GENESIS: THE BOOK OF BEGINNINGS
Rev. Richard A. Bolland
Unit 10: The Tower of Babel
I. BABYLON BECOMES THE SOURCE OF POST-FLOOD PAGANISM.
A. Under the leadership of the Hamites in general and Nimrod in particular, Babylon becomes the seat of paganism in the New World.
1. Cush was Ham's oldest son who, in turn, had a son named Nimrod. (10:8-9)
a. The name "Nimrod" means, "Let us rebel".
b. Perhaps Nimrod was trained from early on that the curse of Ham would not stand and that by personal force of will, it would be reversed.
2. It appears from the Scriptures that Nimrod and his people settled in the Tigris-Euphrates valley and stayed their even after the dispersion following God's judgment on Babel.
3. The rebellion was directed against the judgment of God and therefore, against the will of God.
B. From Babylon there is abundant evidence that all forms of paganism have come originally from the ancient people of that area.
1. Romans 1:18-32 graphically describes the resulting moral and spiritual deterioration whenever the creation is exalted above the Creator which is precisely what occurred in Babylon under Nimrod's leadership.
a. The essential identity of the various "gods" and "goddesses of Rome, Greece, India, Egypt, and other nations with the original pantheon of the Babylonians is well established.
b. Nimrod apparently later deified himself as the chief of the Babylonian gods as "Marduk".
2. These pagan deities were also identified with the stars and planets -- the "host of heaven" -- With sun worshipping occupying a central place.
a. It was these ancient Babylonians who systematized the gods by formalizing their identity with the Zodiac.
b. Use of the Zodiac is a remarkable construction which seems to have been the common possession of all the nations of antiquity subsequent to these ancient Babylonians.
c. To this very day, the use of the Zodiac is an act of rebellion against God ands attempts to remove from God's control the events of humanity...It is not actually the stars that "control" events, but the gods behind the stars!
d. Behind all these "gods" and the images made to represent them, (...men and birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things....") (Rom. 1), lurks the real force and his demons whose work was destroy every possible link that humanity might have with God --Satan himself...Deception is always the tool of the Devil.
e. Satan is always a corrupter rather than an innovator and hence, it is the very creation of God that naturally bears witness of the Creator, which is abused, twisted, and corrupted to point not to the Creator, but to the creation itself.
f. Interestingly, today those who are self-described advocates of Satan till use the ancient names of the Babylonian gods in their "worship".
II. THE IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE IN UNIFYING PEOPLE.
A. Of course, the immediate descendants of Noah all spoke the same language.
1. It is quite possible that this antediluvian language was a Semitic language, (perhaps even Hebrew), since the proper names of men and places in the pre-Babel period all have meanings only in Hebrew and its cognate languages.
2. The Hebrew in 11:1 is more literally translated, "...of one lip and one set of words."
3 It is likely that the Shemites did not participate in Nimrod's rebellion and therefore continued to speak the antediluvian tongue following the Babel Diaspora.
B. After moving from the barren area surrounding Mt. Ararat to the fertile valley between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, the flood survivors settled down.
1. Once the population grew to the point where not all their attention had to be given to the production of food, it became possible to coalesce into an urban community.
2. Here, the community faced a crossroads of decision:
a. They could colonize and develop, in a systematic way, all the parts of the earth, each with its own local government, in accord with God's stated will, (Gen. 1:28 and Gen. 9:1), OR
b. They could establish a strongly centralized society which, with controls over resources and occupations, would soon be able to produce a self-sufficient civilization capable of similarly controlling the entire world. (The first "Big Brother" government.)
3. Since Nimrod had risen to power, "Plan B" clearly suited his goals of personal power mongering.
C. A decision is made to build with bricks and mortal rather than stone.
1. This was a superior method of constructing long-lasting structures than the sun-dried bricks that were easier to make.
a Stone with clay mortar was also less durable and were later employed in Assyria and Egypt.
b. Heat treated in a kiln, these Babylonian bricks were intended to enable buildings to last a very long time.
c. The tar employed for mortal was easily found in the asphalt pits that were and are still common in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley.
2. The planning and development of this permanent settlement was in direct contradiction with the divine directive to colonize the earth and was an act of rebellion led by Nimrod the rebel.
III. THE DECISION TO BUILD THE TOWER.
A. In verse four of chapter 11, we see the clear motive behind the construction of the tower and the city that was to have the tower as its central focus both architecturally and culturally.
1. Clearly, they were not building to glorify God, but themselves.
a. "Come, let us build ourselves a city..."
b. "...that we may make a name for ourselves..."
c. "...an not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."
2. The problem wasn't the tower, it was the attitude behind the tower!
B. God deals with the pride and ego of the Babylonians.
1. Once again God sees that humanity is at risk of self-destruction as it was prior to the Flood and so in compassion, God directly intervenes in the situation.
a. He does this not because He is merely angry, but because He knows what will happen if He does not take action.
b. God is clearly desperate in His desire not to exercise world-wide destruction again.
2. The tower is currently under construction during the Lord's "visit".
a. His "coming down" does not indicate that God was not fully aware of the actions of His creatures, it simply indicates that He is coming in a judicial capacity to act.
b. God is preventing His revelation from becoming completely obliterated by the in-grown pride of humanity.
3. It's not that unity is bad per se, but that it is what the people were unified in that was the problem.
a. They were unified in their rebellion.
b. It is the same rebellion that led to the Flood and unless the intervention of God were to occur, the result would be the same as well.
IV. THE LORD'S SOLUTION TO THE REBELLIOUS UNITY OF MAN.
A. If mankind would not do has had been specifically directed -- To occupy all the lands of the earth and fill them -- then God would do it for them.
1. The basis of all ability to communicate is language.
a. Can you see the irony here?
b. All the human scheming and planning to become great was totally dependent on human communication, so that ability itself was destroyed.
2. Language divides people for our benefit, not as a sign that we are being punished.
a. Many today push the idea of a one world government and the rationale for this idea sounds strangely like that used by Nimrod to defy the will of God.
b. If we were one people, then:
1.) We would be better managers of our resources.
2.) We could more equitably distribute our resources.
3.) We could be at peace and have no more wars.
4.) Just think what we could accomplish!
5.) We could finally build the ultimate utopian society.
c. To this day, the division of languages continues to protect us from this kind of foolish thinking.
d. There is NO benefit to a secular humanist, one world government, and you can be absolutely certain that such centralization would only lead to the despotic rule of some modern day Nimrod.
B. The people with similar languages gather together into groups and depart to be with those who can communicate them.
1. At once, it made no sense to be located in the same area with people who could not communicate with one another.
a. Geographic relocation became an immediate...not a gradual concern.
b. It did not take the people millions of years to move from one part of the world to another.
1.) Any one who has ever been in the military can vouch for the fact that large bodies of people can move quickly over great distances.
2.) Remember Genghis Khan, whose Mongol hoard moved hundreds of thousands of men, women and children from the mountains of Mongolia to Europe in a matter of 15 years
3.) Recall the Gold Rush to California in 1850-1852 when literally thousands to move huge distances in short periods of time.
4.) The only need for such migrations to occur is motivation to do so and God had provided that.
c. There is also the distinct possibility that the people of Babel understood that this was the judgment of God on their disobedience and that now was the time to comply with the Lord's command... They did remember the Flood!
C. This is the beginning of races, different cultures and nations.
1. Once again, we need to look at today through the eyes of God's actions in the past if we are to comprehend the spiritual nature of our current status.
a. Varying nations, tribes, languages and cultures are a form of God's divine protection against the certain disaster of united human pride.
b. We are one human race, yet we are many peoples...Our diversity does not destroy our unity under God.
2 Just as it is so with any gift from God, our differences can be seen as the blessing they are and celebrated, OR they can be abused and serve sinful man's desire to feel superior to God and others.
a. This is the heart of racism in our day and every other day.
b. We must see through the eyes of God to appreciate what we have been made to be!
GENESIS: THE BOOK OF BEGINNINGS
Rev. Richard A. Bolland
Unit # 11: The Call of Abram & God's Covenant With Abram
I. FROM THE SHEMITE LINE OF NOAH, THE FATHER OF ISRAEL IS BORN.
A. Shem...Arphaxad...Shelah...Eber...Peleg...Reu...Serug...Nahor...Terah...Abram.
1. Note: Not every son and daughter is listed in the genealogy.
2. The purpose is not to be complete, but to trace the Seed of Promise.
B. The four epoch's of Abram's/Abraham's life: (Each epoch is begun by a divine revelation from God that is sufficient to constitute a distinct period of Abraham's life.
1. Chapters 12 - 14, begins with Abram's call and removal to Canaan.
2. Chapters 15 - 16, brings the promise of a lineal heir and the conclusion of the covenant.
3. Chapters 17 - 21, the covenant is firmly established and Abram receives a new name, Abraham; additionally, the covenant receives a sign - circumcision.
4. Chapters 22 - 25, Abraham is tempted to attest and perfect his life of faith.
II. THE CALL OF ABRAM. (Genesis 12:1-3)
A. God's calls are rarely easy to follow.
1. You can bet they will be inconvenient, uncomfortable and more than just a bit scary.
a. The call of Isaiah. (Isaiah 6:1-13)
b. The call of Jonah. (Jonah 1:1-2:10)
c. The call of Moses. (Exodus 3:1-22)
2. Even today, a call requires people to set outside of their comfort zone.
B. For Abram too, the call from God created uncertainty if not fear.
1. The call to Abram was to leave the security of his own family.
a. In this culture, family was virtually tantamount to community.
b. The family was the source of economic security and physical security
2. Abram was called to travel to an unknown land to a people already known for their wickedness...a land settled by the people of the cursed son of Ham.
C. But at the same time as God's call was issued to Abram with all its fears and uncertainty, he also receives a wonderful promise.
1. Through Abram, God would establish a great nation.
2. Through that nation, all other nations would be blessed.
3. God also promised protection to Abram and his family.
III. ABRAM OBEYS GOD AND DEPARTS FOR CANAAN. (Gen. 12:4-6)
A. At the age of 75, (Abram would live another 100 years), and Sarai, (65 yrs.), Abram seems to promptly obey the Lord.
1. Obviously, it took some time to gather up all the people comprising Abram's household and their belongings, but there seems no hesitation or discussion about what is going to be done.
2. The number of the company is certainly not clear, but it is safe to assume that Abram was a reasonably wealthy man, which meant that there were a number of servants, family members, (immediate and extended), lots of livestock and plenty of weapons, food and possessions to bring along.
3. The inclusion of Lot in the listing does not indicate that other family members did not travel with Abram to Canaan, but reflects the future importance of Lot in what is to follow.
B. The journey to Canaan was a long and dangerous one.
1. The distance between Ur and Canaan was about 400 miles.
2. This truly was a journey of faith. (Hebrews 11:8-10)
a. There was not Chamber of Commerce to send information.
b. There was not TV coverage on a National Geographic Special which would provide any information about the place where they were going.
c. There was only the negative stories about the wickedness of the Canaanites and the usual ethnocentristic bias towards anyone other than one's own people and area.
d. Without a doubt, Abram's neighbors probably thought he was "nuts".
e. Bandits were a normal fixture along the trails of that era and so a large, well armed, well manned travel party was essential.
C. We are simply told that Abram "...arrived there."
1. It is significant to note that this party of divinely led vagabonds traveled to the center of Canaan and immediately constructed an altar with which to worship God.
a. Please note: Worship has always been the response of God's people to God and has been marked by structures and rituals of worship.
b. To this very day our worship is both attached to structures and to ritual.
c. A good deal of our present worship still reflects, and sometimes directly imitates, Jewish worship, which our Lord NEVER criticized and in which He ALWAYS participated.
2. The altar at Shechem was the first of many altars Abram constructed at places which marked special spiritual experiences and blessings from God.
a. Here, we are told that the Lord appeared to Abram.
b. This is the first time in the Scriptures where an actual appearance of God is recorded as such.
c. There may have been appearances to Adam and Eve when they walked in the Garden with God, or to Noah, but this is the first specific occurrence in which the Scriptures declare that he was visible.
d. As the account continues, we find that the Lord appears to Abram/Abraham several times, which most theologians interpret to mean that this is a manifestation of the pre-incarnate Christ.
D. Abram continues to travel south.
1. This is truly a journey of faith which foreshadows the wanderings of the children of Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land.
a. As was in the case of the Exodus, the time of possession was not yet right and therefore, Abram was forced to live in a nomadic lifestyle moving from place to place to find pasture for his animals and where the local residents were not too numerous.
b. Daily the Lord guided them and provided for them, but each day was another step of faith in which their dependence on God was more clearly seen.
2. Is that not the way of life today?
a. Are we not all on a journey whose particulars are not known.
b. That try as we might to be "in control" of all of life's uncertainties that we do not know what will happen tomorrow?
c. Like Abram, do we not need to learn our dependence on the Lord that no matter what transpires, He will be there to guide, comfort, protect and save us?
d. Is it not true that we learn best about our dependence on the Lord from times of uncertainty and trial? Maybe God knows that we are slow learners?
3. Abram travels to the Negev after journeying the whole length of the land of Canaan.
a. Negev, in Hebrew means simply, "south" and is the area that separates the Land of Canaan from the land of Egypt.
b. This is and was a harsh, desert land and probably not the best place to live a nomadic lifestyle dependent on grazing livestock!
E. A famine develops in Canaan and Abram moves south to Egypt.
1. Here we begin to see the human nature of Abram.
a. It was fine to depend on God when his daily needs were plentifully supplied, but now the Promised Land was not producing.
b. Nowhere in the account is there ever a word from the Lord that reneged on His command to go to Canaan and inherit the land.
c. Although the account doesn't say so, it is entirely possible that, like Moses in the wilderness with his crowd of "grumblers", quite possibly Abram's wife and relatives were giving him the "dickens" about this who experience...Can you hear them:
1.) "Abram, we were just fine living a good life in Ur and now you've brought us down to this God-forsaken land that can't produce enough grass to feed the sheep, let alone us!"
2.) "Come on, Abram! Let's get out of here and go to Egypt where there's enough food and the people might be friendlier."
3.) "Let's think this through theologically, Abram. If God promised you a land of plenty and this is a land of famine, you must have misunderstood which land God meant so God must have meant for us to have Egypt."
2. In what similar ways do we attempt to rationalize our way out of doing God's will in our lives?
3. In what ways do we "bail-out" on God when things get tough?
IV. ABRAM IN EGYPT. (Gen. 12:11-19)
A. Abram's hair-brained scheme regarding Sarai, his wife.
1. Abram is fearful of the possible actions of the Egyptians toward his beautiful wife, Sarai.
a. The Egyptians, like the Canaanites, were descendants of Ham and were also polytheistic, cruel, and immoral in many ways.
b. Perhaps Abram notices the admiring eyes of the locals as he was entering Egypt and he grew fearful that it was not beyond such people to commit murder in order to have his wife.
2. Again a very real concern leads to a lack of trust in God protection, which had been promised to Abram in Ur, and leads to some logical rationalization on his part:
a. Surely, Abram had some good intentions about this decision to call his wife his "sister.", after all, she was his half-sister. (Gen. 20:12)
1.) Remember that close blood marriages were not forbidden at this time by the Lord.
2.) Such marriages were common and often necessary for many generations after the Flood.
b. Certainly, he was concerned about Sarai's safety as well as his own.
1.) If he were killed and Sarai taken, in what perverse situation could she find herself?
2.) She could become a slave and be defiled in terrible ways.
3.) Sarai, it seems, saw the "wisdom" of this reasoning and goes along with it since it seems to make the best of a bad situation.
c. Please note that there was undoubtedly some second-guessing about going to Egypt going on by this point.
B. God moves to provide some amazing protection for Abram and Sarai and works with their poor decision.
1. Sarai's beauty is reported to Pharaoh himself and she is taken into the palace, but is not yet married to Pharaoh.
a. Frequently, kings and pharaoh's would increase the size of their harem's and get around to marrying some of them later on.
b. It was a blessing from the Lord that Pharaoh did not engage in sexual relations with Sarai, nor marry here during her stay in the court of Pharaoh.
2. At first, Abram's compromise with the truth seems to work out very well.
a. Sarai is in a place of uncertainty, but also one of safety.
b. Because of Sarai, Pharaoh treats Abram exceptionally well and showers him with great wealth. (12:16)
3. How often does a compromise with morality seem to pay benefits at first?
a. Is it true that sometimes evil actions bring earthly rewards?
b. Is it also true that evil actions, without repentance, also end up as total disasters before the judgment seat of God?
C. God afflicts Pharaoh's household with disease because of Sarai.
1. We are not told exactly how Pharaoh became aware of Sarai's actual status as the wife of Abram.
a. Perhaps he did make a sexual overture to Sarai, who was then forced to tell the truth about the situation.
b. Perhaps God revealed the truth to Pharaoh Himself in some way.
c. Maybe some of Abram's family couldn't keep their mouth shut and the word got back to Pharaoh.
2. Pharaoh's household, (immediate and extended family, servants, slaves and hanger's on), did not only experience disease, but serious disease.
a. We are not told of the specific nature of these diseases.
b. Egyptians always associated the coming of famine or disease as a sign that some action on the part of the people or its leaders was bringing a judgment by the "gods" of Egypt on them.
3. Abram is exposed as a liar and expelled from Egypt.
a. Even in his anger, Pharaoh is kind in that while he expels Abram and his family, he permits them to retain all that they had when they arrived and all that Pharaoh had given them during their stay.
b. Abram leaves Egypt a much more wealthy man than when he had arrived.
D. Aren't you glad that God works with our bad, even sinful decisions and yet still demonstrates that He loves us and cares for us?
1. How many sinful decisions or just bad decisions have we made for which we have not only received forgiveness, but also have been blessed anyway?
2. God is constantly working with us to guide us into living His way and yet forgiving us and continuing to bless us when we walk away from His will and return to Him in repentance and faith.
GENESIS: THE BOOK OF BEGINNINGS
Rev. Richard A. Bolland
Unit # 12: Abram Rescues Lot, Is Visited By Melchizedek, Establishes the Tithe as a Measure of Thanksgiving and Restates the Covenant With Abram and His Descendants. (Gen. 13-15)
I. AFTER ABRAM'S EXPELLING FROM EGYPT, HE TRAVELS BACK TO CANAAN. (Gen. 13:1-4)
A. The fiasco in Egypt brings both shame and wealth to Abram and Lot.
1. Abram is exposed as a liar before Pharaoh, but is permitted to keep his great wealth.
2. Lot, likewise, has prospered during their brief stay in Egypt.
B. Now with all their possessions, the entire company moves back to Canaan
1. Back through the Negev to Bethel back to the altar he had first constructed on his original arrival in Canaan.
a. In essence, Abram's saying to God, "Let's go back to square one and start over."
b. How many times in our own lives have we found such a pilgrimage to God necessary? How many times do we need to go back to square one?
2. Never again does Abram leave the Promised Land for the rest of his life.
a. What does this say about the nature of true repentance?
b. In our own lives, what iron clad commitments to new living need to be made?
II. ALMOST IMMEDIATELY THERE ARISES A PROBLEM WITH LOT.
A. Both Abram and Lot had become men of means.
1. Now there was a constant clash between the two men over "grazing rights" for all their livestock.
a. It is possible that our blessings can become our problems?
b. Can you think of modern day counterparts to this kind of dilemma?
2. What kind of witness was this on-going quarreling having on their unbelieving neighbors?
a. Remember the great controversy in the LCMS during the early to mid 70's?
b. That controversy had been named the religious news event of the year by the news media...What message were we giving to our unbelieving neighbors?
c. When local congregations have internal "wars" what happens to their witness to the community? When a split in a church happens, is it always bad? When? When not?
B. Abram and Lot agree to separate and go their separate ways.
1. Abram takes the lead in working out a solution to this on-going problem.
a. He offers to take any land that Lot doesn't want.
b. So Lot looks to the well irrigated and fertile plain of the Jordan River and selects the best for himself.
c. Those who reflect the Lord, look to the interests of others, not self.
2. The climate of this region was quite different than it is today, perhaps because of the great Ice Age that immediately occurred after the Flood and the corresponding cooling of the polar regions.
a. The valley of the Jordan River was well watered with regular rains and was also well forested at the time.
b. Additionally, there were five great cities with all the excitement that goes with them that may also have appealed to Lot.
3. What wisdom is being exercised by Lot when he knowingly chooses to live in a land peopled by a population noted for its great wickedness.
a. Are not the same kind of decisions made today? Can you think of some examples?
b. Do we not make the same decisions when we enroll children in schools that we know are drug infested, and violent with substandard academic standards where we know that any basis for moral instructions are done from a secular humanist point of view?
C. God restates His promise to Abram. (Gen. 13:14-17)
1. It's not that God didn't mean what He said before, it just that we tend to forget the promises of God as time passes and we need to be reassured that they are still valid for us now.
2. God graciously accommodates our human frailty and doubting by continually underscoring His promises to us.
a. Can you think of modern day counterparts by which the Lord still accommodates human "forgetfulness"?
b. One of the roles of having God's Word in writing is to provide us with assurance of promises already made to us...God did not give us the Scriptures for His sake, but for ours.
III. LOT BECOMES A PRISONER OF THE WARS BETWEEN THE LOCAL KINGS AND ABRAM MUST RESCUE HIM. (Gen. 14:1-16)
A. The events of Abram's life do not happen in a political vacuum and after a period of relative peace and prosperity, war breaks out.
1. A consortium of allied kings from the northeast, (Babylonia, Persia and north- eastern Babylonia), sweep down into Canaan and destroy everything in their path.
2. These kingdoms are basically more like city-states, not the massive nations that we now think of, but the devastation they brought was impressive enough to be authenticated by current archaeological finds:
"Centuries earlier, another civilization of high achievement had flourished between the 21st and 19th centuries B.C., till it was savagely liquidated by the kings of the east. According to Biblical statements, which have been borne out by archeological evidence, they gutted every city and village at the end of that period from Ashtaroth-Karnaim in southern Syria through all of Trans-Jordan and the Negev to Kadesh-Barnea in Sinai."-- Dr. Nelson Glueck, the leading Palestinian archaeologist of modern times.
3. These kings had invaded the territory earlier and for 13 years had demanded tribute until the kings of the area rebelled against them.
B. Apparently this was not a successful rebellion as the forces from the northeast, (led by King Kedorlaomer), defeated the rebellious kings of the area.
1. In destroying the rebellion, Abram's nephew, Lot, his family and all his goods were captured by the invading army and taken captive back toward the lands of the northeast.
2. When Abram heard of this tragedy, he mobilized his forces, (about 318 trained men, (14:14), and pursued victorious armies to the north.
3. Undoubtedly, the forces mustered by Abram were seemingly hopelessly out numbered by the victorious armies they were intending to attack.
a. First, Abram knew that God was with them.
b. Second, undoubtedly, there was no expectations by the forces of Kedorlaomer that they were going to be attacked by anybody since they had totally destroyed the forces of the Trans-Jordan.
c. Of the destruction brought by these forces Dr. Nelson Glueck writes:
"The rebellion of the small kings of the cities on the east side of the Dead Sea against what must have been the extortionate rule of the absentee suzerains was brutally crushed. This comparatively minor insurrection was thereupon utilized as a pretext to settle old scores and to raid and ravage with unleashed ferocity for as much booty as could possibly be won. An old order was crumbling. From southern Syria to central Sinai, their fury raged. A punitive expedition developed into a orgy of annihilation. I found that every village in their path had been plundered and left in ruins, and the countryside laid waste. The population had been wiped out or led away into captivity. For hundreds of years thereafter, the entire area was like an abandoned cemetery, hideously unkempt, with all monuments shattered and strewn in pieces on the ground." Nelson Glueck, Rivers in the Desert, (New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Cudahy, 1959), p. 11.
d. With their guard down, it was possible that the forces of Abram could mount a surprise, nighttime attack that could have been quite successful, but the protection of the Lord undoubtedly delivered this conquering army into his hand.
e. After all, this is the God who also delivered an army of 135,000 Midianites into the hands of Gideon who had all of 300 men.
IV. MELCHIZEDEK COMES TO ABRAM. (Gen. 14:17-24)
A. Upon Abram's return, the king of Sodom comes to meet him, but suddenly we are introduced to a man named Melchizedek who is described as the king of Salem, (short hand for Jerusalem).
1. Keep in mind that there was no godly worship going on in Canaan except by Abram and Lot's people.
2. Consider the following biblical evidence regarding this mysterious visitor:
a. The name "Melchizedek" means "The Lord our righteousness".
b. He acknowledges that Abram's God is the one who has delivered the enemy into his hand.
c. From Hebrews 7, we are told about this visit in greater detail:
"This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his names means "king of righteousness"; then also "king of Salem" means "king of peace". Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains priest forever."
B. Theologians have long concluded that this Melchizedek was, in fact, the pre- incarnate Christ...Abram was visited by Jesus!
1. Hebrew 7 goes on to say that even Abraham rendered homage to Melchizedek by giving him a tenth of everything.
2. This is the beginning of tithing and it comes because a tenth of one's belongings was the tribute due a king.
3. Tithing greatly predates the ceremonial law of the Jews, and it has never been rescinded by Christ in the New Testament.
C. Now the vastly less significant king of Sodom comes demanding his share of the booty from Abram's conquest.
1. Even the king of this evil city knew that their rescue was entirely due to Abram and his men makes what must be seen as a very generous offer...Abram may keep everything but the people who had been captured by Kedorlaomer.
2. But Abram surprises the Sodomite king by refusing to keep any of the spoils!
a. Apparently, Abram understood that the victory was not due to him but to God and His power.
b. Perhaps Abram had also learned a great lesson from his stay in Egypt about receiving wealth from pagan rulers.
V. GOD CEMENTS HIS COVENANT WITH ABRAM. (Gen. 15:1-21)
A. "After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision."
1. Man is distinguished from the animals in many ways, but one of the most significant differences is the ability to communicate with language.
a. The purpose of communication is to enable God to communicate His will to man. and...
b. To enable man to respond to God with thanksgiving.
2. This verse marks the first use of the "Word of the Lord" and is also the first of the great "I am's" in the Scriptures.
a. The concept of the Word of God includes both the written and spoken Word and the living Word -- the Second Person of the Holy Trinity -- Jesus, the Christ.
b. All of these facets of God's Word are never to be separated from one another, but are to compliment each other.
c. What God has written through the prophets and the apostles is no different from what God speaks and that is no different from what God does or who He is.
B. What did God say with His Word to Abram?...He deals with human doubt.
1. Abram honestly tells the Lord that he is having a problem believing what God had promised him, because he does not yet have a son and now a servant of his, Eleizer of Damascus will inherit all of his estate.
a. God doesn't get upset by Abram's lack of understanding, but speaks directly to it.
b. When we have doubts about God's will or presence in our lives, sometimes we mistakenly think that we are sinning if we voice our concerns to God.
2. God directly tells Abram that Eleizer will not be his heir, but that one "from your own body will be your heir."
a. Then the Lord asks Abram to count the stars so as to impress him that his heirs will be as great in number.
b. Secondly, God reminds Abram of His faithfulness in the past in order to assure him for the future.
c. Thirdly, God restates His promise that Abram will posses the land.
3. Abram again demonstrates his difficulty in believing God's promise and asks how he can know that he will possess the land.
4. In response, God does an incredible thing: He uses an earthly, human way to assure Abram that He will keep His promise.
a. God commands Abram to bring together a number of animals for the sealing of a covenant between them.
b. This was a common practice for sealing solemn agreements in those days...An animal, (or several animals), would be cut in half and arrayed on the ground between the agreeing parties and then each party would pass between those animals -- cut to pieces -- and would indicate by doing so that, "May what has been done to these animals be done to me if I fail to keep my agreement."
5. But before the agreement is culminated, God gives Abram a vision of the future for his descendants.
a. The sleep that falls on Abram is described as a "...thick and dreadful darkness..."
b. It is nearly death-like foreshadowing the bondage of Israel in Egypt for 400 years or so.
c. This has also been seen as pre-figuring the death, burial and resurrection of Christ in that as we are in bondage to sin, so too were the Israelites in bondage to Egypt...As Moses, (a type of Christ), delivered Israel from Egypt, so too does the Christ deliver us from sin, death and the Devil.
6. God gives Abram "Good News" & "Bad News:
a. Bad News = Your descendants will be slaves of the Egyptians for 400 years and you, yourself will not live to see the day when the Promised Land is given to your people.
b. Good News = Your people will finally be delivered from bondage and will inherit the land and you will live to a good old age before you die.
7. Now God Himself shows up, displaying His presence with a smoking firepot and a blazing torch which moves between the pieces of dead animals in effect pledging to Abram that, "May it be done to me as it has been done to these animals, if I do not keep my covenant with you."
a. Clearly, this is done solely to give assurance to the doubting Abram.
b. God's promise does not need the negative threat in order for Him to keep His Word...By His very nature, God cannot go back on His promise.
GENESIS: THE BOOK OF BEGINNINGS
Rev. Richard A. Bolland
Unit 13: Hagar & Ishmael (Gen. 16)
I. A QUESTION OF TIMING AND GOD'S FAITHFULNESS.
A. Abram is now 85 years old, Sarai is 75, and it has been 20 years since leaving Ur and 10 years since their return from Egypt.
1. As frequently happens with us, we don't understanding what God's perception of time really is.
a. God does not sense the passing of time, nor is He concerned about it.
b. However, He does understand our perception of time, but His timing is always the best even in human matters.
2. Sarai has been waiting another 10 years for God to keep His promise that Abraham would have an heir, and she now takes matters into her own hands.
B. How often do we grow impatient with God and have concluded that we must "help Him out?"
1. ILLUS: Have you prayed and prayed that a loved one or yourself might be cured of some illness and it hasn't happened.
a. So now you've concluded that God either doesn't care or is indifferent to your plight.
b. Perhaps you've given up on God and approach the local version of the "witch doctor" for help through reading your aura or some other cure that calls on some spiritual power other than God.
2. ILLUS: Perhaps you're the man whose financial situation has gone from bad to worse and now you can't feed your family.
a. Conclusion: God wants me to take action myself.
b. Therefore, I'll have to rob a convenience store so that I can feed my family...After all, "God helps those who help themselves."
C. Sarai determines that God needs a hand with His promise and makes a proposition to Abram: (v. 2)
1. Certainly, Sarai was shamed at her barrenness, since at that time it was considered the woman's "problem".
a. Perhaps too, Abram's willingness to share her with another man, (Pharaoh), prompted her to consider taking the same solution for her predicament.
b. In ancient times, it was not an uncommon practice to use a concubine to provide an heir. (Hammurapi's Code, et. al.)
c. It may well be that this decision was most distasteful to Sarai and that certainly seems borne out by her quick jealousy of Hagar after the birth of the child Ishmael.
2. Abram doesn't seem to fight the idea very much since his agreement to sleep with Sarai's maidservant doesn't seem subject to much debate.
a. So Sarai brings Hagar to Abram and she becomes his wife. (v. 3)
b. God's model of monogamous marriage has been abandoned and as with all sin, there are earthly consequences that will follow.
II. HAGAR GIVES BIRTH TO ISHMAEL.
A. There seems to have been a rapid "success" in conception and soon the son, Hagar becomes pregnant.
1. It seems almost immediately, Hagar begins to act like the number one wife rather than the number two wife that she was.
a. Quite possibly, she keeps reminding Sarai of her fruitfulness as opposed to Sarai's barrenness.
b. In many ways there seemed to be trouble brewing between these two women.
2. Notice how quickly Sarai blames Abram for this whole situation. (v. 5)
a. Suddenly, it seems that Abram is the only guilty party in this ill-gotten decision.
b. Now Sarai demands that Abram fix it.
c. In response, Abram passes the buck back to his wife Sarai and tells her to do what she thinks is best.
d. Who's wife is Hagar? Is this not a marriage?
3. Have you ever played this scenario out in your home that responsibility is avoided by letting one's spouse make a decision that should have been made together? "You can't blame me...You made the decision!"
B. Sarai banishes the pregnant Hagar from their family.
1. A pregnant woman, on her own in that culture was in a desperate spot.
a. She could well be the victim of any one who happened along.
b. Her journey back to Egypt was through the wilderness of Gaza and most certainly it would be too much for her.
c. Hagar needed divine intervention just to survive.
2. And so, the angel of the Lord, (read preincarnate Christ), does intervene apparently out of piety. (v. 11)
C. Hagar is told four important things:
1. She is to go back to Sarai.
2. She is to submit to Sarai.
3. Here descendants will be very numerous.
4. She is to name her son Ishmael, (meaning "God hears")
a. He will live like a wild donkey.
b. He and his descendants will constantly be at odds with one another.
D. Ishmael is the father of the Arab peoples.
1. There has been an uninterrupted history, that continues to this very day, of hostility and conflict between Arab and Jew.
2. All of this is the result of Abram and Sarai's sinful decision to second-guess the faithfulness of God.
E. Abram receives Hagar back into his family.
1. Once again we see God working with the sinful decisions of men and women.
2. Undoubtedly, Hagar recounted her discussion with the angel of the Lord and as a result, they continued to lived together as amicably as they could.
3. Abram names Ishmael in accord with God's command and raises him as his own son, but this is obviously NOT the heir of which the promise spoke.