Sermon - AudioGen 16-18 - Audio
Gen 16-18 Daily Reading
Daily Insights - Please Comment
Prayer for God to illumine the text
Lord, open my heart and mind by the power of your Holy Spirit, that as I read the Scriptures, I may hear with joy and apply what you say to me today. Amen.
Genesis 16
- 16.2: Hagar’s name means “to flee”—she will live up to her name.
- 16.5: “you’re fault” because Abram did not make Hagar continue to respect Sarai in this very delicate situation.
- 16.8,13: Hagar has a couple of interesting distinctions. She is the first woman that God speaks to in the Bible after the fall of Adam and Eve. She is also the only person to give God a name in all of the Bible. She calls him El –roi which means “the God who sees me”. It is a reminder that God sees the outcast and the downtrodden.
- 17.1 “walk before me faithfully” is a technical term for absolute loyalty to a king. Notice that in 17.23ff that Abraham practices that total loyalty by immediately following God’s command to circumcise.
- 17.3: “Fell facedown” because he is in the presence of the King.
- 17.5,19: Name changes—a change in name transforms one’s character and destiny. Abraham’s new name means “father of many” –notice not just of Israel but of other nations as well. Sarah’s new name means “princess” which is exactly what her old name meant. Could it be that her name change was to speak that she was now in service to God rather than connected to the worship of the moon which her former name was connected with?
- 17.7: “to be your God” is formal covenant language (legal language of a contract). These words say that God is electing to Israel to be his special people and he demands exclusive allegiance in return.
- 17.8: “to you and your descendents after you” is more formal covenant/legal language. It was used in the ancient near east in contracts to assure the transmission of property from the one who died to his heirs. God here is writing a contract that assures that the land will be passed from generation to generation.
- 18.9ff: the good news of a son to be born is met with Sarah’s laughter. The question is, “why does she laugh?” Does she not believe God or is there something else going on. Could the laughter be one of joy? When she speaks of having this “pleasure” it has sexual connotations. It could be that she is thinking of the restoration of marital intimacy and this joy causes her to laugh.
- 18.16ff: the picture is of the gathering of the heavenly council and Abraham is invited in to give his opinion, make his plea. For a second time, Abraham asks God for something (remember his request about Ishmael) and God responds to his request. The Jewish people view Abraham as more righteous than Noah in this because Abraham begged for the people of Sodom, but Noah failed to intercede on behalf of the people of his day.
- 18.16ff: The idea, as Abraham begs for the people of Sodom, is that God will spare the entire city if there are a few righteous people there. It is an amazing picture that those who live righteously live not only for themselves, but for those around them and so bring blessing to them (cf. Genesis 12.1-3)
- 18.19: The call of Abraham is not to make himself into a great nation, but to teach his children what is right and just, to teach them to obey God. Jesus echoes this when he calls his followers to make disciples, teaching them to obey everything that he taught. The great commission of the New Testament is a continuation of God’s call to Abraham in the Old.
7 comments:
It seems that for most of the culture a god was a utility tool to be used and manipulated in order for them to get a life pleasing to them. YHWH, however, is pledging to manipulate them into a nation that is pleasing to him.
Could it be that when God says "I will be your God" that he setting up something that most of the O.T. Jews never got?
given the future behavior of the Israelite nation and the way that they sought to manipulate God (e.g. Isaiah 58), it seems probable that many never figured out that God was not to be manipulated, but they were to serve him and be molded by him into a nation that would bring blessing to the world.
I appreciate Tim's remark, "It seems for most of the culture a god was a untility tool to be used and manipulated in order for them to get a life pleasing to themselves." It seems like our culture views God in similar ways.
I'm a little unclear about the three men that visit Abraham. It almost seems like these three men are God.
Gen 18:1-3
And the Lord appeared to him by the o oaks [1] of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. p When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth 3 and said, “O Lord, [2] if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant.
Could this be Abraham's encounter with the 3-in-1 God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit)?
oops. Answered my own question with the reading of chapter 19. Two angels and one God.
I think it's interesting how 17:17 says Abraham laughed and said to HIMSELF "will a son be born to a man a hundred years old?" but to God he asked for a blessing for Ishmael... Then God says, your wife Sarah will bear a son and you will call him Laughter... God is saying "I heard what you said to yourself, and I call your bluff". Yes, God does hear what we say to ourselves as well as what we say to him. I think we often forget that.
Great comment, Tim!
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