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Isaac’s Challenges

This scripture continues to be important for our understanding of Isaac’s perseverance and obedience to God: 1 Corinthians 9:27 “But, I discipline my flesh, and bring it into subjection; lest when I preach the Gospel to others, I myself will become disqualified.” Once again we list the figures of speech to help you as you do this study. SIMILE: Resemblance; ALLEGORY: comparison by representation; METAPHOR: Representation; HYPOCATASTASIS: An implied resemblance or representation; TYPE: A figure or example of something future; ANALOGY: Resemblance in some particulars between things otherwise unlike.

26:1-2

Another famine means that various tribes of people would be once again struggling for survival for themselves and their flocks, just as had happened a hundred years earlier to Abraham and Sarah. The Lord God actually appears visibly to Isaac to warn him not to go into Egypt, but to remain in the land, trusting God for His provision for his family tribe. Remember, this appearance is referred to as a Theophany; a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord, Jesus Christ in human form.

26:3-6

God tells Isaac that if he obeys and remains in the land as instructed, that God will bless him and his lineage; giving all these countries to his posterity, just as He had promised Abraham. God repeats the same promises to Isaac regarding his posterity to be unnumerable as the stars of heaven. He assures Isaac that all the nations of the earth will be blessed as he obeys God, just as Abraham had obeyed God. This confirmation and assurance is all Isaac needs to hear, he immediately obeys God, and stays in Gerar instead of going to Egypt.

26:7

It’s amazing that as soon as we obey God and have a victory over a possible sin situation, that another trial appears. The men of Gerar begin to ask Isaac about the beautiful Rebekah. Isaac panics and repeats the same lie that his father Abraham had told, saying “She is my sister”. He feared that the men would kill him to obtain Rebekah, because of her beauty.

26:8-10

After a long time, the ruler, referred to as Abimelech, looks out a window and sees Isaac caressing Rebekah. He immediately calls for Isaac and confronts him regarding Rebekah being his wife, NOT his sister. Stating that one of the men of his country might have taken Rebekah and laid with her, committing adultery, which was a serious sin which would have brought guilt upon all of them in the land. In addition, adultery was a capital offense! Abimelech demands Isaac explain his lying. Isaac uses the same excuse Abraham had used, that he feared being killed so someone could take Rebekah.

26:11-12

Abimelech then immediately issues an edict that states that anyone who touches Isaac or his wife will be put to death. We remember this same command from the earlier ruler in the same situation with Abraham and Sarah. However, this time no gifts are given, nor is any promise made that Isaac and Rebekah may dwell where ever they wish. (12.) Isaac sowing seed . . .; this is the first mention of “sowing seed”. The sowing must have been at the direction of God and the results are blessed by God as he receives back a hundredfold in the same year as he sows. We are even told that God is blessing him. Matthew 13:23 refers to this sowing of “good seed” as referring to the Word of God.

26:13-15

Isaac continues to obey God and becomes very successful and rich in the land. He acquires flocks and herds as well as a great number of servants. His wealth increases so much and so quickly that the Philistines begin to envy him. They then filled his wells, the same one’s his father had dug, with dirt, to try to hinder his prosperity.

26:16

After these efforts fail, then Abimelech tells Isaac to move away from that area because he and his tribe have become more powerful than Abimelech’s people. This would mean that Isaac would lose all the lands he had cultivated.

26:17

Instead of arguing, or ‘demanding his rights’, Isaac, his family, and his entire tribe move away from that area as demanded by Abimelech; and moves to the valley of Gerar and sets up camp in the valley. This self-discipline and willingness to trust God, despite the unfair treatment, is an example of the discipline of the flesh we learned about in 1 Corinthians 9:27. Keep in mind that self-discipline takes on many different aspects.

26:18-19

The first thing they must do is obtain enough good clean water for themselves and their flocks and herds; so Isaac has his servants dig the dirt out of the old wells his father had dug many years before. Immediately God blesses them with an artesian well, one that acts as a spring, pouring water out to the surface of the land!

26:20

The herdsmen in the area immediately claim the well as their own, demanding they control the spring of water. Isaac has his men relinquish the well to the herdsman, calling the well Esek, meaning contention.

26:21

Isaac again has his servants dig out another old well his father had dug that was also stopped up with dirt by the Philistines. This well also proves to be a good well. The men of the area, the Gerarites claim that well also. Isaac names this well Sitnah, meaning enmity. He again relinquishes this well.

26:22

Isaac moves away from that area and has yet another of his father’s old wells dug out. This time no one tries to take it from his men. Isaac names this well Rehoboth, which means room, because now God has provided room for them to become fruitful in the land. God was encouraging Isaac to Never give up! To Persevere! The easiest thing to do is to QUIT!. We are often unsuccessful because we fight battles that are to be left to God, AND we give up too soon! We must all learn to discipline our flesh and NOT GIVE UP! No matter what battles we face, we need to trust God and persevere in doing what is good and right.

26:23-24

After Isaac goes up to Beersheba, the Lord appears to him again. God clearly identifies Himself as “The God of Abraham, your father.” God tells Isaac not to fear anything or anyone as He is with him and will bless him and multiply his posterity for the sake of Abraham. Notice that the promises are always tied to the original promises given to Abraham.

26:25

Now Isaac builds an altar to the Lord, and calls upon the name of the Lord. According to the Biblical records, this is the only Altar that Isaac builds. Then Isaac calls upon the name of the Lord as his Lord. He also establishes his home there; then has his servants dig another well. It appears that they dug out a well that had also belonged to Abraham as the people there acknowledged that the well had belonged to Abraham. Isaac now knows he is settled in the area chosen by God.

26:26

Abimelech has obviously been keeping tract of where Isaac and his tribe have been moving and what has been going on. So now he goes to see Isaac and brings along Ahuzzath, a close friend; and the chief captain of his army. We can be certain that there is a large contingent of soldiers with him, as the chief captain would NOT be going along with the ruler, Abimelech, without sufficient armed forces.

26:27

Isaac immediately confronts Abimelech and demands to know why he has come to him, since he hates him and sent him out of his land. Why would Isaac suddenly be confident enough to confront Abimelech? Remember, God has appeared to him and given him reassurance regarding His Eternal promises to Isaac.

26:28

Abimelech admits that they have been carefully observing how God has continually been with him, protecting and blessing him. Abimelech asks for a Covenant with Isaac to be sealed with an oath. The oath would have been binding upon all those who Abimelech ruled and all those under the rulership of Isaac.

26:29

Abimelech asks that the Covenant be a peace treaty to insure that none of Isaac’s people would hurt or harm him or his people and that he and his people would do nothing to hurt or harm Isaac’s people. Abimelech states that he and his people have done nothing to hurt or harm Isaac and his people. He claims they have done nothing but good to Isaac and his people and sent them away in peace. This was untrue as his people had demanded the wells Isaac servants had dug, and had generally made them move on several times, hardly making them feel at “peace.” His final statement however, is quite true: “You are now the blessed of the Lord.”

26:30

Isaac graciously has a generous dinner prepared for all the men; and they eat and drink and spend the night at Isaac’s camp. It would appear that a peace treaty would be reasonable and wise considering the situation for Isaac and his tribe.

26:31-33

The next day they all get up early in the morning and then swear an oath and make a Peace Covenant. Isaac then sends them on back to their land in peace. That very same day, no doubt after Abimelech and his army had left, his servants come and announce that the well they were digging is successful and has water. Isaac calls the well Shebah, meaning “Oath”. The name of the city remains to this day as Beersheba, meaning The well of the Oath. This is the same area Abraham also made a Covenant of peace. Remember that his wife and twin sons are with him and are certainly witnessing all that is happening to Isaac, and to them.

26:34-35

Just as it would seem that things were finally going well for Isaac and Rebekah, their son Esau, at the age of 40, takes two Hittite women as wives; Judith and Basemath. They were clearly to only have one wife; and even more important, the father was to select the wife, AND she was NOT to be of the people of the land, the Hittites. Esau clearly has learned nothing from his father’s experiences and does not have the same self-discipline of the flesh and spirit that Isaac and Rebekah possess. These wives brought grief to both Isaac and Rebekah.

Our successes in obeying the Lord will bring us His joy and blessings. Our failure to discipline ourselves in all areas of our lives will bring us heartache and failures. We can never rest on our past successes. We must daily seek to know and obey God’s Will. Consider memorizing 1 Corinthians 9:27 for yourself and your life. Applying that scripture diligently to your life will bring you His blessings. We pray for all God’s Blessings for all of us!

Birth of Jacob & Esau

This scripture will be important in our study: 1 Corinthians 9:27 “But, I discipline my flesh, and bring it into subjection; lest when I preach the Gospel to others, I myself will become disqualified.” If Paul was concerned about losing his rewards, because of a lack of self-discipline, (considering how he passionately proclaimed the Gospel); we should be terrified! Once again we list the figures of speech to help you as you do this study. SIMILE: Resemblance; ALLEGORY: comparison by representation; METAPHOR: Representation; HYPOCATASTASIS: An implied resemblance or representation; TYPE: A figure or example of something future; ANALOGY: Resemblance in some particulars between things otherwise unlike.

25:1-2

Most of us are probably quite surprised to see Abraham take another ‘wife’. Although, we will later be told that Katura was really considered a concubine, to emphasize that her sons were NOT to inherit the promises given by God to the ‘son of promise’ who was Isaac, the only son of Abraham and Sarah. Abraham was no doubt lonely, missing the companionship of his beloved Sarah. In any case, his rejuvenation by God allowed him to sire six more sons by Katura! Katura’s background and history are not given because none of her sons are to inherit any of God’s promises to Abraham.

25:3-4

We are given the names and genealogy of these sons so that we can clearly see that they become the Arabic nations we know today. Notice they are Tribes in Sheba, Dedan, Arabian as well as the Midianites. Although Arabic Muslims claim they come from the ‘firstborn son of Abraham’ who was Hagar’s son, Ishmael; the truth is revealed here, that they are offspring of the sons of Katura. Part of this revelation to us is to show that God did make Abraham the ‘Father of many Nations’ as He had promised Abraham in Genesis 17:4. God always keeps His promises to His children.

25:5

Abraham now gives all that he has to Isaac as he knows that Isaac is the chosen son of promise and that Isaac is the genetic line that will bring forth the Messiah. The spiritual promises given are the most important, and all those are promised to Isaac and his lineage. No doubt all the written history of the calling of Abraham and all that has followed was also given to Isaac to transmit on to his lineage; and to be used to write the scriptures we now study.

25:6

‘But,’ remember the importance of this word to draw our attention to what follows. God clearly shows us that Abraham did give very generous gifts to each of his sons by Katura and then sent them away from Isaac, toward the east. Abraham knew that there could be no conflict, or undermining, of the lineage of the promised son, Isaac. This would additionally confirm that these sons of Katura are the ancestors of the modern day Arabic nations.

25:7-8

Abraham dies at the age of 175. We are told that he gives up his spirit and dies in a good old age and then was gathered to his people. All this confirms that his spirit goes on living and is joined with those who are ‘his people’. This no doubt refers to those ancestors who were believers. We know from Luke 16:22, that Jesus refers to this place of departed spirits as “Abraham’s bosom”. Hades contained all the departed spirits, yet there was a great division between those who chose to follow God and looked for the Messiah to come, and those who rejected God and ignored His commands. Stop and read Luke 16:19-31. Notice this true revelation is given by Jesus Himself. It is a true and accurate account of Hell for all of us to learn from. Hell is a real place of agony and torment lasting for all eternity. Jesus spoke more about the horrors of Hell then He ever did about Heaven! Why? Because He wanted all of us to avoid ever rejecting Him and damning ourselves forever to Hell! Remember, God does not send anyone to Hell. People reject Jesus and choose to send themselves to Hell.

25:9-10

Isaac and Ishmael were obviously reconciled at this time. Since the older son would have been the one to bury the father, the fact that Isaac is mentioned first confirms that he alone was the ‘promised heir’ of Abraham. Yet, Isaac obviously did not feel threatened by Ishmael’s presence, and graciously allowed him to participate in the burial ceremony of their father. Keep in mind that Ishmael is now 90 years old, and Isaac is 75 years old. Although we are not specifically told that Jacob and Esau were present at the funeral, we can assume that they were both present as they would have been 15 years old at this time. It would be certain that the entire family would have participated in the burial of such an important family Patriarch as Abraham. He was quite famous and well known throughout the entire region, so the burial ceremony would honor Abraham and his entire family. Notice how specific the scriptures are in making certain that we all know and understand that this is the very same land and cave that Abraham purchased as the burial place for Sarah; and eventually for himself. Both Isaac and Ishmael would have known the importance of this family burial place that was established in faith by their father Abraham. Isaac and Ishmael both learned from their father and mother’s mistakes about NOT waiting for God’s perfect timing. Ishmael personally had experienced God’s provisions for him after he and his mother, Hagar, were sent away from the family in Genesis 21. Isaac had been told firsthand how God had caused his own conception and birth miraculously. Plus, Isaac had seen and experienced God’s provisions for he and his family. Are we learning these important lessons for our own lives? We pray you are taking God seriously as He reveals His Truth to you for your eternal benefit.

25:11

Now the blessings God had been giving to Abraham are now being given to Isaac. Notice that he is again dwelling at Beer-lahai-roi; the ‘well to the Living One Who sees me’. Do we live in constant awareness of knowing that God sees, hears and knows our every thought, word and deed?

25:12-18

Ishmael must have given his family genealogy records to Isaac to keep for posterity. He knew that Isaac was the Child of Promise, so he no doubt knew the importance of having his own family records in the hands of the one God was blessing. Notice that a quick summary is given regarding Ishmael’s family background; again this is to insure that no one can misinterpret the scriptures to claim Ishmael is the promised son. These twelve sons of Ishmael are now princes with castles in their own nations all located near the Egyptian border, in the Arabian peninsula. Now Ishmael dies at the age of 137 in the presence of all his family. Since we are told that he was ‘gathered unto his people’, we can assume that he believed in the God of Abraham, and died in true faith in God. Even though Ishmael was ‘sent away’, he never-the-less had learned the Truth of God and evidently had made a commitment to follow God.

25:19-20

We are now given a quick review of Isaac’s family history. We are reminded that Isaac, at the age of 40, married Rebekah, who was the daughter of Bethuel, a Syrian of Padanaram, and that Laban, also a Syrian, was her brother. This little reminder will be important in future chapters of Genesis.

25:21

Now Isaac is praying fervently to the Lord on behalf of himself and his wife Rebekah, because she is barren, unable to conceive a child. We can assume that Rebekah is also praying fervently for a child. Although this verse does not tell us how long Isaac was praying continually on behalf of Rebekah, she does not become pregnant and have children until Isaac is 60 years old. That is 20 years! See verse 26. We can assume that Isaac shared the true story of what happened when his father and mother did NOT wait for God’s perfect timing, and tried to ‘help God’ by using Hagar to try to get the promised son. Have you ever tried to ‘help God’ with something you believe should happen? Isaac and Rebekah could have used Deborah for the same purpose, but they had learned that painful lesson from what happened to Abraham and Sarah, and chose to continue to pray for the promised son for themselves. Trusting and praying for 20 years is a very long time. How are you doing in trusting and praying to God for something you know He has promised you?

25:22-23

Rebekah knew the promises God had given Abraham, Sarah and Isaac, and that she was the chosen wife to have the future promised son, so she was no doubt ecstatic to discover she was finally pregnant! However, she realizes that something strange is going on in her womb, so now we are told she prays to God, to ask specifically for His wisdom and insight. By this comment, we can assume she must have been praying along with her husband for a child all those years. However she had no way of knowing she was now pregnant with twins! God graciously tells her that two nations are within her womb. This immediately tells her that she will have not just one son, but two! These two sons will be very different in their mannerisms, personalities, feelings, thoughts, etc. Even before birth, these sons are developing their own personalities and mind sets. Modern science now knows that the baby develops their own personality before they are even born! These twins are struggling with one another in the womb, before they are even born! That must have been very uncomfortable for poor Rebekah! God reveals something very important: that one people will be stronger than the other, and that the elder son shall serve the younger. This is contrary to the traditional command of the blessing to be given to the ‘first born son’. Now keep in mind that Rebekah knows that the blessings are to be given to the first born son. Two blessings are involved: The ‘double portion’ is to go to the first born son. The ‘birthright’, the spiritual responsibilities, are also to go to the first born son. Yet God clearly tells Rebekah that this will not be true in the case of these two sons. We can be certain that Rebekah shared this important revelation with Isaac. There are many multiple meanings, figures of speech and prophetic hypocatastasis in these passages. Is God revealing some important Truth to you?

25:24-26

God’s Word is fulfilled with the birth of the twin sons. The first son is red and hairy, like a garment, and he is named Esau. Then, immediately his brother comes out, and his hand grabs Esau’s heel; and he is named Jacob. ‘Jacob’ could mean ‘heel-catcher’ and also could mean ‘supplanter’, yet the Hebrew Ya’aquob actually means “may He (God) protect”. In Hosea 12:3, Hosea, the prophet, interprets Jacob’s name as evidence of his strength and power over his outwardly more impressive brother. Jacob’s strength comes as a result of his relationship with God. When we feel ‘powerless’, it is important to remember that true power and strength comes from God; and is for God’s purpose and plans. Remember, when we are in God’s Will for our lives; He will protect us and strengthen us!

25:27

As Esau and Jacob grow into adulthood, it is clear that Esau becomes a powerful and cunning hunter. Esau appears to be the stronger of the two. Esau could easily be described as a ‘macho man’. These types of people are self-absorbed and want to do things their own way. Yet, God clearly tells all of us we are to seek to do things God’s way, in His will, not ours. The only ‘hunters’ the Bible mentions are Nimrod in Genesis 10:9 and Esau. Both men were rebels against the will and revelation of God; both were described as ‘men of the field’. God had permitted the eating of meat, yet Isaac had plenty of flocks and herds, so there was no need to ‘hunt’ for their food. It appears that Esau was just indulging himself for sport, spending his time ‘playing’. Hebrews 12:16 sheds some light on Esau’s character for us, by identifying him as one who was guilty of sexual vice and was profane. Jacob is identified as a plain and quiet man. The term ‘plain’, in Hebrew, ‘tam’, actually means ‘perfect’ or mature. See Job 1:1, 8; 2:3. Jacob worked at home, taking care of the flocks and fields; and probably studied the history of his family’s relationship with God. Jacob took his calling seriously, accepting responsibility and grew to maturity. It appears that he quietly studied and contemplated his calling before God. Shouldn’t we be doing the same thing?

25:28

Parents often ‘favor’ one child over another. So it was with Isaac and Rebekah. Yet the reason that Isaac ‘loved Esau’ was a selfish one; he satisfied his taste buds for venison! Remember, 1 Corinthians 9:27. Rebekah ‘loved Jacob’ means she understood and knew he was to be the one to spiritually carry on God’s calling for their family. Yet, keep in mind that God had already given His Word regarding the future of both of these sons. The two sons give us a simile or metaphor of the battle between good and evil. See Romans 9:11-13. God’s fulfillment of His Word is always True and accurate; God can NEVER LIE!

25:29

Jacob is so humble he is doing menial chores by preparing a lentil stew for the family. Esau comes in from the field and demands some of the stew immediately, claiming he is starving to death. Do we ever use that expression? Yes, it is always an exaggeration, and so it was with Esau. Jacob then begins to bargain with Esau, asking him to ‘sell’ him his birthright. Esau doesn’t even argue with Jacob, he casually states that the birthright will do him no good if he starves to death! Give us a break! Then Jacob realizes how foolish his brother is acting; and takes advantage of the situation by stating that he wants Esau to Swear to him that he will sell the birthright. We are not told the exact words Esau uses, only that he swore an oath and sold his birthright to Jacob. We can only assume it was for the simple pot of stew! Keep in mind that Jacob is not acting in an ethical manner. God doesn’t need any ‘help’ from Jacob or anyone else, for that matter!

25:34

Jacob gives Esau bread and all the stew he wants. Esau then eats and drinks, then just goes his way, scorning his birthright, as of having no value. Has 1 Corinthians 9:27 taken on a new meaning for you?

Your ‘birthright’, from the beginning of time, was to become a child of the Living God, Creator and Sustainer of the Universe! We are called to become like Jesus; we are promised that we will become children of the Most High God, and co-heir of Heaven with Jesus! What a wonderful birthright we have; what fool would scorn and reject such a high calling? Sadly, millions of people have done just that. Our calling is to seek to obey our Lord, God and Savior, with all our heart, mind and soul. See Psalm 119:10-11. You and I are called to reveal God’s wonderful Truth to those who are trapped in sin and shame and doomed to Hell. It is our ‘birthright’, responsibility, or calling, to teach and disciple others, so they may become children of God for all Eternity. This is why discipleship is so crucial! See Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-47; John 3: 16-21, John 20:29-31.

A Bride for Isaac

Remember the figures of speech: SIMILE: Resemblance; ALLEGORY: comparison by representation; METAPHOR: Representation; HYPOCATASTASIS: An implied resemblance or representation; TYPE: A figure or example of something future; ANALOGY: Resemblance in some particulars between things otherwise unlike. These figures of speech will DIRECTLY apply to us, so we need to be on the alert for them in this powerful prophetic chapter, speaking to each of us!

24:1

We almost smile and laugh to be told again that Abraham is quite old now; yet remember, the Holy Spirit does not want someone to just read this verse alone, or even just this chapter, and not have the knowledge of exactly how ancient he is. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to acknowledge that the Lord had blessed YOU in all things? Hasn’t He? Why do you think He hasn’t?

24:2-4

Abraham’s request of his chief servant is so solemn that he has him place his hand under his ‘thigh’; this is a polite way of saying under his genitals. This would cause the servant to actually be swearing an oath to and for Abraham’s posterity. It would also bind the oath to be a blessing or curse to the servant’s posterity. We know from previous chapters that the eldest, or chief servant is Eleazer, whose name means “Comforter”. Are you beginning to see some Types and Metaphors? What name is given for the Holy Spirit? Comforter! Yet he remains unnamed in this chapter. See John 16:13-15, The Holy Spirit is unnamed, yet He is the One who gives us the Grace to become Believers; all Truth comes to us through the Holy Spirit. This trusted servant of the Father of his people is being sent to obtain a bride worthy of his son (remember, he, Isaac, was a ‘type’ of Christ in the sacrificial offering on the Mount). Are you seeing the Hypocatastasis? A Comforter who goes to a distant land to find a worthy, pure bride for the son of the father! Why did Abraham insist that the servant find a bride from ‘my country’ and from ‘among my people’? A non-believer would not be in the land or family of the Father! The Bride of Christ must be chosen by the Father, through his servant, and must be pure and holy. We will soon see other attributes that the bride must have.

24:5-6

This ‘perhaps’ is very reasonable; and the servant wants to know if the son should go to the distant land, presumably to try to find a bride himself. Abraham states emphatically that he is never to take his son back to the foreign distant land. The chance that Isaac might remain in the foreign land instead of the Promised Land would be too great. Notice that Isaac is not named by either the servant, nor Abraham, only ‘the son’ is mentioned. We are clearly being given a ‘type’ of Christ here.

24:7

Abraham gives a summary of the history of his coming to the Promised Land, and God’s promises that his offspring would inherit the land; then he adds that the God of heaven will send His Angel before the servant to take a wife for the son. The ‘offspring’ are all those who become believers, in Abraham’s time and down through the centuries to our time. His Angel would be a theophany of Jesus. The wife is to be the Bride of the Son. All these Metaphors, Similes, Types and Allegory are clearly showing us the future; all pointing to Jesus and then on to all Believers who will become the Bride of Christ.

24:8-9

Abraham relieves the servant of any obligation IF the woman refuses to come back with him and become his son’s bride. The servant then completes the actions and oath regarding this solemn promise to Abraham. If the Holy Spirit calls us and we refuse, God will not force us to become the Bride of Christ; the Holy Spirit will eventually stop striving for our soul for all Eternity. What a sad Truth we must face. Hopefully, you have accepted the call to be the Bride of Christ. Pray earnestly for those who have not yet said ‘yes’ to Jesus.

24:10

Ten camels means the servant is traveling with quite a number of other servants from Abraham’s household in a caravan; they are taking provisions, and we are told, treasures with him, no doubt to pay a dowery for the bride, as well as gifts to the bride and her family. This trip to Mesopotamia, which is located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, to a city where Nahor’s family tribe lived, would have taken several weeks.

24:11

The act of having the camels kneel down was to unload the burden they were carrying; and to give them much needed water. Camels were used in the desert because they could go for weeks without food or water. We are given the additional information letting us know that it is the evening time, the time when the women come out in the cool of the day to draw much needed water.

24:12-14

Notice how specific the unnamed servant’s prayer is. He address God as Lord and God of his master, Abraham. He asks God to give him ‘good success today’ and in so doing that would show kindness to Abraham. He tells God to see him, that he is standing by the well and the daughters of the men of the city are now coming out to draw water. Notice how specific his prayer is: “Let the girl to whom I say ‘let down your jar and give me a drink’, that she would give me a drink and then offer to give water to all the camels!” Now that was an unbelievable request, because these camels were very, very thirsty. Camels can drink 30 gallons of water in just 13 minutes! They drink faster than any other animal on the planet! They also hydrate themselves faster than any other animal; drinking huge amounts of water. Keep in mind that the only way to get water was to lower a bucket into the well, then draw it up and empty it into your water jar; then repeat the process until the jar was filled. Do you realize that a gallon of water weighs over 8.25 lbs? 5 gallons of water would weigh well over 42 lbs! How many ladies could lift and carry that amount? Now, do the math, each camel would drink 30 gallons minimum; so that would be 6 jars of water, assuming she could carry the 5 gallons at a time, for each of those thirsty camels!!! Are you getting tired just thinking about it? Just drawing water for one camel would be an exhausting job! So it appears that the servant is asking God for the impossible!

24:15

Before the servant is even finished speaking to God in Prayer, out comes Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Micah and Nahor, who was Abraham’s brother; with her water jar carried on her shoulder. You can check the genealogy given to us back in Genesis 22:23. Now you know why it is so important to pay attention to the details given by the Holy Spirit to us. Remember, all scripture is given to us for very specific purposes.

24:16

Rebekah is not only gorgeous on the outside in appearance, but she is also beautiful and pure on the inside, and unmarried. Now how the servant knew all this is a mystery; yet the Holy Spirit does reveal Truth to those who seek it and trust God; certainly the servant was doing both of these things. Keep in mind that the servant was very loyal and intelligent. Yet, he possessed an even more important characteristic; he was wise.

24:17-18

The servant immediately runs up to Rebekah and respectfully asks her for a little water from her water jar. She responds immediately by honoring this stranger by saying to him “Drink, My Lord,” and immediately lets down her jar into her hands and gives him a drink. Notice the gracious, helpful, generous attitude she has.

24:19-20

Now Rebekah does and says something unbelievable, she generously offers to sacrifice her time and energy to draw water for all the thirsty camels, and take it to them and pour it into the trough until all ten camels have had their complete fill of water! This could take hours and hours of hard, hard backbreaking work! Then we are told she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and then ran back to the well and drew more water. She must have worked fast and hard continually to draw that much water for all those thirsty camels; plus after hauling that heavy jar to the trough, she runs back each time! She must have been a super hard worker, plus she was very strong. I suspect she was a real go-getter as we saw she was the first of the girls to get to the well to begin with.

24:21

The servant was speechless! He probably couldn’t believe his eyes, seeing this beautiful, lovely girl race back and forth to the well, furiously drawing up the water, pouring it into her jar, then hurrying back to the camels, then running back to the well, trip after trip after trip! The more she continued to keep her word to do this exhausting, seemingly impossible job, at no pay, mind you, the more the servant began to clearly see God had indeed successfully answered his prayer. Even though this was an exhausting, strenuous, and difficult task, Rebekah kept her word. She was a woman who honored God by keeping her word. This was the entire purpose of his trip; to have this prayer answered successfully. He had faithfully sworn to his master, Abraham, that he would do everything he possibly could to obtain a worthy bride for Abrahams son. How are you at keeping your word, even when it becomes very difficult, if not almost impossible? Rebekah was truly a Godly woman.

24:22-23

Only after all the camels had finished drinking to their fill, did the servant take out some of the gold treasures he had brought. First, an earring of pure gold weighing half a shekel and for each of her hands two bracelets of pure gold, weighing ten shekels. He also asks her whose daughter she is and do they have room in her father’s house for all of them to stay. Hotels were non existent in that day, so they would have to stay out in the desert, or ask for accommodations from some of the inhabitants of the town. Rules for hospitality were to be generous to travels and offer to accommodate them, if at all possible. In return, the travelers were expected to offer some sort of gifts to those who would provide them food and lodging. Archeologists have discovered large gold earrings and intricate necklaces and bracelets of fine gold, dating well before Abraham’s time. These ancient craftsmen were highly skilled artisans of gold. We can rely on God’s Word to be true and accurate, all the time.

24:24-25

Rebekah reveals who her parents are and that they have both straw and feed for the camels as well as room for all of them to lodge in her father’s house. She shows herself to be gracious, trusting, generous, kind and faithful in honoring the rules for hospitality above and beyond what is required or expected, truly a Godly, pure maiden!

24:26-27

The servant now bows down before God and worships Him, acknowledging the Lord is to be Blessed and honored as He has clearly blessed the servants request and blessed Abraham with his loving kindness and generosity. He acknowledges that he had gone on this long arduous journey out of obedience and faith and the Lord had led him directly to the house of Abraham’s brother, Nahor. Truly, this was a miracle from God. When the Holy Spirit seeks us as the bride of Jesus, isn’t it a miracle that we respond in faith and obedience? We were lost sinners on our way to hell and the Holy Spirit searched and sought us diligently and steadfastly until we finally responded in faith and obedience. What a reward we have; forgiveness of our sins, being saved from an eternity of agony and suffering; then being given the unbelievable position of being made the bride of Jesus Himself. We should be humbled and grateful, being given something beyond anything we could have ever imagined or hoped for!

24:28

Rebekah immediately runs back to her home and tells the whole story to her mother’s entire household. No doubt showing them the beautiful gold earring and two bracelets as proof of her story. They probably had wondered where in the world she was all that time. Yet, it appears that because she was a woman who was known for speaking only the truth, and kept her word, they knew she was speaking the truth.

24:29-31

Rebekah’s brother, Laban, immediately believes his sister and realizes the importance of this servant, who is the chief servant of his great uncle Abraham; and he runs out to the well to meet the servant, and make him feel welcome and honored to be in his presence. He addresses the servant as “Blessed of the Lord” and begs him to come into the house, assuring him that the accommodations are all ready for him and they have prepared a place for all the camels to stay and be taken care of. In effect, he is ‘rolling out the red carpet’ for the servant of Abraham. When God sends an unexpected ‘visitor’ to bring an important message to us, how do we treat them? As an inconvenience, or are we spiritually sensitive enough to recognize when God is intervening on, or for, our behalf?

24:32

Now the servant of Abraham comes into the house, which is probably quite large since it is the home of the extended family. Meantime, Laban, and his servants, ungirded the camels and take care of their needs for straw and feed. He also has water provided to wash and bathe the feet of the chief servant and all the other servants with him, and to provide places for all of them. You can imagine that everyone was scurrying around to make everything ready and perfect for this important visitor. Notice how everyone in the household made extra efforts and did everything possible to make the unexpected visitors feel welcome and wanted. How welcome and wanted do we make an unexpected visitor feel in our home? What about the Holy Spirit, how welcome and wanted do we make Him feel in our hearts each day?

24:33

A great meal is then set out before the servant and all his men with him. Yet, the servant, despite the fact that he was probably very hungry, refuses to eat until he tells the entire household the full reason, or the mission given to him, for his trip to their region. Laban honors him, by respectfully having everyone sit down to listen to Abraham’s servant. Notice that the servant shows us the characteristics of a true servant of God: dependable and trustworthy, praying fervently and believing that God will answer heartfelt godly prayers that are made in the will of God. He is so dedicated that he refuses to eat until his master’s business is made known. The will of God is the business, or Mission, of the Father and the goal of the Holy Spirit. He never even speaks his own name, but gives all glory and honor to his master. We see in the New Testament that the Holy Spirit never seeks glory for Himself, but gives God the Father all the honor and glory.

24:34-38

He continues to identify himself only as Abraham’s servant. He tells them that the Lord God has blessed his master mightily, that he has become super successful and great, that he has great wealth, going into detail about all Abraham has. Then he reveals the details of his mission to seek a pure, holy, Godly wife for his master’s son. He states that the wife must be one from his father’s house. The Bride of Christ must also be a member of God’s household, the family of God. Only those who are true Believers can qualify as the Bride of Christ. Remember, only those who accept Jesus as Lord, God and Savior, confessing and repenting of their sins, can be “Born Again” as a child of God. All people are NOT God’s children, only true believers in Jesus.

24:39-40

“But suppose…” This ‘what if’ is a true consideration; for without God’s will in the matter, it would not come to pass. The servant clearly tells them that Abraham had assured him that the Lord God, in whose presence he walked habitually, would send His Angel to be with him, and would prosper and make successful his trip to obtain a wife for his son; from his father’s house. Wow, can you see all the figures of speech relating to us? God sends His Holy Spirit to those He has chosen to search for the true Bride of Christ. We must be obedient, and willing to accept Jesus as Lord, God and Savior before we can be considered to become a part of God’s forever family. The Holy Spirit is always successful in winning us to Jesus. Remember, only the Holy Spirit can win a soul to Jesus. We, as His servants, may share the Truth of salvation with another person, yet only the Holy Spirit can touch their heart and soul and reveal the Truth to them. Anyone who says, “I got someone saved” is NOT telling the Truth, ONLY the Holy Spirit can get someone saved. We may have been used by the Holy Spirit to share God’s Truth with them, but the ultimate decision to accept Christ as Savior and Lord is only brought about by the Power of the Holy Spirit.

24:41

Even after all this, the servant tells them his master says: if the girl refuses to become the bride; or if the girls family will not give her to you, you shall be free and innocent of the oath. So, if the Holy Spirit tugs at our heart and convicts us of sin and we refuse to repent, and turn away from our sins, and turn to God, the Holy Spirit will not force us to become God’s child. We too, can refuse God’s gracious, generous, invitation to become His child for all eternity. Is God speaking to you now?

24:42-48

The servant repeats the entire heartfelt passionate specific prayer he offered up to the God of the Universe, asking that He guide and direct him to the perfect Bride for his master’s son, and that the Lord God of Creation make him successful in his search. He tells how that, before the prayer was even finished, The Lord God began to provide the answers, step by step, bringing Rebekah into his presence. He carefully, and accurately repeats the entire prayer, situation and sequence of events to show how perfectly God had directed him and skillfully orchestrated and provided BOTH the people and situations to meet the need to find the perfect Bride for his master’s son. Do we even have any possible idea of all the details that God had to work out for our Salvation? Was it a miracle that YOU were saved? After studying and reading this account it should be obvious to you that the answer is ABSOLUTELY YES!

24:49

Yet, after all this, the servant still politely requests them to deal kindly and truly with his master, and tell him if they would allow Rebekah to become the bride of his master. The term turn to the right, or turn to the left, is an indication that the servant cannot do anything until they give him an answer. This meant that he would even refuse to eat until an answer was given. Notice, that, even though it is apparent that God has carefully orchestrated all of this in a miraculous manner, yet the servant still humbly asks for their kind and gracious approval. Even when God has worked miracles to bring us to a saving knowledge of Jesus as our Lord, God and Savior, we can still stubbornly refuse!

24:50-51

Both Laban and Bethuel (Rebekah’s father) both speak and acknowledge that this entire situation has come directly from God and that they cannot speak bad or good to the servant. They both say that Rebekah is there before him and tell him to ‘take her and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken’. In their culture, the brother would be the negotiator for the bride, trying to get as much as possible in wealth for the giving of his sister. We always see it as the father of the Bride who gives her away, not the brother. Yet, it may be because of the emotional tie of a father and daughter, that the brother would be more inclined to look at the wealth one could receive, rather than the emotional side of the transaction.

24:52

Immediately Abraham’s servant bows himself humbly down to the ground before the Lord God, who has now clearly shown His power to bring about all the circumstances to obtain a perfect bride for his master. Only God’s power and might can bring us into a pure and holy position to become the Bride of Christ.

24:53

Now the wealth; jewels, silver, gold and precious garments and gifts are brought out and given to Rebekah; and also precious things were given to her brother and her mother. Notice that the servant honors with great wealth those who are giving Rebekah to become the precious Bride.

24:54

Only now, after all the negotiations are complete and the agreement is secured to assure the servant that Rebekah will indeed come with him back to the land of Canaan to become his master’s bride, does the servant, and all his men, sit down with the family and eat and drink. They spend the night and then rise in the morning asking to be allowed to leave and return to their land. This may seem strange to us, yet in their culture, the host can insist that the guests stay several days longer.

24:55

Both Laban and Rebekah’s mother ask that Rebekah be allowed to stay at least ten more days, then they will allow her to go. Once they ‘ask’ this, it is considered that the guest would then have to agree to their terms. We see here a ‘negotiating tool’ to either try to keep Rebekah, or to try to elicit more wealth from the servant.

24:56

The faithful servant doesn’t fall prey to their tactics to delay his mission, nor to stop, or stall the outcome of the mission, or even thwart the mission; he politely refers back to the Lord prospering, or directing all of this mission, and respectfully asks to be sent on his way so that he can return to his master. This would mean that he could not go unless Rebekah would be with him.

24:57

Now they have a stand off, neither one can give in, yet they must resolve the matter, so presumably finally Laban says, ‘we will ask the girl and see what is her desire’. Now, she already has all the wealth and gifts, and so do they, so Laban may be thinking that she would defer to his request and that of her mother out of respect and loyalty to them and agree to stay the extra days. Remember, once she delays, then the servant cannot just stay there and wait for her, his right to the hospitality will end. We already know that in order to be in God’s will, timing is everything. If we delay to obey, we are disobeying! Keep this Truth in mind with everything God asks you to do or be a part of. Either we obey, or we don’t, it is that simple. How many times have we said, “Oh, I should have… , or I wish I had done such and such…”.

24:58

Laban’s ploy to have Rebekah break the stand off in their favor fails. Why? Because Rebekah is a person of integrity and always keeps her word. This characteristic causes her to immediately agree to abide by what God is directing her to do. Even though this decision is now against what her beloved mother and brother want. She is now stepping out in faith and obedience to do what God has called her to do. Keep in mind that she is agreeing to go with a strange servant to an unknown land and become the wife of an unknown man! Wow! That is really stepping out in faith and trusting God!

24:59-61

This formal ‘sending away’ meant they were going away permanently. Rebekah would never again see her mother, brother, father, or her homeland. She would be able to take her personal servant Deborah, with her, otherwise she would be with strangers. Her family blesses her with the traditional blessing of becoming the mother of many people and her posterity always being successful and free. Rebekah and her maids, meaning other household personal maids, also prepare their camels to be part of the Caravan. The entire Caravan now prepares and leaves for the long journey back to the land of Canaan. Now the servant is able to finally take Rebekah and return to her new homeland. God’s preparations for His Son’s Bride is complicated and involves many different obstacles and threats. Remember, we are in a spiritual warfare. Satan never wants us to become the Bride of Christ, he will use every devious trick and dishonest maneuver possible to stop us from becoming the Bride of Christ. We cannot win without being in God’s will.

24:62-63

We now jump back to what is going on back in the land of Canaan regarding Isaac. He has moved and is now living in the South county known as the Negeb. He has returned from going to a well known as Beer-lahai-roi meaning the Living One Who sees me. This of course, is a reference to the All Seeing and All knowing Creator of the Universe. We are told that Isaac goes out in the open country in the evening to meditate and bow down in prayer. This Hebrew word ‘suah’ means to pray, lament, wail or moan. This may be because he is grieving the death of his mother Sarah. It also probably means that he has been doing this for some days, maybe even weeks. Verse 67 indicates several clues to this possibility. Now, suddenly, on this one evening, he sees camels coming in the distance on the horizon.

24:64-65

Their culture demands than an inferior, when riding, immediately dismount from their camel and bow before their superior. Rebekah had asked the servant who the man was that was walking across the field to meet them and he had told her that he was his master. We know that Isaac clearly saw that there were more than 10 camels coming back, so he probably assumed that the servant had been successful in obtaining a Bride for him; so he was walking toward the Caravan! So she had immediately taken a veil and concealed herself with it, then she dismounted from her camel when they drew near to Isaac and bowed to the ground before the servant’s master, which, we know is Isaac. Rebekah knew her place, and never tried to put herself in a higher position, but as a servant, she humbled herself before her master. The Bride is never superior to the Groom.

24:66

The servant now tells Isaac everything that has taken place. So he tells Isaac all about his prayers to the Lord God; the trials and tribulations of obtaining the Bride; all about the Bride’s character traits: her moral purity and holiness, her faithfulness, generosity, truthfulness, willing attitude and action of working hard and long, keeping her word and most of all her willingness to obey God’s direction without question or delay. Quite a list of Christ like character traits, wouldn’t you say? How do you score on all of these?

24:67

Once Isaac takes Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent, he has now agreed to accept her as his Bride. He is no doubt delighted to see her beauty once her veil is removed. He takes Rebekah and she becomes his beloved Bride and wife, and he loves her dearly. We are then told that Isaac is comforted after his mother’s death. So we know that he was grieving the loss of his mother for some time after her death. Perhaps the fact that he chose to keep his mother’s tent as his own home, gives us a clue as to how close he was to Sarah. Yet, his new Bride now becomes his focus. His love for Rebekah is no doubt real and true, and she obviously loves him.

God always knows what is the very best for his children. Sometimes we fail to obtain God’s very best for us because we don’t believe Him. We casually say, “Oh, I believe in God; and yes, I believe in Jesus”. This is an area we all need to pray about and seek to Believe in Faith and Truth. Now think it through very carefully; IF you truly believe God, you WILL OBEY HIM. The only reason for not obeying is because you do not believe God. So, when you say you BELIEVE IN JESUS, that would mean that you OBEY Him in ALL areas of your life ALL THE TIME. When God says those who BELIEVE in His Son are saved, that Belief must be true and honest.

Jesus tells us in John 14:15 “If you really love Me, you will keep and obey My commands.” and in John 14:21 “The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who really loves Me; and whoever really loves Me will be loved by My Father and I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him, (let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him).

If you truly want a deeper, real, honest and personal relationship with your Lord, God and Savior, you may want to memorize these scriptures and pray them into your life.

God tells us this is the way to truly know Him with all your heart, mind and soul:
Psalm 119:10-11 “With my whole heart I have sought You, Oh let me not wander from Your commandments, Your Word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against You.” How do we ‘not sin’? By obedience to God!

Death of Sarah

Remember the figures of speech: SIMILE: Resemblance; ALLEGORY: comparison by representation; METAPHOR: Representation; HYPOCATASTASIS: An implied resemblance or representation; TYPE: A figure or example of something future; ANALOGY: Resemblance in some particulars between things otherwise unlike. As we diligently search God’s Word for His Truth, these are keys to our understanding the underlying actions and words.

23:1-2

This is the first time a woman’s death and age are recorded. Since Sarah is 127 at her death, then Isaac would now be 37, and Abraham now 137. Abraham mourns and grieves for Sarah even to the point of openly weeping for her. She was his beloved Princess, he obviously loved her dearly and deeply.

23:3-4

Despite his deep sorrow and grief, Abraham must now deal with her burial. Abraham and Sarah have always been characterized as “strangers and sojourners in the land”, meaning that Canaan was NOT their homeland. It was considered very important where someone was buried; they were to be buried in their ‘homeland’. Since Paddan Aram, or N. W. Mesopotamia, was their original homeland, that would have been where Abraham would have buried his beloved Sarah. He even admits he is a sojourner in the land. Yet we hear something amazing, he is asking for a cave to use as a sepulcher for Sarah; a burial place. This is the same type of burial place Jesus was laid after His death on the cross.

23:5-6

The people identified here are the Hittites, the sons of Heth. The Hittite empire was centered in what today is Turkey, yet they had colonies in various other lands. Abraham was seeking to purchase the cave, not just have it ‘given’ to him. A purchase indicates you have sacrificed something valuable. The people clearly understand and acknowledge Abrahams standing as an important ‘Prince of the land’ because of his relationship with God; thus they assure Abraham that he may ‘use’ their burial place.

23:7-9

Now Abraham humbly asks to speak to Ephron, son of Zohar, the ruling owner of the cave, in order to transfer ownership of the cave to him. Abraham offers the full price for the cave, so that it would become his legal possession. Keep in mind that all of this land was promised to Abraham by God, yet he does not yet ‘legally’ own any of it.

23:10-11

Although it sounds like Ephron is willing to ‘give’ the cave and the land adjoining the cave to Abraham, this is a ‘negotiating term’; you give me and I will give to you, type of terminology. It did not mean Ephron would ‘gift’, or transfer, the land and cave to Abraham for no consideration. Note that Hittite law demanded the owner pay taxes on the entire parcel of land; both the field and the cave. To transfer part of the parcel did not exempt the original owner from paying taxes on the entire piece of property. Only by legally transferring the entire parcel, could the old owner be relieved from paying the taxes on the whole parcel of land.

23:12-13

Now Ephron has said he is willing to ‘give’ the field and cave to Abraham so he may bury his dead wife. Again, he has not stated the price. So Abraham tells him, in the presence of the entire ‘audience’ of the ‘people at the gate’, meaning the place of legal transactions, that he will pay whatever price Ephron names, so he can bury Sarah.

23:14-15

That is what Ephron is waiting to hear, so now he names the price at 400 shekels of silver, which is a very, very high price for the land and cave! Yet he adds the statement about “what is that paltry sum between us?”, meaning that Abraham cannot now back out of the transaction without showing he is in contempt of Ephron and not a man of his word. He also cleverly says ‘so now you can bury your dead’, in effect leaving Abraham in the position of not being able to negotiate any further.

23:16

Abraham immediately acts upon the offer by carefully weighing out the amount of silver Ephron had requested for the entire parcel of land. Obviously, when it came to obtaining a burial place for his beloved Sarah, he would pay whatever was necessary. All the people witnessed the weighing of the silver and the formal transaction for the land, including the field and the cave.

23:17-18

The field and cave are now described for us, yet note that the description mentions the ‘borders’ being made sure. This is a statement that corresponds to a complete legal survey of the field, land and cave being made to clearly identify the parcel of land that is being sold to Abraham, forever. We still use similar terms and formal surveys to this day, to identify parcels of land being transferred from own owner to another. This now makes Abraham no longer an alien and stranger in the land as he is now a ‘legal owner’ in the land of Canaan. This also means he is forever forsaking his homeland of Paddan Aram, in Mesopotamia, and becoming a legal citizen of the land of Canaan. He can never go back, he has in effect, renounced his homeland! This is the first property of the Patriarchs, a cave and field, that binds them to the Promised Land. Abraham has purchased the land in Faith, trusting that God has led him to this land, and promised it would be given to him and his posterity, forever. This entire transaction is done in the sight of all the peoples of the gate of the city, meaning it is recorded and witnessed as a complete legal transaction and transfer of ownership of the land.

23:19-20

Sarah’s final resting place is in the Promised Land; she is the first to ‘occupy’ the land permanently, so to speak. Although her soul and spirit have gone on to Sheol, the place of the dead, it is a sign of the deep faith of Abraham in God’s promises. We are told the cave and field of Machpelah is to the east of Mamre, or Hebron, in the land of Canaan. This is a permanent burial place for Abraham and future Patriarchs of the Promised Land. Archaeology has since provided proof that the transactions by the Hittites for the land ownership was done in this way. The terminology and steps taken correspond with typical Hittite documents found.

As we continue to study Genesis we will see that Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob and Leah were all to be buried in this same burial cave. Since the importance of this cave showed that the Jewish people were to be possessors of the land of Canaan; in the future, the Moslems would take over this land and build a mosque over the burial site, much like they do today to try to remove the proof that Jews are to inherit the land from God. Have you forsaken and renounced your past life and committed in faith to inherit the Eternal land God has prepared for you? Our forever Promised Homeland is NOT of this earth; it is a Heavenly Homeland with Jesus!

Proving of True Faith

Messianic prophecies and promises that reach down through the ages are found in this powerful chapter of Genesis. This will change forever how you view your Creator God, His Son Jesus, Yeshua in Hebrew, and the Holy Spirit. God is Eternal. How does worship, faith, and obedience all impact our lives? Please understand that we will be seeing some figures of speech that will have multiple meanings, such as SIMILE: Resemblance; ALLEGORY: comparison by representation; METAPHOR: Representation; HYPOCATASTASIS: An implied resemblance or representation; TYPE: A figure or example of something future; ANALOGY: Resemblance in some particulars between things otherwise unlike. Keep these in mind and be prepared for some amazing Truths to be revealed to your heart and soul.

22:1

‘It came to pass’ almost always refers to a long period of time, certainly quite a few years have passed since the birth and weaning of Isaac. The term ‘TEMPT’, or Test, is misunderstood in the translation. It actually is the Hebrew word ‘nacah’ and refers to a sure or certain way of proving something beyond a doubt. This proof was to be so powerful that all peoples, especially Abraham, would understand and comprehend the depth of true godly Forever Faith. When God calls your name, do you hear Him? Are you in prayer, faith and fellowship with God so that you DO hear when He calls you! We often miss God’s call to us, because we have put other concerns ahead of our personal prayer and study time with our Lord, God and Savior. If you have NEVER heard God call you, then it is certainly time to begin seeking and searching diligently for your Lord, God and Creator. Begin with His Word, the source of all Truth.

22:2

Notice that immediately God begins to tell Abraham what He wants him to do. Did you notice that God refers to Abraham’s ONLY SON, Isaac, whom he LOVES. This reference to ‘only son’ is crucial, as Isaac is the ONLY SON between Abraham and Sarah, and he alone is the ‘promise child’. Also this is the first mention of LOVE! The law of ‘first mention’ must be remembered here, as it has special significance. In each of the Gospels the first mention of Love is the Father saying “This is My beloved Son” This is a direct reference to this prophetic request. God also told Abraham to ‘offer’ Isaac, and he assumed this meant to kill Isaac, and must have been a terrible shock to Abraham, yet we do not see him question God in any way. When God speaks to us it is always for a purpose. God doesn’t just say “Hi there, how are you today?” We must pray to listen and understand when God speaks to our hearts and minds. When, you truly seek a personal, intimate relationship with your Creator, you will hear Him speak to you. God’s Word is filled with words of wisdom, revelation, guidance, warnings, inspiration, encouragement, conviction, and other areas for our lives, all for our benefit and hearing. 2 Timothy 3: 16-17: “ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete thoroughly equipped for every good work.” It’s time to listen carefully, and heed the Words of God, our Savior, that we claim to Love.

22:3-4

So how did Abraham respond? We see immediate obedience from Abraham, as he rises early in the morning and saddles his donkey, prepares the wood for the burnt offering; taking two of his young men and his beloved son, Isaac; and begins the trip to the place God told him to go. We are not told that Isaac, who probably was in his late teens or early twenties; even questioned his father about where they were going, or why. Yet the significance of the three days of travel is important, as it is on the third day that Abraham sees the place in the distance. In his heart Abraham considered that Isaac was already as good as dead for the entire three days of travel. (How many days was Jesus dead?) Can you imagine the way Abraham must have felt? His mind must have been in turmoil, thinking, about what he felt he had to do to his son; and how was God going to fulfill His promises. Yet, he knew God is always faithful. Abraham chose to trust God, regardless of the circumstances. We aren’t given the details, yet all these thoughts MUST have been in his mind. All we know is that Abraham obeyed God out of TRUE FAITH AND TOTAL TRUST IN GOD.

22:5

Abraham tells his servants to stay and wait for them with the donkey and he and the young man, will go up and worship, and then return to them. Notice he no longer speaks his son’s name, nor identifies him as his son; as in his mind he has already given him to God, as God commanded. He knew his son would soon be dead.

22:6

Abraham takes the wood and places it on the shoulders of his son; then he takes the fire in his hand, and the knife, and they both go together to the place of sacrifice. Can you see the figures of speech? Wood on his shoulder. Jesus carried the wood of the cross on His shoulder. The Father takes the fire; fire represents God’s wrath and judgement. And notice that they both go together. Isaac no doubt suspected that he was the sacrifice, yet he went willingly with his father, in obedience. The Son of God, said “Father, not my will, but yours be done.” Jesus went willingly and obediently. See Luke 22:42.

22:7-8

Finally, we are told that Isaac speaks; “My father.”, Abraham says, “here I am, my son”. Isaac says “Behold the fire and wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Notice the I Am? What Father is the great I AM? We see multitudes of references to the future, the Type, Metaphor, Simile, and Hypocatastasis all pointing to the future sacrifice of the Lamb of God as an offering for Sin. Not just a sin, but the SIN of all mankind. Jesus chose to willingly and obediently die for us. (8.) Abraham says “My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering.” Notice Who it is? Himself, God Himself! Isaac does not question, but continues together with his father.

22:9

Now Isaac knows for certain that he is indeed the sacrifice, and being a young man, and certainly stronger than his father, he could have resisted, yet he willingly allowed his father to bind him and lay the wood on the altar he had built there. So we know it took some time to build the altar, and prepare everything for the sacrifice of Isaac.

22:10

Abraham takes the knife and lifts it up to slay his son! One who truly worships the Eternal Almighty Creator of the Universe never holds anything back from God, but obediently gives God what he asks, trusting that the Omnipotent Creator will provide for us. Abraham so trusted God that he reasoned in his heart that God would raise Isaac up from the dead! See Hebrews 11:17-19.

22:11-12

The Angel of the LORD, God Himself, immediately calls from out of heaven; “Abraham, Abraham!” Abraham, says “Here I am!” Then the Angel of the Lord says “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear and revere God, since you have not held back, or spared, (the Hebrew word is epheisato) from giving Me your only son.” In Romans 8:32 we are told God did not spare, the Hebrew word is exactly the same ‘epheisato’, from giving us His only Son.

22:13

Abraham lifts up his eyes and sees a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. Abraham offers this ram as a burnt offering and sacrifice instead of his son. God had indeed provided the ‘lamb’ for the sacrifice. Substitutionary sacrifice has now begun.

22:14

Abraham calls the name of the place of sacrifice JEHOVAH JIREH, which means to this very day, In the Mount of the Lord it shall be seen. This is a prophetic perspective; Abraham somehow knew he was acting out a prophetic ritual. What shall be seen? Many commentaries believe it was on this very same Mount that Jesus, the Lamb of God, was sacrificed for the SINS of the world.

22:15

After the sacrifice is completed, then the Angel of the Lord speaks again to Abraham from heaven, telling him He swears by Himself. It is interesting that we swear by God when we give a solemn oath, yet God cannot swear by anyone except the most powerful being in the Universe, Himself.

22:16-17

‘Because you have done this thing’, been obedient to be willing to sacrifice his only beloved son, Isaac; God was restating His promises and blessing for Abraham and Isaac, now in front of Isaac, so he also would hear the blessings to be given for the multiplying of seed to be as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sand upon the seashore; AND his Seed would possess the gate of his enemies. God adds this additional blessing and promise. God is foretelling Abraham and Isaac that their descendants would be victorious over the ‘gates’ or strongholds of their enemies. This would be fulfilled partially by Joshua in the Conquest of the promised land, and by JESUS in the conquering of the ‘gates, or strongholds’ of man’s enemy, Satan himself.

22:18

All nations and people of the earth will be blessed because you obeyed My voice. This is a forever promise for all those down through the ages, even to us and those who come after us. Jesus is the Promised One, The Messiah ~ our Savior!

22:19

Abraham returns to his young men, and they all go together back to Beersheba, and Abraham continues to live in Beersheba. Why isn’t Isaac mentioned? Perhaps as an analogy of Jesus, as the sacrificial Lamb, no longer being physically present on earth?

22:20-24

And it came to pass, meaning some time had gone by, and then we are given this information that Abraham’s brother Nahor’s family was being fruitful. As the names are given pay attention to the names of all the sons and grandsons, then suddenly we are given the name of a daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s youngest of her eight sons, named Rebekah. Normally, the genealogy does not include the women, yet for a very good reason we are given this name, Rebekah.

We cannot even begin to comprehend all the implications of God’s incredible proving of Abraham’s faith. Our very existence as Believers in Jesus is due to Abraham’s obedience in Faith to God’s commands. Notice that the son (Isaac) also acted out of obedience to his father in being willing to be the sacrifice. Our Eternal Life is a blessing from God’s promises to Abraham, because of his obedience. Is it important to obey God in everything? No, it is Crucial to obey God in all things. Our obedience to God’s Will has eternal consequences. We must Never, Never forget that!

Fulfillment of Prophecy

This chapter is filled with exciting Truths for us. Many of these Truth Lessons are quoted in the New Testament just for us! Be prepared for some surprises.

21:1-2

We now see the Miracle of God’s promise being fulfilled, just as He had promised 25 years earlier to Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 12:4,7; 17:17; and 18:14 (the exact time appointed) Notice that Adonoi, the Lord Himself, visits Sarah this time, to miraculously cause her body to be rejuvenated and for her to become pregnant with the promised son. It is always exciting to see God fulfilling His promises! This should give us great encouragement and assurance that God always fulfills His promises to us in His perfect time.

21:3-4

The name Isaac means ‘he laughs’. Yet it also is used to mean joyful laughter. Abraham carefully obeys God’s commandment to circumcise Isaac exactly on the eighth day. Circumcision was the sign of the Abrahamic covenant, yet it is also an important contribution to the health of both husband and wife, as medical science now knows. The eight day is the optimum time for performing the operation on the child in terms of safety, as the blood clots quickly at that exact time, and that is the time of the least amount of feeling of pain. Isn’t God fantastic, He takes care of everything!

21:5

The miracle of God’s rejuvenation of Abraham’s body to allow him to father a child at the age of 100 is so important that God’s Word again reminds us of his exact age. The Holy Spirit does not want anyone at that time, or in the future, to miss the importance of the Miracle that God has given to both Abraham at 100 years of age, and Sarah at 90 years of age. This should cause us to rejoice also; since God can do this mighty miracle for those He loves, He can also do whatever miracle you need in your life.

21:6-7

Sarah’s earlier laughter in unbelief is now the laughter of joy and belief in the Lord God. Notice that she now gives her own testimony that God has given her great joy! She is obviously telling everyone about what God has done for her, knowing that others will also be joyful with her. When God works a miracle in others lives are we joyful with them? We should be! Do you share with others what miracles God has worked in your life? You should share the Truth that God alone is responsible for the wonderful blessings of goodness and joy that you have in your life. Everything we are, everyone in our family, all we have, all the talents and abilities, our health, EVERYTHING comes from the hand of God; we can take credit for NOTHING!

21:8

Most children were weaned about the age of two and a half or three years old, as was the custom. This is crucial as the mother’s milk gives the baby the needed antibodies and resistence to diseases and germs, making the survival of the child more certain. The great feast was made to celebrate the baby being healthy and well and being able to eat food on his own without the need of mom’s milk to sustain him.

21:9

Trouble again! Ishmael would have been about 17 at this time, and, like most teenagers, probably made fun of, or teased his younger half-brother. Yet this ‘mocking’ was more serious than simple teasing, as he would have been mocking the miracle child that God had ordained. Surely he also knew that now there was another heir to the ‘kingdom’ God had provided for Abraham. Remember in their culture, the oldest male child was to be the heir.

21:10

Sarah is no dummy, she immediately tells Abraham that he must cast out the bondwoman and her son, as the bondwoman’s son is not to be an heir with their son, Isaac. Sarah realizes that it is the promise of the heir of God’s Promises that is at stake here! God no doubt used this ‘mocking issue’ as the time to have Abraham send Hagar and Ishmael out into the world on their own. In Genesis 16:6 Sarah had mistreated Hagar, now Hagar’s son is mistreating Sarah’s son. Sarah had caused the pregnant Hagar to flee, now she is causing Hagar and her son to be removed from the family group. Keep in mind that is was customary for the Arab chiefs to send out their sons at this age to fend for themselves, usually with only a few days’ provisions in a bag.

21:11-12

Abraham loves Ishmael and was no doubt very upset about Sarah’s insistence; yet he knew she was correct in her assessment of the threat to the child of promise, Isaac. God is so good to step in and assure Abraham that this was the right thing to do. God also reminded Abraham that ONLY through Isaac was the Seed of promise to come. This is a direct reference to the promised Messiah. Galatians 4:22-31, when Jesus Christ, the Seed of promise came, the old was done away with. Believers are only co-heirs with the promised Seed by adoption through God’s Grace of forgiveness and redemption. Just as Ishmael and Isaac were in conflict, so is the flesh and the Spirit, they cannot harmonize or compromise. To go back under the old law, would be to undo the fulfillment of God’s Promise. Believers are set free from the bondage of the Law. Galatians 5:1. This confirms to us that this is the correct and right thing to do. Sometimes doing what is right is not easy. Yet God tells us to “get rid of the slave woman and her son” Galatians 4:30; meaning we are to remove the fleshly desires and “live by the Spirit” Galatians 5:16. These and other verses refer to this incident as an example for us today! For some of us, it may be insisting that an adult child move out; or insisting an adult child, or any relative, be responsible for their own actions; all these things may bring us sorrow because we love them and don’t want to see them ‘suffer’, yet doing anything else would just enable them to continue in their current destructive path. Everyone must learn to trust God and be responsible for their own actions before God. Remember, God has no grandchildren!

21:13-14

God continues to assure Abraham that this is the right thing to do by telling him that He will bless Ishmael by making him a nation, because he is Abraham’s son. This would assure Abraham that God will take care of Hagar and Ishmael. (14.) In prompt obedience, Abraham gets up early and gathers together all the traditional provisions of food, water, etc. that Ishmael and Hagar would need, putting the provisions in appropriate vessels and puts them on the shoulders of both Ishmael and Hagar. As he sends them away, he knows they can reach Egypt, the home of Hagar’s family and relatives, so he is not sending them out to die. Abraham fully expected God to fulfill his promises for Ishmael. Yet, for some unknown reason it appears that Hagar loses her way and begins to wander in the wilderness of Beersheba, which is on the border of Egypt.

21:15-16

They evidently were distressed to be forced to leave their ‘good life’ with Abraham’s family, and probably feeling sorry for themselves; in any case they had used up all the water, so Hagar makes her son lie down under a shrub, probably to get out of the desert sun. (16.) Hagar sits down, probably under another shade shrub, crying to herself that she doesn’t want to see her son die. Then he begins to cry and wail out loud, and then she begins to cry and wail. God can see that neither one of them think to call on Him, even though He has spoken to Hagar before, and she has seen the faith of Abraham and Sarah and God’s intervention in their lives. It’s interesting that if we do not regularly pray and call on God with faith and trust, then when situations become desperate, we just wail and complain, and fail to seek God in our lives.

21:17

Elohim (God Almighty), as the Angel of the Lord, a theophany of God, (now identified as Elohim, is identified by His Majestic Name rather than His Redemptive Name,) hears Ishmael, yet calls Hagar and says “What’s wrong, Hagar?” It’s almost funny to think that God is saying in effect: “So what’s your problem, Hagar?” Note that while under the Abrahamic household, Hagar was under the Redemptive promise of Abraham’s household. Now she is on her own, thus God Almighty speaks directly to her. He tells her to fear not, for God has heard the voice of your son, where he is. God hears us from where we are in life. Hagar should have trusted God, yet she had not yet learned to trust and obey God. Have you learned to trust and obey God in all areas?

21:18-19

God tells Hagar to get up and help her son with her own hands, for “I intend to make him a great nation.” Then, as she obeys God, He opens her eyes to see a well of water right there, and she fills the water jug and gives water to Ishmael. Notice the progression of commands and obedience by Hagar. After she gets up to help her son, and goes to him, then God opens her eyes to see the well. Remember, God had met Hagar the first time and provided water from a well. So we are seeing God providing again for Hagar and Ishmael in the same manner. Often when we just wail to God to help us get out of our mess, we fail to obey His commands. We need to seek God with all our heart, and then obey Him one step at a time, showing we trust God. As we obey, then God slowly reveals to us the solutions to our difficulties.

21:20-21

The result of Trusting God and obeying Him, is shown as God was with Ishmael; and he develops and lives in the wilderness and becomes an archer. So we see Ishmael becomes a man, develops special skills and ‘lives in the Wilderness of Paran.’ Notice that Paran is Arabia, which Ishmael’s posterity has lived in to this day. Hagar finds a wife for him from Egypt, probably from her own family group.

21:22-24

Now we jump back to Abraham’s household. Abimelech and his Commander of his forces, go to Abraham, telling him they know that God is with him in everything he does! Abimelech seeks from Abraham a covenant, or legal contract agreement, that Abraham will be true and just with him and his posterity; according to the same measure of generosity that he has done with Abraham and his household. What a fulfillment of the promise of God from Genesis 12:2, where all those who bless Abraham and his posterity, will also be blessed by God. It is obvious that all the people, especially Abimelech and his rulers, all see that Abraham is greatly blessed by God continually. Abraham agrees to the covenant as it appeared reasonable and was in fulfillment of God’s promise to him.

21:25-26

A well of water was crucial to being able to occupy the land. Since Abimelech had told Abraham he and his entire household could dwell where ever they pleased, Abraham had no doubt chosen land and had his men dig the necessary wells to sustain their herds, flocks and farming. To seize, or take over, a well, was to steal the land. So Abraham is forced to go to Abimelech because it is his men who did the stealing. Abimelech immediately defends himself by claiming he is ignorant of who did the stealing in his kingdom.

21:27-30

Now Abraham takes his sheep and oxen, and he and Abimelech make a covenant, or legal agreement regarding the land and wells. Abraham takes seven ewe lambs and sets them aside as part of the covenant. Abimelech immediately asks for the meaning of the seven lambs. The Hebrew word sheba means seven, and shaba, means to swear. Beersheba means ‘well of seven’, ‘well of swearing’ or ‘well of the oath’. The use of the words for to swear means to seven oneself, or pledge by seven sacred things. Abraham no doubt wants Abimelech to understand clearly the severity of this covenant. It is thought that there may have been as many as seven wells in the area. In any case, Abraham wants to make a solemn covenant as a witness that these wells were dug and maintained by men of his household.

21:31-32

The area of land was called Beersheba, because of the oath taken by both of them, Abraham and Abimelech. After this Covenant was made, then Abimelech and Phichol, his Commander of his armed forces, all returned to the land of the Philistines. This phrase would probably mean that there was a large armed force with Abimelech.

21:33-34

After this threatening situation was resolved with a firm treaty (covenant) with the ruler of the land, Abimelech; then Abraham planted the grove in Beersheba and called upon, or worshiped the Everlasting God. Abraham and his household then lived in this area for quite some years. This is the first mention of the name of God as the Everlasting God or in Hebrew: Jehovah El Olam, meaning Jehovah is the Eternal God. Abraham realized that even though he had made a covenant with an earthly king, he was really the recipient of the Covenant Promises of an Eternal King. God had allowed Abimelech temporary possession of a portion of the Promised land, which Jehovah El Olam had promised as an eternal possession to the Seed of Abraham.

Sometimes we need to remind ourselves, and each other, that the real Promised Land for us is Eternal, not earthly. Certainly we are responsible to take good care of the earthly land and treasures God has given us, but NOT to put our trust in the physical wealth; rather, to seek and Trust God for eternal treasures. So earthly riches really mean nothing! Our most truly valuable inheritance is Eternal; Heavenly riches and Glorious fellowship with Jehovah El Olam, our Eternal Everlasting Creator!

A Lesson Relearned

Genesis 19 is so important that Jesus refers to this time and it’s lessons on several occasions. This type of Judgement will be repeated upon a future ‘Babylon’ See Isaiah 13:19 and Jeremiah 50:40. Keep in mind that God can and does forgive all type and manner of sin, when, and IF, the person sincerely repents of their actions. Note that Jesus said that IF the miracles He did in Capernaum had been done in Sodom, the people would have repented! Then Jesus tells us that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of Judgment than for those in Capernaum who were rejecting Him. See Matthew 11:23-24. This important Truth tells us that there will be degrees of judgment and punishment for all eternity!! Luke 12:48 tells us “To whom much is given, much will be required.” How have we responded to all the riches of material wealth and Bible Truth and information God has given us?? It may be time to do some deep soul searching.

20:1

We again see Abraham moving from that area, which is now adjacent to the horrible destruction and devastation of the entire valley; toward the South Country, the Negeb, between Kadesh and Shur; living temporarily in Gerar.

20:2

We can hardly believe what we read! Again Abraham fears king Abimelech, who is king of Gerar, and lies about Sarah being his sister, rather than telling the truth, that she is his wife! So, again, the local king, called Abimelech, which is a Title, much like Pharaoh in Egypt; sends for and takes the beautiful Sarah to be his wife. Have we ever repeated a lie and made the very same mistake all over again, even after we swore we would not commit that sin again?

20:3-5

Immediately God comes to Abimelech in a dream telling him ‘you’re as good as dead, for you have taken another man’s wife!” God acted quickly and strongly, before Abimelech could even come near to Sarah, and Abimelech says to God “Lord, will you slay a people who are just and innocent? (As he had not yet even come near to Sarah) For the man told me, ‘she is my sister,’ and even she said ‘he is my brother’, in the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I took her.” It is very interesting that this Abimelech knows who is speaking to him in the dream, and calls God “Lord”. He also speaks the truth, that he took Sarah out of innocence, not realizing she was another man’s wife.

20:6-7

God clearly tells Abimelech in the dream, that He was the one that kept Abimelech from touching the other man’s wife and sinning against Him. I, God, gave you no chance to even touch her. God tells him to promptly restore the wife to the man, for he is a prophet and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her to him, know for certain that you shall surely die, you and all those who are yours! There is absolutely no way that Abimelech could misunderstand these clear and strong commands and God’s warning of death if he disobeyed God. God considers adultery a capital offense, worthy of death!

20:8

The Bible tells us that Abimelech rose early in the morning. We can probably assume that the minute he awoke he jumped out of bed and called together ALL his servants and probably his entire household, and told them all that God had spoken to him. All the people were exceedingly filled with reverence for God and great fear.

20:9-10

Abimelech then immediately goes to Abraham and confronts him regarding his lie that nearly cost he and his household their lives; saying that Abraham did an evil thing to them. Then he demands to know how he justified doing such an evil thing! We can surmise that Abimelech feared God and yet was justifiably angry with Abraham for his lie.

20:11-13

Now Abraham has to admit that he feared that no one knew or feared God in the land and that they would kill him for his wife. Keep in mind that he is in the land of the Philistines, with Gerar actually being the capital colony. (12. – 13.) Abraham tries to justify his deceit, by claiming that Sarah is technically his sister, as she is his half-sister, yet he ends by admitting that she is indeed his wife. He goes on to admit that he told Sarah to always say of himself that ‘he is my brother’ to avoid the possibility of anyone trying to kill him. He also reveals that God had caused him to wander from his father’s house. This added information would probably cause Abimelech to remember that God had told him that Abraham was a prophet and his prayers would save Abimelech’s life.

20:14-16

Since Abimelech does not deny that Abraham’s fears were justified, we might assume that he may have tried to have Abraham killed in order to get Sarah. Yet Abimelech then gives sheep, oxen, and slaves to Abraham and restored Sarah to him. In addition, he states that his land is available for Abraham to live wherever he wishes. He also tells Sarah that he has given ‘her brother’ and additional thousand pieces of silver to compensate her for all that has happened and to vindicate her honor before all the people who are with them; thus she is now cleared and compensated in full. This was a way of telling Sarah that he, Abimelech, had generously compensated them, even though he was not at fault for the situation. It was a rebuke to both Abraham and to Sarah.

20:17

As soon as Abraham prays to God on behalf of Abimelech and his wife and maidservants, they were all healed. They could then bare children. We are then told that God had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Abraham’s wife Sarah. We don’t know the exact nature of their inability to become pregnant, but obviously all of them needed healing.

 

What lessons for us about letting FEAR cause us to NOT TRUST GOD and rely on our own lying ways to try to resolve some perceived problem. Remember our acronym for FEAR: FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL. This always leads us to NOT Trust in God, but instead to scheme and plot outside of God’s Will (which always results in sin) instead of Trusting God for our needs. We show we Trust God by praying and seeking His Wisdom and Guidance in all situations. Note that just because we thought we learned a lesson in a similar situation, doesn’t mean that we can’t fall into the same trap of FEAR.

The answer for us is simple: Praying God’s Word into our lives: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the Will of God in Christ Jesus for you, do not quench the Spirit.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19

“In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your ways. Be not wise in your own eyes, revere and worship the Lord and turn away from evil.” Proverbs 3:6-7.
List other verses God reveals to you to pray into your life!

God’s Judgement

Genesis 18 Gave us a glimpse of God’s Power & Might in the two Prophecies of Abraham & Sarah to have a son the next year and the coming Judgement of destruction for Sodom, Gomorrah and the cities of the plains. Both of these help us remember God is in control and He can do everything and anything necessary to bring about His perfect Will.

19:1-2

The angels arrive at Sodom just at dusk. This would indicate that the distance from Abrahams camp to Sodom was probably within one half a days walking distance, since the angels arrived at midday, ate, and then departed for Sodom. Notice that Lot also recognizes that these ‘men’ are special, as he rises up from his seat at the gate and goes out to meet them and then bows down to them, indicating he is honoring them. In addition, he immediately calls them ‘my lords’ acknowledging they are superior, and aks them to be his guests for the night, offering them gracious hospitality. He also adds that they can then get up early and go on their journey. Obviously, Lot does not want these ‘men’ to be exposed to the horrible wickedness of the men of the city. Immediately the ‘men’ tell Lot, No, we can stay in the streets for the night. Can you imagine the horror that must have appeared on Lot’s face?

19:3

‘Pressing upon them greatly’ means that Lot strongly and urgently insisted that they not stay out at night and immediately go into his home. Obviously this was for their protection and to be spared the horrors of what went on in the streets at night. Yet, we are not told that Lot tells them anything, except that they must quickly accept his hospitality, which they finally agree to do. Lot immediately makes them a feast, baking them unleavened bread, meaning there was no time for the bread to rise. The angels then ate the meal.

19:4-5

However, before the men can even lay down for a good nights rest from their travels, all the degenerate wicked men of Sodom, both young and old, surround Lot’s house yelling out to Lot, demanding that Lot bring out the men who came to Sodom at dusk, so that they could know them. This term ‘know refers to a physical sexual attack. Obviously, some men saw these ‘men’ come in the gate, and then witnessed Lot hurrying them into his home.

19:6-7

Now Lot is trying to do ‘damage control’ by going outside, where presumably he hoped the angelic visitors could not hear what was going on. Lot begs them do not do this ‘wicked thing’. This type of ‘gang rape’ by homosexuals would result in the torture, pain and death of any ordinary men.

19:8

Now Lot does the unthinkable, he actually offers to sacrifice his own virgin daughters to these wicked degenerate men to use and abuse however they wished. We are shocked and horrified to hear that Lot would even think such a thing, as this would mean horrible physical torture and death for his own innocent daughters! Lot continues to beg them not to attack the ‘men’ who have come into his home under his protection! By now, we are realizing that Lot can’t provide any protection at all from this mob of wicked degenerate men of Sodom! Although Lot’s motives were in the right direction, he was acting and speaking foolishly in trying to deal with wickedness that could only be dealt with by God. Sometimes we are in situations that are so evil that all we can do is cry out to God and ask for His wisdom and direction in removing ourselves from such an evil environment. When my husband, Gene, said God wanted us to move here to Lake Havasu City, he said that God told him to “get out of Sodom and Gomorrah.” We lived in an affluent area that was rapidly abandoning any form of Christianity.

19:9

The mob screams at Lot to get out of their way; “who do you think you are, coming into our city ‘temporarily’, and now trying to be our judge! We will deal worse with you than with these men!” So now they are threatening to rape and murder Lot also! The mob then rushed violently against Lot and come close to breaking down the door! Obviously, the wicked men knew Lot was not one of them, and they resented his attempts to act and speak righteously, however pitiful it may have been.

19:10-11

Miraculously, the angelic men reach out, grab Lot and pull him safely back into the house and shut the door against the mob. The angels then strike the men outside with some kind of ‘blindness’ so that they are unable to find the door. If Lot didn’t know they were angels beforehand, he certainly would have realized it by this time!

19:12-13

Now things become urgent, and the angelic men ask Lot about his family, sons-in-laws, sons, daughters! Whoever you have in the city, bring them out of this place! We have come to destroy Sodom for the cry and shriek against these people has grown great before the Lord, and God has sent us to destroy Sodom!

19:14

We must assume that Lot secretly slips out and goes to his sons-in-law, warning them of the coming destruction (and perhaps to his own sons). Yet, they ignore his warnings, thinking it all foolishness. Often when we warn our own family and friends of the coming judgement of God, they too, act as though we are joking, or that we are ridiculous and foolish. Lot was declared righteous yet he lived a distressed life and was tortured in his soul because of the wickedness around him. If you also feel you are surrounded by wickedness and evil, it is because you are! See II Peter 2: 7-8. Yet, we must continue to use God’s Word to speak the Truth of His coming judgement on all who refuse to repent, and accept Jesus as Lord, God and Savior.

19:15

Now the angels must hurry to get Lot and his wife and daughters out of Sodom! The angels repeat that they will be consumed in the destruction and punishment of the city. The destruction is quickly coming, and the time to escape is almost gone! Can you imagine the urgency? And yet Lot lingers, why? Was he trying to figure out another way to try to get his other family members out of Sodom? We just don’t know.

19:16-17

The angels have to seize firmly the hands of Lot, his wife and daughters, and to pull them out of the city. The angels bring them out of the city, sternly warning them to flee for their lives from that entire valley area, warning them not to even look back, don’t stop anywhere, keep fleeing! Warning them to head for the mountains for safety, or they would be consumed, meaning, completely destroyed.

19:18-20

Lot begs the angels to continue to be merciful to he and his family by sparing a very small city known as Zoar, and allowing them to flee there, rather than heading up to the mountains, which he feared. Lot realizes the angels have provided protection for he and his family and that they will destroy the city. Keep in mind that Lot does not know how the city will be destroyed!

19:21-22

One of the angels agree to allow Lot and his family to enter into Zoar, and promises that small place will be spared for his sake; yet the angel strictly tells him that he cannot do anything until Lot has entered Zoar!

19:23-25

The sun had already risen when Lot entered into Zoar and immediately the Lord God rains brimstone and fire upon both Sodom and Gomorrah from out of the heaven, which could mean from the sky. Exactly what this brimstone and fire were comprised of, we do not know. Brimstone is usually associated with sulfur. The word ‘fire’ is used here for the first time in the Bible, and could be a divine fire, or gases or other combustible explosion ignited by a volcanic explosion, erupting and then falling to earth. This entire area is part of the Great Rift Valley, which is active tectonically. Much like the big Island of Hawaii is still an active volcano and does erupt material that is volcanic fire and ‘brimstone’, which is sulphur! The sulphur from Hawaii’s volcano is so strong and dangerous, that there are numerous warning signs telling people to avoid breathing the deadly sulphur fumes! Notice that everything, people, animals and plants were all destroyed, just like what happens with a volcanic eruption!

19:26

‘But’ is nearly always a warning to us; Lot’s wife looks back, (which was in disobedience to the angels warning); from behind him, meaning she was lagging behind Lot, and became a pillar of salt. This could have meant she was lagging quite a bit behind, perhaps looking back toward Sodom more than once. It may have been that the thermal brines (salt) buried her in a shower of salt deposits that were blown into the sky with the eruption. Another possibility is that she was covered with volcanic ash, killing her instantly, and her body then became petrified quickly, which means minerals (salt) replace the body. This is the same thing that happened to many of the people of Pompeii as they became petrified when buried in the ash. Many of the people of Pompeii were petrified in semi-upright positions, indicating it happened relatively quickly! We are also reminded that this is a warning to us because Jesus warns us that the end times of the tribulation will be as it was in the days of Lot. Jesus affirms the Truth of this account, by reminding everyone that it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Jesus says the way it was then, it will be when the Son of Man is “revealed’. Jesus then emphasis the warning to remember Lot’s wife! Read Luke 17:20-37. See also Matthew 11:23-24.

19:27-28

That same morning, Abraham gets up early, and goes to the place where he stood before the theophany of the Lord. We can assume he perhaps hoped God would appear again, or maybe just to solidify in his mind all that happened. In any case, Abraham looks toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward the entire land of the plain, and the entire valley is smoking as a furnace!

19:29

This is like a quick summary of the fact that God had heeded Abrahams unspoken request to save Lot out of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and had saved Lot from being destroyed along with the wicked. Note that the Bible says Lot dwelt in the ‘cities’ probably meaning the entire area was much like many of our metropolitan areas, where one city runs into another.

19:30

Interestingly Lot eventually leaves Zoar and does dwell in the mountains, in a cave, with his two daughters because he feared to live in Zoar. Obviously, this was not a good place in any way! Perhaps he would have been wiser to heed the angels warning in the beginning. We may also wonder why Lot did not return to the family group of his uncle Abraham, as we know they are within a half days walk? Any thoughts as to why Lot would not go back to his uncle for protection and help? Pride maybe? Fear of rejection? Keep in mind that uncle Abraham had already rescued Lot and his family from being captives of the kings in Chapter 14.

19:31-32

Obviously they have been living in this cave home for some time before the older daughter comes up with her ‘solution’ to their perceived ‘problem’, or they would not have had wine to drink. Remember that many people lived in caves in the mountains and in the Dead Sea Region. The Essene sect had an entire community of people that lived in caves. The Dead Sea Scrolls were found hidden in these caves.

19:33

We’re not sure how the daughters ‘made’ Lot drink wine, nor how the incest occurred with the older daughter without Lot’s being aware of his actions. We can be certain that their actions were designed to get Lot to do something that they knew he would not agree to if he were sober. (34. – 35.) The very next night, they repeat their actions, with the younger daughter laying with Lot. Again we are told he did not perceive when she lay down with him, nor when she arose. This is such a strong warning about actions we may become part of if we are influenced by any type or kind of ‘mind altering substance’. We must carefully guard ourselves against willingly doing or taking any substance that would affect our ability to make rational, wise, godly decisions.

19:36-38

Both daughters then become pregnant at the same time by Lot. And both bare sons; the older daughter’s son is named Moab and becomes the father of the Moabites. The younger daughter names her some Benammi and he becomes the father of the children of Ammon which we know as the Ammonites. Although the daughters wanted to preserve their family line by having children, they foolishly chose to resolve their dilemma with their own plans rather than seeking a solution from God. The end result was that the Moabites and Ammonites became perpetual enemies of the Israelites.

How about us? We often cause problems for our families for generations when we fail to seek God’s will for our lives in resolving family problems or needs. May this entire chapter give us God’s wisdom and warning regarding maintaining pure and healthy relationships for ourselves, our families and all of society. Immorality in any form, is bad for our bodies; and is destructive to our souls and spirits! Remember, for Believers, your body is the Temple of God! When we honestly review the circumstances of our problems and trials, we often realize that we have brought much suffering upon ourselves, and others, by our foolish sinful actions! The majority of people who end up incarcerated, are those who refuse to take responsibility for their own actions. God gives us the privilege and responsibility for making choices; make Godly choices that will honor God. “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked: for whatever a man sows, that is what he shall reap.” Galatians 6:7

Three Visitors

Genesis 17 is a powerful reminder that we ABSOLUTELY MUST OBEY GOD in His Perfect timing, or we are out of His Will and in sin. Our life’s goal should be to seek His Will and wait for His wisdom, guidance and instructions and His timing.

18:1-2

God actually ‘appears’ to Abraham in the form of a man; we call this appearance of God in human form a ‘theophany’. Notice that Abraham is simply sitting in the doorway of his tent during the hottest part of the day. We are also told that this appearance of God was by the oaks of Mamre. (2.) We can assume that Abraham may even have been dozing a bit, yet suddenly he looks up and there were three ‘men’ standing near him. Immediately, Abraham jumps up and runs to meet them, bowing before them in homage. Notice that there are three spiritual beings in human form. We will soon learn that two of them are angels and the third is actually God Himself. When God opens up an opportunity to see Him better, do we jump up and run to meet the opportunity?

18:3

Abraham addresses God as My Lord; asking God to allow him to offer He, and the angels, his hospitality. Notice the phrase “.. If I have found favor in your sight, don’t leave me, I beg you!” Abraham knew that these men had suddenly appeared from nowhere; as no one travels during the heat of the day, and they were not visible earlier. We can be certain that Abraham also knew that they were from heaven. When God reveals Himself to us in some special way, do we acknowledge Him as our Lord, God and Savior?

18:4-5

Washing of the feet acknowledges Abraham’s inferiority to these ‘men’ and that he is honoring God and the angels. Offering them food and rest was considered to be a way of acknowledging their importance and honoring them by offering them generous hospitality. Abraham says he believes that was why they had come to him; for rest and food. ‘They’ reply, do as you have spoken. When we promise to do something for God are we prepared to keep our promises? Ever promise God something, even something that may seem small and unimportant, and then fail to keep your promises?

18:6-7

We can assume that Abraham is running back to the tent, awakens Sarah and tells her to quickly prepare three measures of fine meal and bake it into special dinner rolls for their honored guests. We can probably assume that he says: “you won’t believe Who has stopped in to visit us; use the finest ground flour we have!!” (7.) Abraham is still running and rushing to provide the best food and drink possible for his heavenly guests. Notice that he selects the best calf from his herd and directs his best butcher to prepare the calf for Abraham to cook. Normally, as the leader of the household, Abraham would have given these tasks to his servants to do; yet we see Abraham so intent on getting the very best for God as quickly as possible, that he is doing the selecting and preparation.

18:8

Abraham is continuing to rush around preparing curds and milk along with the calf, baked bread and whatever else he had prepared. Abraham himself serves the three men. Notice that Abraham does the serving himself, rather than having his servants do the work. He obviously is taking no chances on anything not being absolutely perfect for God! Abraham standing by the angelic men as they eat is a sign of constant servitude. Notice Abraham does not sit down with them and eat; instead he takes the position of the perfect servant, ready to provide whatever God asks of him. Keep in mind that God and the angels did not need to eat anything! So why did God approach Abraham, then encourage him to go ahead and provide for Himself and the two angels? Could this have been part of God’s testing of Abraham to see if his words and his actions proved his faith regarding serving God? So, how do you measure up when it comes to hospitality? Do you go all out for friends, yet strangers are ignored? See Hebrews 13:2 where we are told to generously and graciously extend hospitality, even to believers we don’t really know (strangers); for some of us will have entertained angels without knowing it.

18:9

Suddenly we are told exactly what the men say to Abraham: “Where is Sarah your wife?” Abraham immediately tells them where she is, in the tent; without asking any questions. When God asks us something unexpected, do we answer in faith, or question Him? Are you kidding Lord? Me? No way? Have you missed out on some wonderful blessings from God because you questioned instead of obeyed?

18:10

Now God speaks the specific fulfillment of the prophecy promised so long ago to Abraham. “I will surely return to you when the ‘season’ comes around, and behold, Sarah your wife, will have a son.”. The terms surely, behold and will all assure Abraham that God is right now about to fulfill His promises to him! Sarah is just like us, she is standing just behind the tent door listening to every word that is being spoken! I wouldn’t want to miss a thing these angelic beings are saying, either; would you?

18:11-12

Just in case we haven’t been carefully studying all that has happened to Abraham and Sarah, and how very old they both are, the Holy Spirit reminds us that Sarah is so old that any possibility of her becoming pregnant ‘naturally’ has long ago passed. By this time she is 89 years old, way, way, way past the age of childbearing! (12.) Sarah just can’t contain herself, and laughs to herself; presumably thinking, or saying to herself; ‘I’m an old lady; and now I’m going to have pleasure and delight with my lord, (referring to her husband in an honoring way); who is even older?’ We can be positive that she is saying this in a sarcastic and joking way, much like we might say, ‘Oh sure, I’ll buy one lottery ticket and become a billionaire.’ In fact, you can believe our chances would have been better than Sarah’s to be successful!

18:13-14

Immediately God asks Abraham why Sarah is laughing and questioning, saying: ‘shall I really bear a child when I am so old?’ God goes on to assure Abraham, and of course Sarah, who is listening; that nothing is too hard or too wonderful for the Lord, God Almighty. ‘When the time of her delivery comes around, I, God, will return to you, and Sarah shall have borne a son.’ Remember, that we now know Jesus used these exact same words in Matthew 19:26 to assure all of us that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD! This is another one of those Truths that are mentioned for the very first time! See also Luke 1:37.

18:15

Sarah is afraid and panicked, and denies she laughed; yet God, says No, you did laugh. God is telling Sarah this so she will have the faith to believe that He knows everything and can do anything, even the impossible of rejuvenating her body and causing her to become pregnant and have the long promised son! He knows everything, even what we are thinking! So even when we don’t say something out loud, and just think it in our minds and hearts, God is listening! Now, Sarah realizes that God knows what she was thinking, even when she did say it loud! Pay close attention to this Truth; it is as True today for us as it was four thousand years ago!

18:16-19

The ‘men’ now prepare to continue on their way, traveling toward Sodom. Abraham walks along with them to see them off. He no doubt wants to be personally with God as long as possible. (17. – 19.) God is speaking to the angels, yet we are told what He says regarding Abraham; we can only assume that Abraham either heard, or this was revealed to him. God indicates that He will not hide from Abraham what He is about to do in Judging Sodom and the other cities of the plains. God prophecies that Abraham and his lineage will become a great and mighty nation, and that all the nations of the earth will be blessed because of him. In addition, God affirms that Abraham will command his children in the godly, righteous and just way to live, so that God can bring about all the promised blessings upon Abraham and the world of believers. Notice that Abraham had to obey God’s command in order for God to bless him. We also must obey God’s Word and commands for our lives in order for God to bless us. This Truth is for eternity, now, here on earth, and forever. Only those who truly love God and desire to do His will now and forever, will be able to enjoy Heaven. Think about it, unbelievers could never stand to be in the presence of a holy, righteous, perfect God.

18:20-21

God immediately gives the terrible reasons that He must execute judgement on Sodom and Gomorrah; their sin is very grievous, causing great pain and sorrow, causing people to cry out to God in agony. Keep in mind that these very peoples were previously miraculously rescued by Abraham in Genesis 14. They also saw and heard of the testimony of Melchizedek, and even were witnessed to by Lot. They had been given the Truth about the one True God of the Universe, yet chose to do terrible, wicked things we don’t even want to think about.

18:22-23

The angelic men then depart from God and Abraham, and begin their journey toward Sodom, presumably to exact the judgement; yet Abraham stays and stands before the Lord, God. (23.) Now we see and hear something unbelievable! Abraham marches right up to God and asks Him if He intends to destroy the wicked people along with the righteous people? This is one of the most interesting examples of ‘Jewish negotiating’ we will ever see.

18:24-26

Abraham becomes very bold and asks God if He would destroy the entire city, even if there were only 50 righteous; would God consider sparing the entire city if there were only 50 righteous? Abraham states that God is Righteous, so can the Judge of all the earth do right by destroying the innocent along with the guilty? Abraham is now interceding on behalf of the righteous people in the city, including his own nephew, Lot. God graciously agrees to spare the entire city for the sake of only 50 righteous.

18:27-31

Abraham doesn’t quit! He admits he has no value; yet asks God if there were just five short of the fifty, would He spare the city? God says: I will not destroy it if I find 45. (29.) Abraham continues to beg God for His mercy, how about 40? God agrees to spare the City if there are only 40 righteous. (30.) Abraham knows he is pushing too far, and asked God not to be angry with him, but how about if there are only 30? God agrees to spare the city for just 30 righteous. (31.) Abraham again begs God, how about if there are only 20? God says He will not destroy the City if 20 righteous can be found.

18:32-33

Now Abraham begs God once more, again earnestly begging Him not to be angry with him, but promising this would be his last request; would God spare the city if there were only 10 righteous in the city? God agrees to spare the city if there are only 10 righteous people in the entire city. (33.) The Lord now ceases communicating with Abraham and leaves him; and Abraham returns to his home.

How many truly righteous men are in your city? Are you begging God for His mercy and grace toward the unsaved in your family? How about in your circle of friends? Have you asked for Salvation for all those in your neighborhood? Your City? How about your entire State? America? (or your Country) Seriously consider praying II Chronicles 7:14-16. We, as believers, must continually pray before our Lord, God and Creator, begging Him for his mercy and grace for the unbelievers all around us. Right now, today, there are people and organizations who are working diligently to bring the lost to Jesus Christ, are you part of those praying and working toward bringing the lost to righteousness? Pray about it, and ask the Holy Spirit how you can intercede for those who do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior and are on their way to hell. God has something you can do, be courageous and faithful and ask how you can help the lost sinners come to Salvation through Jesus Christ, before God’s certain Judgement comes. Perhaps you could use the LIVE FOREVER flyers and thank you cards to share Jesus with the lost. Pray and seek God’s direction for you.

II Chronicles 7: 14-16: 14. “If my people, who are called by my Name, will humble themselves, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then, I will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15. Now, My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayers made in this place. 16. For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. 17. As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, 18. Then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, as I covenanted with David, your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man as ruler in Israel’.”

Do you want your ‘kingdom’ and ‘throne’ to be firmly established in God’s name? Do you really want TRUE success for yourselves and your families, your neighbors, your city, your state and your nation? Then fervently seek God’s Face; seek Him in all areas of your life; you have God’s eternal promise that He will make you successful!

God’s Covenant & Control

Genesis 16 clearly showed us that GOD IS IN CONTROL. Our position is to seek His Will and wait for His wisdom, guidance, direction and timing. We also learned the valuable lesson that God sees and hears EVERYTHING; Thanks be to God!.

17:1

Since Abram is 99 years old, we know that 13 years have passed. This is also the very first time we see God identifying Himself as the Almighty God! El Shaddai, in Hebrew. The law of first mention should be remembered here; so we note the supreme importance, power and might of God! Almighty God is able to provide abundantly beyond anything we can possibly even imagine. (See Ephesians 3:20) Walking before God meant that EVERYTHING Abram did was to be done in obedience to God, knowing He sees and knows even the thoughts of men. To be ‘perfect’ meant to have an attitude and willingness in mind, heart and soul to be in God’s Will continually. Obviously, none of us are “perfect” in the sense of being without sin.

17:2-3

‘AND’, this indicates that God’s Covenant was part of God’s Eternal Plan, and was to be fulfilled according to Abram’s faith in God and obedience to God. The Covenant was God ordained and to be between Abram and his ‘seed’, and the promise of multiplication was also reiterated. (3.) Abram’s response was immediate and showed his faith and humble attitude, he falls to the ground on his face! Calling our Creator, the ‘man upstairs’ or other flippant, degrading references, is NOT an attitude of humbleness or reverence, and is an INSULT to God! Do we humble ourselves before God by falling down before Him? Do you pray on your face, seeking God in your heart and life? Even praying on your knees is humbling yourself before God. Pray and see how God leads you into a deeper relationship with Him as you humble yourself before Him.

17:4

We are given a new reference to God’s promises to Abram; God now says BEHOLD! This is the phrase used by God, and Angels, when the event or promise is to be fulfilled in some manner, means “now pay close attention!”. God specifically repeats the promise of making Abram the Father of many nations. Keep in mind, he is now 99! Also, be aware that this is the first time we see only God speaking; His exact Words are given to us as He gives His promises to Abraham.

17:5-9

Now God tells Abram He is giving him a new name: ABRAHAM, which means the Father of a multitude of nations! God tells Abraham he will be exceedingly fruitful, causing nations and kings to come from him; further this covenant will be between Abraham and his seed for generations, forever, and will be an everlasting covenant. God promises He will always be God to Abraham and his descendants. (8. – 9.) God repeats His covenant of giving to Abraham, and his descendants, the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession, and He will be their God. Abraham is to keep God’s covenant, and his descendants are also to keep the covenant.

17:10-13

Now God gives Abraham the terms of the sign of the covenant. Abraham is to be circumcised, and all males are to be circumcised, who are eight days and older. All males in the household, even those who are not related to Abraham, or who are slaves, all means everyone, must be circumcised. This would be God’s requirement for the everlasting covenant.

17:14

Anyone who did not conform to this requirement was to be cut off from the people, and was NOT to be part of the covenant. In fact, God says that person has broken God’s covenant. Obviously, the responsibility for having a male baby circumcised on the eighth day was the responsibility of the father and mother. Why did God insist the circumcision was to be done on the eighth day? We now know, with modern medicine, that the baby’s ability to experience pain in the foreskin was at the lowest point on the eighth day; in addition, the baby’s blood does not produce Vitamin K, which is a clotting element until the 5th to 7th day. So the highest point of the baby’s blood being able to clot and stop bleeding was the 8th day. So God knew the eighth day was the perfect time for circumcision. In addition, the eighth day refers to the day of new beginnings. The child was now promised to be part of God’s covenant. Remember, when we truly obey God, it must be in His timing! In the future, Moses says that God would circumcise the hearts of His people so that they would be devoted to Him in Deuteronomy 30:6. Unbelief was described as having an uncircumcised heart in Jeremiah 9:26 and Ezekiel 44: 7-9.

17:15-16

God continues to speak to Abraham and now includes Sarai, telling Abraham that her name will no longer be Sarai, but shall be Sarah, which means Princess. God also promises to bless Sarah and she will become a mother of nations, and kings of peoples will come from her. Sarah is 90 years old at the time of this promise!

17:17

Abraham falls down laughing, thinking in his heart, ‘how shall a man who is 100 years old, and a woman who is 90 have a child?’ We can be pretty certain that Abraham is thinking this is impossible! Today, if God spoke to you and told you something that appeared to be utterly impossible, you would probably think, that can’t be from God, because it is impossible! Yet, ALL things are possible with God.

17:18-20

Abraham’s asking for Ishmael to be a substitute shows Abraham believes God’s promise is impossible! God tells Abraham NO! immediately, with His response to Abraham, ‘NO, Sarah, your wife, shall bear you a son and you shall call his name Isaac.’ So God confirms with His Word, to Abraham that Sarah will become pregnant by Abraham and will have the promised son whom he is to name Isaac. The Hebrew root verb form of ‘sohahaq’, which means ‘to laugh’, is the derivative of Isaac. (20.) God assures Abraham that He has not forgotten Ishmael, and will keep His promise to bless him and make him the father of a great nation.

17:21-22

BUT, this affirms that the covenant was to be with Abraham through Sarah and Isaac, and God affirms that the promised son, Isaac, would be born at the time chosen by God next year. Notice that God’s promises are always completed at His perfect time. God is finished speaking with Abraham and leaves his presence.

17:23-27

Abraham immediately obeys God’s command, by circumcising Ishmael and all those born in his household as well as all the slaves; every single male under his control, including himself, all on the same day. This was a great act of faith, as circumcision leaves the men totally incapacitated for several days; which means they could not defend themselves against the evil people around them. Abraham believed God’s Word, and trusted God would protect them and completely obeyed God.

Notice that the Word covenant appears 13 times in this chapter! This Abrahamic Covenant was to make a great nation of Abraham’s seed; to Bless Abraham and his name; to make him a great blessing; to Bless those who blessed him, and his seed, and to curse those who cursed him, and his seed, and give the specified land to Abraham’s seed. Strong lessons for us. When we say we believe God, do we obey Him immediately, or stall? Obedience means we obey God in His way and His timing. God can only bless us as we are completely obedient to Him. If God doesn’t seem to be answering your prayers, be honest, are you in total and complete obedience to Him?

Hagar the Egyptian

16:1

The ‘handmaid’ was a high position personal servant of Sarai, much like a personal butler, or administrative assistant, meaning she was with her as a servant to assist in all her duties as the wife of the chief or head of all the household. Remember, the household was quite large as it included Abram, Sarai, Lot and all the people they had acquired.

16:2

Sarai is so much like most women. If something is not working out as we thought it should, we decide to try our own methods. ‘Listen husband, I have an idea.’ How many of us come up with some scheme or plan that we think can solve the “problem” instead of consulting God first? Her scheme was one that was allowed in their culture, yet was not what God had intended. Just because something is “allowed” doesn’t mean it is right, or in God’s will. Notice that Abram listened to and heeded, or agreed to his wife’s plan. Husbands, don’t give in to your wife’s ‘suggestions’ so easily; at least not without consulting God first!

16:3-4

Notice that Sarai gives her slave girl to her husband to be his ‘wife’. This would be a secondary type wife; Hagar was not to be a replacement wife for Sarai. All this is in accordance with the customs of their culture; yet NOT in God’s will. We are also told that they had now been in Canaan for ten years; thus making Abram 85 years old. (4.) Abram impregnates Hagar; and as soon as she realizes she is pregnant, she looks with contempt and despises Sarai. Why? Because Hagar now thinks she is ‘better’ than Sarai, since she was able to become pregnant. Remember, a wife in their culture is considered to have failed if she cannot produce children.

16:5

Sarai is grieved and hurt by Hagar’s actions; she admits she was wrong to give her to Abram, yet she states that the responsibility for the wrong and the loss of her rights should be upon Abram! Do we ever do wrong and then blame our spouse, or someone else, for our wrong actions and choices? Asking the Lord to Judge between herself and her husband is really not a good idea. Does Sarai expect God to hold Abram accountable for her wrong actions? Perhaps because Abram went along with her scheme, she believes he must accept the responsibility for the outcome.

16:6

We are not told that God does any ‘judging’, or placing blame, on either of them. It could be because they are both at fault. But Abram simply tells Sarai that Hagar is her maid and is in her hands and power and she may do whatever she wishes with Hagar. Immediately Sarai deals severely with Hagar; humbling and afflicting her. In response, Hagar runs away from Sarai. The plan of Sarai has had serious and painful consequences for all involved. All three of them must have been in sorrow, grief and anger.

16:7

Hagar has fled some distance away from the camp out into the wilderness. The Angel of the Lord ‘finds’ her by a fountain of water, or a well, on the road to Shur. Shur was the wall protecting Egypt from invaders; so Hagar was attempting to go back to Egypt. This Angel of the Lord is clearly a Theophany of Jesus Christ, and is the first reference to The Angel of the Lord. Obviously, God knows where Hagar is at every moment and cares about her and her situation. Keep in mind the important of first mention, or reference, in scriptures.

16:8-11

The ‘Angel of the Lord’ (Theophany) speaks to Hagar asking her where she has come from and where is she going. It is a way of saying, ‘what’s going on in your life that you are out here in the wilderness?’ Hagar tells him the truth, that she is fleeing from her mistress Sarai. (9.) The Angel of the Lord then tells Hagar to return to her mistress and to submit herself to her authority. The Angel of the Lord continues to speak to Hagar, giving her a prophecy that her descendants will be multiplied exceedingly, so that they cannot be numbered. This prophecy will be fulfilled in the future, as Ishmael will have 12 sons, all of whom will have many, many children. Ishmael becomes the father of the Arab peoples. Even today, the Arabs claim Abraham as their ‘father’. (11.) God continues to speak to Hagar, telling her He knows she is pregnant and that she will have a son and is to call him Ishmael; because the Lord God has heard her cries of affliction. Note that this is also the first time that God has given a name to someone before they were born.

16:12

God prophecies to Hagar regarding her son, that he, and his descendants, will be as a ‘wild man’, wandering from place to place, acting in a lawless manner, attacking others, acting in a fierce and independent manner. These descendants would live to the east and on the borders of all their kinsmen. This describes the Arabs to this very day. God has preserved them down through four centuries as a lasting proof of the Truth of His divine revelation. These nomadic people still live this way throughout Israel and the Arab countries. To this very day the Arabs have never gotten along, even with fellow Arabs. History reveals they are continually at war with each other! They are often living as wild, hostile people. When we traveled throughout Israel, we saw their flocks and camps on the borders and hills outside inhabited areas, just as God foretold.

16:13-14

Hagar calls the Lord, ‘The God who sees me’. She recognizes that God sees and knows everything about her. She also said that she had seen Him who sees and knows me and the future purposes He has, and yet lived. (14.) The well where God spoke to Hagar was afterward called Beer-lahai-roi, which means ‘A well to the Living One Who sees me’. This well was located between Kadesh and Bered. This place of location was given at the time of Moses to identify to the reader where this well was located.

16:15-16

Suddenly we are thrust forward seven or eight months and told Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram named him Ishmael. Obviously, Hagar obeyed God and returned to the camp, telling Abram and Sarai of her encounter with God and submitted herself to Sarai. (16.) Since Abram was 85 when he impregnated Hagar, this confirms he is now 86 years old at the birth of Ishmael.

What important lessons for us in this chapter! Ever get tired of ‘waiting’ for God to act on your behalf? Think you can take care of the ‘situation’ yourself? What results have happened in the past when you did this? What kind of results can you expect in the future IF you don’t learn to choose to simply wait for God to act? Remember, our actions always involve a choice! How many of us have had Ishmael type ‘problems’ in our lives we have had to take care of? Notice that God did not let Sarai ‘get rid of the problem’ by causing Hagar to run away. When Hagar ran off, Sarai may have thought ‘good riddance’! Yet, Abram would have felt terrible, as he knew Hagar was carrying his only child. God did not let that situation happen, instead He carefully and skillfully intervened on behalf of Hagar and had Abram and Sarai live with the consequences of their sinful mistake. Have you ever had to live with the consequences of your mistakes? God forgives us when we confess our sins and faults, yet He allows us to suffer and take responsibility for our own foolish mistakes. What a lesson for all of us to learn to prayerfully seek God first, then WAIT ON THE LORD!

Abrahamic Covenant

15:1

‘After these things’ probably indicates that some time had gone by. The Word of the Lord in Hebrew was the Word of Adonai, which would indicate it was God speaking to Abram. This is also the first mention of the Word of the Lord. Keep in mind that the first time something is mentioned is significant. God spoke and said: “Fear not; I am your shield; (and most important), your exceedingly great reward!” The term ‘exceedingly great reward’ should be a huge clue to Abram that this is the ultimate blessing, nothing could be more important!

15:2

‘But’, remember each time we see this word, we need to pay close attention to what follows. Although God had just affirmed to Abram that He, the Creator of the Universe, was Abrams’ protector, shield and his exceedingly great reward, Abram seems to miss the importance and significance of this statement from God. Abram is focused on the fact that he has no children, and that God had promised him blessings through offspring that would be so numerous that they could not be counted. Plus, Abram was concerned that without children the heir of his worldly possession would be his chief steward Eliezer of Damascus.

15:3

It seems almost amusing that Abram goes on to explain to God that since God had NOT given him any natural born children, that the most important man in his household would be his heir, Eliezer. Notice that Abram does not say: “You have not YET given me any children.” Sometimes we ask for God’s blessings, and when we don’t receive them; in our estimation, when we believe we should; then we tell God that He has not given us what He promised! Have you ever ‘explained’ to God that you feel He has not blessed you like you think He promised He would? Remember, everything is done by God in His perfect timing, not ours, He knows everything, and we do not. God’s promises are always true and for our best interest they must always be in His perfect timing.

15:4-5

‘And Behold,’ This phrase seems to indicate that God speaks strongly to Abram to get his attention. ‘Behold’, always precedes something of great significance in God’s word. The Word of Adonai assures Abram that Eliezer would not be his heir, but a child born of Abrams own seed would be his heir. This clearly indicates that Abram would have a natural born child as his heir, not an ‘adopted’ heir. (5.) It is interesting that He, God, actually physically brought Abram outside his home and told him to ‘look now toward heaven and count the stars, IF you are able to number them’. (God knew Abram could not count the stars nor number them, yet He wanted Abram to realize his finiteness.) God then promises Abram that ‘your descendants shall be as many as these innumerable stars.’ Wow! What a promise this was! The Truth is, no one can count the stars, nor number them, not even the most sophisticated technology can begin to know how many stars are in the heavens. Notice that God does not say ‘sky’, but uses the term, heaven to describe His Universe. Walk outside your home on a moonless night and look up at the night sky; then take a telescope and gaze again into God’s heaven. Even with the most powerful telescope, no one, no equipment, nothing can possibly number the stars God has created. The heavens truly declare the Glory of God!

15:6

Finally, Abram ‘gets it’ and through faith, believes in God and His Word. And immediately we are told that God credits, or accounts it, to Abram for righteousness. This is the first mention of the primary condition of salvation; righteousness is reckoned in return for faith. IF we truly believe God, we will believe Him in our hearts, mind and soul, AND we will act on that belief. Take a good, long, hard look at your life; does it accurately reflect that you really believe God? If not, what needs to change? Would anyone and everyone who knows you be able to say that they can see that you are a follower of Jesus? You see, if we really truly believe all that Jesus says in His Word; our lives, our focus of life, everything will drastically change; we will become His followers in every area of our lives. Pray about this, seek God with all your heart, mind and soul, all the time. See Psalm 119:10-11 and 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19; think about praying, and memorizing, these words of God into your life!

15:7-9

Then, this means after Abram finally comes to fully believe God, then, and only then, does God begin to give him more of the details of His blessings. God assures Abram the He is the True God who brought Abram out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give Abram this land as an inheritance. An inheritance from God is absolutely guaranteed! (8.) Abrams asking about how he could know he would inherit the land, is not a question about God’s authority, but rather the Contract, or affirmation method that God would use to guarantee this promise. All binding agreements are entered into with some kind of a Contract. (9.) Notice that God does not chastise Abram for asking, but rather begins to tell him what he is to do to prepare and enter into the Contract. Why does God have Abram bring a three year old heifer, female goat and ram; plus a turtledove and a young pigeon? These may have been the best of the livestock and the most prized of the flock. Only our very best is to be offered to God for His use.

15:10

All the valuable livestock and birds are offered as a sacrifice by Abram and he cuts them in half and carefully places them opposite one another. The birds are not cut in half, but are left whole. Contracts, or Covenants, in ancient times were entered into by both parties by sacrificing valuable livestock, then they would walk between the bloody carcasses in a figure 8 all the while repeating all the terms of the Covenant, as a commitment to keeping their Contractual obligations under the penalty of becoming like the dead carcasses. All who witnessed these proceedings could then testify of the entire Covenant agreement the parties had made. Variations of this Covenant or Contractual commitment, were done by burning the carcasses, etc.

15:11-12

Abram must be vigilant and drive away the vultures, which are unclean birds, as he waits for God’s instructions on what to do next. The birds of prey representing evil cannot be allowed to interfere with the sacrificial offerings to be used for the Covenant. As we are preparing to obey God we must always be vigilant to drive away and resist anything evil that would interfere with our obedience to God’s plan. (12.) It appears that Abram has been up all night and all day. Remember, he began to be spoken to by God at night. Abram must have spent the day carefully selecting the perfect animals and birds for the sacrificial Covenant God required and then sacrificing them, cutting them up and laying them in the precise pattern described. Now we are told the sun is going down, indicating the day is ending. This deep sleep that falls upon Abram is accompanied by a horror and great darkness that falls upon Abram. Obviously, Abram is aware of this horror and great darkness.

15:13

Now God speaks again to Abram, giving him a future Prophecy of what will happen to Abram’s descendants, by the phrase ‘Know certainly’. These future descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs; and they will serve these people in that land; and they will be afflicted 400 years. A brief peek into the future: We know that the Bible reveals that this prophecy to Abram is given to assure Abram, and his descendants, that God has given a prophecy and promise that will be fulfilled. These future descendants would be Jacob, also known later as Israel, and his twelve sons, and their descendants. While Joseph is overseeing the land of Egypt, the Israelites would be able to flourish and increase their population. After Joseph dies and a new Pharaoh comes, then the Israelites would be enslaved and afflicted. Note that the first years, which would be the first 30 years, the Israelites were allowed to prosper. After Joseph’s death, they are then “afflicted” by being made slaves. They continue in slavery for 400 years until God frees them through Moses. Exodus 12:40 indicates that the total number of years the Israelites were in Egypt was 430 years. Again, Acts 7:6 affirms that the Jews were treated with evil for 400 years. Galatians 3:17 states that the promise of God to Abram was for a period of 430 years. This would refer to their entire time in Egypt, not just their afflicted years. Be aware that those who question God’s word will use this difference of 400 and 430 years to claim the Bible is in error, or God doesn’t get His numbers correct. Now you know how to lovingly correct them!

15:14-15

God tells Abram that He will judge the nation his descendants are forced to serve; and that they will come out of that land with great possessions. This is predictive of God’s freeing the Israelites through using Moses, the Ten Plagues, etc. To find out how they came out with great possessions, even though they were only slaves, read Exodus 12:31-38. (15.) God assures Abram that he will die in peace at a good old age; and that he will go to ‘your fathers’ in peace. This phrase ‘your fathers’ lets Abram know that he will live eternally with those who have also been faithful to God in the past.

15:16

God again states that in the fourth generation they, Abram’s descendants, shall return here, referring to the land God promises Abram; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete. Since a generation was determined to be 100 years, that would confirm those who would come out of Egypt would be considered to be the fourth generation. God allows great evil and the horrible consequences of that evil to be clearly seen by men. In this way no one will ever honestly be able to minimize sin or its consequences. There is no such thing as a ‘little sin’. All sin is evil and brings pain and sorrow.

15:17

‘It came to pass;’ This phrase indicates this is all part of God’s plan. It is now completely dark and the smoking furnace and burning torch or lamp of fire passes between all the carcasses. These things are symbolic of God completing the Covenant with no participation from Abram. This would indicate that the basis of the Covenant and its completion is unconditional; only God needs to fulfill it and only God can fulfill it. Abram does not need to do anything. This also means this is a gift to Abram, and his descendants, that was not earned and cannot be lost. This divinely ordered ritual is known as Barath; The phrase actually means “To cut a Covenant”. Today we hear the phrase “to cut a deal” meaning an agreed upon Contract. We know that this Abrahamic Covenant is an Unconditional Promise of God. Just as God’s Grace is a free gift to all true believers; we do nothing to earn it.

15:18-21

This day the Lord, Adonai, made a Covenant with Abram, promising the land to his descendants, from the river of Egypt (Nile River) unto the great river, the river Euphrates: This is a huge section of land, far in excess of anything the Israelites have ever conquered or held in their possession. Note that Israel today is far smaller than this promised land. So we know that God will eventually give all this promised territory to the believing Israelites. (19. – 21.) God also says He will give all these peoples to the Israelites. These 10 nations are summarized in Exodus 23:38, 3; Exodus 3:17, 6; and 7 in the conquest of Joshua 24:11. How does this Abrahamic Covenant affect us, as Gentiles? We are included as Believers in the One True God. Abraham’s descendants would be two-fold: Some are as numerous as the dust of the earth; these would be the physical descendants. Others would be as numerous as the stars of the heaven; these would be the spiritual descendants. So, although you may not be a physical descendant of Abraham, as Believers in the One True God and His Son, Jesus, we qualify as Abraham’s spiritual descendants! When Jesus returns to the earth, we can be certain that He will give this entire promised land to the believing Israelites who accept Jesus as their promised Messiah. We, as believers, are ‘grafted into’ the promises God has given His chosen people. This should give us great Hope and encouragement!