In the last few blogs, we have been looking at the life of Abram, starting back in chapter 12 of Genesis. And the story, thus far, is that Abram and his family have been set apart to receive the blessing of God, a blessing that is, in fact, part of the fulfillment of a promise made way back in Genesis 3:15. What was that promise? Simply that through one of Eve’s descendants God would eventually bring a deliverer who would crush Satan and undo the wreckage introduced into the world by sin, which is suffering and death. That deliverer was the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Let’s Review
And so, from THAT point we traced the line of blessing through Seth, and Noah, and Shem, and finally to the person of Abram. God called Abram and his household out of Ur of Chaldees, promising Abram that he would be a great nation, would be blessed, would be a blessing, and a promise of land (Gen. 12:1-8).
Abram certainly does believe and trusts God, even if his fears and doubts get the best of him sometimes such as going to Egypt during the famine (Gen. 15:9-10), twice claiming that Sarah was his sister rather than wife (Gen. 15:11-20, Gen. 20), and having a child through Hagar to obtain an heir (Gen. 16). But the times of doubt were significant, and took their toll and made things more complicated and difficult than they would have been otherwise.
Abram journeyed southward to Egypt because of a famine and devises a plan to tell the Pharoah that Sarai was his sister for he feared he would kill him in order to obtain her if he knew Sarai was his wife. Sarai agrees to the deception. Abram is given gifts from Pharoah for Sarai. God steps in and preserves Sarai. Pharoah sends Abram and his household away (Gen. 12:9-20).
God expanded the promises after Lot separated, regarding the land and his descendants will be as the dust of the earth, unable to number (Gen. 13:2, 14-17).
There is a war between kings and in the process of this war Lot, his family, and possessions are taken. Abram pursues and smote those that took Lot. Abram returned with Lot, his goods, women, and people. Abram met Melchizedek, king of Salem, who blessed Abram. Melchizedek also blessed the most high God which delivered Abram’s enemies into his hand. Abram gave Melchizedek tithes of all. Abram refused to take anything from the king of Sodom, lest he would say that he made Abram rich. The exception was for what his young men ate and the portion of the men which went with Abram (Gen. 14).
Again, God repeats his promise of an heir and land (Gen. 15:4-6, 18-20), and Abraham believed in the Lord; and God counted it to him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6).
God had Abram bring a heifer, she goat, ram, turtledove, and a pigeon; making a covenant with Abram regarding the promised seed and the land. God took all the responsibility upon himself in the process. Genesis 15:8-12.
God state a surety that Abram’s seed will be strangers in a land (that would be Egypt), they would serve those in that land, those in that land would afflict them; but God promised to deliver them (Gen. 15:13-17).
Sarai devises a plan to obtain a son through her handmaid, Hagar. Abram agrees to the plan. Hagar becomes pregnant by Abram and then despises Sarai. Sarai has words with Abram because of this, and Abram tells Sarai to deal with Hagar as she pleases. Hagar fled because of Sarai’s harshness. The ‘angel of the Lord’ found her in the wilderness and dialogues with her. He tells Hagar to return to Sarai, and promises to multiply her son exceedingly. He tells Hagar to call her son Ishmael for the Lord heard her affliction. He informs Hagar that her son will be a wild man who will be against every man, and every man’s hand will be against him. Her son will dwell in the presence of all his brethren. Hagar called that place Beerlahairoi which means “Thou God seest me”. Abram was 86 when Hagar bore Ishmael (Gen. 16).
Still, God has remained faithful to his promises, even when Abraham and Sarah had moments of relying on self. Indeed, God seems to be very aware OF and patient WITH their frailty. As the time has gone by and with each successive re-assurance of the promise it seems that God took extra measures to assure them and help them to keep trusting and believing in His promises.
Abram is now 99 and the Lord appears to him, tells Abram: “I am the Almight God; walk before me, and be thou perfect” (Gen. 17:1). God tells Abram he will make His covenant with Abram, and will multiply Abram exceedingly (Gen. 17:2). Abram falls on his face, God continues to speak telling Abram He will make a covenant with him, that Abram will be a father of many nations, and his name would be changed to Abraham (Gen. 17:3-5). Again, God repeats that He will make Abraham exceeding fruitful, make a nation of him, and that kings will come from him. The covenant would not only be made with Abraham but also his seed, and He will be a God to Abraham and his seed. God repeated the promise to give Abraham and his seed the land of Canaan. God said, “Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations” (Gen. 17:6-9). So, this covenant was conditional on the basis of obedience to God.
Why circumcision? God had made a covenant with Abraham and promised him a son. All God needed Abraham to do was believe the promise. Sarah made a suggestion to have an heir through her handmaid. Abraham hearkened her voice. So, instead of trusting in God’s promise, he took Sarah’s much younger handmaid, Hagar, and worked things out on his own. Together they had a son. This represents the old covenant, which is man keeping the commandments in his own power, instead of trusting God to write them on the hearts. The old covenant is legalism, or the works of the flesh. It’s a me-plus-Christ mentality instead of “Not I But Christ” (See Galatians 2:20), the motif Paul shared as the crux of the gospel.
So, God gave Abraham circumcision as a reminder to trust Him, rather than trying to solve His own problems (Gen. 17:9-14).
Abraham’s part in the covenant was to keep himself from doing those things God had promised. Because Abraham trusted in his flesh to work things out, God had Abraham circumcise the part of his flesh that he was trusting, so he would realize that he could do nothing to fulfill His promises. He had to leave it all to God (Phil. 3:3).
Now, instead of circumcision, we have baptism as a sign that we are casting away self-confidence, as we go under the water, symbolically dying to self, we rise up to a new life, not trusting in self, but trusting in Jesus and all that he accomplished on our behalf.
To finish up Chapter 17, in verses 15-16 we are told that Sarai’s name will be changed to Sarah, that God will bless her, and she will bear Abraham a son. God says again that he will bless her and that she will be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Abraham fell on his face and laughed saying in his hear “Shall a child be born to him at 100 years old and to Sarah who is 90? (v. 17). Abraham suggested to God that Ishmael might be his heir. God told Abraham that Sarah will bear a son and that his name shall be called Isaac. It will be through Isaac that God will establish his covenant and with his seed after him (vs. 18-19). As for Ishmael, God recognized Abraham’s request and told Abraham that he will bless Ishmael, make him fruitful, multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes he will beget, and God will make him a great nation (v. 20). God restates that his covenant will be established with Isaac which Sarah will bear this set time in the following year. God left off talking and went up from Abraham (vs. 21-22). Abraham took Ishmael, and all the males in his entire household an circumcised the flesh of their foreskin that same day as God had said. Abraham was 99 when he was circumcised and Ishmael was 13 (vs. 23-27).
Now that we have review Abraham’s life up to this point, we can continue with Chapter 18. It says that ‘the Lord’ appeared to Abraham who was sitting in the tent door during the heat of the day. He looked up and there were three men standing, Abraham ran to meet them and bowed himself toward the ground (vs. 1-2). Looking to verse 3 we see that Abraham addresses just one of the men out of the three visitors. Abraham calls him Lord (אֲדֹנָ֗), singular noun; and then Abraham has this individual ‘not to pass him by’ (the verb is also singular). So, Abraham recognizes that one of these visitors is ‘the Lord’. Abraham’s response suggests that he instinctively knew that he was in the presence of God. A typical response to visitors in that culture was to rise and wait for them to approach the home. But Abraham ran to meet them and “bowed low to the ground,” a prostrate posture reserved for royalty or deity. Abraham was well acquainted with the LORD and would have instantly recognized Him, because the Lord had spoken and/or appeared to him many times before. Those appearances include the following occasions:
• when God first called him (Genesis 12:1–3)
• when Abraham parted ways with Lot (Genesis 13:14–17)
• possibly when he met Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18–20)
• when God made a covenant with him (Genesis 15)
• when God restated His covenant (Genesis 17)
Abraham was hospitable and offered to wash their feet, a spot to rest under the tree, and feed them – to comfort them before they carry on. They told Abraham basically ‘ok’. Abraham hurried into the tent and requested Sarah to quickly make cakes. He then went to the herd, fetched a calf, gave it to a young man, Abram dressed it with butter and milk, and set it before the three guests. The guest ate and Abraham stood by while they ate. The visitors asked Abraham where Sarah was, and he told them she was in the tent. And ‘the Lord’ said that he would return at the time of birth, for Sarah shall have a son. Sarah heard this and thought about her and Abraham’s age and that she is past menopause – therefore Sarah laughed within herself. Saying in her mind, “After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” And the Lord said unto Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh of the promise of bearing a child in her old age? The Lord then said, “Is any thing too hard for the Lord? He declared at the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son”. Sarah denied saying that she laughed because she was afraid. The Lord said, “No, you did laugh” (vs. 4-15).
The remainder of the chapter will be Part 2.