02/21/2010 Genesis 15-19

Including summary of last week with detailed notes from this week.

Discussed variety of ways God presented himself to Abraham.

The LORD said, told, appeared, brought, gave, covenanted/promised; the word of the LORD came to Abram and the word of the LORD came to him in a vision; Then the Angel of the Lord appears to Hagar; then in both chapters 17 and 18 – the LORD appears to Abraham, renames him and Sarah, and restates the promise.

In chapter 14 – the LORD empowered Abram, 3 locals and 318 trained men defeated Kedorlaomer and several kings’ armies to rescue Lot.

Abram gives the tithe to Melchizedek, dishonors the king of Sodom and then ???

I think after that great conquest – Abram reevaluated where he was, what he was doing, he tried to look at the big picture. Apparently, he said “I’m supposed to have descendants as numerous as particles of dust; I’m supposed to have land; Instead I’m an old man and my wife is barren.”

Later in the Bible we see Elijah, just after the great scene where all the priests of Ba’al are consumed in fire and the rain comes and what should have been a high point – he becomes depressed. I think that happens all the time. Something really good happens and our mind starts playing it and asking, “Is that all? Is that as good as it gets? Shouldn’t there be something more?”

So if Abram is in this kind of funk – then it makes sense that the next thing that happens is 15:1 – The LORD reassures Abram…

"Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield, your very great reward. "

Then for the first time, we have a direct statement spoken by Abram to God. Abram is still uncertain, he asks God what he can give him, since he hasn’t given him children.

The LORD reiterates the promise, even saying it in a more positive way – I the creator of the universe promise you descendants as numerous as the stars. I am in control.

15:6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. Romans 4 spends time discussing this simple statement. Abram believed, his faith in God’s promise never wavered – his thoughts as to how it might play out were all over the place.

We’ve all been there – we expect God to do this, this, and this, in this length of time so that everything will be perfect and we can live the rest of our lives forgetting about God because we no longer need Him. We really know He cares, but we don’t understand why He doesn’t do it the way I told Him to….

Abram never wavered in His faith that God would give him land, descendants and blessings.

It is also important to remember that God made His promise with Abram long before he gave him any rules. The promise was there before Melchizedek , before circumcision, before Abraham did anything to prove himself worthy.

We have the cutting covenant that Tony described last week, then Abram and Sarai decide that the LORD really is serious about Abram have numerous descendants and land so they better do something about it. We briefly discussed the pain Sarai felt – constantly being reminded that she was barren, so possibly in frustration she gives her servant Hagar to Abram, and she conceived. Sarai regretted that decision almost immediately and sent a pregnant Hagar off into the wilderness.

The angel of the LORD appears to Hagar, sends her back to Abram and Sarai

So now Hagar’s son is born, is named Ishmael – which means God Hears.

Thirteen years later, when Abram is 99 years old, the LORD appeared to him, doesn’t say in a vision either.

Told to circumcise all males at 8 days old. Why???

Because it was the covenant with Abraham.

Today, we don’t understand the same. It was a blood sacrifice. The Jewish Bris ceremony still collects that blood. I read about circumcision for several hours this week so that I could give you an absolutely accurate answer as to what it was all about. Moses’ wife, Zipporah, calls it bridegroom of blood in Exodus 4:24.

Circumcision was intended as an expression of faith, a belief in a promise. A sign of identification, obedience, purity, righteousness, a covenant commitment. A putting off of the sinful nature (Col 2:11). It follows shortly after that cutting covenant in the text and may have some overlap with that. There are definitely overtones of the importance of circumcision obvious in our beliefs regarding baptism and marriage.

Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God's commands is what counts. (1 Corinthians 7:19) is probably the closest to a good explanation as I can offer.

For more detail, see Romans 2-4. I am not going to read all three chapters aloud to the class, but I hope you read it sometime this week. Listen to these two excerpts:

Romans 2:25-29

25 Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. 26 If those who are not circumcised keep the law's requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? 27 The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker. 28 A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.

Romans 4:7-13

"Blessed are they
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
⁸Blessed is the man
whose sin the Lord will never count against him."^F18
9Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness. ¹⁰Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! ¹¹And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. ¹²And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
¹³It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

As part of this covenant – Abram will now be physically different, he has met with the LORD, so we expect him to be spiritually different, and accordingly – he gets a new name.

Renaming – Abram means exalted father, but Abram and Sarai had no children. Ishmael born when Abram was 86. Thirteen years later, renamed Abraham, father of many, and promised a true son. Sarai is also renamed – from governess or princess to governess of all.

Thinking about the meaning of the name change and circumcision – I think of the song:

I will change your name
You shall no longer be called
Wounded, outcast
Lonely or afraid

I will change your name
Your new name shall be
Confidence, joyfulness
Overcoming one
Faithfulness, friend of God
One who seeks my face

(DJ Butler, copyright 1987, Mercy Publishing)

Abraham’s journey of faith has moved him geographically – but from when we first meet Abram until the binding of Isaac in chapter 22 – we see a significant movement in Abraham’s character as well. The man who carries the fire and the knife up the mountain is completely different than the man who told Pharaoh that Sarai was his sister and received a reward for sending her to the harem.

Questions - Comments

I find Chapter 18 to be as fascinating as anything we have studied so far in Genesis. The language of the narrative really comes to life in this section. But I like word studies.

I wish I had more knowledge of Hebrew but have really appreciated Jeff, Jesse and Charles’ comments in the teacher training class. The difference between plural and singular pronouns and the name translated LORD or god or gods or angel is real interesting. So are some of the verbs used to describe the reactions of Abraham and Lot. Such a contrast in intensity. And really pay attention to the word SEE.

To begin with the term the LORD is used ten times in this section. Similar to how the LORD appeared to him when he received the instructions for circumcision, the LORD appeared to him while he was sitting in his tent.

18:2 says “Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.”

Compare that with Lot in 19:1 where it says “The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.”

These are two similar stories to compare – the differences may seem subtle – but I think they really are significant, and when you hear this account being read aloud, being told – not just read – the differences really stand out.

Abraham looks up and sees, he hurries, he bows low.

Lot looks down from the gateway, sees, more casually gets up, he bows.

Both men recognize that these are not ordinary travelers.

Then Abraham gets water to wash their feet, sets them down to rest in the shade, hurries into the tent, tells Sarah to hurry and quickly bake bread, ran to the herd, selected a choice calf, brought curds, milk, prepared the meat, and served the guests.

Lot offers hospitality, tells them they can wash their feet, and spend the night. He prepares a meal of bread without yeast, and it sounds like he eats along with the guests. Nothing like the meal Abraham prepared with urgency and then served – standing at the ready to take care of his guests. Throughout Genesis – we don’t see Lot doing anything with much urgency except choosing which section of land he wanted.

Back to Chapter 18 – Abraham’s response. They asked about Sarah by name, her new name. They announce the culmination of 25 years of anticipation – that 90 year old Sarah will now have a child. Everyone in this class is probably old enough to realize that a 90 year old barren, post-menapausal women having a child without hormone therapy and modern medical shenanigans is as significant a miracle as a young single mother having a baby without sleeping with a man in the days before artificial insemination. It would have been impossible to happen in a purely natural world, so there is nothing surprising in the fact that Sarah would laugh to herself. Not disrespectful to the visitors – just a ‘you’ve got to be kidding – 25 years ago it would have been tough – today it is impossible!’ type laugh.

Is anything too hard for the LORD?

Remember our themes – sin, judgment, grace, punishment?

It has been punctuated lately with a new theme of blessing – reward – certainty.

But it is time to revisit the judgment, grace and punishment themes – because sin has been and continues to be committed just down the road from Abraham’s tent.

The LORD continues to speak, reiterating the blessing upon Abraham and his descendants once again, then passing judgment on Sodom.

18:20 "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."

But Abraham intercedes – not only for his nephew Lot, but anybody, everybody in the cities. Abraham shows compassion, willingly putting his own standing on the line after so carefully trying to please the LORD and serve His physical needs, now he is publically opposing His plan.

God is willing to negotiate with Abraham, going from 50 down to a measly 10 individuals being required to save the city. We assume Lot, his wife, two daughters, two fiancés and any four others in the whole city…. But it doesn’t happen. 10 righteous people can’t be found.

So much that can be discussed about Sodom and Gomorrah – what sin was causing the outcry, why Abraham didn’t personally go to rescue Lot again, who counted and how did they determine righteousness, when and why had Lot moved from the plains near Sodom into sitting in the gateway?

Then the punishment phase, eerily similar to the flood narrative in several ways. Being wiped out because of evil – not the whole world this time, just two cities. One familial unit saved. Pulled through a door rather than shutting a door. Preaching to people who don’t believe, then an alcohol induced state leading to shameful behavior.

At the end of class, Eddie mentioned that Lot was saved, not of his own righteousness, but because of Abraham's righteousness. This is a whole study in itself - thanks Eddie for pointing out this additional parallel that resurfaces later in the Bible.