Genesis 1:1
In The Beginning
One day, students in one of the late Nuclear Physicist Albert Einstein's classes were saying they had decided there was no God. Einstein asked them how much of all the knowledge in the world they had among themselves collectively, as a class. The students discussed it for a while and decided they had 5% of all human knowledge among themselves. Einstein thought their estimate was a little generous, but he replied: "Is it possible God exists in the 95% you don't know?"
We who are mortal and finite human beings try to comprehend the infinite and immortal God Almighty should be considered as a very lousy joke. But we human beings sure try and even challenge Him who has all the authority of the universe.
A. THE WORD OF GOD
Before we start to study the fifty chapters of the Book of Genesis throughout this year, we must understand a few things about God and His Word, the Bible.
The Bible does not make elaborate arguments for the existence of God. However, it does tell us how we can get to know Him through Jesus Christ, His Son. It also tells us that we can know His existence from what we see in His creation.
Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.
Please don't ever think that God is doing His best to let people know that He exists and it is Him who created all the stuff in heaven and earth. Whether people believe 'the fact of Creation' or not, it is true and God rules. He is not the one who is fighting and arguing to make His point, but the puny humans are.
Many people argue that there are too many different versions of the Bible and they don't know which one to believe. Obviously, those people have not read the Bible all the way through and don't understand the meaning of the different versions of the Bible. Even though we have many different versions of the Holy Bible, they all have the same meaning.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
We come to the Bible knowing the copies we have in our hands are reliable duplicates - though not perfect duplicates - of the exact writings, which God perfectly inspired. We can know this about the Old Testament by seeing the incredible care and reliability of the ancient Jewish scribes, demonstrated by the Dead Sea Scroll discoveries.
We also can know this about the New Testament by knowing that because of earlier manuscripts, and a greater number of ancient manuscripts, the New Testament is by far the most reliable and exhaustively cross-checked ancient document we possess. Really, no more than one one-thousandth of the New Testament text is in question.
B. WHY IS GENESIS IMPORTANT?
The Bible would be incomplete and perhaps incomprehensible without the Book of Genesis. It sets the stage for the entire drama of redemption, which unfolds in the rest of the book. The book title 'Genesis' which means 'origin' fits its assignment.
Almost all important doctrines and teachings have their foundation in the Book of Genesis: the doctrines of sin, redemption, justification, Jesus Christ, the personality and personhood of God, the kingdom of God, the fall, Israel, the promise of the Messiah, and more.
Genesis shows us the origins of the universe, order and complexity, the solar system, the atmosphere and hydrosphere, the origin of life, man, marriage, evil, language, government, culture, nations, religion.
Genesis is important to the New Testament, too. There are at least 165 passages in Genesis either directly quoted or clearly referred to in the New Testament.
The only proper way to interpret Genesis 1 is not to 'interpret' it at all. That is, we accept the fact that it was meant to say exactly what it says.
The only way we can ever really find out who we are is from God. The best place to find out begins in the Book of Genesis.
C. WHO DID CREATE THE UNIVERSE?
We know the Bible is not a book of science. Yet where it touches science, it speaks the truth. Many archeologists in the Middle East simply discover what the Bible already stated long ago.
If everything around us, including ourselves, is the result of random, meaningless occurrences apart from the work of a creating God, then there is no greater law in the universe than survival of the fittest.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
If you don't accept this first verse of the Bible, you cannot accept and believe the rest of the Bible. Everything that is mentioned in the Bible is hinged on this very verse that states everything in heaven and earth are created by God, not by chance or anything else for that matter.
The word 'God' is an important part for us understand before we go any further.
God - This is the ancient Hebrew word 'Elohim'. Grammatically this Hebrew word is a plural word used as if it were singular. The verbs and pronouns used with 'Elohim' should be in the plural, but when 'Elohim' refers to the Lord God the verbs and pronouns are in the singular. This is the reason why many Bible students point out that it is the base of our belief of Trinity - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
The simple fact of God's creation is even more amazing when we consider the greatness of God's universe. A typical galaxy contains billions of individual stars. Our galaxy alone, the Milky Way, contains 200 billion stars. Our galaxy is shaped like a giant spiral, rotating in space, with arms reaching out like a pinwheel, and our sun is one star on one arm of the pinwheel. It would take 250 million years for the pinwheel to make one full rotation. But this is only our galaxy. There are many other galaxies with many other shapes. The average distance between one galaxy and another is about 20 million trillion miles. Our closest galaxy is the Andromeda Galaxy, about 12 million trillion miles away.
Isaiah 48:13 Indeed My hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand has stretched out the heavens; When I call to them, They stand up together.
D. EVOLUTION vs. CREATION
If God created the heavens and the earth, then we must forever put away the idea that anything happens by chance. "Chance" merely describes the statistical probability of something happening. Chance itself can "do" nothing.
Because chance has no power. For example, when a coin is flipped, the chance it will land "heads" is 50%. However, "chance" does not make it land heads. Whether or not it lands heads or tails is due to the strength with which the coin is flipped, the strength of air currents and air pressure as it flies through the air, where it is caught, and if it is flipped over once it is caught. Chance doesn't "do" anything but describe a probability.
So, when someone says the universe or anything else came about by chance, they are either extremely ignorant, superstitious, or just repeating a line they have heard before and have unthinkingly accepted.
Let's see what the renowned evolutionists talk about their own evolution theory and the creation facts:
"The pathetic thing is that we have scientists who are trying to prove evolution, which no scientist can ever prove." -Dr. Robert Millikan, Nobel Prize winner and eminent evolutionist
"Lynn Margolis is a distinguished University Professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts. At one of her many public speakings she asks the molecular biologists in the audience to name a single, unambiguous example of the formation of a new species by the accumulation of mutations. Her challenge goes unmet." -M.J. Behe, Darwin's Black Box, 1996 p. 26
"It is possible (and, given the Flood, probable) that materials which give radiocarbon dates of tens of thousands of radiocarbon years could have true ages of many fewer calendar years." -Gerald Aardsman, Ph.D., physicist and C-14 dating specialist
"We have to admit that there is nothing in the geological records that runs contrary to the views of conservative creationists." -Evolutionist Edmund Ambrose
"No matter how numerous they may be, mutations do not produce any kind of evolution." -Pierre-Paul Grasse, Evolutionist
Do you know what the main reason is why all these intelligent people knowingly go against the fact that God created heaven and earth? The reason is that once they admit that it is God who created everything, then they have to be submissive to Him. Guess what gets in the way between them and God? Their pride. So to keep their pride, they would choose the road to hell.
James 4:17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
To make my point, here is a great comment from a well-known evolutionist Novel Prize winner in Biology, Dr. George Wall:
"There are only two possibilities as to how life arose. One is spontaneous generation arising to evolution; the other is a supernatural creative act of God. There is no third possibility. Spontaneous generation, that life arose from non-living matter was scientifically disproved 120 years ago by Louis Pasture and others. That leaves us with the only possible conclusion that life arose as a supernatural creative act of God." He then went on to say that "I will not accept that philosophically because I do not want to believe in God therefore, I choose to believe in that which I know is scientifically impossible; spontaneous generation arising to evolution." -Dr. George Wall professor emeritus of biology at Harvard University. From an article in Scientific America.
Last, but not least, let's hear from the founder of the evolution theory:
"Not one change of species into another is on record ... we cannot prove that a single species has been changed." -Charles Darwin, My Life & Letters
In our day a group of theologians who, not wanting to be called intellectual ignorants by the world, have adopted what is known as "Theistic Evolution." Theistic Evolution is probably the most unrealistic of all theories. It is almost an unreasonable opinion and an illogical position. These theologians would like to rub their elbows with the unbelieving intellects, but they also like to carry a Bible under their arm and want to be called 'reverends'. It is impossible to do both. Either you completely believe that God created everything or stand against it.
E. CREATING EVERYTHING FROM NOTHING
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
The ancient Hebrew word 'bara' (created) is specific. It means to create out of nothing, showing that God created the world out of nothing, not out of Himself. God is separate from His creation. Unlike Eastern and pantheistic perceptions of god, the Bible teaches the universe could perish yet He would remain.
Contrary to God, men cannot 'create' in the sense the term is used in Genesis 1:1. We can only 'fashion' or 'imitate' or 'form' things out of existing material.
F. BEFORE THE BEGINNING
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
From what we just read, it sounds like God was there before the time of 'beginning'. How can there be 'before' the beginning? That means that 'beginning' is not really 'beginning' to God and He is not limited by the timeline we use.
Some would ask the questions, such as, "Where did God come from?" and "Who created God?" The answer is found in the definition of God - that God is the uncreated Being, eternal, and without beginning or end.
Psalms 90:1-2 Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
God is the only infinite, eternal, and unchangeable Spirit, the perfect Being in whom all things begin, and continue, and end.
Before the beginning, God had a specific plan to fulfill this eternal purpose, with many different aspects revealed to us:
. The mission of Jesus was foreordained before the foundation of the world. -1 Peter 1:20
. The mystery of the Gospel of Jesus was foreordained before the ages. -1 Corinthians 2:7
. The grace given unto us was given before the world began. -2 Timothy 1:9
. Believers in Jesus Christ were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. - Ephesians 1:4
At some time before the beginning, God created the angels, because they witnessed the creation of the heavens and the earth.
Job 38:7 When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
G. APPLICATION
1) We must accept 'Creation by God' in faith.
Even science cannot tell us how something can be made out of nothing. God apparently did it just that way. And man today cannot tell when this was created.
Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
2) We must reject evolution theory because it rejects God and it rejects the whole course of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It denies the fall of man and the fact of sin, and it opposes the virgin birth of Christ. I do not believe that it is the answer to the origin of this universe. It is straight from the pit of hell to undermine what God did and is doing and is going to do in our lives.
Genesis 1:2-1:31 -
The History of Creation
A doctor, an engineer, and a politician were arguing as to which of their professions was older. "Well," argued the doctor, "without a physician, mankind could not have survived, so I am sure that mine is the oldest profession." "No," said the engineer, "before life began, there was complete chaos. And it took an engineer to create some order from this chaos. So engineering is older." "But," chirped the triumphant politician, "who created the chaos? That would be the ancestors of my profession."
As we are going to study the history of creation by God this morning, we must note one very important thing. You will notice that there are three words repeated for eight times throughout this chapter. They are "Then God said."
The king of inventors, Thomas Edison, who invented the light bulb had to go through 10,000 times of trials and tests to achieve his goal. But for God, He simply commanded light into reality.
A. DAY ONE - LIGHT
Genesis 1:2-5 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
Some translate the idea in this v2 as the earth became without form and void. That really doesn't make sense.
What is the best way to understand the Bible? Using the Bible as a cross reference.
Isaiah 45:18 For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: "I am the Lord, and there is no other."
He did not create the world in vain which is used as 'void' in Hebrew in this verse.
Based on the idea of "without form, and void", some came up with what has been called the 'Gap Theory' within some Christian groups. They claim that there was a long and indefinite chronological time gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. Most 'Gap Theory' use the theory to explain the fossil record, assigning old and extinct fossils to this indefinite gap.
But the Bible says plainly death came by Adam according to Romans 5:12, and since fossils are the result of death, they could not have happened before Adam's time.
Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned--
By the way, this is the first mention of the Holy Spirit in the Bible.
The first step from chaos to order is to bring light. This is also the way God works in our life. God brought the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ into our chaotic past lives.
When we step into a dark room, we don't pick up a baseball bat and start to swing it to overcome the darkness. But we simply turn on the light. When we face the darkness in our lives, instead of fighting with our own strength, we must let the light of God take its presence.
Many people wonder if this was a literal 24 hour day or if it was a geological age. Some say that God created the world in six days, and others say He created it in six vast geological ages. The most plain and simple meaning of the text is that He created in six literal days.
B. DAY TWO - AIR SPACES
Genesis 1:6-8 Then God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." 7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.
The idea of a firmament is of an 'expanse' in NIV & NASB or 'space' in NLT. The waters of the land are separated from the water vapor in the sky.
Here, the Bible recognizes the existence of water vapor in the sky. The waters above the firmament thus probably constituted a vast blanket of water vapor. Such a vapor blanket would greatly change the ecology of the earth.
. It would serve as a global greenhouse, maintaining an essentially uniformly pleasant temperature all over the world.
. Without great temperature variations, there would be no significant winds, and the water-rain cycle could not form. There would be no rain as we know it today.
. There would be lush, tropical-like vegetation, all over the world, fed not by rain, but by a rich evaporation and condensation cycle, resulting in heavy dew or ground-fog.
. The vapor blanket would filter out ultraviolet radiation, cosmic rays, and other destructive energies bombarding the planet. These are known to be the cause of mutations, which decrease human longevity. Human and animal life spans would be greatly increased.
. A vapor blanket would provide the necessary reservoir for a potential worldwide flood.
C. DAY THREE - DRY LAND AND PLANT LIFE
Genesis 1:9-13 Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 So the evening and the morning were the third day.
If we were witnessing God's creation on the third day, we could see all the plants, trees coming out of the earth and growing fast. I bet that was quite a sight to behold. I'd say that is real 'Miracle Grow'.
All this happened before the creation of the sun, because sun was not available until next day. This means the plants must have had sufficient nourishment because of the light God had created before the sun and the moon. Revelation 21:23 tells us of a coming day when we won't need the sun, moon, and stars any longer. There's no reason why God couldn't have started creation in the same way He will end it.
D. DAY FOUR - SUN, MOON, AND STARS
Genesis 1:14-19 Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so. 16 Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. 17 God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
God knew exactly how far to set the sun from the earth. A few million miles more or less and life as we know it would be impossible.
Some have mistakenly viewed these words "signs and seasons" as a biblical basis for astrology. They call these signs 'zodiac'. It is plain wrong to get into astrology.
In astrology, unbelievers use stars and planets for guidance. But the Bible says they merely display the handiwork of God. What folly to follow astrological charts, such as Gemini, Leo, Virgo, etc., of the Babylonians or worship the sun god in Egypt. Rather, one should trust the One who made these objects in the heavens. However, many humans repeatedly reject the Creator to worship the creatures.
Ps 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.
Romans 1:25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever, amen.
Ancient Chinese people came up with the same concept. Chinese Zodiac has 12 categories like ancient Babylonian's. Out of that, you would see 12 animals, such as dragon, stork, tiger, dog, chicken, monkey and snake, etc., represent each type of person. So if you were born in 1956, you would be in 'the year of monkey'. Occultic people claim that they can use these zodiac signs to foretell individual's future. If that is the case, anyone who was born 1956, 1968, 1980 and every 12 years should have the same fate and the same future. But they don't. How bogus and stupid this is! So, don't mess with fortune telling or horoscope. They are nothing more than demonic.
Have you ever wonder if there is life on other planets? Obviously the U.S. government has. So, our government has been spending $100 million a year looking for extraterrestrial intelligence in the space. In my opinion, it might be wiser to spend the money cultivating intelligent life in Washington D.C.
I like the way v16 says about the stars almost like an after thought, "Oh yeah, He made the stars also." Oh yeah, just trillion stars.
E. DAY FIVE - SEA CREATURES AND BIRDS IN THE AIR
Genesis 1:20-23 Then God said, "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens." 21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." 23 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
I asked you to underline "according to its kind". This phrase appears ten times in Genesis chapter 1. It means God allows variation within a kind, but something of one kind will never develop into something of another kind.
The evolutionists love to talk about 'Microevolution' that they consider as a stepping stone to 'Macroevolution'.
For example, structure among dogs is diverse. The teacup poodle is very different from the Great Dane, but they are both dogs. However, they won't become mice, no matter how much breeding is done.
Evolutionists often give convincing examples of Microevolution, the variation of a kind within its kind, adapting to the environment. For example, the ratio of black to white peppered moths may increase when pollution makes it easier for dark moths to escape detection. Or finches may develop different beaks in response to their distinctive environment. But the moths are still moths, and the finches are still finches. There has been no change outside of the kind. Microevolution does not prove Macroevolution.
F. DAY SIX - ANIMALS ON THE EARTH AND CREATION OF MANKIND
Genesis 1:24-25 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind"; and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Most people are unaware that Darwin's strongest opponents were not Christians, but fossil experts. Darwin admitted the state of the fossil evidence was "the most obvious and gravest objection which can be argued against my theory."
The fossil record is marked by two great principles:
1) Stasis - It means most species are unchanged in all their documented history.
The way they look when they first appear in the fossil record is the way they look when last appearing in the fossil record. They have not changed.
2) Sudden appearance - It explains in any local area, a species does not arise gradually, but appears all at once and "fully formed."
If evolution means the gradual change of one kind of organism into another kind, the outstanding characteristic of the fossil record is the absence of evidence for evolution.
By the way, if you've ever wondered which of the egg or chicken was first, it was the chicken.
Genesis 1:26-28 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
The use of the plural pronoun, such as, 'our' and 'us', is consistent with the idea that there is One God in three Persons, what we know as the Trinity.
Mankind was created in God's image. This bring a few points we must understand:
1) This means there is an unbridgeable gap between human life and animal life.
Though we are biologically similar to certain animals, we are distinct in our moral, intellectual, and spiritual capabilities.
2) This means the incarnation was truly possible.
Jesus, God in the Second Person of the Trinity could really become man, because although deity and humanity are not the same, they are compatible.
3) This means humans possess spirituality.
Man is made for communion with God. It is on the level of spirit we communicate with God. No animals, no trees, no other created beings has this privilege and spirit.
The theory 'Nebraska Man' was constructed on the basis of a pig's tooth. The theory of 'Piltdown Man' was also built around a modern ape's jaw.
For a long time the evolutionists were beaming over the discover of the 'Neanderthal Man'. They thought that this primitive man was the missing link between modern man and ape-like creatures. Because this primitive man was a little slouch in form. He had brow ridges, bulbous forehead, sloping shoulders, bowed-legs and other so-called 'primitive' features.
But the other scientists like Dr. Francis Ivanhoe found out that the Neanderthal Man's primitive features were due to softening of his bones and other pathological conditions caused by his severe Vitamin D deficiency. Cripple him further with arthritis. If the Neanderthal Man could speak from his grave, he would say, "I was not a caveman. I was just hurting."
Genesis 1:29-31 And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so. 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
God gave man dominion over the whole earth, but only vegetation is specifically mentioned as being for food. Seemingly, before the flood, the human race was vegetarian, but after the flood, man was given permission to eat the flesh of animals according to Genesis 9:3. From what we have learned in the Book of Revelation, we are going to go back to a vegetarian diet in heaven. So chow down that 16 oz. T-bone steak while you can.
G. APPLICATION
1) In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Whether you believe it or not, that is truth.
Genesis 2
The First Man and Woman
Last week we went over the history of creation by God. In a typical Hebrew writing style, the author Moses of the Book of Genesis is going back over the history of creation in details.
We'll get to know more about how our God created the earth, the Garden of Eden, especially about the first marriage of the mankind from today's study.
A. THE DAY GOD RESTED
Genesis 2:1-3 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
God did not need rest on the seventh day because He was tired. He rested to show His creating work was done and to show us an example of resting.
Some of you who know me are thinking, "Yeah, why don't you listen to your own teaching, bro?" Because they know that I have three jobs and am very busy, as the pastor of Calvary Chapel of Sahuarita, as an assistant pastor and graphic designer for Calvary Chapel of Tucson and as a web and graphic designer for my own side business. I have not had a full day off since our previous vacation in last August. You might say, "Didn't you have a vacation while you were in Israel?" I don't think that you can categorize it as a vacation. Because we were in training from early in the morning until late night.
So, I must admit that I am a bad example in taking time off to rest. However, after the Pastors Conference that I organize and execute, and our Resurrection Celebration next month, I will take some time off. I promise.
God sanctified the seventh day because it was a gift to man for rest and replenishment.
The Seventh Day Adventists condemn Christians for not worshiping the Lord on Saturdays. Because according to the Old Testament law, they believe that we all must worship the Lord on Sabbath which is Saturday.
Christians are not under obligation to observe the Sabbath today, because Jesus fulfilled the purpose and plan of the Sabbath for us and in us. Every day is a day of rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Every day is specially set apart to God.
Colossians 2:16-17 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
B. THE HISTORY OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH
Genesis 2:4-7 This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5 before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; 6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. 7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Physically, man was taken out of the ground. It is quite interesting that our bodies are made up of about fifteen or sixteen chemical elements. Those same chemical elements are in the ground. The physical part of man was taken out of the dust of the ground. If we were to be boiled down into the separate chemical elements of which we are made, we would be worth very little in terms of money. Some say $2.98, but the inflation factor has increased that figure a little more, maybe $6 to $7. Yes, we humans are made out of dirt which is literally 'dirt cheap'. But the same time, we are made in the image of God which cannot be counted in monetary measurement.
We are created for His pleasure and we are created because our God loves us so much. Our God wants to have a close relationship with us. That is why we are made in His image.
C. ADAM IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN
Genesis 2:8-9 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Some consider the fact of the Garden of Eden as a fairy tale. It is not. It was a very real paradise where God designated for the first man and woman to be in.
The tree of life was to grant eternal life to mankind. That means that if we had a fruit of the Tree of Life, we would be forever young. That would put the majority of plastic surgeons out of business.
People around the world spend about 10 billion dollars per year to keep themselves looking young with just about any kinds of procedures including 'Nip and Tuck' and dangerous 'Botox Cosmetic' method. I am beginning to have a lot of white hairs on my head. Actually, I like them. Who knows, people might think that I am wise now since I have white hairs.
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the 'test tree of human's obedience to God'. I don't believe that it was any special fruit tree. It was a matter of obedience to God's command.
'The knowledge of good' would bring the conscience that accepts and obeys the Holy Spirit's commands. 'The knowledge of evil' would awaken our disobedience in sinful nature as a free will agent.
Genesis 2:10-15 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
Nobody knows the exact location of the Garden of Eden. But many scholars believe that it is somewhere in the Tigris-Euphrates valley.
Genesis 2:16-17 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
God put Adam into the most spectacular paradise the world has seen, but God put Adam there to do work.
God not only made His command clear to Adam, but He also clearly explained the consequences for disobedience.
D. THE FIRST WEDDING IN THE PARADISE
Genesis 2:18-20 And the Lord God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." 19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.
Hundreds and thousands of animals received their names from Adam. None of them got duplicated names. Adam must have been a brilliant man.
God knew what Adam was lacking before he even realized: His helper, his soul mate, his the-other-half, his woman.
I wouldn't be surprised if Adam came to God and asked Him to give him a woman. He probably said, "I'd like to start a family, too, God. I will call it "Adam's Family".
Genesis 2:21-22 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are witnessing the first wedding of mankind. God walked Eve down to Adam and presented her to be his wife. I am sure that it was a pleasant surprise for Adam to see his beautiful wife Eve after he woke up from his deep sleep.
The woman is taken from the side of Adam. God didn't take her from his head to be his superior, nor from his foot to be his inferior. But God took her from Adam's side to be equal with him, under his arm so that he can protect her, close to his heart so that he can love her.
If you are single person and waiting for that perfect one for yourself, please do not be in a hurry. While you wait upon the Lord as Adam did, He will bring the right person to you.
As God brought Adam's bride Eve from the side of the first Adam, our Father in heaven brought the bride of Christ, the church, from the wounded side of the Second Adam, Jesus.
Many people think that the spouse whom they are going to marry or they have, should fulfill their lives. Obviously, they cannot and will not. There is only one who can fulfill anyone's life. It is Jesus. It is no wonder why a person feels empty deep down in his heart, because that person does not have Jesus as his Savior and Lord.
According to MODERN BRIDE magazine, the average bride-to-be spends 150 hours planning her wedding. The average groom-to-be spends 150 hours saying, "Yeah. sounds good." If both sides spend even 15 hours of their time in studying God's plan for marriage and obey it, I am sure that we wouldn't have this high rate of divorce in this country.
Probably you are thinking, "Pastor, why were you reading MODERN BRIDE magazine?" I am just quoting from someone who has read it. So don't give me that look.
By the way, the whole event of the creation of the animals and birds, naming them, and creating Adam and Eve were done on the sixth day. Not later.
One day, Adam came to God and asked Him, "How come you made Eve so beautiful and soft, Lord?" God answered with a gentle smile, "So you can love her." A little later, Adam had this puzzled look on his face and asked, "Then how come you made her stupid?" God looked at him squarely in his eyes and answered, "So she can love you."
E. GOD'S PRINCIPLES OF MARRIAGES
1 Peter 3:7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them [your wives] with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.
Everything in the marriage relationship is intertwined. If your marriage isn't healthy, then your relationship with God will suffer and vice versa. The Apostle Peter tells husbands to dwell with their wives with understanding. To "dwell with understanding" means that husbands are to be aligned to their wives and be united with them in thoughts, goals, plans, and efforts. In essence, Peter tells husbands that if they don't treat their wives with understanding, their prayers will be hindered.
Your relationship with God and with your spouse will thrive - not just survive - if you bury the hatchet and don't let the sun go down while you are still angry with one another.
Husbands, if you really love your wife as Christ loved the church, your wife will follow God's will. She will submit to you. It will not happen because you demand. It will come to reality, because you love her very much and sacrifice for her. True headship comes from sacrifice and love on your part. It thrives when a husband says in action: "I love you. I want to help you." Your wife will respect you for that.
Wives, if you truly submit to your husband as unto the Lord, your husband will love you to the point that he will sacrifice his desires for yours. He will exalt you, putting you and your needs before his own. You will have a husband who loves you as his own body.
If we want our marriages not only to survive but thrive, we must get back to God's original design. We must read and obey the Word of God and leave the rest to Him.
If you'd like to learn more about the God's principles of marriage, we have a marriage class going on Sunday evenings by Merrill and Cindy Simon at the River of Life Church. I highly recommend it.
Some husbands and wives think that because they have bad marriages or don't love their spouses, they think that they can bail out to look for somebody else. They think that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. Oh yeah, it is greener around the septic tank.
The likelihood of married adults getting divorced is identical among born-again Christians and those who are not born-again, according to a new study released by the Barna Group. The study also found that most Americans reject the notion that divorce is a sin. Whether you consider divorce as a sin or not, God does. So if you are considering a divorce to look for a new love in all the wrong places, remember this preacher's warning: "Repent, you are sinning. God will judge you for your sin of divorce."
Mal 2:16 "For the Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce, for it covers one's garment with violence," Says the Lord of hosts. "Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously."
Genesis 2:23-25 And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." 24 Therefore (1) a man shall leave his father and mother and (2) be joined to his wife, and (3) they shall become one flesh. 25 And (4) they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
I find four simple, yet profound principles of marriage:
1) SEVERANCE: "a man shall leave his father and mother"
2) PERMANENCE: "be joined to his wife"
3) UNITY: "they shall become one flesh"
4) INTIMACY: "they were both naked, the man and his wife,
and were not ashamed"
Don't expect that these principles are going to work in your marriage automatically just because you said, "I do." You have to work hard at it. Do you know how to ruin your marriage? Don't do anything. It dissolves itself in no time.
F. APPLICATIONS
1) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her. Eph 5:25
2) Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. Eph 5:22
3) So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate. Mt 19:6
Genesis 3
Curse and Cure
In my opinion, this chapter is the most important chapter of the entire Bible. Without understanding why and how Adam and Eve fell into their sins, the Atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ become a mute point.
With these in mind, we are going to study the curse that came from the fall of man and the cure that came from the love of God.
A. PUTTING DOUBT IN OUR HEARTS
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"
Apparently, before the curse pronounced in Genesis 3:14-15, the serpent was different than what we know today as a serpent. It became one.
One interesting thing, from what we have learned in the first two chapters when God spoke, He brought life and order, when satan spoke he brought chaos and death.
Satan brought his temptation against woman because he knew that she was more vulnerable to attack since she didn't hear God's command first hand. He also knew that woman has more tendencies to long for spiritual things than man in general. In fact, that is why many of the founders of cults and isms have been women.
Satan's first attack was against the Word of God. From the beginning, satan has tried to deceive God's people by undermining God's Word. He can undermine just as effectively by getting us to neglect God's Word as by getting us to doubt it.
B. THE CONVERSATION THAT SHOULD NOT BEEN TAKEN
Genesis 3:2-3 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'"
Eve's first mistake was in even carrying on a conversation with the satan. The devil is the father of all lies as Jesus said. There is nothing worth conversing with him.
Eve misquoted God's command to Adam. To make matters worse, she added to the command and put words in God's mouth when she said, "nor shall you touch it." God never has said that. She could hang upside down from a branch if she wanted or they could have built a tree house on that tree. God's command to them was "not to eat it."
When we start to exchange God's Word with men's, that is when we really are digging ourselves into massive trouble.
C. MIXING TRUTH WITH LIES
Genesis 3:4-5 Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die (False). 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened (True), and you will be like God (False), knowing good and evil (True)."
Satan effectively laid the groundwork. He drew Eve into a conversation with him and planted the seed of doubt about God's Word, and he exposed Eve's incomplete understanding of God's Word. Now he moves in for the kill, with an outright contradiction of what God said.
Satan first wanted Eve to forget all about what God said about the consequences of sin, which is death. When we know and remember the consequences of sin, we are more likely to give up the passing pleasures of sin.
Satan tried to portray God as a conniving jealous mean master who doesn't want to share good things, such as the fruits from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, with Adam and Eve.
Then, here comes the ultimate bait for the mankind: "You will be like God." This old lie has been repackaged in many different wrapping materials. Mormonism claims that we are little gods. New Age movements cry out that there are gods within all of us. All we have to do is enlighten ourselves to achieve that divine stage.
Even within the rank of Christianity some false teachers teach their congregation with this garbage. Kenneth Copeland said, "Cow begets cow, dog begets dog. Since we are children of God, we are little gods." That is an utter heresy and it is damnable. Yes, those who are born-again are children of God, but we are not gods.
Before you get all upset with me and storm out of church because I talked against Kenneth Copeland, I want you to borrow this CD 'Defending the Faith' by Pastor Paul Scozzafava who is a renown apologist of the Word of God and listen to the recording of Kenneth Copeland's own voice. As long as you don't worship the ground he walks on, his comment will send a chill down your back.
The liberal and the atheist take from the Word of God to dilute it, and God has warned against that. The cults and false teachers add to the Word of God to suit their needs, and God warns against that.
Please note that satan does not come up with pure lies which are rarely effective. He mixes lies with the truth and gives some credit to his lies.
D. THE FALL OF MAN
Genesis 3:6 So when (1) the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that (2) it was pleasant to the eyes, and (3) a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
Eve surrendered to this temptation exactly the way John describes in 1 John 2:16.
1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world.
First, she gave in to the lust of the flesh - "saw that it was good for food", then she gave in to the lust of the eyes - "pleasant to the eyes", then she gave in to the pride of life "desirable to make one wise".
Jesus was tempted in the same three-fold way in Matthew 4:1-11: an appeal to the physical appetites, an appeal to covetous and emotional desires, and an appeal to pride. Yet, He didn't fall for satan's temptations. How did He fight back? Each time He was tempted, He fought back with the Word of God. In Eve's case, she already distorted the words from God, so she was going south.
I do not think that the devil has changed his tactics today. He uses the same tactics with you and me, and the reason that he still uses them is that they work. He hasn't needed to change his tactics, because we all seem to fall for the same line.
Even though Eve was tempted by satan, satan couldn't cram the fruit down her throat. Eve was completely responsible for her own action. She couldn't rightly say, "the devil made me do it."
Not only did Eve sin, but she became the agent of temptation for Adam. But when Adam ate, he was not deceived as Eve was. Adam sinned with his eyes wide open, in open rebellion against God.
E. EXCUSE, EXCUSE
Genesis 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
"Then the eyes of both of them were opened" - this refers to their conscience. Before the fall, man did not have a conscience. He was innocent. Innocence is ignorance of evil. Adam and Eve did not confess their sin. They just attempted to cover it up. They were not ready to admit their lost condition.
I was told that fig leaves are a prickly quality, which would make for very itchy coverings. Every attempt to cover up our own sins before God is just as foolish. We need to let Jesus cover us with His blood.
Adam's attempt to covering his own sin is like religion. Religion is man's efforts to reach God which is nothing more than a futile effort on man's part.
Genesis 3:8-10 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."
Folks, this is what we do when we are sinning against God knowingly. This is what backsliders do. Some try to hide away from the voice of God while God is actively asking them to return to Him. Where can we go from His presence? Where can we run from His Omni-Presence? You can run, but you cannot hide from God.
This shows that Adam and Eve knew that their attempt to cover themselves failed. They didn't proudly show off their fig-leaf outfits to God. They knew their own covering were completely inadequate, and they were embarrassed before God. There is a theological term for Adam's fig-leaf outfits - 'Adam's Fall Fashion Line'.
V9 is the heartfelt cry of an anguished father. God obviously knew where they were but He also knew a gulf just had been made between Himself and man by the first Adam.
Genesis 3:11-13 And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?" 12 Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." 13 And the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
Sin made Adam be afraid of God's presence and His voice. But God wanted Adam to confess his sins. Ever since Adam, men run from God's presence and don't want to listen to His Word.
We all sin. But when we sin, we can still give glory to God by openly confessing without shifting the blame to others. There is nothing you can do about yesterday's sin. Yet you can do what is right before God right now by confessing and repenting.
Adam's attempt to blame Eve is completely consistent with human nature. Few of us are willing to simply say as David did, "I have sinned against the Lord" in 2 Samuel 12:13 .
By saying "the woman whom You gave to be with me," Adam essentially blames God for the sin.
F. THE FIRST GOSPEL
Genesis 3:14-15 So the Lord God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."
Note that satan in a serpent form was still hanging around with Adam and Eve. I believe that he was condemning them for their disobedience to God. That is how satan operates. First, he tempts us. Once we fall for it, he condemns us. We don't have to listen to his temptation only, but also his condemnation because both are from the pit of hell.
Adam and Eve must have been terrified as this once-beautiful creature called a serpent was transformed into the creeping, slithering, hissing snake we know today. They must have thought, "Uh oh, it's our turn next!"
In this, God prophesies the doom of satan, showing that the real battle is between satan and the Seed of the Woman. There is no doubt this is a prophecy of Jesus' ultimate defeat of satan. God announced that satan would injure the Messiah, but the Messiah would crush satan with a mortal wound. Jesus did that through His own death and resurrection. Some people call this chapter the first Gospel in the Bible.
God's plan wasn't "set back" when Adam and Eve sinned. Because God's plan was to bring forth something greater than men in the innocence of Eden . God wanted more than innocent men. His plan is to bring forth REDEEMED MAN.
G. CURSES FOR MANKIND
Genesis 3:16 To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; (1) In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you."
I don't think I have to explain about the pain in child baring and all the other things you ladies go through. When you get to heaven, have a long talk with Eve, ladies.
The principle of Adam's headship as a husband was established before the fall. Now the curse on Eve makes it much harder for her to submit and flow with God's institution of male headship in the home. As a result of the fall, marriage has constant power struggles between husband and wife.
Genesis 3:17-19 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake; (2) In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 Both (3) thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 (4) In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread (5) till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And (6) to dust you shall return."
Because of Adam, there is a curse upon all creation. Before the curse on man, the ground only produced good. After the curse, it will still produce good, but thorns and thistles will come faster and easier than good fruit.
This is the judgment upon man. Death now comes to man. But Adam did not die physically the day that he ate. He did not die until more than nine hundred years later. He died spiritually the moment he disobeyed. He was separated from God.
1) Sin brought pain to childbirth, and no one knew more pain than Jesus did when He, through His suffering, brought many sons to glory.
2) Sin brought toil, and Jesus endured great toil to bring our salvation.
3) Thorns came with sin and the fall, and Jesus endured a crown of thorns to bring our salvation.
4) Sin brought sweat, and Jesus sweat, as it were, great drops of blood to win our salvation.
5) Sin brought sorrow, and Jesus became a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, to save us.
6) Sin brought death, and Jesus tasted death for everyone that we might be saved.
H. THE REDEMPTION CURE THROUGH SACRIFICE
Genesis 3:20-24 And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. 22 Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"-- 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
In order for Adam and Eve to be clothed, a sacrifice had to be made. An animal had to die. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission.
Adam and Eve were clothed in a garment that was purchased with the life of another, which only covered their sins temporarily. But we are clothed with a garment of righteousness that was purchased with the life of Jesus Christ and with that righteous garment our sins were forgiven and washed away.
With disobedience of the first Adam, mankind was separated from God. But because God loved us so much that He sent the second Adam, Jesus Christ to bridge that gap.
Romans 8:38-39 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I. APPLICATIONS
1) We will fall straight into temptations when we neglect God's Word and prayers to Him.
2) What we fleshly desire is contrary to what the Holy Spirit wants in our lives. Let's ask ourselves if the consequences of what we want is worth it.
3) There is often nothing you can do about yesterday's sin. Yet you can do what is right before God right now by confessing and repenting.
Genesis 4
The Dawn of the Sinful World
Many people who are in humanism believe that mankind is basically good and a few rotten people cause problems against the mankind. If you believe that, you have more faith than I do for mankind. I have only one kind of faith for mankind - without Jesus, every single person will end up in hell.
Throughout the history of humanity, we don't see anything but hostility to one another and ultimately against God. From the dawn of this sinful world, we find a murder, not taking responsibility for their actions, spiritual pride and rejecting the Creator.
Many of us remember the news story about the slain Tucson Police Department Officer Patrick Hardesty. John Cruz, who killed Officer Hardesty denied his killing throughout the trial. When the sentence was handed down, he finally admitted that he killed the officer. Yet, he and his family don't think that he should be executed for killing the officer. Their mindset is that it is OK for him to take away a police officer's life, but it is not OK for the government to punish him with an execution. What a typical twisted human logic!
In Genesis 3 we have the root of sin and in Genesis 4 we find the fruit of sin.
A. THE BIRTH OF CAIN AND ABEL
Genesis 4:1-2 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have acquired a man from the Lord." 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
I am sure that Eve remembered what God told them:
Genesis 3:15 between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
She was hoping and expecting that the child she just bore would be the one who would bruise Satan's head and take the curse back. Little she knew that he would become the first murderer of mankind.
Genesis 4:3-5 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
Let's not think that God didn't care to have fruit from the ground. Nothing wrong with the fruits. It was not the choice of fruits or animal in this case. It was a matter of obedience to God's instruction.
Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.
Cain's offering was the effort of dead human religion and simply discharging a duty, while Abel's offering was made in faith, in a desire to worship God in spirit and in truth.
We are not born as children of God. We have to be born-again to be children of God. Man is separated from God from birth. Cain refused to recognize that, and multitudes today refuse to do so.
You may say, "Maybe Cain didn't know what to bring." I don't think so. I am sure that his mom and dad told him what happened in the Garden of Eden. I am also sure that God gave them instructions for the sacrifice. Cain simply ignored what God said and he did whatever he wanted. We can see his attitude from his reaction to God.
Sacrifice requires life to cover the sins of a person. Cain ignored it just like many people today, including some Christians who think lightly of the Atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Cain's lack of faith shows up in his response to God's rejection of his offering of fruit. Rather than repenting for his wrong doing and pleasing God, he was very angry.
Cain's anger was undoubtedly rooted in spiritual pride and jealousy. He couldn't bear that his brother was accepted before God and he was not.
B. GOD'S ADVICE TO MAKE IT RIGHT
Genesis 4:6-7 So the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."
In His grace and love, God reached out to Cain to teach to be godly instead of being sinful. He made it clear that he would be accepted if he did well.
Of course, God knew the outcomes of these questions, but He wanted Cain to know and stop what was happening inside himself. God warned Cain about the destructive power of sin. Cain can resist sin and find blessing, or he can give in to sin and be devoured.
We can prevent sin from ruling over us by allowing God to master us first. Without God as our master, we will be slaves to sin without exception.
"Sin lies at the door" is such a great description of our spiritual dilemma. We all are born with a sinful nature. If that is not bad enough, the enemy of God, Satan, entices our sinful nature day and night to ignore the Holy Spirit's warnings and convictions. The devil also encourages us to conveniently forget about any possibilities of consequences of our sins. Indeed, sin lies at the door to pounce on us at any given opportunity. More often than not, we walk right into his booby trap knowingly and unknowingly. How stupid can we get? When God warns us, we must take heed His voice.
Prov 7:21-22 With her enticing speech she caused him to yield, with her flattering lips she seduced him. 22 Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks.
C. THE FIRST MURDER
Genesis 4:8-9 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. 9 Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?"
This shows that Cain committed premeditated murder, and therefore clearly ignored God's way of escape.
Now Adam and Eve's hopeful redeemer is a murderer, and their second son is the victim of murder.
God knew the answer of His question. He asked Cain because He wanted to give him the opportunity to confess his sin and start to do right after doing wrong.
How useless it was for Cain to lie to God! It was madness for him to think God didn't know where Abel was, or that he could actually hide his sin from God.
This reply of Cain, "Am I my brother's keeper?" is well known. The fact of the matter is that he was supposed to be his brother's keeper, but he became the murderer of his brother. He murdered him for the lowest of reasons. Cain's murderous rage was inspired purely by a spiritual jealousy.
Jude 1:11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
Jude 11 warns of the way of Cain, which is unbelief, empty religion leading to jealousy, persecution of those truly godly, and murderous anger.
There is no greater curse on the earth than empty and vain religion, those who have a form of godliness, but deny the power of God. Many are deathly afraid of "secular humanism" or atheism, but dead religion sends more people to hell than anything else.
Cain had a chance to turn from his sins of anger, jealousy and pride to God. He could come clean by being obedient to Him. But Cain would rather kill his own brother.
I've seen the same kind of behaviors from many brothers and sisters in the Lord. When I see their sins, I talk with them and remind them as the Holy spirit leads me that there are Satan's traps waiting ahead of them if they continue. More often than not, they ignore my warnings and go straight into the traps. Then they wonder how they end up there.
You might be in that situation. You might be at the brink of decision to commit sin against God. I plea with you, please turn away from your sin. Your heart might justify whatever you are planning to do with all the garbage excuses, but God is not going to let you get by. Don't ignore God's warning to you, the consequences of your actions will not ignore you for sure.
D. FACING THE CONSEQUENCES
Genesis 4:10-12 And He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground. 11 So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12 When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth."
The curse upon Cain was that Adam's curse would be amplified in regard to him. If bringing forth food from the ground would be hard for Adam, it would be impossible for Cain who was a farmer. If Adam were driven from the Garden of Eden, Cain would find no resting place on all the earth and he would be a fugitive and homeless person.
Genesis 4:13-15 And Cain said to the Lord, "My punishment is greater than I can bear! 14 Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me." 15 And the Lord said to him, "Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." And the Lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.
Just like John Cruz who killed Police Officer Patrick Hardesty didn't want to be executed, Cain didn't want his punishment. Cain didn't feel bad about his sin, but only about his punishment. What about you? If you don't mind committing sin against God, you shouldn't mind getting consequences, either. Because they always go together.
One of the side effects of sin is that it makes the sinner pity himself instead of causing him to turn to God. One of the first signs of new life is that the individual takes sides with God against himself or herself.
In His great mercy, God set an identifying and protective mark upon Cain. Despite a lot of speculations, nobody really knows what this mark upon Cain was.
E. GODLESS CIVILIZATION
Genesis 4:16-18 Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden. 17 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son--Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech.
Here is a Bible question: Where did Cain get his wife? We don't know where. Genesis 5:4 says Adam had several sons and daughters. Cain obviously married his sister. You might say, "Does it mean God is OK with incest?"
Though marrying a sister was against the law of God according to Leviticus 18:9, 18:11, 20:17, and Deuteronomy 27:22, which even prohibits the marrying of a half-sister, this was long before God spoke that law to Moses and the world.
Here, necessity of populating the earth demanded that Adam's sons marry their sisters. And at this point, the "gene pool" of humanity was pure enough to allow close marriage without harm of inbreeding. But as a stream can get more polluted the further it gets from the source, there came a time when God decreed there no longer be marriage between close relatives because of the danger of inbreeding.
Even Abraham married his half-sister Sarah in Genesis 20:12. God did not prohibit such marriages until the time of Moses in Leviticus 18:9. Marrying a brother or sister was not forbidden until God forbade it. So, God's answer for incest is 'ABSOLUTELY NOT'.
Here we see the beginning of industry and of urbanization. It is strongly man-centered and ungodly, not God-centered. The fall of the human race continues to pick up speed.
Genesis 4:19-22 Then Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. 20 And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother's name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and flute. 22 And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.
The name Lamech may mean, "conqueror." He was the seventh from Adam on Cain's side. Lamech's arrogance is a contrast to Enoch, who was the seventh from Adam on Seth's line and walked with God.
Lamech was the first bigamist in history, going against God's original plan for one man and one woman to become one flesh. Lamech now does that which is contrary to what God intends, contrary to what God has for man. You will never find anywhere in the Scriptures that God approves of polygamy. Yes, some of the godly characters had multiple wives. But that doesn't mean that God approved it.
Here are the descendants of Lamech - having livestock, making musical instruments, and working with bronze and iron. It sounds like they have honky tonk country music and blacksmith business.
Genesis 4:23-24 Then Lamech said to his wives: "Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech! For I have killed a man for wounding me, even a young man for hurting me. 24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-seven fold."
In this ungodly boasting, Lamech was challenging God with his own power. However, I am sure that he doesn't feel so invincible now in Hades while he is waiting for God's judgement for the last 6000 years.
Genesis 4:25-26 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, "For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed." 26 And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the Lord.
In strong contrast with this ungodly society was the righteous. In the line from Seth there was faith. Seth himself was a provision from God, according to Eve's statement of faith. In the days of Enosh, Seth's son, men began to call on the name of the LORD 'Yahweh'.
F. APPLICATIONS
1) We must not think that we can escape the consequences of our sins. Our sins will find us out.
2) Just because God does not punish us the moment we sin against Him, it doesn't mean that He winks at our sins. He is giving us time to repent.
Genesis 5-6
Human Depravity at its Worst
The majority of people in America don't understand the corruption and depravity of mankind very well. Those who are involved in the law enforcement field see the portion of its ugly truth day in and day out. It is no wonder why some police officers shut off their feelings to victims' and their families' emotions. They don't mean anything bad, but it is their survival mechanism that they choose to use to go on in their daily work.
As long as there are criminals, police officers and correctional officers in prisons will never have to face a lay-off situation. We all know that there is no end of the supply of criminals. As a matter of fact, it is getting worse each and every day. What we see and what we hear from news media does not even cover the tip of the iceberg for what one human can do to another.
This morning we are going to see when even our merciful God says, "Enough is enough," and He is about to pull the plug on human depravity. But in the midst of this horrible and unending human wickedness, a couple of men find grace in the Lord. Let's learn from these two people.
A. THE GENEALOGY FROM ADAM TO NOAH
Genesis 5:1-6 This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created. 3 And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. 4 After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters. 5 So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died.
'930 years', can you imagine his birthday cake with 930 candles? To blow out those candles, Adam would need a hurricane, huh?
The Bible critics surely have a major problem with the extremely long life spans here. In this chapter, no one lived less than 365 years - and this is Enoch, who was a special case, and Methuselah lived 969 years. How is this possible?
Some have thought this is speaking figuratively or counting months as years. But if that is the case, Enoch fathered Methuselah when he was five and a half years old.
It is more likely that people did live much, much longer before the flood. This is because the environment in the pre-flood world was so different, with the UV protective blanket of water vapors surrounding the earth. In the post-flood world, life spans quickly shortened to the life-spans we are familiar with today.
When Eve gave birth, it was in Adam's likeness, not God's. Why? Because depravity had flooded humanity and polluted their innocence. Sin entered into the human lives.
Genesis 5:6-24 Seth lived one hundred and five years, and begot Enosh. 7 After he begot Enosh, Seth lived eight hundred and seven years, and had sons and daughters. 8 So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died. 9 Enosh lived ninety years, and begot Cainan. 10 After he begot Cainan, Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and had sons and daughters. 11 So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died. 12 Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalalel. 13 After he begot Mahalalel, Cainan lived eight hundred and forty years, and had sons and daughters. 14 So all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died. 15 Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared. 16 After he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years, and had sons and daughters. 17 So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years; and he died. 18 Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch. 19 After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 20 So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died. 21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. 22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
Don't you feel like we are walking through a graveyard and reading a bunch of tombstones? In the midst of many deaths, we find a bright spot in Enoch.
This is one of the most remarkable things; that in the midst of death one man was removed from this earth. It is said of Enoch that he "walked with God."
We are told that he did not die but that God took him. That means that he was translated. What do we mean by translation? Translation is the taking of a word from one language and putting it into another language without changing its meaning. Enoch was translated from this earth to heaven.
Enoch had a very close relationship with God. It is like this: God enjoyed time with Enoch so much and they walked around all over. As they walked toward heaven, God said to Enoch, "It is late, why don't you stay with me at my home in heaven?"
Walking with God means walking by faith according to 2 Cor 5:7, walking in the light according to 1 John 1:5-7, and walking in agreement with God according to Amos 3:3.
How about us? We cannot walk in faith, in light and in agreement with Him, unless we spend time with Him in reading His Word and in prayers. Our God loves to spend time with us. Do we want to spend time with Him, too? I am not talking about praying before meals and before we go to sleep. Do we spend time alone with God in our devotion? Don't tell me you don't have time. We do have time. It is a matter of priority for us to put God in the first place of our lives.
Genesis 5:25-32 Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech. 26 After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters. 27 So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died. 28 Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. 29 And he called his name Noah, saying, "This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord has cursed." 30 After he begot Noah, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and had sons and daughters. 31 So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died. 32 And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
At the birth of Methuselah, Enoch had a special awareness from God that judgment was coming, and this was one of the things that got him closer in his walk with God.
Methuselah's long life was no accident. It was because of the grace of God. When Methuselah died, the flood came. God kept him alive longer than anybody to give people as long as possible to repent.
God is doing the same thing right now. If God sent back His Son Jesus to take all the believers home in rapture twenty years ago, how many of us would make to heaven? Not many. I wouldn't be able to, either.
In His grace and mercy, God is extending the time of rapture, so that the last one who should get saved can come to know Him. Then, it would be the time. No one knows that time. It can be today, or tomorrow. It is better to be ready than being too late.
Before we go on to chapter 6, we find a very interesting thing about these ten people's names:
Adam Man
Seth Appointed
Enosh Subjected to death
Cainan Sorrowful
Mahalalel From the presence of God
Jared One comes down
Enoch Dedicated
Methuselah When he is dead, it shall come
Lamech To the poor and needy
Noah Bringing the rest
If we link all the definitions of the names: "Man, appointed, subjected to death, from the presence of God, one comes down, dedicated. When he is dead, it shall come, to the poor and needy, bringing the rest." Who would that be? Jesus who is in the line of Adam.
B. THE WICKEDNESS OF MAN IN THE DAYS OF NOAH
Genesis 6:1-2 Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.
During these days of rapid population expansion, especially because of long life spans in the pre-flood world, there was a problem with ungodly intermarriage between the sons of God and the daughters of men.
Now we could go on with the argument for identity of 'Sons of God". It is useless to speculate on the nature of this union. Whether it was brought about by something like demon possession, or whether angels have power permanently to assume the form of men is not revealed. But we should understand the occult is filled with the idea of perverted sexual associations.
The one important thing is that if demons who are the fallen angels had sexual unions with female humans and they got pregnant, that would be incarnation. That means that Jesus was not the only incarnation in the history. I don't believe that God would have allowed that. Only our God can create incarnation between the Holy Spirit and a human.
Genesis 6:3-4 And the Lord said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
God did not allow the human race to stay in this rebellious place forever. This means there is a "point of no return" in our rejection of God.
We are approaching to that "point of no return" fast again, ladies and gentlemen. We don't have to look hard to find out how wicked the world has become.
Genesis 6:5-7 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the Lord said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them."
V5 says a lot. It means there was no aspect of man's nature not corrupted by sin.
Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
Jesus said, "as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be" in Matthew 24:37. In other words, the conditions of the world before the coming of Jesus will be like the conditions of the world before the flood:
. Exploding world population in Genesis 6:1
. Sexual perversion in Genesis 6:2
. Demonic activities in Genesis 6:2
. Constant evil in the heart of man in Genesis 6:5
. Widespread corruption and violence in Genesis 6:11
Doesn't that sound like the current headlines from Fox News and CNN reports?
God's sorrow for mankind and the grief in His heart, are striking. God knew all along that this was how things would turn out, but our text tells us loud and clear that as God sees His plan for the ages unfold, it hurts His heart. He was sorrowful because of human sin and rebellion.
Genesis 6:8-10 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. 9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generation. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
While God saw the wickedness all over the world, He found one man with whom to begin again. Noah didn't earn grace. He found it. No one earns grace, but we can all find it in God.
It was true then, and it is true today. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more according to Romans 5:20.
C. THE GRACE OF GOD IN THE MIDDLE OF CORRUPTION
Genesis 6:11-12 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Some wonder if this is too harsh a judgment. However, since the fall in Genesis 3, every human being has a death sentence. The timing and method of that death is completely in the hands of God.
Genesis 6:14-16 "Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. 15 And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.
In the midst of such corruption and judgment, there is also grace. Instead of wiping out the entire race, God preserved a remnant.
Then God gave Noah a "Noah-Do-List" that would last 120 years. The ark was as long as a 30-story building is high - about 450 feet, and it was about 75 feet wide and 45 feet high which is about the size of the Titanic. What is described is not really a ship, but a well-ventilated barge, meant only to float and not to sail anywhere. After all, an ark is a chest, not a ship.
The total available floor space on the ark would have been over 100,000 sq. ft., which would be more floor space than in 20 standard-sized basketball courts. Noah's Ark would have had a cubic volume equal to 569 modern railroad stock cars.
God had not yet told Noah why he must build an ark. At this point, all Noah knew was that God will judge the earth, and he was supposed to build a big barge. Since it had not rained yet on the earth, it is reasonable to suppose Noah didn't know what God meant yet.
The pitch worked to waterproof the wood. Because of this mention of pitch which is a petroleum product in what most people think is the Middle East , an Oil Tycoon John D. Rockefeller found oil in that region based on this verse.
D. THE JUDGEMENT IS COMING
Genesis 6:17-22 And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. 18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark--you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. 21 And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them." 22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.
Why would God bring such a Flood? There are a couple of reasons:
1) The Flood was the most effective way of purging the world.
It would wash it clean so that not a trace of the wicked could be found.
2) The Flood was used by God to start a new creation.
The first Creation with Adam is paralleled here by the second with Noah. Much as the dry land appeared from the receding waters in 1:9, so here the waters receded until the ark came to rest on Ararat in 8:4. When Noah was finished with the ark God commissioned him to be fruitful and multiply and to have dominion over the earth in chapter 9, just as He had told Adam.
We can only wonder what Noah felt when he heard this remarkable announcement from God. God called Noah to an essential role in the greatest judgment - and greatest salvation - the world had seen.
Despite the dramatic judgment coming, God will make a covenant with Noah, and he and his family will be saved. God will also use Noah to save a remnant of each animal so the earth could be populated with people and animals after the flood.
When given this staggering job to do, Noah did it. We don't hear of him complaining or rebelling. He simply obeyed. It took 120 years to finish the ark. Can you imagine the mockeries he had to endure while he was building the ark in his driveway? At that time, they didn't have rain, if I may remind you.
The Bible presents Noah as a great hero of God. He was an outstanding example of righteousness according to Ezekiel 14:14, a preacher of righteousness according to 2 Peter 2:5, and Noah condemned the world by offering salvation in the ark that the whole world rejected according to Hebrews 11:7.
E. APPLICATIONS
1) Walking with God means walking by faith in God, walking in the light of God, and walking in agreement with God.
2) When God tells us to do something that doesn't make sense, we need to follow Him without complaining and rebelling.
Our Father knows best.
Genesis 7-8
God's Judgement & Deliverance
There are some Bible stories we are so familiar with that we no longer get excited, nor do we see any important point in them. Noah's Ark and the Great Flood are the case in point. Many of us have heard and know the story of this floating zoo.
But we must ask ourselves a couple of questions:
. What do Noah's Ark and the Great Flood have to do with me?
. What does God want me to learn from it?
The story of Noah's Ark and the Great Flood is more than a Sunday School story. It is about God's judgement against the wicked mankind and His deliverance of the righteous.
Let's see what the Lord speaks to us about this.
A. THE GREAT FLOOD
Genesis 7:1-4 Then the Lord said to Noah, "Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation. 2 You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; 3 also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth. 4 For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made."
Note that God told Noah to 'come into the ark' instead of 'go into the ark'. In other words, He was telling Noah to come into His presence, because God was already in the ark.
For seven days the world could have walked right into the ark and God would have saved them. All they had to do was believe God.
Guess how many people came through that door? None. I am sure that there were plenty of people who mocked at the obedience of Noah and his family to God.
Genesis 7:5-12 And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him. 6 Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth. 7 So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood. 8 Of clean animals, of animals that are unclean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth, 9 two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth. 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. 12 And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.
What is the scientific, historical evidence of the Flood? I cannot tell you on this subject better than one particular book I highly recommend. It is 'The Genesis Flood' by Henry M. Morris and John C. Whitcomb. Both of these men are thoroughly qualified to write on this subject. John Whitcomb, Th.D., professor of Old Testament at Grace Theological Seminary, and Henry M. Morris, Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, professor of hydraulic engineering and chairman of the Department of Civil Engineering in the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, joined together and have written a book on 'The Genesis Flood'. They show that the Flood was universal, it was a great catastrophe, and there is historical evidence for it.
God never has a problem getting the animals to do what He wants. Only man is more stupid than the animals to ignore God's commands.
Isaiah 1:3 The ox knows its owner And the donkey its master's crib; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider.
By nature, I do not like rain. Actually, I despise it. I am so glad that we don't live in Washington State or Oregon State. They have rain all the time. I'd rather have any sun shiny day over any rainy day. I know many of you think rain is soothing. Not me. If I can have my way, I'd love to see that God makes gigantic water pipes coming down from heaven to irrigate the world, not with rain. But He doesn't take my suggestion.
We don't get to have a whole lot of rain in Southern Arizona. Can you imagine having rain for 40 days and nights straight? This is when the great waters which were above the firmament broke up that was mentioned in Genesis 1:7. These waters formed the huge "blanket" of water in the upper part of the earth's atmosphere since creation.
Waters came up from under the earth also, no doubt accompanied by a great geological catastrophe like an earthquake. You may say, "What water from under the earth?" In case you have not noticed, there are vast amounts of water tables underneath of the earth that we pump out for residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural usage.
Gigantic tidal waves followed these eruptions that would make the last year's Indonesia's Tsunami look like child's play.
The number '40' becomes associated with testing and purification, especially before coming into something new and significant.
Genesis 7:13 On the very same day Noah and Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark-- 14 they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. 15 And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. 16 So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.
Noah did not have to shut the door on anyone's salvation. God did it. Just like that, it is never our job to disqualify people from salvation. It is God's job.
God kept the door open until the last possible minute, but there came a time when the door had to shut. It is my earnest prayer that if you don't know Jesus as the Savior and Lord, you may not be shut out because of your stubbornness.
The ark was salvation for Noah, but condemnation for the world. There were no second chances for those left out.
Genesis 7:17-24 Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. 22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died. 23 So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. 24 And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.
Literally hundreds of people groups around the world have their own accounts of the flood. Since all mankind came from Noah's sons, all mankind remembers the flood.
From Samo-Kubo tribe of New Guinea, the Athapascan Indians of America, the Papago Indians of Arizona, Brazilian tribes, Peruvian Indians, African Hottentots, natives of Greenland, native Hawaiian islanders, Hindus, Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks, Persians, Australian natives, the Welsh, Celts, Druids, Siberians, and Lithuanians they have their own account of the flood, and the following aspects of the story are common:
. 95% say the sole cause of the catastrophe is a flood
. 70% attribute survival to a boat
. 66% say that the disaster is due to man's wickedness
Before we get into chapter 8, we need go over several things about the Great Flood.
B. PURPOSE OF THE FLOOD
As it was stated in Gen. 6:5-13, because people had become corrupt and wicked, and the earth was filled with violence, God sent the flood in order to destroy humankind. There must always be judgment and death before there can be a new beginning.
C. THE TYPOLOGY OF NOAH'S ARK AND JESUS
. The ark is an illuminating picture of our salvation in Christ according to 1 Pet 3:18-22. The salvation and the ark were planned by God, not invented by humans.
. There is only one way of salvation and there was only one door in the ark.
. The ark was made of wood, speaking of the humanity of Christ. He had to be born as man in order to save us.
. The word for "pitch" in Gen. 6:14 is the same as the word "atonement" used later in the OT. As the pitch around the boat sealed the water coming into the boat, the atonement of Jesus sealed us from condemnation.
. God invited Noah and his family into the ark as God opens His arms to invite us in.
. The ark saved not only humankind, but also the creatures within it, just as Christ's death will one day deliver creation from the bondage of sin according to Rom. 8:18-23.
. The ark saved Noah and his family from judgment because they believed God's promise - Heb. 11:7.
. As the waters buried the old world, but raised Noah to a new life, 1 Peter 3:18-22 connects the ark with the resurrection of Christ.
. As Noah went out of the ark as the head of a new creation with his family, Christ came out of the tomb as the Head of the new creation.
. Just as Enoch was raptured before the judgment came, the church will be raptured before the wrath of God is poured out upon the world.
D. THE PROPHETIC SIDE OF THE GREAT FLOOD
Christ teaches that the days before the rapture and the Tribulation will be like the days of Noah. We are living in the "days of Noah" now.
But keep in mind that "the days of Noah" were also days of witness. In fact, God had told Enoch that judgment was coming, and he warned the people. And for the last 120 years of that period, Noah was preaching and preparing the ark. Today, God warns that judgment is coming, but few listen, and even fewer believe.
E. WHO'LL STOP THE RAIN?
Genesis 8:1-5 Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. 2 The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. 3 And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. 4 Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. 5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.
It is not that God forgot Noah and left on His heavenly faucet. I've done that a few times and flooded my backyard and street. But He doesn't have GVM syndrome. GVM stands for 'Green Valley Moment'. God never forgot Noah. So who'll stop the rain? God!
God brought His big blow dryer and dries up the waters from the earth.
F. THE RAVEN AND THE DOVE
Genesis 8:6-12 So it came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. 7 Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth. 8 He also sent out from himself a dove, to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground. 9 But the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned into the ark to him, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her, and drew her into the ark to himself. 10 And he waited yet another seven days, and again he sent the dove out from the ark. 11 Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. 12 So he waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove, which did not return again to him anymore.
What do you know? Noah found his new hobby - bird watching.
Why didn't the raven come back? The raven was classified as an unclean bird according to the law of God in the OT.
The raven went out into a judged world, but he found a feast in the dead carcass because that is the thing he lived on. The bloated carcass of an elephant would have made him a banquet. That is the picture of the old nature of man. The old nature loves the things of the world and feasts on them. But the problem is that what we sow into flesh, we shall reap from flesh.
The dove is a clean bird in Scripture. The dove went out into a judged world, but she found no rest, no satisfaction, and she returned to the ark. The dove represents the believer in the world.
1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Let me ask you this very personal question: What kind of bird are you? Are you a raven or a dove? If you are a child of God, you have both natures - but which one are you living in today? Do you love the things of God, or the world?
G. OUTSIDE, EVERYONE
Genesis 8:13-19 And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, that the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and indeed the surface of the ground was dry. 14 And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dried. 15 Then God spoke to Noah, saying, 16 "Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons' wives with you. 17 Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth." 18 So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him. 19 Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark.
Just a side note: The Titanic was built by professionals, but Noah's ark was built by amateurs. Guess which ship sunk.
Genesis 8:20-22 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. 22 "While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease."
Noah's first act after leaving the ark was not kissing the ground, but worshiping God through sacrifices. His gratitude and admiration of God's greatness and deliverance lead him to worship God.
I think God loves a barbecue. More pleasing to God than the smell of the sacrifice was the obedient heart of Noah in his sacrifice.
H. APPLICATIONS
1) We must remember that God gives plenty of warnings, but eventually His patience ends and judgment comes.
2) True faith in God leads to obedience to Him.
3) True witness of Jesus Christ demands separation from sin of the world.
Genesis 9
God's Faithfulness and Mercy
All the worries of believers come from our doubts in God's faithfulness. Either we are worrying that God may not do things the way we want, or we just don't trust that God is capable to do what He has promised.
Non-believers don't have a whole lot of choices. Because they don't have anything or anyone to depend on except themselves, and an economy that is worse than a schizophrenic psycho patient. But for the believers of Christ, we should not worry. Jesus told us not to worry for tomorrow in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke 7 times.
If I may remind ourselves, the Israelites wondered around in the wilderness for forty years because they didn't believe God, and worried about their future so much that all two million people with the exception of two, Joshua and Caleb, died there. It is not that God killed them in the wilderness, but their unbelief and worry did. Worry is a sin. Those who worry will never enjoy the fullness of God's faithfulness. It is their choice.
Our God remains faithful while we are unfaithful. He always keeps His promises no matter what, even though we fail to keep our promises to Him and to each other. Over 7700 promises of God are recorded in the Bible. He kept the majority of them and He will keep the rest.
Let's study the faithfulness of God and His mercy.
A. STARTING ALL OVER AGAIN
Genesis 9:1-4 So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.
God gave Noah the same kind of mandate He gave Adam in the beginning of creation, since Noah essentially began all over again.
Since man is now allowed to eat animals, God would help the animals. Because man did not look to them as food before. For their protection God put in them a fear of mankind. Additionally, God forbids man from consuming the blood of animals.
Some of you guys are good hunters. More power to you. I have a great spot where I can get the meat I want exactly. Safeway.
Genesis 9:5-7 Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man's brother I will require the life of man. "Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man. And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it."
For the first time in the Bible, capital punishment is ordered by God to man as a form of punishment against murderers.
In its original languages the Bible makes a distinction between killing and murder. Not all killing is murder, because there are cases where there is just cause for killing, such as self-defense or soldiers' killings during the time of war. And there are other instances where killing is accidental. This is killing, but not murder.
The Bible also consistently teaches God gives the government the right of capital punishment.
I am amazed at how the attitude of the present generation has gotten away from the Bible. We do not have a Bible-oriented country anymore. It is almost totally ignorant of the Word of God. As a result, we find many liberal left wing judges, crooked lawyers and liberal democrat politicians all wanting to get rid of capital punishment. They have succeeded in many cases. At the same time we have a tremendous increase in crime. Thank you very much, liberals.
Some of the criminals could care less about killing people. To them, it is nothing more than collateral damage for their own criminal activities. Although I know that many people, especially those who are liberals, would disagree with this capital punishment. When a criminal knows that if he takes a life, his life is going to be executed justly and promptly, then he'll think twice before he takes a life. Also, there is an idea today about making a tougher gun-control law. The problem is not with the gun in the hand, it is with the heart inside the man. By the way, the true gun control is using two handed Weaver Stance.
B. GOD'S FIRST COVENANT AND A SIGN
Genesis 9:8-17 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: "And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." And God said: "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." And God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth."
God used the rainbow as a sign to Noah and all generations including us that He would be faithful to His covenant. His purpose is that He will not again destroy the earth with a flood. The next time His judgment of the earth will be by fire. We find that stated in 2 Peter 3:10.
2 Pet. 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
Every time we see a rainbow, we should remember the faithfulness of God and all the His promises He kept. He even says His covenant of peace with us is just as sure as His covenant with Noah and all generations.
If the promise of God to mankind is not good enough, we find that the Lord put His rainbow very close to Himself. We find an evidence in Rev 4:3.
Rev. 4:3 And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.
However, the rainbow is not for God to remember His promise with us, because our God never forgets anything. But it is a reminder to mankind as a sign of God's faithfulness.
About ten years ago, my family was going through a real difficult time with our finances. The bills were stacking up against us faster than we could pay them. On one hot, humid summer day right after a stormy rain, I was driving to home from work in my little car which broke down so often on the streets. At the traffic light of Golf Links and Kolb in Tucson, I was praying to the Lord for His help with our finances. Do you know what the Lord said to me in my heart? He didn't tell me that He would send me a bundle of money to solve all my financial problems on that afternoon, nor give me the grand prize lottery ticket number. But when my eyes caught a bright rainbow, He reminded me this very portion of the Scripture and told me, "I am faithful." It was not an instant solution that I was looking for. But it was an encouragement and reminder of His faithfulness that would last my lifetime.
C. DRUNK AS A SKUNK
Genesis 9:18-23 Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan. These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated. And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father's nakedness.
This is the first mention of drunkenness in the Bible. Noah's own sinful and shameful actions show the foolishness of drunkenness.
Speaking of the foolishness of drunkenness, there was a false teacher within the ranks of Christian leaders who claimed God's desire is to make people "drunk in the spirit" through the work of a "Holy Ghost Bartender" which is himself. The verse they often quoted was completely misquoted and out of context.
Eph. 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
Alcohol is a depressant. It "loosens" people because it depresses their self-control, their wisdom, their balance and judgment. The filling of the Holy Spirit has an exact opposite effect. He is a stimulant, and He influences every aspect of our being to a better and more perfect performance. He brings glory to the Father in heaven through us when we are obedient to Him.
This is repulsive, but not terribly surprising. Many people who get drunk become victims and aggressors of abuse, sexual and otherwise. 75% of the men and 55% of the women involved in date-rape situations were drinking or taking drugs just before the attack. The FBI says 50% of all rapes involve alcohol.
There are more costs to drunkenness. In the United States 100,000 people die each year in alcohol-related deaths, while alcohol abuse costs the nation hundreds of billions of dollars each year. Still, the average American television viewer sees 90,000 incidents of drinking on television by age 21 and 100,000 beer commercials by age 18.
I don't think that it is necessary for me to quote any more national statistics of the damage by alcoholism. I am absolutely positive that many of us are affected by those who are our alcoholic family members or relatives.
I am going to talk about something hitting closer to home. If you are a born-again Christian, why is it necessary for you to drink alcohol? You may come up some flimsy excuses why you need to drink. You might even say that Jesus made wine at the wedding banquet and apostle Paul told Timothy to drink some wine. Jesus made wines not to embarrass the bridegroom at the banquet and Paul told Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach's sake since the water in that area was bad quality.
I don't believe that many of you have to provide beverage for any of the wedding parties at the last moment or cannot find a bottle of drinking water in grocery stores. If you want to drink alcohol because you want it, just say so.
I am not saying that you don't have a liberty in Christ to drink alcohol. You do. But would drinking beer or wine bring glory to Christ? If you have been in the Lord for some time, and let's say there is a new believer nearby your home, and he sees you buying a six pack of Rocky Mountain Pee Water Coors. The new believer thinks that you mature Christian is drinking beer, so he justifies a six pack for himself. You might be able to control how much you drink, but he may not. Then you are causing your brother to stumble. That is a sin.
1Cor. 8:13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.
Besides, do you think that your Christian testimony would be convincing if you have a can of beer or a glass of wine in your hand while witnessing to a non-believer? I think NOT, nor unbelievers.
Just for your info, all of our church leadership is strongly encouraged to not to drink or smoke or chew. In the future, if the Lord is willing, we get to have church staff, they'd better not drink any alcohol or smoke or chew tobacco, because they will be fired on the spot. I expect them to be examples, not stumbling blocks, to others.
What did happen to the righteous Noah? According to the Bible he was righteous before this sin, and the NT tells us that he was a Preacher of Righteousness. Why did he become a stark naked drunkard? It shows us that anyone can fall into sin.
It is easier for someone who has been in the Lord for a long time to get into sin than someone who is brand new in the Lord. When we are new in the faith, we usually have guards up and try very hard to please the Lord in every way. But when we get used to what we are doing, it is not surprising to see some of the veteran believers get involved with sins. A little compromise here, a little compromise there, pretty soon there is a big crash.
Ham was having a some spiritual perverse satisfaction that made him enjoy his father's sins. I guess he thought he was such a ham to do this. Literally, the ancient Hebrew says that Ham "told with delight" what he saw in his father's tent. He determined to mock his father and undermine his authority as a man of God.
Genesis 9:24-29 So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. Then he said: "Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brethren." And he said: "Blessed be the LORD, The God of Shem, And may Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge Japheth, And may he dwell in the tents of Shem; And may Canaan be his servant." And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died.
Perhaps the strongest punishment against Ham was for Noah to reveal the destiny of his son Canaan prophetically. We can trust God is not punishing the son, Canaan, for the sin of the father Ham. This goes against the heart and justice of God in Ezekiel 18:2-3. However, through Noah's prophecy, God tells Ham what will happen to his son. It is not the generational curse which is another false doctrine within Christianity.
Some prejudiced people regarded the descendants of Canaan as black people from Africa, and they used the curse on Canaan from this verse to justify slavery and racial prejudice. When it comes to the colors of the skin, God is very much color blind. He is a God of all races and loves them all equally.
E. APPLICATIONS
1) God never forgets us even though the circumstances seem to tell us that He is not with us.
Our God is faithful to complete what He started to work in us and it is His promise that He will never leave us nor forsakes us.
2) Do you feel that you have spiritual pride and perverse satisfaction when you hear Christian leaders fall? We should not. We should pray for them and learn from their sins.
Because none of us are immune to sin. We are all capable to do the exact same thing or worse. Galatians 6:1
3) If we think that we can handle sin, we are making a grave mistake.
That is exactly what Satan wants us to think. He wants us to flirt with sin, he wants us to dabble with the things we should not even come close to. If you've been doing that, stop it now before it gets worse. Submit yourselves to God and resist the devil, he will flee from you.
Genesis 10-11:9
The Pride That Reached To Heaven
"Pali, this bull has killed me." So said Jose Cubero, one of Spain 's most brilliant matadors, before he lost consciousness and died. Only 21 years old, he had been enjoying a spectacular career. However, in this bullfight, Jose made a tragic mistake. He thrust his sword a final time into a bleeding, delirious bull, which then collapsed.
Considering the struggle finished, Jose turned to the crowd to acknowledge the applause. The bull, however, was not dead. It rose and lunged at the unsuspecting matador, its horn piercing his back and puncturing his heart.
Just when we think we've finished off pride, just when we turn to accept the congratulations of the crowd, pride stabs us in the back. We should never consider pride dead before we are. As long as we have this puny human nature, we have to struggle with the main source of all of our sins. Some of you might say, "I have such low self-esteem. So you cannot find pride in me." Low self-esteem is a form of pride too. Comparing yourself with others and not satisfied with what you are or who you are.
Again, I strongly believe that the deepest root reason for all of our sins comes from our pride.
This morning we are going to take a look at two individuals and a well-known landmark that connect with pride.
A. THE MIGHTY HUNTER NIMROD
Before we jump down to v9 of chapter 10, you will notice that there is a good list of genealogy of ancient kingdom people. According to a Christian archaeologist and linguist William F. Albright, this tenth chapter of Genesis stands absolutely alone in ancient literature, without a remote parallel, even among the Greeks, where we find the closest approach to a distribution of peoples in genealogical framework. The Table of Nations remains an astonishingly accurate document.
You are welcome to read all those fancy names for your reading pleasure.
Genesis 10:9-12 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord." 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, 12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city).
Nimrod was a grandson of Ham through Cush, and his name means "rebel." He was a mighty tyrant in the sight of God, the first dictator. The word "hunter" does not refer to the hunting of animals, but rather to the hunting of men.
He was the founder of the Babylonian empire and the organizer of the enterprise that led to the construction of the Tower of Babel. History informs us that Nimrod and his wife devised a new religion built around "the mother and child." Many Byzantine artworks show the influence of Babylon's mother and child culture.
"Babylon" in the Bible symbolizes rebellion against God and confusion in religion. We see Babylon empires opposing the people of God throughout the Bible.
B. THE TOWER OF BABEL
Genesis 11:1-4 Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3 Then they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, "(1) Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower (2) whose top is in the heavens; (3) let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth."
They settled in a plain in the land of Shinar which is in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley.
Using baked bricks and asphalt for mortar, men built a tower that was both strong and waterproof, even as Noah used the same material in waterproofing the ark. Many archaeologists have discovered that this type of baked brick and asphalt construction was common in ancient Babylon.
I asked you to put numbers in v4. The number 1 through 3 show a strong statement of themselves against God. When they said that, they meant it.
The purpose of this city and the tower were to:
1) maintain unity in opposition to God
2) to achieve the status of God
3) make a name for themselves.
This entire operation is a preview of the final opposition of man and Satan against Christ, centered in the 'Great Babylon' of Rev. 17-18. Men will unite then in a worldwide church and world political organization. They will be led by the Antichrist, the last world dictator, but their plans will be stopped by God. It is interesting to note that today the world is rapidly moving toward the "one world" government concept. Thanks to the United Nations and other international alliances.
The great hunter Nimrod was the center of this Babylonian movement. In order to make his dreams come true, two features and factors were essential:
1) Nimrod needed a center of unity, a sort of headquarters.
He needed a capital, a place to assemble, a place to look to. This was why he built the city of Babel.
2) He needed a rallying point, not just geographical but psychological, that which gives motive.
There had to be some impelling and compelling motivation. There had to be a monument. So they started to build the Tower of Babel.
The Tower of Babel was not built as a place of refuge in time of the next great flood. This tower revealed the arrogant, defiant, rebellious attitude of man against God. The Tower of Babel was a religious symbol. It was a place where people worshiped the creature rather than the Creator.
It is doubtful they thought they could build a tower that actually reached to heaven. Most astrological and occult practices have a history back to Babel. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus said the Tower of Babel still stood in his day and he had witnessed it.
There are three things worldly people desire: the lust of flesh, the lust of life and the lust of eyes. None of these belong to the life of born-again Christians.
These are nothing more than manifestations of pride of mankind. Then, pride always incubates rebellion against God.
Pride is the only disease known to man that makes everyone sick except the person who has it. Blind ambition is a giant step away from God and one step closer to catastrophe.
C. S. Lewis said, "It is pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began."
Mankind is in the process of building a modern day Tower of Babel again. In my opinion, I believe that it is the cloning process of humans by using advanced DNA technology. Creating humans is God's job, not man's. When we try to get into the area that belongs to God, He is going to deal with our pride and intellectual arrogance.
C. YOU THINK YOU CAN, HUH?
Genesis 11:5-9 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 And the Lord said, "Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. 7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. 9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
Here is another subtle reference to the Trinity.
Since all the people spoke one language, they didn't have any language barrier. They could get together and pool their knowledge and resources.
The capability of mankind is mind boggling. From sending people to the Moon, to get to see the inside of a person's brain to detect any disease, to coming up with computer technology beyond the majority of mankind's wildest imagination.
Example, about twelve years ago, I had a computer with 256 mb hard drive space. I thought it was very good. But now, we can have the same hard drive size in this small SD card which is half of a stick of chewing gum. This one is faster and works better.
We find here that man has a fallen nature in spite of the Flood and that he is totally depraved. God cannot ignore this prideful attitude. Because they were in rebellion against Him, he simply put up a language barrier among them.
Can you just imagine one moment they were communicating well together and the next moment, they could not understand each other at all? The language barrier is a wall that is higher than the Great Wall of China. They suddenly couldn't understand each other. The building project came to a screeching halt, and the people moved away from Babel - they went in every direction.
The division of the languages is a fascinating subject. Language is so complex because languages exist as whole systems, not as small parts put together. Most modern linguists believe all languages come from one original language.
The forced separation of men from Babel was more God's mercy than His judgement.
Ladies and gentlemen, mankind is starting to overcome this language barrier once again through the internet. Thanks to Al Gore, former Vice President who claimed to be the father of the internet. I am not saying that the internet is a tool of Satan. Our church has a web site that contains a lot of useful information for your spiritual growth. It happened to be a part of the process toward the end time. It is a matter of how we use it for God's glory.
D. A KING WHO THOUGHT HE WAS IT
Daniel 4:28-33 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke, saying, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?" While the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice fell from heaven: "King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses." That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws.
Here is a king from the same area, one of the Babylonian kingdoms, who thought everything he had was something he achieved by himself and walked around the top of his palace like an arrogant peacock. While his boastful words were still in his mouth, the Lord struck him to be an insane man and he started to act like an animal. He went from riches to rags in a moment.
The story didn't end with a tragedy, but a happy ending.
Daniel 4:34 And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom is from generation to generation.
Daniel 4:36-37 At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me, I was restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.
When Nebuchadnezzar turned to God and humbled himself and lifted his eyes to the Lord in praise and adoration, his mind turned from insanity to normal. Everything he had was restored.
Nothing is more distasteful to God than self-conceit. This first and fundamental sin in essence aims at enthroning self at the expense of God. Pride is a sin of whose presence its victim is least conscious. If we are honest, when we measure ourselves by the life of our Lord Jesus Christ who humbled Himself even to death on a cross, we cannot but be overwhelmed with gratitude, respect and love for our God.
God stands ready to help us as we admit that we cannot help ourselves. Before we get all enamored with our own high and mighty importance, it is a good idea to take a backward glance at the pit from which Jesus Christ lifted us. And let's not just think about it: let's admit it. It has a way of keeping us all on the same level - undeserving recipients of His amazing grace.
1Peter 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.
E. APPLICATIONS
1) God hates a prideful attitude, but He loves those who are humble in His sight.
Proverbs 12:15 tells us that "the way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise."
1 Peter 5:5 God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.
2) It is better to be humble in the sight of God than to be humbled by Him.
Because if God chooses to humble us, it can be quite a disaster before it gets better.
3) The chastisement of God always has a holy and helpful purpose.
When God punishes us, He doesn't punish us because He enjoys it. He does it to make us to be more like Jesus.
Genesis 12
Stepping Out of God's Will
A pastor received a call from a church that offered him a salary four times what he was then receiving. Being a devout, godly man, he spent much time in prayer trying to discern what God wanted him to do.
One day a friend of the pastor met the pastor's young son on the street. "Do you know what your daddy is going to do?" he asked. "Well," replied the youngster, "My daddy's still praying, but mama's packing!"
Knowing God's will seems very tricky to many Christians. Sometimes we love His will, because it fits perfectly with our desire. Other times, we don't like what we are getting from Him, so we try to look for some loop holes to ignore His obvious will for us. Or it seems that heaven's door is shut and there is no voice mail, e-mail or messenger coming from heaven to tell us what the Lord wants.
However, even though the Bible doesn't act like a fortune teller who does nothing but lie, it gives us many guidelines to seek God's will in our lives.
In the first eleven chapters, it covers over 2,000 years. From Genesis 12 through 50, it took 350 years. In these first eleven chapters of Genesis we have seen the Creation, the fall of man, the Flood, and the Tower of Babel. Now we are going to start to look at the life of Abraham, a.k.a. Abram.
A. THE FAMILY OF ABRAM IN UR OF THE CHALDEANS
Genesis 11:27-32 This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot Lot. 28 And Haran died before his father Terah in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 Then Abram and Nahor took wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah. 30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child. 31 And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram's wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. 32 So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran.
We see here another evidence of divine election: God chose Abram in His grace! This is the beginning of the Hebrew nation.
Abram's story begins in Ur of the Chaldeans which was Babylon. He was from a family of idol worshipers and was probably an idol worshiper himself.
Because the name "Abram" means "Father," it must have constantly amazed those meeting Abram to discover he had no children.
Sometimes we can gain meaning from names in the Bible. The name 'Terah' means, "delay." The name 'Haran' means "parched, barren." When Abram was in partial obedience, then delay and barrenness characterized his life. When we delay in drawing close to God, we also experience barrenness.
B. GOD'S PROMISE TO ABRAM
Genesis 12:1-3 Now the Lord had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, (1) To a land that I will show you. 2 (2) I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And (3) make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 (4) I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And (5) in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
We know from Acts 7:2-4 that this promise was made to Abram before he left Ur of the Chaldeans. Abram's partial obedience did not take God's promise away. Instead, it meant the promise was on "HOLD" until Abram was ready to do what the Lord said.
Please notice how often God says, "I will" in these verses. Genesis chapter 11 is all about the plans of man which turned into a great chaos. Genesis chapter 12 is all about the plans of God.
We find five promises of God to Abram and his descendants:
1) To a land that I will show you
God promised them the land they could have, if they obey Him.
The Israelites have never really occupied the land God gave to them. At the zenith of their power during the reign of king David, they occupied 30,000 square miles, but that is not all that God gave them. Actually, He gave them 300,000 square miles.
2) I will make you a great nation
God promised to make a great nation from Abram. He will have enough children and grandchildren and further descendants to populate a nation. There is only one country in human history that was completely destroyed, but she came back to life and still is existing. The nation of Israel. Only by the grace of God and by the promise of God, this happened.
3) Make your name great
God promised to bless Abram and to make his name great. There is probably no more honored name in history than the name of Abram, who is honored by Jews, Muslims, and Christians.
4) I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you
This remains true today and is a root reason for the decline and death of many empires:
. When the Greeks overran the Palestine area and desecrated the altar in the Jewish temple, they were soon conquered by Rome.
. When Rome killed Paul and many others, and destroyed Jerusalem under Titus, Rome soon fell.
. Spain was reduced to a fifth-rate nation after the Inquisition against the Jews.
. Poland fell after the pogroms.
. Hitler's Third Reich went down after its holocaust of anti-Semitism.
. Great Britain lost her empire when she broke her faith with Israel.
This is also one of the reasons why the United States has been so blessed so far. The United States was one of the first modern nations to grant full citizenship and protection to Jewish people and currently the only ally in the world. But the day U.S.A. stands against Israel, God will pull the plug and America will go down.
5) In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed
Not only Abram was promised blessing, but God also promised to make him a blessing to all the families of the earth. Through the lineage of Abram, we get to have the Savior of the World, Jesus Christ.
The Lord's plans are rarely accompanied by reasons, but they are accompanied by His ever fulfilling promises. He says, "I'm not going to explain to you why, but I give you My promise."
A former New York Yankee second baseman, Bobby Richardson offered a prayer that is a classic in simplicity and dependency on God: "Dear God, Your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Amen." God reserves His best to those who leave the choices to Him.
C. PARTIAL OBEDIENCE
Genesis 12:4-5 So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.
In v1, God spoke to Abram that he should leave the country, his father's house and relatives. Abram now is taking his daddy and nephew with him. Lot will not be a blessing to Abram as we will find out in future study. He will be nothing but trouble and inconvenience to Abram.
This is partial obedience by Abram. A partial obedience to the Lord is a complete disobedience to Him.
D. ALTER BUILDING ABRAM
Genesis 12:6-9 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. 9 So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.
Did you notice that the Lord didn't appear to Abram while he was in Haran? But now he is in the place where God wants, the Lord appears to him again and remind him of His promises.
The tent speaks of the pilgrim who trusts God one day at a time and is always ready to move. The altar speaks of the worshiper who brings a sacrifice and offers it to God. Interestingly, Abram's location, Bethel, which means "the house of God" was on the west; Ai, which means "the heap of ruins" was on the east, and he was traveling toward "the house of God."
E. LAPSE OF FAITH
Genesis 12:10-13 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. 12 Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, 'This is his wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you."
A famine in the place where God is leading! What a great disappointment this must have been to Abram and his family! God was testing their faith, to see if they were trusting the Lord. Instead of remaining in Canaan and trusting God, they went down to Egypt. Did you notice that Abram didn't ask God if going to Egypt was what God wants? Did you also notice he didn't build an alter while he was in Egypt? He sure didn't.
Egypt symbolizes the world, the life of self-confidence, lust and carnal life. But Canaan illustrates the life of faith and victory. Note that they went "down to Egypt." Any step away from God is a step down from Him just like Jonah did.
Jonah 1:3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
Abram was not wrong for being concerned about famine and feeding his family. But Abram was wrong in thinking God could not provide for his needs in the place where God called him to live. After all, God called Abram to Canaan, not to Egypt.
Abram, like most of us, found it easier to trust God in the 'far-off' promises than in the 'right-now' needs.
In many occasions, we generally don't want to depend on God's promises, because His promises are unseen. Yet, what we have and what we can do are something tangible. We'd prefer not to trade in those tangible things with God's distant and yet-to-be-seen promises.
Let's say, you are driving your Ford Pinto with 200,000 miles into a mall parking lot. The owner of the Ferrari dealership comes to your Pinto and looks around and kicks your tires and hands out his business card to you and says, "How about a straight trade-in? You take any one of the Ferraris from my dealership lot, I take your Pinto." You ought to be a crazy not to take his Ferrari. Yes, you don't see that Ferrari in that mall parking lot, but you know the Ferrari dealership owner has many beautiful brand new Ferraris. You can take him for his word or blow him off. That is like what the Lord is doing with us. A straight trade-in: our sins, hopelessness, worry and one way ticket to hell for His holiness, righteousness, peace, love and an eternal life in heaven.
Can you believe what Abram is asking his wife to do? "By your beauty, I can save my hide." What a jerk! This was actually a half-truth. Sarai was Abram's half sister. Yet a half-truth is a whole lie. Abram's intent here was clearly to deceive, and he trusted in his deception to protect his skin instead of trusting in the Lord.
If we want to do something wrong, we can always find some flimsy excuse to do it. If we can't think of any excuses ourselves, the devil is more than happy to supply them.
By the way, do you know how old Sarai was? She was 65. But the long life span of Abram and Sarai also explains her beauty at that age. Since Abram lived to be 175 and Sarai to be 127, this 65 years old was only middle age for her, perhaps corresponding to what we think of as early thirties.
F. THE ULTIMATE REBUKE
Genesis 12:14-20 So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. 15 The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh's house. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels. 17 But the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. 18 And Pharaoh called Abram and said, "What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, 'She is my sister'? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way." 20 So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.
What a shame that believing Abraham should be rebuked by an unbelieving king! It is a sad thing that non-believers have a better handle on how believers should live than believers in Christ, and rebuke them for it.
Someone has said, "Faith is living without scheming."
G. APPLICATIONS
1) We must be willing to think.
God made us thinking beings, and He guides our minds as we think things out in His presence and in His way.
2) We must be willing to think ahead and weigh the long-term consequences of alternative courses of action.
As we dwell on the long-term consequences of alternative courses of action, we can see what is a wise thing to do.
3) We must be willing to take godly advice.
There are always people who know the Bible, sinful human nature, and our own gifts and limitations better than we do. To say "No" to godly advice is saying "Yes" to the consequences that follow.
4) We must be willing to be ruthlessly honest with ourselves.
We must ask ourselves why we feel a particular course of action will be right. After that we must compare it against the Word of God.
5) We must be willing to wait on the Lord.
"Wait on the Lord" is a constant refrain in the Psalms and it is a necessary word, because the Lord often keeps us waiting. While we wait on the Lord, we get to know His heart and His will. When in doubt, do nothing, but continue to wait on God.
Genesis 13
The Choice That Changes the Future
We have many choices to make each and every day in our lives. It starts from what to eat or what to wear in the morning. For the ladies, this can be really serious choices. I've seen my daughter go through just about the entire closet before she walked out the door. For guys, the same shirt we wore yesterday is fine with us.
However, there are choices that change our future. They are very important choices we have to make: jobs, locations we live, whom we marry, and the most important choice of all, where we will spend our eternity. The Bible is filled with people who made good choices and bad choices:
. Moses chose to stay with the Israelites instead of luxury in carnal Egypt .
. Joseph chose to honor God by staying pure instead of falling into the temptation of Mrs. Potiphar.
. Daniel chose to worship God continuously in spite of the threats from his enemies.
These are the good choices.
But there are also many bad choices:
. Samson chose to dwell in arms of Delilah and ended up loosing his eyesight and anointing of the Holy Spirit.
. King Saul chose to depend on his own strength instead of God and lost his kingdom.
. Judas chose to take thirty shekels of silver instead of eternal life in Christ.
Choices are constantly before us. The choices we make change our future.
When God created us, He created us as spiritual and physical beings with the capability of free will. We can make good choices that would affect our eternal lives or bad choices that would haunt us for the rest of our lives or making no choice which is a choice in itself.
A. RETURNING TO FAITH
Genesis 13:1-4 Then Abram went up from Egypt , he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. 2 Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel , to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
Christians who get entangled in the world cannot be happy with themselves. They must go back to the very place where they abandoned the Lord. This is repentance and confession, to turn away from sin and to make amends. Abraham could not have confessed his sin and remained in Egypt . No, he had to get back to the place of the tent and the altar, back to the place where he could call upon the Lord and receive blessings. This is a good principle for Christians to follow.
From this trip to Egypt , Abram did not gain anything good, but lost two valuable things and added two unnecessary carnal things:
1) Lost time
The weeks that Abraham and his household were away from the Lord were lost and could not be regained.
2) Lost testimony
Could Abraham ever witness to Pharaoh about the true God, after deceiving him? Absolutely not! How sad it will be when we face God at the judgment seat of Christ and discover how many souls have gone to hell because of the poor testimony of carnal Christians, or even ours!
3) Hagar's place in the family
Sarah's maid, Hagar, came from Egypt , and brought untold trouble to the family. Of course, the suggestion that she bear a child came from Sarah, but the presence of Hagar helped to bring about the carnal scheme. Whatever we bring with us from the godless world into our Christian life will ultimately cause us trouble.
4) Lot 's enjoyment of Egypt
Lot developed a taste for Egypt . Even though Abraham took Lot out of Egypt , he could not take Egypt out of Lot . It is always tragic when a mature believer leads a younger Christian astray.
B. THE STRIFE BETWEEN ABRAM AND LOT 'S HERDSMEN
Genesis 13:5-7 Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. 6 Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. 7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot 's livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.
Lot was walking in the flesh, and Abraham was walking in the Spirit. This always leads to conflict. The outward cause was increased wealth. But the real cause was Lot 's unbelief and carnality.
Jesus Christ is a divider. His presence brings conflict between people of the same family. The conflict with Lot must have been a burden to Abraham and Sarah at the same time as a poor testimony to the heathen who are living in the land.
Matt 10:34 Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.
When Christians are suing each other or having church splits does not bring glory to God, but they give juicy gossip and the seeds of mockeries to non-believers. However, I am not talking about exposing those who are teaching false doctrines with the rank of Christianity.
C. THE GENEROUS OFFER THAT COMES FROM FAITH IN GOD
Genesis 13:8-9 So Abram said to Lot , "Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left."
Abram enjoyed the friendship with God, but Lot would rather have friendship with the world.
Amos 3:3 Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?
2 Cor 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?
James 4 warns us that the friendship with the world is enmity against God. This is the case in point with Lot . Because of his carnal desire for the world, Lot was dragging Abram down.
This is the reason why it's time to time we should check out our friendship and relationship with those who are around us. I am not saying that we should live in an island where there are no non-believers around. Then who is going to spread the Good News of Jesus to them? We can be in the world, but we don't have to be of the world. When you are around particular people, ask yourself: Does your spirit get lifted up and exalt the name of the Lord, or does your carnal desire spring up its ugly head?
When I was working for a Yellow Page Directory company as a graphic designer, I knew several people who claimed to be Christians, but their actions and the language they used were anything but Christian. They might claim Jesus as their Savior, but certainly they don't have Him as their Lord. I am sure that you can think of a few of your family members, relatives and friends right now. Or maybe you are one of those who have a form of godliness, but deny its power as the Word says.
Abram as a godly man tried to settle the problem by yielding himself and giving the first choice to Lot to take the land he wants.
Abram knew whatever Lot chose God would make sure Abram came out all right. Because he trusted in God, Abram did not have to be obsessed with his own "rights" and neither do we. The only right we truly have is the right to go to hell. Everything else is the free gift of God and has nothing to do with our "rights."
D. THE BEGINNING OF LOT 'S BAD CHOICES
Genesis 13:10-13 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah ) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. 11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. 12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan , and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom . 13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord.
Lot cast his longing eyes toward the plain of Jordan nearby the Dead Sea . He cares only for the material abundance of the land, and cares nothing for how it will impact him and his family spiritually. While Abram was walking by faith, Lot was walking only by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
Abram made a right choice, but Lot made a wrong one. One step led to another, Lot continuously headed in the wrong direction. When we get into sin, we don't get there overnight. Our sins have being added up to the point for that big disaster. In other words, we are setting ourselves up to fall.
Please notice Lot 's point of reference for the plain of Jordan. It reminded him of the land of Egypt he saw. As I mentioned before, whenever you see " Egypt " in the Bible, it symbolizes the carnal world where the believers of Jesus Christ have no business longing for. What is your point of reference?
This reminds me of what happened to Eve in the Garden of Eden in chapter 3:6.
Genesis 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
However, there is another person who was tempted beyond what anyone could handle. Yes, it was Jesus in the wilderness before His earthly ministry started. Jesus was tempted by Satan himself. Satan enticed Jesus to fulfill the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. While Eve was misquoting what the Lord said to them, Jesus quoted the Word correctly, and used them against the temptations effectively.
1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Lot moved himself and his family closer to Sodom which was located on the south side of Dead Sea . Not only Lot looked at the area, but also he actively moved toward the place of the wickedness and sin. He is going to put his family into jeopardy. We will talk more about it in chapter 19.
The separation from Lot was a great thing for Abram, but not for Lot . If you are really walking with God, you want to hang around with godly people. If you'd rather hang around your brewski drinking buddies, you have to wonder where your heart is.
One of the frequent excuses I hear from those who are living together without getting married is that they cannot afford to live separately. If that is the case, come see me. The church will pay for your rent for a couple months, if you move out and have no sex until you get married. Do you know the answer I get for that offer? Either they don't come back to the church anymore or they continue to live together even though they know it is wrong in the sight of God. It is not about the finances. They want to live together as they want, not what God wants. You cannot afford not to please God. If you please God with your actions, God will bless you more than you can possibly imagine.
If you are a carnal Christian, the last thing you want to hear is this kind of sermon. Because it is too convicting. So, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to make a change according to God's way or are you going to continue your own carnal way that leads to destruction?
E. GOD'S REMINDER OF HIS PROMISE
Genesis 13:14-18 And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: "Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are--northward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. 16 And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. 17 Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you." 18 Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the Lord.
While Lot was getting farther from the Lord, Abraham was drawing closer. While Lot was becoming a friend of the world, Abraham was becoming the friend of God. While Lot took a part of the land, Abraham was given all of the land.
The people of the world claim what their eyes can see, while the people of God claim what God's eyes can see! Remember what I said before, God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him.
The name 'Mamre' means, "vision". 'Hebron' means "communion". Abram is once again walking in the Lord's vision for him and in communion with the Lord.
Abram built another altar. He lived life in constant awareness of the need for a sacrificial atonement and covering.
We talked about the choice we make will change our future. It did for Lot. He make a bad, as a matter of fact, a horrible choice to ruin his life and his family's lives in their future.
You all have a choice to make this morning. You can choose to come closer to God or you can choose to walk out the door and go about your business without Jesus in your heart. God never forces your hand to make a choice for Him. He patiently waits for your choice and He will honor yours even if it is bad. You cannot blame God if you choose to go without Him.
F. APPLICATIONS
1) Whatever we bring with us from the godless world into our Christian life will ultimately cause us trouble.
2) When we make choices, we must make them with God in mind.
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
3) We must remember that even small and seemingly harmless choices at the beginning can bring a devastating result to us.
4) We must remember that our carnal desire wants to satisfy the lust of eyes, the lust of flesh and the pride of life.
James 4:4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
Genesis 14
The King of Peace
A former president of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences, and historians from England , Egypt , Germany , and India has come up with some startling information: Since 3600 B.C. the world has known only 292 years of peace! During this period there have been 14,351 wars, large and small, in which 3.64 billion people have been killed. The value of the property destroyed would pay for a golden belt around the world 97.2 miles wide and 33 feet thick.
Since 650 B.C. there have also been 1,656 arms races, only 16 of which have not ended in war. The remainder ended in the economic collapse of the countries involved.
Moreover, in excess of 8000 peace treaties were made - and broken.
It is obvious that mankind cannot keep peace even though all of us want it. What is the reason? James explains to us:
James 4:1-2 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war.
In light of the "War on Terrorism" many people are completely scared to death. They long for peace on earth, no more killing. Yet they are so short-sighted that they totally miss out on the One who can give true peace to all men.
Men's idea of peace might be no wars around us, but people still have turmoil in their hearts. That means they don't have true peace. The peace that comes from our God through Lord Jesus is beyond what anyone can imagine. Because it starts from inside.
This morning we are going to meet the King of Peace briefly and get to know Him for a short time.
A. THE FIRST RECORDED WAR IN THE BIBLE
Genesis 14:1-12 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations, 2 that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3 All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 4 Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him came and attacked the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 6 and the Horites in their mountain of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is by the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and attacked all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt in Hazezon Tamar. 8 And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim 9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar--four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled to the mountains. Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. 12 They also took Lot, Abram's brother's son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
Archaeologists have confirmed the historical accuracy of this account of the first war recorded in the Bible. The Bible records a great deal of history. As Dr. A.T. Pierson said, "History is His story."
Whatever purposes the kings may have had in this war, God had something special in mind for Lot. He became a prisoner of war. Lot had looked at Sodom and moved toward Sodom, but now he was living in Sodom. We might have a hard time guessing it from his conduct, but Lot was a righteous man according to 2 Peter 2:6-8. Where did he go wrong?
While in Egypt with Abram, Lot had gotten a taste of the world and enjoyed it. We don't see anywhere in the Scripture that Lot ever built an altar and sought the Lord, as did his uncle Abram. While Abram was the friend of God, Lot was the friend of the world. Pretty soon, Lot conformed to the world. And when Sodom lost the war, Lot was condemned with the world.
That is a great example of the consequence that carnal Christians will face. If you are a carnal Christian and living in the same way as the world lives, then expect to suffer as the world will.
Lot's capture was God's way of disciplining him and reminding him that he had no business living in Sodom. God disciplines His children because He loves them and wants the best for them. If we don't listen to His rebukes, then He has to get our attention some other way. God's rebuke is usually very painful.
B. ABRAM TO THE RESCUE
Genesis 14:13-16 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram. 14 Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. 16 So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.
This gives us some idea of the number of servants Abram had. In his own household, he could arm 318 men. How many did he have that he could not arm? For example, there would also be women and children and the old folks. It is like having 350 employees and their families on your payroll. I say that is a pretty good size company. Don't you think?
To have that many hired hands indicates that Abram was carrying on quite a business of raising cattle and sheep. I think that Abram was a regular Israeli cowboy.
Abram did not get involved in the war until he heard that Lot had been captured, and then he began to act. He was insulated from the world, not isolated. He was independent, but not indifferent.
Abram had every excuse to let his nephew suffer the painful consequences of his own stupid decisions. But Lot was his "brother", so Abram practiced brotherly love and overcame evil with good.
Though a man of peace, Abraham was prepared for war. We can find great insight on how Abram used his own people to fight against the four kings from the east:
1. They were born in his house.
To overcome the worldly influence in our lives, we must realize that we cannot do it with our own willpower and strength. But we must have a relationship with Christ. In other words, we must be born-again in the house of God.
2. They were armed.
It takes more than zeal and courage to win a war. We must also have effective equipment. The Christian soldier must wear the whole armor of God and use the spiritual weapons God has provided according to Eph. 6:10-18. Our weapons are spiritual, not fleshly and we use them in the power of the Holy Spirit. Because we do not fight against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. The Word of God and prayer are our two most effective weapons, and we must use them by faith.
3. They were trained.
No matter how good their equipment is, if the soldiers are not trained, they will be easily defeated. One of the purposes of the local church is to train and equip God's people on how to use the Bible effectively, how to pray, how to recognize the enemy, and how to follow orders as soldiers in the army of Christ.
Abram's army pursues the confederacy of five kings for a long distance, about 100 miles to the north. The city of Dan is all the way up at the northern border of Israel.
Did Abraham and his worldly nephew have a long talk as they rode back? Did Lot straighten up and join Abram in worship and adoration of God?
We cannot answer those questions, but we do know this: Neither the Lord's chastening nor the Lord's goodness in rescuing Lot did him any good. The goodness of God should have led him to repentance. But instead of repenting, Lot returned to Sodom. He could have been reunited with Abram, but he chose to go back to sin.
C. THE TWO KINGS FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDES
Genesis 14:17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley), after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him. 18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said: "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand." And he gave him a tithe of all.
When Abram returned from battle, he was met by two kings: Bera, king of Sodom which means "burning", and Melchizedek, King of Salem which means "peace". While Bera offered Abram all the spoils in return for the people, Melchizedek gave Abram bread and wine. As we will find out Abram rejected the offer of the king of Sodom, but accepted the bread and wine from Melchizedek and gave him tithes of the spoils.
We have no idea where Melchizedek came from, how he came to be in Canaan , how he came to be a king and priest of the true God, and how Abram came to know about him. We only know he was there.
The name Melchizedek means "king of righteousness." He is the king of Salem, and Salem is the original Jerusalem, and Melchizedek is the priest of God Most High.
One thing making Melchizedek unique is that he is both a king and a priest. History shows how dangerous it is to combine religious and civic authority. God forbade the kings of Israel to be priests and the priests to be kings.
Melchizedek served Abram bread and wine. Perhaps he even served them in a manner looking forward to our redeeming sacrifice, as the bread and wine of Passover and the Lord's Table look at our redeeming sacrifice, Jesus Christ.
Melchizedek, as priest, did two things. He blessed Abram and he blessed God. Melchizedek shows a priest must connect with both God and man and has a ministry to both God and man.
Though Melchizedek seems like an obscure figure, he figures to be a very important Old Testament person.
Psalms 110:4 The Lord has sworn And will not relent, "You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek."
Hebrews chapters 5 through 7 shed more light about Melchizedek:
Hebrews 7:1-4 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated "king of righteousness," and then also king of Salem, meaning "king of peace," 3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually. 4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils.
Because of this passage, many Bible scholars have thought Melchizedek is actually an Old Testament appearance of Jesus. Like Melchizedek in Abram's day, Jesus Christ is our King-Priest in heaven, enabling us to enjoy righteousness and peace as we serve Him. Certainly we can see in the bread and wine a reminder of our Lord's death for us on the cross.
D. THANKS, BUT NO THANKS
Genesis 14:21-24 Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself." 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich'-- 24 except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion."
Following the victory, Abraham faced a greater temptation as he met the king of Sodom. It is usually true that Satan tempts us immediately after a great spiritual victory. Satan met Christ in the wilderness after His baptism. Elijah fled in fear after his great work of faith on Mt. Carmel in 1 Kings 19.
The king of Sodom was giving bait to Abraham to get him to compromise by accepting the wealth of Sodom , but Abraham refused. The wealth of Egypt had proved a snare. The wealth of Sodom would be worse. If Abraham had not been on his guard, he would have fallen for this subtle temptation and would have taken all the glory away from God. Additionally, Abraham would have lost his testimony.
We just have witnessed a great comparison between the King of peace and the king of wickedness. We are living in the world of wickedness. I don't think I have to explain to you about the wickedness of this world.
In this wicked world, it is not that difficult to lose peace of God. All we have to do is take our eyes off our Savior Lord Jesus. Then we get wrapped up in the whirlwind of turmoil in the world. Or we can walk away from God just like Lot did and lose that peace.
What if some of you have already been living a carnal life? You might wonder, "Is it over with me?" No, it is not over. Our God is the God of the second chance and the third chance. His mercy endures forever and His compassion fails not.
Yes, if you made a bed, you have to lie in it. Yes, you will face the consequences of your sins. But the great thing about this is that you don't have to face it alone. God will be there with you every step of the way. Because He loves you, so He disciplines you. But after that discipline, like a true great Father, He will embrace you and stay with you.
In the midst of the fiery trials, in the midst of difficult times, in the midst of a great sandstorm of your spiritual wilderness, God is the Solid Rock where you can find refuge. He is your Shelter. He will put you in the cleft of the Rock and covers you with His mercy.
Do you have needs today? Are you backed against the wall? Disturbed and disquieted? Uncertain about your future? Anxious over a strained relationship? Needing extra strength to go on, new hope or greater wisdom to handle the situation? Your solution can be found in one sentence: Submitting to God's sovereign will. We fret because what God wants may not be what we want. But our God never gives out that is not good for us. After all He is our Father and our God.
Matthew 11:28-30 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
Here we really have the Christian life in a nutshell. Here we see what it is to come to, to know, and to walk with Jesus Christ. This invitation stands today, but it will not stay that way forever. What is the invitation? Jesus says, "Come to Me." That's it. It is so simple, yet it is so profound. And we see this same invitation echoed throughout Scripture. Are you ready to come to Him and find peace?
E. APPLICATIONS
1. Peace that is not centered on Jesus is nothing more than a temporary pain reliever.
True peace only comes from God.
2. We must remember that complete submission to God's sovereign will is the best and only way to find God's peace.
Genesis 15
The Faith That Is Accounted For Righteousness
The African impala can jump to a height of over 10 feet and cover a distance of greater than 30 feet. Yet these magnificent creatures can be kept in an enclosure in any zoo with a 3-foot wall. The animals will not jump if they cannot see where their feet will fall.
Faith is the ability to trust what we cannot see, and with faith we are freed from the flimsy enclosures of life that only fear allows to entrap us.
Again, faith is not faith if we can see. If we can see the whole thing, it should be called 'acknowledgement'. Faith only works when we don't see the situation or promises that were made to us, yet trust the One who made it.
Many of us say, "We have faith in God." But when we face difficult times, some of us crumble under the pressure of our unbelief.
There is a tremendous difference between 'everyday faith' and 'textbook faith'. We can have all the knowledge in faith that we have learned from the Bible, but if we don't actually trust God's promises, that is not faith. But the 'everyday faith' is what we need. Without seeing and knowing what God is going to do, with simple trust in His promises from the Bible, if we trust and start to do things from that base, which is a true faith in God.
This morning we are going to see a glimpse of the conversation between God and Abram about his descendants while Abram himself is old without a child.
A. I AM YOUR SHIELD AND REWARD
Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."
This now is the fourth time that God has appeared to Abram.
There was a good reason why God said, "Do not be afraid." Because Abram had just defeated a much larger army, a counter attack from them was to be expected. Abram needed a shield of protection. And he needed reward because he had just turned down a great reward offered from the king of Sodom .
God knows how to become the answer to our need. When we need a shield or a reward, He becomes those things for us. Besides, God never tells us do not be afraid without giving us a reason to put away our fears.
The faith that conquers fear is faith in the Word, not faith in feelings. That is why we need to memorize the Bible verses and put them in our hearts.
B. THE HONEST DOUBT GOD ACCEPTS
Genesis 15:2-3 But Abram said, "Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 Then Abram said, "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!"
Abram did not want a reward. He wanted an heir. He was now 85 years old, and for 10 years he had been waiting for his promised son to be born.
Eliezer might have been a good man, but not a son to Abram. When God is not doing the things He promised, it is often our tendency to come up with our own solution which is anything but the right thing to do.
Did Abram's question mean he doubted God? Yes. But there is a tremendous difference between honest doubt and a skeptical attitude. God has always met honest doubts where they are, but God does not even acknowledge the demands of skeptical people.
C. YOUR DESCENDANTS LIKE STARS
Genesis 15:4-5 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir." 5 Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be."
It has been said, "When the outlook is bleak, try the up look." Abram had been looking around, trying to solve his problem. But the answer lay in looking up.
About 30,000 stars are listed in the General Catalog used by astronomers, but it is estimated that there are 100 billion more! God did not say that Abram would have that many descendants but that, like the stars, there would be too many to count. Whether Abram looked down at the dust or up at the stars, he would recall God's promise and have confidence. This promise was repeated to Abram in chapter 22 and reaffirmed to his son Isaac.
God did this because He knows how much we need to be reminded. That is one of the reasons why we see many repeats in the Bible.
God often states a promise with such certainty, we believe it will be fulfilled right away, but the fulfillment of this promise was still 15 years away.
By the way, one of those descendants would be the Bright and Morning Star Lord Jesus.
D. THE FAITH IN GOD THAT ACCOUNTED RIGHTEOUSNESS
Genesis 15:6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
When Abram put his trust in God, specifically in God's promise to him, God credited this belief to Abram's account as righteousness.
There are essentially two types of righteousness: righteousness we accomplish by our own efforts, and righteousness accounted to us by the work of God when we believe.
Since none of us can be good enough to accomplish perfect righteousness, we must have God's righteousness accounted to us by doing just what Abram did: he believed in the Lord.
This is one of the clearest expressions in the Bible of the truth of salvation by grace, through faith. This is the first time the words like 'believe' and 'righteousness' are used in the Bible. It is the Gospel in the Old Testament, quoted four times in the New Testament - Romans 4:1-3, 4:9-10, 4:19-24 and Galatians 3:5-7.
This is the key verse of the chapter. Within this key verse, we find three keywords:
Believe, Counted and Righteousness.
1. The Hebrew word translated "believed" means "to lean your whole weight upon."
Abram leaned wholly on the promise of God and the God of the promise. We are not saved by making promises to God but by believing the promises of God.
The faith making Abram righteous wasn't so much 'believing in God', as it was believing God. Those only believing in God - in the sense of 'believing His existence' have not much faith. I have met many people who claimed to believe in God, but they say that they are not born-again Christians. That is not true faith in God. That is nothing more than acknowledging that there is a god somewhere so-called upstairs. Do you know what the Book of James says about this?
James 2:19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble!
According to James, demons know and believe God's existence. But do they go to heaven? Absolutely not. So just believing that there is a god in heaven doesn't make anyone to go to heaven. When that God becomes the Savior and Lord of one's life, then he or she will go to heaven. No other way.
2. What was Abram's greatest need? Righteousness.
This is the greatest need of people in our world today, for "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" according to Rom. 3:23 . "There is none righteous, no, not one" in Romans 3:10 . It is not enough to be "religious". God demands that we have perfect righteousness or He will not let us enter His heaven.
3. How did Abram receive this righteousness?
He believed the Lord, and righteousness was imputed to him. "Impute" means "to put to one's account." On the cross, our sins were put on Jesus' account when He suffered the punishment that belonged to us. When you trust Him, His righteousness is put on your account, and you stand righteous and forgiven before a holy God.
E. SHOW ME THE CONTRACT
Genesis 15:7-11 Then He said to him, "I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it." 8 And he said, "Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?" 9 So He said to him, "Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon." 10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 11 And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
For centuries, Israel was a nation without a land. And it seemed that the covenant promises would not be fulfilled. Then came May 14, 1948 , and the rebirth of national Israel . Just as God kept His promise to Abram and sent the Messiah, so He will keep His promise and restore the land to His people.
Abram's question was not a sign of unbelief but a request for a token of assurance. He was confident that God would give him the promised son, but the land was in the hands of ten pagan nations. It was one thing for Abram to own the land, but how would his descendants possess it so they could enjoy it?
What is described in 15:9-17 was known in that day as "cutting a covenant." This solemn ritual involved the death of animals and the binding of people to a promise. The persons making the covenant would sacrifice several animals and divide the bodies, placing the halves opposite each other on the ground. Then the parties would walk between the pieces of the sacrifices in declaration that, if they failed to keep their word, they deserved the same fate as the animals.
Genesis 15:12-16 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then He said to Abram: "Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete."
At the end of the day, God has still not appeared to walk through the animal parts with Abram. Instead, God causes a deep sleep to fall upon Abram.
God is saying to Abram, "I cannot put you in this land now because I love Amorites also, and I want to give them a chance to turn to Me." And God gave the Amorites more than four hundred years to see if they would turn to Him. The only one in that land who turned to Him was that Canaanite woman, Rahab the harlot who lived in Jericho. She turned to God and she believed Him. All God asks us to do is to believe Him. God gave the Amorites this great period of opportunity.
Genesis 15:17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. 18 On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates-- 19 the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."
As Abram is either asleep or perhaps still groggy from the deep sleep he had been under, he sees God do an amazing thing: pass through the animal parts all by Himself, while Abram watches on the sidelines.
God represents Himself by two emblems: a smoking oven and a burning torch.
1. The smoking oven reminds us of the pillar of cloud representing the presence of God in Exodus 13:21-22, the smoke on Mount Sinai in Exodus 19:18, and the cloud of God's Shekinah glory in 1 Kings 8:10-12.
2. The burning torch reminds us of the pillar of fire representing the presence of God in Exodus 13:21-22, of the burning bush displaying the presence of God before Moses in Exodus 3:4, and of the fire from heaven which sometimes consumed sacrifices God was well pleased with in 1 Kings 18:38.
Abram never "signed" the covenant, because God "signed" it for both of them.
The certainty of the covenant God makes with Abram is based on who God is, not on whom Abram is or what Abram does. This covenant cannot fail, because God cannot fail. We don't make the covenant with God, but we merely enter into the covenant by faith.
By entering into this contract, God was putting His Deity on the line as a confirmation of His oath to Abram.
This covenant God signed alone. Abram did not haggle with God over the terms. God established and Abram accepted. Abram cannot break a contract he has never signed.
F. APPLICATIONS
1. God's efforts are strongest when our efforts are weakest.
2. God doesn't ask us to understand His plan for our lives, but He asks us to trust Him no matter what. And He is worthy of our trust.
3. When we see God for who He is, it is easy to trust Him. Faith does not completely depend on knowledge, but the right knowledge of God gives great strength for faith.
Genesis 16
Apathy + Human Solution = What a mess!
I don't know about you, but it happens to me a quite often, because I am so impatient. When I drive in Tucson on my errand day, which usually is Tuesday, I get in the lane which I think it is gonna move faster than other lanes. What happens? You guessed it. The guy in front of me cannot find his gas pedal. A 90 year old granny can ride a bike faster than this guy. So, I change the lane to pass by him. Guess what he does? Somehow he duplicates himself in to my new lane. There is another person who drives 20 miles per hour in 45 mile zone. Then I decide to run over that guy with my truck, but I see a TPD cruiser pulling up next to me.
OK, I decide that I will take a detour to get to my destination faster. I was trying to help myself to get there a little faster, so that I can sit and wait for my appointment. After all, I have lived in Tucson for 24 years and I know my way around. What do you know? Right in my new route, they are doing road construction. There are about 12 construction workers on the road. Ten of them are standing around under the shade smoking and laughing. The other two are holding "Slow" signs from both ends of the construction site. It just is not my day. You know what I am talking about.
Someone wisely said, "The detour is always worse than the main road." What a brilliant idea, huh? Didn't they say somewhere in the Bible, "God helps those who help themselves"?
If you can find that verse printed in the Bible, I will give you $20. As a matter of fact, God prefers us not to get in His way. He doesn't want us to help Him. He has a very big sign in front of our lives, "No help wanted."
This morning we are going to see Abram and Sarai making a major mess in their lives that still affects our lives, too.
Genesis 16 records a painful detour that Abram and Sarai made in their pilgrim walk, a detour that brought conflict not only into their home but also into the current world. What today's journalists call "the Arab-Israeli conflict" began right here.
A. LET'S HELP GOD
Genesis 16:1-3 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, "See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her." And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. 3 Then Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan.
One of the principal themes in Genesis is the quest for children, especially sons. In Abram and Sarai's lives this theme gets a lot of attention. In the world of the Old Testament, infertility caused great distress. At that time, the woman was always blamed. When a woman was not able to conceive a child, her husband might divorce her. Sarai's desperate effort to have a child through Hagar was fully in accord with the Semitic tribe's practices of those days.
Why did God wait so long? He wanted Abram and Sarai to be physically "as good as dead" so that God alone would get the glory. At age eighty-five, Abram was still capable of fathering a child by Hagar. So the time for the miracle baby had not yet arrived.
We should remember that it is through faith and patience that we receive God's promises.
God has a perfect timetable for all that He wants to do. God's timing is as important as His call and will. But Sarai was not concerned about the glory of God. Her only goal was "perhaps I shall obtain children by her". There is a hint of disappointment with God and even blaming God. It has often been said that God's delay is not God's denial, but Satan whispers to us, "God is holding out on you! If He loved you, things would be different! Blame Him!"
Sarai probably felt it was time for her to do something. Wrong, very wrong. God wants us to completely depend on Him for everything.
A willingness to wait on the Lord is another evidence that we are walking by faith. Whenever we stop trusting God, we start to make our own decisions, we end up in a serious mess.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
God does not have a suggestion box in front of His Pearly Gate in heaven. He doesn't want us to give Him our advice. He really doesn't want us to insist our ways over His. The fact is that we are stupid and we don't know the future, but He does and He knows everything. How are we going to advise someone who knows all things with our puny brains? But we sure try it, though.
B. LOOK WHAT YOU HAVE DONE
Genesis 16:4-6 So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, "My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between you and me." 6 So Abram said to Sarai, "Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please." And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.
It had been more than ten years since the promise was made regarding Abram's descendants. By most accounts, ten years seems like a long time to wait for the promise of God.
The long waiting for the promise discouraged them and made them vulnerable to acting in the flesh. Yet, even after this, it would still be more than 13 years until the child of promise came.
When we impatiently try to "help God out" in the flesh, it accomplishes nothing and may even prolong the time until the promise is fulfilled. Jacob had to live as an exile for 25 years because he thought he had to "help God out" to get his father's blessing. Moses had to tend sheep for 40 years in the desert after he tried to "help God out" by murdering an Egyptian. I am sure that we all have our own stupidity like these people.
It is much better to receive God's help than to try and help Him out in the flesh and make a major mess.
Abram was certainly in the flesh when he agreed with Sarai's idea and not trusting in God's ability to provide an heir through Sarai. Note that he didn't pray to God about this.
Now the result of the men's solution for God's-seemingly-unfulfilled-promise raises its ugly head. Hagar's contempt for Sarai started the problem. She couldn't resist displaying an inappropriate haughtiness, thinking her pregnancy somehow showed her to be better than Sarai.
Sarai blamed the whole situation on Abram, and for good reason. However, he took a stance of apathy. He should have acted as the spiritual leader and told his wife God was able to perform what He promised, and they didn't need to try to "help God out" in the works of the flesh.
Abram should have not listen to his wife's ungodly counsel. He should have told her to trust God's promise no matter what. But he didn't.
Psalms 1:1 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
Abram seemed to make a bad situation worse by turning the situation over to Sarai and not taking care of the child he fathered and the woman who is pregnant by him. Abram's solution was to give in to his wife and relinquish spiritual headship in the home and became a spiritual wimp.
Ladies and gentlemen, there are many spiritual wimps in America's born-again Christian homes. Instead of following the Word of God and leading their families to the path of our Lord Jesus, they take backseats and let their wives be the spiritual leaders of their homes. Gentlemen, that is against the Word of God. I am not saying that you should be male chauvinists.
Eph 5:22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
To be worthy of our wives submission, we must first submit to our God and His Word. Then it is not that difficult for our wives to respect us and submit to our decisions in our homes. Yes, God gave more responsibility to the husband than the wife.
This situation also reminds me about deadbeat fathers and guys who get women pregnant and not taking responsibility. If that person is man enough to get a woman pregnant, he should be man enough to take care of the child and the mother of that child. Having a child out of wedlock is a sin itself, when that person doesn't take care of the child and mother, it is additional sin against God.
When a spiritual person exercises apathy and depends on human solution for the problems he or she is facing, the result is absolutely a mess.
C. I AM OUTTA HERE
Genesis 16:7-9 Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And He said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai." 9 The Angel of the Lord said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand."
This is the first appearance in Scripture of "the Angel of the Lord", who is generally identified as our Lord Jesus Christ. The fact that the Son of God took on a temporary body, left heaven, and came down to help a rejected servant-girl surely reveals His grace and love. Jesus is always out looking for the lost.
God tells Hagar to do something very difficult: go back to her terrible situation and to submit herself to Sarai. Probably Hagar was thinking, "I'd like to have a second opinion."
D. THE BEGINNING OF THE ARAB NATIONS
Genesis 16:10-12 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, "I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude." 11 And the Angel of the Lord said to her: "Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the Lord has heard your affliction. 12 He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man's hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren."
God then told her that she was pregnant with a son whom she should name Ishmael which means "God hears". While he would not be Abram's heir in the blessings of the covenant, Ishmael would still enjoy blessings from God since he was Abram's son. God promised to multiply Ishmael's descendants and make them into great nations, and He did. Because Ishmael is the founder of the Arab peoples.
Ishmael would be a "wild donkey of a man" in NIV translation, which is not a very flattering description. It identified him with unruly character with defiant attitude.
He would be a hated man and living "his hand shall be against every man". While we must not apply these traits to every descendant of Ishmael, the centuries-long hostility between the Jews and the Arabs is too well known to be ignored. The Arab nations are independent peoples, dwelling in the desert lands and resisting other nations, especially Israel and her ally the U.S.A.
You think about it, how many nations in the world cause so much trouble as this particular race and still get by? Not only that, but also they are blessed with the wealth of oil to control the world economy. It is because the promise of God to Hagar, since she is with a child from Abram.
I am not making racial profiling here. But I cannot stop thinking about how much trouble these lunatic Arab terrorists caused whenever I go through airport security checks.
E. THE GOD WHO SEES
Genesis 16:13-16 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, "Have I also here seen Him who sees me?" 14 Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered. 15 So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
Ishmael is the first man in the Bible to receive his name before he was born.
If we seek to change our circumstances without God's guidance, we will jump from the frying pan into the fire. It is not a change of circumstance we need, but a change of heart. Our human mindset wants to run away, but God wants to demonstrate His power exactly while we go through difficulty.
F. APPLICATIONS
1. A willingness to wait on the Lord is another evidence that you are walking by faith.
Isaiah 40:31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Gal 6:9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
2. We must know that God's delay is not God's denial for our prayer.
It depends on His perfect timetable. During the waiting period, we get to learn to depend on Him.
3. Let's remember that whenever we run ahead of God, there is trouble.
Our doubting mind loves to help God out, but true faith is shown in patience. We cannot mix faith and doubt, promise and self-effort.
Genesis 17
God, the Covenant Keeper
I started to learn English while I was in junior high in Seoul, Korea when the earth started to crust. I've noticed that you Americans have rather interesting last names. Often, I found that their last names have something to do with their occupations. For example, Stoner, Mason, Carpenter, etc. Of course, the first names have meaning of each.
I am sure that you are thinking, "What about your weird name?" In Korea, they often use Korean native language characters and Chinese characters, since much of Korean ancient culture were influenced by ancient Chinese.
So, what is the meaning of my weird Korean name? I don't know. I've never had enough curiosity to find out what the meaning of my name is.
When I became an naturalized American citizen, I had an opportunity to change my name to English for free. I should have changed it to something easy for you guys, like "John Smith". Because I've noticed many American people chose not to listen to and pronounce my name correctly, they literally butcher it however they want. You name it, I've heard all different variations of my name. I don't care how they pronounce it, as long as they spell it correctly on my paycheck.
In the Middle East, especially in Israel, the meaning of the name is extremely important. You can tell the character, personality of the person by his or her name.
We are going to find out four important names that are mentioned in this chapter 17. They are all related to one thing: God's covenant to Abraham.
A. EL SHADDAI - ALMIGHTY GOD
Genesis 17:1-2 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. 2 And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly."
The Hebrew name for 'Almighty God' is "El Shaddai". This is the first time it occurs in Scripture. "Shaddai" is translated as "Almighty" forty-eight times in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, the Greek equivalent is used in 2 Corinthians and Revelation. It is translated "Almighty" except in Revelation 19:6 "omnipotent".
"El" means "God" in Hebrew. So what does "El Shaddai" mean? It is the name of "the all-powerful and all-sufficient God who can do anything and meet any need."
But why would God reveal this name to Abraham at this time, at the end of thirteen years of silence? Because God was going to tell His friend Abraham that Sarah would have a son in a year. The Lord wanted Abraham to know that He is the God who is all-sufficient and all-powerful, and that nothing is too hard for Him. God says "I will" twelve times in this chapter. He is about to do a miracle.
Enoch and Noah had walked with God, but Abraham was to walk before God, that is, live in the knowledge that the eyes of God were always upon him.
The secret of a perfect walk before God is a personal worship of God. Like Abraham, every believer must fall before the Lord and yield everything to Him. If He is "El Shaddai - Almighty God," then who are we to resist His will?
The phrase "My covenant" is used nine times in this chapter and defines God's relationship with Abraham. God promised once again to multiply Abraham's family, even though he and his wife did not have any children for the last ninety years.
B. ABRAHAM - THE FATHER OF MANY NATIONS
Genesis 17:3-8 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 4 "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. 8 Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."
To encourage Abram's faith in the promise of descendants, God changed Abram's name from Abram which is 'father of many' to Abraham 'father of many nations'.
There was, no doubt, a sense in which Abram - "father of many" - was a hard name to bear for a man who was the father of none, especially in a culture where inquiry about one's personal life was a courteous practice. Now God went a step further and made his name "father of many nations." It is almost absurd for a childless man to have such a name.
There are many wonderful name changes in the Bible, such as when God changed Jacob's name to Israel in Genesis 32:28, and He changed Simon's name to Peter in Mark 3:16. God promises a wonderful new name to every overcomer in Him in Revelation 2:17.
Keep in mind that Abraham's descendants include not only the Jewish people, but also the Arab world through Ishmael and the nations listed in Genesis 25:1-4. All who trust Jesus Christ as Savior are spiritual children of Abraham according to Gal. 3:6-9.
Galatians 3:6-9 just as Abraham "believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." 7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed." 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.
God's everlasting covenant also included an everlasting possession: the land of Canaan. This land is a battleground today and always will be until the Lord returns to reign. But as far as God's covenant is concerned, the land belongs to Israel.
The Jews' ownership of the land depends solely on God's gracious covenant with Abraham. God gave them the land. But their possession and enjoyment of the land depends on their faithfulness to obey the Lord. This was the theme of Moses' messages in Deuteronomy.
C. CIRCUMCISION - THE SIGN OF COVENANT
Genesis 17:9-14 And God said to Abraham: "As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; 11 and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. 13 He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant."
For the first time, God gave Abraham something to do in regard to the covenant. He told them to take upon themselves a sign of the covenant, showing they received the covenant by faith. The sign was circumcision, the cutting away of the male foreskin..
God probably commanded the circumcision of children to take place on the eighth day because this is the day when an infant's immune system is at the optimum level for such a procedure.
Many medical reports note that newborn children's blood clotting agent is at its highest levels in infants on precisely the eighth day of life, making the eighth day the safest, earliest day to circumcise an infant.
However unfortunately, through the centuries, the Jews began to trust more in the sign of the covenant that is circumcision than in the God of the covenant, believing that circumcision by itself was sufficient and necessary to save. Paul refutes this idea extensively, especially in light of the finished work of Jesus.
Galatians 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.
The closest Christian parallel we have to circumcision is baptism which is also a "sign" of the covenant. It does not save us. Believers today are in the New Covenant and are the true circumcision, which is experienced spiritually through the death of Christ. Again, being baptized does not save us, but no Christian should refuse baptism.
Colossians 2:11-12 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
D. SARAH - THE PRINCESS
Genesis 17:15-17 Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her." 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"
The third new name was "Sarah," which means "princess."
We must not minimize the place of Sarah in God's great plan of salvation. Like her husband, she had her faults. But also like her husband, she trusted God and accomplished His purposes. She is not only the mother of the Jewish nation but also a good example for Christian wives to follow. The Christian husband should treat his wife like a princess, because that is what she is in the Lord.
Motherhood should be highly esteemed, and the birth of a baby should be welcomed with joy. How tragic is that we turn that womb into a tomb and make the starting point of life into a holocaust through abortion!
I need to talk to the ladies who had an abortion done. If you asked God to forgive you for your sin, He did. Please do not dwell on it. There is nothing you can do for what you have done. But there is something you can do for the future. You can encourage other ladies or young girls who are considering an abortion not to do it.
E. ISAAC - THE HEIR OF GOD'S CHOICE
Genesis 17:18-22 And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!" 19 Then God said: "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year." 22 Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
The first baby in the Bible who was named before birth was Ishmael, and the second was Isaac which means 'laughter'.
From the human point of view, we can understand why Abraham interceded for Ishmael. After all, Ishmael was his son, and the father loved him dearly.
But from the spiritual point of view, Ishmael could not replace Isaac or even be equal to him in the covenant plan of God. God had already promised to bless Ishmael, and He kept His promise. But the covenant blessings were not a part of Ishmael's heritage. Isaac alone was to be the heir of all things.
There is a practical lesson here for all who seek to live by faith. When God is preparing a bright future for you, don't cling to the things of the past. Ishmael represented the past, Isaac the future. Ishmael symbolized man's fleshly way of accomplishing something to help out God. But Isaac was a miracle baby, born by the power of God. Ishmael brought dissension into the family, but Isaac brought laughter.
F. COMPLETE OBEDIENCE
Genesis 17:23-27 So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael; 27 and all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
Abraham's belief in the covenant was proved by his obedience to the command. What we really believe will show in our actions.
Abraham's obedience was complete, prompt, and daring. Because he put all his fighting men out of commission for a few days.
Abraham didn't need to pray about this. God said it and he did it. This is a wonderful example of obedience from a great man of faith.
This complete obedience of Abraham is the prelude of his obedience with the willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac in chapter 22.
G. APPLICATIONS
1) The secret of a perfect walk before God is a personal worship of God.
2) When God is preparing a bright future for you, don't cling to the things of the past.
The last thing you want to do is become a hindrance in God's work because we dwell in the past. Move on.
Isaiah 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.
3) When God speaks to us, the best thing is doing as we are told, not thinking it over.
A complete obedience starts from doing what the Lord commands us to do, not considering what the best option is. Because it is the best option.
Genesis 18
Intercessor
A businessman who needed millions of dollars to clinch an important contract went to church to pray for the fund. By chance he knelt next to a man who was praying for $100 to pay an urgent debt. The businessman took out his wallet and pressed $100 into the other man's hand. Overjoyed, the man got up and left the church.
The businessman then closed his eyes and prayed, "And now, Lord, that I have your undivided attention.."
If I wanted to make any Christian squirm, I could ask that person if he or she is praying enough to the Lord. Somehow we all feel that we must pray long hours with flowery words. Otherwise, we think that God wouldn't hear our prayers. Addition to that, most of the time our prayers limit to "Give me this, let me have that."
Among prayers, one of the most important ones is intercessory prayer. It is a prayer or petition to God on behalf of others, not ourselves. Sometimes we know exactly what we should pray for, but sometimes we don't know what we should pray for that person. Guess what? When that happens, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us.
Romans 8:26-27 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
A. THREE VISITORS
Genesis 18:1-5 Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, 3 and said, "My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. 4 Please let a little water be brought, and wash Your feet, and rest Yourselves under the tree. 5 And I will bring a morsel of bread, that You may refresh your hearts. After that You may pass by, inasmuch as You have come to Your servant." They said, "Do as you have said."
Here again, the Lord came to Abraham in human appearance for the fifth time. This is another presentation of Jesus in human form before His incarnation.
We don't know if Abraham immediately recognized who these visitors were. Although the Lord appeared to Abraham twice before, we don't know if Jesus looked the same each time, or if Abraham could just know who this was.
Abraham is given a special title "the friend of God" in 2 Chronicles 20:7, Isaiah 41:8 and James 2:23. He is the only person in the Bible to have it. But Jesus called Lazarus His friend in John 11:11 , and He calls "friends" all who believe on Him and obey Him in John 15:13-15.
B. ENTERTAINING STRANGERS
Genesis 18:6-8 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, "Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes." 7 And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. 8 So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.
Abraham spares no pains to make Christ feel at home.
Ephesians 3:17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
What Paul means here is that Christ may settle down and feel at home in our hearts. How important it is for the Christian to make Christ feel at home! Our Lord yearns to spend time with us and have communion with us, if only we let Him. We make ourselves far too busy for that.
All ministries must first be to the Lord. Because if we fail to be a blessing to the Lord, we will never be a blessing to others.
Colossians 3:23-24 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.
To begin with, Abraham served the Lord personally. Remember, Abraham was ninety-nine years old and a wealthy man, and he could have entrusted this task to his chief steward or one of his more than 300 servants. Instead, he decided to minister to his Lord personally.
Let me ask you this: When was the last time you served and ministered to God with such a zeal and excitement from your hearts? Has your service to the Lord become mundane and humdrum, business-as-usual? It shouldn't be. Because our God deserves our best.
For those who are not serving the Lord in this church or any other ministries, I will tell you simply this: If you are not serving the Lord and His people, you are cheating yourselves from the blessings of God that He has stored for you. Serve Him, you will be blessed.
C. DID NOT, DID TOO
Genesis 18:9-15 Then they said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" So he said, "Here, in the tent." 10 And He said, "I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son." (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, "After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?" 13 And the Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?' 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son." 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. And He said, "No, but you did laugh!"
You can sum up this portion of the Scripture in four words: "Did not, did too" between the Lord and Sarah.
Significantly, having a child of their own was what Abraham and Sarah most wanted all their lives. Yet, they find it so hard to believe God's promise when He says He will grant it to them.
It is a strange character of us to believe God's promise for a long, long, time, and endure through much discouragement along the way, until the promise is almost there, and then we find doubt. We are grateful that God is greater than our doubts.
Of course, whenever we doubt God, we are questioning both His integrity and ability. Does He keep His promises? Does He have the power to do what He says He will do? The answer to both questions is ABSOLUTELY YES!
Romans 4:20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.
If God makes a promise, we can be sure He has the power to fulfill it. And He will remain faithful even if we are faithless.
D. GOD'S CONFIDENCE IN ABRAHAM
Genesis 18:16-22 Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom , and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. 17 And the Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, 18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him." 20 And the Lord said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know." 22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.
Abraham being a good host walked out with his guests. Some ladies talk more after they say, "Bye" to each other. Meanwhile, their husbands stand around and wait for them to finish their conversation which last about 50 minutes in average.
Because of what God would bring from Abraham and because Abraham had to be a great leader, God will reveal to Abraham what He will do with Sodom and Gomorrah.
This point is vital. God's purpose in this is not "gossip" with Abraham about what He will do, nor is it to satisfy Abraham's curiosity. God wanted to do something in Abraham's life through what He will reveal to him.
Abraham belonged to that select company of God's people known as intercessors; individuals like Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Jeremiah, the apostles, and our Lord Jesus Himself. In fact, our Lord's ministry today in heaven is a ministry of intercession. So we are never more like our Lord than when we are interceding for others. It is not enough for us to be a blessing to our Lord and our home; we must also seek to win a lost world and bring sinners to the Savior and pray for fellow believers.
E. ABRAHAM, THE INTERCESSOR
Genesis 18:23-33 And Abraham came near and said, "Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? 25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" 26 So the Lord said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes." 27 Then Abraham answered and said, "Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: 28 Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?" So He said, "If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it." 29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, "Suppose there should be forty found there?" So He said, "I will not do it for the sake of forty." 30 Then he said, "Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?" So He said, "I will not do it if I find thirty there." 31 And he said, "Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?" So He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty." 32 Then he said, "Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?" And He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of ten." 33 So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.
Abraham's prayer was based not on the mercy of God but on the justice of God. A just and holy God could not and would not destroy righteous believers with wicked ones.
The sudden destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is used in Scripture as an example of God's righteous judgment on sinners, and Jesus used it as a warning for people in the end times. But why would Abraham want God to spare such wicked people? It seems that far better that they should be wiped off from the face of the earth. Of course, Abraham's first concern was for Lot and his family.
In fact, Abraham had already rescued the people of Sodom solely because of Lot, though none of the citizens seemed to appreciate what he had done for them. Because they all went right back into the old way of life and did not heed the warning of God.
But even apart from Lot's situation, Abraham did not want to see all those people die and be lost forever.
Ezekiel 33:11 Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord God, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?'
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Out of this conversation between God and Abraham, we can learn a valuable lesson about the principles of 'intercessory prayer.' We will talk about it at the end of this study.
It is a privilege of the Christian that we can communicate with God through prayer. The aim of prayer is not to force God's hand or make Him do our will against His own, but to deepen our knowledge of Him and our fellowship with Him through contemplating His glory, confessing our dependence and need, and consciously embracing His goals. Our petition must be according to God's will and in Jesus' name.
Abraham was thinking that there should be at least ten righteous people in the city of Sodom. But there were not after all.
Do you know that the Great Tribulation Period cannot come as long as the church is in the world? It just cannot come, because Christ bore our judgment, and the great tribulation is part of the judgment that is coming. The current world is becoming more and more like Sodom and Gomorrah. Ruth Bell Graham, Billy Graham's wife commented, "If God doesn't judge America , He owes an apology to Sodom and Gomorrah ."
God will judge this world and non-believers. Before He does that, He will come and take all the believers out of the world. No one knows when He will come. He will come for sure. You'd better be ready.
F. APPLICATIONS
1) Intercessors must draw near to the Lord.
As we see in v23, Abraham came near to the Lord. Effective intercession is a matter of drawing near to God so that we can pray according to His will.
2) Intercessors must have compassionate hearts and a deep concern for others.
The issue is not what kind of sins people commit, though some sins are certainly worse than others, but that the wages of sin is death and beyond that death is an eternal hell.
Some of intercessory prayers don't involve prayers for someone who is in sin, but help. When we have compassionate hearts and concern for others, it is a lot easier to get involved in prayers on behalf of them.
3) Intercessors must have bold humility.
Intercessors should not be proud or arrogant before the Lord, but continuously plea to the Lord for others.
This is the kind of heart God wanted to draw out of Abraham - a heart that cared so much for people made in the image of God that he worked hard to intercede on behalf of a city that deserved judgment. This was the heart a great leader of a great and mighty nation needed to have.
The morality in America and the world degrades so rapidly that the line once used to separate between moral and immoral becomes fuzzy. Especially when it comes to homosexuality in America. There are several groups of lobbyists who work vigorously to push their homosexual agenda through the federal, the state and local governments.
They have great allies – the major TV media and movie industry from Hollywood. They present gays and lesbians as poor abused people who are rejected by narrow minded conservative bigots. With the help of left wing commie pinko Hollywood and the major TV network liberal media, they promote homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle. The corporate America, such as Ford, Chevy, Microsoft, etc., demand their employees to go through diversity training which is nothing more than homosexual propaganda. I don’t care what they say. According to the Bible, homosexuality is sin and an abomination against God.
They may call me a bigot. Then they have to call our God a bigot, too. Because I am repeating what God says in the Bible about homosexuality. If they are willing to call God a bigot, it would be my honor to be called a bigot with my God. I will not compromise the truth of the Word of God just to be politically correct or to smooth someone’s perversive lifestyle.
The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were exceedingly wicked because the men of these cities were given over to sexual practices that were contrary to nature. The words “sodomy” and “sodomize” are synonyms for these homosexual practices. The men did not try to hide their sin according to Isa. 3:9 nor would they repent as it is mentioned in Jer. 23:14. Sound familiar? That is what the homosexuals do now, especially in light of this month. They call it “Gay Pride Month.” Yikes!!!!!!
We are going to see the miserable result of a compromiser who lived in the midst of a homosexual community and see how it effects his walk with God.
A. STRANGERS IN TOWN
Genesis 19:1-4 Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. 2 And he said, “Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant’s house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” And they said, “No, but we will spend the night in the open square.” 3 But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
When the heavenly visitors came to Abraham, he was at his tent door. But Lot was sitting in the gate of a wicked city which indicates that he was a man of some authority. Abraham was a pilgrim and stranger, only passing through this world. But Lot had gradually abandoned his tent and settled down in Sodom. Instead of keeping his eyes on the heavenly city, Lot looked toward Sodom and began to walk by sight. Then he moved his tent near Sodom, and finally he moved into Sodom.
Lot’s heart was in Sodom long before his body arrived there. No doubt he got his first love for the world when he went to Egypt with Abraham, and he never overcame it.
Erosion of backsliding never happens overnight. It is such a gradual process that the backslider does not notice it until it is too late.
Why did Lot insist these visitors to stay in his home instead of the open square? Because he knew about the wickedness of his neighbors. He was living in a really, really wicked neighborhood, yet he chose to stay there.
B. THEIR DRIVEN PERVERSIVE LUST
Genesis 19:4-11 Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.” 6 So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, 7 and said, “Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! 8 See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.” 9 And they said, “Stand back!” Then they said, “This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them.” So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door. 10 But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11 And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door.
These citizens of Sodom came to rape these two visitors.
NIV makes it very clear for us:
Gen. 19:5 They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”
That is a shocking demonstration of depravity, but we are just as shocked at the willingness of Lot to give up his daughters to the mob.
The offer is horrible and cannot be justified. We understand it a little more when we consider the low place of women in the pre-Christian world and the very high place of any guest in their homes in the Middle East. It was understood a guest was to be protected more than your own family. Not on my watch. Nobody messes with my daughter.
Homosexual advocates have an interest in saying homosexuals are exactly like everyone else, except they love people of their own sex. But when the conduct of homosexuals is observed, this is not the case.
We can bring out statistics on the number of partners homosexuals have: 43% of homosexuals say they have had 500 or more sexual partners in their lifetime. Only 1% of homosexuals say they have had four or less sexual partners in their lifetime. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, 77% of homosexuals say they have met sexual partners in a city park, 62% in a homosexual bar, 61% in a theater, 31% in a public restroom. Only 28% of homosexuals said they had known their partners for at least a week before participating in homosexual sex.
Homosexuals are actively recruiting young people from high schools who are full of hormones into their perversive lifestyle. Because the older generation homosexuals are dying with their sexual diseases and AIDS.
The average age of a homosexual man dying with AIDS is 39. The average age of gays dying of all other causes is 41. The average heterosexual married man lives 75 years. Gay men are three times more likely to have alcohol or drug abuse problems. Homosexuals are 14 times more likely to have had syphilis, and 23 times more likely to contract venereal diseases.
Homosexuals have insisted that up to 10% of the population of America is homosexual. But the most reliable statistics show only 2.3% of men in their 20’s and 30’s report ever having had a homosexual experience. Only 1.1% reported being exclusively homosexual.
Homosexuals also have an interest in defining themselves as “gay,” a word that used to mean “happy” or “carefree.” But it is a poor description of a lifestyle that has such a high rate of death, disease depression, illegal drug use and suicide.
Homosexuality is not a disease, nor heritage. It is nothing more than downright perversion. It is sin of perversive lust. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.
Yes, God is a loving God. Homosexual people claim that they were born that way and made by this loving God. But they ignore the fact that the Bible stands absolutely against homosexuality. If what they say is true – God made them to be homosexual, then why would the same God condemn homosexuality from the Bible? That would be a contradiction to His Word and God wouldn’t do that.
1 Corinthians 6:9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
NIV Romans 1:24-27 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
1 Timothy 1:9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.
Please note that even after these homosexual people in Sodom were stricken with blindness, they were not leaving for their homes, but still looking for the door of Lot’s home to get these visitors. As I said it before, homosexuality is a perversive and driven wicked sin.
However, we must love the people who practice homosexuality even though we despise the sin of homosexuality. Their sin of homosexuality is no different than the sins we commit in the eyes of God. We must show them the way of salvation through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.
If any homosexual wants to escape this wicked lifestyle, he or she needs to come to God with a sincere heart and ask Him to deliver him from the bondage of this sin. God is more than willing to do so.
C. COMPROMISE DESTROYS HIS TESTIMONY
Genesis 19:12-14 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city--take them out of this place! 13 For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!” But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.
The effect of Lot’s life of compromise is clearly seen. When he spoke with utmost seriousness to his sons-in-law about the judgment of God, they did not believe him. The life of Lot shows us that it is possible to have a saved soul and a wasted life.
D. HELLFIRE AND BRIMSTONE
Genesis 19:15-29 When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” 16 And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.” 18 Then Lot said to them, “Please, no, my lords! 19 Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. 20 See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.” 21 And he said to him, “See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. 22 Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. 23 The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. 25 So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. 27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace. 29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt.
The angels had to take Lot by the hand and forcibly drag him out of Sodom. First, Lot lingered. Then he argued. Then he begged to be allowed to go his own way. Instead of being grateful for God’s mercy and obeying his rescuers, Lot resisted them and created trouble for them.
This lack of urgency to do the things of God is a common sign of compromise and a backslidden condition. Like Lot, backsliders are the most miserable people in the world. Because they have too much of the world to be happy in God, and too much of God to be happy in the world.
Mrs. Lot didn’t want to leave Sodom, because she left her heart there. We need to look forward to our deliverance of God, not back at a world that is passing away and ripe for judgment.
E. OUT OF THE FRYING PAN INTO THE FIRE
Genesis 19:30-38 Then Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountains, and his two daughters were with him; for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar. And he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave. 31 Now the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man on the earth to come in to us as is the custom of all the earth. 32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father.” 33 So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 34 It happened on the next day that the firstborn said to the younger, “Indeed I lay with my father last night; let us make him drink wine tonight also, and you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father.” 35 Then they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 36 Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. 37 The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38 And the younger, she also bore a son and called his name Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the people of Ammon to this day.
If Lot was really afraid to stay in Zoar, why didn’t he go to his uncle Abraham instead of the mountains? This is like many backslidden Christians. They’d rather dwell in the place of isolation than making themselves accountable to the fellow believers in the Lord.
Lot’s daughters’ flimsy excuse for this terrible sin is that all the people are perished. However, their brief time in Zoar was enough to show them there were other people. Obviously living in Sodom affected these young women more than Lot realized.
We may be uncomfortable with the idea that the Bible includes the record of such disgraceful sins. It is far better for children to learn the facts of life and consequences of our sins from the Word of God where sin is condemned than from any other place.
These Moabites and Ammonites became enemies and obstacles for Israel later. Lot’s life ended in ruin, all because of his love for the world.
F. APPLICATIONS
1) We need to keep in mind that the love for the world is a sin in the sight of God.
1John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
2) We must remember that the lack of urgency to do the things of God is a common sign of compromise and a backslidden condition.
The things of God should take higher priority in our lives all the time.
Genesis 20
The Same Song, The Second Verse
Have you ever make the same mistake over and over again? The first time, people would say, “It’s OK. It was a mistake.” and they let you slide. But when you make the same mistake again, they look at you with that face ‘What-are-you,-an-idiot?’ look.
It is one thing to make the same mistake twice or more. But it is a completely different thing to commit the same sin that disgraces the name of God two time in a row.
This morning we are going to look at another dark side of Abraham’s life. The Bible is so honest that it shows not only the great things done by the great men and women of God, but it also shows their sins and faults without any cover up. The only thing I can say is that I am so glad that the Bible is no longer being recorded. However, to the non-believers, we are the only Bible they would ever read. That is why the right representation of God to them is so important.
Let’s learn from Abraham’s sin, so that we may not commit the same kind of sin again and again.
A. THE SAME SONG, THE SECOND VERSE
Genesis 20:1-2 And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. 2 Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
On the tail of the great intercessory prayer to God on behalf of the wicked people of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham again committed the sin that he did previously.
Yes, it is the same song, the second verse. This is the same lie Abraham told back in Genesis 12:10-13. He didn’t even bother to come up with a new line of lies. Abraham shows to us that it is all too easy to slip back into sinful habits. Instead of trusting God to keep his family together and safe, he devised his own plan to do it.
Age does not automatically sanctify us. Unless yielded to the Spirit of God, we will repeat the sinful patterns of our youth in our old age.
Even though Sarah was ninety years old at this time, she must have been a hot chic for Abraham to lie through his teeth like this. They didn’t even have Botox during that period.
To get to Gerar, Abraham had to go quite far south in the land of Israel. We don’t find any words from God to Abraham to move out of Mamre. There was no inquiry to God, no altar to build, no prayer to seek God’s will. It is no wonder why Abraham went south, literally.
B. YOU ARE SO DEAD, ABIMELECH
Genesis 20:3-7 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” 4 But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”
When God showed up in Abimelech’s dream and told him, “You are so dead,” he might as well hang it up. He was finished. Who can stand against Almighty God? No one. But this pagan king had more integrity than Abraham.
This threat may seem drastic, but the stakes were high. Despite Abraham’s failure to really trust God in the situation, God was not going to abandon him. He would not let Abimelech touch Sarah. That womb was going to bring forth the son of promise Isaac, who would eventually bring forth God’s Messiah Jesus. God wasn’t leaving this matter up to man.
God kept Abimelech from worse sin. God’s protecting power can guide even a pagan king.
C. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME
Genesis 20:8-10 So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid. 9 And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I offended you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done.” 10 Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?”
It is a sad day when a believer of God gets rebuked by a heathen. Unfortunately, it happens often. God always holds His followers to the higher standard than non-believers.
Jesus told us that as the believers of God we ought to be salt and light of this dark and vile world. If we lower our standards, how are we different than them?
Matt 5:13-16 You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
D. ONE LOUSY EXCUSE COMING UP
Genesis 20:11-13 And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife. 12 But indeed she is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”
The people of Gerar may not had the fear of God in their hearts, but Abraham didn’t have trust in God in his heart.
A lighthearted admission of sin is not the same as a brokenhearted confession of sin.
Psalms 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart-- These, O God, You will not despise.
If our attitude is right, we will hate our sins, hate ourselves for having sinned and despise the very memory of our sins. People who remember their sins with pleasure, calling ‘good ol’ days’ and “enjoy them again” in their minds have never judged their sins or considered how terrible their sins really are in the eyes of God.
Abraham and Sarah had convinced themselves that they were not telling a lie at all. In their thought, it was only a “half-truth”, and half-truths are not supposed to be as wicked as outright lies. Actually, they are worse! A half-truth has just enough fact in it to make it convincing and just enough deception to make it dangerous to everyone.
When Abraham said, “when God caused me to wander from my father’s house”, this is an indirect way of blaming God for the problem. Abraham claims that God sent him out on this dangerous journey upon which Abraham had to protect himself with his half-truth lie.
There is a terrible meaning in this verb ‘wander’ which Abraham uses. The Hebrew word occurs exactly fifty times in Scripture and never in a good sense. It is used of animals going astray, of a drunken man reeling, or staggering, of sinful seduction, of a prophet’s lies causing the people to err, of the path of a lying heart. Six other words are translated ‘wander’, any one of which Abraham might have used, but he used the worst word available.
Abraham should have said: “Forgive me, Abimelech, for dishonoring both you and my God.” He should have been man enough to take the full responsibility.
The consequence of this deception didn’t stop here. Think with me about the deceptions that ran in his family:
Abimelech in the kingdom of Gerar in Genesis 26.
Abimelech was not a name of the king of Gerar, but it was the king’s title.
helped him to deceive his own father to take away the family blessing from his
brother Esau in Genesis 27. He even used the name of God to convince his blind
father.
wilderness. Instead of killing him, they sold their own brother into slavery in Genesis
37. Then they told their father Jacob that the wild animals killed Joseph.
See the progression of their deceptions from Abraham to the sons of Jacob? It was getting worse and worse as each generation passed by.
Why did Abraham sin? For one thing, though Abraham had a sinful nature, he had been justified by faith. God gave him a new name from “Abram” to “Abraham”, but that did not change his old nature. Because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the work of Christ on the cross, believers can have victory over the old nature. But this is not automatic. We must walk in the Spirit if we hope to overcome temptation.
In light of Abraham’s compromise, we should never underestimate the power of Satan’s temptations. Because he has been doing this for last 6,000 years. He really knows what he is doing when it comes to tempting the believers of Jesus Christ.
At the same time, we should not overestimate our own spiritual power to resist the devil’s temptations. Without God, we are weak and vulnerable.
But if we depend on God and use the full armor of God which are the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, having shod our feet with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace, the Shield of Faith, the Helmet of Salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, we can stand against the devil’s schemes.
E. A REBUKE TO ABRAHAM BY A PAGAN KING
Genesis 20:14-18 Then Abimelech took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “See, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” 16 Then to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; indeed this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody.” Thus she was rebuked. 17 So Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children; 18 for the Lord had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
Abraham lost his testimony of God and a ministry to show these pagan people about his God. How could he talk to his pagan neighbors about the God of truth when he himself had told a lie?
A bad man’s example has little influence over good men, but the bad example of a good man has an enormous power for evil and brings occasions for non-believers to blaspheme God.
2 Sam 12:14a However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme
God does not reject His children when they sin, but He disciplines them because of His unending love. Abraham was justified by faith and had a righteous standing before God. Justification does not change. We are accepted in Jesus Christ no matter what we are in ourselves. Of course, the fact that we are justified before God means there should be changes in our lives. Because faith without works is dead.
We all know a famous verse from 1 John chapter 1:9.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Yes, our God would forgive us if we confess our sins. But on the flip side of that is if we don’t confess our sins, He cannot and will not forgive our sins. That means that it becomes our choice not to have intimate fellowship with Him. We cannot blame Him for that.
Do you identify yourself with this unbelieving and backslidden Abraham? Do you have a tendency to slipping back to the old carnal habit again and again? Then, make it right with Him by asking God for His forgiveness and make a commitment to stay away from temptations and stay close to Jesus through His Word daily.
F. APPLICATION
1) A bad man’s example has little influence over good men, but the bad example of a good man has an enormous power for evil and brings occasions for non-believers to blaspheme God.
Genesis 21
The Son of Promise
A farmer was going to sell his litter of pups. While he was putting up a sale sign on his farm gate post, a little boy came to him and asked the farmer, “How much is a puppy?” with squinting eyes because of the bright spring sunlight.
“Well son, these puppies are pure breed and they are expensive.” The boy fished out a handful of coins from his coverall pocket. “I have 39 cents. Will this do?” said the boy. The farmer couldn’t help himself but smile at the boy and said, “Oh, I reckon so. That will do just fine.” Then he turned around and whistled toward his barn.
There were four of the cutest puppies you have ever seen running and stumbling toward the farmer. As they arrived to the fence, they stuck their noses out to the little boy and started to lick and jumping at him. From the corner of his eye, the boy noticed the fifth puppy was coming toward him rather slowly and limping. The boy looked up from his squatted position and said, “I will take that one,” as he pointed to the fifth puppy.
“Son, you don’t want that one. He cannot run with you and play with you well. He is a runt and crippled.” The boy started to pull up his pants legs and showed his leg braces and specially made shoes to the farmer. And he said, “I don’t run well either. So I can understand him. I will be his friend.”
You see, spiritually we are crippled because of our wicked, sinful nature. Jesus came to us and became our friend and identify with us by taking our sins upon Himself.
That is the Grace of God.
It is easy to overlook the meaning behind the story of this chapter. An old couple having a child – interesting, but nothing to write home about. But it is more than that. We will notice that there is a very striking similarity between the birth of Isaac and the birth of Christ.
A. THE SON OF PROMISE IS BORN
Genesis 21:1-7 And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. 2 For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him--whom Sarah bore to him--Isaac. 4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.” 7 She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.”
It took 25 long years for this promise to come to pass, but God was faithful to His promise. God’s promises never fail. God is not only a promise maker, but also He is a true promise keeper.
When I was born, my mother was 43 years old. I thought that was rather old to have the first baby. Sarah topped my mama by 47 years. She was ninety years old and Abraham was 100 years old. I am sure that when Abraham was passing cigar gums around, his friends jabbed him and teased him by saying, “You old dog!”
Isaac’s birth also meant the rewarding of patience. Abraham and Sarah had to wait 25 years for their son to be born, because it is through faith and patience they inherit the promises. Trusting God’s promises not only gives us a blessing at the end, but it gives us a blessing while we are waiting.
Abraham represents faith, and Sarah represents grace according to Gal 4:24-26, so Isaac was born by grace through faith.
The birth of Isaac was a miraculous birth. It was contrary to nature.
Romans 4:19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.
However, I find the bigger miracle than this. God Himself took human form and made Himself lower than an angel and was born of a woman as a helpless human baby. Because He had to identify with us and had to understand our crippled spirituality by our sins. Through the atoning sacrifice of His sinless life we could find the only way to heaven. That is the miracle of miracles.
B. THE FLESH MUST GO
Genesis 21:8-13 So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned. 9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. 10 Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.” 11 And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called. 13 Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.”
The most reliable research indicates that Isaac was three years old when he was weaned. Notice the conflict came from Ishmael to Isaac. Galatians 4:22-29 describes for us a spiritual application of this conflict between Isaac – the son born of the promise and Ishmael – the son born of the flesh.
Galatians 4:22-29 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, 24 which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar-- 25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children-- 26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a husband.” 28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. 29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now.
This conflict between the two sons was almost inevitable, even though they are some 13 years apart.
Please allow me to put this in spiritual aspects:
When we are born again, we receive a new nature. And when we receive a new nature, that is where the trouble always begins.
Romans 7:19 (NIV) For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing.
There are constant fights between old and new nature. Unfortunately, the old nature is often in control in our actions. The time comes when we have to make a decision as to which nature we are going to live by. We must make a determination to yield to the Lord in every matter. We either have to permit the Holy Spirit to move in our lives, or else we have to go through life controlled by the flesh. There is no third alternative for the children of God.
Contrary to Ishmael, Isaac’s birth is ordained by God. We can find remarkable similarities between the births of Isaac and of the Lord Jesus Christ:
1) The birth of Isaac and the birth of Christ had both been promised.
25 years earlier, God had said to Abraham, “I am going to give a son to you and Sarah,” and God has made good His promise.
God also said to the nation Israel, “A virgin shall conceive and bear a son.” When the day came that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, it was a fulfillment of prophecy. Both births had been promised.
2) With both births there was a long interval between the promise and the fulfillment.
Actually, there were about 25 years from the time God promised it until the birth of Isaac.
With the birth of Christ, you could go back many generations. God had promised that there would come One in David’s line – and that was a thousand years before Christ was born.
3) Both Isaac and Jesus were named before their births.
Abraham and Sarah were told that they were going to have a son and that they were going to name him Isaac.
With the birth of the Lord Jesus, we find that He was also named beforehand.
Matthew 1:21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.
4) Both births were miraculous.
The birth of Isaac was a miraculous birth, and, certainly, the birth of the Lord Jesus was. Because no man had any part in that.
5) Both sons were obedient to their fathers, even unto death.
In chapter 22 we are going to see that this son Isaac was offered up as a sacrifice by his father. He was not a small boy of eight or nine years. Isaac just happened to be about thirty-three years old when this took place, and he was obedient to his father even unto death.
That was true of Isaac, and that was certainly true of the Lord Jesus Christ.
6) The miraculous birth of Isaac is a picture of the resurrection of Christ.
Out of death came life – that’s resurrection. Out of the dead womb of Sarah, Isaac was born. That was the foreshadow of the resurrection of Jesus.
Romans 4:25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.
Perhaps Abraham did not want to give up Ishmael, because the boy was his first son.
But he had to realize that the son of promise and the son of flesh could not coexist as our old carnal nature and godly character cannot coexist.
Galatians 5:24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
We all need to make choices each and every moment. It is not easy to separate ourselves from the carnal pleasures of this world. But that is what the Lord wants us to do. The obedience and disobedience to the Lord is the difference between true believers of God and carnal ones. We need to continuously choose what God wants in our lives to please Him.
C. ADIOS, HAGAR AND ISHMAEL
Genesis 21:14-21 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. 15 And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. 16 Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, “Let me not see the death of the boy.” So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18 Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. 20 So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. 21 He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
Abraham was a wealthy man and could certainly spare more provisions, even giving them a donkey or a bag of silver. But Abraham realized that without God’s help, no matter what he gave them, it would not be enough. But with God, things would turn out all right. The descendants of Ishmael became the Arabic people as God had promised. And they are doing just fine with the oil they have.
Hagar is certainly a picture of the needy people in the world today – wandering, weary, thirsty, blind, and giving up hope in despair. How we need to tell them the Good News of Jesus, that the Living Water is available and the Bread of Life can be theirs, too! God is kind and gracious to all who call upon Him.
D. A COVENANT WITH ABIMELECH
Genesis 21:22-34 And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “God is with you in all that you do. 23 Now therefore, swear to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my offspring, or with my posterity; but that according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt.” 24 And Abraham said, “I will swear.” 25 Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants had seized. 26 And Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I heard of it until today.” 27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant. 28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. 29 Then Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?” 30 And he said, “You will take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that they may be my witness that I have dug this well.” 31 Therefore he called that place Beersheba (it means ‘Well of the oath’), because the two of them swore an oath there. 32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God. 34 And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days.
As many as four years may have passed since the events of Genesis 20. During that time, it was evident that God was blessing Abraham and Sarah. Whenever a believer is restored to fellowship with the Lord, God can bless that person once again. The purpose of discipline is restoration, and the purpose of restoration is ministry and blessing.
“God is with you in all that you do” – what a testimony! Abraham did not permit one lapse of faith to cripple him. He got right with God and made a new beginning.
A new name for God is introduced here: ‘El Olam’ – “the Everlasting God.” Abraham already knew ‘El Elyon’ – “God Most High” from Gen. 14:19 & 22 and ‘El Shaddai’ – “God Almighty” from Gen. 17:1.
What an encouragement to know “the Everlasting God”! Wells would disappear, trees would be cut down, ewe lambs would grow up and die, altars would crumble, and treaties would perish. But the Everlasting God would remain forever.
E. APPLICATIONS
If you split the surface of the world globe at the Date Line and lay it flat, which is the standard way to show the map of the world, you will be able to see that Israel is located right in the center of the entire continents.
Right in the center of that land Israel, Jerusalem is located.
Right in the center of Jerusalem, the Holy Temple was located.
Right in the center of the Holy Temple, the Holy of Holies was located.
Right in the center of the Holy of Holies, the Ark of God which represents Jesus Christ was located.
That is the area which is known as Mount Moriah where Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Isaac in chapter 22.
Two very important things happened on that Mount Moriah. But they both related with the sacrifices of the sons that would be offered by a human father and God the Father for us.
How interesting! In chapter 21, we’ve learned that there were striking similarities in the birth of Isaac and Jesus the Messiah. I even said that the birth of Isaac was the foreshadow of the birth of Jesus. In this chapter, we are going to see other similarities of their own sacrifices.
A. YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT, GOD?
Genesis 22:1-2 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 Then He said, “Take now 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.”
In the “School of Faith” we must have occasional tests, or we will never know where we are spiritually. This was not so much a test to produce faith, but it was a test to reveal faith to ourselves.
It is not because God didn’t know what Abraham would do. God knew all of that exactly in advance, but it was for Abraham to know his own faith.
Please note that once Abraham heard the command of God to sacrifice his only son Isaac, there was absolutely no objection or resistance from his part. It came from complete trust in God after his own blunders in chapter 12 and 20.
We need to learn to distinguish between trials and temptations. Temptations come from our desires within us, but trials come from the Lord who has a special purpose to fulfill. Temptations are used by the devil to bring out the worst in us, but trials are used by the Holy Spirit to bring out the best in us. Temptations seem logical, but trials seem very unreasonable.
All believers face similar common temptations to sin, but not all believers experience the same trials of faith. God’s testings are tailor-made for each child of God, and each experience is unique.
Abraham had to learn the difference between trusting the promise and trusting the Promise Maker. If we trust the Promise Maker no matter what, the promise will be taken care of.
Two important things we should know before we go any further:
1) The area of Moriah is where the temple was built centuries later. It was the place that the Lord Jesus was sacrificed – right outside the city walls. Golgotha and the temple area were not very far apart. They belong to the same ridge of Mount Moriah.
2) Burnt offering was a sign of complete surrender
It is atonement for unintentional sin in general and an expression of devotion, commitment and complete surrender to God. The Israelites used to use bull, ram or male doves or pigeons without any blemish in total consumption by fire and smoke. It's a vivid picture of the complete dedication of Jesus Christ – the total consecration ofHis life. We can see how it was supposed to be done in details in Leviticus chapter 1.
God told them to bring an animal without any defect. Again it represents Jesus who was without sin. That means that He is telling us to bring our best to Him as our offerings and sacrifices. When many people don’t care to keep something, they often give leftover to church. That is wrong. We should bring our best to our God. If we bring the leftover to the Lord, that should not be called sacrifice or offering. It is nothing more than “emptying the spiritual pantry.”
B. ABRAHAM’S IMMEDIATE RESPONSE
Genesis 22:3-5 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”
There is not the slightest hint of hesitation on Abraham’s part.
Abraham is trusting God, even when he does not understand. Sometimes we say, “I’m not going to obey or believe until I understand it all,” but that is making ourselves equal with God. Because we cannot understand God’s infinite wisdom and plan.
Abraham is trusting, even when he does 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 was walking by faith, not feelings.
Here we start to see incredible and fascinating similarities between this sacrifice and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ:
1) The third day
In Abraham’s mind, Isaac was as good as dead when he left home as they headed out to Mount Moriah in their three day journey. So when Isaac returned home with his father Abraham, it was alike resurrection.
As we all know, our Lord Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead on the third day, because He won victory over our sin and death.
This is the first use of the word worship in reference to God in the Bible. The Hebrew word “shachah” simply means, “to bow down.” While Abraham and Isaac did not go to the Mount to have a time of joyful praise, they did go to bow down to the Lord.
Does this mean Abraham somehow knew this was only a test and God would not really require this of him? Not at all. Instead, Abraham’s faith in God, if he kills Isaac, God would raise him from the dead, because God had promised Isaac would carry on the line of blessing and the covenant.
Please note that Abraham used the word ‘worship’ rather than sacrifice. He understood that ‘sacrifice’ is a part of ‘worship’.
Rom. 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
C. FAITH WITH ACTION
Genesis 22:6-10 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together. 9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
By this time, Isaac’s age happened to be 33 years old according to many Hebrew scholars, just about the same age as Jesus when He was crucified.
Many people thought that Isaac was a little kid because of the word ‘lad’. If he was, he couldn’t possibly carry all that bundle of wood on his shoulders.
2) Wood on the son’s shoulders
Note that ‘wood’ was laid on Isaac his son’s shoulder to carry. Yes, it was the wood that would burn him as a sacrifice as Jesus would carry His cross on His shoulder to be hung on it.
3) Fire and knife in the father’s hand
In the meanwhile, Abraham was carrying ‘fire and knife’ that would slay Isaac’s life in his hand. They are the instruments of judgement and execution. We can see this as God the Father carrying out His wrath as a judgement on Jesus for the sins of mankind.
4) God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering
I love what it says in this verse. “God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” No man could come up with the right sacrifice to cleanse the offense of mankind, because we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The only one who could was the God Man, the Mediator Jesus Christ.
This phrase is very important to see that Abraham was speaking prophetically.
So where was the lamb? That question had been asked by all the faithful, from Isaac to Moses to David to Isaiah, all the way to the time of John the Baptist when he declares:
John 1:29 Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
5) Complete submission to the Father’s will In my opinion, Abraham’s faith is just great and incredible. But Isaac’s faith is even more incredible. He knew what his father was about to do: bound him and kill him with his knife and burn him to ash. That is not my idea of having a BBQ picnic, especially if the object of the BBQ is me. Let something else be on the grill, not me.
Thank you very much.
But Isaac trusted his God and his father’s God enough to be bound without any resistance. I bet he even helped his elderly father to get himself up on the altar.
The Lord Jesus went to the cross having said, “Not My will, but Your will be done.” He went to the cross to fulfill the will of God willingly.
D. THE GOD WHO PROVIDES
Genesis 22:11-14 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” 12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” 13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of The Lord it shall be provided.”
Abraham was completely willing to plunge the knife into Isaac. Abraham didn’t think this was playacting.
When God finds His followers truly willing to make the sacrifice He demands, He often does not require it. This is how we can be martyrs without ever dying for Jesus. We need to live the life of a martyr right now.
Generally the people who have their children at their old age really cherish their relationship with the children more than the younger parents do. Maybe Abraham was cherishing his only son Isaac too much that he was starting to replace God with Isaac in his heart. God didn’t want him to have idolatry.
I am absolutely sure that Abraham was so glad to hear this command of God from heaven.
The word ‘know’ in English in this verse does not justify the omniscient capability of God. The proper translation according to its Hebrew word ‘yada’ should be ‘acknowledge’. In other words, God is acknowledging the incredible faith of Abraham.
“The-Lord-will-provide” is that famous “Jehovah Jireh”. Indeed, God provides what we need according to His riches in glory.
Please note what it says at the end of this verse: “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” What an incredible statement this is! That is the place where Abraham prophesied the upcoming the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. That is the place where God had received the sacrifices of animals for the people of Israel through the hands of human priests. And this is the place where God provided Himself as the Lamb of God.
However, we find a few differences between this sacrifice of Isaac and the crucifixion of Jesus:
• Isaac felt neither the knife nor the fire physically, but Jesus felt both in God’s wrath against the sins of mankind.
• Isaac’s loving father was right there, but Jesus was forsaken by His Father when He became sin for us.
E. ABRAHAM PASSED THE TEST WITH FLYING COLORS
Genesis 22:15-19 Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son-- 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.
Imagine how happy Abraham was after passing this test of trust.
F. PREPARING FOR THE NEXT CHARACTER: ISAAC
Genesis 22:20 Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying, “Indeed Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 Huz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23 And Bethuel begot Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Thahash, and Maachah.
Here we see the first mention of the name of Rebekah who is going to meet her future husband Isaac in Chapter 24.
G. APPLICATIONS
1) Our faith is not really tested until God asks us to bear what seems unbearable, do what seems unreasonable, and expect what seems impossible. We must obey Him.
Whether you look at Joseph in prison, Moses and Israel at the Red Sea, David in the cave, or Jesus at Calvary, the lesson is the same: We live by promises, not by explanations.
2) If we trust the Promise Maker no matter what, the promise will be taken care of.
It is absolutely important for us to believe the promises of God. He wants us to do that. But it is more important and vital to trust the Promise Maker our God than the promises themselves.
Genesis 23
The Choices We Make
Life is full of choices. From what to eat for breakfast this morning to who we should marry, to where we are going to spend our eternal life. I wish I could say I made more wise choices than bad ones in the past. But by the grace of God, I will make more wise choices in the future.
We may not be able to make our own choices when it comes to the time of death and location, but we can make many good choices how we can live until death comes to us, if the Lord does not come back before our final days on this earth.
If every single dead person could come back and tell us, they all would say, “God is real, heaven is real, hell is real.”
Someone said it well, “Man can defy the gravity, but he cannot defy the grave.” For Christians, death is both friend and enemy. Death is a friend when it releases a believer of Jesus Christ from pain and suffering of life to the eternal life in heaven. But it is an enemy, because it robs our family members, friends and loved ones from us. Even though we have assurance that those believers are with our Savior Jesus Christ in heaven immediately after their death, we still grieve over their temporary separation from us.
In chapter 23 and 25 of Genesis, we are going to find the death of Abraham’s wife Sarah and Abraham himself and the choices by his grandsons Esau and Jacob that separated them in eternity.
A. THE DEATH OF SARAH THE PRINCESS
Genesis 23:1-2 Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
Notice that Sarah’s age is given as 127 years old. Some of you have learned from other Bible teachers including myself that humans cannot have the length of life more than 120 years according to Genesis 6:3.
Genesis 6:3 And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”
What does it mean? Does it mean what God said didn’t come true? Because we see Sarah lived 127 years and many other lived over 120 years after the Great Flood. Is the Bible wrong? No, the Bible is never wrong, our interpretation is wrong. I was wrong.
If we look at Genesis 6:3 in context, God is talking about the people who were mocking Noah and not repenting of their wicked sins. God gave them 120 years to repent while Noah was building the Ark.
How often in my Christian life I have heard well-meaning but ignorant people say to grieving friends or relatives, “Now, don’t cry!” That is very poor counsel, because God made us with the ability to weep. Grieving is one of God’s gifts to help heal broken hearts when people we love are taken from us in death. However, we cannot mourn over our dead forever. There comes a time when we must accept what has happened, face life, and fulfill our obligations to both the living and the dead. And move on.
For the believer, to be “absent from the body” means to be “present with the Lord.” So Christians should not approach death with fear.
B. FINDING A BURIAL SITE
Genesis 23:3-16 Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, 4 “I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” 5 And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, 6 “Hear us, my lord: You are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.” 7 Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. 8 And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, 9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he has, which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you.” 10 Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who entered at the gate of his city, saying, 11 “No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!” 12 Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land; 13 and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there.” 14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 15 “My lord, listen to me; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead.” 16 And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants.
Why didn’t Abraham take Sarah somewhere else to bury her? He buried her in Hebron, because it is the Promised Land and the hope of the future is here.
The men of the land called Abraham “a mighty prince”, which in the Hebrew is “a prince with God.” He had a good testimony among them, and they respected him. These Hittites did not worship Abraham’s God, but they respected Abraham and his faith.
It is a wonderful thing in a time of sorrow when the child of God has a strong witness to the non-believers around. There is a natural sorrow that everyone expects us to manifest, but there is also a supernatural grace that God gives so that we might have joy in the midst of sorrow. The unsaved can tell the difference, and this gives us opportunity for sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.
The Canaanite, Ephron, follows the cultural customs of bargaining. First, the seller offers to give the item. Then, when that is refused, the seller suggests a price, which he claims is modest but is really high. This is understood to be the starting point, and from there the bargaining begins.
Abraham shows how a Christian should do business with the world – courteously and fairly.
By the way, if you ever go to Israel and you pay whatever the merchants ask for, they will laugh at you after you leave their shop. They always start extremely high. So you need to start at half price of what they ask for. You haggle and get the merchandise at the price you want to pay or walk away, because you can get the exactly same thing from the next shop at a cheaper price.
Genesis 23:17-20 So the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded 18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city. 19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place.
The text emphasizes this property was Abraham’s land by deed, not only by the promise of God.
This is where Isaac and Ishmael buried Abraham. Isaac and Rebekah were both buried here. Jacob buried Leah here, and Joseph buried Jacob here. And this was the place Joseph told his descendants to bury him, taking his bones with them when they came into the Promised Land.
C. THE DEATH OF A PATRIARCH
Genesis 25:1-11 Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah. 2 And she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5 And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. 6 But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had; and while he was still living he sent them eastward, away from Isaac his son, to the country of the east. 7 This is the sum of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived: one hundred and seventy-five years. 8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, 10 the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth. There Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife. 11 And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi.
Abraham passes from the scene, being one of the most important men of the Bible. He is mentioned 70 times in the New Testament alone.
Like Sarah before him, Abraham “died in faith.” For 100 years, he had been a stranger and a pilgrim on the earth, seeking a heavenly country. And now his desires were fulfilled. His life had not been an easy one. But he had walked by faith and the Lord had brought him through.
I need to talk to those who have been in the Lord for a long time and now you are facing your sunset years. You have so much wisdom to offer to young believers in the Lord. Instead of sitting on your hands and expecting someone to serve you, you go serve others. Let God use your wisdom and service for the Kingdom and His glory to the maximum, because there is no retirement in the service for the Lord.
Abraham was flourishing and fruitful to the very end. How few people really experience joy and satisfaction when they reach old age! When many of them look back, it is with regret. When they look ahead, it is with fear. When they look around, it is with complaint. You don’t have to be like that anymore. When you truly walk with God, you get to understand His peace, His joy and His hope.
D. THE GENEALOGY OF ISHMAEL
Genesis 25:12-18 Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham. 13 And these were the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These were the sons of Ishmael and these were their names, by their towns and their settlements, twelve princes according to their nations. 17 These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people. 18 (They dwelt from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt as you go toward Assyria.) He died in the presence of all his brethren.
Just as God promised Hagar about her son Ishmael’s future, his descendants became 12 nations of Arab people.
E. THE TWO SONS OF ISAAC
Genesis 25:19-26 This is the genealogy of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham begot Isaac. 20 Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. 21 Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.” 24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
Even so, it was some 20 years until they had children, and these were the only children born to Isaac and Rebekah.
As Rebekah sought God, the Lord spoke to her regarding the sons within her womb. What God says is simple. She has twins within her. The twins will each father nations. The younger will be greater than the older.
It is good to desire that the Lord would speak to us, but we must realize we do not hear perfectly from God. We can become far too confident in our ability to hear from the Lord, and forget that it is easy for us to stop listening when God wants to keep speaking. We may add to what the Lord is saying, or hear it clearly but misunderstand the timing or application of what the Lord says to us. The most reliable way to hear from the Lord is through the Word of God in context.
During that time, circumstances surrounding the birth of each child were often responsible for their names. Esau refers to the hairiness on his body. Jacob refers to the way the second born was holding on to the heel of his brother. Additionally, the idea of a “heel-catcher” which is the definition of ‘Jacob’ meant something else in that day. It had the idea of “trickster,” “con-man,” or “scoundrel.” It wasn’t a compliment.
F. THE OPPOSITE CHARACTERS OF THE TWO BOYS
Genesis 25:27 So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Esau was a skilled hunter, covered with hair all over his body, rugged, rough and tough. He probably looked like Tom Selleck. According to chapter 27, Esau smelled like a field. I don’t think that he has been using deodorant lately. He was only interested in that which was physical. He represents the flesh.
On the contrary, Jacob lived indoors. He was a mama’s boy and was tied to her apron strings. I bet he had the look of Leonardo DiCaprio.
According to Romans 9, Apostle Paul points out God’s choice was not based on the performance of Jacob or Esau. The choice was made when they were not yet born, nor having done any good or evil.
God announced these intentions to Rebekah before the children were born and repeated His verdict long after Jacob and Esau had both died.
Malachi 1:2-3 “I have loved you,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’ Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” Says the Lord. “Yet Jacob I have loved; 3 But Esau I have hated, And laid waste his mountains and his heritage for the jackals of the wilderness.”
Is it fair for God to love one and hate another, and to choose one and not choose another, before they are even born? The real thought here is much more like “accepted” and “rejected” more than it is like our understanding of the terms “loved” and “hated.”
A woman once said to the great preacher Charles H. Spurgeon, “I cannot understand why God should say that He hated Esau.” “That,” Spurgeon replied, “is not my difficulty, madam. My trouble is to understand how God could love Jacob.”
Our greatest error in considering the choices of God is to think God chooses for arbitrary reasons, as if He were sort of an “eeny-meeny-miny-moe” chooser. We may not be able to fathom God’s reasons for choosing, and they are reasons He alone knows and answers to, but God’s choices are always perfect.
G. THE SOLD BIRTHRIGHT
Genesis 25:29-34 Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called Edom. 31 But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.” 32 And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?” 33 Then Jacob said, “Swear to me as of this day.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Jacob knew that the birthright was valuable and he wanted it. Passages like Deuteronomy 21:17 and 1 Chronicles 5:1-2 tell us the birthright involved both a material and a spiritual dynamic. The son of the birthright received a double portion of the inheritance, and he also became the head of the family and the spiritual leader upon the passing of the father. In the case of this family the birthright determined who would inherit the covenant God made with Abraham, the covenant of a land, a nation, and the Messiah.
Esau had no spiritual appreciation. He would rather feed his body than enjoy the promises of God. Like many people today, Esau was a success in the world’s eye and a failure in God’s.
Esau wouldn’t have died just because he was hungry at that point. He just could care less about anything spiritual like many people in America including many born-again Christians. Some of you may say, “I am here in the church on Sunday. Aren’t I?” Yes, you are. But I’d like to ask you what you do daily? Do you spend time with God through the Word of God and prayer? If not, why? Because of TV programs? Because of ESPN sports? Because of whatever you’d prefer over the time with God?
What birthright might we despise? Ephesians 1:3-14 shows us a treasury of riches that is ours by birthright in Jesus: every spiritual blessing, the blessing of being chosen in Jesus, adoption into God’s family, total acceptance by God in Jesus, redemption from our slavery to sin, true and total forgiveness, the riches of God’s grace, the revelation and knowledge of the mystery of God’s will, an eternal inheritance, the guarantee of the indwelling Holy Spirit right now. Will we sell out this birthright for a night of television?
QUESTION
What kind of choice are you going to make today? And the next day? Would it be something that pleases God or our own carnal flesh? It is the choice we make and we will get the result of that choice later: either a reward from God or the consequences of our bad choice.
Genesis 24
A Marriage Made In Heaven
I’ve seen many beautiful brides-to-be running around and preparing many things for their wedding ceremonies with tremendous effort, time and money. Meanwhile, the grooms-to-be are thinking, “Why all this fuss? Why spend all this money for a few hour ceremony and reception? With that kind money we can get a 61” Plasma TV with High Definition NFL season subscription from ESPN, the NASCAR broadcasting with surround sound, and a stainless steel BBQ grill from Home Depot.”
Guys, you may think that way, but never, never express what you’re thinking to your wife-to-be unless you want to spend your honeymoon in your hotel lobby all alone.
In chapter 21, we have studied and learned that there were many similarities in the birth of Isaac, a son of Abraham and the birth of Jesus our Lord. In chapter 22, we also studied that there were similarities in the sacrifice of Isaac and the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
Now we are going to witness the process of finding a bride for Isaac. Here again, we will find another set of similarities between the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah and the marriage of the church of Jesus Christ and Christ Himself.
A. AN OATH TO FIND A BRIDE FOR ISAAC
Genesis 24:1-9 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that (1) you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; 4 but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” 5 And the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?” 6 But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there. 7 The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8 And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.
Abraham was now 140 years old. His great concern was that, before he died, he would find a wife for his only son Isaac. By doing so, God would fulfill His covenant promises to bless Abraham with many descendants and give them Canaan for their inheritance. In those days, the parents made the marriage arrangements.
This is a very wonderful love story. It reveals that God is interested in our marriage. I am sure that you’ve noticed the first miracle Jesus performed during His ministry on the earth was at the wedding reception.
There are two institutions that God has given to the human family: one is marriage, and the other is human government. When these are broken, a society will fall apart. The family is the backbone of any society – God knew that – and He established marriage.
Abraham was a man of faith who believed God’s word and knew how to apply it to specific situations and decisions. He sought to obey God’s word because true faith always results in obedience. The more we meditate on God’s Word, the more truth we will see in it and the more direction we will get from it. This applies to decisions about marriage, vocation, ministry or any other area in life. Unless we trust God’s Word and obey it, He will not direct us.
Before we go any further, we must ask ourselves the reason for Abraham’s condition of the bride-to-be. Why did he insist that the bride should not be from Canaan? Because Abraham knew that the Canaanites worship idols instead of the one true God. He didn’t want his son Isaac to be influenced by idolatry of his wife-to-be.
The same principle applies to us in this 21st century:
2Co 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?
The instruction from our God through Apostle Paul is extremely clear. Do not marry, do not date non-believers. Because if you do, you will fall into a trap of deserting God for the sake of the worldliness of your date or future spouse.
1) Father sent out the helper for the son’s bride
Many Bible scholars believed that this servant was Eliezer who was mentioned in
Gen. 15. If it was someone else, the Holy Spirit didn’t want us to know it.
In Hebrew, ‘Eliezer’ means ‘God is help’ or ‘helper’. Isn’t it interesting that Jesus told us about the ‘Helper’, the Holy Spirit He was going to send on behalf of Him once He leaves the earth?
John 14:16-17 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-- 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
Just as God the Father dispatched the Holy Spirit to bring the people to Christ, Abraham is dispatching Eliezer the helper to bring the bride to his son Isaac.
B. ELIEZER’S PRAYER FOR ISAAC’S BRIDE-TO-BE
Genesis 24:10-14 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, for all his master’s goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. 11 And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water. 12 Then he said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’--let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”
Essentially, Eliezer asks God to guide through providential circumstances, which is not always a bad way to discern God’s will. We often hear a phrase “Putting out a fleece” from what Gideon did in Judges 6 for this kind of method.
However, generally speaking, depending on the circumstances alone can be a dangerous way to discern God’s will. We have a way of ignoring circumstances when it speaks against what we want or focusing on the circumstances that speak for what we want.
But in this case, Eliezer establishes what he will look for before anything happens. He isn’t making up the rules as he goes along. Actually, there is a sense in which Eliezer “stacked the deck” against finding someone. It would take a remarkable woman to volunteer for the task of giving water to ten camels. Because considering that a camel may drink up to 20 gallons, watering them meant at least an hour of hard work.
The best way to find out God’s will is through His Word the Bible or godly counsels from godly people around us, or stepping out in faith after a lot of prayers. After that we need to open our hearts to receive God’s guidance whether we like His choice or not.
C. HERE COMES MISS REBEKAH
Genesis 24:15-27 And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. 16 Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. 17 And the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.” 18 So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. 19 And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. 21 And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not. 22 So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold, 23 and said, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father’s house for us to lodge?” 24 So she said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 Moreover she said to him, “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge.” 26 Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord. 27 And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.”
Yes, sometimes God answers our prayer before we even finish it. Or sometimes He doesn’t answer it for a long, long time.
In following the Lord Jesus, we must be led by the Spirit of the Living God, not driven by our own selfish impulse or ambition.
Rebekah must had been a drop dead gorgeous woman like my wife Karen.
As Rebekah began the hard work of watering all the camels, the servant did not stop her. He wanted a woman who would not only say she would water the camels, but who would actually do it.
Ever since I became a born-again Christian, I had and still have a privilege to work with many dedicated servants of God in our church, across America and around the world. At the same time, I find many Christians who talk about serving God with their mouths, but never do anything. I really feel sorry for them, because they missed out on great blessings for not serving and committing a sin of lying.
So, if you want to serve God, do it without any lip service. If you want to miss out on His blessings, don’t serve Him.
D. THE REASON WHY I AM HERE
Genesis 24:28-49 So the young woman ran and told her mother’s household these things. 29 Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran out to the man by the well. 30 So it came to pass, when he saw the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, “Thus the man spoke to me,” that he went to the man. And there he stood by the camels at the well. 31 And he said, “Come in, O blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.” 32 Then the man came to the house. And he unloaded the camels, and provided straw and feed for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33 Food was set before him to eat, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told about my errand.” And he said, “Speak on.” 34 So he said, “(2) I am Abraham’s servant. 35 The Lord has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 36 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. 37 Now 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; 38 but you shall go to my father’s house and to my family, and take a wife for my son.’ 39 And I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’ 40 But he said to me, ‘The Lord, before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s house. 41 You will be clear from this oath when you arrive among my family; for if they will not give her to you, then you will be released from my oath.’ 42 “And this day I came to the well and said, ‘O Lord God of my master Abraham, if You will now prosper the way in which I go, 43 behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes out to draw water, and I say to her, “Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink,” 44 and she says 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.’ 45 “But before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah, coming out with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to the well and drew water. And I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ 46 And she made haste and let her pitcher down from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels a drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels a drink also. 47 Then I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the nose ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 48 And I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the way of truth to take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49 Now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. And if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”
2) The witness of the Servant
Please note that the servant was not bragging about his position in Abraham’s household like, “Oh yeah, I am the chief operating officer of Joe Millionaire Foundation. He was telling Rebekah’s family about his master Abraham and his son Isaac, not about himself.
Just like that, the Holy Spirit never speaks of Himself, but He always points us to the cross to exalt God, the Son Jesus Christ.
The servant gave tokens of his master’s wealth just as the Spirit gives us the “first fruits” and “down payment” of our spiritual riches in Christ. The best is yet to come!
The servant’s job was not to argue or bribe, but simply to bear witness to the greatness of his master. He did not force Rebekah to marry Isaac, but he merely gave her the facts and the opportunity to make a decision. While there is nothing wrong with urging people to be saved, we must be careful not to try to take the place of the Spirit who alone can do the work of conviction in the human heart.
Laban’s character is revealed in here. He was more excited about the expensive gifts than the privilege of showing hospitality to a stranger. Isaac and Rebekah’s son Jacob would discover years later what a clever con-man Laban really was.
E. A COMPLETE AND QUICK RESPONSE FROM REBEKAH
Genesis 24:50-60 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak to you either bad or good. 51 Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be your master’s son’s wife, as the Lord has spoken.” 52 And it came to pass, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, that he worshiped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth. 53 Then the servant brought out jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. 54 And he and the men who were with him ate and drank and stayed all night. Then they arose in the morning, and he said, “Send me away to my master.” 55 But her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman stay with us a few days, at least ten; after that she may go.” 56 And he said to them, “Do not hinder me, since the Lord has prospered my way; send me away so that I may go to my master.” 57 So they said, “We will call the young woman and ask her personally.” 58 Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “(3) I will go.” 59 So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her: “Our sister, may you become The mother of thousands of ten thousands; And may your descendants possess The gates of those who hate them.”
3) The response of the bride-to-be
Just as the servant would not delay in presenting his petition earlier, so he would not delay in completing his mission.
When the servant asked that they let Rebekah make the choice, and her reply was, “I will go.” This is the decision every sinner must make.
What motivated Rebekah to make the right decision? She heard the word about Isaac and believed it. She saw the proof of his greatness, generosity and wealth and wanted to be with him for the rest of her life. She had never seen Isaac, but what she had heard about him convinced her to go to Canaan with the servant.
It is a decision of faith, based on the evidence provided by the Holy Spirit through the Word and the witness of the church. The sinner who delays is in danger of losing the opportunity to belong to God’s family and live in heaven.
Hebrews 3:7-8a Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.
2 Cor 6:2 For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you. Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
F. A MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN
Genesis 24:61-67 (4) Then Rebekah and her maids arose, and they rode on the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed. 62 Now Isaac came from the way of Beer Lahai Roi, for he dwelt in the South. 63 And (5) Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming. 64 Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from her camel; 65 for she had said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took a veil and covered herself. 66 (6) And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he took Rebekah and (7) she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
4) Trusting her groom without seeing him
We can only imagine the conversations Rebekah and Eliezer would have on the journey. She would want to know all she could about Isaac, whom she loved without ever seeing, and he would be delighted to tell her. We choose to love our Savior and Lord Jesus without seeing Him because He loved us first.
The covering with a veil signified chastity, modesty and submission. This is how Rebekah wants to meet her bridegroom.
5) The groom had a ministry of prayer while the bride came
Please note that Isaac was meditating and praying while Rebekah was on her way to him. Just like that, our Savior Lord Jesus Christ is interceding our prayers while He awaits for the Father’s word to come and get His bride the church.
6) The servant successfully fulfilled his duty to bring the bride to the groom
The Holy Spirit has sealed us and will deliver us to Christ at the day of redemption.
7) The bride becomes his wife and the groom loves her
Rebekah had received a few gifts from Isaac. But now that she was his very own, she possessed everything that he possessed. Their lives were one, and so it is with Christ and His church as joint-heir in the Lord.
G. APPLICATIONS
Days of Our Lives, Passions, As the World Turns, Guiding Light, One Life to Live, General Hospital, Young and the Restless and All My Children. What do they have in common? Yes, they are soap operas.
I am sure that you all noticed that none of the people in soap operas work, yet they are all rich. They throw parties, take vacations, stand around talking anytime they want. If one character is dead, out of the blue, his or her identical twin shows up. The sexual activities of all the characters is so complicated that it requires a computer to trace who slept with whom.
Of course, they all are handsome, well-built men and slender, beautiful women. They get up out of bed in the morning with every hair in place and all the make-up done. How do they do that?
They have an interesting way to converse with one another. One person faces the camera and the other person stands behind one’s back and carries out the conversation. When was last time you talked to the back of somebody’s head? The reason is that they are such bad actors and actresses and they cannot memorize their lines, so they have to read.
You are wondering where this preacher is going with this? Well, I just have to unload the stupidity of soap operas before I get to the point. Each character in a soap opera is exaggerated to make their plot more exciting. But we are about to see four main characters in chapter 26 and 27 who seem like they are living in a soap opera without exaggeration.
A. GOD’S PROMISE TO ISAAC
Genesis 26:1-5 There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar. 2 Then the Lord appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
Even though Abraham’s life shows that his obedience wasn’t complete or constant, God can say this of Abraham because Abraham was declared righteous by faith.
In addition to that, God gives definite instructions to Isaac at the time of famine. And He confirms the covenant which He had made with Abraham.
B. LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
Genesis 26:6-11 So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. 7 And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, “She is my sister”; for he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought, “lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to behold.” 8 Now it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked through a window, and saw, and there was Isaac, showing endearment to Rebekah his wife. 9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Quite obviously she is your wife; so how could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” And Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’ “ 10 And Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might soon have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us.” 11 So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”
Isaac went from such a high spiritual experience with God to such a low horrible sin because of the weakness of his own flesh, and also because of the bad example of his father.
On the contrary to some theologians, the Bible doesn’t teach we are bound by “Generational Curses.” But it is often the case that the sins of the fathers are found in the children, because those sins of the flesh have been nurtured in that environment.
In addition to that, the main idea of Generational Curses is nothing more than pointing a finger to someone else to blame our own willful sins.
As Christians, we don’t have to repeat our parents’ sins, nor stay in the areas of our own. When we come to Jesus, we are new creations in Christ, for old things have passed away and all things become new.
A little lie is a lot like a little pregnancy. Either a woman is pregnant or she isn’t. Besides, as time goes by, it grows bigger. Our ability to lie is our liability to sin.
C. GOT WATER?
Genesis 26:12-25 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. 13 The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him. 15 Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth. 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.” 17 Then Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them. 19 Also Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. 20 But 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 quarreled with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name Sitnah. 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” 23 Then he went up from there to Beersheba. 24 And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake.” 25 So he built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.
In the last paragraph, we saw Isaac sinned against God with his deception. But we don’t see any of God’s punishment against him. Did Isaac go scott free on that?
No, he will be deceived terribly by his own son later. Remember, God’s millstone grinds slowly, but it grinds exceedingly fine.
The first well was named ‘Esek’ which means “contention,” because it made others jealous. The next well was named ‘Sitnah’ which means “hostility” for similar reasons. But the third well was named ‘Rehoboth’ which means “roominess,” because it was far enough away to not be a problem.
God used the conflicts to lead Isaac back to Beersheba, where Abraham had been before. God doesn’t want us to live in contention and hostility, but they can be used by God to lead us to the place where He wants us to be.
Isaac could easily put up a fight. But he chose to back off to keep peace between him and Abimelech.
Romans 12:18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
D. MAKING PEACE WITH NEIGHBOR
Genesis 26:26-35 Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phichol the commander of his army. 27 And Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?” 28 But they said, “We have certainly seen that the Lord is with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, since we have not touched you, and since we have done nothing to you but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.’ “ 30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 Then they arose early in the morning and swore an oath with one another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. 32 It came to pass the same day that Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.” 33 So he called it Shebah. Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day. 34 When Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah.
Although Isaac almost seems weak in his dealing with the men of Gerar, the king of Gerar was so impressed that he followed Isaac to Beersheba in order to establish peace. The influence of Isaac in that land was not that of a weak man.
Pr 16:7 When a man's ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Esau didn’t care about the God of his parents, nor their wishes. It is no wonder God hated him.
E. A DECLINING FATHER
Genesis 27:1-4 Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” And he answered him, “Here I am.” 2 Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. 4 And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”
Isaac was about 137 years old at this point, yet he acted as though he would die very soon. Actually, he lived to be 180. By the time Isaac died, he had probably buried all of his doctors.
Isaac’s impatience to give the blessing to Esau suggests that he was following his own carnal plans, not God’s will. Had he forgotten the Word from God in chapter 25 regarding the older shall serve the younger? Or was he trying to change God’s plan? Note how he depended on his senses – feeling, eating and smelling. Note also that feeding the body took priority over doing God’s will. Isaac at one time laid himself on the altar and was willing to die for the Lord at the Mount Moriah. What a change!
F. A DOUBTING MOTHER
Genesis 27:5-10 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. 6 So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, 7 Bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. 9 Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. 10 Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death.”
Rebekah had been told by God that Jacob would receive God’s blessing. Yet she schemed and plotted to make sure that Esau was left out. Instead of going to God in prayer as she had years before, she depended on her own plans, a practice that would be characteristic of Jacob in later years.
She went about to “do what is right” in the flesh. Good intentions don’t justify acting in the flesh. I am sure you’ve noticed that in this house, no one trusted anyone else.
G. A DECEIVING SON
Genesis 27:11-29 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.” 13 But his mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.” 14 And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
Jacob’s only concern is the success or failure of this con-job. He didn’t worry about whether it is a right thing to do or not.
When we are willing to abandon the question of right and wrong, and when our only concern is “what works,” we have bought into the modern idea of ‘pragmatism’, as much of the church has today.
The worst part of the whole things is that none of them thought that the owner and dispenser of the blessing is God. Without Him, there is no blessing.
Genesis 27:18-29 So he went to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” 19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.” 20 But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the Lord your God brought it to me.” 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. 24 Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He said, “I am.” 25 He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, so that my soul may bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” 27 And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said: “Surely, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field Which the Lord has blessed. 28 Therefore may God give you Of the dew of heaven, Of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine. 29 Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, And let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!”
Apparently the deodorant that Esau was using was not working well.
There were two men who were working in a very tight place. One of them finally said to the other one, “Wow! I think the deodorant of one of us has quit working.” The other fellow answered, “It must be yours because I don’t use any!” I don’t think that Esau used any either, and I’m not sure he had a shower very often. Even if you couldn’t see Esau, you could smell him.
Please note what Jacob said to his father. He didn’t hesitate to use the name of God in his deception. How can he do this? Simply because his only concern is “whatever it takes.” Since he knows God wants him to have the birthright, he will justify any lie or sin he commits in the pursuit of the birthright and say he is making a stand for righteousness.
It doesn’t matter what kind of excuses we may come up with to justify our own sins.
Numbers 32:23b You have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out.
H. A DESPAIRING BROTHER
Genesis 27:30-36 Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also had made savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that your soul may bless me.” 32 And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” 33 Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him--and indeed he shall be blessed.” 34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me--me also, O my father!” 35 But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.” 36 And Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 37 Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?” 38 And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me--me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.
Isaac was troubled because he knew he had tried to box God in, to defeat God’s plan, and God had beaten him.
He realized he would always be defeated when he tried to resist God’s will, even when he didn’t like it.
Both Isaac and Esau are grieved when they figure out what Jacob did, and now Esau is concerned about the birthright. Previously in Genesis 25, he was willing to sell his birthright for a bowl of stew, and he despised his birthright. Now he wanted the material and political advantages of the birthright.
Genesis 27:39-46 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: “Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above. 40 By your sword you shall live, And you shall serve your brother; And it shall come to pass, when you become restless, That you shall break his yoke from your neck.” 41 So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42 And the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Surely your brother Esau comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice: arise, flee to my brother Laban in Haran. 44 And stay with him a few days, until your brother’s fury turns away, 45 until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereaved also of you both in one day?” 46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”
Rebekah paid dearly for her sin. She never saw her son Jacob again.
APPLICATIONS
1) We must do godly things in God’s way in God’s time, not ours.
2) Good intentions don’t justify acting in the flesh.
Numbers 32:23b You have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out.
Genesis 28
I Will Let You Be My God, If You Do This...
Someone says, “God, if You just let me get out of this awful situation, I will go church every Sunday.”
Or “God, if You let me win this lottery, I will give 20% to the church.”
Or “Lord, if You allow me to marry that beautiful woman, I will be Your servant.”
Or “Oh God, don’t let the cops find my pot in the trunk. I will do anything.”
By the way, the last comment was the actual comment made by a person who got pulled over for suspicion of drug trafficking. His comment was recorded in the dashboard mounted video camera while he was confined in the back of the police squad car. He didn’t know he was being recorded.
Many people, including ourselves, have tried to make a deal with God while they were in their tight corners. Maybe you are making one right now and that is the reason why you are here - to get some brownie points from God. You might attend church until you get what you want, after that you might say, “Going to church on Sunday morning? Are you kidding me? Don’t you know there is a great line up of college football and golf games on TV?”
If you are in the process of trying to make a deal with God or thinking about it, this message is for you.
A. ISAAC’S BLESSING FOR JACOB
Genesis 28:1-5 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. 2 Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. 3 “May God Almighty bless you, And make you fruitful and multiply you, That you may be an assembly of peoples; 4 And give you the blessing of Abraham, To you and your descendants with you, That you may inherit the land In which you are a stranger, Which God gave to Abraham.” 5 So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Padan Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
Perhaps now Isaac resigns himself to what his wife Rebekah told him was the Lord’s will all along – that the older would serve the younger and that Jacob, not Esau, would receive the birthright. So he sent Jacob on with blessing and instructions.
It is essential Jacob not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan, as his brother Esau did. Jacob is the one who inherits the birthright and carries on the seed of the Messiah.
If you were to give the nationality of this family, you would have to say they were Syrians because that is what they are called in the Scriptures. Sometimes the question is asked, “Was Abraham a Jew? Was he an Israelite?” No, actually he was not. There were no Israelites until the time of Jacob whose name was changed to Israel. His twelve sons were Israelites.
Tragically, this is the last time Jacob will see his mother. Because he would spend next twenty years of his life at the home of the master of deception, his uncle Laban. His mother Rebekah died during that time.
Even though Jacob was raised with the covenant of God through his father, he personally has not experienced the relationship with God. Every men and women comes to the point where he or she has to decide whether they are going to make a choice to follow God or not.
For Esau’s case, he made it very clear from the beginning. He had nothing to do with God. You may know a few people around you who don’t give rip about God. Or you might be one of those who doesn’t care. Today, you are going to face a decision that would change your eternal destination from hell to heaven.
Somehow we think that when Jacob was leaving his parents’ home, he was in his early twenties. How wrong our guess is!
Let’s calculate Jacob’s age:
Genesis 47:9 states that Jacob was 130 when he went to Egypt.
Subtract 39 years from 130. Because Joseph was seventeen when he was sold into Egypt, and was thirty when he was presented to Pharaoh. Add, then, Joseph’s thirteen years as a servant to the seven years of plenty and two years of famine, and you have Joseph at about thirty-nine years of age when Jacob came to Egypt. This means Joseph was born when Jacob was ninety-one.
Gen. 30:25 indicates that when Joseph was born Jacob had already fulfilled his fourteen years of service for his wives. This indicates that Jacob was about seventy-seven years old when he began to walk “on his own.”
Wow, he was a 77 year old single man. Some of you, who are single, get your hopes up. Your day is coming!!!
B. BROWNY POINTS FOR ESAU TOO?
Genesis 28:6-9 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Padan Aram to take himself a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,” 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Padan Aram. 8 Also Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac. 9 So Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.
All of sudden the blessing and the birthright seemed important to Esau. They were important enough to him that he tried to impress his father by marrying a non-Canaanite woman when he saw that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother.
C. GOD AND JACOB AT BETHEL
Genesis 28:10-12 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. 12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
Jacob traveled about forty miles from Beersheba to Bethel. The fear, the loneliness – the first time away from his mama and daddy, the isolation, the excitement, and the anticipation. This was an absolutely important time in Jacob’s spiritual life.
In this desolated wilderness, Jacob had a significant dream as he used a stone for a pillow which would make just about anyone have strange dreams. You’ve got to be extremely tired to use a stone as a pillow.
Jesus made this portion of Genesis 28 clear in John 1:51 that He is the access to heaven. He is the means by which heaven comes down to us and by which we can go to heaven. He is the “ladder.”
John 1:51 And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
Jacob is a perfect picture of the lost soul – in the darkness, fleeing for his life, away from the father’s house, burdened with sin, and ignorant of the fact that God is near him and wants to save him. The ladder pictures Christ as the only way from earth to heaven.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Jesus opens heaven for us and brings heaven’s blessings to our lives. And He alone can take us to heaven. Jacob thought he was in a lonely wilderness and awakened to discover he had been at the very gate of heaven!
God was meeting Jacob when he felt lonely. He was telling Jacob to have a heavenly perspective. Jacob tried to steal the blessings from his brother Esau with everything he had. He didn’t know that the real blessing was waiting for him: God Himself.
A side note before we go any further:
• No angel worship: It is completely unbiblical to do angel worship. They are messengers, not God. There is only one who is worthy of our praise and worship, it ain’t saint nor angel. It is Jesus. I find many New Age people in Sedona, AZ, Tucson, AZ and Santa Fe, NM get into angel worship. Stay far away from it.
D. GOD’S ASSURANCE TO JACOB
Genesis 28:13-15 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. 14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”
Essentially, God repeats to Jacob the terms of the covenant He gave to both Abraham and Isaac. Jacob had no doubt heard about the great God who appeared to his grandpa Abraham and to his father Isaac, but now this same God has a personal encounter with Jacob himself. This was a life-changing experience for Jacob.
We, too, have the same assurance from God for us as Jacob had. God won’t let us go until His work is complete in us.
Philippians 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
E. JACOB’S VOW AT BETHEL
Genesis 28:16-22 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!” 18 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21 so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. 22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”
Jacob was right in sensing the presence of the Lord there.
However, he was wrong in thinking God was in one place and nowhere else. Our God is omnipresent. That means He is everywhere.
His experience that night not only changed him, but it changed the name of the place where he slept. “ Bethel” means “house of God.” Bethel would eventually become a high place, notorious for idolatrous sacrifice according to Hosea 10:15.
Setting up a pillar was an act of faith for Jacob. It was his way of dedicating himself to God. It is a wonderful thing that by faith a believer can turn a “pillow” into a “pillar”.
If Jacob stopped there, it would have been good. He went on with his wheeling and dealing con-artist attitude toward God. Even though God has already given him a promise, he is still making “deals” with God, even promising God money if He makes good on His promise.
The way Jacob prayed, it was evident God’s mere word was not enough for him. He had to see God do it before he would believe. Are we the same way?
Philippians 4:19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Nahum 1:7 The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.
Do we believe these things before we see them?
Jacob sets the terms of his covenant with God. He is laying down the deal for God, instead of humbly receiving what God said would be the deal.
Obviously, Jacob isn’t very submitted to God. God will teach him submission in a very tough situation, through the school of Hard Knox where the principal is his Uncle Laban.
God is gracious enough to not call off the whole deal when He saw such a carnal response from Jacob.
Is our God supposed to be impressed with deals we can offer to Him? He owns everything in the universe, our money came from Him, He is the One who sustains our lives and gives us breath each moment. So what do we have to offer Him that He would be so impressed to make a deal with us? Do you see how absurd this idea is of wheeling and dealing with God?
How much better if we trust our faithful God with everything in our lives!
F. APPLICATION
1) When we have a prayer request to our God, we must come to Him with humility, thanksgiving and request, not scheming as if we can fool Him.
Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
I am a practical joker. I have pulled some nice practical jokes on people. Being trained in graphic design and knowing how to build web pages, I can do quite an audio and visual practical joke on those poor souls who have no idea what is coming.
But at the same time, I understand the main principle of a practical joke: What goes around comes around. If I didn’t want someone to get me back, I should not do anything to that person at all. The art of the practical joke is not offending or harming the person who receives it, yet still have fun.
A practical joke is one thing, but it is a completely different ball game when someone deceives others to obtain whatever they want. Eventually, the person who deceived others will be deceived.
Here is a good example: I talked with a friend of mine who is a police officer and involved with an anti-drug force. He told me that there are two kinds of future for those who are involved in drug trafficking – either they are going to get killed or they are going to end up in prison before they get old. Those drug dealers don’t calculate what is going to happen to them later down the road.
In the last couple of chapters in Genesis, we have witnessed how Jacob deceived his father and brother to get the birthright and blessings that were designated for him by God before he was born. Now we are going to see that Jacob will learn his lesson from someone who is far worse than him and he will be deceived. So he gets to learn the principle of “what-goes-around-comes-around”.
A. HELLO, RACHEL
Genesis 29:1-8 So Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the East. 2 And he looked, and saw a well in the field; and behold, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks. A large stone was on the well’s mouth. 3 Now all the flocks would be gathered there; and they would roll the stone from the well’s mouth, water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the well’s mouth. 4 And Jacob said to them, “My brethren, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Haran.” 5 Then he said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.” 6 So he said to them, “Is he well?” And they said, “He is well. And look, his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep.” 7 Then he said, “Look, it is still high day; it is not time for the cattle to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go and feed them.” 8 But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they have rolled the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep.”
In His providence, God directs Jacob to the house of Laban, but note that Jacob did not pause to pray, as did Abraham’s servant when he was on his important errand.
Jacob definitely seems like he is trying to get rid of the shepherd boys, probably so he can be alone with Rachel.
Genesis 29:9-14 Now while he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s relative and that he was Rebekah’s son. So she ran and told her father. 13 Then it came to pass, when Laban heard the report about Jacob his sister’s son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. So he told Laban all these things. 14 And Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him for a month.
Jacob knew he had come to marry one of the daughters of Laban, so he is more than willing to show kindness and impress Laban’s daughter Rachel with his strength.
Well, what do you know? Here is the first record of ‘Kissing Cousin’ in the Bible.
I finally figured it out why Jacob cried right after he kissed Rachel. You don’t see here in these verses, Jacob said to Rachel, “Stop eating so much onions. And brush your teeth, girl.”
B. SO YOU WANT MY DAUGHTER?
Genesis 29:15-19 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what should your wages be?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah’s eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance. 18 Now Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.” 19 And Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me.”
This might sound like a nice offer, but really Laban let Jacob know if he wants to stay around, he must stay as a hired servant. Jacob was the son of a man of tremendous wealth. Certainly he was not lazy, but he wasn’t used to hard work. Servants did the hard work back home. But now Jacob is the servant.
Jacob’s reaction in this situation will reveal much of his character. This demonstrates the principle that you never know what kind of servant you are until others treat you like a servant. In my experience, I’ve seen many people who claimed to be servants of Jesus Christ, but when it comes to truly getting down to what seems to be a lowly job, they give me “You’re-out-of-your-mind” look. In other words, they want the title of ‘servant of God’, but they don’t want to work to do real servant’s work. They’d better change that attitude, because God remembers that look and prideful hearts.
There is some dispute as to exactly what the phrase “Leah’s eyes were delicate” means. The Hebrew meaning of the name Rachel is ‘Ewe Lamb’. But the Hebrew meaning of the name Leah is ‘Wild Cow’. All I know from this portion of the Scripture, Leah was not as pretty as her sister Rachel. Maybe her appearance was hurting the eyes of those who looked at her. If your name is Leah, please don’t take this as an offense. Yes, I am back paddling.
Jacob’s offer to work for seven years was essentially a dowry. Though Jacob came from a family with great wealth, he left home penniless. Before he could take a woman in marriage he had to provide a dowry to demonstrate he was fit to support a family and to compensate for the taking of the daughter.
Seven years was a very generous offer, far above a normal dowry. Jacob didn’t want to risk a refusal. When Laban saw how badly Jacob wanted Rachel, he knew he could take advantage of him.
C. WELCOME TO THE SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS, JACOB
Genesis 29:20-30 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her. 21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her.” 22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast. 23 Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. 24 And Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid. 25 So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?” 26 And Laban said, “It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. 27 Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years.” 28 Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also. 29 And Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as a maid. 30 Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban still another seven years.
Notice the great love he had for her. How romantic! All the ladies say, “Aah!”
In this ancient culture, Jacob was not allowed to spend as much time as he wanted with Rachel. There were strict social guidelines keeping unmarried men and women apart from each other.
Jacob was willing to wait seven years for Rachel. This clearly demonstrates an important principle: True love waits.
Single ladies and teenage young ladies, listen carefully.
Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissentions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
You need to keep your purity until your marriage no matter what your boyfriend says. Because keeping your purity glorifies God. If he insists, here is a quick cure for him: Curl up your fingers like this and smack it with his nose.
Animals don’t control their sexual desires, but humans do. That is another difference you find between humans and animals.
If you thought Jacob was a deceiver, Laban was the duke of deceivers, he was the deceiver extraordinaire, and the master of deception.
Jacob was getting a taste of his own medicine. Here are a few examples:
• Jacob deceived his own father to get what he wanted. Now Jacob was deceived by his father-in-law.
• Jacob deceived his father as if he was the older son while he was the younger. Jacobwas deceived by his father-in-law by making him think that he was getting the younger sister, but in reality he got the older.
• Jacob deceived his father as if he was the older son by putting goat hair on his hands and neck. Later Jacob will be deceived by his own sons who brought the coat of many colors with the blood of sheep on it and told him that Joseph was killed by wild beast.
What goes around comes around. There are reactions for our actions.
Galatians 6:7-8 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
The passage in Galatians is written primarily for Christians, but it expresses a universal law of God in every age. It is true in any area of life. You sow wheat, you reap wheat. You sow weed, you reap weed.
Examples of this principle run all the way through the Scriptures. For instance, Pharaoh slew the male children of the Hebrews, and in time his son was slain by the death angel. King David committed the terrible sins of adultery and murder. God forgave him for his sin. Yet, he reaped what he had sown. His own daughter was raped and his son slain. Even Paul the apostle felt the weight of this law. He had given his consent at the stoning of Stephen. Later, Paul was taken outside the city of Lystra and was stoned and left for dead.
What a rude awakening in the morning for Jacob! Remember, Leah’s Hebrew name is ‘Wild Cow’? I guess Jacob is having a cow by now.
He ran outside to demand an explanation from Laban. Laban calmly answered him, “Didn’t you read the fine print on the back of the contract? Don’t feel bad. You got yourself a special deal only for this week. Two for one deal. Buy one, get one free.”
Welcome to the school of Hard Knocks, Jacob! His current major in the school of Hard Knocks is “What goes around comes around.”
How interesting! Jacob was hopping mad because somebody who was more cunning than him just pulled this stunt on him. It was OK for him to deceive his father and brother to get what he wanted, but it is not OK for others to do the same thing to him. Isn’t that the case for all of us?
This man Jacob had plenty of trouble in his family from here on out, and it all can be traced back to his own methods which he had used. The chickens are coming home to roost.
D. THE START OF JACOB’S FAMILY FEUD
Genesis 29:31-35 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. 32 So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, “The Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.” 33 Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. 34 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi. 35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.
Leah was a sad person because she knew her husband loved Rachel rather than her. When she became the mother of Reuben, it brought joy to her heart, and she felt that Jacob would love her now. But he didn’t.
The second child born to Jacob, through Leah again, was named by Leah Simeon, meaning “hearing.” Leah hoped Jacob would notice the Lord had heard her.
Obviously, Jacob continuously had physical union with Leah even though he didn’t love her.
Consider the words of a woman who caught AIDS from a Ventura, CA man who knew he was infected but never told her: “All I wanted is someone to love me, and now I’m going to die for that. I don’t think I should have to die for that.”
It has been said that men give love to have sex, women give sex to have love. Single ladies, teenage girls, you tell your boyfriend, “If you love me, you will respect my decision to be pure until I get married.” If he says, “No,” that means he doesn’t respect you and your decision. For that matter, he doesn’t deserve you and you don’t need that jerk.
The third child born to Jacob, again through Leah, was named Levi, meaning “attachment.” Leah still lived in the hope her husband Jacob would love her and become attached to her through the birth of these sons. The pain in the heart of Leah was evident as the hardness of Jacob’s heart. He was using her.
The fourth son born to Jacob, again through Leah, was named Judah meaning, “praise.” Apparently, Leah had stopped naming her children to reflect the pain and longing in her heart. Now she focuses on God and can praise Him.
Leah, though she was neglected by Jacob and despised by Rachel, had a great purpose in God’s plan. The two greatest tribes came from Leah, not Rachel: Levi – the priestly tribe and Judah – the royal tribe. And most importantly, the Messiah came from Leah, the ugly sister, who was neglected and despised, but learned to look to the Lord and praise Him.
E. APPLICATION
Numbers 32:23 But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out.
During expository study of the Bible there are times we find ourselves wondering why God would give all this information and stories that do not give us any stunning theological discoveries or practical applications. We find a lot of these in genealogies, tribes of Israel and the descriptions of Solomon’s temple in the Old Testament.
They seem so unimportant to us and we’d rather get into the meat of the Bible. However, for some reason, God sees that we need to hear and learn from these seemingly-boring texts.
Chapter 30 and 31 are the case in point. We find Jacob’s family starting their family feud from jealousy and uncontrolled carnal decisions. But we see that God still is moving in spite of Jacob’s sin. We are not going to cover every verse in chapter 30 and 31. We will quickly scan through these two chapters and learn what God has stored for us.
A. THE BABY COMPETITION
Genesis 30:1-3 Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!” 2 And Jacob’s anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” 3 So she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, and she will bear a child on my knees, that I also may have children by her.”
A woman in that day was disgraced unless she had a child, and the more children she had, the better was her position.
We find here Jacob and Rachel reverting to the practice of that day. Remember that Abraham and Sarah had done the same thing. They made an awful mess by doing things according to their own will. God did not approve of it then, and He is not going to approve of it now. The Bible gives us an accurate record for everything, but that does not mean that God approved of all that was done. Jacob should have been a man of God to say, “No,” to Rachel’s ungodly idea.
From v4 to v24, we find a baby competition between two sisters who included two of their maids. The wives of Jacob are using their children as pawns in a power struggle within the home. Can you imagine how often their neighbors had to attend baby showers each time these four women got pregnant?
Here are the list of Jacob’s children who became the head of the twelve tribes of Israel:
Born to Leah:
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dinah-daughter
Born to Bilhah, Rachel’s maid:
Dan, Naphtali
Born to Zilpah, Leah’s maid:
Gad, Asher
Born to Rachel:
Joseph, Benjamin
At this point, no one would think this eleventh son Joseph would end up being the key character used to further God’s redemptive purpose through this family.
Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”
B. JACOB’S SCHEME FOR LABAN’S FLOCK
Genesis 30:25-27 And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my country. 26 Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service which I have done for you.” 27 And Laban said to him, “Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for your sake.”
Though Jacob was in Haran with Laban and his daughters for more than 14 years, he knew that he belonged in the land promised to him by God.
From v 29 to v36, we find that Laban offered a new wage system, but Jacob refused it. Because the last time he accepted Laban’s “offer” he was deceived. Jacob offered to work as Laban’s shepherd, if Laban would give him the “rejects” of the flocks and herds. The oriental people preferred their sheep to be white and goats brown or black. By accepting the striped, spotted, and speckled animals, Jacob was apparently giving Laban the better deal. It was certainly an act of faith on Jacob’s part.
From v 37 to the end of the chapter 30, Jacob went on his con-job again. Instead of trusting God to meet the need, Jacob used his own plan. The special rods and sticks at the troughs did not influence the sheep. It was God who determined what kind of sheep and goats would be conceived. However, Jacob did use “selective breeding” so that only the stronger sheep and goats can conceive. He became richer and richer.
C. THE CONFERENCE WITHIN THE JACOB’S FAMILY
Genesis 31:3-7 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.” 4 So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock, 5 and said to them, “I see your father's countenance, that it is not favorable toward me as before; but the God of my father has been with me. 6 And you know that with all my might I have served your father. 7 Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me.
We find three factors entered into Jacob’s decision to leave Laban’s home:
1) The changed attitude of Laban because of his envy toward Jacob
2) The need for establishing his own home
3) The direct leading of the Lord – God had reminded Jacob of his Bethel vow.
The backslider Jacob now had to return and fulfill his promises to the Lord who had blessed him. Rachel and Leah agreed to go, but their decision was based on material considerations, not the will of the Lord. We wonder if these wives knew anything about Jacob’s Bethel experience with God until now.
This may be the first time in quite a while when the sisters Leah and Rachel agreed on anything and supportive to their husband Jacob.
How wonderful for your spouse to be supportive of you when you do the work of God or following the will of God! That is the reason why it is important for husband and wife to be in sync with God’s will together.
D. THE ESCAPE AND CHASE
Genesis 31:17-32 Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels. 18 And he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired livestock which he had gained in Padan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. 19 Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father’s. 20 And Jacob stole away, unknown to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee. 21 So he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river, and headed toward the mountains of Gilead. 22 And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled. 23 Then he took his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead. 24 But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, “Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.” 25 So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead. 26 And Laban said to Jacob: “What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword? 27 Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp? 28 And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now you have done foolishly in so doing. 29 It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’ 30 And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father’s house, but why did you steal my gods?” 31 Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I said, ‘Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force.’ 32 With whomever you find your gods, do not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it with you.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.
The devil will not sit on his hands to let you come back to God. He will do everything within his power to stop you and discourage you with his empty threat like this Laban.
God wants you to come back to Him and dwell in His presence and feast at His table of the Word, so that you may grow in Him.
All you have to do is to trust in the Lord and take that first step to come back to the Lord. You may say, “I have not backslidden from the Lord. So this message is not for me.” That is not true. Because we all need to be reminded with this assurance from God because we are constantly tempted to slip away from Him by Satan.
Let me put it this way. You know what the Word of God says about your current situation you are going through. But if you are finding yourself arguing with God to justify your action or decision, that means two things:
1) You are wrong.
2) You have backslidden from where you were with God.
The first step of returning to the Lord is that you give up whatever you’ve been insisting and do what the Word of God says.
Many Christians think that their spiritual conditions are OK with God. I don’t believe so. A national survey of churches in the United States revealed the following about church members:
10% cannot be found anywhere
20% never attend a service
25% admits that they never pray
35% admits that they never read God’s Word
40% never contribute to the church financially nor physically
60% never read or study the Bible lessons
75% never assume any responsibility in their church
95% never win a soul to Christ
But, 100% expect to go to heaven
E. NOT SPEAKING IN SAME LANGUAGE
Genesis 31:44-48 Now therefore, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.” 45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 46 Then Jacob said to his brethren, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap. 47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. 48 And Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore its name was called Galeed.
In v47, the two men did not even speak the same language. Both names mean “heap of witness” or “heap of testimony.” It is truly sad when family members cannot trust each other. How much better it would have been had they forgiven each other and turned the whole thing over to God!
The majority of family problems can be solved with a simple and sincere apology and true forgiveness. If we hold the things that happened before against each other, there won’t be any improvement in the situation. As a matter of fact, it will go from bad to worse. I guarantee it.
F. I WON’T GO TO YOUR SIDE
Genesis 31:51-55 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Here is this heap and here is this pillar, which I have placed between you and me. 52 This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm. 53 The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father judge between us.” And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac. 54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain. 55 And early in the morning Laban arose, and kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.
Do you remember when you were kids you drew a line between you and your sibling which was supposed to separate territories between you guys? Like in a back of the family station wagon, you put a tape measure as a border line? This is more than that.
The best solution for Jacob’s in-law problems is for him to separate from Laban. In fact, they erected a pillar to be a barrier between them.
There is wisdom in having some separation from in-laws.
Genesis 2:24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
You know what they say, “It is best if you can keep in-laws and outhouse far away from your home.”
Laban represents the world Jacob is leaving behind. He is heading to the land God wants him to be in. It is a great reminder for us to put up a border line where the world starts, so that we may never go back.
When we stop our spiritual growing process, we will soon be a train wreck waiting to happen. We must recognize that deep in our nature we all have a natural tendency to wander. It is no mistake God compares us to wandering sheep. That is our carnal desire. And as an old hymn says, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.” Yes, we are prone to wander.
G. APPLICATION
1) If we make Jesus our first love, everything else will fall into its proper balance.
Do you remember the first love you had for the Lord Jesus when you got saved?
What made you wonder away from Him, even a small amount? Our first love exists as the antidote to the wandering spirit we have. That passion is what keeps us engaged in our relationship with God.
Revelation 2:5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place--unless you repent.
Genesis 32
Two Natures Within
We all have heard that many people identify themselves with Peter, one of the disciples of Jesus because of his mistakes and problems with his mouth. But not many people have said that they are like Jacob – the supplanter, trickster and con-man. Because it is one thing to be a klutz and fumbling idiot, but it is a completely different and hard thing to admit that we are cheaters and conniving people without God.
This morning we are going to see a man who was guided by God to go back to his home land. But he is afraid what might happen to him and his family there. So he comes up with his old con-man’s tricks again and again. But our God was gracious and long-suffering not only to put up with Jacob, but also he was willing to correct him with whatever means. Yes, that is what the Lord our God would do for us, too. Because He loves us as His children and He will do whatever it takes to make us to be more like Jesus our Savior.
A. GOD’S CAMP
Genesis 32:1-2 So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp.” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
Jacob noticed that he was not alone. God had a camp of angels with him at Mahanaim. Now Jacob could see God’s angels with him and it provided great encouragement to him.
This wonderful revelation of God’s presence and care came after Jacob finally separated from Laban, the worldly man. Separation from the world brings greater insight about God to the believer.
God gives us a lot of reminders that He is in control of everything all the time. It is up to us to accept His reminders. But if we choose not to accept His reminders, even if God Himself shows up in front of our faces, we still would be afraid and fret about the future for nothing.
B. THE FOUR HUNDRED MEN WELCOMING PARTY
Genesis 32:3-8 Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 And he commanded them, saying, “Speak thus to my lord Esau, ‘Thus your servant Jacob says: “I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now. 5 I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.”’” 6 Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” 7 So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies. 8 And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.”
Jacob was not so sure about this four hundred men welcoming party. He was wondering if this is gonna be a happy reunion or an army to slaughter his family.
So, Jacob started to trust himself and his own schemes again! He tried to appease Esau with gifts. He divided his company into two bands and ignored the protecting army of angels. He sure wants to save his own skin in his own way.
When Laban confronted Jacob with a hostile militia, Jacob boldly stood up to him and spoke his mind. But with Esau, Jacob was afraid to meet him. This was because Jacob knew he was in the right with Laban, but he knew he was in the wrong with Esau. Shakespeare was right when he wrote, “Conscience does make cowards of us all.”
In a similar way Jacob represents many Christians who have Jesus in their hearts, yet they are terrified for their unknown future and haunted by their ugly past sins. God is our protector for our future and our past sins that were forgiven with the blood of Jesus our Savior.
C. IF ALL ELSE FAILS, THEN PRAY
Genesis 32:9-12 Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’: 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies. 11 Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children. 12 For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’”
I am sure that you all hear this phrase, “If all else fails, then pray.” After taking these steps in carnal confidence, he asked for God’s help. That is an absurd and wrong thing to do. We should pray first, then take action as the Lord leads. Had he forgotten the way God had protected him from Laban?
However, Jacob still came to God with his prayer. Jacob was reminding God with His promise ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’. Many of our prayers fall short because there is none of God’s Word within them. Often there is none of God’s Word in them because there is little of God’s Word in us.
Many of us take our burdens to the Lord in prayer. We just spread them out before Him. Then when we get through praying, we get right up and put each little burden right back on our back and start out again with them. That is not the way we should do it.
George Mueller, a great man of faith and prayer, was once asked what was the most important part of prayer. He replied: “The 15 minutes after I have said, ‘Amen.’”
D. THE OLD NATURE STILL RULES
Genesis 32:13-21 So he lodged there that same night, and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals. 16 Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves.” 17 And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’ 18 then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’ “ 19 So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; 20 and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.” 21 So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.
In man’s thought, this was a good plan, but not in God’s. Jacob would rather depend on his own capability than God’s.
So often like Jacob, we mean, “I surrender this. If that isn’t enough, I surrender that. If that isn’t enough, I surrender some of these...” We need to surrender ourselves to the Lord completely.
E. GOD GOT JACOB’S FULL ATTENTION
Genesis 32:22-25 And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. 23 He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had. 24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. 25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.
I believe that God got Jacob’s full attention now. He has Uncle Laban in back of him who doesn’t mean anything good, and he has his brother Esau ahead of him. Jacob is no match for either one. He is caught now between a rock and a hard place. And he doesn’t know which way to turn. Do you think he wanted to take on a third opponent that night? I don’t think so.
It is when we get alone with God that good things begin to happen. Let’s not think that the preincarnate Christ who is God Himself couldn’t handle Jacob, so the struggle lasted all night long. It was not Christ was struggling against Jacob. It was Jacob. He didn’t want to yield to God, because he was a manipulator, con-man and supplanter. He always wanted his way. But now he was cornered and pinned down.
I believe that it is one of those poor English rendering of this incident. Let me put it this way. Let’s say you have a four year old son who is jumping on you and wants to wrestle with you. He thinks that he is winning, because he is on top of you and putting his arms around your neck with his red face. Then a phone rings. So you get up to answer the phone. But the boy is still hanging on your neck and still thinking that you two are in wrestling. You can stop that child anytime you want, because you are completely in control and you have power to change the situation any way you want.
I’ve learned martial arts, but I have never seen any martial arts master who touches the opponent’s socket of his hip and puts it out of joint. I bet Jacob got a rude awakening in the middle of night.
Genesis 32:26-30 And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” 27 So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” 28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.” And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there. 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”
This is an invaluable place where God pins us down. There is something to be said for every person doing his “wrestling” with God, and then acknowledging God’s greatness after having been defeated. We must know that we serve a God who is greater than us, and we cannot conquer anything until He conquers us.
Jacob has been reduced to the place where all he can do is hold on to the Lord with everything he has. Not a bad place to be. Before Jacob could be delivered from the hand of his brother, he had to be delivered from his own self-will and self-reliance.
When Christ asked Jacob for his name, he must have felt a sense of shame, admitting his name was “Jacob,” meaning “con-man, sneaky, cheater.”
The name ‘Israel’ is a compound of two words – ‘sarah,’ meaning, “Prince or Princess,” “fight,” “struggle,” or “rule” and ‘el’, meaning, “God”. Some Bible scholars take the name Israel to mean, “He who struggles with God” or “He who rules with God.” But in Hebrew names, God is not the object of the verb but the subject. Daniel means “God judges” not “he judges God.” So this principle shows us Israel means, “God rules.”
Here something great happened to Jacob. Jacob went from cunning to clinging, from resisting to resting in God. Now he was not fighting with the Lord, but rather hanging on the Lord.
Jacob thought the real enemy was outside of him, Esau. The real enemy was his own carnal, fleshly nature, which had not been conquered by God.
How about you? Are you trying so hard to make something happen? Is it in relationship with someone? Or is it your business? Whatever that is, instead of coming up with all of your worldly tricks, why not cling to the Lord who made everything in the universe with his words. Instead of resisting the will of God in your life, why not rest in God? Because He will not give you anything bad for you.
F. A GOOD REMINDER TO CARRY AROUND
Genesis 32:31-32 Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the children of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank, which is on the hip socket, because He touched the socket of Jacobs hip in the muscle that shrank.
The first memorial is the name of the place. Jacob named the place Peniel “Face of God”.
The second memorial was a permanent limp. Jacob would remember his being conquered by God with every step he took for the rest of his life. This was a small price to pay for such a great reminder from God.
G. STILL RULED BY THE OLD NATURE
Genesis 33:1-3 Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants. 2 And he put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3 Then he crossed over before them and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. 4 But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.
Please note that chapter 33 starts with the old name Jacob, not the new name Israel which represents a godly nature. That means that Jacob was at it again.
It is a rather embarrassing thing for a believer of Jesus Christ to be out done by an unbeliever in mercy and forgiveness. We ought to be the ones who offer them to non-believers, not the other way around.
Genesis 33:5-15 And he lifted his eyes and saw the women and children, and said, “Who are these with you?” So he said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” 6 Then the maidservants came near, they and their children, and bowed down. 7 And Leah also came near with her children, and they bowed down. Afterward Joseph and Rachel came near, and they bowed down. 8 Then Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company which I met?” And he said, “These are to find favor in the sight of my lord.” 9 But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” 10 And Jacob said, “No, please, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand, inasmuch as I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me. 11 Please, take my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” So he urged him, and he took it. 12 Then Esau said, “Let us take our journey; let us go, and I will go before you.” 13 But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are weak, and the flocks and herds which are nursing are with me. And if the men should drive them hard one day, all the flock will die. 14 Please let my lord go on ahead before his servant. I will lead on slowly at a pace which the livestock that go before me, and the children, are able to endure, until I come to my lord in Seir.” 15 And Esau said, “Now let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.”
God worked in both of these two brothers’ hearts and there were no hard feelings. What was past was past.
Proverbs 16:7 When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Genesis 33:16-20 So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. 17 And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, built himself a house, and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth. 18 Then Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan Aram; and he pitched his tent before the city. 19 And he bought the parcel of land, where he had pitched his tent, from the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money. 20 Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel.
Jacob was glad to be reconciled with his brother, but didn’t want to be too close to him. He was still afraid of Esau. Unfortunately, Jacob still acts like “Jacob,” because he said he will go far to the south with Esau to the area of Mount Seir. Instead, he allowed Esau to go a few days beyond him and then headed towards the north to Succoth.
It is good for Jacob to come to the Promised Land, and be settled there. But he falls short, because it seems God directed him to return to Bethel, not succoth or Shechem.
H. APPLICATIONS
1) We need to remember that when God is with us, nobody can be against us.
That doesn’t mean that the children of God will never go through difficult times. But it means that our God will be with us no matter what kind of situation we face.
2) The more we struggle with God, the clearer it is that we are wrong. We have two choices to choose from: a surrender to the Lord to follow Him from the beginning or continuously struggle with God until we get worn out.
3) When we bring our petitions to the Lord, we must trust Him that He will handle it according to His will and leave it at that.
Genesis 34-35
Never Too Late To Restart With God
I have seen many people who make awful messes in their lives. Some got involved with illegal drugs, alcohol, gambling, or pornography. The list can go on. It is not only the bad things can make their lives difficult. When they do good things too much without any control, it turns out to be a problem, also.
Jacob left Haran where he stayed with his uncle Laban the con-man for over twenty years. He had two wives and two concubines and eleven sons, one daughter, servants and large flocks. Jacob thought he was going to bite the dust when he heard that his brother Esau and his four hundred men were coming toward him. But God made peace between Jacob and Esau.
Instead of heading to Bethel as God told him to do so, Jacob connived his brother Esau again and chose to settle his camp outside of the city of Shechem.
Jacob is about to find out the hard way when you are in a wrong place with wrong people, it is a matter of time that you will end up doing wrong things. But our God is so gracious to extend His everlasting grace to all of us to make a brand new start all over again. It is like God is telling us, “It is never too late to restart with Me all over again on this earth.”
A. AN ANCIENT DATE RAPE
Genesis 34:1-3 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. 2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her. 3 His soul was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke kindly to the young woman.
It is a known fact that there are so many date rape incidents on many university campuses including U of A in Tucson. These young girls go out with guys who had wicked mindsets and they end up getting raped.
Mom and dad, it is very important for you to make sure that your children understand that there is a tremendous amount of danger and consequences for them to walk into the ungodly places with ungodly people.
No one can say Shechem loved Dinah, because he raped her. He had a strange way of showing his love to her. As a matter of fact, that is NOT a true love. Because true love respects the other person’s wish, not ignores it.
Jacob was supposed to be in Bethel, not in Shechem. By doing so, he put his family in unnecessary danger. By the way, the name of the Lord was never once mentioned in chapter 34. God’s wisdom was absent while Jacob was dwelling in this area. When we disobey God, we put ourselves and our loved ones in harm’s way.
Maybe you are doing this to your family. Are you dragging your family down? Are you taking your family into a wrong direction? What do you need to do? As Jacob needed to get back to Bethel, you need to get back to God’s Word the Bible and daily prayer and coming to church regularly, not just once in a blue moon or only when you are in a tight corner. You need a strong relationship with God.
B. A PROPOSAL OF COMPROMISE
Genesis 34:4-12 So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young woman as a wife.” 5 And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. Now his sons were with his livestock in the field; so Jacob held his peace until they came. 6 Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7 And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved and very angry, because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing which ought not to be done. 8 But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. 9 And make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to yourselves. 10 So you shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you. Dwell and trade in it, and acquire possessions for yourselves in it.” 11 Then Shechem said to her father and her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. 12 Ask me ever so much dowry and gift, and I will give according to what you say to me; but give me the young woman as a wife.”
This was a dangerous challenge to Jacob and his family. Irresponsible intermarriage with the Canaanites could prove especially harmful for this family with such a destiny in God’s redemptive plan.
Hamor and Shechem probably thought themselves generous. They acted as if money and marriage could make Dinah’s disgrace go away.
Jacob was paralyzed with fear for his own safety against these people. His refusal to do what is right in regard to his family will encourage two of his sons to do something; something ungodly in response.
When God-appointed heads do not take appropriate leadership, it creates a void, which is often filled with more sins.
C. THE DECEIT THAT RAN IN THE FAMILY
Genesis 34:13-24 But the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father, and spoke deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. 14 And they said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a reproach to us. 15 But on this condition we will consent to you: If you will become as we are, if every male of you is circumcised, 16 then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us; and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. 17 But if you will not heed us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and be gone.” 18 And their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son. 19 So the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. He was more honorable than all the household of his father. 20 And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying: 21 “These men are at peace with us. Therefore let them dwell in the land and trade in it. For indeed the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us as wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition will the men consent to dwell with us, to be one people: if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. 23 Will not their livestock, their property, and every animal of theirs be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us.” 24 And all who went out of the gate of his city heeded Hamor and Shechem his son; every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
Simeon and Levi have evil intention in this plan. Sad to say, Jacob’s sons were liars like their father. Yet they cover it up with spiritual words, and used Dinah as a cover for their intended evil.
They felt justified because the men of Shechem treated their sister as a prostitute, but they prostituted the sign of God’s covenant for their own murderous purpose. They had no intention to give Dinah to Shechem. They wanted their blood and properties.
D. THE BLOODBATH
Genesis 34:25-31 Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males. 26 And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went out. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled. 28 They took their sheep, their oxen, and their donkeys, what was in the city and what was in the field, 29 and all their wealth. All their little ones and their wives they took captive; and they plundered even all that was in the houses. 30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have troubled me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household and I.” 31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a harlot?”
Certainly, they justified this murder and theft by saying they and their sister had been disgraced, but the punishment clearly does not fit the crime.
This reminds me some of the anti-abortion activists’ misbehaviors. I am all for the Pro-Life movement and I believe that abortion should be banned with the exception to save mother’s life or rape case. At the beginning they started to protect unborn children. But some of the extremists of the Pro-Life turned to their own crusade against abortion clinics and doctors, and it became a problem. Yes, those clinics became killing fields. Yes, the abortion doctors became murderers of unborn children for profit. But that does not give any one of us a license to kill them. God will take care of them. Those doctors are going to wish that they did one less abortion when they stand in the presence of God at the White Throne Judgement Seat. But it is our place to pray that they may come to know Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Then they will stop what they do.
Simeon and Levi probably thought God blessed their murderous plans with great success. We cannot pay back evil for evil. If we do that we become worse than them in the eyes of God. Because they are sinners and sinners sin. That is what they are supposed to do. But we are the children of God. We need to trust God to take care of those who insult us. Self-defense and righteous wars are justified in the eyes of the law and God, but doing this kind of thing like Simeon and Levi did does not go with what the Word of God says.
Romans 12:19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
Jacob had been living in the life of deceiving people for his benefit, so he was not in a position to tell his boys what to do. He was not a spiritual and moral authority. Now he is seeing the results of his own wickedness coming back to haunt him.
Why do today’s Christians scheme and sin and fail? Because they fail to live up to what they are supposed to do in Christ. So, is it too late? No, you are never too late to restart in Christ Jesus while we are on this earth.
E. REVIVAL IN JACOB’S LIFE
Genesis 35:1-5 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.” 2 And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. 3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem. 5 And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.
God had called him to go “back to Bethel”, back to the place of the vision and the vow. When a person is backslidden, as Jacob was, there is nothing else for him to do but go back to the place of dedication and renew his vows. Before he could take his family back to the altar, however, Jacob had to “clean house” – the foreign gods and the jewelry associated with heathen worship had to be buried.
This shows us the tremendous leadership role men have within the family. A man who gets right with God will see the effect in his family. No matter how hard we try to teach our children godly conduct they will still do what the parents do.
You may say, “Pastor, I don’t have a husband.” Then you become that role model. Your children don’t need to seek a role model from selfish, over-paid basketball players or football players or dope addict movie stars or singers. You live in such a godly way that they can proudly say, “My mom and dad are my role models.”
It is important for everyone to take a note of what they may have in their home that is ungodly stuff, such as Ying-Yang symbols, Buddha statues, dragon pictures or anything to do with occultist things, and promptly get rid of those things.
Here is a more important thing to talk about: Many times, we live in lifestyle of partial obedience to God. But God wants us to obey Him with all of our hearts.
F. GOD’S REASSURANCE TO JACOB
Genesis 35:6-15 So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. 7 And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother. 8 Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called Allon Bachuth. 9 Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him. 10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel. 11 Also God said to him: “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. 12 The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.” 13 Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him. 14 So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it. 15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.
When Jacob finally arrived at the place God told him to go, Jacob immediately found great blessing. God appeared to him, God blessed him, and God called him by his new name ‘Israel’. Relationship is restored. God does the same with us, reminding us who we are in Him.
Jacob did not need to hear anything new from God. He just needed to be reminded of what was true, and encouraged to cling to Him with all. It is the same with us. We already know everything that we are supposed to follow God. We need to remind ourselves through His Word that we may stay in the course.
G. THE BIRTH OF BENJAMIN AND THE DEATH OF RACHEL AND ISAAC
Genesis 35:16-29 Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor. 17 Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, “Do not fear; you will have this son also.” 18 And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin. 19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day. 21 Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. 22 And it happened, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard about it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: 23 the sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; 24 the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin; 25 the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali; 26 and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram. 27 Then Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt. 28 Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years. 29 So Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Jacob had a pretty messed-up family. His family makes the American soap opera family look like nothing. God used this family, but not because they were such great candidates, but because He had chosen them by His grace alone.
H. APPLICATIONS
1) You are never too late to restart in God while you are alive.
If the devil will tell you, “You are history. God cannot love the sinner like you anymore.” He is lying to you as usual. Don’t listen to him. There is no sin too big that God cannot forgive you, nor are you too righteous that you don’t need God.
We are all sinners, but God is more than willing to forgive our sins with the blood of Jesus.
2) Partial obedience to God is worse than complete disobedience, because it deceives us to think that we are right on track with God.
Genesis 37
Favored Son, Hated Brother
Some of you know that I have an older brother who is a neurosurgeon in Seoul, South Korea. He was one of those sick people who got nothing but boring A plus while I was getting a variety of letters on my report cards. My teachers liked me so much that they even gave me ‘F’ in red letter. I believe that ‘F’ stood for FANTASTIC.
When it came to school stuff, my parents favored my brother who was an honor student all his life. But when it came to being a human being, they favored me because my brother was such a stuck-up, callous and cold person to everyone around. On the other hand, I was a happy-go-lucky kid who could care less about stupid studies.
Even though it was not complete favoritism by my parents to one particular kid, there was obvious tension between my brother and me like any other siblings.
Joseph was the favorite son of Jacob but the hated brother of his siblings. Jacob knew all together well about favoritism by parents. Because his twin brother Esau was his daddy’s favorite and Jacob was his mama’s favorite. He ought to know not to do that kind of thing. But in his stupidity and passive attitude, he repeated the same mistake his parents made. He favored two sons – Joseph and Benjamin from his beloved wife Rachel more than any other sons from his other wife Leah and two concubines.
Jacob was asking for a nasty family problem that brought a conspiracy to murder, human slavery and deception. Yet God used all these awful things to bring glory to Himself later.
Joseph is the man who responded to broken dreams and impossible circumstances with a faith that propelled him from the pit of slavery to the pinnacle of power.
We can divide the life of Joseph which expends throughout the rest of Genesis with the exception of chapter 38 into three sections:
1) Joseph’s start: Birth to age seventeen – Genesis 30:24-37:2
Joseph’s mother and three other women were competing for his father’s love and attention in his family. To make the matter worse, from the beginning Joseph was loved by his father exclusively, since his mother was his love for life. This brought jealously, lust and hatred.
2) Joseph’s struggle: Seventeen to age thirty – Genesis 37:2-41:46
As Joseph entered into young manhood, contention and jealousy turned into rejection by his own brothers which led to enslavement and imprisonment.
3) Joseph’s success: Thirty to death – Genesis 41:46-50:26
The last eighty years of his life were years of prosperity under God’s blessing. Joseph had a perfect opportunity to take revenge on his brothers, but he blessed and brightened their lives instead.
A. JOSEPH THE TATTLETALE
Genesis 37:1-4 Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. 2 This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.
Joseph is sort of a pampered favorite of Jacob, who doesn’t mind tattling on his older brothers at all. The words “bad report” comes from a Hebrew word “Snitch” where we get an English word “Snitch”. Just kidding!
As an outward display of this, Jacob gave Joseph a tunic of many colors. From what we read, it should be like a funky technicolor coat. But it was not. This tunic was more than a simple gift from a loving father. It was a long-sleeved garment worn by the nobility of the day, a symbol of authority and favored position within the family. And the rest of Jacob’s sons jealously hated Joseph for it.
B. JOSEPH’S FIRST DREAM
Genesis 37:5-8 Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. 6 So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 7 There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
When kids are little, they wouldn’t take nap in the afternoon or go to sleep early in the evening. But once they become teenagers, you cannot keep their eyes open long enough to do anything. They get up late in the morning, they sleep during classes and they take a nap when they come home from school. Like these teenagers, Joseph likes to sleep. So he said, “I have a dream.”
At best, Joseph showed a great lack of tact. Surely he knew how much his brothers hated him.
C. JOSEPH’S SECOND DREAM
Genesis 37:9-11 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” 10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” 11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
If Joseph was unwise in telling the first dream – knowing how irritating it was to his brothers – he was even more wrong sharing this second dream. At this point, Joseph is a contrast to Jesus. Jesus wants us to be as He was on this earth: an “others-centered” person. Joseph seems to fall short in this area for now.
D. JOSEPH’S NEW ASSIGNMENT
Genesis 37:12-17 Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” So he said to him, “Here I am.” 14 Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem. 15 Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?” 16 So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.” 17 And the man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.
Dothan was located 20 miles north of Shechem. Shechem was the city where those same brothers had slaughtered every male out of rage over their sister’s rape.
E. JOSEPH’S BROTHERS’ CONSPIRACY TO MURDER
Genesis 37:18-22 Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. 19 Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! 20 Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!” 21 But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”--that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father.
That tunic Joseph wore was like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Joseph purposely wore this tunic when he was heading out to his brothers where they were 80 miles away from home. They hated it because it set him apart from them.
Reuben who was the first born should have said, “You are not going to kill our brother. Over my dead body. Not on my watch.” But he didn’t, because he wanted to do right by Joseph without alienating himself from his brothers. His desire to be nice to everyone will fail to prevent a great evil.
Later on his father Jacob spoke of him as ‘Unstable as water’. That was a perfect description of this compromising man Reuben. Active wickedness is always stronger than a half-hearted godliness.
F. CALLOUS ENOUGH TO SELL THEIR BROTHER
Genesis 37:23-30 So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. 24 Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it. 25 And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. 26 So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelite