The Abrahamic

Covenant

GENESIS 15 – 21

15:1-6

"After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.’ But Abram said, ‘Lord GOD, what will you give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’ Then Abram said, ‘Look, you have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!’ And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, ‘This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.’ Then he brought him outside and said, ‘Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.’ And he said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And he believed in the LORD, and he accounted it to him for righteousness."

It is a wonderful thing, the way the Lord reads and knows the hearts of his people. The Lord reads our hearts and he knows what's on our minds. He knew what was on Abram's mind. Abram was worried about having an heir. So, the Lord spoke to Abram so he could focus on what really mattered. God said to Abram, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." My, what a comforting word, aye? The Lord went right to the heart of Abram’s concerns. This is where it’s at, beloved. This is the bottom line in life for all of us. The Lord is our all in all. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is our benefactor and protector. He holds our future and the futures of our loved ones in his hands. The mere privilege of knowing him is an incalculable reward.

May I ask you a question? From what do you derive your feelings of security and self-worth? Is it your job ... your family ... your possessions ... your status? Beloved, our real self-worth is only to be discovered in Christ and what he has done for us and who he says we are. He gave his life for us, you know. Doesn't that say something of what you are worth in his eyes? In Christ, God has lifted us up to his very throne in Heaven. He has made us his children (I John 3:1). He yearns for us to be with him and he has prepared a place for us and has given us eternal life. He has made us the sons of the living God and given us his Holy Spirit to dwell in us. Aren’t these things the true measure of who we are ... where our security lies and our true self-worth has its source? As you have it in Philippians 3:7-11...

"But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."

There's a man with his priorities straight! Jesus was his passion and delight. Truly, he was Paul's shield and exceeding great reward. He's all that and more for us also, beloved. Being in Christ is more than sufficient to determine our worth.

Coming back to our text, in Abram’s day it was the custom for a man who had no children to pass on his possessions to his most trusted chief-servant, the steward of his household. In Abram’s case, this was his servant, Eliezer. Abram spoke to God about Eliezer becoming his heir ... but God said, "No". The Lord assured Abram that his heir would come from his own body. In his old age, Abram was still going to become a dad. Then, Lord took Abram outside his tent and instructed him to look up at the stars. Then, he said, "So shall thy seed be." What a precious moment that must have been ... standing there under those stars with the Son of God and hearing his amazing promise. And, praise God, Abram believed God and our text tells us that the Lord counted it to him for righteousness. Thus, right there on that long ago starry night, Abram was saved and became the father of all who believe. This is a very important statement here ... it was counted to him for righteousness. Simply because Abram believed God's promise, you see, God declared him righteous. From that night forward, Abram’s standing before God was as totally righteous. And, I might add, that is also the standing of all that believe the Lord today. The following scriptures bear out this most basic and precious principle.

"For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.’" "And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what he had promised he was also able to perform. And therefore ‘it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ..." Romans 4:3-8, 19-5:1

"...just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, ‘In you all the nations shall be blessed.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham." Galatians 3:6-9

Someone has said, "If your righteousness doesn’t equal God’s own righteousness, you will never enter the Kingdom of God!" Then .... no one will get in? Wrong. Many will get in. That’s because many have received the very righteousness of God himself that has been imputed to them. It is not our own righteousness, it is the righteousness of another that has been imputed to us by God himself. In reality, it is the righteousness of Christ. As you have it in Second Corinthians 5:21...

"For he made him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

Have you received God’s own righteousness, dear reader. It is a gift, you know. God imputes it to all who put their faith in his Son. From that exact and all important point in time ... God sees a believer to be as righteous as God himself is! So it was in the case of Abraham. So it is with all that walk in Abraham’s footsteps of faith ... believing God.

One last thought here before we move on. Notice that we have here, in this passage, the first "I Am" in the Bible.

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15:7-22

"Then he said to him, ‘I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.’ And he said, ‘Lord GOD, how shall I know that I will inherit it?’ So he said to him, ‘Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.’ Then he brought all these to him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. Then he said to Abram: ‘Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.’ And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: ‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates; the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."

We come now to the central focal point of the book of Genesis, namely, the Abrahamic Covenant. Three types of covenants (all which are rooted in ancient customs) can be found in the Old Testament. They are as follows:

It was the Blood Covenant that God chose to enter into with Abram. However, after the sacrifice had been prepared and the parts laid out, God put Abram into a deep sleep. Then, he spoke to Abram in a dream and said...

After saying these things to Abram in the dream, Abram saw the likeness of a smoking oven and a burning torch move between the pieces of the sacrifices. Alone ...God himself passed between the parts of the sacrifice as he said, "To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates; the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."

So, as it turned out, Abram had no part whatever in the ratifying of this covenant. God had put him out of commission through sleep. The covenant was God’s responsibility alone. Abram didn’t covenant with God. God covenanted with Abram. Therefore, the Abrahamic Covenant is a unilateral covenant. It only had one party to it. Also, it was an unconditional covenant. There were no conditions to it whatsoever. There was no, "If you do this ... I’ll do that." God simply said, "I have given this land..." Finally, it was an irrevocable covenant. As such, the only way this covenant can be broken is if God himself dies! And, contrary to some people's  crazy notions, that just ain't a gonna happen! The end result is that the Abrahamic Covenant is still in full effect today. Its statements are set in stone. It is as sure and lasting as the God who instituted it.

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16:1-16

"Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, ‘See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.’ And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes. Then Sarai said to Abram, ‘My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The LORD judge between you and me.’ So Abram said to Sarai, ‘Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.’ And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence. Now the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, ‘Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?’ She said, ‘I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.’ The Angel of the LORD said to her, ‘Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.’ Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, ‘I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.’ And the Angel of the LORD said to her: ‘Behold, you are with child, and you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has heard your affliction. He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man's hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.’ Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, ‘Have I also here seen Him who sees me?’ Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered. So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram."

We come here to the Hagar story. It is the story of the origin of the Arabic peoples. In effect, it's another sad chapter in the lives of Abram and Sarai. I say that, not in relation to the Arab peoples, but because, once again, we see the frail side of these two very special Old Testament saints. Every time they set about to be the captains of their own ship, they made a mess of it. Lacking patience, they set out to fulfill God’s promise of an heir from Abram's own body by their own means. They were tired of waiting. They wanted their heir and they wanted him now. Have you ever been like that? However, when God says he’s going to do something, he rarely does it our way or by our timing. Am I right? The result of Abram and Sarai's taking matters into their own hands would bring:

    ... a schism in their own relationship with each other,

    ... a schism in Sarai's relationship with her maid, Hagar, and

    ... a child whose descendants would build a great schism between themselves and the children of Israel as well as much of the rest of the world. This was predicted by the Lord’s words here, "He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, and every man's hand against him."

Let's take a look at this in more detail. In verses 1 through 4, we have Abram’s acquiescence to Sarai’s idea to fulfill God's promise of an heir by taking Hagar as Abram's second wife. It worked, but not in the way they had hoped. After Hagar became pregnant, she became proud and haughty toward Sarai. Hagar's attitude probably really stunk. "Well, Sarai ... look at me. I'm going to give Abram a child. Too bad you can't." Sarai then retaliated so harshly that Hagar had to flee.

May we step aside here for a moment? May I say to you, dear saint, when it comes to receiving the ends of the promises of God in your life ... and if it seems like God is not holding up his end of the bargain ... that he is not showing up ... may I say to you, resist at all costs the impulse to fulfill God's promise on your own and by your own means. A very wise pastor I know calls this practice "filling in the blanks in your life". When God gives us a promise, and it has not yet come to pass, there is a blank waiting to be filled in. Don't you try to fill it in yourself. Wait for God to fill it in. This was the crux of what Sarai did. She decided to fill in the blank rather than waiting for God to fill it in. When it comes to the promises of God in our lives, we need to focus on what we have and not on what we don't have. Sarai was focused on the fact that she was childless and that focus got her into trouble. So, think on the things God has already given to you rather than on the things he has not yet given. Then, you can say with Paul, "If God be for us, who can be against?"

Coming back to our text, in verses 5 through 16, we see our Lord’s tender care for Hagar. Pregnant and filled with the fear of Sarai, she fled into the wilderness. She probably would have died there but for the Angel of the Lord who was looking after her and came to her. Again, please keep in mind that this name, "The Angel of the Lord" in the Old Testament refers to the pre-incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ. He cared about Hagar and he came to her rescue that day out there in the wilderness. Listen to his words. He said to her..

How encouraging this must have been to this poor lost and distraught girl. With great relief, she called the one who had appeared to her, "You Are The Lord That Sees." And, she wonders if she has not seen the Deity himself saying, "Have I also here seen Him who sees me?" The answer, of course, was ... yes ... she had. May I say to you, God is no respecter of persons. He has always cared for all of mankind. The book of Jonah was written precisely for the purpose of demonstrating this truth. There, we find, in no uncertain terms, God’s concern and Israel’s lack of concern for the wicked and heathen Assyrians. In the final two verse of that book, God says to Jonah...

"You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left (babies); and much livestock?" Jonah 4:10b-11

May I chase a rabbit here for a moment? Because our Lord and many of his people have cared, there are many Arab believers in the world today. Like the rest of us Gentiles, they too have a Savior in the Lord Jesus Christ and he is reaching out to them. The great need is for laborers to reach them. My son, Jonathan, just returned from a trip to Azerbaijan, a Moslem country sandwiched between Russia and Iran. He went there with a missions team to "look upon the fields" that are white to harvest and to devise a strategy to reach these dear people with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Savior is calling out a people today for his name's sake. And, he is calling them out of every tribe, tongue and nation. Please remember to pray for these often forgotten descendants of Abraham through his son, Ishmael.

One last thing before we move on. The book of Galations presents Ishmael and Isaac as types. That is so because one came as the result of a effort of the flesh (Ishmael) but the other came by God through his power and his promise (Isaac). As you have it in Galations 4:22-5:1...

"For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar; for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children; but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written: ‘Rejoice, O barren, you who do not bear! Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children than she who has a husband.’ Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? ‘Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.’ So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free. Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage."

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17:1-16

"When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, 'I am Almighty God; walk before me and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.' Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 'As for me, behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.' And God said to Abraham: 'As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant which you shall keep, between me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.' Then God said to Abraham, 'As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.'"

Here in chapter 17, the Abrahamic Covenant is reiterated and signified. Also, God reveals himself to Abram by a new name. In this reiteration and signification of the Abrahamic Covenant, God speaks as El Shaddai. This is the first use of this name of God in the Bible. It means God Almighty. The idea is this he is the God who possesses absolute power and authority. This name beings Jesus words to mind in Matthew 28:18...

The main points of what El Shaddai said here are as follows:

 

    1. With you, Abram, I have made my covenant.  

 

    2. I am changing your name to Abraham. (Abram meant high father. Abraham means father of a multitude)  

 

    3. I have made you the father of many nations. 

 

    4. I have given to you and your descendants all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession. 

 

    5. The sign of this covenant will be circumcision. (Circumcision. What an unusual thing this was. I believe it had at least three purposes.)

 

            a. First, it set up a difficult exercise of obedience for the people of God to follow.

 

            b. Second, it was a mark of identification on the part of the male anatomy which was primarily for God to see, not others.

 

            c. Third, it sanctified the sexual organs of the people of God by which their lineage would be passed down generation by generation. This sanctification was doubly important because the promised Seed through Israel would one day be born (through Mary). This brings to mind the account of Joseph when he revealed who he was to his brothers. That he did it by showing them this sign of the covenant (found in his own body) to his brothers is implied in Genesis 45:3-4. 

 

"Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph; does my father still live?’ But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. And Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Please come near to me.’ So they came near. Then he said: ‘I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.’"

 

            d. Fourth, those who refuse the sign of the Covenant must be cut off from the people. The refusal of circumcision would not nullify the covenant itself, just an individual's participation in it. This brings to mind the problem Moses had with his wife, Zipporah, over this issue when he neglected to have his own son circumcised. As the newly designated deliverer of Israel, Moses’ failure in this vital obligation in regard to his son nearly cost Moses his life. As you have it in Exodus 4:24-26... 

 

"And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the LORD met him and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses' feet, and said, ‘Surely you are a husband of blood to me!’ So he let him go. Then she said, ‘You are a husband of blood!’; because of the circumcision."

 

      6. I have changed Sarai’s name to Sarah ("mistress" to "Queen").

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17:17-22

 

"Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, ‘Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?’ And Abraham said to God, ‘Oh, that Ishmael might live before you!’ Then God said: ‘No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.’ Then he finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham."

The picture of Sarah pregnant and the two of them having a baby at their age was just too much for Abraham. He literally fell on his face and laughed. Have you ever been eating or drinking and heard something that was so funny that you involuntarily spewed out the contents of your mouth? I believe this was Abraham's reaction here. He literally broke out in uncontrollable laughter at the incredulity of he and Sarah having a child!

Afterwards, it was also apparent that Abraham's heart was not in his child to be. His heart had long ago been stolen by his boy, Ishmael. Hence, the first words out of Abraham's mouth when he has ceased laughing was, Oh, that Ishmael might live before you! He let the Lord know that he preferred Ishmael to be the child of promise. He had been enjoying that boy for 13 years and the two of them were "tight". This is a very human thing, by the way. That which we can see is what we usually want to go with. But God makes his decisions based upon the unseen. The Lord said, "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish my covenant with him..." Abraham was now 99 years old. He would be 100, when Isaac was born to him and Sarah.

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17:23-27

"So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael; and all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him."

Notice Abraham's immediate obedience to God's command of circumcision. Spiritual people obey their Lord immediately. Abraham did not hesitate. There was no question in Abraham's mind about obeying his God regardless of how difficult or unpleasant his will might be. It says here that Abraham, and all the males in his household, were circumcised that very same day. And, as a result, God had himself a people. They were the people of the Covenant. That was the day when the people of Israel were born.

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18:1-8

"Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, and said, 'My Lord, if I have now found favor in your sight, do not pass on by your servant. Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.' They said, 'Do as you have said.' So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, 'Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.' And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate."

Mamre is about 22 miles south of Jerusalem. You will remember from back in 13:18, that Abraham built an altar there. I picture old Abraham just sitting by the door of his tent with his head down ... probably snoozing ... when he looked up to find three men were standing outside. Typical of oriental hospitality, Abraham hurried over and invited them in for a soothing foot washing and a bit of refreshment. Of course, he had no idea who they really were. Shortly, however, he would discover that he was entertaining two angels accompanied by the Lord God himself. Wouldn't that be something if such a thing were to happen to you or me? There's a New Testament principle here, by the way, concerning hospitality. Hebrews 13:2 instructs us...

"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels."

Romans 12:10-13 also exhorts...

"Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality."

Hospitality is a very practical and loving way to influence the lives of people who God sends our way. It opens doors for ministry. Abraham was a good host and probably never missed an opportunity to show hospitality. Little did he dream what the outcome of his hospitality would turn out to be.

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18:9-15

"Then they said to him, 'Where is Sarah your wife?' So he said, 'Here, in the tent.' And he said, 'I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.' (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, 'After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?' And the LORD said to Abraham, 'Why did Sarah laugh, saying, "Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?" Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.' But Sarah denied it, saying, 'I did not laugh,' for she was afraid. And he said, 'No, but you did laugh!'"

Abraham's eyebrow must have lifted when one of his guests said ... "I will certainly return to you according to the time of life (nine months from now), and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son." Earlier, when the Lord had appeared to Abraham to confirm his covenant with him, he had said, my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year "(17:21). Hearing this again from the lips of his guest was a powerful hint that the stranger was no ordinary man. As it turns out, Abraham was talking to was a theophany. That is, a visible, in the flesh, manifestation of God ... undoubtedly the pre-incarnate Son of God himself. Again, please be reminded that in Genesis, when you read the title the angel of the Lord, it is always referring to a theophany.

Now, when Sarah overheard the Lord say, Sarah your wife shall have a son, it struck her just as funny as it had struck Abraham back in 17:17. She just had to laugh within herself at the absurd image of a woman her age being pregnant, giving birth and nursing a baby. And, lo and behold, the stranger called her on it. Sarah fearfully denied she had laughed but she could not escape the All-knowing One who was sitting outside her tent. As you have it in Hebrews 4:13...

"And there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

And, again in Psalm 139:1-2...

"O LORD, you have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off."

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18:16-22

"Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. And the LORD said, 'Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has spoken to him.' And the LORD said, 'Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to me; and if not, I will know.' Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD."

As the sun was going down, Abraham's three guests began to depart. Then, the Lord spoke to his angels expressing his concern about the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Now, Sodom was where Lot lived and Abraham discerned that his three guests were preparing to destroy it. So, with no small concern, Abraham literally stepped between the Lord and that city. I believe that is the meaning here of, "Abraham stood before the Lord."

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18:23-33

"And Abraham came near and said, 'Would you also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?' So the LORD said, 'If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.' Then Abraham answered and said, 'Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would you destroy all of the city for lack of five?' So he said, 'If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.' And he spoke to him yet again and said, 'Suppose there should be forty found there?' So he said, 'I will not do it for the sake of forty.' Then he said, 'Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?' And he said, 'Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?' So he said, 'I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.' Then he said, 'Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?' And he said, 'I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.' So the LORD went his way as soon as he had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place."

Intercession before God is a wonderful wonderful thing. Jesus is interceding for you and I right now ... as we speak. As you have it in Hebrews 7:24-25...

But he, because he continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them."

You and I can copy our Lord as well as Abraham in this ministry for we too can be intercessors. Here, Abraham was making intercession, not only for Lot, but for any other righteous person who may have been found in Sodom. Did you know that God looks for men and women to intercede before him on the behalf of others? In Ezekiel 22:29-30 we read...

"The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger. So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one."

Amazing, is it not? Our God seeks intercessors to stand before him. What a wonderful ministry that is. The song, "God bless America" is such an intercession. Abraham was standing in the gap for Sodom. He became a wall between Holy God and Lot and Sodom. He almost succeeded. But, as it turned out, there was not ten righteous people in that entire place. I wonder what would have happened if Abraham had continued his intercession one more step and had said, "Would you spare it for one?" Do you think God would have spared it? One last thought here. Notice that Abraham knew who he was talking to. He called him the Judge of the whole earth and he says, Let not the Lord be angry. Do you know who the Judge of the whole earth is? Make no mistake about it, this was the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus Christ. In John 5:22-23, Jesus said...

"For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him."

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19:1-14

"Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. And he said, 'Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant's house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.' And they said, 'No, but we will spend the night in the open square.' But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, 'Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally. So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, and said, 'Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly!' See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.' And they said, 'Stand back!' Then they said, 'This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them.' So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door. But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door. Then the men said to Lot, 'Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city; take them out of this place! For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.' So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, 'Get up,get out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city!' But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking."

What a dark and unsettling story this is. Sodom and its sister city, Gomorrah, were cesspools of perversion and wickedness. We read in Second Peter 2:6-9...

"...and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds); then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment..."

Upon arrival of the two angels at Sodom, word spread throughout the city that two strangers were staying at Lot's house. Immediately, a crowd gathered at Lot's door desiring to rape his guests. Lot made every effort to dissuade them but his words fell on deaf ears. Lot even offered to give them his two virgin daughters, but that too was to no avail. Actually, I believe Lot knew he was safe in that offer because he knew these people were perverted and would settle for nothing less than men for their perverted pleasures. The English words "sodomy" and "sodomite" come from this ancient historical account. Finally, in frustration, the crowd turned on Lot himself and if it hadn't been for the angel's intervention ... literally pulling Lot inside the house and securing the door, Lot himself would have been abused and probably killed. Isaiah 3:9 says...

"The look on their countenance witnesses against them, And they declare their sin as Sodom; They do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves."

The crowd persisted. The angels struck them with blindness. The Hebrew word for "blindness" here denotes more of confusion and wandering of the senses than physical blindness. It is a word that is only used twice in the Bible, here and in Second Kings 6:18. I don't believe that they literally couldn't see, rather, they found themselves disoriented and stumbling about trying to find a way to force the door. Spiritual blindness is often so terrible that even the miraculous can't make a dent in it. Such was the case at Sodom. Pride and perversion had these Sodomites gripped with an iron grip and, for them, time had run out. Judgment would shortly come. It reminds me of how it was when Jesus was on Earth. Thousands witnessed his miracles ... yet only a handful believed. Then, the judgment of the destruction of Jerusalem came in 70 a.d.. I grieve to see this same kind of violence and perversion on the increase in our own nation today. Not long ago, a great spiritual man said, "If God doesn't judge America, he will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah." There may well be something to that. The sad thing is, many many people in our nation today are as persistent and unashamed of their perversions and unbelief as the Sodomites were of theirs. In the final analysis, apart from Christ, the end result will be the same ... namely, everlasting destruction from the presence of the righteous living God.

Coming back to our text, the angels informed Lot that they would shortly destroy Sodom and instructed him to tell all his relatives and loved ones to get out. But, when he told his sons-in-law, they thought he was joking. Lot's chickens were coming home to roost. He had said to himself, "I'm going to live like the world lives. I'm going to just get and enjoy." But, the promises were with Abraham. Lot had left them for self gratification and materialism. So, now he had sons-in-law that laughed at the truth and his own wife loved Sodom so much she would soon lose her life over it. On top of all that, also his perverted daughters would seduce him! Is being carnal worth it? I fear being this kind of spiritual loser, don't you? The question is, "How are we going to live our lives?" Will we one day weep and say, "Wasted, wasted, wasted!"? God forbid, aye? As Joshua put it, "But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15b).

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19:15-26

"When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, 'Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.' And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, 'Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.' Then Lot said to them, 'Please, no, my lords! Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.' And he said to him, 'See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.' Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens. So he overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt."

My, how carnal flesh clings to its worldly play-pretties! Someone has said, "Many Christians are so deep in the world that the Rapture will have to be an earthshaking event just to pull their roots out!" Such was the case with Lot. Notice that the angels had to drag him, his wife and his daughters out of Sodom by the hand! And, even then, Lot was unwilling to obey the will and word of God. He said he didn't want to flee to the mountains as he was told to do. Instead, he wanted to go to a small village in the plain nearby called Zoar. The Lord said, "Go ahead, I will spare Zoar." On the way to Zoar, Lot lost his wife. In disobedience she looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt. Just after daybreak, Lot and his two daughters entered Zoar. Immediately thereafter, the Lord reigned brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah and all the plain around. And, where was Lot and his daughters? Right down there in the middle of it! The next day, no doubt smelling like a firebrand, he and his daughters fled to the mountains where they were supposed to go in the first place. Carnal people always seem to have to learn the hard way.

By the way, you might like to check out the current modern day excavation of Tall el-Hammam in Jordan. There is growing evidence there that that site is the actual historic Sodom. You can catch it at: http://tallelhammam.com/

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19:27-29

"And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt."

How Abraham's heart must have skipped a beat when he looked down at the devastated and smoking plain the next morning. His question had been answered. There weren't 10 righteous people in Sodom. The aftermath of this awful judgment must have been a horrendous sight. It's like will not be seen again until the destruction of Babylon, the capital of Antichrist, at the end of the Tribulation (Revelation 18).

I would like to once again emphasize here that what we are reading is history. I was privileged to attend a banquet this past weekend (5/16/09) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that was sponsored by Trinity Southwestern University. The presentation given there centered around a joint archeological venture that the university has been participating in with the Antiquities Department of the country of Jordan. Trinity has, for several years, been sending a team of volunteer diggers along with archeologists from the school to Jordan to a site at the north end of the Dead Sea called The Tell el-Hammam Excavation Project. Dr. Collins, president of the university, has been leading these digs in conjunction with the nation of Jordan. He chose the site after having determined from the careful reading of the biblical text that Sodom should be located at he north end of the Dead Sea rather than the traditional view that it was probably at the south end. As a result, over the past several years, Tell el-Hammam has yielded up some remarkable findings and archeologists at the site are now almost certain that they have found the actual site of ancient Sodom. Tell elHammam was continuously occupied for over two thousand years prior to the time of Abraham ... but ... during Abraham's days ... it ceased to be occupied and was not lived at for nearly 500 years thereafter (the archeologist feel this was due to fear of what had happened there). After several hundred years, the site was once again occupied through and well after the time of Christ. One incredible finding at Tell el-Hammam was a piece of pottery that was literally melted into Trinitite on one side. Trinitite is a black glass-like substance (also known as Atomite or Alamagordo Glass) found on the desert floor as a result of the plutonium-based Trinity nuclear bomb test of July 16, 1945. It can only be formed by sudden and extreme heat. Fascinating, is it not? The independent testing of the sample confirmed it was indeed Trinitite in nature. The question then remained, "What was Trinitite doing from a dig in Jordan dated from the time of Abraham? Further excavation is scheduled at Tell el-Hammam and Trinity Southwestern University believes they will be able to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that they have found the actual remains of the supernaturally destroyed ... wicked city of Sodom.      

19:30-38

"Then Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountains, and his two daughters were with him; for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar. And he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave. Now the firstborn said to the younger, 'Our father is old, and there is no man on the earth to come in to us as is the custom of all the earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father.' So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. It happened on the next day that the firstborn said to the younger, 'Indeed I lay with my father last night; let us make him drink wine tonight also, and you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father.' Then they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father.The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. And the younger, she also bore a son and called his name Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the people of Ammon to this day."

The character of Lot's daughters, having been raised by Lot and his wife, is revealed here. Liberals say this is just a made-up story to explain the origin of the Moabites and the Ammonites. I tell you this just to let you know their position. Typical of their school of thought, it has no basis in history or scholarship, it's just based on speculation and disbelief in the Word of God. In any event, with this sordid account, this man, Lot, steps off the pages of the Old Testament scripture and we will not hear of him again there. His disposition for compromise and self-seeking ends here in despicable oblivion. Keep in mind, however, that the New Testament says that Lot was righteous, a saved man and a child of God (II Peter 2:7). We will meet him one day in Heaven.

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20:1-18

"And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, 'She is my sister.' And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, 'Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife.' But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, 'Lord, will you slay a righteous nation also? Did he not say to me, "She is my sister"? And she, even she herself said, "He is my brother." In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.' And God said to him in a dream, 'Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against me; therefore I did not let you touch her. Now therefore, restore the man's wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.' So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid. And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, 'What have you done to us? How have I offended you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done.' Then Abimelech said to Abraham, 'What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?' And Abraham said, 'Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife. But indeed she is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said to her, 'This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, say of me, He is my brother.' " Then Abimelech took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelech said, 'See, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.' Then to Sarah he said, 'Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; indeed this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody.' Thus she was rebuked. So Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children; for the LORD had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife."

We come here to another of Abraham's relapses. In fact, its the same thing that got him in trouble down in Egypt (12:11f). Have you even made the same mistake twice? Thrice? It's a common failing of us sinners, is it not?  But, in spite of it, God remains faithful. As you have it in II Timothy 2:13...

"If we are faithless, he remains faithful; he cannot deny Himself."

Abraham was still a fallen sinner with all the inherent stumbles and failures that accompany us all. Yet, God continued to honor Abraham's faith and continued to fulfill his Covenant with him. This story makes me ask myself, "Am I as patient with people as God is?" In marriage, for example, it is so typical for us to say, "You have to change!" That is selfish, beloved. Look for the higher moments in a person. Overlook the lower ones. God does this for us all.

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21:1-7

"And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him; whom Sarah bore to him; Isaac. Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, 'God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.' She also said, 'Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.'"

Here, the son of promise is finally born. His name, Isaac, means, "he has made me laugh". Can you picture the moment just after his birth when they handed little Isaac to his mother? I believe Sarah began to laugh and all that were with her joined in! It must have been an incredulous scene filled with the joy of the Lord because of his wonderful gift. We can only imagine the impact that his birth must have had upon them, especially Sarah. In that culture, it was a terrible burden for a woman to go childless and Sarah had been barren for nearly an hundred years. Doubtless, if we had been present that day, we would have entered in and laughed right along with Sarah, doubtless through tears of joy ... don't you think? Truly...

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." James 1:17

May we step aside here for a moment? The Bible also presents this boy Isaac as a type of Christ. So, there are many similarities between them. For example, both:

• ...were born of promise (Isaiah 7:14)
• ...had a long interval between the promise and the fulfillment (Abraham waited 25 years)
• ...seemed impossible (Mary said, "How can this be ...")
• ...were named before they were born (The angel said, "Thou shalt call his name Jesus...")
• ...arrived at God's appointed time (Galations 4:4)
• ...had miraculous births
• ...were obedient to their fathers ... even unto death

We will see much of this typology beautifully played out when we get to the incident of Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac in chapter 22.

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21:8-13

"So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. Therefore she said to Abraham, 'Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.' And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham's sight because of his son. But God said to Abraham, 'Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called. Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.'"

This is Galatians 4, territory, beloved. It is Law versus Grace. Ishmael, now around fifteen years old, mocked little Isaac at his weaning celebration and it resulted in both he and his mother being finally ejected from Ahraham's home. It was a very sad day for Abraham. Ishmael, I believe, was his favorite. But, unbeknown to Abraham, a picture was being painted by God in this drama. It was a picture of the difference between Law and Grace that would be used of God until the end of time. Sarah and her son, would become a picture of God's grace through faith and promise. Hagar and her son, would become a picture of God's Law and the flesh of man in the light of it's unattainable requirements.

Now, Sarah and Hagar never got along in the first place. You will remember that Hagar taunted Sarah when she first got pregnant with Ishmael. Understandably, Sarah resented her, having slept with her husband, even though it had been Sarah's own idea. Predictably, this polygamous situation had quickly turned sour. I strongly suspect that these two women hated each other and now, Abraham's home was being torn apart because of it. Grace and Law are not compatible, brother. The two are contrary to one another and they continue to cause trouble in the Church to this day.

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21:14-21

"So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, 'Let me not see the death of the boy.' So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, 'What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.' Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt."

No doubt, with great sadness, Abraham once again obeyed the voice of his God and ... having provided a bit of food and water for Hagar and Ishmael ... he sent them away. After Hagar and Ishmael had gone as far into the desert as possible, she placed her son under some shrubs and went apart to a separate place to weep. Notice, that although it was Hagar who was doing all the wailing out there in the desert, it was the first whimper out of Ishmael's mouth that caught the ear of God. Had Hagar called upon the Lord, we might be reading a different story here. But, she didn't. God had made a promise to Abraham and Hagar alike concerning this boy Ishmael. Therefore, he was right there for the lad to fulfill his word. God is always true to his word. So, it was the lad's voice that God heard. Then, an angel called to Hagar out of heaven and re-iterated to her the promise God had made concerning Ishmael. God would make him a great nation. Then, the Lord opened Hagar's eyes and she saw a well of water there. God had been with the boy all along, you see. I suspect this is the very spot where Hagar and Ishmael settled down and lived ... right there at that well. Afterwards, Hagar got Ishmael a wife out of Egypt. This is a telling statement. Hagar was not concerned at all to acquire a godly woman for a wife for Ishmael. It was not in her spiritual makeup to do so. This was a harbinger of bad things to come. At this point, scripture drops the line of Ishmael and follows it no more. His descendants, the Arabs, however, are still out there in the desert to this day.

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21:22-34

"And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, 'God is with you in all that you do. Now therefore, swear to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my offspring, or with my posterity; but that according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt.' And Abraham said, 'I will swear.' Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech's servants had seized. And Abimelech said, 'I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I heard of it until today.' So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant. And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. Then Abimelech asked Abraham, 'What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?' And he said, 'You will take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that they may be my witness that I have dug this well.' Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there. Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines. Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days."

You will remember that Abraham was told that everywhere the sole of his foot trod it belonged to him and his descendants. Well, here he is now ... way down south adjacent to what we know today as Gaza. It was the land of the Philistines. Later, under Joshua, and by the decree of God, these people were supposed to be annihilated but Israel didn't quite get the job done. The name "Palestine" is a derivative of the word Philistine. Its territory belongs to the Jews by right of the Abrahamic Covenant but it is still occupied by the ancestors of the ancient Philistines and they are, even today, giving Israel fits. Way down here in 2009, the Palestinians have been lobbing rockets into Israel in order to indiscriminately kill anyone they might hit. And, the Jews have had to retaliate and now have just pulled out of Gaza having fought for weeks to stop this shelling.

Abraham also had a dispute with them down there as well. It was a dispute over a well he had dug. They sought to take it away from him and to avoid trouble, he paid them for it. Then, he called the place, Beersheba (seven well). It became a landmark. More than once in the Old Testament we read the phrase, "From Dan to Beersheba" meaning "from North to South".