Genesis (Written)

Genesis 18:16-33
Proclaiming Righteousness

Introduction: Sodom and Gomorrah are the Bible’s prime example of ungodliness and of God’s judgment on sin. Today we’ll look at events prior to the judgment on those cities. These events center on Abraham and his visit from the Lord and we will see how our action or lack of action as individuals can affect the society in which we live, even to the point that the judgment of God is necessary.

Every one of us who is a saved believer in Jesus Christ has responsibilities to others around us. Abraham exercises his responsibility by petitioning the Lord on behalf of His people. And we’ll look into what Lot may or may not have done to fulfill his responsibility as a member of the society in which he lives. Only in the weeks to come will we see if he fulfilled his duties or not.

Text Verse: Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; ¹² Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord. ¹³ For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth. Psalm 96:11-13

The Lord is the Judge of all the earth and when He judges it is in absolute righteousness. The Bible proclaims that despite being a loving Creator, which He is, He is also holy and will not look favorably upon the sins of the people. Let us understand this and remember to view sin for what it is – a violation against His perfect nature, and so… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. An Outcry against Sin

Before we look at today’s verses, we should consider what leads up to them. Let’s review when Sodom and Gomorrah are first brought into focus and how Lot ended up there.

Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. ⁶ Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. ⁷ And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land. ⁸ So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. ⁹ Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.” /// Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. ¹³ But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord. Genesis 13:5-9 & 12&13

In chapter 14, the 4 kings from the east engaged the 5 kings around Sodom in battle and took Lot captive. Abraham followed after them and defeated them and rescued Lot. After that time, Sodom isn’t mentioned again until today’s verses. Everything else has dealt with Abraham in one way or another.

In the first verses of chapter 18, which we looked at last week, the Lord appeared with two others and ate at Abraham’s tent and then confirmed what he had already been told, that Sarah would have a son and he would be born within the next year. Now that this meeting has ended, we come to today’s verses.

¹⁶ Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom,…

The meal is done and the promise of a son in the coming year is behind them. Sarah laughed about it in a mocking way and after that, she was caught in a lie. All of this was to show us that nothing is outside of the power of God and nothing is hidden from Him.

This is important to understand because of what lies ahead. By coming to Abraham before going to Sodom, the account is placed in the Bible chronologically and it allows us to understand more clearly the somewhat confusing things which lie ahead.

As they rise it says they looked toward Sodom. This is stated to show Abraham, and us, that judgment is coming. The very last words spoken about Sodom in chapter 13 were, “But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord.”

Because of their wickedness and the fact that they weren’t wiped out by the invading armies in Chapter 14, the Lord will now have to act personally. What isn’t accomplished by the hands of man will now be tended to by the Lord.

This is an indictment on all sin in all societies and at all times. Man has been given the authority to judge the affairs of each nation. When those affairs are handled properly, the nation purges its sin and remains free from the Lord’s destructive judgment.

However, when a nation fails to prosecute and sentence wickedness, the Lord will step in. This was true with Israel, it’s true with nations today, and it will be the case with the one-world government which is coming. If we don’t judge sin, God will.

America has tasted judgment in several ways in the recent years – financially, through terrorism, and in famine, plague, and natural disaster, but we’ve failed to humble our hearts and prosecute the sins of the people. Paying attention to what lies ahead for Sodom will allow us to see what the result of what the same sins in America will be.

^{16 (con’t)} and Abraham went with them to send them on the way.

This is kind of an unwritten rule of humanity which is found in people around the world, Abraham went along with the three as they headed off. We do this for a number of reasons. 1) We want to make sure people are heading on the right road.

2) We may want to extend the visit as long as possible like in the Ephesians did with Paul in Acts 20 – “And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. ³⁷ Then they all wept freely, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him, ³⁸ sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.”

3) We may have things we want to show along the way, such as “These are my flocks.” “This is where my servant fell and broke his leg.” “There’s a beautiful spring of water right on the other side of that hill… is that where you spoke to Hagar?

4) We may want to be a part of what’s coming and not be left out. This happened to Peter when he was asked to go to the house of Cornelius in Acts 10. Some of the people he stayed with came along as witnesses – “On the next day Peter went away with them, and some brethren from Joppa accompanied him.” (23)

5) We may do it as a sign of respect for a person – “Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers, ⁶ who have borne witness of your love before the church. If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well, ⁷ because they went forth for His name’s sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles. ⁸ We therefore ought to receive such, that we may become fellow workers for the truth.” 3 John -5-8

In this universal tradition of sending others off, Abraham went along with the men as they departed.

¹⁷ And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, ¹⁸ since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

Although stated in the form of a question, “Shall I hide?” it is meant in the form of an affirmative statement, “I shall not hide.” This type of question is found throughout the Bible and is commonly spoken by us today. It is rhetorical and it is a way of getting us to think through the issue at hand. Amos, speaking the word of the Lord asks a beautiful set of such questions –

“Can two walk together, unless they are agreed? ⁴ Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing? ⁵ Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no trap for it? Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all? ⁶ If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?”

The answer to each of these is obvious. After asking them, Amos follows up with another thought which completely and fully explains the Lord’s intent to tell Abraham –

“⁷ Surely the Lord God does nothing,
Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.”

Abraham is identified as a prophet in Genesis 20 and so this is to be taken as a rhetorical question. He is a prophet of God and a part of the Lord’s plan for bringing in the Messiah. He will become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him. And so the Lord includes him in what’s coming.

But there are more reasons as well…

¹⁹ 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.”

The Lord personally chose Abraham to be the father of all the people of God – both physically and spiritually. By showing him what He is about to do, the Lord is instructing him in the severity of keeping the way of the Lord and in doing what is right and just.

He is going to use the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as an object lesson of what it means to turn away from these things. It will be a permanent memorial concerning the punishments which come from violating the righteousness of God.

It will also serve as an eternal reminder to God’s people about the fate of those who are ungodly. It has been 25 years since Abraham entered Canaan and the people of Sodom were already there and known for their wickedness at that time.

He was told earlier that he couldn’t possess the land of Canaan because the wickedness of the Amorites hadn’t yet reached its full measure and that it wouldn’t do so for 430 years. However, the destruction of Sodom was coming because it had. God’s patience with this particular group of people had ended.

Two things are happening at once. The first is the Lord revealing His intended actions to an upright person and at the same time showing him why He is taking the actions in the first place. This two edged sword is perfectly noted in Proverbs 3:32 –

For the perverse person is an abomination to the Lord,
But His secret counsel is with the upright. Proverbs 3:32

And again, in the book of Hosea, at the time prior to the exile of Israel, the Lord reminds the people of these things in hope that they will remember, believe, and repent

Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right; The righteous walk in them, But transgressors stumble in them. Hosea 14:9

²⁰ And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave,

What is the sin of Sodom? Pretty much everyone but sodomites agrees on what it is, but the Bible is clear on it. We’ll look at it in detail when we get to the next chapter, but yes, it is centered mainly on homosexuality and sexual perversion which is a crime against the natural order which God intended for His creatures.

It also involves, according to Ezekiel, gluttony, laziness, and an unwillingness to help others in need. These are the grave sins for which the outcry is made. If you don’t see America written all over these sins, then you’re not looking. Day after day for years, porn has been the number 1 search on internet search engines.

Our president and approximately one half of our nation’s leaders, represented by the democrat party openly support the gay agenda and it has become one of the party issues in their 2012 platform. They have sent openly homosexual members to congress and they have flaunted their perversion in the daylight.

They’re demanding these rights for out military and in our schools. They are leading us to the sure and complete destruction which we rightly deserve for closing our eyes and electing these vulgar and perverse people with this twisted agenda.

We’ve become gluttonous and fat in this nation and our appetite has become unrestrained. Instead of moderation, we look to pills to take away pounds. Instead of work to keep healthy, we go to doctors for more pills, paying for them with welfare checks.

And not helping others in need…? We’ve killed unborn children to the number of 50 million… and we turn a blind eye. We’ve elected a president who once voted “in favor of legalizing infanticide,” by voting “to protect doctors who killed babies who survived the abortion process.” What is coming upon Sodom will be coming upon America unless we turn from our ways.

The Bible says, “That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.” We are heading right into the same destructive Force which met with and destroyed Sodom.

Yes, the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah was great… how much more is it crying out against us in the land which has a Bible in every home and a church on every corner. With great knowledge comes great responsibility and surely great judgment.

²¹ 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.”

We read an interesting parallel in Genesis 11 at the time of the Tower of Babel. It says, “But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.”

The Lord is again descending to the level of man to test and see the situation. It is as if He is stepping off His throne, even in the presence of Abraham, to make His determination. And this has nothing to do with whether He already knew the situation of Sodom or not – He did.

This act of justice is for the sake of Abraham and is a lesson of instruction for judges of the future. We are to personally inspect a situation to determine a matter before judgment and not go by word alone. The Lord has set the example in judicial proceedings.

II. The Judge of All the Earth

²² Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. ²³ And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

The result of what is coming is inevitable and Abraham seems to know it. The two men who were with the Lord have turned toward Sodom and will carry out the sentence. He’s already been there and he knows the wickedness of the place.

And so he “came near” to the Lord. This is a defining moment in the Bible because it is the Bible’s first hint of a prayer to the Lord.

In the 73^rd Psalm we read this –

But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, That I may declare all Your works. (28

Abraham is drawing near to the Lord in order to petition Him and to understand and declare all His works. There is only one hope in his heart and that is Lot’s personal testimony. We won’t know about it until we get to the next chapter, but by what Abraham says in the coming verses, we can guess he already knows.

Now he speaks to the Lord as if he were a free-born son in the house – openly and frankly, and he will continue to do so through the entire conversation. And yet he will do it with an air of humility. The book of Hebrews says this to the believer when speaking of our interactions with the Lord –

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (4:16)

I have no problem with people quoting this and trusting in it. It is an admonition to every believer that we should have the confidence to enter the throne of God’s grace in our time of need. But as I’ve told people many times in the past, we need to be on our face once we get there.

One of the most appalling and arrogant things that I hear Christians say, and I hear them say it all the time is “I claim.” “I claim something in Jesus’ name.” – be it a Porsche or healing, be it financial help or someone’s salvation. We have no right to claim anything except that which the Bible speaks of and the Bible doesn’t use the word “claim” …ever for such things from God.

Abraham’s boldness mixed with humility is the appropriate measure of how we too should conduct our affairs in the presence of the Lord. Let’s watch as he speaks to his Creator…

²⁴ 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? ²⁵ 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?”

There are actually five cities that are included in the account. Sodom and Gomorrah are simply the principle cities of this group of five, and Sodom is especially noted because it’s where Lot is. Could there be an average of ten righteous people per city?

If there are, then he is reminding the Lord that destroying the cities would destroy the righteous with the wicked. This is a problem and a question that not only fills the entire Bible, but also the minds of almost every person who has ever lived. “Why do bad events happen to good people?”

It is something that Job deals with. It is something that Habakkuk deals with. It is something that Paul speaks about and it is struggled over and debated the world over. There is a wrong view to God’s justice which says there is a law governing fairness which is higher than God and therefore it is binding on Him.

In essence He must act in response to the law itself. When we believe this, we make our appeal to the law. Our prayers to, or our comments about God, reflect this. This is wrong.

The correct view is that God is the standard of justice. He is the Creator and therefore He is before His creation. Therefore anything about Him simply is – it doesn’t change, it doesn’t increase or decrease. His power is used in conjunction with His own moral perfection. Therefore, whatever God does is fair – whether we understand it or not.

When we see this, we make our appeal directly to Him and not to the standard which stems from Him or to which He is subordinate. This is what Abraham has done. He has appealed directly to the Creator, though he doesn’t fully understand the situation, he knows the Source of the justice and he acknowledges it accordingly.

Non-Christians and confused Christians don’t understand this concept and therefore they blame God for adversity, tragedy, and trouble. But the one who knows God’s character and His nature stands on the assurance that what occurs is perfectly just and fair.

Isaiah understood this as he penned these words –

The righteous perishes, And no man takes it to heart; Merciful men are taken away, While no one considers That the righteous is taken away from evil. ² He shall enter into peace; They shall rest in their beds, Each one walking in his uprightness. (57:1-2)

There is one thing lacking in Abraham’s understanding of the pending judgment – apart from imputed righteousness, there is none righteous, no not one. Abraham may be making a plea based on a faulty premise. Man is fallen and inherently unrighteous and therefore whatever judgment falls on Sodom is deserved.

III. Pondering Lot’s Witness

I hope you’ll pay particular attention to this point and I hope you’ll see yourself and your own testimony all over it – either meeting the needs or seeing that you don’t. If you don’t I hope you will endeavor to do so in the future.

²⁶ So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.” ²⁷ Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: ²⁸ 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.”

Abraham is now facing a dilemma. He was counting on there being 50 righteous people there. But he already knew the wickedness of the place. It was morally bankrupt. However, Lot had moved there and he was a follower of the one true God. He had a large camp with many employees under him too.

We know from 2 Peter that Lot was a righteous man. So he obviously wasn’t only a follower of the Lord, but also one to share the news about Him, right? He must have convinced 49 people about the path of righteousness. But… maybe not.

Lord, I am dust and ashes, but let me speak again. Dust and ashes is a reference to two concepts about the human being. First that we came from the dust when the Lord created us. Second, that we are ashes – beings deserving the judgment of fire in the presence of pure holiness. From dust we came and to ashes we deserve to go.

“I am dust and ashes, but what if there are only forty five?” You see, he’d been around Lot enough to know that he might not have told his sheepherders about the Lord. Lot was a busy guy and so Abraham realizes that he can’t count them in, so he’d better lower his number to forty five? And the Lord agrees – not for 45.

²⁹ 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.”

Abraham thinks it through again and he says to himself, “Hmmm, I never saw Lot talk to any of his camp’s kitchen staff either. I don’t think there’s a single believer in the group.” “Lord, what if there’s only forty instead of forty five? And the Lord agrees – not for 40.

³⁰ Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: suppose thirty should be found there?” So He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

“Hmmm,” he says to himself the fourth time, “I never saw Lot give one family sermon in front of his harvesting crew. In fact, all ten of them cuss like the dickens and they drink beer all night. I’d better not trust in any of them either. Lord, what if there’s only thirty instead of forty? And the Lord agrees – not for 30.

³¹ 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.”

Abraham is running out of employees. He’s considered the shepherds, the camp cooks, the harvesters – Lot hasn’t talked to any of them. He’s been a backslider since he and Abraham separated more than 20 years ago.

The last time he visited Lot’s homestead, even the maids in the house were drinking and going out with the locals till all hours of the night. He can’t count on them either. Instead of being in church on Sunday morning, they’re sleeping in from hangovers. Lord what if there’s only 20? And the Lord agrees – not for 20.

³² 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.”

Well, he can’t count on any of the hired staff and he’s at 20. After thinking about it, if he hasn’t talked to any of his own staff, then he probably hasn’t talked to any of his neighbors either. Lot has proved to be a major disappointment in his witness.

This leaves only four people in the house – Lot, his wife, and two daughters. The two daughters are set to be married and surely Lot would make sure they would marry godly men. That’s six people. And those men would be godly because of godly parents.

They would have raised them properly and punished them when they did wrong. Yes, there must be those four godly parents for those two godly boys who to marry his two godly daughters. Lord, what if there are only 10? And the Lord agrees – not for 10.

Six times Abraham pleads with the Lord and six times he sees the consequences of being a faithless witness for the Lord. Five cities stand in the face of destruction because one man failed to open his mouth and speak out.

I hope each person here is seeing themselves next to Lot in the mirror. We’re heading for judgment and there’s only one way to avert it – speaking out. And even that probably won’t do at this point. The most we can do is pull those we meet out of the fire.

Are you willing to go to heaven while those around you are destined for hell? There really is an eternal consequence for your lack of witness. As Matthew Henry says to you – “Though sin is to be hated, sinners are to be pitied and prayed for. God delights not in their death, nor should we desire, but deprecate, the woeful day.” We need to witness and pray that they may be saved.

³³ So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

We all have questions of the Lord and almost always the answers are found in the pages of the Bible. When they’re not, Abraham and others have been used as examples of how to interact with Him and what is and isn’t appropriate in our dealings with Him.

“I claim salvation for those in Sodom.” “I claim that this destruction be averted.” Never, no never, speak those words again in the presence of Your Creator! Have a little humility…

Let’s remember today’s account and know that when things are troubling us, we have a right to question the Lord about what is happening and how it will be handled. But in the end, we need to remember that He is God and we are man. Abraham never claimed diddly from the Lord, but trusted that what the Lord determined was ultimately right and just.

His decisions concerning a matter are infinitely wiser than our hopes about it and so let’s remember to trust His decisions and His counsel as a just and righteous Judge. If anyone here has never understood their need for Jesus who is the Mediator and Advocate between God and man, let me explain this to you…

Next Week – Genesis 19:1-11 (Destruction is Coming – Shadows of the Rapture)

The Outcry against Wickedness

The men rose and looked toward Sodom
And Abraham went with them, to send them on their way
And the Lord determined to reveal his intentions to him
Even if Abraham in this would find dismay

“I have known him and instructed him in the life to lead
And this pertains to his descendants too
They shall keep the way of the Lord surely and indeed
To do righteousness and justice all generations through

And the Lord said, “Because the outcry is so great”
And because their sin is very grave
I go down to Sodom and Gomorrah, I will not hesitate
To see whether the rumor is true, of how they misbehave

Then the men turned and went toward this task so grim
But Abraham stood still before the Lord, waiting to talk to Him

“Would you destroy the righteous with the wicked also?
I am sure this won’t occur, tell me it is not so

“Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city
Would You also destroy the place and not spare it for them?
Far be it from You to do such a thing, it cannot be
Destroying the righteous with the wicked, like tearing a cloth with one hem

“Far be it from You! It can’t be so in my sight
Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what’s just and right?

So the Lord said, “If for fifty righteous within the city,
Then I will spare the place – for their sakes I will show pity

Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now
I who am but dust and ashes have spoken to the Lord
Suppose there were five less than the fifty somehow
Would You destroy all for lack of five?” Tell me your word

So He said, “If I find there forty-five
The people of the city will remain alive

And Abraham spoke yet again and this he said,
“Suppose there should be forty found there?” What will you do?
I will not do it for the sake of forty instead
I have spoken and you know My word is true

Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak
Suppose there should be only thirty found there?
“I will not do it if I find thirty. Though the number is quite weak”
Abraham, I can see how much you care

“Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord
Suppose that only twenty should be found there?”
“I won’t destroy for the sake of twenty. Thus you have my word”
But this number is getting pretty low, it will end just where?

Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry
Let the Lord show kindness and favor to me”

I will speak again but it will be only once more
I have already spoken so many times before

Suppose ten should be found there?”
And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.”
For ten righteous souls the city I will spare
Yes, I will do it for them… Abraham, I’m glad you asked again

So the Lord went His way after speaking
And Abraham returned to his place
His curiosity was certainly piquing
What would befall the cities that lay south of his place

If you wonder about how the Lord deals with us
He is righteous and He is also just
To save us from sure destruction He sent His Son Jesus
Yes, He is completely fair, in this all souls can trust

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

Genesis 18:1-15
A Time for Laughter – The Son of Promise

I suppose I quote Acts 17:28 as much as any other verse in the Bible. To me, it’s a constant reminder that the Lord is always near and always there for me – ready to respond to my needs and yet also watching over my actions, both good and bad.

The verse says, “…for in Him we live and move and have our being.” God is right here with us, even now. He’s checking my sermon doctrine; He’s checking your heart. He’s aware of every person on the beach and every bird in the air.

He’s knows about every cricket which will interfere with the audio of this sermon, like they do every week. 🙂

But because we can’t see Him, it’s easy to forget He’s there. It’s easy to come away with the notion that He may not really be watching… this time. This time I’ll get away with it…

But what if there was someone right next to us who we could see, and we had a sneaky suspicion this person was checking out our actions? We tend to act differently when others are watching. Studies have shown that people who use the restroom wash their hands far more often when people are around.

When no one is in the room with them, mostly they just finish up and head for the door. But when others are present, they stop and wash their hands first. Did you know that? Someone could be watching – someone with a hidden camera. So next time,,, wash your hands!

Introduction: There are times that men receive angelic visitations. Do I believe this? Of course I do. The author of Hebrews tells us its so – “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.” Hebrews 13:2

How many of you would change the way you did things if you knew there were angels right there with you? Even more, how would your actions be affected if you knew that the Lord was in your midst?

I don’t mean in the invisible, seemingly impersonal way that Acts 17 speaks of, but in the form of a man – one who has arms, feet, a face, eyes…that sees your every move. How then would you act?

Text Verse: I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. Leviticus 26:12

God has appeared in human form. He didn’t just do it for 30-some years 2000 years ago, but He walked among men since the time of Adam and He appeared throughout the ages to His people as the Bible records and so… May God Speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. The Lord Walks Among His People

In Deuteronomy 23, we read these words from Moses before Israel entered into the Promised Land –

“Also you shall have a place outside the camp, where you may go out; ¹³ and you shall have an implement among your equipment, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and turn and cover your refuse. ¹⁴ For the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you; therefore your camp shall be holy, that He may see no unclean thing among you, and turn away from you.” 23:12-14

Some scholars look at these verses and think its only speaking of the Lord’s presence in a non-physical way. In other words, He is spiritually present in the camp of Israel, but not physically there. And yet, this has to be inferred and it has to overlook the physical aspect of what Moses is saying.

Yes, at other times the Bible speaks metaphorically about the arm of God or the right hand of God, but this verse is far more specific and far harder to dismiss. It’s the same as when the Lord appeared in Eden –

“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.”

Unless you’re simply not willing to believe the text as written, you have to admit that the Lord God truly walked in the Garden. He walked there, He walked among the Israelites, and guess what, He walked right up to Abraham. The text demands this as physical and literal – nothing else is possible as we’ll see in the coming verses.

¹ 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.

God doesn’t have parts. To understand this, you can go back and watch my sermon on Genesis 1:1. The Bible bears this out as I mentioned just a few sermons ago. It says God is Spirit, no one has seen God; that He dwells in unapproachable light; etc.

It also says that God is unchanging on several occasions, including when speaking of Jesus. But it also says that Jesus does change – such as growing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men. So we have a mystery – the mystery of the incarnation.

God, who is outside of His creation and unchanging can’t take on parts and remain eternal and unchanging. Therefore, we are left with only one possibility – that the Lord here, who is Jehovah God according to the verse, is the physical manifestation of God.

This is the uniting of God with human flesh in the Person of Jesus – eternal and unchanging and without parts in His divine nature and yet physical and changing in His human nature; having parts – even parts that move – and movement implies change. Great is the mystery of the eternal Christ.

This might not be a popular view, but it is the logical one. Jesus is the Master of time and space and He is here, as He has been several times already in Genesis, appearing in His own history and directing human events which will lead to Himself.

The Lord (all caps in your Bible, meaning Jehovah) appeared to Abraham. It then says that He did so by the terebinth trees of Mamre, and then that it was in the heat of the day. These are all physical descriptions and they demand a bodily appearance.

When the Lord came, Abraham was “sitting in the tent door.” This is the prime spot which is occupied even to this day by tent dwellers in the region. They can watch the world go by while being shaded from the sun and they can possibly catch a breeze on their sweating skin.

It’s the earliest and longest used form of air conditioning in the world and Abraham was a pioneer of the technique.

² 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,

Abraham has already met the Lord on several occasions and he knows exactly who has come to meet him. As soon as he saw them, he ran right up to them and made the customary bow of obeisance. He is showing worship to the Lord and the Lord receives it as such.

This has to be soon after the time he was given instructions to circumcise the males because if you remember, the Lord promised that it would be at the same time of the following year that Isaac would be born. Abraham obeyed the order to circumcise and the Lord has returned after his display of obedience.

³ and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant.

Abraham only addresses one of the three. He knows exactly which one is the Lord and it is it to Him alone that he speaks. The context demands that this is none other than Jehovah mentioned in verse 1 and he is completely aware of it.

When he speaks to him, he says something that will occur many more times in the Bible. It is the term “if I have now found favor in Your sight…” or sometimes “if I have found favor in your eyes.” It’s to what we would say today “if you really want to make me happy…” It’s a type of invitation to accept what’ said next.

In this case, it’s that they don’t just pass by, but come and be his guests before passing on. And the specifics are found next –

⁴ Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. ⁵ 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.

Abraham is, as we’ve seen in the past chapters, an immensely wealthy man and his words here are words of extreme modesty. They fit the customs and pious nature of the people of God. He offers “a little water to be brought to wash their feet” and then they can rest under the tree in the cool shade.

While relaxing he says he’ll bring them just a “morsel of bread” instead of bragging that he will offer them a big feast. This thought is found in the book of Proverbs and shows that Solomon’s wisdom is built on these modest customs. There he writes –

When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
Consider carefully what is before you;
² And put a knife to your throat
If you are a man given to appetite.
³ Do not desire his delicacies,
For they are deceptive food. Proverbs 23:1-3

When someone boasts about the meal they’re giving you, their offering is more often than not a pretense. There’s a huge difference between sitting at a table full of food and hearing the host say, “Join me at my humble table” as opposed to “Enjoy the bounty of my wealth.” The table is the same, but the spirit of dining will be vastly different.

^{5  cont} They said, “Do as you have said.”

The guests agree to his offer in a simple exchange of words. It’s beautiful to imagine that the same Lord who has accepted a meal from Abraham stands and waits for each one of us to offer a similar invitation to Him. The opportunity may come only once in a lifetime, but when it does, we need to respond.

It is a standing offer and the only way to receive it is by opening the door, just as Abraham opened his home to Him here. Jesus tells us of this in the book of Revelation – “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”

I would hope that each person will respond properly when the sound of the knock comes. The Lord of Creation doesn’t force Himself upon His creatures. As amazing as it is, He allows us the honor of choosing life. Choose wisely.

II. The Lord Dines With His People

⁶ So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.”

He was probably so excited about the guests and their promise to stay that it says he “hurried” into the tent. He’s 99 years old and probably skipped like a teenager at the chance to entertain them. And his words to Sarah are as urgent as his steps. He tells her to “Quickly” make things ready.

Unlike today where we have refrigerators full of food and can zip together a meal in minutes, there is a ton of preparation for any unplanned meal at Abraham’s tent.

And what he tells Sarah to provide isn’t just a “morsel of bread” like he previously offered. Instead it’s about three times as much as each of them can eat in an entire day. Despite being humble about his offering, the bread alone is truly a banquet fit for a king, and there’s more to come…

⁷ And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it.

Not only did he have Sarah whip together the biggest loaf of bread in town, but he pulled out of his flock a “tender and good calf” as well. Knowing Abraham and the circumstances, he picked the very best one of all and got it ready.

There is a lesson in this verse that we should remind ourselves about. It’s a truth that we face in most meals we eat and yet it’s not something we think of very often. In order to live, something else must die. What the world of vegetarians sees as brutal and savage is actually a picture of our own salvation.

In order for us to live, there had to be death. Without Jesus’ cross, we would remain spiritually dead and in our sins, but because of His death, we now have a chance and an opportunity to receive life – not just for another 8 hours until our next meal, but life which will never end. Think about that as we continue today.

⁸ So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them;

Bread, butter, milk, and a calf… It’s quite a bit more than a “morsel of bread” which he had spoken of when they came to him. If you want an idea of how much food this was, let me quote to you the words of Abbe Fleury – “We have an instance of a splendid entertainment in that which Abraham made for the three angels. He set a whole calf before them, new bread, but baked on the hearth, together with butter and milk. Three measures of meal were baked into bread on this occasion, which come to more than two of our bushels, and nearly to fifty-six pounds of our weight…”

Fifty-six pounds of bread, plus a calf, butter, and milk is a lot. Maybe they asked for a take home box for some of it.

^{8 (con’t)} and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

I have to admit that whenever I read this, I always laugh to myself. There is Abraham standing there watching these three eat. I don’t know… it just gives me a mental picture that I can’t quite place…

Anyway, in the customs of the mid-east, it isn’t considered at all menial for the chief of a household to help prepare and serve a meal like this and it would actually be a breech of respect for him to sit and eat with them. Instead, Abraham stood ready to attend to any and every need the visitors might have.

These verses ought to bring up the obvious inspection of our own selves. He not only brought out the finest and the best, but he brought out much more than was necessary too. The question each of us has to answer individually is whether we are doing the same?

How much of what you can give to the Lord do you actually give? I’m not talking only about money, but praise, worship, time, personal inconvenience, etc. Abraham personally attended to them, not one of his hundreds of servants. He gave the best of what he had and he gave it in abundance, and he did it personally.

He, this man known for his faith, was also a man of deeds and actions. Let us, and I mean this sincerely, be sons of Abraham not only in faith, but in deeds of faith as well.

As a kind of side note to this meal, and especially in this world which is spiraling more and more toward the insane each day… “Yes, Jesus ate meat.”

Kamran Pasha, Was Jesus a Vegetarian, the Huffington Post, 3 Sep 2009 – “Indeed, human beings throughout history have questioned the morality of animal slaughter, and religious traditions such as Hinduism and Buddhism have long been the home for those who believe that killing and consuming sentient animals is barbaric. Religious vegetarianism is commonplace in the East, but is not considered mainstream in most Western faith communities. And yet, after lengthy research into the historical record, I have become convinced that Jesus Christ himself was in all likelihood a vegetarian, and that vegetarianism was probably a central tenet of the early Christian community founded by his disciples. In fact, there is evidence that Christ’s opposition to animal sacrifice at the Jewish Temple may have been the triggering event that led to the Crucifixion. Yes, I know. This sounds preposterous. …”

Preposterous? This is one of the most insane articles ever written. Only a dolt or a sub-dolt could come to this conclusion. This person did no research at all. Instead, he lied his way through the entire article. Instead of appearing scholarly, he proves himself an idiot.

⁹ Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” So he said, “Here, in the tent.”

If you want to elevate a friendship, you have a meal with that person. A meal is where the impersonal becomes personal. It is where the hidden matter becomes evident. It is where alliances are made, secrets are revealed, and where bonds grow strong.

Having a meal together, particularly at one’s home, is as close to intimacy as people come apart from a physical relationship which is supposed to be reserved for a man and a wife. The Lord has come, the Lord has eaten, and the Lord has been intimate with His friend, Abraham.

The Lord now asks about Sarah, who is actually the person that the meeting was principally designed to highlight. This is like watching a movie where the main actor actually doesn’t appear as the main actor until a surprising point in the movie.

Abraham has already been given the promise and he has been obedient, but Sarah has been on the fringes of the narrative. Now she comes into focus as the lens directs towards her. How do we know this, because the question is so direct, “Where is Sarah your wife.” The Lord asks for her by name.

This can only mean that the visit has been centered around her all the time and the formalities of the culture were merely relaxing and yummy weigh-stations on the highway to the destination.

Abraham’s answer to the question, that she is “here in the tent,” means that she was close enough to hear every word of the conversation. It is purposeful and intended to let them know they can call her if they want, but either way she is privy to their talk.

¹⁰ 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.)

The Lord promises to return according “to the time of life.” This doesn’t mean that He’s going to come again personally, but that He will visit in the sense of fulfilling the promise. The question is, “What does it mean when He says, ‘according to the time of life?’”

I’m going to give you a couple options and let you decide, because I have no idea. It either means at the same time next year, meaning in 12 months. Or it means in nine months which is the duration of the pregnancy that will happen as soon as Abraham gets going. Or it means during the spring of the year – the time when life springs back into its productive cycle of life. Think and choose…

III. The Lord Knows His People Intimately

I. The Lord Walks Among His People
II. The Lord Dines With His People

¹¹ Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.

We already knew this from 13 years before when Sarah, or Sarai at that time, offered Abraham her maidservant Hagar. However, the Bible is repeating this so that we know that what is coming is nothing other than divine intervention. By this time in human history, a woman who is 89 years old is too old to bear.

¹² Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”

Sarah laughs at the announcement, but not as Abraham did when he was told. Instead, the Bible makes a distinction – “She laughed within herself.” In other words, “Pshaw.” Maybe she made the sound along with a scrunchy face. Her doubt and laughter is then made clear in her words.

Her words don’t just implicate her own barren state, they also attempt to do so with Abraham by saying he’s too old too. But the miracle is in her womb, not his seed. It’s a picture that will be repeated several times in the Bible and culminating in the greatest miracle of all – the conception of Jesus in the womb of a virgin.

Sarah’s doubt will be replaced by Mary’s faith and the Son of God will fill the world with the laughter of joy, not incredulity. With God all things are possible. But to Sarah’s credit she states that Abraham is her “lord.” The faults are forgotten, but that which is noble remains.

The Holy Spirit, writing through Peter in chapter 3 of his first letter, gives us something good about Sarah from the account and made her an example of the godly wife through all generations –

For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, ⁶ as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord,…

It’s good to know that when God forgives a transgression such as in Sarah, it’s removed as far from us as the east is from the west, but our notable deeds He will remember for all eternity and adorn us with blessing because of them.

¹³ And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ ¹⁴ 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.”

Jehovah speaks. There is no other possibility left in the account than that this is God incarnate; it is Jesus. The name Jehovah belongs solely to the Lord and no created being, and because God is unseen, then this is Jesus. No other possibility exists.

His words here show both His omniscience and His omnipotence. His omniscience is seen when Sarah laughed and spoke silently, but her words are as if shouted from the housetops from He who searches hearts and minds – an attribute belonging to God alone and to whom it is ascribed to Jesus in the New Testament.

His omnipotence is seen in His exclamation, ha’yippahlay me’Yehovah dabar… “Is anything to hard for Jehovah?” The question is rhetorical and demands a negative response… “Nothing, O nothing, it too hard for Jehovah.”

Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh.
Is there anything too hard for Me?
Why, I spoke the universe into existence.
This child will come, Sarah, just wait and see…

¹⁵ But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid.
And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”

Sin comes at us from different angles and it is always seizing the opportunity to come out of us in words and actions. Sarah sins for a second time. First she laughed in disbelief at the promise of the Lord and then she lies. One sin often leads to another and in this case it was because of fear – she was afraid.

The Lord showed that He knew what was otherwise unknowable and she recoiled from it. And this doubt isn’t unique in the world. Instead it’s the standard. God has spoken out the pages of the Bible which verify – beyond a shadow of a doubt – that He is aware of all things.

But we add sin to sin by denying His word, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. The Bible is so absolutely accurate in all that it details that we are left without any excuse at all. But out of fear – fear because of our own sin – we try to hide the evidence and deny it exists.

Fortunately for Sarah, this is her final moment of unbelief. She crosses over to the side of light and truth and Hebrews 11 records the transformation –

By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Hebrews 11:11

Matthew Henry says that “One sin commonly brings in another, and it is not likely we shall strictly keep to the truth when we question the Divine truth.”

Fortunately for Sarah, her failure to keep the truth passed behind her and now she stands on that Divine truth as is recorded for us in Hebrews. Some of us here or watching by video might be hiding from the truth and in so doing are attempting to deny even the Divine truth – one lie compounding upon another.

This can only lead to eternal sadness, but there is a way to put these things behind you. Let me tell you how we can exchange our body of death, which is brought on by sin, for life which is available because of Jesus’ death…

A Time for Laughter

The Lord appeared to Abraham in the heat of the day
Near the terebinth trees of Mamre as he sat by the tent door
While he was sitting the Lord passed by that way
And the Lord came with others, yes there were two more

Abraham lifted his eyes in order to see the sight
And behold three men were standing close by
So he up got to meet them, filled with delight
To them hospitality he would not deny

Bowing himself to the ground in respect complete
He asked them to stay if he had found favor in their sight
Let me bring water and let me wash your feet
And you can rest under the tree, this spot here is just right

I will bring you a morsel of bread refreshing to the heart
And then you may pass by, yes… then you may depart

You have come to your servant please stay to break bread
And their response came with a smile, “Do as you have said.”

He instructed Sarah to make ready three seahs of fine meal
And then he ran to the herd and took a good and tender calf
He whipped together a banquet, and he did it with great zeal
He went all out for them, an entire measure – not just a half

So he took butter and milk and the calf he had prepared
And set it before them to eat as he stood and stared

Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?”
He pointed to the place, “Here, in the tent.”
“I will certainly return to you according to the time of life
And behold she shall have a son, though her years seem spent

She was behind him listening at the tent’s door
Trying to account for what had happened heretofore

Both Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age
And Sarah had passed the time for bearing a child
And she laughed within herself a laugh of doubt-age
I have grown old and what I hear is to me certainly wild

And the Lord said to Abraham, yes He did say
Why did Sarah laugh, why did she show dismay?

Is anything to hard for the Lord?
I will return, according to the time of life,
And then you will see the truth in My word
You will have a son, yes… a son from Sarah your wife

But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,”
For she was afraid and so she told lie
But He saw through her words and her awkward gaff
Because with the Lord, nothing is hidden from His eye

Mercy is found in the Lord whether from one sin or a lot
If we accept His pardon, our relationship He will restore
And in His eternal home there He will reserve a spot
And He will safely lead us along to that distant shore

So let us give him all the glory He is due
For the gift of eternal life granted to me and you

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

Genesis 17:15-27
The Promised Son – A Time for Laughter

Introduction: There are times when things occur in our lives and we may wonder why God has let it happen. Maybe a family member dies, financial troubles wipe out our life savings, our home may burn down, or any of another million bad things occurs.

I’ve seen people get angry at God, accuse God, blame God, walk away from church, go back to old, bad habits and the like when troubles come. But one thing we should remember is that there is nothing that happens to us – no matter how bad – that is unique.

The ungodly suffer and the ungodly receive blessings. God’s people have suffered and God’s people have received blessings and each of us too will suffer and we too will receive blessings.

But even more than God’s people, we have the ultimate example of both suffering and loss – God’s own Son, Jesus, shared in our humanity. He was tempted just as we are and He went through the same ordeals we go through, and many were far worse.

Throughout the Bible is a thread which weaves God’s people into a great plan to heal what is broken, to right that which is wrong, and to replace sadness with joy. Today we will see another step in the unfolding of this plan and the thread which weaves together a tapestry of joy and laughter.

Text Verse: Then our mouth was filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us, And we are glad. Psalm 126:2, 3

Yes, the Lord has done great things for us, just as He did great things for Abraham, the man of faith, whose life was adorned with laughter, and so… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. From a Princess to the Princess

Three specific entities are addressed in chapter 17 of Genesis in relation to the covenant between God and Abraham. The first is God speaking of Himself. This occurred in verses 4 through 8 –

“As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. ⁵ No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. ⁶ I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. ⁷ 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. ⁸ 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.” We looked at those verses 2 weeks ago.

Next, last week we looked at the second addressee of the covenant, God speaking to Abraham. This happened in verses 9-14 –

“And God said to Abraham: ‘As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. ¹⁰ 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; ¹¹ and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. ¹² 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. ¹³ 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. ¹⁴ 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.”

The third is to be found in our first two verses today, verses 15 and 16 and they are being spoken to Abraham about his wife –

¹⁵ Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.

Sarah is the third one addressed by the word of God of whom something is expected. In His statement about her, God renames her from Sarai to Sarah, but when He does, it is done through Abraham. “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.”

Just as God works through Christ to meet with Christ’s bride, so He goes through Abraham for the name to be changed. Over the years, feminists in particular have found fault with the Bible’s use of family hierarchies and the submission of women to men.

But when we look at how God Himself developed the hierarchies and the purposes they serve, we realize that this is the appropriate way to handle these things. One thing is for sure, whether someone likes the way these things are presented in the Bible or not is irrelevant. They are the way God has ordained them.

People who want to pray to God outside of Christ can do so, and they do so all the time. But they are only wasting their efforts in the process. Without Christ to mediate our prayers, they dissolve into the ether, unheard by the ears of God.

In the same way, when the family hierarchy which has been established by God is rejected, it inevitably leads to an unprofitable family life. This has been born out through history and it is being born out now.

As America moves away from the traditional father-led family established by God, it may appear on the surface to be freeing women from some perceived bondage, but in the end, it only leads to disorder, societal breakdown, and a loss of morality.

Another thing about Sarai’s name change… it’s done in the same way that Abraham’s name was changed – by adding a single letter to the name – a letter equivalent to our letter “H.” Actually in the case of Sarai, the H replaces an I.

Both names basically mean the same thing, “Princess.” But in the case of Sarah, it has a fuller meaning, like a noblewoman. It is like a transition from a local to a global meaning or something specific to something general.

Sarai is like “a princess” as if she is in a room with many princesses. But Sarah is like “the princess.” She is over all the princesses and the mother of all people who would come from her. Sarah is noted by Peter in his first epistle for being the epitome of the submissive wife whom God favors –

Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, ² when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. ³ Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— ⁴ rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. ⁵ For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, ⁶ as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.

The significance of this H letter being added to both their names is believed to associate these two people more closely to the Lord Himself. The letters for the divine name Yahweh are YHVH. By adding the H to their names, it seems He is imparting to them a portion of His own nature.

This then is an elevation beyond the temporal to the spiritual realm. God has conferred a special dignity on them by this addition. It is a way of pointing out His eternal power and Godhead as it is working through them.

This notion is going to be borne out in the coming verses in the circumcising of the household.

Before we go on, I’d like to assure you that if you’re in Christ, you also have moved from the temporal, earthly realm to the spiritual, heavenly realm (Eph 2:4-7). In fulfillment of that, in Revelation God promises you a new name. Your name is already selected and your destiny is already assured because of your faith in Jesus.

¹⁶ 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.”

The Lord promises to bless Sarah and He says He will “also give you a son by her.” In other words, “Just as you have received a son through Hagar, so you will now receive a son from Sarah. But the son to be born will be the son of promise.”

This is now the 5^th time we see God working through the second son instead of the firstborn. This demonstrates to us the doctrine of divine election. We saw it when God accepted Abel’s offering over the offering of his older brother.

We saw it when Seth, the son of Adam, replaced Cain his older brother. We saw it again when Noah’s second son Shem was placed into the messianic line before his older brother Japheth. Again it occurred when Abraham replaced his older brother Haran.

And this pattern will continue and grow richly in the pages of the Bible. God is sovereignly choosing people and circumstances which lead to the Messiah apart from birth order. This doctrine ultimately finds its fulfillment in the Person of His own Son, Jesus, who replaces Adam and who is the true Israel.

As the Bible unfolds, we will continue to look at each instance and draw patterns out which will show us the wonderful hand of God upon time, upon humanity, and upon all variables which lead us to, and teach us about, Jesus.

In the promise of a son through Sarah, God says that she shall become nations – meaning many groups of people, and that kings shall come from her. Through Sarah will come King Saul, King David, King Solomon, and many other kings. And ultimately from her would come the King of kings, Jesus.

The thing that is hardest to get my mind around is that the Lord is working through time and people to bring about the incarnation of Himself when He will unite with humanity in Mary’s womb.

Time is what keeps everything from happening at once, and God, who created time, is working in the stream of time to come to the point that has been in His mind since before creation.

Everything that we are experiencing, and everything that has ever been experienced, is happening simultaneously in God’s mind and yet because of what He has created, it can happen in a sequence which we participate in. It’s just too much to fully grasp.

¹⁷ 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?”

Every reasonable commentary that I’ve read about this verse says the same thing – that Abraham’s laughter was of joy, not of unbelief. Any commentary which says otherwise has been made by someone who doesn’t understand the context, the man, or the supporting Bible passages which clearly identify Abraham’s laughter as that of faith mixed with Joy.

In Romans 4, it says this – “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. ²⁰ He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, ²¹ and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. ²² And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.” EXPLAIN

In John 8:56, Jesus probably refers to this incident and Abraham’s surety that this son of promise would lead to the Messiah –

“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”

After laughing, his internal question has also been misconstrued – “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?”

Abraham was a man of faith and his question was a rhetorical one, not a doubting one. In fact, he will have many more children in the years ahead and so it’s obvious he’s not talking about ability, but rather what is reasonable. And this is absolutely certain because of his next words to God…

¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”

Abraham has a son, and despite how we look at the way Ishmael came about in the modern world, it was a normal birth to Abraham. He was promised a son and the Lord gave him a son. Up to this point in time, Sarah hasn’t been mentioned in any of the promises.

By now, Ishmael is 13 years old and Abraham probably loves him very much. So instead of going through the whole process again, why isn’t Ishmael suitable for the task? But God’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.

What God decides is what is right and perfect. But Abraham is thinking from a human perspective. There is nothing wrong with him making known his request to God and it is a parent’s duty to pray for their children, just as he is doing for Ishmael.

He is praying for him to be kept in the covenant and to have the grace of walking before God in uprightness. But God determines the “who” and the “why.” Ishmael will participate in the earthly blessings, but it is Isaac who will participate in both the temporal and spiritual ones.

II. The Lord Brings Laughter

¹⁹ Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son..

Let’s look at how different translations read here for fun –

Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son…
And God said, Nay, but Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son…
And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed;…
God replied, “No! Your wife Sarah will give you a son,…
and God saith, ‘Sarah thy wife is certainly bearing a son to thee…

The word is aval in Hebrew and it can be translated in a variety of ways. This is what we call Translator’s Preference. Some say “no,” some say “Yes, but” and some say “indeed” or “certainly.” The reason for differences is what the translators feel is being relayed. People who stick to a single translation not only get myopia, but they miss out on what could otherwise be the correct translation.

And sometimes differences in translations can actually mean the exact same thing, but they stress a different point of view. In other words, “Yes, but” can mean the exact same thing as “No” in the ultimate sense, but it does it by stressing the immediate in one case, and showing the distinction at a later point.

To support any translation, the rest of the Bible needs to be taken in context. This is something you will never get from a topical sermon preacher. And so unless you’re willing to study the Bible, you will never come to these precious insights which God really wants you to know and think about.

^{19 (con’t)} and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.

A son will come through Sarah and he will be called Yitsak – the exact same word that describes what Abraham did when he heard. Abraham laughed and laughter is his name – Yitsak. It is through this child of joy that the everlasting covenant of grace will continue.

Just as the promise was made to Abraham, it is being transferred through this coming child. Ishmael will live before Abraham and the Lord, but it will only be as a physical son lives in our world. To understand both the renaming of Sarah and the selection of Isaac, even before his birth, we need to look at Paul’s explanation in Galatians 4 –

Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? ²² For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. ²³ But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, ²⁴ which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— ²⁵ for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— ²⁶ but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. ²⁷ 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.”
²⁸ Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.

²⁰ 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.

As you can see, the “Yes, but” of the NIV translators is not a bad choice of the previous verse after all. When Abraham asked that Ishmael would live before the Lord, he in fact would and indeed he would be blessed. Here is what Bishop Thomas Newton says about this verse –

“It was somewhat wonderful, and not to be foreseen by human sagacity, that a man’s whole posterity should so nearly resemble him, and retain the same inclinations, the same habits, and the same customs, throughout all ages! These are the only people besides the Jews who have subsisted as a distinct people from the beginning, and in some respects they very much resemble each other – 1. The Arabs, as well as the Jews, are descended from Abraham, and both boast of their descent from the father of the faithful. 2. The Arabs, as well as the Jews, are circumcised, and both profess to have derived this ceremony from Abraham. 3. The Arabs, as well as the Jews, had originally twelve patriarchs, who were their princes or governors. 4. The Arabs, as well as the Jews, marry among themselves, and in their own tribes. 5. The Arabs, as well as the Jews, are singular in several of their customs, and are standing monuments to all ages of the exactness of the Divine predictions, and of the veracity of Scripture history. We may with more confidence believe the particulars related of Abraham and Ishmael when we see them verified in their posterity at this day. This is having, as it were, ocular demonstration for our faith.”

²¹ But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.”

Despite the promised blessing to Ishmael, which has surely been fulfilled in an amazing degree, the covenant established in Abraham would likewise be established in Isaac through Sarah. This tells us with all certainty that the covenant is based upon what is spiritual, even if it includes the earthly.

This blessing will reach to the Messiah and then through Him to each of us, who, through His blood are brought near to God and in whose presence we will dwell. But at the time of Abraham and even until now, that isn’t fully realized as we’ll see from verse 22 –

 ²² Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

As John Gill says, “The highest enjoyments of God here are not lasting; uninterrupted communion with him is reserved for another world.”

God has finished his discussion with Abraham and this highest enjoyment, filled with laughter and amazement, ends. As a sign that what was said was ironclad, this verse says that “God went up from Abraham.” The Lord who appeared to him wasn’t merely a human being. In this single chapter He has been called Yahweh, God Almighty, and God.

At other times in the Bible Yahweh appears in a body in a human manifestation of Himself. To leave no doubt in the great man’s faith, He ascends visibly, just as He will do at other times, even at the ascension of Jesus recorded in Acts. And now we move on to our final thought today.

III. A Sign in the Flesh

²³ 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.

This verse is specifically given to us to demonstrate Abraham’s obedience to the directive that was given in verse 12 and 13 which said, “…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. ¹³ He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised.”

God gave the directive and the next verse after He departed Abraham’s obedience is noted. This confirms what I said earlier about the changing of Sarai’s name to Sarah. The addition of H was an elevation beyond the temporal to the spiritual realm.

This is proven because all of the people in Abraham’s household were circumcised, but only Isaac, who isn’t even born yet, was given the promise. Think this through with me… The promise was made to Abraham before he was circumcised.

And then when the promise was made concerning Isaac, it wasn’t just before Abraham was circumcised, but even before Isaac was conceived. Because this is so, the promise must be a spiritual promise and circumcision cannot play a part in it.

It also is another absolute indication that infant baptism, which we talked about last week, has no connection to circumcision and that it is an unscriptural procedure.

Later in the Bible we will see that through Isaac, the promise will be made again to his son Jacob, who is Israel. Therefore, there is an earthly significance to the circumcision, but there is also a spiritual one which applies only to those who are the elect of God.

Anyone who can trace his lineage back to Abraham is a son of Abraham by birth – and billions of people can do so. But only those who are of faith receive the nearness to God through adoption as sons. Paul makes this clear in Galatians 3 –

“Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.”

He makes the point and then spends several chapters defending it. And it’s something we need to remember every day of our lives. Especially when we do something wrong or something that we know would really upset God.

He has made a promise, a spiritual promise, of eternal life to all who believe in the work of Jesus. If that promise is based on something we do after the promise is accepted, then it isn’t really a spiritual promise.

The idea that a person can lose their salvation based on something they do or fail to do is so foreign to the Bible that it is almost impossible to imagine that people actually teach it. But they do. None of you should ever, ever, ever fail to understand this – you can never lose the salvation Jesus has granted you.

God’s love for you, in Christ Jesus, is unconditional, just as His promise to Isaac before He was even born was also unconditional.

²⁴ Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

Abraham was born in the year 2009 Anno Mundi and therefore this circumcision occurred in the year 2108. If you want to know whether this was a painful process or not, it was. Other places in the Bible tell us of adults being circumcised and still being in pain three days later. For a 99 year old man… yeowch.

There are several traditions on who circumcised Abraham. One is that Noah’s son, Shem, who was still alive and 549 years old did it. Another is that his head servant Eliezer did it. And a third is that he circumcised himself. If that’s true, double yeowch.

²⁵ And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

For today’s descendants of Ishmael, there is no specific age as to when they circumcise. Some do it at infancy, some at 13 in honor of Ishmael, and some at other ages. However, the covenant between God and his people requires it at the age of 8 days old.

If for no other reason than this, the descendants of Ishmael who have not called on Jesus are not only excluded from the spiritual blessings, but they are excluded from the earthly land blessing as well. The land of Israel belongs to a certain group of people and they follow this practice to this day.

²⁶ That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael; ²⁷ and all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

On the very same day that Abraham was instructed to perform the rite by God, he did so. There was no delaying, no contemplating, and no discussion. This rite, instituted in Abraham, would be performed again on the Son of God 1895 years later – when He was 8 days old. In his detailed account of the life of Jesus, we read this in chapter 2 of the book of Luke –

And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

God asked nothing of Abraham, nor of any of Abraham’s descendants, that He wasn’t willing to ask of His own Son. Abraham was obedient to the call and performed it without delay. This is our last verse of the day and it almost begs the question of each of us…

Have we been obedient to the call of Jesus? There are several parts to this. The first is whether we have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. If so, there are certain things He asks of us. One is that we be baptized as an outward demonstration of our inward change.

The next is to learn the Bible, to read it, and to be able to explain it to others. This isn’t something God would call optional – it is an act of obedience, just as Abraham’s circumcision was. In this word, we find how to live properly and walk in a careful and holy manner as we live out our lives. Is this something we’re endeavoring to do?

For those who haven’t called on Jesus, this is where obedience begins. It is where the circumcision not made with hands comes from. It is a circumcision of the heart which is performed by God. Let me explain how you can be obedient to this call…

Next Genesis 18:1-15 (A Time for Laughter – The Son of Promise)

The Princess, The Son, and The Sign

God said to Abraham, As for Sarai your wife
You shall not call her name Sarai
Even though you’ve called her it for most of Your life
Sarah shall be her name starting now and as time goes by

I will bless her and also by her give you a son
Yes, I will bless her, she shall be a mother of many nations
Kings of peoples shall come from her and from this one
It will be so forever, through all generations

Then Abraham laughed as he fell on his face
And as he did, he said in his heart
Shall a child be born to me here in this place?
To a man who is one hundred, shall this child’s life start?

And shall Sarah who is ninety years old
Bear a son to me, O God, just as you’ve told

And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you
But God said “No, Sarah your wife shall bear a son… it’s true!

You will call him Isaac, yes Laughter is his name
I will establish My covenant with him instead of Ishmael
It is an everlasting covenant which will bring Me fame
And one which will rescue many from the pits of hell

As for Ishmael, I have heard your request
And I have blessed him in several ways
He will be fruitful and multiply and so be blessed
He will beget twelve princes, yes 12 sons he will raise

But my covenant is with Isaac whom Sarah shall bear next year
It will be at the time I have set, so Abraham have no fear

Then God finished talking with him and so up he went
Then Abraham took Ishmael and all who were born in his home
And all who were bought with money, there was no argument
Every male among them was circumcised under the tent’s dome

Abraham was 99 when he was circumcised and Ishmael 13
Along with everyone else, it must have been an ouchy scene

But obedience is what he was called to
And obedience is also what God expects of you

Jesus was obedient even to death on a cross
And we too should follow Him, no matter the cost

When we do, our rewards will be great
And nothing can keep us from the blessings of God
Wonderful promises His word does state
To those who will someday on heavenly streets trod

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

Genesis 17:9-14
The Covenant of Circumcision
(Shadows of the Coming Messiah)

Introduction: I have to admit that there are times I find it hard to put together a whole sermon on a particular passage. But then there are times when I have only a couple of verses and I mourn over how much I have to leave out.

Every sermon I type is the same length so that it will take about the same amount of time to preach. But sometimes I wish I could go on for hours about a subject. Today is one of them.

The topic of circumcision is so vast and so important that we could be here until late tonight going over different avenues that it takes in the Bible. I apologize, in advance, for all we will skip over concerning the subject.

Text Verse: Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
And take away the foreskins of your hearts,
You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Lest My fury come forth like fire,
And burn so that no one can quench it,
Because of the evil of your doings.” Jeremiah 4:4

You see, even in the Old Testament, circumcision was more than a physical sign. It was something that was to be accompanied with an internal change of the heart – away from the world and directed toward God and so… May God Speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. The Covenant of Circumcision

Mention “Jim the anabaptist fireman.”

Last week we went over Genesis 17:1-8. Let me read those verses to you again so you have a context for today’s sermon –

“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. ² And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” ³ Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: ⁴ “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. ⁵ No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. ⁶ I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. ⁷ 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. ⁸ 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.”’”

So Abraham, with his new name and his new identity has had the promise from 25 years earlier restated once again with new details added. The Lord is moving in His perfect timing and He is preparing a great new beginning for His chosen servant.

⁹ And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.

In our sermon verses last week, verse 4 said, “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you,…” After saying this, the Lord renamed Abram to Abraham and restated and refined His promises to him. In the process, we read the word “my” or “I” seven times. This was the Lord’s promises and His vow.

Now He says to Abraham, “As for you…” The conditions God expects are laid out in verses 9-14. The very first thing we see though is that the conditions apply not only to Abraham, but to his descendants after him through their generations.

¹⁰ 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…

Circumcision is the sign of the covenant that God mandates. Last week we established that we are heirs of Abraham and we are his spiritual descendants by faith. If this is so, then what God mandates to Abraham could be interpreted as being mandated to us in the church as well.

The question before you is this: “If we are Abraham’s descendants by faith and all of Abraham’s male descendants must be circumcised, then are we in the church required to circumcise our male children in the flesh? It is a confusing issue for many.

In fact, certain denominations and sects, without taking the time to understand our position in Christ, do mandate that their followers be cicumcised. Can you defend why this is wrong? Pay attention today and hopefully you’ll understand where the error in this lies.

Remember our great rule of interpretation – context, context, context. If we keep things in context, we’ll keep from the error of heresy. And mandating circumcision to meet the requirements of the law is, according to Paul, heresy.

Just so you know what a heresy is, I’ll explain it to you. Bad doctrine isn’t always a heresy. The difference is that bad doctrine doesn’t keep someone from being saved, but heresy does. Bad doctrine can lead to a loss of joy or simply looking stupid, but heresy will lead to hell. And teaching a heresy doesn’t keep someone from being saved; it keeps the next guy from being saved.

Now, let’s take a minute and think about the covenant God made with Noah and see the difference between that and the one made with Abraham. Noah’s covenant was one-sided and unconditional. The sign of it was a natural phenomenon, the rainbow. A rainbow comes about without any help or intervention from man.

In the same way, the land covenant to Abraham’s descendants was given on an oath. The physical descendants of Abraham are the recipients of the covenant. Regarding the land, there were no strings attached to it. However, God is now making a condition to the people who would receive the promises made to Abraham.

This doesn’t change the land covenant, but it defines those who will qualify to receive it. So let’s think of it like this to help you understand. A jillionaire comes to me and says, “I am giving to you and to your descendants the island known as Siesta Key.” This is unconditional and one sided. This is what has come about since chapter 12 of Genesis with the land promise.

Later the same jillionaire comes to me and says, “This is the sign of the covenant. Every one of your male descendants will have a beard. Anyone without a beard is excluded from the promise.”

The land promise hasn’t changed. The land is still given to me and my descendants, but those who are actually entitled to it have certain obligations. If only one of my descendants grows a beard, then only one will get the land, but the land still belongs to me and my descendants. If they all grow a beard, they all can live here.

I hope this clears this up. Unlike the promise to Noah which was unconditional, and the earlier promises to Abraham which were also, this clarification of the promise defines the parameters. And they are voluntary.

In this verse, there is a responsibility in the individual toward the word of promise. An assent to the promise allows its fulfillment.

If one of my descendants doesn’t want to be handsome like me, Then he doesn’t get to live on beautiful Siesta Key.

¹¹ and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.

Circumcision for the purposes of the covenant is to be in the flesh of the foreskins. This sign then is what brings males into the covenant and it is the longest continuously practiced ceremony pertaining to a covenant on the earth today. It is so inextricably tied to the covenant that in the book of Acts, Stephen calls it the “covenant of circumcision.”

But there is something to note. Not everyone who is circumcised is a member of the covenant. There have been and there are even today other groups of people who circumcise their children, but they don’t qualify. We’ll discuss why in the coming verses.

¹² 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.

Muslims circumcise their children, but they are not inheritors of the promise. Does anyone here know why? There are a couple reasons. First, the promise was later given to Isaac, not Ishmael and then to Jacob, not Esau. Only this line receives the promises.

But even if some of them did descend from these two, they still wouldn’t be entitled because muslims circumcise their children without regard to a specific age. They do it anywhere from birth all the way up to 18 years old. They are excluded from the promise because they don’t participate in it.

For the covenant sons of Abraham, circumcision of the foreskin isn’t just mandated to bring someone into the covenant, but there are specific procedures which accompany the rite. The first is that it is to be accomplished on the child when he is eight days old. The number 8 in the Bible consistently signifies “new beginnings.”

For example, there were 8 people on the Ark of Noah, all of which entered the new life – a picture of the resurrection and a new beginning. The covenant with Abraham is brought up 8 times and the 8^th occurred at the binding of Isaac when he was asked to sacrifice him, a picture of the resurrection – the new beginning.

Joseph had 8 specific times he communicated with his brothers. The 8^th time is when his brothers met with him in Genesis 50 – another veiled picture of a new beginning. We could go on with the number 8 for hours and hours, but it’s clear that the number 8 has a special spiritual significance – new beginnings.

However, the 8^th day also has physical significance – something not discovered until the 20^th century. The Apologetics Press reports the following from 1953: “Holt Pediatrics observed that a newborn infant has ‘peculiar susceptibility to bleeding between the second and fifth days of life… Hemorrhages at this time, though often inconsequential, are sometimes extensive; they may produce serious damage to internal organs, especially to the brain, and cause death from shock and exsanguination.” Obviously, then, if vitamin K is not produced in sufficient quantities until days five through seven, it would be wise to postpone any surgery until some time after that. But why did God specify day eight? On the eighth day, the amount of prothrombin present actually is elevated above one-hundred percent of normal—and is the only day in the male’s life in which this will be the case under normal conditions. If surgery is to be performed, day eight is the perfect day to do it. Vitamin K and prothrombin levels are at their peak.’”

Dr. McMillen observed that “We should commend the many hundreds of workers who labored at great expense over a number of years to discover that the safest day to perform circumcision is the eighth. Yet, as we congratulate medical science for this recent finding, we can almost hear the leaves of the Bible rustling. They would like to remind us that four thousand years ago, when God initiated circumcision… Abraham did not pick the eighth day after many centuries of trial-and-error experiments. Neither he nor any of his company from the ancient city of Ur in the Chaldees ever had been circumcised. It was a day picked by the Creator of vitamin K.”

Even in the seemingly bloody ritual of circumcision we have a display of the wisdom of the Creator and His tending to the health and welfare of His covenant people. If this is how God treats the physical nature of His people, how much more sure and reliable will He treat the spiritual promises that He has made to us!

But there is something important for us to consider in circumcision that can help us with our own Christian families. Starting with Abraham, but following through every generation since, the parent…the parent is the one responsible for circumcising their child. The child is a passive recipient of the rite.

If we look at this example of the Hebrews, we can understand why they’ve held together and prospered for the past 4000 years. It’s because they are acknowledging their responsibility to the covenant and demonstrating a hope in the promises it holds.

If we, as faithful Christians, act in the same responsible manner, we can trust that our families will be equally blessed. This isn’t talking about physical blessing, but the blessing of knowing that our children will be a part of the spiritual heritage which Christ established for us.

We have the responsibility to raise our children in a godly manner, just as the Hebrews were to faithfully circumcise their children. When we do, we have the hope that Christ will take hold of them and carry them through to His eternal dwelling.

There are no ultimate guarantees because every person is an individual with free-will, but by following the guidelines of the Bible, we have a much stronger hope than if we neglect our responsibility as Christian parents.

¹³ 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.

Him-owl yim-owl y’lid b’tekha or “in circumcising shall you circumcise.” This repetition was given to denote the absolute necessity of doing it and the care to be followed in the practice. There was to be no uncircumcised male among the people.

Every male born in the house and every person who came into the house as a servant or a slave was to be circumcised. Unless you understand what circumcision symbolizes, this passage doesn’t make much sense, but when – in a few minutes you learn – it will be something I hope you never forget.

This rule is the same concept of rule that’s given by Jesus when He said that we were to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

It is for this reason that many churches base membership on having been baptized… and that by full immersion. Unfortunately too many churches put the cart before the horse and baptize infants as a sort of New Testament substitute for circumcision.

But… these children aren’t members of the covenant of faith, nor are they members of Israel – which is a covenant in the flesh. Baptism can in no way be considered a replacement for circumcision in the family life of Christians as you’ll see.

The only way to become an adopted child of God is by the mental assertion and vocal pronouncement that Jesus is Lord. Only after this is baptism a recognizable tenet of the inner conversion. The only thing baptism of infants does is promote false security in a person that may not have accepted Jesus as Lord.

A second problem with comparing infant baptism with circumcision is the obvious overlooking of women in the rite of circumcision. If we were to carry the concept through as much of the church has done, then we would simply skip the baptizing of women. But this would be as unscriptural as baptizing infants.

The entire purpose of circumcision has a greater fulfillment in the Person of Jesus Christ and looks forward to Him. It, therefore, cannot be equated with infant baptism. To understand this ancient rite more fully pay attention in a few minutes and we will discover the symbolism which points back to the Fall of Man and forward to the restoration from that Fall in Jesus Christ.

¹⁴ 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.”

The law for the people was circumcision, but it was the parent who had the child circumcised on the 8^th day. In this verse, we see the consequences of the parents’ decision affecting the children and the owner’s decision affecting the servant.

In such a case, we’d also see the failure of the society at large because anyone who knew the child was uncircumcised, including the priests who were to perform the rite, would be guilty of negligence. This is actually a way of keeping the entire corporate body accountable to each other.

And this, once again, finds a parallel in the New Testament. 1 Corinthians in particular addresses the handling of people within the church that aren’t meeting the requirements that have been laid out. There is in the church a corporate responsibility of ensuring that we act in the manner that the Lord has laid out for us.

About this verse, Adam Clarke says, “it was impossible for a person who had not received the spiritual purification to enter into eternal glory. The spirit of this law extends to all ages, dispensations, and people; he whose heart is not purified from sin cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

II. Shadows of the Coming Messiah

The questions that we should ask now are, “Why was there no requirement on women?” “Why is circumcision given and it only pertains to men?” “What is God doing this for?” In other words, “Why wasn’t a physical sign given that could have been more obviously seen by others like a tattoo or a certain hairstyle and why cut males only and in such a personal way?

The answer to this goes all the way back to Genesis 3:15, a verse known as the Protoevangelium, or the “First Gospel.” When God cursed the serpent, He said this to him –

And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”

We learned right in the first pages of the Bible that a human being would come to redeem man, but that He would be from the seed of the woman. What is implicitly stated here and explicitly stated in the book of 1 Corinthians is that sin came from one man. What is implicit in circumcision is that it also comes through man. In other words, sin is transferred to us from Adam through man.

By cutting the male organ in the rite of circumcision, a picture was being made of the cutting away of sin. This is why even those who were purchased as slaves were to be circumcised. It was a picture of cutting away the transfer of sin within the covenant community.

But as like so many things in the Bible, this is only a picture. The sin still transfers from father to child. And all people – males and females alike inherit that sin from the father – thus the need for a Father without sin in order for there to be a Child without sin.

This is the reason for both the virgin birth and the incarnation. If these didn’t come about, then there would be no salvation – ever – for any human. Man would be eternally lost and separated from God. But God in His infinite wisdom solved the problem.

Sin transfers through the man, but Jesus was born sinless because He was born of God the Father and Mary. However, in order to prevail over sin, He would have to live a sinless life as well. If He failed, He wouldn’t have been a qualified substitute for Adam.

It is the resurrection that proves that Jesus was born of God. It also proves that He was not only was born sinless, but He also lived a sinless life, fulfilling the law. You see, the resurrection is 100% conditional upon the virgin birth.

No virgin birth equals no resurrection. We can know this – 100% – because babies that die don’t resurrect. If this weren’t true, then babies, who have never sinned when they died, would come back to life. Sin is inherited from the father.

However, the virgin birth doesn’t guarantee the resurrection. Nor does living a sinless life if one isn’t virgin born. Both the virgin birth and a sinless life are conditions for the resurrection. If Jesus wasn’t born of a virgin, then He would have inherited Adam’s sin. But even though He was born of a virgin, He still needed to live perfectly sinless throughout His entire life.

1) The resurrection is conditional upon a sinless life.
A sinless life is conditional upon the virgin birth.
Therefore, the resurrection proves the virgin birth.

2) The resurrection proves the virgin birth.
The virgin birth proves Jesus was born of God and of Mary.
Therefore, Jesus is God’s Son – the God/Man.

If you can grasp this, then you can see why God gave the people who would usher in the Messiah a picture of what was coming –

One who would be born without sin. And hopefully you can see why baptism did not replace circumcision as a sign for the covenant community and why infant baptism is a pointless gesture.

As one final validation of this, that infant baptism is not a New Testament sign comparable to circumcision, all we need to do is go to 1 Corinthians 10 – “Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, ² all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, ³ all ate the same spiritual food, ⁴ and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.

Paul says that these Hebrews, whose men were circumcised, were also baptized into Moses. Therefore these are two distinct and separate concepts and baptism cannot be a replacement for circumcision.

Both men and women come from Adam and received his sin through their father, and therefore both men and women receive baptism and that – only after accepting Christ as Lord. Children of believers are already sanctified by their believing parent according to Paul in 1 Corinthians 7:14.

As Peter states in his 1^st epistle when speaking of the regeneration by the Spirit, “There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,…” (3:21)

Baptism – the regeneration of the human spirit by the Baptism of the Holy Spirit – is what saves us. Water baptism is a picture of this regeneration and so it comes after accepting Christ, not before. If you’ve never been baptized since your conversion, now might be a good time to think about it.

Paul sums this up in Colossians chapter 2 –

In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, ¹² buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. ¹³ And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, ¹⁴ having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵ Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

III. The Blessedness of Grace through Faith

What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh?² For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. ³ For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” ⁴ Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.
⁵ But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, ⁶ just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
⁷ “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
And whose sins are covered;
⁸ Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”
⁹ Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. ¹⁰ How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. ¹¹ And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, ¹² and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.
¹³ For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁴ For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, ¹⁵ because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.
¹⁶ Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all ¹⁷ (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; ¹⁸ who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” ¹⁹ 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. ²⁰ He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, ²¹ and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. ²² And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
²³ Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, ²⁴ but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, ²⁵ who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. Romans 4

¹⁷ But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And so I ordain in all the churches. ¹⁸ Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised. ¹⁹ Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. ²⁰ Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. 1 Corinthians 7

“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” John 6:29

Stand fast… Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. ² Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. ³ And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. ⁴ You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. ⁵ For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. ⁶ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. Galatians 5:1-6

Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! ³ For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh (and isn’t infant baptism such confidence!), ⁴ though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: ⁵ circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.⁷ But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. ⁸ 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 (skybala – dung), that I may gain Christ ⁹ 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; ¹⁰ that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, ¹¹ if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:2-11

The Covenant of Circumcision

God said to Abraham, this is what He did say
As for you, you shall keep my covenant, this you shall do
You and your descendants, every generation shall obey
All of those in your house who are coming after you

This is My covenant which you shall perform
Between Me and your descendants in every coming year
Every male child, yes everyone bought or born
Shall be circumcised, make sure you get this clear

And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin
It shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you therein

He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised
Every male child in your generations
This is the rite that shall be exercised
And thus you will be holy among the nations

He who is born in your house or one bought for a price
Even if he is a foreigner and not your descendant
Both alike shall be circumcised the command is precise
And on this rite the covenant for you is dependent

Any uncircumcised male child that you have around
That person shall be cut off, on this you must stand your ground

Such a person shall be cut off from the people
He has broken My covenant and must be put away
Pass on this rule, shout it out from the steeple
The rule must not be broken, you shall do as I say

You see, the rite looks forward to the coming One
The Messiah of the world will be born free from sin
I am sending through your line My only begotten Son
To reconcile the world to me for fellowship once again

This rite is a picture of the Incarnation you see
When God will be clothed in robes of humanity

And He will walk among the people to fulfill the law
And in Him will be perfection, there will be no flaw

Jesus our God it all points to You
Every word and picture in the sacred scroll
All praise, honor, and glory – You alone are due
And so we proclaim Your worth with all our heart and soul

Hallelujah and Amen…

Genesis 17:1-8
A Father of Many Nations

Introduction: In the Bible, certain figures are noted, above all, for one or two particular aspects of their demeanor and disposition. Job is the Bible’s best known example of patience in suffering. Solomon is especially noted for his wisdom.

Moses is known for his humility and David for the depth of his emotion and often strong passions and his great heart for God. King Ahab is known for his mixture of weakness and wickedness, Korah for his rebellion, and Aachen for his covetous heart.

The Bible doesn’t sugar-coat the faults of its heroes and it doesn’t hide the evil that men have committed. If you could be remembered in a specific way or for being like one or two people, who or what would you choose? Personally, I’d like to be remembered as a mixture of Abraham and David.

Today, we’re going to continue through the life of Abraham and in the verses ahead, we’ll see where God changes his name from Abram to Abraham in conjunction with the continued unfolding of His promise to the Bible’s great man of faith.

In both Testaments and in many passages, it is faith for which Abraham is noted. Of all of the things God looks for in His wayward creatures, the Bible speaks of those who live by faith as being the epitome of those who please God.

Text Verse: See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—to give to them and their descendants after them. Deuteronomy 1:8

The Israelites wandered in the wilderness until all the disobedient generation had perished. Then, at Mount Horeb they received the final words of instruction from Moses and proceeded into the land promised them so long before.

The Lord has always kept His promises and He continues to do so even our time, and so … May God Speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. A Blameless Walk Before the Lord

¹ 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.

In the past chapters, we’ve seen the promise of God on several occasions that Abram and his descendants would inherit the land of Canaan. The promises came in Chapters 12 and 13 and then in Chapter 14 Abram received Melchizedek’s blessing.

After that, in Genesis 15 the promise was again made to him. When it was, God told him “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

John explains fear for God’s people in his first epistle –

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. ¹⁹ We love Him because He first loved us. 1 John 4:18

Abram is now 99 years old and it has been 13 years since his maidservant Hagar bore him Ishmael. For all he knows, this is the son of promise that he had waited so long for and he is raising him in this fashion and without fear.

But now God appears to him again. Instead of “do not be afraid,” He states that He is Almighty God or El Shaddai. This revelation of Himself is one of existence and performance.

He is the eternally lasting, absolute, all powerful God. His nature is unchangeable and yet He causes change in His creation. In the books of Isaiah and Joel, He is the Destructive power which is transcendent over all things. In Isaiah, we read this –

Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand!
It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
⁷ Therefore all hands will be limp,
Every man’s heart will melt,
⁸ And they will be afraid.
Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them;
They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth;
They will be amazed at one another;
Their faces will be like flames. Isaiah 13:6-8

In the day of the Lord, the workings of God are as “destruction from Shaddai.” There is both judicial and punitive power and performance in the terrifying name. Because of this, holiness is the hallmark of the name.

When man sins, His holy nature is violated. And so because of this act against His nature, He acts accordingly. And yet, at the same time, El Shaddai is also a reconstructive power, building new that which has been laid waste.

He is therefore the God of providence and abundant supply. All of this is tied up in God’s potency. When it is combined with a promise, such as has been given to Abram, it gives man a basis for faith – “If God be for us, who can stand against us.”

Because of His proclamation of being El Shaddai, he says to Abram “walk before Me and be blameless.” Before, He spoke comfort to Abram – “Do not be afraid…” but now He speaks words of admonition and resolute purpose. This is a command, a rule for the guidance of his life, and a direction for conduct.

During that past 13 years, Abram probably considered the promises as being fulfilled in Ishmael. He is now old and has had his child. He believed the promise of God and has rejoiced in it.

He has no reason doubt about any future promises because the past ones have come to pass. It is as if Abram says, “I have Ishmael and I know that God hears and responds. I am content in this.”

Now the Lord tells him to “walk before Me and be blameless” – hit-ha-lech le-pha-nai v’yⁱeh tammin. To walk before the Lord doesn’t mean just taking literal steps; it’s a metaphor for having a completely detailed accounting for every move one makes.

It includes the thoughts, the words which proceed from one’s lips, the very heart and intent of every action. “Before Me” is another metaphor – le-pha-nai – which translated literally would be “before my face.” El Shaddai doesn’t literally have a face.

He is the power and presence of God working through the Holy Spirit. He is omnipresent and so to walk before Him is an axiom. Every move is before Him and so an explanation is given – “and be blameless.”

“Abram, you are to be always perfect before me. For you this is more than just a sincere and yet imperfect walk. You are to be perfect in your heart and in your actions. Be sincere in both through the upright and holy in the conduct of your life.”

Righteousness was credited to Abram for his faith when the covenant was established and now a blameless walk before God is needed for the continuation and confirmation of the covenant.

At my house is a bee-hive. When we take out the forms where the honey is stored and we have a process we go through to separate the honey from the comb, but there is always a bit of wax floating around in the honey and it will affect the purity if it isn’t removed.

The word “sincere” is believed to have come from two Latin words – sine and cera – “without wax.” To perfectly purify the honey, we take a pair of pantyhose, which have the finest mesh possible, and we pour the honey through it.

The wax we couldn’t even see before this process began accumulates into a pile in the middle of the funnel and what is left is completely pure and without wax. It is sincere. This is the state that Abram is being called to.

I can assure you that along with Abram, the Lord asks each of us to be likewise holy and upright. This isn’t just an arbitrary truth because we have a little angel on our shoulder watching us, but because we – as Christians – bear the name of Jesus Christ.

When we fail to walk in a manner which is holy, then others see and perceive this as well. Abram walked among the Canaanites and Amorites and they could see his conduct and make judgments about God based on his actions. We too walk in the land of the Philistines and live among the pagan people of the world.

Their perception of our God and our Lord is derived from watching each of us. Do we serve a God who doesn’t see? Our words and our actions often don’t square up and therefore we’re termed “hypocritical” by those who watch us.

And of course, there is always the person who would say this simply because they do see upright living and know they should live that way too. But normally it is our failings that others see and make their value judgments against. And so the Lord would ask each of us to walk before Him and be blameless.

Jesus said the same to His disciples in Matthew 5 – “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

And Peter, in both of his epistles reminds us of the same – “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; ¹⁴ as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; ¹⁵ but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:13-16

Yes, fellow Christian, walk before the Lord and be blameless.

² And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”

A command followed by a promise – “I will make My covenant between Me and you.” Despite what most scholars on the subject say, I’m in complete disagreement about the birth of Ishmael from the union with Hagar. Here is John Wesley’s thought on it –

“Full thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael. So long the promise of Isaac was deferred; Perhaps to correct Abram’s over – hasty marrying of Hagar.”

A promise was made and appeared to be fulfilled in Ishmael. Even what the Lord said to Hagar seemed to reflect it – “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” This is very similar to what is said to Abram now.

When Hagar returned from running away, she would have told him this and it certainly would have seemed to him that Ishmael would be the fulfillment of the promise.

But now he’s told that the covenant would be established. Hearing this, Abram must have even been a bit confused. The promise was given and the covenant was made even before the birth of Ishmael. He must have questioned why it needed to be established when the boy was already born and 13 years old.

It would be like saying to your son, “I’m going to make your birthday great. It will be the best day of your life.” And so you take him out and give him a wonderful day full of fun and gifts. As you’re heading home he’s happy and content with what he has.

It’s late in the afternoon, but you say again, “I’m going to fulfill my promise to you. I’m going to make your birthday great. It’ll be the best day of your life.” He may wonder what you’re talking about. He thinks he’s already been given that. But as you walk through the door, there is a surprise party waiting, keys to a Maserati, and you flew in his girlfriend who’s been off at college.

Abram’s surprise party is coming and God won’t disappoint when He gives it. Today we will look at the set up for the party, but only next week will we be given the details. The promise of a seed comes forward again as the prominent benefit of the covenant.

II. A Father of Many Nations

³ Then Abram fell on his face,…

This is the middle-eastern method of prostration used by many people even day. A person goes to their knees. After this, they lower their head to their knees, and then they touch the earth with their forehead. It’s not a very comfortable posture, but is signifies great humiliation and reverence.

Abram fell on his face in reverence of the majesty of God and in acknowledgment of his unworthiness at the visit and the promise. He was probably completely overwhelmed because all along he had figured that Ishmael was the fulfillment of the promise, but now he’s being told there is more than he realized.

^3(con’t) and God talked with him, saying: ⁴ “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.”

There are two parties in the covenant. God is the first party and says, “As for Me…” “As for Me, My covenant is with you.” The Lord is making a guarantee based on His spoken word to Abram. If you remember, back in Genesis 12, God made this promise –

“I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

God is now giving Him both a restatement of the promise and a refinement of it as well. The term “nations” is normally used when speaking not of the chosen people, but of the other branches of humanity. He is told that he will be the “father of many nations” and it will be fulfilled in an amazing and unsuspected way – both physically and spiritually.

His literal, physical descendants will come from both Ishmael and the son Isaac who is yet to come, but he will also be the spiritual father of people from every nation group on earth. And Paul explains that this is finally realized in what Jesus did –

Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all ¹⁷ (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; Romans 4:16, 17

⁵ No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.

In verse four, the Lord said, “You shall be the father of many nations.” Now, one verse later, He says, “I have made you the father of many nations.” The change from the future to the present tense came about by a single definitive act – renaming Abram to Abraham.

The giving of this name is a tangible pledge of the fulfillment of the covenant He has spoken. Any name which the Lord gives cannot be merely the sounds of the letters as they’re spoken, but they must be the very expression of something which is actual and tangible or that will be fulfilled in such a way.

The Lord has personally named him, signifying both His authority over him and His completion of the promise in one great act. Any doubts or anxieties about how things would transpire have certainly melted away from Abraham’s thoughts. He has received an inheritance that is as certain as the ground under his feet.

The Lord makes promises and He keeps promises. The Bible is the written testament of those promises and each will be fulfilled exactly as they have been recorded. In a similar mark of surety to each one of us, God has also given every person who has been saved by the blood of Christ a new name as well.

This is recorded in Revelation chapter 2 – “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” Revelation 2:17

Although we haven’t been told what our new name is, it is already recorded and engraved in stone if we have accepted Jesus as Lord. For those who haven’t, other promises have been made as well and they will be fulfilled, just as the Lord has spoken them.

It is better, by far, to receive the promises which come through accepting Jesus than their alternative, so make sure of your own salvation before this day goes by.

⁶ I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.

The promise of being exceedingly fruitful seems to be redundancy, but what I think is being relayed is a promise of actual children. He had Ishmael and now realizes that Ishmael isn’t the only child to come, but with this verse is the promise of many children.

In addition to Ishmael and Isaac, we’ll see in Chapter 25 that Abraham will have many more children in the days to come –

Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah. ² And she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. ³ Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. ⁴ And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. ⁵ And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. ⁶ But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had; and while he was still living he sent them eastward, away from Isaac his son, to the country of the east.

From his wife Keturah, he would have six sons. He also had sons from his concubines as well and he probably had many daughters. These became even more nations, all with their own kings, just as he was promised. In all, Abraham was exceedingly fruitful.

This verse then is a physical fulfillment – an earthly, temporal blessing. The next verse will include the spiritual fulfillment – a heavenly and eternal blessing.

⁷ 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.

The covenant is established and it is what is termed in Hebrew “berit olam” an everlasting covenant. It will never fade away, it will never lessen or diminish, it will never fail. The Lord dealt with Adam, the Lord dealt with Noah, and the Lord is now dealing with Abraham. He will be his God and also of his descendants to come.

Matthew Henry’s commentary on this verse is so exact in its analysis that I’d like to quote it for you. He says this covenant is “Not to be altered or revoked; not with thee only, then it would die with thee but with thy seed after thee; and it is not only thy seed after the flesh, but thy spiritual seed. It is everlasting in the evangelical meaning of it. The covenant of grace is everlasting; it is from everlasting in the counsels of it, and to everlasting in the consequences of it; and the external administration of it is transmitted, with the seal of it, to the seed of believers, and the internal administration of it by the Spirit to Christ’s seed in every age. This is a covenant of exceeding great and precious promises. Here are two which indeed are all-sufficient, that God would be their God. All the privileges of the covenant, all its joys, and all its hopes, are summed up in this. A man needs desire no more than this to make him happy. What God is himself, that he will be to his people: wisdom to guide and counsel them, power to protect and support them, goodness to supply and comfort them; what faithful worshippers can expect from the God they serve, believers shall find in God as theirs. This is enough, yet not all.”

III. The Land Promise

We have one more verse to look at today. It is a promise which is misunderstood, misapplied, mishandled, and generally mistaken. All of the words which the Lord has spoken to Abraham have their own circumstances and their own ultimate fulfillment. Each thought needs to be looked at in the context of the rest of Scripture.

Oftentimes misapplications are made simply because God is still in the process of working things out in human history. They’re also made when people knowingly or unknowingly attempt to insert themselves into promises to which they aren’t entitled.

Sometimes, people knowingly twist things in order to personally benefit from others who aren’t willing to check things out for themselves. Understanding the promises of God and how they find their fulfillment can be confusing and even tedious, but when the true intent of a verse is known, it must be applied as God intends.

This is the case with verse 8 of chapter 17. Regardless of what has been said or believed, a careful and thoughtful acceptance of the truth of this verse must be made, regardless of our personal biases, likes, or dislikes. Stand back and accept God’s decisions as given.

⁸ 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.

This is a land promise and it is speaking specifically about the land in which he is standing and which is known today as Israel. There is no spiritual application here.

We can know this, one hundred percent because in this verse it’s called the land of Canaan. This is the name of the physical land, the same land where Jesus walked and taught. It is given to the physical descendants of Abraham, not to the church or anyone else.

The promise is made by God, the Creator of the Land and the Sovereign Lord over the nations. Therefore, there should be no dispute over whose land it is. He has spoken and ended the discussion. Oh, but dispute we do.

In order to understand whose land it is today, we can’t stop with this verse or we will have a rather large mess on our hands. How many people around the world trace their lineage back to Abraham? Billions is the answer.

So why aren’t all of them included in the promise? The answer is because the promise is restated to only one of his sons – Isaac. Therefore only those who are physical descendants of Isaac are included in the promise. Here is what Genesis 26 says –

² Then the Lord appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. ³ Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. ⁴ And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; ⁵ because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

After Isaac, the promise was again passed down to only one son, Jacob, who is Israel. This was in Genesis chapter 28 –

Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. ¹¹ So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. ¹² Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. ¹³ And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. ¹⁴ Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. ¹⁵ Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”

I quoted these verses when Abram was first given his promise in Chapter 12, but now the land promise is restated to Abraham. In order to avoid the confusion and misrepresentation of countless people who have gone before, and who exist today, these verses need to be restated and analyzed many times.

Our heads are thick and sometimes the only way to get something ingrained in them is to hear the same thing many times. The Promised Land, the Land of Canaan which is today the Land of Israel, has the same owner as it did in the past – God. And He has chosen to give it to one group of people – Israel.

When we fight against this, we are only bringing God’s wrath down on ourselves. In fact, the judgment of the nations is coming, probably soon, because of the world’s robbery of this very land from its rightful inheritors –

For behold, in those days and at that time,
When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,
² I will also gather all nations,
And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
And I will enter into judgment with them there
On account of My people, My heritage Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations;
They have also divided up My land. Joel 3:1-2

The captives have been brought back and the nations are working to divide God’s land. And judgment is the only end the world will face because of it. Anyone in the church who doesn’t understand this, or who disagrees with it, needs to spend more time studying their Bible and less time listening to bad theology.

Regardless of whether you like the Jewish people or not, God has planted them in Israel and planted they will stay. We are promised this in the very last words of the book of Amos –

I will plant them in their land,
And no longer shall they be pulled up
From the land I have given them,”
Says the Lord your God. Amos 9:15

Let us remember to pray for Israel – the land and the people – and to pray for God to deliver them from their enemies, both within the church and in the world at large.

Yes, God has been faithful to His unfaithful people and He will be faithful to you as well. Earlier we read that God told Abraham to walk before Him and be blameless. We’re admonished to do the same. God directs all people to be perfect, even as He is perfect.

But there’s a problem in our lives and it’s called sin. Let’s take a moment and see how that problem has separated us from God and yet how we still have the opportunity to make things right and be perfect in the sight of God.

A Father of Many Nations

When Abram was an old man of ninety-nine
The Lord appeared to him and there He said
“I am Almighty God the Creator divine
“I am the one whom Melchizedek blessed over wine and bread

Walk before Me and be blameless
And I will make My covenant between Me and you
I will multiply you exceedingly
This is the thing that I will do

Then Abram fell down upon his face
And God talked with him as he lay prostrate
As for Me, behold my covenant is with you
These words to you I once again restate

You shall be the father of many nations
And you will be remembered for all generations

No longer shall your name be called Abram
But now Abraham shall be your name
For I have made you a father of many nations
You will be great, a man of everlasting fame

I will make you exceedingly fruitful
And I will make nations of you as well
Kings shall come from you by the bowlful
From you, the nations of the earth will swell

I will establish my covenant between me and you
And your descendant in their generations
For an everlasting covenant, one you know is true
To be your God and theirs… eternal expectations

Also I give to you and your descendants after you
The land in which you are a stranger
All the land of Canaan, a promise I will attend to
It will never fail, of this there is no danger

It is an everlasting possession and I will be their God
It is given to Israel, it is their land on which to trod

Let us thank the Lord for His faithfulness
For He keeps every promise He has made
We have the surety of a heavenly promise
Because of Jesus, for our sins He bestowed His righteousness, a wonderful trade

Hallelujah and Amen…