Genesis 16

Genesis 16 (Sarai & Hagar)

Sarai grows impatient and has Hagar sleep with Abram to have a child. (Ishmael)
*We must remember "Gods delays are NOT Gods denials!"

They took a detour and suffered the consequences.
It is dangerous to depend on our own wisdom. Even if God has revealed something we must WAIT on Him to bring it into fulfillment.

**Whatever is truly done by faith, is done for the Glory of God, not praise of man.

One of my favorite quotes right now is the following...

"Faith that guards fear is faith in the WORD OF GOD, not Feelings!"

Evidence of biblical faith:

1. You are willing to wait.
2. You are concerned only for the glory of God!
3.You are obeying Gods word
4.You have Gods joy and peace within.

(16:1-2) Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; ² so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”

Sarai wavered, second guessed God, she knew Abram would "have descendants that outnumbered the stars" but allowed doubt to creep that she would not be the mother and needed to take matters into her own hands....That is when the trouble came...

Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.”

⁶ “Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.

⁷ The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. ⁸ And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
⁹ Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” ¹⁰ The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”
¹¹ The angel of the Lord also said to her:

“You are now pregnant
    and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,^[a]
    for the Lord has heard of your misery.
¹² He will be a wild donkey of a man;
    his hand will be against everyone
    and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
    toward^[b] all his brothers.”

¹³ She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen^[c] the One who sees me.” ¹⁴ That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi^[d]; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵ So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. ¹⁶ Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael, meaning 'God hears'.

**After Hagar fled she was met by the Angel of the Lord (Jesus) at

"Beer-lahai-roi" meaning, The well of the one who lives and sees me."

*He is a personal God, concerned about abused people & unborn babies!

**When God cannot rule, He overrules, and He ALWAYS accomplishes His purposes!

Genesis 15

Genesis 15 (Gods covenant with Abram)

*The Dark Night of the Soul

(15:1-2) After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

“Do not be afraid, Abram.
    I am your shield,^[a]
    your very great reward.^[b]”

² But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit^[c] my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

I like the ESV translation as well ...

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”

² But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue^[a] childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”³ And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 

*First time 'the word of the Lord came' is mentioned in the bible! Also, Abram continues to ask questions even though God has promised MULTIPLE times that his reward will be great... 

Notice how God responds to him in verse 4...

 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” ⁵ He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring^[d] be.”

*God took him outside and turned his gaze from earthly things (what was in front/around him) and turned his gaze up towards the heavens and makes a promise to him.

Reading further, look at verse 6..

⁶ Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

*What a beautiful truth! 'credited it to him as righteousness' meaning Abram was able to receive the righteousness (free from guilt/shame) as he believed in Gods power to do and fulfill what was promised!

⁷ He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession.

BUT...Much like we do, Abram STILL need affirmation...

⁸ But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”

⁹ So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”

*God is patient with us and LONGS to be gracious to us... (Is. 30:18)

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
    therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
    Blessed are all who wait for him!

Back to Genesis 15:10...

¹⁰ Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. ¹¹ Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

*Abram obeys and prepares to bring a sacrifice as the Lord commanded...

¹² As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 

¹³ Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred yearsyour descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslavedand mistreated there. ¹⁴ But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 

¹⁵ You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”

*The Lord not only reveals his plan for Abram and his descendants but tells him specific things that are to come...

¹⁷ When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. ¹⁸ On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi^[e] of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— ¹⁹ the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, ²⁰ Hittites,Perizzites, Rephaites, ²¹ Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”

*When making a sacrifice the people would cut the animal into two halves and then walk through the middle symbolizing, "if i break this covenant so do to me what was done to this animal." HOWEVER, notice that AS Abram is in a deep sleep, 

A smoking fire pot with a blazing torch (God) appeared and passed BETWEEN the pieces. 

*God passed through the sacrifice, symbolizing His love and devotion to Abram as well as US! Through walking through the sacrifice He sealed His own covenant proving it is nothing we can do, but ONLY by the power of God alone!

WOW, WOW, WOW!
In awe of our beautiful Lord,

Hannah

Genesis 14

Genesis 14 (Abram rescues Lot)

The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. ¹² They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.

*The people, including Lot are taken captive along with all of their possessions.

13 A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother^[b] of Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. 

*A man escaped and reported to Abram that Lot had been taken captive.

 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. ¹⁵ During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. ¹⁶ He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.

*Abram, along with his 318 men (v.14) pursue and defeat the enemy. The Kings, Lot and the rest of the people return home with all of their possessions.

After returning home, King Melchizedek (King of Salem) is grateful and blesses Abram. (v.19-20)

¹⁹ and he blessed Abram, saying,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
    Creator of heaven and earth.
²⁰ And praise be to God Most High,
    who delivered your enemies into your hand.”

Then Abram gave him (King Melchizedek) a tenth (tithe) of everything 

²¹ The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.”

²² But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to theLord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, ²³ that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ ²⁴ I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”

*Abram chooses not to accept any possessions from the King; This represents his desire to pursue a life of Godliness rather than worldliness.

Genesis 13

Genesis 13 (Abram & Lot Separate)

Abram, Sarai,  & Lot (his nephew) continue to travel to Egypt. Though Pharaoh sending them with ALL they had seemed like a blessing they soon find their possessions are too great to remain together. 

(13:5-18)

Abram allows Lot to choose and they part ways. 

 Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. ⁹ Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”

¹⁰ Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lorddestroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) ¹¹ So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: ¹² Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom.¹³ Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.

After Lot leaves for Sodom, The Lord promises all the land to Abram and descendants too great to count! 

¹⁴ The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. ¹⁵ All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring^[a] forever. ¹⁶ I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. ¹⁷ Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”

Abram, in amazement of the lord pitches his tent and builds an altar to WORSHIP the Lord! 

¹⁸ So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.

Genesis 12

Genesis 12 (The call of Abram)

The Lord grants a calling on Abrams life.

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

² “I will make you into a great nation,
    and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.^[a]
3 I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you.”

Abram and Sarai go to Egypt where Abram tells Sarai to pretend to be his sister rather than his wife. Pharaoh then takes her in and plagues come!

Pharaoh calls for Abram to tell the truth and Pharaoh sends him away with ALL that Abram had.

 ¹¹ As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. ¹² When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. ¹³ Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”

¹⁴ When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman.¹⁵ And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. ¹⁶ He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.

¹⁷ But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. ¹⁸ So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? ¹⁹ Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” ²⁰ Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

*Abram and Sarai go by faith as they travel to Egypt. 

Though they lie and lose "sight" they are met by Gods grace and find....

No test is impossible and no failure is permanent!

According to scholars we (As Christ followers) are in the school of faith. In this school (like Abram and Sarai) we will face 3 special tests:

1. Circumstances (12:10)

Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.

2. People (12:11 & 13:5)

As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 

Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.

3. Things/Possessions (13:5-18)

But the land could not support them while they (Abram, Sarai & Lot) stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. ⁷ And quarreling arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.

So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. ⁹ Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”

¹⁰ Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lorddestroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) ¹¹ So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: ¹² Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom.¹³ Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.

¹⁴ The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. ¹⁵ All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring^[a] forever. ¹⁶ I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. ¹⁷ Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”

¹⁸ So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.

Genesis 10-11

Genesis 10 (The Table of Nations)

Genealogies of Noah

Noah

Ham

Cush

Nimrod (1st on Earth to be a Mighty man, built Babel and Ninevah)

 ^{(10:5)  "}From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language."

*Explains how the Earth was populated after the flood. 

Genesis 11 (The Tower of Babel)

 (11:1) Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 

(11:3-4)They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. ⁴ Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

**The people were unified in ALL ways and began depending on themselves more than God.

(11:5-7) ⁵ But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. ⁶ The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

Babel-Gates of the Gods. (What the people were trying to attain)

(11:8-9) So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹ That is why it was called Babel^[c]—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Babel-Because there the Lord confused the language of ALL the earth.

** "There are MANY plans in a man's heart; nevertheless, the Lords counsel that will stand." Proverbs 19:21

**God could have destroyed the people of the city of Babel; however He spares their lives and scatters them over ALL the earth. (v9)