GOD’S GRACE !

vv. 4-14   The results of Sarai's  abuse.  Hagar flees into the wilderness, where she is  comforted by an  angel of the Lord at  a spring of water in the wilderness. Here we see the next great   see the next great  wonderful truth in  terms of the character and the attributes of God. God cares for the vulnerable. Although God’s great  redemptive plan  through Abram remains the central  focus of  the Bible story, yet we learn also  that  God cared for Hagar, and her offspring even  though she was insignificant with regard to  redemptive history.  We learn that even though God has a particular love for His people , we can also  truly say that God loves the world! Even though Abram had been unfaithful in his dealings with Hagar, God was faithful to her.  He gives her a son.  Ishmael means, "God hears.” He reveals Himself to her, He blesses her, He promises her protection, and  promises that her  offspring  would  also  become a great nation.  But  the kind of blessing that is given to her and the words that are spoken about Ishmael remind us of the difference between the blessings upon Jacob and Esau. God blessed Esau, but all the blessings that He gave him in Genesis 27 were earthly and temporal blessings. All the spiritual blessings  and eternal blessings went to Jacob. So also, we will see  that the promises given to  Ishmael  were not spiritual but temporal blessings. Again and again we see the distinction that God makes in His plan of redemption.

God gives this prophecy about her son, “He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility towards all his brothers” (v.12). That proves to be the history of Ishmael. He wandered like a wild donkey, always on the move, unable to put down roots, a divisive influence everywhere, even against his own brothers. In Islam, Ishmael is regarded as a prophet and an ancestor to Muhammad. He also became associated with Mecca and the construction of the Kaaba, as well as equated with the term "Arab" by some.[4]

Vv. 15,16. The birth of Ishmael is recorded, but in terms of the promises of the covenant,  this  has not taken  Abram forward towards the fulfillment of God's promises towards him. In fact, he has complicated things, and as a result of this there will be many troubles waiting for Abram.  In the mean-time  God was still going to have to do a miracle to bring the son of promise into the world through Sarai.

VITAL LESSONS

We say after so many sermons, “Thank you, Lord, for saying this to me, and now I’m going to do something about it,” and that is good, but this passage reminds us again that we need to be  not only careful listeners and theologians. We need to be careful and patient hearers who do not  chose the  shortcut , but who wait upon the Lord.  

We need to remember that God is not dependent on our scheming.  And God will bring about His purposes without our interference.  We must learn to trust God’s promises.  

Perhaps God has you in a place where all you can do is stand still.   By nature we do not like that. But we need to be careful not to be tempted to take the shortcut.  Do not grieve the Lord by your impatience. Do not seek ways of accomplishing what God alone is able to do.  

Nowhere can this be more challenging than in the urgency we sometimes sense in getting kingdom work done.  We must remember that men and women are born of God alone into His family. The new birth is His work. Not ours! When it doesn’t happen quickly enough in your children or in the church don’t try to help God out. Pray and wait upon the genuine work of God. Abram didn’t need to produce the promised Seed by his own strength. He needed God to come and do what He had decided to do. He needed to believe God- and  so do you!   Amen .

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[1] Rom  3:9-18

[2] Rom 7:15-24

[3] Philip Eveson: The Book of Origins , Evangelical Press,  pp 299-300

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishmael_in_Islam

Acts 13:13- 52 ”Paul’s First Recorded Gospel Sermon”

Note the journey so far: Antioch - Seleucia (Syria) - Salamis and Paphos (Cyprus) - sailed to Perga in Pamphilia (John Mark left here to go back to Jerusalem - see comment in Acts 15:36 - 41) - Antioch (in Pisidia- 160 km's beyond the mountains from Perga).

Pisidian Antioch (Galatia) 13: 14 – 52: This is where our main focus and interest now lies. Like Antioch in Syria   (today Antakya, now a poor town with a few thousand inhabitants) Antioch in Galatia (today in ruins and close to the village of Yalvac in the Isparta province in southern Turkey) was founded by Seleucus Nicator, founder of the Seleucid Dynasty.[1] He founded nearly 60 cities, and 16 of them were named in honour of his father Antiochus.

Our text   can be divided into three sections:

(i)               Paul’s  Gospel Preaching  13:14-37

(ii)             Application of that which he  preached : 13:38-41

(iii)           Response to what  he preached  13:42-52

Observe:

• This is a Jewish context; it's a synagogue, attended by Jews and God-fearing gentiles (13:16, 26, 44, 48).  It was his habit to go to the synagogue (cf. also 13:5) - to the Jews first. 
•   The liturgy: V. 15 “after reading from the law and the prophets” – part of the liturgy.  The Synagogue service would have begun with the Shema (Deut.  6: 4ff:" Hear oh Israel, the Lord your God is one God. Love the Lord your God…), some prayers… some Scripture readings, from the law, prophets etc., followed by an   expository sermon, concluding with a blessing. 
•   Paul and Barnabas were visitors. Perhaps they recognised from his   dress that Paul was a Rabbi - therefore he was invited to bring a word of   encouragement. 
•   In this context people know the Old Testament Scriptures, so the sermon is full of quotations from the Old Testament:  Psalm 2:7, Psalm 16:10, Isa. 55:3, Hab. 1:5. Paul is preaching to people who are familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures. This is very interesting because in Chapter 14, to the pagans at Lystra (14: 8 - 18), and the philosophers at Athens (17:16- 34), the sermon will be different- different content, different style, different approach.  But in all the sermons the final focus is essentially the same:  Jesus Christ and he crucified!
• Evangelistic preaching demands that we understand our hearers – the context, their background, their ability to understand.

So this is Paul’s first recorded sermon by Luke who undertook to write an orderly account (Lk. 1:3). This is not the first sermon that Paul had preached. We know of occasions where he had preached  in Damascus,  Jerusalem, in Antioch in Syria, on the island of Cyprus, but it is here in  Pisidian Antioch that we get the first insight  into  the content of Paul’s gospel  preaching  - the message of this salvation v. 26 ;  the  good news  (gospel) in v. 32 .  

The Theme of Paul's Sermon  

"How the God of this people Israel (v. 17) has brought the Saviour – Jesus, to Israel - just as He promised “(v.23).  

The Substance of Paul’s Sermon - 13: 14-37

Paul presents  Jesus  as the climax of biblical history and in facing a Hebrew congregation, a people familiar with the scriptures, it  is  important that he  reasons with them from the  Old Testament scripture.  He begins with  the patriarchs , and speaks about the  time  in Egypt under Moses and the Exodus, the period of the Judges, mentioning  the major figure Samuel  who gave Israel their first king , Saul  and then David.  From David he makes a giant leap to John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah … Jesus.  A son of David, it was expected in Israel, was going to be the Messiah…and here He is!   Paul says that Jesus was the fulfilment of biblical prophecy. So, what Paul is doing here is that he is interpreting the Old Testament for them. He's giving them a key to understand their Old Testament history, and he is saying to the, “Look, here He is!”

But it’s not so simple : The  leading  religious  rulers and  men among the Jews did not recognise this Jesus , because they did not understand the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath. So, they condemned Him (v.27) but even that, says Paul was in fulfilment of the Scriptures (vv. 27b-29). They simply did what was written … what was predicted by the prophets.

But more than that, and here comes the exciting part, God raised Him from the dead! The risen Lord Jesus, unlike His human ancestor David - did not taste death and decay. He arose, and took death and sin and Satan captive. They hold no more terror for those who put their trust in Jesus. (v.30). The Resurrection is the proof and vindication of the fact that Christ is the Messiah. And more than that, He appeared too many who witnesses of this fact (v.31) were. And all this is a fulfilment of the OT Scriptures (vv.  33-37). this is the sum and substance of the gospel of Jesus   the Messiah - His life and His death and His resurrection.

The Application of Paul’s Sermon - 13:38-41

The preaching of the Gospel  leads to  making a choice between life and death, and it all depends on what we will do with Jesus.

1.     LIFE: Justification by faith vv. 38,39

Through this man …

(i)              v. 38! Forgiveness of sins is effectively achieved – once and for all! Jesus is the end of the sacrificial system. Forgiveness in Christ, the Lamb of God is absolute and final.

(ii)            v. 39! Freed from the demands of law – no one kept the law. The word freed is the word for justification.  No one is justified by obedience to the Law plus faith in Jesus Christ. The Law (holy as it is) cannot contribute anything to our justification.  The law (which no one keeps) can only declare us guilty before God.  Jesus secured salvation for us by inviting us to look to Him. He alone can justify us. That is Paul’s gospel.  Notice too, how he speaks of “everyone who believes”   i.e.  Jew and Gentile – the whole world, whoever believes is freed and saved!

2.     DEATH: vv. 40, 41

A warning from the prophets (based on Hab. 1:5).  Those that do not believe the gospel are scoffers, and they will perish!  They will incur the wrath of God. Their sins will be on their own head, and they themselves have to bear the consequences for this.

This leads to the next and last point - the conclusion.

The Consequences of Paul’s Sermon - 13:42 - 52

(i)         Invited to speak further about these things - next Sabbath (v. 42)

(ii)      An amazing response - "almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord" (Note: crowd is not an achievement - it is an opportunity).

(iii)     A mixed response: The word of God will always have that sort of effect in any community!

           ·       The Jews were filled with jealousy- did not appreciate this opportunity (v.45) - caused them to be expelled from their region (v.50) ;

              ·       The gentiles were glad, - and honoured the word of the Lord (v.48).

The overall effect however was this:  "The word of the Lord spread through the whole region." (v.49).Wherever the Word about Jesus   goes it will bear fruit. That is the typical pattern. Those who respond best are usually those who have had few religious privileges. Those who are hardest of hearing are usually those who have heard the Gospel often, but remain unresponsive and even hostile!

And notice the effect on the disciples of Jesus   (v.52). After they were driven out of the city, “they were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit…” It wasn’t the persecution that they rejoiced in as much as knowing that the Word of God was producing the right effects. That is what Paul and Barnabas were sensing here.

What is the Ultimate Purpose of Preaching the Gospel?

Why did Paul and Barnabas embark on this so called "First Missionary journey"?  

Why did they travel so far - just to speak to people in Pisidian Antioch?

Why should we be concerned about the spiritual plight of people in far countries?

Why should we go out of our way and speak to some stranger about his/her need for the gospel?

Paul and Barnabas were essentially convinced from the OT Scriptures, and from the Life and Teaching of Jesus that people are lost in their sins and trespasses, and unless they embrace this good news they were going perish.

Those that have been entrusted with the Gospel are responsible to tell the Gospel. We are responsible for this generation. Are you praying and working for the advance of the gospel?   

What on earth are we doing for heaven’s sake?

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[1] Seleucid dynasty, which existed from 312 BC to 63 BC, following the death of Alexander the Great

Genesis 15 - "Abram Assured and Re-assured"

If you are like me, then I suspect that you have times in your life when you need assurance and re- assurance that you are indeed doing the right thing or whether you are on the right road. Often we tend to become anxious and fearful of the future in the light of present developments. Those can be dangerous times, depending who we are listening to. The Bible always directs us seek God and His Word. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God” (James 1:5). In the Christian ministry I have often needed to ask the Lord for assurance as to whether I was doing the right thing, and in doing so I have needed to search His Word. The counsel of Christian friends and colleagues who have drawn my attention to the Word of God in various matters has been invaluable.   

In the text before us we have a situation in which we find Abram in such a position, and the situation arises as a result of the happenings in Chapter 14 and even before that! Let’s take a step back and take it from the beginning. We had met Abram in Chapter 12. He was a pagan man from Ur in Mesopotamia. God, the true God and Creator of the Universe did the unthinkable and spoke to him and revealed Himself to him. He said to Abram, “Leave your  country and your family to go to a land which I will show you.” We are not told how it was that the LORD spoke, but it was such a powerful encounter that there was no doubt in Abram’s mind that the LORD God had spoken.

Abram’s move to the Promised Land would, however, not be without its challenges. We now must also remember that he is a descendant of Adam, whose original sin has affected the spiritual DNA of his entire offspring.  Abram leaves Ur, by God’s command and by His promise of blessing, but he also leaves Ur as a fallen man, and it is going to show.

  

We see these two sides of Abram’s nature, portrayed in Chapter 12.  One side portrays the real faith which he has in the God who has called him and who is going before him to the Promised Land [2:1-9]. The other side portrays his faithlessness, when upon arrival he faces a drought in Canaan. Instead of trusting God to provide, he is moved by   fear, anxiety, doubt and this causes him to go to Egypt for help. There he encounters   even more severe challenges, when he almost loses his wife and even his life [12:10-20]. Were it not for God’s sovereign love and grace to Abram, he would have never escaped from Egypt.

Chapters 13 and 14 are beautiful chapters as we see Abram resolutely trusting in his God. He makes a  good decision as to where he should live in the promised  land, while his nephew Lot  makes  a disastrous decision, based on what his eyes and his heart desire. He chooses to live close to the fallen world of Sodom. When Lot is taken captive and carried away   by an invading army, Abram, full of faith rescues him with the help of his God against an overwhelming army.  This remarkable victory does not go unrecognised, particularly by Melchizedek [1] the king of (Jeru) Salem, one of the many kings of a city state in that area. In the book of Hebrews we see that he prefigures the Lord Jesus Christ as a prophet- priest-king. Melchizedek recognizes a kindred spirit in Abram, and Abram does the same, as he pays homage to this king of Salem, in the giving of a tithe of everything that he had.  

Chapter 15 starts with these words, ”…after these things the Word of the LORD came to Abram.”  What things?  The reference is obviously to the recent wars in Chapter 14.  War has a very unsettling effect on people, creating anxiety about the future.  Am I going to be safe here? Does my family have a future here?  Abram’s greater concern however  relates to his family’s  future, with regard to his childless status: “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless… behold you have given me no offspring…” [vv.2, 3]. There is as yet no physical offspring to make this promise come true.  At this stage, the arrangement is for Eliezer of Damascus, a son born in his home, whom he had adopted, to be the heir.  Abram in his mind has  much reason  to be worried about  the promise of God.

This is the first time in the Bible that the oft repeated and majestic phrase is used, “the Word of the LORD came to Abram…”.  When we are anxious the most reassuring voice is the voice of the Father. And so, Abram need not fear! The God who is faithful to His promises is directing Abram’s heart with certainty and progressively, and while He does this, He is teaching Abram many lessons along the way.  God does not dump His purposes on us all at one time. God is leading Abram, step by step. Our journey with God is designed for one step at a time, and always accompanied by faith in the promises of God. “Fear not Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”  [v.1]   And God comes to him with the reassurance that His promise first given in Chapter 12 will stand. He will have his very own son [v. 4] and through him his offspring will be as numerous as the stars of the sky [v.5].  As a result of this   we read, “And he believed the LORD, and He counted it to him as righteousness” [v.6].  The first hurdle is overcome.  By faith in the  Word of God  his anxiety is settled. The apostle Paul in Romans 4 and Galatians 3  explains  and establishes  the great doctrine of  “justification by faith alone” on this  text.

In verse 7 we find the second hurdle. God also promised Abram that he would possess a land as his inheritance. [v.7] The recent conflict in the Jordan valley   has raised for him some serious questions about his future.    Again, Abram anxiously asks the LORD: “How am I to know that I will possess it?”   

The answer comes by way of another strong assurance from God.

God reminds him again, that He has brought him here from Ur.  [v.7]. God had brought him from that land of idols, from the kingdom of darkness, so to speak,   into this place where he will bless him and his descendants.   God cannot lie. He cannot go back on His words, but Abram struggles, and the typical manifestations of our fallen nature in such matters are, as already  indicated, doubt and anxiety. These are ultimately rooted in unbelief. We do not trust God to be true. This is a typical sin associated with the fall. There is very little difference between the doubts which the devil sows into the mind of Eve, “Has God really said?” [Gen. 3:1] and the doubt that Abram expresses here: “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”   The fact is that God has promised this to him at the very beginning [Gen. 12:2,3]  of his encounter with him.

O the grace and the patience of our God!  Knowing his weakness, God is willing  to bear with him and  provide   Abram  with more assurance.  He begins with these weighty words:  “I am the LORD.” [v.7] We hear these words again  in Exodus 6:2,6,8  and 20:2  in the context of the   giving of the 10  commandments, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the  house of slavery”.  I Am is here. Do not fear!  God is about to establish a strong bond, a covenant with Abram to provide Him with the needed assurance for the future.  Remember that Abram did not have  the full revelation that you and I  have,   living  as people  under the  full revelation of the New Covenant by which we have been made secure  with God  by the Holy Spirit  through  the knowledge  of Jesus’ death on the cross, for us! 

So, how did the assurance come?  In a way which Abram would have understood! A covenant!

God tells Abram to bring to him a three year old heifer, a three year old female goat, a three year old ram, a turtledove and a young pigeon [v.9].  Abram slaughters the animals and cuts them in half (except the birds) and lays the pieces opposite to one another.  This all is deeply significant.  Blood is to be shed, depicting the seriousness of this transaction!  Only clean, mature,   animals were to be used in this process, ranging from a heifer to a pigeon. The dove and the pigeon were included because the sacrifices must be within the reach of all.   But the cutting of the animal sacrifices is particularly significant, because it underlies the symbolism of covenant.  The Hebrew   idiom for making a covenant can be better translated as “cutting a covenant”.  In the ancient Near East   such covenants were common,  and the parties to such a covenant would walk between the pieces  of carcass and say to each other , “As it is to these animals , so it will be to me and to you if we break the terms of this covenant.”  Making a covenant was the strongest form of assurance in the Ancient Near East. It was thought of as unbreakable.  And so here, God was saying to Abram that by this act, He was absolutely committing Himself to Abram’s future in terms of the land.

The unclean birds  of prey that  wanted  to come  down on the carcasses [v.11]  are pertinent reminders   that the terms of the covenant,  and the people  of the covenant  are forever attacked  by evil, unclean forces, and it is a tiring  battle to keep these away .  Abram fell asleep, probably from exhaustion, and a dreadful and great darkness fell on him. [v12] Many of God’s people, in their battle to remain faithful to God in the midst of life’s trials have experienced the dark night of the soul, and again I remind you that it is only the God who calls you, who keeps you in such times! But when you have come through these times you will have found yourself to having been greatly strengthened in your assurance by this experience.

In the midst of the darkness comes the prophetic assurance of v. 13: “Know for certain…. God shows Abram a panorama of the history of his descendants.  He shows him that they would have to endure a four hundred year exile. This points forward to the times of the Exodus under Moses, when they had to suffer slavery in Egypt, and when  God was refining them and preparing them for the Promised land. They would learn that by suffering they would inherit the kingdom of God. But they would leave that   land and when they left, God promised Abram that they would come out with great possessions.  Abram would not see that day. He would have died years before in a good old age. Abram himself would not see that day, but the fourth generation would, and they would come out of Egypt, as numerous as sand on the seashore.   And  God is doing so much more than our simple minds can fathom. 

The Amorites, the people of the land of Canaan  in the meantime would be piling up their sins and iniquities (Behold the patience of God towards  sinners!), and then Abram’s descendants would return under Joshua as God’s instruments of wrath upon Canaan, and the land would be theirs. 

Thank God   then, that our days, that history , that the future  are in His hands.  There is nothing more reassuring  than that !

SUMMARY

The 15^th  Chapter of Genesis  is  a key chapter  in the Bible, containing key  Bible doctrines : 

·          Strong emphasis on the doctrine of  Assurance,  which is rooted in the promises of God.  Twice in this chapter God answers Abram’s  fundamental questions  concerning his future.

·         Strong teaching on the nature  of  justification by faith, a key doctrine in the Bible by which we are reminded  that the faith by  which we  are justified  is possible , because of God’s prior working  in our life. Abram was called. That calling showed itself in a corresponding  faith in God, which  proved him to be a righteous and therefore a justified  man.

·         A strong reminder of the unbreakable nature  of the covenant. For the Christian the New Covenant in Christ’s blood   speaks of a better  covenant, since this  covenant is sealed  in the blood of the Son of God , who loved us and who gave Himself for us.

·         A strong reminder  that  our confidence in God is continuously assaulted and sometimes severely battered.

·         A strong reminder that  history and future is in God’s hands.  God tells  Abram accurately what must happen to his  people. 

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[1] Lit.  “King of righteousness”

Acts 13:4- 12 : ”The True Gospel and a False Prophet”

Last  time  we began with Acts 13 and saw there in its introduction (vv. 1-3), a multicultural Church led by a multicultural leadership sending a multicultural team to evangelize a multi- cultural world.

Acts 13 introduces us to the first missionary journey which ends in Acts 14:28, when Paul and Barnabas  return to  Antioch in  Syria. It is the missionary effort of the early church  that   literally  results  in  an explosion of churches  planted in  the then known  world.

This reminds  us  of the life and times of John Calvin and his pastoral ministry in Geneva, Switzerland, in the middle of the 1500’s. The young Protestant movement was always at risk of being threatened and persecuted by the Roman Catholic church, and those kings and countries which supported that church. In Switzerland, John Calvin, who was actually a Frenchman, was safe, but he had a great interest and passion for the progress of the  gospel in  his fatherland. The Protestant Reformation spread rapidly through Europe and France. Much of we know of that time  is found  in the archives of Geneva. There are hundreds of letters to and from Calvin and  also from others to the underground church in France and whilst  in 1555 there were  only five underground churches in France yet  only  four years later in  1559, there are reportedly over 100 underground churches in France.  Seven years later, in 1562, there is mention being made of over 2,150 underground churches in France! 

This is typical of the history of  the great revivals. Truly, the Holy Spirit can do more in  5 minutes than we can do in  50 years! 

And so we see   Paul and Barnabas sent out from Antioch in Syria, with prayer and fasting, (v.3) and even more significantly, we see them “being sent out by the Holy Spirit” (v.4). Can they go wrong, being led by the Holy Spirit?  What we shall learn is that they cannot go wrong. God’s purpose  for the salvation of all His elect people in the world  will not ultimately be resisted. They will go in the power and assurance of God, and they will accomplish the purpose for which they have been sent out, but   we shall also learn that this does not mean that there will be no trouble and no resistance on the way. God’s  archenemy,  that fallen angel called Satan  will do whatever  he can to hinder the progress of the gospel.  In fact, we shall see it now here, in this text, as  Paul, Barnabas and John Mark engage upon  the first  leg  on this  journey – on the island of Cyprus.

As  we  move  forward  with this story we  have then  seen  that  there   are four important ingredients  in  getting  this mission on the map :  fasting and prayer,  the Holy Spirit’s calling, the laying on of hands by the church of the missionaries and the Holy  Spirit  sending them  and filling them for the purpose.

We cannot overstate the historical importance of this moment in Antioch with reference to the history of the world. From now on  the  whole world will be evangelized. 

Before this  call from the Holy Spirit there was no organized missionary activity to Asia Minor, Greece, or the Roman empire  or Spain. 

Before this Paul had not written any of his letters which were all the result of his missionary journeys.  In fact, 13 out of the 29 books of the New Testament were the result of the three missionary journeys described in the book of Acts.  

So, the church at Antioch was called by the Holy Spirit to the breaking of new ground. The church needed wisdom and insight from God regarding this new venture , and fasting with prayer  was  employed  for this purpose.  

What is  the purpose  of fasting? While much can be said, and whilst  reference can be made  on a key text in  Isaiah 58 on the nature  of true fasting and false fasting, we want to confine our comments to  this : 

In essence fasting with prayer is saying to God, “We want your blessing and counsel in this matter more than this food. Please hear our prayers. We will not give up until we have an answer from you.” Fasting has to do with desperation for God’s will to be done.  There are many ways to fast. Some may be partial, like Daniels’ fast when he only chose to eat vegetables.  Other fasts are complete fasts, like Moses’ fast and Jesus’  40 day fast.  In this case the whole congregation fasted (not sure exactly how) for the purpose of this missionary outreach.

At any rate, this  prompting of the Holy Spirit  together with  the  prayer and fasting of the church put Christianity  on a map, making it very soon the  dominant faith  of the Roman empire and of Europe, and of North Africa and territories in Asia. Today the Christian faith is found in virtually every country of the world. For instance, in 1900, there were approximately 10 million Christians in Africa. By 2000, there were 360 million. By 2025, conservative estimates see that number rising to 633 million. Those same estimates put the number of Christians in Latin America in 2025 at 640 million and in Asia at 460 million.[1] World missions was born in a worship meeting , accompanied  by  prayer and fasting, and it changed  the course of world history.

The first missionary journey   is primarily  focused on three  places:

(i)                 Cyprus  (13:4-12)

(ii)               Antioch in Pisidia (13:13- 52]  in south Galatia

(iii)             Iconium and Lystra  (14:1-23)

We begin in Cyprus.

Why Cyprus?  Well, Barnabas was  from there [4:36], and Cyprus would be the first  major island and country  and convenient stop over on  the way to the Roman empire and   away from the mainland where  the Christian faith had  found its beginnings.

And so, from Seleucia, about 20 kilometres from Antioch in Syria  they sail to Salamis in Cyprus. There they preached the gospel in the synagogue of the Jews (13:5).  In passing it is mentioned that John Mark assisted (Gr. hyperetes) them. They made their way (presumably preaching) through the island from east to west to Paphos (about 120 kilometers). It is here, Luke reports,  that  the first opposition appears.

The opposition is in the form of a man called  Bar-Jesus, (lit. ‘son of Jesus’  or ‘son of salvation’),  or as Luke calls alternatively  him, “Elymas”, meaning  sorcerer or  magician (v.8) Do not let his name,  Bar Jesus, fool you. He is no saviour at all.  He is in fact an anti- Christ. He is anti- gospel. In fact, he's the very opposite of what the Lord Jesus and His gospel stands for.

We find him in the company of an influential politician, the Roman pro- consul Sergius Paulus, who is   said to be a man of intelligence.  Sergius summoned Paul and his colleagues  to hear the Word of God,  and this  Jewish  false prophet Bar Jesus,  alias  Elymas the sorcerer  knew that from his twisted perspective (and from Paul’s perspective,  ‘a son of the devil’ ) trouble was looming, and therefore  he sought to  actively turn Sergius  away from the faith.  The devils in Jesus’ day always knew  that  the truth which He spoke  would undo the lies and darkness  which  they   represented  [ e.g. Mark 1:21-28;29-34;3:11 ; 5:1-20 etc.]

And so we read that Saul, who now becomes Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit  (v.9  cf.  v.4)  challenges this Elymas, and he  calls him what he is, “ you son of the devil, you enemy of righteousness, full of deceit and villainy”… “ will you not stop making crooked the straight  paths of the Lord ?” …  this is a reference to Isaiah 40:3, about making a straight path for the  good news  which the anticipated Messiah would bring.  This prophecy is associated  with  the  coming of John the Baptist.  John came to prepare the straight paths for Jesus, whose forerunner he had become. Here also are Paul and his team making a straight path for  Sergius  to hear  about the straight and narrow way in Christ, and this false prophet  tries  to turn Sergius Paulus away from that  straight path to follow his  crooked path.

So, here is the gospel and there is  the  opposition. Here is the power of God,   the Holy Spirit  working through Paul and  his team,  and there is the magic   power of the devil through Elymas.  Who will win? 

The answer is easy. God wins, because God wanted Sergius Paulus  to believe and be  saved!  God wins because He is the sovereign of the Universe, and not the devil.  God wins  because  He has all the nations in His purpose. This man from Cyprus among  many others from Cyprus , must  be  a part of the nations  that will worship  at the footstool of the throne of their Creator! [Rev.5:9; 7:9] . Elymas like every devil and son of the devil must bow the knee to Jesus, as in this case  the Sovereign Lord strikes him  with a judicial blindness… “immediately mist and darkness fell upon him…”  and he was helpless .

Sergius Paulus,  the  Roman pro- consul  in Cyprus, who  by the preaching of the gospel was sought out by God, not only sees this which is happening to  Elymas, BUT  he  is also astonished at the  teaching of the Lord (v. 12),  AND HE BELIEVED!  He  embraced the truth as it is in Jesus.  What a wonderful blessing  and encouragement that must have been to Barnabas and Saul at the beginning of the first  missionary journey. 

Make no mistake! They are going to need this  encouragement and reminder  of the  wonderful sovereignty of God and of the Holy Spirit who has sent them, who goes before them and who continues  to lead them on this journey.  There   will be some  severe trials along the way  to come.  They need  to have a  strong assurance and reminder  that God is with them…

In Conclusion  :  A few  things to think about ...

      1.      The importance of having a calling for a fruitful missionary  work. This  needs  to  be  rooted in the inward call of the Holy Spirit, and it ought to  be accompanied by the united praying and fasting of the church, which also recognizes such a call by the laying on of hands.

     2.      The importance of   the church praying for and supporting such a work. May I remind you  the church members  that at the most basic and fundamental level,  you need to be  involved in the ministry of prayer,  as we consider the missionary  expansion of God in this world and in our generation.   Paul  in his epistles  always asked for the church’s help in prayer . Surely we cannot do less.  From a human perspective  then I would fear to send anyone into the mission field without  the help of a praying church.

3.     Remember that  we cannot keep  the best and most  gifted people  for ourselves.  The tendency is always there to keep   those gifted  people like Saul and  Barnabas for ourselves. I don't want Barnabas and Saul  to leave my church!  But the worshiping church at Antioch said, ‘We will and must  send the best we have into the mission field  for the glory of God and for the sake of His ever expanding kingdom.’

4. Remember  that  though the Gospel of God will always triumph, it will also  always  be resisted   by Satan, as long as  this  age will last . 

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[1] http://www1.cbn.com/how-christianity-growing-around-world