Hello, I hope you
are ready to dig deeper in God’s Word!
Before
we start this lesson, lets recap what we have already seen in the last few
chapters:
>> In Genesis
12 we saw God’s promises to Abram, and a step of faith taken as Abram obeyed
God and left his people to travel to Canaan. However, Abram decided to go down
to Egypt due to a famine and suffered the consequences.
>>In Genesis
13 Abram and Lot separated due to the feuding between their herdsmen. And we
saw God restate His promise to Abram.
>> In Genesis
14 we read where Abram was called into a battle to rescued Lot after he (Lot)
was taken captive. We were also introduced to Melchizedek, who gave glory to
God for Abram’s victory.
Because neither of the two chapters in this
lesson are very long,
we are going to go straight to our study
survey.
Chapter 15:
The Cutting of the Covenant
When
starting out in chapter 15, the first thing we read is God telling Abram “Not
to be afraid…” Typically not the best way to start out a conversation. This
reminds me of several times my sons would come in and start out their
conversation with me by saying, “Mon, don’t get mad, but…” However, if we look
back over chapter 14, we see that Abram just came from a battle with some very fierce
tribes. He probably was a little
concerned that there might be some retribution, so God starts by telling him
not to worry.
Something very important to grasp in this very first
verse: God didn’t tell Abram that He would give
Abram a shield. No, God said “I am a
shield to you.”
The next thing to take note of is that Abram totally
accepted God’s pledge and went on to discuss something totally different. In
other words, God said “Hey, don’t worry…” So, Abram basically said “OK”. How can I say that? Because Abram
obviously didn’t feel the need to ponder God’s pledge any further, because he went on to
change the subject.
So, what did Abram want to talk about? He brought up the
topic of another promise God had made him… and that was of an heir. God listened
to Abram and then reassured him that he will have a son (one from his own flesh).
Notice something else: God didn’t take offense to Abram questioning Him.
God then went on to reaffirm the promise of the land to
Abram’s descendants. Then Abram asks something that might seem peculiar. Abram
asked, “But how will I KNOW….?”
My friend there is a difference between believing
something and KNOWING something. Let me
give you an example: Say my phone rings and I see that the caller ID shows my
oldest son’s name. I would instantly believe that it was my oldest son calling,
but when I answer it and hear his voice, well, then I KNOW it is him.
We can believe something to be true (even if its not). We
can believe a lot of things… until they are put to the test. And then we know
for certain what is true and that which is not. God did not take offense to
Abram needing a little more reassurance. After all, there were a lot of people
living in the land that God had just promised him.
But notice something else. Abram didn’t ask God “how will I know you will give me a son?”
God said he would have a son, and Abram completely accepted this as truth and
trusted God for it. Somewhere in his heart and mind, he must have thought there
was still a way for him to have a son. But the land… now that was something
different.
What did God do to build the same faith (and trust) to
this part of the promise? He made a blood covenant with Abram. And in verse 13
God Himself declared, “You can know for certain…”
- Read very carefully verse 17. God Himself
made the covenant. God was the one to walk through the sacrifice laid out (as a
flaming torch). Abram didn’t have to meet God half way and shake hands like you
and I would if we were making an agreement with each other. God took full
responsibility.
So, let’s look at this a bit
deeper: "How can I know?"(Gen. 15:7-21)
Abram did believe,
but he also needed to know. Again, God was not upset. Instead, God had Abram
prepare the most binding of all forms of ancient covenants from that culture,
which was a "covenant of blood."
Take a moment to read Hebrews 6:17-18. It tells us that
God took this action because He wanted to make the unchanging nature of His
purpose very clear (and not only to Abram, but also
to us as heirs of what was promised). God confirmed it with an oath. But why would He do this? To show that by
two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie. And, because
God is totally committed to us as well, we can also know that when God makes
us a promise, He will uphold it.
My friend, God not only knows the future, but is also in
full control of the future. So, on this basis we (like Abram) needn’t have
doubts when God reveals His intentions to us. Abram had to “know” based on
God's word alone. We can “know” (not only because God is the One who speaks to
us), but because we can look back on fulfilled prophecy (which Abram could not
do) and see the faithfulness of God.
We can look back at the 400 years in Egypt, the slavery
imposed on Abram's descendants, the punishment of Egypt, and the Exodus
deliverance as history today. And what do
we see when we do? Everything happened just as God said it would.
One last
thing to consider before going on to the next chapter.
God told Abram that his descendants would be blessed, but
that there was also going to be hardship. My friend just because we are
Christians, doesn’t mean we won’t have hardships as well. Just as Abram’s
descendants would suffer trials and long periods of waiting… so will we at
times.
>> Thought to ponder: God’s Word
came to Abram in a vision (vs. 1) but then there was action on Abram’s part.
Look up Hab. 2:1-3. Notice it says he will “keep watch to see what God will
speak to him…” And he was to write it down. My friend, God does the same for us
while we are in prayer with Him. Many times, He will “speak to our hearts” and
we can "see" with our spiritual eyes what He is speaking to us. And when we do,
we need to write it down!
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Study Survey
Chapter 16: Impatience & Consequences
“Perhaps I can build a family” (Gen. 16:1-16).
Let’s start with on overview
of this chapter:
When reading Gen. 16, we need t0 remember that in
biblical times, bearing children was viewed by women as giving meaning to their
lives. Abram had believed God's promise, but as the years passed and no children
came, Sarai became impatient. Finally,
she decided to take matters into her own hands and she urged Abram to sleep
with her maid, Hagar.
This might seem awful to us, but according to the customs
of those times, this was not an immoral act. It was actually a recognized way
to provide a childless wife with children she would then call her own. Though this might have been acceptable in
man’s eye, but it wasn’t by God.
Sarai’s impatience is proven to be a horrible mistake…
all starting with one thought, "Perhaps I can build a family."
It was foolish for her to think that SHE could build it
when God had already said HE
would build Abram's family!
>> Life
Lesson: My friend, anytime we try to do God's work in our own
strength (or insist on imposing our timing instead of waiting for God to act),
it will always wind up proving to be a dreadful mistake.
As we see, Sarai's self-help effort turned out horribly. Because,
Hagar did become pregnant, however, soon after Hagar began showing contempt for
her mistress! And, since Hagar was pregnant by Abram, it was now very clear
that the couple's childlessness was Sarai's fault. Sarai probably didn’t expect
this result when she set out on her own. The strife that then dominated Abram's
tents (as a result) reminds us to wait on God rather than going ahead without
His guidance or direction.
>> Life
Lesson: This invariably happens when we take over for God,
trying to make His promise come true through efforts that are not in line with His specific directions.
In this case, time was the greatest test of
Abram and Sarai's willingness to let God work in their lives. My friend, sometimes
we too must simply wait. When we ask God for something and have to wait, we can
be tempted to take matters into our own hands and interfere with God's plans.
But when we do, it only causes more hardship and possible delays.
Look back at vs. 2, notice
that it says, “Abram listened to the voice of Sarai…” Consider this:
>> Who did God talk to?
>> Who did God make the
promise to?
>> Who should be the leader
(head) of the family?
>> So, who should have
enforced God’s Word in the family?
>> What did he do
instead?
He became passive and
followed the voice of his wife instead of what God had told him.
>> What was the result?
Where have we seen this pattern before?
In Gen. 3
with Adam and Eve.
Now look at vs. 5. Although
Sarai arranged for Hagar to have a child by Abram, she later blamed
Abram for the results (Adam and Eve did the same thing in Gen. 3:12-13).
In vs. 6 we see that Sarai was
angry with Abram, but she took it out on Hagar.
Instead of accepting her responsibility to what was now happening, she
blamed everyone else.
Though Hagar was originally
the victim in this situation, she made it worse by HER treatment towards
Sarai. And then instead of facing the problem, she did what a lot of us do… She
tried running away from her mistress, thus running away from her problem.
So now, we have three people who are entangled in a
serious mess: (1) Sarai, who took matters into her own hands and gave her
servant to Abram; (2) Abram, who went along with the plan but, when the circumstances
began to cause strife, he refused to help solve the problem; and (3) Hagar, who
added to the strife with her attitude and then ran away from the problem.
However, despite this messed up situation, we
will soon see God demonstrate His ability to work all things for good (see
Rom. 8:28), and the truth of Pr. 19:21 (look this verse up and write it down).
Going
Deeper:
After Hagar ran away, the Angel of the Lord found her in the desert at a spring (beside the road to Shur) on
the way to her homeland (Egypt).
This is the first reference in the Old
Testament to "the
Angel of the Lord".
o Though this Angel is identified with God, this Angel also identifies distinctive from God. And by doing so, refers to a theophany
(meaning a visible manifestation) of the preincarnate Christ.
§
I highly suggest you highlight this in your Bible in a special
way, so that you will know that you just saw Jesus.
God (Jesus) asked Hagar
two questions: Where have you come
from, and where are you going? Why
would He ask her these questions if He is all knowing? To draw her closer
to Him in relationship, and to have her voice (admit) what she is doing
(running away).
After God (Jesus) asked her these questions, He did two
things. First, He gave her a command which was to return to her mistress and submit to authority instead of
rebelling. The fact that she was able to conceive after all these years that
Sarai couldn’t would suggest that the “contempt” she was showing her mistress
was a form of GLOATING, and that is never acceptable in God’s eye.
Secondly, He gave her a promise. He told her that she
would give birth to a boy and was to call him Ishmael.
- God Himself named her son Ishmael, which He then
explained: for the Lord has heard your misery. He also promised her
that her descendants would be too many to number (thus giving her a future and
a hope).
Somewhere in her, she accepted and believed. And she
stated what each of us needs to know about our God…
- She
called God the One who sees me. and to commemorate the event she named
the well at that ion Beer Lahai Roi ("well of the living One who
sees me”).
Insight:
God spoke to Hagar in direct revelation, and she
responded in faith. My friend, God really does see our distress and
affliction, and He hears us. And
this was something that Sarai should have known. Since God knew Sarai was
barren (but had promised Abram a son), she should have cried out to God
for help, instead of trying to figure out her own solution.
This is a great reminder to us that in our distress (like
that of Sarai's barrenness), we should turn to God because He hears our
cries and sees our needs. God is able to miraculously fulfill His promises
He doesn’t need our help
God provided for this woman who was thrust out into the
desert. And He made her a promised; that her son would become the father of a
great tribe of wild,
hostile people. However, he would not be the promised son to fulfill God’s Word
to Abram. By Sarai taking matters into her own hands, she caused the origin of
the Ishmaelites, and that harvest is still being reaped today. Ironically,
Sarai's great-grandson (Joseph) was later taken to Egypt in slavery by the
Ishmaelites (see Gen. 37:28).
>> Life
Lesson: God's people can trust His Word and should wait for its
fulfillment, enduring patiently till the end.
o
Look up Hab. 2:2-3 and write it out as a reminder.
My friend,
that is all for this lesson, I hope you are encouraged and will take God’s
message to heart.
Kassie
To find out more about this series
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