Primary Bible Passages: Genesis 15:1-18:22 & Genesis 21

Key Verse: Genesis 15:4

Memory Verse: Galatians 4:28

Preparatory Daily Bible Readings:

Monday: Genesis 15-18; Genesis 21
Tuesday: Genesis 13:16; Romans 4:11; Hebrews 11:11-12; Galatians 4:22-31
Wednesday: Hebrews 6:12; Hebrews 10:36; Judges 6-8
Thursday: Genesis 14:17-24; Hebrews 7:1-4
Friday: Jeremiah 17:10; I Corinthians 2:10; Psalm 39:1-13
Saturday: John 12:26; Proverbs 3:9-10; Hebrews 11:6; Hebrews 10:23; Romans 4:21
Sunday: Hebrews 11:8; Galatians 3:16; Acts 13:38-39; John 12:24; Romans 4:19-20

I. GOD’S PROMISE OF A SON TO ABRAM. (Genesis 15)

A. After Abram’s defeat of the four kings from the northeast, at which time he rescued Lot and the five kings of the Salt Sea region, Abram became fearful. (Genesis 15:1)

1. Abram was wise enough to know that vengeance would likely arise from the home of the defeated kings, but that does not appear to have been the source of his fear. Abram had no son. (Genesis 15:2) Abram loved and respected his steward, Eliezer, very much, but regarded Eliezer as "an inmate of my house" and not as a "home-born" son.

2. God had promised to make Abram the father of many nations and give him and his descendants most of the land at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. Abram was growing old, past the normal age of child-bearing. He was fearful that he would die with no biological heir to the promises he had received and to the great wealth which was now his.

B. God, who always knows the heart, (Jeremiah 17:10; I Corinthians 2:10) knew full well Abram’s concerns and fears, and spoke to him in a vision which lingered into the night, "Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." (Genesis 15:1)

1. After paying tithes to Melchizedek, who was a theophany, (a visible, but shrouded, appearance of God) Abram took none of the spoils of his victory over the invading kings. (Genesis 14:17-24) Consider Hebrews 7:1-4. God never permits His own believing people to lose by honoring Him and seeking His glory. (John 12:26; Proverbs 3:9-10; Hebrews 11:6) God promised that He would be Abram’s reward.

2. Abram could take little comfort in receiving a great reward from God when he had no personal heir upon which to rest his hopes for its future performance and thus objected, "Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless...Behold, to me thou hast given no seed." (Genesis 15:2-3)

C. God responded with the promise of a personal, biological son to Abram. (Genesis 15:4)

1. This is a direct promise of the birth of Isaac, and it is not difficult to see why Isaac is known as the child or son of promise. See Galatians 4:22-31.

2. Through this promised son, Abram would be blessed with a seed as innumerable as the stars of heaven. (Genesis 15:5)

In Genesis 13:16, Abram’s seed was compared to the "dust of the earth." Here his seed is likened to "the stars." The former reference is to Israel as the earthly seed of Abram; the latter is to the spiritual seed of Abram (Abraham) as "the father of all them that believe." (Romans 4:11) By faith Abram claimed the promise of God and in so doing became the spiritual father of all who claim the promise of salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, a group "as the stars of the sky in multitude." (Hebrews 11:11-12)

D.It was here that Abram grasped the reality and work of the coming Messiah. (Genesis 15:6)

1. Abram was a believer before this event. It was by faith that he left Ur of the Chaldees, (Hebrews 11:8) although the faith mentioned in Hebrews 11:8 is not connected with Abram’s justification. It was in Genesis 15:6 that "his faith was counted for righteousness." How important that is! It is his faith in respect to the seed, which was Christ, which brought about Abram’s justification before God from sin’s penalty. (Galatians 3:16) There is no justification in this sense apart from Christ. (Acts 13:38-39) Eternal life comes not from man’s powers, which are as incapable of producing eternal life as a lifeless corpse is of producing mortal life. Eternal life comes only from God through the person and work of Jesus Christ, who died that men might live. In this sense, life comes from death. (John 12:24) Abram recognized that his body, as well as Sarai’s, was as good as dead when it came to producing a child (Romans 4:19); yet he believed God. (Romans 4:20-21) Abram also recognized God’s point that eternal life would have to come through the death of His coming Messiah. It was his faith in that coming Messiah that brought about Abram’s justification. Faith that justifies has directly to do with the person and work of Jesus Christ.

2. The first six verses of Genesis 15 are remarkable in that they contain the first occurrences of several remarkable and subsequently well-known words and phrases. "The word of the Lord came," "Fear not," "Believed," "Counted," and "Righteousness" all appear here for the first time. With Noah, grace came before righteousness. With Abram, faith preceded righteousness. Noah’s case stresses the sovereignty of God, while Abram’s case stresses the responsibility of man. Both are true and necessary.

II. THE IMPATIENCE OF ABRAM AND OF SARAI. (Genesis 16:1-18:22)

A. God promised a son, but Abram and Sarai did not wait upon the Lord.

1. It seems that while in Egypt, Sarai had acquired a slave girl named Hagar. According to the custom of that era, Hagar was Sarai’s personal property, and any child born to her would legally belong to Sarai.

2. At the time of Genesis 16, Abram was 85 years old and Sarai was 75. The pressure of Sarai’s barrenness coupled with old age offered her no naturalistic solution to the heirship problem. Her faith in the promise of God weakened and she made a decision which must have been extremely distasteful to her. Just as Abram had once been willing to share her with other men, as the least of the evils he confronted, so now she felt it necessary to share her husband with another woman, as the only solution to their problem. She asked Abram to have a sexual relationship with Hagar until she conceived a child. Abram consented. (Genesis 16:1-4)

B. What a ruinous mistake this premature action by Abram and Sarai proved to be!

1. God’s creative purpose included only monogamous marriages. There is not one Biblical instance of a successful and happy polygamous relationship.

2. From the relationship with Abram, Hagar conceived, and immediately, Sarai despised her and began to intensely persecute her. Abram and Sarai found themselves at odds with each other and embroiled in marriage conflicts. (Genesis 16:4-6)

3. Pregnant Hagar fled to return to Egypt until the Lord over-ruled her and sent her back to Abram and Sarai. Hagar was also given the word from God that the son who would be born to her would forever be "a wild man" whose hand would be against others as their’s would be against him. (Genesis 16:7-14)

4. From the time of his conception in this relationship of impatience, Ishmael has been a constant source of grief to Abram and his offspring to this present hour. Consider Judges 6-8. Particularly note Judges 8:24. As he grew up, Ishmael became ever more the agitator and source of constant contention to the point that, when he was a teenager, Abram expelled him and Hagar from home. (Genesis 21:9-14) For Abram, it was a most grievous experience. Impatience and wrongdoing, even when the intent is good, always exact a heavy toll.

5. Hebrews 6:12 says the promises of God are inherited "through faith and patience." Hebrews 10:36 affirms, "For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise." Abram and Sarai should have waited on God. They didn’t, and they lived to regret it.

C. Even after the humbling experience with Hagar, the faith of Abram and Sarai continued to be weak.

1. Fourteen years passed from the conception of Hagar and still Sarai had no child. Abraham was now 99 years old, making Sarai 89. (Genesis 17:1) Ishmael was 13. (Genesis 17:25) From a naturalistic standpoint, a birth to Abram and Sarai appeared impossible. It is clear that both Abram and Sarai were skeptical that it would ever happen. When God told Abram in Genesis 17:16-17, "I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?" Later, two men from God appeared to Abram and renewed the promise, and when Sarai heard them make the announcement, she "laughed." (Genesis 18:9-15)

2. At this time, God changed the names of Abram and Sarai. Abram meaning "high father" He changed to Abraham meaning "father of a multitude." Sarai meaning "dominative" He changed to "a female noble: lady, princess, queen." The new names are, within themselves, a reaffirmation of God’s promise to give them a son and of innumerable blessings through that son.

3. It was also in connection with this renewed promise that God instituted circumcision as testimonial of His promise and covenant with Abraham. (Genesis 17:9-14) It is important to remember that at the time of his circumcision, Abraham was 99 years old, Ishmael was 13, and Isaac was not yet conceived.

D. In spite of the skepticism of both Abraham and Sarah and their mishandling of the matter, the son of promise was born just as God had promised. (Genesis 21:1-8)

1. Abraham named the child Isaac meaning "laughter." See Genesis 21:6.

2. God always keeps His promises. (Hebrews 10:23; Romans 4:21) Nothing could frustrate His performance of His great plan of eternal redemption.

FOOTNOTES

1. Keil, C.F. and Delitzsch, F., Commentary on the Old Testament, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1973, Vol.I, page 211.

2. Entzminger, Louis, Studies in Genesis, Fort Worth: The Manny Co., 1946, page 66.

3. Ibid., pages 66-67.

4. Thomas, W.H. Griffith, Genesis, A Devotional Commentary, Grand Rapids: WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1953, page 139.

5. Morris, Henry, The Genesis Record, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1976, page 325.

6. Ibid., page 329.

7. Ibid., page 329.

8. Strong, James, Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary, New York: Abingdon Press, 1958, reference 87.

9. Ibid., reference 85.

10. Ibid., reference 8297.

11. Ibid., reference 8283.

12. Ibid., reference 3327.

SUMMARY

Abram wanted a son! God had promised to raise up from him a great nation, giving his descendants most of the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. He was growing old and had great wealth, but no son to inherit his property or to carry on his name.

God, who always knows what is in every person’s heart, knew Abram’s concern and appeared to him in a reassuring vision which continued into the night. Abram had been faithful to honor God, even by paying tithes in an era when tithing was not required; God assured Abram that He would personally be Abram’s reward. Abram objected that the greatest of material wealth would be meaningless if he had no son to inherit it and carry on the family name and heritage. God responded by promising Abram that he would indeed father a son of his own body to fulfill the promises. It is not difficult to see why Isaac is called "the son of promise." In fact, God explained to Abram that through this son, he would have a seed as innumerable "as the stars of the sky in multitude," which is a prophetic announcement of Jesus Christ and those who would be saved by Him.

It was at this point that the reality of the coming Messiah became clear to Abram. From before he left Ur of the Chaldees, Abram had believed in Jehovah, the one God of the universe. It was not until God appeared to him in Genesis 15 that Abraham knew of the coming Christ and believed on Him to the saving of his soul. It was there that God "preached...the gospel unto Abraham" (Galatians 3:8) and he saw Christ, (John 8:56) thus enabling him to have the faith (Romans 10:17) which resulted in his salvation. It was here that he believed God and was made righteous. (Romans 4:3) Just as his body, and Sarai’s, being dead from a reproduction standpoint, could bring forth a son, likewise God could, through the death of the coming Messiah, give spiritual life to all who believe in Him as personal Savior.

The promise was made; but like so many men, Abram and Sarai were impatient, unwilling to wait upon the Lord. When Abram was 85 years old and Sarai was 75, they decided to take matters into their own hands and raise up a son through Sarai’s Egyptian handmaid, Hagar. Legally, any child born to Hagar would be Sarai’s. Hagar did produce a son by Abram. They named him Ishmael and his presence, like all endeavors out of harmony with the plans of God, caused trouble from the very start. God instituted monogamous sexual relationships only in marriage. As has always been the case, sex in some other way cannot be justified. Sarai, whose idea the affair was, resented Hagar’s pregnancy and persecuted her to the point that Hagar attempted to escape back to Egypt. The Lord prevented that and Ishmael was born, endearing himself to Abram as he grew.

Fourteen years after the conception of Ishmael, Abram and Sarai still had no natural son between them. Their faith had grown weak, and when God appeared to Abraham, and shortly thereafter to Sarai, with the announcement that Sarai would soon become pregnant, they thought it to be quite comical. Both of them "laughed" at the divine announcement. It was at these appearances that God changed their names; Abram meaning "high father" to Abraham meaning "father of a multitude" and Sarai meaning "dominative" to Sarah meaning "a queen." It was at this time that God instituted circumcision, a physical testimonial of his promise and covenant with Abraham.

It is noteworthy that Abraham was justified before God long before he was circumcised, which was prior to the birth of the son of promise, Isaac. It is also reassuring to see that God always keeps His promises. Despite the doubts of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac was born. His name means "laughter." Their laughter was no longer that of skepticism; because of the faithfulness of God, it was turned into joy.

QUESTIONS

1. Why did Abram become fearful?

2. Why wasn’t heirship by Eliezer satisfactory to Abram?

3. What does God’s response to Abram’s fear say about the heart of God toward His children?

4. Explain Melchizedek.

5. What did Abram believe about tithing?

6. Discuss why the best course is always to do the right thing.

7. Explain Isaac as the son of promise.

8. Compare and contrast the meanings of Abraham’s seed as the "dust of the earth" and his seed as "the stars."

9. Explain belief in God as opposed to belief in Jesus Christ in view of His finished work.

10. In what sense is it Biblically true that life comes from death?

11. How is the birth of Isaac to Abraham and Sarah a preview of eternal life to believers in view of Christ’s death?

12. Discuss the significance of some of the words and phrases which are mentioned in Genesis 15 for the first time in history.

13. How is God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility seen in the salvation of Noah and Abram?

14. Explain how patience is important in claiming the promises of God.

15. Who was Hagar?

16. Explain how natural aspects of life such as age make us impatient.

17. What decision by Sarai and Abram proved their impatience with God?

18. Discuss some of the consequences of the interference of Abram and Sarai with the plan of God.

19. Explain Sarai’s laughing before Isaac to her laughing after his birth.