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Studies in Genesis, The Day of Commitment, Lesson XLI, Genesis 17:1-27, Genesis 18:1-8
We enter our lesson today finding that Abram is no longer Abram, for by the word of God his name is now Abraham, which means father of many nations.
We also find that Sarai is now named Sarah, meaning mother of Nations and both name changes have been degreed by our sovereign God and both are attached to God’s promises.
For God has entered into a covenant with this couple, the outworking of which, we on this side of history, have seen and are seeing fulfilled.
Abraham and Sarah, together barren, but now called by their maker, Father and Mother of many nations.
And to begin this process a son is promised, a son named Isaac, and another son is rejected, a son named Ishmael, a son of the flesh, a son of impatience.
Ishmael had been with Abraham and Sarah now for 13 years.
No doubt they loved him dearly and desired he be the son of promise and this is revealed by Abraham’s sincere plea to God where he said:
O that Ishmael might live before thee!
But his pleading opposed the will of the one that formed him.
The Apostle Paul speaks of this relationship so poignantly in:
Romans 9:20-23, where we are told that God will have mercy on whom He will have mercy and He will have compassion on whom He will have compassion.
And in this chapter, we are told to know our place as the thing formed, the thing made and to not think of our place as the maker of things.
How clear this speaks of God’s sovereignty:
Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory.
God, willing to show His wrath and to make His power known, makes a vessel unto honour and makes another vessel unto dishonor.
He makes vessels of wrath fitted to destruction and vessels of mercy prepared unto glory!
Paul speaks of God as the potter who has power over the clay.
The potter chooses what the clay will be according to His will.
The clay is not given to choose the station of an exalted and lovely vase instead of a simple clay pot hosting a planted flower from the garden.
How this disturbs the natural man who is but clay, but how wonderful it is to be one of God’s chosen, one who is made by the Sovereign to be a vessel for the Master’s use.
Only God’s mercy makes it possible to be saved for there is none righteous, no not one.
Salvation is of the Lord, salvation is always an act of God, reserved for the Sovereign and never an act of man.
For a man who saves himself, who then will get the glory?
God declares in Isaiah 42:8, I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
So here in Genesis, chapter 17, God clearly expresses his sovereignty by insuring that all glory is His glory.
Sarai gave Abram Ishmael by her action.
Was God given glory?
Abram was content with Ishmael as the promised son, but God did not agree for there was shared glory.
And therefore, God states that Sarah will bear a son despite her body being unable physically to bring this about.
Ishmael represented man’s effort to help God out and in him Abram could boast because he was able to produce a son.
But God, that all glory would go to Him, chose a time when all hope was gone for when Isaac was conceived both Abraham and Sarah were humanly beyond their ability to reproduce.
They were beyond boasting in human accomplishments and God placed them in a situation where all glory must go to Him for they were at the end of themselves.
Remember Sarai was barren, so Hagar came into the picture to bring forth a son from Abram’s seed.
But Abram now at 99 has also lost his powers of reproduction.
Their list of schemes to bring about God’s promise had shortened to one.
And that one was the simple act of trusting God.
But now all crutches, all props, all supports have been kicked away!
God’s delay with Abraham and Sarah brought them to the end of themselves so that His grace was the only thing that could explain the promise fulfilled in their son, Isaac.
Why Oh why must we repeat the story of Abram and Sarai?
Why Oh why can’t we simply trust God from the first to ensure that God receives all the glory?
The answer is of course that in our flesh dwelleth no good thing and if it can seize any glory for itself, it certainly will.
God allows us to come to the end of ourselves, for at the end of ourselves we will find God’s hand.
As Abram and Sarai were allowed to bring forth Ishmael we too are allowed to go along the road of the flesh, but that road never is according to God’s will.
God’s will is on a road called Grace for at the end of ourselves God brings us the free gift of an Isaac.
As Abram fell on His face, so too we will bow before Him, astonished at his provision, given now a mind to think on His power and majesty, a mind far above that which bows before the flesh.
We are to come to the place where we submit to God’s sovereignty always remembering we are the thing made and not the maker.
The fine piece of pottery always yields to its purpose as well as that piece made for common use yields to its purpose.
Now pottery is not given to walk or to move but we are given to walk.
We are given to walk in obedience to God’s word no matter how difficult the walk.
God commands Abram in verse 1 of chapter 17, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
God also used the word “perfect” to describe Noah and Job.
It is a word not meaning sinless but a word meaning blameless or whole or having integrity.
It is a word calling Abram to walk honesty and openly before God, while fearing Him and seeking to obey Him.
It is a walk of life where sin is confessed, where a turning from sin, repentance, is a constant of life.
It describes a step by step daily progression in a direction toward holiness.
It is a direction which in the New Testament is described in being conformed to God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
Now as a block of marble yields itself to the sculptor’s chisel, many times a walk of obedience is a difficult walk, a walk full of struggle.
Abram had to overcome his own desire that Ishmael be the son of promise and yield to God’s will concerning a son of the future called Isaac.
Abram lived with a name meaning exalted father, without any children until Ishmael and now before the birth of Isaac God tells the 99-year-old Abram that he gets a new name, a name tied to many children, Father of a Multitude.
This by itself seemed to be a mockery of Abram’s condition, a barrenness only relieved by his connection with a handmaid.
And what did Abram think concerning this strange command of God concerning circumcision as he gathered all men of his tribe to carry out this command?
It is amazing to me how Abram’s authority over every male of his house was so complete and honored as he basically signed the covenant contract of God through the act of circumcision.
That kind of authority and respect is far from anything we know of in our time.
God demanded of Abram and his tribe a disfigurement so personal I’m sure the thought of it would bring all kinds of ideas concerning their procreative or reproductive powers.
No doubt their minds were filled with the question: What will this do to me concerning my bringing forth sons and daughters to fill my household?
But this identifying mark placed them on a forever walk, a forever walk identifying Abram and his household as the beginning of the nations which were to come in keeping with God’s promise.
It was a kind of a branding wherein he belonged to the living God, the Sovereign who provided to him His Word, a Word whereby an obedient walk was required.
And so, Abraham obeyed, no doubt knowing little of what all this meant, but obeying an order acknowledging his total dependence on God to produce the promised heir, the beginning of the multitude, the beginning of the nations.
It meant Abraham’s putting no confidence in his flesh but putting all his trust in God to do what He promised to do so that all the glory would go to Him.
So, we learn from Abraham the obedient walk along the narrow way is often a difficult walk, a walk which will always set you apart.
A walk of distinction in many ways from the surrounding culture, always a wicked culture, for it is the way of the world.
And as the men of Abram, because of circumcision, were the subject of ridicule so too those who walk the narrow way will also suffer mockery and derision and even hatred.
Remember our Lord Jesus Christ when he said, in John 15:19, If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
God, as Sovereign, entered into a covenant with Abram, and God enters into a covenant with those who believe on His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.
For He says that whosoever believeth on Him shall be saved.
This indeed is a covenant, whereby God says believe and then God affirms salvation to everyone who believeth.
And within that covenant we are responsible to obey Him, even when it is difficult or hard to do so.
God appeared to Abram when he was ninety years old and nine.
He introduced himself to an Abram where all hope was gone relative to Abram and Sarai bringing into the world a son.
He introduced Himself to Abram with His name, The Almighty God, El Shaddai (El Shad dai), meaning the Sovereign One, the One who has all might.
So, it was when Abraham had this visit and vision of the sovereignty and supremacy of God, this vision as God Almighty who sovereignly gives and keeps his covenant with a man who had taken things into his own hands, Abram obeyed without question his part in the covenant.
The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, but it is a fear of an Almighty God, a Sovereign God who holds all things in his hands and determines in all things what will be.
This is teaching us that the Lord must be described to those who are taught to fear Him.
So, we now turn to:
Genesis 18:1-8, And the Lord appeared unto him (Abraham) in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, 3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: 4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: 5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. 7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. 8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.
We are given here a most remarkable event that happened to Abraham for we are immediately told that the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre.
There is a man named Mamre mentioned in Genesis 14:24 so this event takes place on land apparently belonging to this man.
It is thought to be near the town of Hebron, which is about 18 miles south of what will become Jerusalem.
But this appearance of the Lord is along with two other men for when Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, three men stood by him, not right next to him for when he saw them, he got up from his tent door and ran to meet them, bowing himself toward the ground.
Now hospitality reigned in Abraham’s day and immediately food was commanded to be brought before the three men.
(I remember a happening of my mother-in-law and my wife who visited a relative many years ago and upon leaving the house after a short visit my mother-in-law remarked, Can you imagine that, She did not even offer us coffee and desert, can you imagine that?)
Abraham was a lover of hospitality and that must be defined as including food!
Now did Abraham know who the three men were?
It certainly appears so for the Lord had already appeared to him in the visit recorded in chapter 17.
I believe this was what is called an epiphany, a manifestation of a divine or supernatural being.
If so it was the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ, along with two angels in human form.
And the conversation to follow in chapter 18 certainly shows a personal appearance of God himself coming in the form of a man.
After eating a meal together, the Lord revealed to the separated couple, this couple of promise, that this promise concerning Isaac, a son from Sarah herself would be fulfilled the following year.
The two angles in human form departed toward Sodom to rescue Lot and his family from God’s judgment of fire and brimstone leaving the Lord behind, who then revealed to Abraham the judgment about to be exercised upon Sodom and Gomorrah.
And then we will find Abraham intercede with the Lord on behalf of Sodom. |