Tag: Abraham

37.j. “I will be with you and will bless you”

 

 

Genesis 26:1 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines. And the LORD appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

Genesis 26 12:  And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The LORD blessed him, and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him. (Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.) And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”

Genesis 26:19  . But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him. Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah. And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”

Genesis 26:26  When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army, Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?” They said, “We see plainly that the LORD has been with you.

Genesis 26:34  When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.

The 26th chapter speaks of the life of Isaac. There is a famine in the land and Isaac moves away from it, hears from God, is blessed by God, and is told to sojourn where he was at on his apparent way to Egypt.  Isaac is blessed and becomes rich and wealthy and is told to leave the place where he was sojourning in. (“Go away from us”)  

Isaac moves on and digs wells which two out of three times are claimed by others. God appears to Isaac again, and again, confirming His blessing in his life because of His blessing promised to Abraham. The Philistines who kicked him out from living in their land come to Isaac and want to make peace with Isaac because they see God’s blessing on him.

Esau marries Judith and Basemath, both Hittites. They make life for Isaac and Rebekah bitter.

What does it mean to be blessed by God? A life of ease, prosperity, and problem free? Worry free? Is there blessing in famine? Is there blessing in being kicked out from where you are living? Is there blessing in laboring (digging wells) and having the fruit of that labor claimed by others? Is there blessing when a son or daughter marries without concern for the marriage is right before God? 

Too often we think blessings from God equal ease, prosperity, and conflict and worry-free living. Life will encounter numerous trials and troubles for the flesh which make us doubt if God blesses us. Blessings from God may include those we realize materially and very few trials or troubles in our life. However, these themselves do not mean we are blessed by God. Look at those who have these worldly things and give God no thought or thanks for them. 

Why would God promise to be our rock, refuge, fortress, strength, power, and might if there were no reason for them? Don’t all of these indicate our lives on this side of eternity will have encountered trials and troubles?  I fear we think blessings from God in only worldly material and comfort.  This should not be. Children of God (those who have repented, believed, trusted, followed, obeyed, and rely in and on Jesus Christ for their redemption and salvation) are blessed beyond all measure. Though trials and troubles come our rock, refuge, fortress, strength, and power are promised by the all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever-present God of all creation. Our true blessing is found in reliance and trust in Him alone. When it is our heart’s desire at all times to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all we think, say, and do our lives are blessed beyond all measure in this world and eternity to come.  

37.h. “Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.”

 

 

Genesis 25:19  These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham fathered Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

 1 Samuel 1:11     And she vowed a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”

 1 Samuel 1:27  For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition that I made to him.

 Psalms 50:15  and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

 Psalms 65:2    O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.

 Psalms 91:15    When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.

 Isaiah 45:11     Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him: “Ask me of things to come; will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands?

 Isaiah 65:24    Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.

 Isaiah 58:9    Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’

 Luke 1:13    But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

Isaac prayed and even the son of promise did not come into the promise easily. It only came through waiting and prayer. We can trust that the prayers of a husband for his wife have a special effectiveness. This prayer was answered, but some 20 years after Isaac and Rebekah first married. Their faith and persistence in prayer was tested and invited to grow through many years. As well, these were the only children born to Isaac and Rebekah. (Guzik)

Though God had promised to multiply his family, he prayed for it; for God’s promises must not supersede, but encourage our prayers, and be improved as the ground of our faith. Though he had prayed for this mercy many years, and it was not granted, yet he did not leave off praying for it. (Benson)

Isaac seems not to have been much tried, but to have spent his days in quietness. Jacob and Esau were prayed for; their parents, after being long childless, obtained them by prayer. The fulfilment of God’s promise is always sure, yet it is often slow. The faith of believers is tried, their patience exercised, and mercies long waited for are more welcome when they come. Isaac and Rebekah kept in view the promise of all nations being blessed in their posterity, therefore were not only desirous of children, but anxious concerning every thing which seemed to mark their future character. In all our doubts we should inquire of the Lord by prayer. (Henry)

Isaac’s marriage, like Abraham’s, was for a long time unfruitful; not to extreme old age, however, but only for 20 years. The seed of the promise was to be prayed for from the Lord, that it might not be regarded merely as a fruit of nature, but be received and recognised as a gift of grace. At the same time Isaac was to be exercised in the patience of faith in the promise of God. After this lengthened test, Jehovah heard his prayer in relation to his wife. (Keil and Delitzsch Biblical)

It is important to recognize that our prayers are heard by God and answered howbeit in His timing, not ours, in His purpose and will not ours. Abraham faithfully waited 25 years believing in God. Isaac waited 20 years believing in God. Do not let God’s timing of His answer to your prayers weaken your faith in Him and His ability to answer. He hears your prayer before the words leave your lips. Grow in patient-reliant faith and do not allow Satan to have any ground towards unbelief. God can do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine.

37.g. “While he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac”

 

 

Genesis 25:1  Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country.

These are the days of the years of Abraham’s life, 175 years. Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with Sarah his wife. After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi.

Below are thoughts of this chapter in commentaries by various men of God. I have copied three of these to show how they varied in their views  on this chapter. The last on, Henry, seemed to regard it best to me as the others try to explain why Abraham did or did not father these six sons before or after Sarah’s death.

Abraham’s Marriage to Keturah is generally supposed to have taken place after Sarah’s death, and his power to beget six sons at so advanced an age is attributed to the fact, that the Almighty had endowed him with new vital and reproductive energy for begetting the son of the promise. But there is no firm ground for this assumption; as it is not stated anywhere, that Abraham did not take Keturah as his wife till after Sarah’s death. It is merely an inference drawn from the fact, that it is not mentioned till afterwards; and it is taken for granted that the history is written in strictly chronological order. (Keil and Delitzsch)

Five and thirty years Abraham lived after the marriage of Isaac, and all that is recorded concerning him during that time lies here in a very few verses; we hear no more of God’s extraordinary appearances to him or trials of him; for all the days even of the greatest saints are not eminent; some slide on silently; such were these last days of Abraham. We have here an account of his children by Keturah, another wife, whom he married after the death of Sarah. He had buried Sarah, and married Isaac, the two dear companions of his life, and was now solitary; his family wanted a governess, and it was not good for him to be thus alone; he therefore marries again. By Keturah he had six sons, in whom the promise made to Abraham, concerning the great increase of his posterity, was in part fulfilled. The strength he received by the promise still remained in him, to show how much the virtue of the promise exceeds the power of nature. (Benson)

All the days, even of the best and greatest saints, are not remarkable days; some slide on silently; such were these last days of Abraham. Here is an account of Abraham’s children by Keturah, and the disposition which he made of his estate. After the birth of these sons, he set his house in order, with prudence and justice. He did this while he yet lived. It is wisdom for men to do what they find to do while they live, as far as they can. Abraham lived 175 years; just one hundred years after he came to Canaan; so long he was a sojourner in a strange country. Whether our stay in this life be long or short, it matters but little, provided we leave behind us a testimony to the faithfulness and goodness of the Lord, and a good example to our families. We are told that his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him. It seems that Abraham had himself brought them together while he lived. Let us not close the history of the life of Abraham without blessing God for such a testimony of the triumph of faith. (Henry)

37.d. “Then I bowed my head and worshiped the LORD and blessed the LORD”

 

 

Genesis 24:39  So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys. And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old, and to him he has given all that he has. My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell, but you shall go to my father’s house and to my clan and take a wife for my son.’ I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’ But he said to me, ‘The LORD, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and prosper your way. You shall take a wife for my son from my clan and from my father’s house. Then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my clan. And if they will not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’

“I came today to the spring and said, O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, if now you are prospering the way that I go, behold, I am standing by the spring of water. Let the virgin who comes out to draw water, to whom I shall say, “Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,” and who will say to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also,” let her be the woman whom the LORD has appointed for my master’s son.’

“Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels drink also. Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms. Then I bowed my head and worshiped the LORD and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to take the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son. Now then, if you are going to show steadfast love and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”

Eliezer – Abraham’s servant, doing service to his master, humble, a witness of God’s hand in his affairs, first-hand witness of God answering prayer on his journey, and surely witnessing the fulfillment of the promises and past blessings of God to Abraham. I am encouraged by how this servant relays his purpose and message. 

  1. God has blessed my master Abraham
  2. What wealth Abraham has, has been given to him by God
  3. Abraham’s only son was born late in the life of Sarah – an implied act of God
  4. He was sent by his master
  5. He was given specific instructions
  6. He had concerns
  7. He speaks of Abraham’s faith in God by angels being sent before him to prosper his journey
  8. He told them of his prayer to the God of Abraham concerning specific actions at the well
  9. He told them how God fulfilled this prayer
  10. After this he requested an immediate decision as if to say, God’s hand is clearly in this and now you must decide if you will honor what has been said and give Rebekah to my master’s son as his wife? 

There are many times in our lives that we want time to think things over before making a decision. Many of these times we are seeking God’s direction and discernment over the information that we have. Time and time again God will give discernment to those who seek His guidance and are surrendered to His purpose with willing obedience. 

Then there are times like this where clear communication to the hand and working of God has been both given and, in part, witnessed. This is when waiting to make a decision adds no value. Nothing more can be said. I liken this to the point in your life when God has opened your ears, mind, and heart to His holiness, your sin, judgment (eternal life or death), and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  This is not the time to ask for time to think it over – nothing more can be said – accept it or reject it, the message is clear.

37.b. “Behold, I send an angel before you”

 

 

Genesis 24:5  The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.”

 Exodus 23:20-23     “Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.  Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.  “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. “When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out,

 Psalms 32:8   I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

 Psalms 34:7     The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.

 Proverbs 3:5-6   Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Abraham seeks to honor God by providing his son with a wife that will not lead him down paths away from God and God’s promises. Abraham’s faith in God’s ability to supply a wife, guide his servant, and fulfill this desire for his son’s wife is easily understood from; “He will send an angel before you”.  How this would work out and the details along the way Abraham did not give thought.  He trusted that God would supply, period. There is a strong relationship between belief, obedience, faith, and hope. 

There is a way that may seem too hard or impossible for you to accomplish. Do not allow this to weaken you but to encourage you and your faith in the power and might of God. He certainly is able to do that which we cannot and much more that we cannot even imagine.

37.a. “Or what fellowship has light with darkness?”

 

 

Genesis 24:2  And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

 Genesis 26:34-35    When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite,  and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.

 Genesis 27:46   Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I loathe my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

 Exodus 34:16    and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.

 Deuteronomy 7:3-4    You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons,  for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.

 2 Corinthians 6:14    Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

Abraham was in such high esteem among the Canaanites, that, undoubtedly, he could have married Isaac to a daughter of one of the princes of the land. But he saw that the Canaanites were degenerating into great wickedness, and knew that they were designed for ruin; and he would not marry his son among them, lest they should be a snare to his soul. (Benson)

We all like to believe that we can be around ungodly things as much as we want and that we are strong enough to ward off the influence. But we must take seriously the words of Scripture: Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits” (1 Corinthians 15:33). It needs to come back to the simple question from Romans 12:2: Are we being conformed to this world, or are we being transformed by the renewing of your mind? (Guzik)

Our culture is much different now than in the time of Abraham. We do not choose a wife for our sons. They choose for themselves. As parents, it is very hard to watch as a son chooses to make union with a woman who is not a believer or does not give thought or service to God. Scripture is clear that such a union will more than likely bring heartache as parents observe their lives.  

All is not lost, Pray for their souls. Pray continually for God’s softening of their heart and mind to the Word of God. Pray for God to bring people into their lives who love, serve, and honor Jesus Christ. Pray for God to open their heart to hear His invitation to believe in Him. Never cease to pray for them. Do not give up. God is able to do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine.

36.z. “Sarah lived 127 years”

 

 

Genesis 23:1  Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites, “I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” The Hittites answered Abraham, “Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead.” Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land. And he said to them, “If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as property for a burying place.”

Sarah is the only woman in the Bible whose age at death is recorded. This gives us some measure of how highly she is regarded in the Bible. Twice we are told to look to Sarah as such a godly and obedient and blessed example (Isaiah 51:1-2 and 1 Peter 3:3-6).

The man of great faith, the friend of God, wept for the loss of Sarah’s companionship. There was nothing weak or unbelieving about the tears of this man of faith. To weep for a loved one is to show that we have been close, that the loss is keenly felt, that death is an enemy, and that sin has brought this sad punishment upon the human race.” (Boice)

Abraham bought a tomb for which to bury Sarah in.  This tomb had many great men and women of God buried in it.  This is where Isaac and Ishmael buried Abraham (Genesis 25:9). Isaac and Rebekah were both buried here (Genesis 49:31). Jacob buried Leah here (Genesis 49:31), and Joseph buried Jacob here (Genesis 50:13).

36.y. “I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”

 

 

Genesis 22:1  After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.” And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.

Abraham’s quick answer to the call is a wonderful example of how the man or woman of faith should respond to God. When Abraham said, “Here I am,” it meant that he was ready to be taught, ready to obey, ready to surrender, and he was ready to be examined by God. This was not so much a test to produce faith, as it was a test to reveal faith. God built Abraham slowly, piece by piece, year by year, into a man of faith. This test would reveal some of the faith God had built into Abraham.  This test was difficult in yet another aspect, because it seemed to contradict the previous promise of God. God had already promised in Isaac your seed shall be called (Genesis 21:12). It seemed strange and contradictory to kill the son who was promised to carry on the covenant when it had not yet been fulfilled in him. It seemed as if God commanded Abraham to kill the very promise God made to him. (Guzik)

“Brethren, there are times with us when we are called to a course of action which looks as though it would jeopardise our highest hopes… It is neither your business nor mine to fulfill God’s promise, nor to do the least wrong to produce the greatest good. To do evil that good may come is false morality, and wicked policy. For us is duty, for God is the fulfillment of his own promise, and the preservation of our usefulness.” (Spurgeon)

 “But there is not a word of argument; not one solitary question that even looks like hesitation. ‘God is God,’ he seems to say, and it is not for me to ask him why, or seek a reason for his bidding. He has said it: ‘I will do it.’” (Spurgeon)

Abraham’s obedience showed that he trusted God, even when he did not understand. Abraham’s obedience showed that he trusted God, even when he did not feel like it. There is not a line in this text about how Abraham felt, not because he didn’t feel, but because he walked by faith, not feelings.

This does not mean that Abraham somehow knew this was only a test and God would not really require this of him. Instead, Abraham’s faith was in understanding that should he kill Isaac, God would raise him from the dead, because God had promised Isaac would carry on the line of blessing and the covenant.

 He knew in Isaac your seed shall be called (Genesis 21:12), and Isaac had yet to have any children. God had to let him live at least long enough to have children. “If Isaac shall die, there is no other descendant left, and no probabilities of any other to succeed him; the light of Abraham will be quenched, and his name forgotten” (Spurgeon).

 Hebrews 11:17-19 clearly explains this principle: By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. Abraham knew anything was possible, but it was impossible that God would break His promise. He knew God was not a liar. To this point in Biblical history, we have no record of anyone being raised from the dead, so Abraham had no precedent for this faith, apart from God’s promise. Yet Abraham knew God was able. God could do it.

We have a remarkable picture of the work of Jesus at the cross, thousands of years before it happened. The son of promise willingly went to be sacrificed in obedience to his father, carrying the wood of his sacrifice up the hill, all with full confidence in the promise of resurrection.

36.x. “In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.”

 

 

 

Genesis 20:1   From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”

After the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham removed from the grove of Mamre at Hebron to the south country, hardly from the same fear as that which led Lot from Zoar, but probably to seek for better pasture. Here he dwelt between Kadesh (Genesis 14:7) and Shur (Genesis 16:7), and remained for some time in Gerar, a place the name of which has been preserved in the deep and broad Wady Jurf el Gerr (i.e., torrent of Gerar) about eight miles S.S.E. of Gaza, near to which Rowland discovered the ruins of an ancient town bearing the name of Khirbet el Gerr. Here Abimelech, the Philistine king of Gerar, like Pharaoh in Egypt, took Sarah, whom Abraham had again announced to be his sister, into his harem, – not indeed because he was charmed with the beauty of the woman of 90, which was either renovated, or had not yet faded (Kurtz), but in all probability “to ally himself with Abraham, the rich nomad prince” (Delitzsch). From this danger, into which the untruthful statement of both her husband and herself had brought her, she was once more rescued by the faithfulness of the covenant God. In a dream by night God appeared to Abimelech, and threatened him with death (מת הנּך en te moriturum) on account of the woman, whom he had taken, because she was married to a husband. (Keil and Delitzsch)

Twenty years before, Abraham had acted in the same way in Egypt, and Pharaoh had rebuked him, but sent him away with large presents. We learn from this chapter, Genesis 20:13, that the false representation which twice brought them into trouble was habitual with the two; nor does Abraham ever seem conscious that he was acting in it wrongfully. To us it seems cowardly, in one who had so many men trained to battle, thus to expose his wife to danger; and to have recourse to deceit, at the very time when such abundant revelations were being made to him, also shows an apparent want of faith in God. But Holy Scripture neither represents its heroes as perfect, nor does it raise them disproportionately above the level of their own times. Its distinguishing feature rather is that it ever insists upon a perpetual progress upwards, and urges men onward to be better and holier than those that went before. Abraham was not on the same high spiritual level as a Christian ought to be who has the perfect example of Christ as his pattern, and the gift of the Holy Ghost for his aid; and the fact that God rescued him and Sarah from all danger in Egypt may have seemed to him a warrant that in future difficulties he would have the same Divine protection. (Ellicott)

It is hard for us to know the purpose of Abimelech in taking Sarah. It could have been lust or a means of alliance that was custom at the time. I think we can take from this;

  1. God is in control
  2. God is ever-present
  3. God is all powerful
  4. Guard your faith
  5. Stand firm in your faith against the customs of the culture
  6. Innocence does not mean we have not committed a sin or a wrong
  7. Praise God that we have been given the Holy Spirit to give us discernment and guide our paths

36.s. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”

 

 

 

Genesis 18:22  So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” And the LORD said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

Abraham appealed to the covenant grace of Jehovah, but to His justice alone; and on the principle that the Judge of all the earth could not possibly destroy the righteous with the wicked, he founded his entreaty that God would forgive the city if there were but fifty righteous in it, or even if there were only ten. He was led to intercede in this way by the love which springs from the consciousness that one’s own preservation and rescue are due to compassionate grace alone; love, too, which cannot conceive of the guilt of others as too great for salvation to be possible. He knew that he was speaking to the Judge of all the earth and that before Him he was “but dust and ashes” – “dust in his origin, and ashes in the end;” and yet he made bold to appeal still further, and even as low as ten righteous, to pray that for their sake He would spare the city. The judgment which fell upon the wicked cities immediately afterward proves that there were not ten “righteous persons” in Sodom; by which we understand, not merely ten sinless or holy men, but ten who through the fear of God and conscientiousness had kept themselves free from the prevailing sin and iniquity of these cities. (Keil and Delitzsch)

Oh to have a heart like Abraham, to intercede on the behalf of corrupt and godless people.  I must say in all truth my heart does not first go here. When I see or hear of godless acts, lies, abuse of worldly power, child abuse, abortion of the unborn, LGBTQ pride and promotion, etc…. my heart does not cry out in intercession. My heart says to God,  close me up in the arc and execute your judgment.  This should not be. Our heart should be one of intercession for the lost, praying for the lost, praying for a softening of their conscience and heart to things of God, praying for their eyes and ears to be opened to the grace, mercy, and love through Jesus Christ. It was by the grace of God that I was not left to my own sinful ways and ultimate judgment from God. Our hearts are not changed through the will of man but through the gift of life through the Holy Spirit softening of our hearts by the knowledge and understanding of God’s Holiness and our sin and need of repentance and turning away from it to Jesus Christ.