Genesis 19:1- 16 “SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD” (1)

Last time we saw in 18:1-16 that   God had visited Abraham in the form of His pre-incarnate Son, the Lord Jesus, in the company of two angels.  The first purpose of that visit was to announce the birth of a son to Abraham and Sarah. The second purpose was to announce the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, for we are told that their sin was very grave (18:20). In 18: 22-33 we find Abraham interceding with the LORD for the people of these cities, presuming that there might be innocent people among them. For Abraham, who knows the character of God very well, it is unthinkable that God should destroy the righteous alongside the wicked (18:25). In keeping with His character God promises Abraham that He will not destroy the city, should He find 10 righteous people in it.

Today we come to that text in which the two angels who we find initially in the company of the LORD in Chapter 18, will now enter Sodom and there experience first-hand the wickedness of the entire city. And we shall see that they will not find  10  righteous   persons in that city. The exception will be Lot and his two daughters. We note that even Lot’s wife and his future sons- in law will perish in this terrible judgement on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

I have entitled this  message, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, with apologies to Jonathan Edwards who preached a sermon with that title based on  a text  from Deut. 32:35, on July 8, 1741 in Enfield, Connecticut, with great effect.  This church had been largely unaffected during the Great Awakening of New England. Edwards was invited by the pastor of the church to preach to them. Edwards's aim was to teach his listeners about the horrors of hell, the dangers of sin and the terrors of being lost. Edwards described the shaky position of those who do not follow Christ's urgent call to receive His forgiveness. During his preaching Edwards was interrupted many times by people moaning, even fainting and crying out, "What shall I do to be saved?" In fact, God used that sermon on a number of occasions to awaken the New England community in the American colonies.    

We observe then that the two angels appear in Sodom.  Lot, sitting in the city gate, invites them to spend the night in his home, and like Abraham he offers them good hospitality. They wanted to stay in the town square, presumably to see what was going on in the city at night. But Lot pressed them strongly, and we have every reason to believe that Lot knew what  might happen to them, if they should stay in the town square that night.  The angels in the form of men, at his insistence  went  home with Lot. Then ,  we  read, that  the men of  the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man,  surrounded the house” and they called out to Lot, “Where are the men… bring them out  so that we may know them…” . That they might know them …intimately.   The intention here is clear. These men of the city wanted to sexually violate these messengers from God. They wanted to ‘sodomize’ them.  This text  forces  us  to deal with the issue of homosexuality, which together with the entire  LGBT movement  has  become  a critical  concern   for  many  thoughtful Christians.  

Is Homosexuality a sin?

There are a number of  biblical texts [1]  which teach  plainly  that  homosexuality  is a sin,  along with  a string of other  moral sins. We will restrict ourselves to one major OT and one major NT text.  In the OT, Leviticus 18:22-24 & 29   deals with a  number of unlawful sexual relations  (e.g.  sexual relations  with close relatives, adultery, bestiality) and among them gives a clear  warning  against homosexual behaviour. "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a woman. It is an abomination.” (Lev.18: 22).

In the NT, in  Romans 1:18-32, the apostle  Paul  speaks about  the fact that  fallen mankind  is on a constant drive to exchange  God  the Creator  for  created things, ‘exchanging  the glory of the immortal God for images …’  (Rom 1:23). As a result we read that God gave  mankind  up (Rom. 1: 24,26,28) in the lusts of their heart to impurity, and what follows is a long list  of  these impurities,  which includes homosexual acts: “ 26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.” (Rom. 1:26,27)

Sexual immorality is one of the chief expressions of man’s rebellion against God and His design for mankind.  Homosexuality is the so called  'cherry on the top'  of it all. Homosexuality   goes even further  against   God’s created order.   Robert Gagnon, a leading scholar on sexuality in Scripture, says  that idolatry and same-sex intercourse equally oppose the designs of the Creator. He sees several strong connections that link Romans 1 to the creation account in Genesis 1–2. In his book ‘The Bible and Homosexual Practice’, Gagnon writes, "Idolatry and homosexual behavior are in some measure parallel (not just successive) phenomena since both are presented as wilful suppression of the obvious truth about God and God's design in the natural world."[2]

Now in our day there is a concerted effort to get us to accept that homosexuality is in fact  a normal way of life, as was the case in Sodom. 

Matthew Vines for instance, is a so called evangelical gay theologian. In an article in the New York Times (8^th June 2014) he  engages  in a debate with Caleb Kaltenbach, pastor of Discovery Church in California,  a man  who was  raised by gay parents, but who  now is a conservative  pastor. 

On the Leviticus text he argues that, “ Christ fulfilled the Old Testament law, and the New Testament teaches that Christians should live under the new covenant rather than the old one. Consequently, this verse has never applied to Christians. For a man to lie with a man “as with a woman” violated the patriarchal gender norms of the ancient world, which is likely why Leviticus prohibited it. But the New Testament casts a vision of God’s kingdom in which the hierarchy between men and women is overcome in Christ. So not only is Leviticus’s prohibition inapplicable to Christians on its own, the rationale behind it doesn’t extend to Christians, either.” [3]  What Vines is basically doing here is saying that the OT was simply a cultural phenomenon and has nothing to say to modern Christianity. 

And with respect to the Romans passage, Vines says, “Paul is explicit that the same-sex behavior in this passage is motivated by lust…. Christians should continue to affirm with Paul that we shouldn’t engage in sexual behavior out of self-seeking lustfulness… that’s very different than same-sex marriages that are based on self-giving love…”[4] Vines is saying  that the  issue that Paul is addressing here is not  homosexuality  per se, but lustful relationships. He simply brushes aside God’s  creation purposes  in creating a man and a woman  for marriage and re-interprets the issue on  lustful relationships.  How is that?

There are many such attempts to confuse Christians  who are not used to careful thinking upon  these matters.  The fact is  that when   homosexuality becomes  normative in our society, a profound shift will have occurred, for it not only challenges the  biblical meaning and purpose of marriage, but it challenges  biblical morality  altogether. The plain meaning of Scripture  in this matter will be questioned. The biblical pulpit will become a dangerous place , as  pastors will be framed for hate speech, when they  in fact  stand up for what God says  is right.

The story  of Sodom  shows us  that  such a conditioning of society  had  taken place in ancient times.  According to the text all of the men had  begun to endorse this behaviour, and it did not end  with private homosexual relationships, but  in a public and very aggressive  way. The homosexual agenda progressively  conditions society  to accept gayness as  normative, but few are able to see that this system  will in fact become  aggressive  (we see  this happening  in modern societies)  and perhaps the most repressive  opponent of the Christian faith. 

And so we see that the men of Sodom were aggressively prepared to break the door down to Lot’s house. However they did not know with whom they had to do. The messengers of God struck them  with blindness (19:11), and that  was the beginning of the judgment on Sodom. 

But before they  would  destroy that city  they needed to evacuate  Lot’s family … sons-in law, daughters, and anyone  belonging to Lot’s family in the city  (19:12) ….”Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry against this people has become so great before the LORD, that he has sent us to destroy it” (vv. 12&13).  

Lot’s behaviour in v. 8  by the way with respect to offering  his daughters to the mob, is inexcusable. It is clear that Lot lived in compromise. He was spiritually asleep.  His surroundings  had  corrupted and confused  him.  Bad company corrupts good character, though we have reason to believe that Lot did essentially cling to God’s Word.  Weak believers are found at all times in the world. They know what is right, but they are too weak in their knowledge and therefore in their willpower to effectively resist what is coming at them. There is a  difference between an Abraham and Lot.  Abraham had to carry Lot many times!

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

So the wickedness of these cities on the plains from  the perspective of where Abraham lived was well known. There were righteous people that had prayed concerning this, and their  outcry had come to the Lord’s attention (18:20; 19:13). And God was not reacting in a knee-jerk fashion. God had been patient with this people for a long time.  

We may safely assume that they had been warned. 

We may be certain that Lot would have warned these people, for how else could Peter   write these things about him in 2 Peter 2:7,8  concerning,  “righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as a righteous man he lived among  them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul  over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard)”.  

The two earlier judgments in Genesis were preceded by warnings. Adam and Eve were warned by God not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  The people in Noah’s generation were warned by Noah.[5] 

God has given everyone in Sodom a conscience, just like everyone in Windhoek. The law of God is written upon the hearts of every man and woman and child in this world (Rom. 2:14,15).   

“So Lot went out…” (19:14). Thank God for His Messengers! Without their message of warning Lot would have perished with the rest. He warned his extended family, including his prospective sons-in-law, who thought that this is a joke (19:14).  And as morning dawns the angels urge Lot, his wife and 2 daughters (by now the prospective sons- in law are not listening)   to hurry out of the city of destruction (19:15).  “But he lingered” (19:16a)!  It’s hard to leave people behind that won’t listen … particularly the members of your own family!   “So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city “(19:16b).  

SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF A MERCIFUL GOD

The LORD Jesus Christ came to live in this world – our Sodom. He came to see how men and women behave. The place was so bad that He wept over it. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem!” This world hated him so much that it killed him.  But God, who is rich in mercy had designed that his death was not going to be simply a murder by evil men. God turned this death into an atoning sacrifice, along with an invitation to pardon the sins of all who look to Him and believe in Him (Jn. 3:16). The lesson is plain.  Flee from your Sodom. Like Christian in Pilgrim’s Progress, flee from the city of destruction. 

Where do you flee to? 

Flee to Jesus. 

He is your Way, your Truth, your Life (Jn. 14:6). By Him alone you will escape the coming wrath. Remember, that Jesus has warned you about the coming Judgement (Matt. 24,25). And remember that the Judgement will be sudden and unexpected. 

Many think that this is a joke! Flee to Jesus!  He is the narrow gate (Matt. 7:13,14), the door (Jn. 10:7) to your Father who is in Heaven. Do not hesitate! Do not linger! Do not say, ‘Tomorrow’, because that day never comes. Today if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. (Hebr. 3:7,15; 4:7).  

Otherwise you will be a sinner in the hand of an angry God.

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[1] Key Texts in the Old Testament: Lev. 18:22, 29; 20:13; Gen.19 ;  Key Texts in the New Testament: Rom. 1:26-27;  1 Cor. 6:9; 1 Tim.1:10; Jude 7.

[2] http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/whats-at-stake-in-the-homosexuality-debate

[3] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/06/05/us/samesex-scriptures.html

[4] ibid

[5] Genesis 2:16,17 ;  2 Peter 2:5 tells us Noah was a preacher of righteousness:  “…and did not spare  the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;   Knowing that Noah was a preacher proclaiming God's truth in some form to the people of his day and given his godly character, we can assume Noah preached about the approaching flood and the need to repent. Offering the world such a warning would be in keeping with God's character, since God typically gives opportunity for repentance prior to His judgments.

Genesis 18:16-33 “THE POWER OF INTERCESSION”

Today we are considering the second reason for which the divine visitors had come to Abraham in Genesis 18. The account begins in chapter 18:1 with 3 men appearing to Abraham at his tent in Mamre (Hebron). We had seen that these 3 men were the LORD and 2 angels, and they had come to do two things:

(i)               to reassure Abraham and Sarah  that they would  become parents  even at this late age, and so fulfil the promise given 25 years earlier in Genesis12. This miracle would now happen within a year. (18: 1- 15)

(ii)             to tell Abraham about a coming judgement upon the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah(18:1 -33).

The Judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah which will happen in Chapter 19 is a weighty matter, and very relevant, particularly in our time.   You know that the word “Sodomy” is associated with depravity and wickedness, and the word has been coined in particular to  describe the sin of homosexuality, the  sexual relationship between two people of the  same gender. This phenomenon is described   in 19:5, when the men of the city demanded to have sexual relations with the 2 angels, appearing here since 18:1 in the form of men. We will deal with this next time, and as I said, this is a matter that has attracted considerable attention and debate in this age. There is a strong and extremely  vocal lobby  worldwide (the so called  LGBT movement)  in support of  deviant sexual practices under the  protection of the  so called  Human Rights movement.   Some theologians sympathetic to this movement have worked strenuously to reinterpret this and other passages   to justify their position.

Abraham, at this point is not aware of the further agenda of His three divine visitors. In v. 16 we read that the three visitors are set for their departure, Abraham accompanying them for a while.  Their eye catches the view of Sodom, below in the plains. It is the view  of  this  town  that  gives rise to  what follows now in the rest of chapters 18 and 19. The  LORD (YAHWEH – covenant name –here the pre-incarnate  Lord Jesus Christ) , the spokesman of the group says in vv. 17-22: 

“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed by him? For I have chosen him , that he may command his children and his household  after him to keep the law of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to  Abraham what  he has promised him. Then the LORD said, ‘Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.’ So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord”.

Please note: The fact that   Abraham will become a great and mighty nation and that all the nations on earth of the earth shall be blessed by him (v. 18), has been well established by now. He has been chosen and called by God, to live differently in the world. He has been called to be a testimony and a witness to the way in which God intends families (i.e. his children and household after him) to live in the world, and it is very different from the life of the average household in Sodom.  The end to which God calls   and saves men and women from this world is that they may  reflect His holy and righteous character – to be holy as He is  holy [Lev. 19:1 ; 1 Pet. 1:15,16]

The dilemma was  that Abraham and his future offspring were living in a neighbourhood which was morally corrupted in every way. In God’s words, they were living in a neighbourhood against which there had been an outcry… and their sin was very grave (v. 20).  This news about Sodom is actually not new. Already back in Gen. 13:13 we read:  “Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.”

Why did God not judge them back then? The answer is this: For the same reason as Gen. 15:16 states: “Because the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete”.  The destruction of Sodom, like the destruction of the Amorites later under Joshua is not a kneejerk reaction from God. God is patient. These are sinners in the hands of a patient God (2 Pet. 3:9). And all this is a foreshadowing of that great Day of Judgment which is yet to come, spoken of by the prophets and the Lord Jesus Christ.  

The judgement  upon  the Amorites and the Sodomites would come  because   such  deliberate, willful and continuous  sinning  was making the world  a place in which soon no human being would be safe from  such wicked , abusive people.  You may be sure that in those days, children and women and men alike   were abused in the worst of manners[1]... They were filling up their sins, and now the time for judgement had arrived. In Chapter 19 the two angels sent by the LORD will experience the terrible atmosphere for themselves.  It is not as if God needed to go down to investigate. God is omniscient.  But He is doing this for Abraham’s sake and our own sake.

The wickedness of these towns was going to be a perpetual example of wickedness in the Scriptures[2].  Jesus used this example. He said that the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida to whom He had ministered by word and miracle had had far more privileges than Sodom. (Lk 10:12) So too did the apostle Paul (Rom. 9:29) and  Peter (2 Pet.2:4-9)   and Jude (Jude 1:7). Billy Graham once said that if God does not judge  the wickedness of our generation, then He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.

So this is what Abraham hears as he walks with the LORD and his two angels.  What is Abraham’s response?

ABRAHAM’S RESPONSE  (18:23-32)

While the two angels made their way down to Sodom, Abraham   continued standing before the LORD.  And Abraham knows people down in that plain, in those towns and their vicinities.  Among them are his nephew Lot and his family. In Abraham’s mind there is also the thought of those people  that  may not  be  of the  kind  of many  in Sodom, and he makes that contrast in v. 23 : “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked ?” What follows here is a dialogue with the LORD – something which is known to us as prayer, and in this case intercessory prayer, prayer that intercedes on behalf of others, and it is wonderful to see this.  Although God has determined to judge Sodom and Gomorrah,   He allows Abraham to question Him, bargain with Him, intercede with Him, pleading as it were   for the life of the righteous in these towns.  Isn’t it wonderful to know that God is willing to hear your prayer? He wants to hear Abraham’s prayer. He is not going on with the angels at this point. His attention is fixed on Abraham who has some serious questions to present to the LORD.  

What an encouragement for us, who intercede for this city of Windhoek and for  the towns of Namibia  and  for  this world ... “O Lord, in your  wrath, remember mercy”, cried the prophet Habakkuk (Hab. 3:2). 

• Samuel promised to intercede always for Israel (1 Sam. 12:23). 
• The apostle Paul always prays for his churches (Eph. 1:16; 6:18 ; 1 Thess. 1:2; 2 The. 1:11 etc.); 
• Ephaphras always struggles on behalf of the Colossian Christians in his prayers (Col.  4:12). 
• The Lord Jesus Himself prays for us (Jn. 17; Rom. 8:34). He always lives to make intercession for us (Heb. 7:25)
• All these expected to have the ear of God when they prayed. So must we.  If we do not believe that we have the ear of God, then we will not pray. But here Abraham had the ear of God, and he made the most of it.

And we may be assured that God will never destroy the righteous alongside the wicked. Never! And in the absence of having the exact knowledge of men’s hearts like God always does, it is not wrong for us to present holy arguments to God (Spurgeon) for the salvation of the souls.  Here is Abraham:

“Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing – to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare  as the wicked. Far be hat from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” (vv.23-25).

Do you see Abraham’s argument? He   knows the character of God so very well. After so many years of walking with God he knows that God is good and kind and merciful to the righteous.  The righteous Judge of all the earth can only do right. God cannot destroy the righteous along with the wicked and remain a just and good God. He cannot sweep away the righteous with the wicked. NEVER!  So what if there are 50 righteous people in the city, acting like salt and light in such a dark and wicked place? Will God destroy that city?  No! In that case, how many righteous are needed in a city to counteract the influence of the wicked? 45, 40, 30, 20,10?  God will not destroy. But what if there were only one righteous man? That is the issue. Actually, there is none righteous, no not even one. [Psalm 14:1-3; Rom. 3:9-18]

And here we begin to see the basis of God’s justification in the Bible. Who is righteous? Only the one whom God justifies and counts righteous  Among them were Abraham and his nephew Lot, and so we see that Sodom will be  eventually destroyed because it lacked any righteous people in its midst.

Here is something for us to ponder.  

Why is Windhoek not destroyed this very day?  The answer is that God still has many people in this city, and for their sake God withholds his wrath.  That is the reason why the God-ignoring, God hating people of our city have not been destroyed  by the wrath of God. It is the presence of God’s righteous men and women, interceding men and women, which saves sinners  from the wrath of God at this time. God is merciful and the text in 2 Peter 3:9 applies again.

But God will not withhold his wrath for ever. 

A day came when the sin of Sodom did reach its full measure, and a day will come when the sins of our world will reach their full measure, and  when our sins will have reached their full measure and then the wrath of God will be revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (Rom. 1:18ff).  But even as He removed Lot and his family from Sodom before destroying it so God will deal with the world, removing the righteous and judging the rest.  There will then be a great separation in time to come and in that day you will need a more powerful Mediator than Abraham. You will need the greater Son of Abraham - the Lord Jesus Christ. Without his blood covering your sin the wrath of God will fall upon you forever .  

O call upon the God of mercy now, while it is still a day of   gospel mercy.  

Beg Him to save you from the wrath that is to come ! 

Those of you who know that He has saved you, come and celebrate at the table now set before you. Amen!

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[1] Some of it is described in that horrible story in Judges 19:22ff

[2] Isaiah (Isa 1:9), Ezekiel (Ezek. 16:49),

Genesis 18:1-15 “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

We have read the first 15 verses of Chapter 18, and our key text  is found in the form of a question: "Is anything too hard for the Lord?”  [18:14]. 

You will notice that this statement is made  by the LORD  to Abraham and for  the benefit of Sarah in particular, and with it comes the announcement,   “At the appointed  time I will  return to you , about this  time next year, and Sarah  shall have a son”. “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”  This  is an exciting question, and  very relevant  for those times  when we would  despair, wondering whether  there is a way out  of that difficult situation in which we might find ourselves. But I am running ahead of myself. Let’s see what happens here, step for step, as we learn valuable lessons along the way.

THE CONTEXT:

Our attention is repeatedly drawn to the great dilemma in the life of this married couple, Abraham and Sarah.  When we meet Abraham in Genesis 12, we read of God’s amazing promises to this man:“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” [12:2 cf. 13:15-17; 15:5; 17:2,4]. The dilemma is this. How will Abraham become a great nation? His marriage has produced no offspring, no children, despite the promise. How is that?  This fact repeatedly brings about a deep crisis   of faith for both.  A point of frustration is reached in Genesis 16   where Sarah suggests (and Abraham does nothing to contradict her) that they try another route. She suggests that they have surrogate children through Sarah’s servant girl, Hagar.  This   apparently  was  a familiar custom for barren couples in ancient  Middle eastern societies.   

It is very clear however, that God   will not be helped out by man’s plans. God has a plan, and He is committed to it.  Humanly speaking   Abraham and Sarah are past child bearing age  (17:17, 18:13), but  God is God, and for this reason, nothing is impossible for Him, and hence our text, “Is anything too hard for the Lord”,  becomes utterly relevant.  “Nothing is too hard for  you!”  This is Jeremiah’s  conviction, when he buys  a field, i.e. real estate at a time when the king of Babylon was besieging  Jerusalem   (Jer. 32:17). “Nothing is too hard for  you!”  This is the vital point of our passage.  And ultimately this is true of the message of the whole Bible.
Nowhere is this clearer than when we consider the DESPERATE plight of man. In Adam’s fall we sinned all.  Every human being is a sinner facing a holy and just God, and therefore every human being stands condemned before this holy God. ”The wages of sin is death” [Rom. 6: 23].  This is extremely bad news for mankind, and the question is asked by Paul in Rom. 7:24, “Who shall deliver me from this body of death?” It is a question asked by a man desperately seeking for a solution. The answer is given in Rom. 7:25,”Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” He has understood that he is doomed to an everlasting separation from God, and there is no thing on earth, no balm in Gilead to heal and cure the sin infested soul of man. There is no thing that can   avert the sure wrath of God.   But Paul, like John the Baptist is helped to look at Jesus, and he can exclaim, “LOOK! The Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world“(Jn.1:29,36).  Man’s extremities are the beginning of God’s opportunities.

Annie Johnson Flint (1866- 1932) suffered from  a crippling rheumatoid arthritis and other debilitating illnesses, and she understood this. From her perspective of perpetual pain and suffering  she wrote this wonderful  hymn. Take note specifically of the second verse:

1.      He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater, 
      He sendeth more strength when the labours increase; 
      To added afflictions He addeth His mercy, 
      To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

2.     When we have exhausted our store of endurance, 
      When our strength has failed ere the day is half done, 
      When we reach the end of our hoarded resources, 
      Our Father’s full giving is only begun. 

3.      Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision, 
      Our God ever yearns His resources to share; 
      Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing; 
      The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.

4.      His love has no limits, His grace has no measure, 
      His power no boundary known unto men; 
      For out of His infinite riches in Jesus 
      He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

This is the God of Abraham and Sarah.   When they were beyond hope, the Father’s full giving had only begun.

18:1:  This is  the God (LORD - Covenant Name – Yahweh) who in the heat of the day meets Abraham  by the oaks of Mamre[1],  in the form  of three men. It is what we call a ‘theophany’, a ‘God appearing’. We find a number of these in the OT.[2]  In this particular instance the LORD appears in the form of three men. Some commentators have thought that this was a manifestation of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That seems unlikely.  Abraham speaks here to the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus (whom he addresses here initially as ‘my Lord’ – Adonai v.3). He  appears here with two angels in a human form.  In   Gen. 18:13 this Lord (Adonai) is then called the LORD (Yahweh) and in Genesis 19:1 the other two persons are identified as angels.

It  appears that there must have been a gradual dawning  upon Abraham that he was in the presence of supernatural beings, and so  with this hindsight, the inspired writer is able to say that “the LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre” (v.1). So it is the LORD YAHWEH in the company of two angels . All three have a body capable of eating and drinking. This was the case also of the resurrection body of Jesus [Lk 24:42,43].  In Matthew 8:11 Jesus speaks of a day when in the kingdom of heaven many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

These three heavenly visitors were coming to reaffirm God’s will to Abraham ,and specifically   for the benefit of Sarah. In this passage we see that Sarah is the one here that really struggles to believe the promise of God.   She needs a reassuring visit from the Lord.  
Don’t you need this from time to time?

But before  a specific word is brought to Sarah, take note of this.  
Abraham’s first response is to minister to the immediate physical needs of his unexpected guests. This is fairly common even today of Eastern culture.   And so Abraham sees to it  that their feet are washed and a  good meal is prepared (18: 4-8).What wonderful hospitality  is shown here, and we cannot help but think of that passage in  Hebrews 13:2[3],  "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for  thereby  some have entertained angels  unawares."  This is what literally happened to Abraham that day.  Hospitality is a Christian grace, and it is required of elders [1 Tim. 3:2 ; Tit. 1:8] and  indeed of  all Christians [Rom.12:13; 1 Pet.4:9). By serving others we serve Christ (Matt.25:40). Having noted this wonderful response to strangers  we now  focus on the purpose of this visit.

The purpose was, as indicated earlier,  to strengthen Sarah's faith. Abraham had previously received a good number  of  visits  from God in terms of  assurance  regarding his future, but Sarah, who was to be the mother of the son of promise really wasn’t doing well at this time. Maybe this was one of Abraham’s great weaknesses as a husband. Did he communicate the previous assurances   from God to Sarah, or was he guilty of the typical husband  thing?   Have you husbands  ever come home and been greeted by your wife, "You didn't tell you that so and so was in the hospital."  And your typical male response was, "Sorry, I forgot".  Did Abraham forget to hold the promises of God before Sarah and so to encourage her? Possibly.

But then  also think of this. 25 years had passed since the promise was first given, and   maybe Sarah had just given up. There was no hope left in her. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” [Prov.13:12]. 

Whatever the case was, Sarah needed a divine visit, and divine encouragement,  and  if  what Hebrews 11:11  says is true  then we know that this visit had done it! “By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she had considered him faithful who had promised.”   

Are we not all in need of a divine visit and divine encouragement from time to time? And has God not encouraged you by means of a visit from someone whose words to you,   with hindsight, were like that of an angel?  Is not that also the purpose of the Word preached on Sunday? Are our worship services not meant to be times of divine visitation with our God?   

If God thought that Abraham and Sarah needed  to  be frequently  reminded  of  His promises,  then this is also true  for you and I.  Oh how we need to have regular assurances from God concerning the  meaning of this earthly  pilgrimage, which can be  so hard and long  at times,  when all we want to do  is to curl up like  Elijah  up under a tree and hope to die.   We need regular assurance of the total trustworthiness of all that God says He will do for us. One way in which God does this is by means of having His Word preached o us.

And so, in the context of enjoying Abraham’s hospitality comes the question: “Where is Sarah, your wife?” (v.9).The visitors are indicating that this visit was intended for Sarah.  In this culture it was not common for women to eat with men, and so Abraham says, “She is in the tent”, and now follows that great promise in v. 10 from the LORD: This time next year I will return and Sarah will have a son.’ Being a tent, Sarah is able to hear this and she laughs to herself (v. 12), but it is not a happy laugh.  Can God make a worn out, 90 year old woman  able to  conceive a son?  That is the issue facing Sarah.  And God is here in person to minister to her. That, incidentally is how saving faith and regeneration comes to every believer. Every conversion is a time when Jesus personally  calls individuals  to  believe in  Him,  when they  are personally convicted  to forsake  their  sin  and  to follow Him. 

Sarah laughs the laugh of unbelief . And God responds to her in v.14, "Is anything too difficult for the Lord?" Thankfully Sarah's  lack of faith  does not deter the Almighty. The Lord knows her heart.  He knows where she is at.  There is doubt and there is DOUBT, is there not?  There is the doubt of the unrepentant and arrogant person, but this is not Sarah. She believes in God, but for her  it has been  a long hard struggle, and  now God has come to help Sarah’s unbelief. He says that she will have a son.  Mary, you will remember had a similar dilemma . Being a virgin and receiving and doubting the news  that she will have a son , is assured  by  these words from the angel Gabriel: ”Nothing is impossible with God”(Lk. 1:37)

Nothing is too hard for God. Apply this for a moment to your own situation.  Can God  cause your hardened relatives and friends  that you have been praying for so long  to be born again?   Believe in the promise of Luke 11:13: “If you then , who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, How much more will the heavenly Father  give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.“

This wonderful  chapter  reveals to  us a gracious and patient Lord who keeps sending His messengers to us to preach the gospel so that we shall believe and so that we shall be encouraged sufficiently in this  often difficult earthly pilgrimage. 

This chapter  reveals  to us that God is utterly committed to  the fulfillment of His Word , and  that He will  come to us at times personally to affirm and reaffirm  these promises to us, giving us adequate strength to do what he says. 
Amen

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[1] Genesis 13:18 – The oaks of Mamre were at Hebron

[2]  Genesis 12:7-9 ;  Genesis 18:1-33;  Genesis 32:22-30 ; Exodus 3:2 - 4:17 ; Exodus 24:9-11; Deuteronomy 31:14-15 ; Job 38–42.  Frequently, the term “glory of the Lord” reflects a theophany, as in Exodus 24:16-18; the “pillar of cloud” has a similar function in Exodus 33:9. A frequent introduction for theophanies may be seen in the words “the Lord came down,” as in Genesis 11:5; Exodus 34:5; Numbers 11:25; and 12:5.

[3] See also  Matthew  25:35 : "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you invited Me in."

Genesis 17 - “Faithful God!”

God is utterly faithful to His people … even when our experience says otherwise.  And God, if He is our God requires us to be faithful.  We can be faithful to Him because He is first faithful to us. This is the great lesson before us this morning.

The biggest crisis in Abram and Sarai’s faith is that God has promised them an offspring and nothing appears to be happening.  Here is some perspective.  There are 13 years between chapters 16 and 17.We know this because Ishmael, born in Chapter 16 is now a 13 year old teenager (17:25).  Abram was 86 years old in 16:16 and he is now 99 old in 17:1,24.   Sarai is   90 years old (17:17).  Altogether it  has been  about 25 years since the LORD had first made a covenant promise to Abram and Sarai regarding a covenant offspring (12:1-3).  By now both knew that humanly speaking there was no chance for Sarai to conceive a child. We have seen in Chapter 16 that human scheming (Abram’s temporary lapse of faith) only made things worse.  Abram and Sarai began to entertain the thought that a covenant child could be produced by their own scheme.   Even in 17:18 we find Abram still bargaining with God, hoping somehow that Ishmael  might become  the future heir of the covenant.

But God had remained very quiet in those years between Chapters 16 and 17. There  were no  special appearances  and no further  assurances  with respect  to  the promise  of  an  offspring[1] .  One almost begins to wonder whether God was finished with Abram, following his great lack of faith in God’s promises in Chapter 16.  But God, who entered into a covenant with Abram in Chapter 12 is indeed faithful. He would not be quiet forever.  And so we read in 17:1,2

“When Abram was 99 years old  the LORD appeared   to Abram  and said to him: I am God Almighty (EL SHADDAI), walk before me and be blameless, that  I may make my covenant between me and  you , and  may  multiply you greatly.”

God had not forgotten Abram, and Abram’s faithlessness in Chapter 16 did not cause God to abandon him.  Quite on the contrary, God spoke again, and confirmed His covenant to Abram again.  In fact, covenant is a key word in this chapter. It’s a key word in the Bible. God’s faithfulness to you and I, rests on His New Covenant in Christ. The Covenant  is the most basic expression of God’s faithful character to us. It is powerfully seen in His dealings with Abram. Here in the 17^th chapter, the word ‘covenant’ is mentioned 13 times. And God is committed as ever to fulfil His promise to Abram.

God’s silence in the life of a true believer must never be interpreted as a negative sign.  Just because God is not seen, heard or felt is not a sign that He is not there.   After I left my parent’s home, living in another city, there were long periods in which I did not hear from them nor speak to them. But I knew that they were there, and I knew that they were still my faithful parents!    

And we must not judge God’s faithfulness by our perception of time. God’s timing is clearly quite different to ours.  Peter reminds us   that for God a thousand years is like a day (2 Pet. 3:8). Whereas 25 years must have seemed like an eternity to Abram and Sarai, it wasn’t so for God. Impatience with God is the result of the fall, and has become one of our greatest enemies. Waiting on God is hard. It leads to making great mistakes because we are forever trying to formulate shortcuts to fulfil our desires.  It seems to me that our own generation driven by a culture of ‘instant gratification’ is exceptionally impatient. People want answers and solutions and they want them yesterday, and they want them according to their own imaginations and desires.  

But God knows what He is doing, and God is always on time: “ But when the fullness of time  had come , God  sent forth his Son...” (Gal. 4:4,5). Christianity is about long waiting. It took 2000 years after the promise was made to Abram for the Lord Jesus to come. Many in Israel,   for many years were longing for the Messiah’s  appearing (e.g. Lk 2:25,38; 1 Pet. 1:10),and even then many were not satisfied with His appearance.

If God is silent, there is a good reason. And if God has spoken once, He actually does not need to repeat Himself. This is especially true in Abram’s case. Babies are always a gift from God and many, many parents even in our day have had to wait for their gifts to arrive in God’s good time. Without God, Abram could do nothing to bring a covenant child into the world.  He tried, but look, where it got him. 

By grace, Abram’s faithful God appeared and He spoke to him again. This is the first time in the OT  that  God introduced Himself as EL SHADDAI ,  ‘God the Almighty’ – the God of the impossible, the  sovereign God , the God  who can suspend the laws of nature, and who can  make a woman bear a  baby in her nineties.  This God says to Abram, “walk before me and be blameless. Abram’s holy and faithful God requires him to be faithful and to be holy as He is holy (Lev.11:44; 1 Pet.1:16). Abram can walk blamelessly and upright before God, because the God who called him is also the God who equips him. “His divine power has granted to us all things  that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him  who called us  to his own glory and excellence.” (2 Pet.1:3). When a person becomes a believer, he is no longer a slave. He can choose to say ‘no’ to ungodliness, (though he may, like Abram also compromise).  But God calls us to be faithful, and it is our walk with God is the expression of our faith in Him.

17:2  “That  I may make my covenant  between me  and you , and may multiply you greatly.” In Abram’s mind there is still the thought that God might do this through Ishmael (17:18), but Abram’s thoughts are not God’s thoughts. God’s thoughts are bound to His  covenant and central to these covenant thoughts   for Abram is  a child called  Isaac,   born  of the covenant marriage  between Abram and Sarai (17:19). 

17:3:  “Then Abram fell on his face” (see also 17:17). See Abram’s response - a mixture of worship and fear and disbelief – “Shall a child born to a man who is hundred years old?  Shall Sarah who is ninety years old bear a child?”  The answer is YES! The faithful  God is still where He  was  when He first  promised to make Abram “the father of  a multitude  of  nations” (Ch. 12 à17:4) and  He says it again in  17:5 and again in  17:6 . “I will make you into nations.”

17:5:  That is the reason why Abram’s name (exalted father) was changed, because God promised to make him a ‘father of a multitude’. That is what the name ‘Abraham’ means. Sarai’s name is changed to Sarah. Both her names mean, ‘princess’.  But there is a difference. Her father had named her ‘princess’ but he had no power to make her one. God alone had that power, and she , like the promise  to  Abraham would become the mother of many nations, and  kings would come from her (17:16) God fulfills what he promises. He is faithful.

Their new names were an indication that things were beginning to happen.   By taking on this new name Abraham and Sarah were beginning   to live as if the fact had already happened. 

How little did  Abraham  understand  the  immensity of that promise, and despite  that  He was enabled  to  become  the father of faith, the father  of  all those that would believe God  (all those  who would be born into the covenant),  a  father  of  a  people from  every nation, tongue and tribe. How little did Abraham know, and yet  he believed and  the Lord Jesus  credits him with a faith that  saw  far head  in John 8:56: “Your father, Abraham, rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad.”  Abraham was enabled in His faith, because the God that called Him was faithful to Him.  The basis of our faith is the faithfulness of our God. God is faithful. He leads us and keeps us and He bears with us even when we struggle to fully believe.

It clearly wasn’t easy for Abraham.  He trusted God and yet it wasn’t always easy to see the way ahead. By this time Abraham had entertained the thought that Ishmael might live under God’s blessing (17:18), but he was becoming content with a substitute for the blessing of God.  His hopes were focused on Ishmael.  He desperately needed a reminder that this wasn’t it.  Oh faithful God, thank you for adjusting our cheap visions!  Thank God   that  from time to time He revives  our  feeble  faith by meeting  with us and  by  causing His Holy Spirit  to  make  us able  hear His Word in a much more profound and  intimate manner, stirring up renewed  faith, hope and love  in our souls, so that  we are  weaned from our small ambitions and become more  fully conformed to His plan and purpose.

And so Abraham is promised at this time afresh that he would be exceedingly fruitful (17:6) and, that nations and kings (and ultimately the King of kings) would come from his and Sarah’s union. He is promised afresh that God’s covenant will extend to  his offspring (17:7 repeated in 17:8,9,10,19). This covenant promise , we see in the NT extends to the family of true believers  in all the world and among all nations , tribes and tongues.  This covenant promise  includes  the  promise of the land of Canaan  (17:8), which is,  as we  see, fulfilled  in the NT in  the  eternal kingdom. All  true believers , all the sons and daughters of Abraham   will  be gathered  in that sacred land, the kingdom of Heaven,  the renewed   creation in which  God rules  and reigns  without dispute -  “ I  will be  their God…”. 

Then God gives Abraham a command:  “As for you, you shall keep my covenant” (17:9). And God stipulates how the keeping of that covenant should look like. God’s faithful covenant grace to him demanded a visible response:  Every male born to his offspring was required to be circumcised.  This outwards sign was to be a mark of belonging to the covenant community, the company of the faithful believers in God.  And yet we know that circumcision has in itself never saved anyone. Ishmael the thirteen year old son of Abraham was circumcised on the same day as Abraham (17:26), and yet he showed no evidence of a heart renewed by grace. Ishmael bore the sign of the covenant, but he lived in hostility toward all his kinsmen. (Gen. 16:12). The Old Testament hope  was that,  with the coming of the Messiah, the hearts of every member of the New Covenant family would be circumcised. In fact,  Paul told the Galatians, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Gal. 5:6) and, “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation” (Gal. 6:15).  Circumcision, or it’s NT equivalent, ‘baptism’, was an important sign of belonging to the believing community, but it needed to be preceded by a  true  circumcision  of the heart, or in the case of the NT, a baptism in  or with the Holy Spirit.  

So then, this faithful God speaks again to Abraham.  He reassures   him that the promise is not via Hagar but via Sarah, his princess. She shall bear a son, ‘Isaac’. His name means, “he laughs” and even the date of his birth is announced: “at this time next year” (17:21), twenty-six years after God first told Abram that he would have a son. Ishmael too will become a great nation but he is not the one through whom God will establish his covenant. Isaac alone will be that one.

God only has one way to enter into the covenant which leads to spiritual blessing and ultimately eternal life. It is by faith in His promises, and from a NT perspective   it is very clear that your only hope is in the Son of the New Covenant - the Lord Jesus Christ! He is that door, that gate, the way, the truth the life. Follow Him faithfully all the days of your life.  

As we come to the Lord’s table to celebrate His great work for us,   you need to remember that this table is for those that have been embraced by the faithful God of the New Covenant. This table is for those that have in turn embraced him in love and with thankful hearts, and who in dependence upon divine grace, seek to live faithfully before Him. Amen 

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[1]  Gen. 12:7; 13:15,16;  15:4,5

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