Tag Archives: Genesis 16-18

Daily Bible Study

January 5, 2024 Bible Study — Even a Man of Faith Has Doubts

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Genesis 16-18.

I am often struck by the fact that Sarai’s decision to encourage Abram to attempt to have a son by Hagar immediately follows God entering into a covenant with Abram promising that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky.  Then, after Ishmael is born, God gives Abram the name Abraham and Sarai the name Sarah while once more promising that Sarah would bear Abraham a son. And Abraham scoffs at the idea that Sarah would bear a child at her advanced age, and asks God for Ishmael to live under His blessing.  So, we see here that Abraham, the man who is held up as the exemplar of faith, struggled with doubts.  If Abraham had doubts, why do we think that we can’t ever have any doubts?

 

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

January 5, 2023 Bible Study — Even Abraham And Sarah Had Doubts

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Genesis 16-18.

Abraham and Sarah are held up throughout the Bible as people whose faith we should emulate, and rightly so.  Yet, here is today’s passage, Sarah, while she was still Sarai, convinced Abraham, while he was still Abram, to sleep with her slave woman in order to provide heirs for Abram, and Abram did as she asked.  Some time later, at slightly different points, both laughed when God told them that Sarah would bear a son before the following year was up.  So, we have evidence that doubt does not indicate a lack of faith.  Despite his doubts, Abraham had all of the men and boys of his household circumcised according to the covenant God had given him when He reiterated His promise.  In response to Sarah’s laughter, she was asked if anything is too hard for God? Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that nothing is too hard for the God who created the Universe and later raised Jesus from the dead.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

January 5, 2022 Bible Study — Wait Patiently For God To Fulfill His Promises

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Genesis 16-18.

The Old Testament allows for polygamy.  Yet, in every instance where polygamy is addressed in the Old Testament, things go badly.  Here, Abram takes Hagar as his second wife at Sarai’s suggestion, but as soon as Hagar becomes pregnant things go wrong.  If we look at the story closely we can see the aspects of human nature which came into play to make things go badly.  One could argue that people could choose to behave differently, but that is not the point.  We learn from every story in the Bible where a man’s relationship with multiple wives are an important part of the story that humans are designed to be monogamous.  There is also a lesson in this account about the importance of waiting for God’s timing.  Abram and Sarai knew that God had promised Abram descendants who would inherit the Land of Canaan.  Since Sarai had been unable to bear children, they thought that they needed to take this action to make God’s promise come to fruition.  There may be times when God desires us to take some action in order to bring His promises to us to fruition.  This was not one of them.  Yet, despite the fact that Abram and Sarai acted outside of God’s plan, God promised to bless Ishmael.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

January 5, 2021 Bible Study Praying That God Withhold His Judgement

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Genesis 16-18. I have decided to switch from suing the New Living Translation to using the New International Version because, all in all, I prefer the NIV.

Abram was 99 years old when God changed his name to Abraham, and he became circumcised.  I am not entirely sure of the significance of that, but it really struck me this morning as I read this passage.  The passage also tells us that Ishmael was 13 years old at the time.  This means that Abraham was circumcised not less than 14 years after it was said about him that he believed God and God credited it to him as righteousness, a point which Paul makes in his letters. Abraham was not righteous because of his actions (being circumcised), he was circumcised because he was righteous.  And, no, that does not mean that we should be circumcised today.

I was struck by a thought about Abraham’s intercession with God for Sodom and Gomorrah.  I have always assumed that Abraham did so because his nephew Lot lived there.  Yet, I realized today that the passage does not mention that Abraham thought about his nephew.  No, God told Abraham that He was going to bring judgement upon those cities and Abraham immediately begged God not to do so if there were as few as fifty righteous people there.  Abraham continued to intercede with God on behalf of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah until God agreed that He would not destroy those cities if He found as few as 10 righteous people there.  I do not believe that Abraham interceded with God for Sodom and Gomorrah because Lot lived there.  I believe that he interceded (prayed) for Sodom and Gomorrah because he cared about the suffering they would experience when God brought His judgement against them.  I believe that this passage provides two lessons for us to follow. First, we should pray for those upon whom we see God’s judgement is about to fall.  Second, we should strive to live as one of “the ten” whose righteousness will cause God to withhold His judgement upon those among whom we live.

Daily Bible Study

January 5, 2020 Bible Study — All It Would Have Taken To Save Sodom Was 10 Righteous People

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Genesis 16-18.

There are several lessons to be learned from the story of Ishmael’s birth.  One of them concerns faith.  Abram and Sarai are held up for us as examples of people of great faith.  Yet, in this story, Sarai chose to give her maid servant to Abram so that he could have a son by her in order to fulfill God’s promise to Abram…and Abram agreed with her offer.  This in itself teaches us two lessons.  One, we do not need to figure our how to make God’s plan work, He already knows what is needed.  Two, even people of great faith sometimes have moments of doubt.

Ordinarily I try to avoid going over a lesson from a passage which I know I went over previously on this particular passage, but I think the lesson from the Lord’s discussion with Abraham about Sodom is worth reminding ourselves of every chance we get.  In a way, this story is a precursor to what Jesus said about the Kingdom of Heaven being like yeast.  Both this story and Jesus’ parable about yeast tell us that we as Christians have failed in Western Civilization.  If there had been as few as 10 righteous people in Sodom the city would not have been so wicked that God found it necessary to destroy it.  There will always be wickedness around us as long as we are in this world.  But, if we truly express God’s love in our lives, others will feel that love and show it to others around them, even if they continue to reject God.  If we remember that evil is the absence of good and that good drives out evil in the same way that light drives out darkness, we will see how this works.   As we do good there is that much less space around us for evil.

Daily Bible Study

January 5, 2019 Bible Study — A Lesson On Marriage

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Genesis 16-18.

At one point in yesterday’s passage, Abram had complained to God that all of his wealth would be left to his servant because he had no son.  God promised Abram at that point that he would have a son.  In fact, God promised Abram that he would have as many descendants as there were stars in the sky.  Nevertheless, Sarai became convinced that she would never bear Abram a child and had Abram take her servant, Hagar, as a second wife.  I would like to write, “Needless to say, this did not end well.”  Unfortunately, it does need to be said.  This did not end well.  This is one of several passages where the Bible makes the subtle point that marriage is best when it is one man with one woman.  Variations from that may work, but problems usually result.  However, despite the fact that Ishmael was the result of Abram and Sarai’s wavering faith, God blessed Ishmael.  

If the theory I presented yesterday concerning Terah and Abram being the keepers of the stories passed down from Noah is correct, it makes Abram’s concern for an heir more important and less selfish.  It also increases the importance of Abram’s heir being raised by Sarai/Sarah rather than by the Egyptian woman, Hagar because Sarai had been raised in the tradition while Hagar had not.  The other thing we have in today’s passage is the introduction of circumcision which set those who followed Abraham’s tradition, and he is now Abraham and no longer Abram,  apart from others who had versions of the stories going back to Noah.  Circumcision was not so much important to set those following Abraham’s traditions from those following the other related stories, but from those around them.  As time went on, those following the other traditions with stories going back to Noah tended to assimilate ever more into the other cultures around and become less faithful to the stories which had been passed down, while those who practiced circumcision kept being reminded of the importance of their stories and called back to God.

 

Daily Bible Study

January 5, 2018 Bible Study — God Rewards Our Faith, Despite Our Lack of Faith

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Genesis 16-18.

    When Sarai was 75 years old she gave up on having a child, yet she wanted Abram to have a son. So, she gave Abram her slave, Hagar, to be his wife. As one could expect, this went badly. When Hagar became pregnant she started to treat Sarai with contempt. Sarai blamed Abram, who told her that Hagar was her slave so she could do as she pleased to her. Sarai then mistreated Hagar such that Hagar ran away. God appeared to Hagar and told her to return to Sarai, where Hagar’s and Abram’s son Ishmael was born. Despite the mistakes they made, mistakes which stemmed from their inability to trust God, both Abram and Sarai are held up to us as exemplars of faith.

    Thirteen years later, when Abram was 99 and Sarai was 89, God came to Abram once more. At this time, God told Abram that his name would be Abraham and Sarai’s name would be Sarah. Furthermore, Gold told Abraham that Sarah would bear him a son, who would be the father of kings. Abraham laughed to himself at the thought of having a son when he was 100 and Sarah was 90 (the ages they would be would be by the time a child conceived then would be born) and asked God to honor His promise through Ishmael. God rejected the idea that Sarah was too old to bear children, but promised to make Ishmael the father of twelve rulers (just as Jacob/Israel was the father of the twelve tribal patriarchs). If Sarah could bear a son at age 90, none of us should consider ourselves too old for whatever task God calls us.

    I usually refrain from writing the same point about a passage which I know I have written previously. However, I think the point about the negotiations between Abraham and God over the number of righteous people necessary to save Sodom and Gomorrah is worth going over again. Whenever I read this I am reminded of when Jesus compared the Kingdom of Heaven to yeast. It only takes a small number of righteous people to transform a society of wicked people into something acceptable to God.

Daily Bible Study

January 5, 2017 Bible Study — It Only Takes A Few

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Genesis 16-18.

    The story of Sarai, Abram, and Hagar is an object lesson for us. Sarai knew that Abram wanted a son, but she had been unable to bear him a child. Instead of trusting in God to work things out according to His plan, she sought her own solution. There is plenty of blame to go around in this story: Sarai, for trying to work around God, Abram, for going along with her plan despite knowing that God had promised him a son through Sarai, Hagar, for treating Sarai with contempt. As is usually the case, none of those involved in this story was innocent of making the problem worse.

    Some time later, God came to Abram and entered into a covenant with him. As part of this covenant, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham. There is an interesting fact about this covenant. It applied to all of those in Abraham’s household and that of his descendants, but not just to Abraham’s descendants. The covenant also applied to those whom Abraham and his descendants purchased. Then when God tells Abraham that Sarah (whose name He also changed at this point) would bear him a son, Abraham laughs at the idea. Instead of accepting God’s promise, Abraham asks if God cannot just extend the promise to Ishmael. I believe that Abraham’s request for Ishmael to be his son of the covenant was partially out of love for Ishmael. God’s answer was that, no, Sarah would bear Abraham a son who would be the son of the covenant, but that He would bless Ishmael.

    God’s agreement that He would not destroy Sodom if He found ten righteous people there is instructive, and should be inspirational. We do not know how many people lived in Sodom at the time. The important thing is that ten was such a small percentage of the population that Abraham was sure there must be at least that many righteous people there. For us, the important thing is that God would have spared the city for that few. The instructive part is that it only takes a few righteous people in a large population to stave off God’s judgment. The inspirational part is the reason why I believe God will withhold His judgment if there are that number of righteous people in a group of otherwise evil people. It only takes a few righteous people in a group to cause the members of that group to turn from their evil ways and seek the Lord. Let us strive to be that influence on those around us through our prayers and our actions.

Daily Bible Study

January 5, 2016 Bible Study — Abraham Acted As If He Believed

Starting on New Year’s Day (well, technically, on New Year’s Ever), I switched from using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible reading to the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net”.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on Genesis 16-18.

    Abraham is held up to us in the Bible as a man of great faith. Faith which we are called to emulate. While he was still Abram, he had sexual relations with Hagar in order to have a son. He did this at his wife’s prompting. Sarai wanted Abram to have a son, so she encouraged him to have sex with her servant Hagar. Abram followed her advice, despite the fact that God had promised him a son. Things did not turn out well for any of the people involved. All three thought they were entering into a consensual relationship, but it still ended badly. There is a lesson here for “polyamorous” individuals. It will end badly.

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    When God renewed His promise to Abram, changing his name to Abraham and Sarai’s to Sarah, Abraham did not believe that he could have a son through Sarah at their advanced ages. He asked God to fulfill His promises through Ishmael. God told Abraham that He would bless Ishmael, but His promise stood; Abraham would have a son by Sarah. Here is where Abraham demonstrates his faith. He did not fully believe God, nevertheless he acted as if he did. In response to this latest promise, Abraham followed the instruction that went with it and circumcised himself, at the age of 100, and all of the men of his household. We are often called to do similar. There are times when, in our hearts, we do not fully believe God’s promises. Faith is doing the things which we would do if we truly believed, even when we have doubts.

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    Every time I read this passage I am struck by two aspects of Abraham’s conversation with God about the destruction of Sodom. First, I am struck that Abraham bargained with God. It is OK to argue with God (not that Abraham was exactly arguing with God here). God was not offended by the argument which Abraham made. The second is how few righteous people it would have taken to save Sodom. God agreed that if He found 10 righteous people in Sodom He would not destroy the city. I do not know what the population of Sodom was, but sources I have seen suggest the population would have been between 500 and 1000 people. That would mean that 10 people would have been 1-2% of the population of the city. That is all it takes. If 2% of the population is righteous, God will not destroy a city/nation, no matter how wicked the rest are.