A Summary of Genesis, Part 2
Beginning with chapter 14...
Using the English Standard Version
Check out Paul Holland's teaching of Genesis.
Many kings fought in the land and among them were the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom and Gomorrah, with the kings that were with them lost the battle. The winning kings took Lot captive. Abram heard of Lot's captivity and assembled his men to rescue his nephew. Abram fought them at night and won, bringing back Lot and all the goods that were taken. God was with Abraham.
Melchizedek. king of Salem, and a priest of God blesses Abram. Abram gave the priest (you'll see the name again in the New Testament) a tenth of everything he regained from the defeated kings. The king of Sodom offered to Abram all the rest of the goods recovered, but Abram refused stating that he had swore to "Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread..."(14:23).
God then makes a covenant with Abram. Abram asks for an heir and God tells him that his offspring shall be as numbering the stars. Abram believed the Lord and "he counted it to him as righteousness"(15:6). God then gives Abram a message that his descendants will be foreigners in a land and will be slaves (afflicted) for 400 years but that He will bring them out with great possessions (This is God foretelling the Israelites slavery in Egypt and the exodus. He promised Abram that he would die in peace and that the land '...from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates..." (15:18) would be his descendant's land.
Sarai, Abram's wife gets ahead of God and tells Abram to have a child with her servant; Abram does it since Sarai still had no child. Hagar conceived and there was tension between her and Sarai. Sarai was harsh and Hagar fled. An angel of the Lord promises Hagar that she'll have a son, Ishmael, and that her descendants will be numerous. Abram was 86 years old when Ishmael was born.
God appears to Abram in his 99th year of life and charges Abram to walk blameless and he falls on his face in complete submission. God changes his name to Abraham - the "father of a multitude of nations" (It is generally understood, by the teaching in the New Testament, that this is referring to those that accept Christ, Christians - so more than just the Israelites). God also promises Abraham's offspring will inherit the land of Canaan, "for an everlasting possession". Remember this when a summary of Deuteronomy is given as God said "if you obey all my commandments AND my statutes."
God tells Abraham to be circumcised and that all the future generations should be circumcised. Recall that Abraham received the initial promise before he was circumcised and the promise was reiterated before the command to be circumcised. If a male is not circumcised, he shall be cut off from his people. God changes Sarai's name to Sarah and nations will come from her offspring. Abraham laughs to himself because he is 100 years old. God tells Abraham that she will have a son and his name will be Isaac, the covenant being established with him as well. In God's promise, twelve princes and a great nation is part of it. We understand this to be Israel and the 12 sons of Jacob. Abraham circumcised Ishmael and all the males of his house.
The Lord appeared to Abraham as three men (angels representing Father, Son, Holy Spirit?) and he gave them food and washed their feet. One (the Lord) promises that he would return this time the following year and Sarah will be with child. Sarah laughs and the Lord asks "Is anything too hard for the Lord?"(18:14). The men left and turned toward Sodom with Abraham following. The Lord asks the other men if He should hide the destruction he was about to bring upon Sodom and Gomorrah, as the promise that he had given him. The Lord knew that Lot was living in/near the city. Abraham asks if He would destroy the righteous and the wicked. Abraham asks the Lord if he will save the cities if 50 righteous can be found. The Lord agrees to not destroy it if 50 are found. Abraham knows he is pushing his luck with the Lord and then asks about 45. The Lord agrees. Then 40. Then 30. Then 20. Then 10. Now, at this point, it is absolutely evident that the Lord considered Abraham righteous and that He knew that Abraham was being compassionate and had love in his heart for his fellow man. The Lord agrees that if 10 are found, He will not destroy it. Abraham went home and the men continued on to Sodom and Gomorrah.
Two angels come to Sodom and seeing them, Lot invited them to his home. The stated that they would stay in the town square, but Lot insisted and they acquiesced. After they ate, the men of the city came to Lot requesting him to give them the men so that they could biblically "know" them. Lot begged the men to take his daughters, as Lot knew his guests were angels. The angels pulled Lot back in to save him. The angels struck the men of the city blind and told Lot to escape with his family as they were about to destroy the city. It is important to note that Lot was reluctant to leave, but the angels forced him and his wife and his daughters. His sons-in-law thought he was playing around. Lots wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. The Lord brought sulfur and fire down, destroying the cities. Abraham looked on in the morning at the destruction and God remembered Abraham. Lot's daughters sinned against him and the Lord getting him drunk and laying with him to ensure they could bare children.
Abraham moves to the Negeb and tells the king, Abimelech, that Sarah is his sister. Abimelech takes Sarah to be his wife. God told Abimelech that Sarah was Abraham's wife. The king, rather excited, sent Abraham on his way with gifts. We see here, pagan kings willing to listen to the Lord. Abraham feared for his life and Sarah's so that's why he lied as he thought they didn't know God and some may not have. At least in this instance, one did. Abraham prayed to God to heal the kings wife and the servants, and He did. God had closed their wombs since the king took Sarah.
The Lord visits Sarah and she gives birth to Isaac. Abraham circumcises Isaac on the 8th day as the Lord had commanded. Sarah becomes cross with Hagar and has Abraham throw her and Ishmael out. God blesses Hagar and her son, promising that a great nation will come from him. God was with him, as he was Abraham's son. Abraham and Abimelech make a peace treaty as the king saw that God was with Abraham. They made this treaty in what was called Beersheba, in the land of the Philistines. God was with Abraham.
We will pick up in Chapter 22 next post.
We at The Word hope this series helps with your journey with God, Christ and the Holy Spirit. We urge you to read the Scripture, praying for understanding and aid in application of what you study. May God bless you.
Yes, we are an affiliate. There will be a pop-up window asking you to redirect. Thank you!
Comments
Post a Comment