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Old Testament Reading: Genesis 21

“The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, ‘God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.’ And she said, ‘Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.’ And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing. So she said to Abraham, ‘Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.’ And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. But God said to Abraham, ‘Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named. And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.’ So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, ‘Let me not look on the death of the child.’ And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, ‘What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.’ Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt. At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, ‘God is with you in all that you do. Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned.’ And Abraham said, ‘I will swear.’ When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech’s servants had seized, Abimelech said, ‘I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today.’ So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant. Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart. And Abimelech said to Abraham, ‘What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?’ He said, ‘These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this may be a witness for me that I dug this well.’ Therefore that place was called Beersheba, because there both of them swore an oath. So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines.” (Genesis 21, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Galatians 4:21–31

“Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written, ‘Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.’ Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. But what does the Scripture say? ‘Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.’ So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.” (Galatians 4:21–31, ESV)

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Introduction

The text that we are considering this morning is divided into three parts. One, the story of the birth of Isaac found in Genesis 21:1-7. Two, the story of the casting away of Ishmael found in verses 8-21. And three, the story of the covenant transacted between Abraham and Abimelech is found in verses 22-34. 

Naturally, the sermon today will have three points which correspond to these three stories. First, we will consider the promises of God fulfilled in the birth of Isaac. Secondly, we will consider the pain caused by the sin of Abraham and Sarah committed years earlier (along with God’s mercies). And three, we will consider the faithfulness of the LORD to be present with his covenant people in their sojourning.   

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The Promises Of God Fulfilled In The Birth Of Isaac

First, let us look upon verses 1 through 7 to consider the promises of God fulfilled in the birth of Isaac. 

In verses 1 and 2 we finally hear the news that we have been waiting for. “The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him.” (Genesis 21:1–2, ESV)

The tension concerning Sarah’s barrenness has been building ever since it was first mentioned in verse 30 of chapter 11. There we read, “Now Sarai was barren; she had no child” (Genesis 11:30, ESV). And that tension has increased with the passing of time and with each promise uttered by the LORD concerning a child for Abraham and Sarah. Those promises which were reiterated and clarified from time to time were comforting, no doubt. But they also increased the anticipation. When, LORD? When will Sarah and Abraham have this child? Time is certainly running out!

Finally, the time has come. The text says, “The LORD visited Sarah”. This indicates that the birth of Isaac was supernatural. It was not a virgin birth, as it was with the birth of the Christ. Indeed, Isaac was conceived by the ordinary means of procreation. But it was supernatural and miraculous none the less. The LORD visited Sarah. She was now 90 years old. She had been barren all her life. Abraham was 100. And the LORD miraculously enabled her to conceive.

When we read verses 1 and 2 did you notice the emphasis upon this being in fulfillment to the promises of God?  Hear it again: “The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him” (Genesis 21:1–2, ESV). Three times the text emphasizes that these things happened in fulfillment to God’s promises.  

Have you ever wondered why the LORD made Sarah and Abraham wait so long for their son? I suppose we may never know all of the reasons, for there are “secret things [that] belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29, ESV). But I think it is safe to say that at least three things were being accomplished through the waiting. 

One, the faith of Abraham and Sarah was being tested. Would they go on believing the LORD when the fulfillment of his promises seemed impossible to them? Would they persevere in the faith with the passing of time? Their faith was being tested, so that it might also be strengthened. Faith that is true gets stronger when it is tried and tested. Abraham and Sarahs faith grew stronger as it was tested over time. 

APPLICATION: Friends, the LORD allows our faith to be tested from time to time, doesn’t he? This he does in a variety of ways. But if our faith is true, the testing is it is for the purpose of strengthening our faith. Just as the body and mind will not grow stronger if they are not tested, neither will our faith. Faith, if it is true faith, grows stronger when it is tested. Faith, if it is false faith, will wither before the heat of trials and tribulations. 1 Peter 1:3-7 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:3–7, ESV). 

Abraham and Sarah’s faith was tested as the fulfillment to the promise was delayed. 

Two, the ability of the LORD to bring life from death was put on display as Sarah and Abraham waited long for their promised son. 

You would do well to notice that barrenness is a bit of a theme in the book of Genesis. The earth was barren (that is, empty and void) when it was first created, and yet the LORD formed it into a place suitable for life, particularly human life. For 90 years Sarah was barren. Rachel, the wife of Jacob (the grandson of Abraham) was also barren (see Genesis 29:31). In each instance the LORD overcomes barrenness and makes that which is dead to live.  

APPLICATION: Brothers and sisters, the LORD has done the same for you and for me — indeed, for all who have faith in Christ Jesus. He had taken that which is dead and he has made it alive. “You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked… But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved…” (Ephesians 2:1–2, 4-5, ESV). What the LORD did for Sarah’s womb, he has also done for your soul. You were dead (according to the soul), but God has made you alive in Christ. He has “visited you”, and by his Spirit he has enabled you to believe. He has opened your blind eyes, unstopped your deaf ears, and has breathed the breath of life into your lifeless soul — by grace you have been saved. 

The ability of the LORD to bring life from death was put on display as Sarah and Abraham waited long for their promised son.

Three, the faithfulness of the LORD was also demonstrated to Abraham, and through him, to the world as  he and Sarah waited long for their promised son.

The LORD is faithful. He always keeps his promises. He cannot lie or change his mind. The people of God sometimes doubt his faithfulness with the passing of time. But the story of the long awaited birth of Isaac demonstrates that God will  always keep his promises, even if the wait seems unreasonably long. 

Brothers and sisters, this is how Paul the Apostle interpreted and applied the story of the birth of Isaac in his epistle to the Romans, chapter 4 verses 16-22. He writes, “That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his [Abraham’s] offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was ‘counted to him as righteousness.’” (Romans 4:16–22, ESV)

Brothers and sisters, the promises of God were indeed fulfilled in the birth of Isaac.  The LORD was found  faithful. And Abraham obeyed the LORD. He “circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him” (Genesis 21:4, ESV), for circumcision was the sign and seal of that covenant which the LORD had transacted with Abraham. 

And notice the joy. Indeed, it is a very joyous thing to see the fulfillment of the promises of the LORD. “And Sarah said, ‘God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.’ And she said, ‘Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age’” (Genesis 21:6–7, ESV).

The last time that we heard of Sarah’s laughter, it was laughter of unbelief. Here is a joyous laughter. By the way, the name Isaac means, he laughs. Indeed, the birth of Isaac caused Sarah to laugh with joy. Not only was this the joy of having a child after so many years of barrenness, but also joy in seeing the promised of God fulfilled in their proper time.  

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The Pain Caused By The Sin Of Abraham And Sarah

From the joy of verses 6 and 7 we transition rather abruptly to the pain and sadness of verses 8 through 21. And that brings us to the secondly point of the sermon today. Brothers and sisters, consider carefully the pain caused by the sin of Abraham and Sarah committed years earlier (along with God’s mercies).

Perhaps as many as three years had passed from the birth of Isaac to the events narrated in verses 8 through 21, for verse 8 says, “And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned” (Genesis 21:8, ESV). Children in that culture were sometimes weaned as late as three years of age. Perhaps Isaac was 3, and that would put Ishmael at the age of 16. Ishmael is called a “boy” and a “child” in these passage, but the Hebrew word can also be translated as “young man”. Indeed, we are to picture Ishmael as a young man — probably 16 years of age. 

In verses 9 we learn that at the feast that Abraham made for Isaac,  “Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing” (Genesis 21:9, ESV). The Hebrew word translated “laughing” here in verse 9 is that same word that was translated as “laugh” in verse 6. Clearly this is a play on words, for the Hebrew word can either mean to laugh with joy, or to laugh in a mocking way. Sarah laughed with joy at the birth of Isaac, but Ishmael laughed to mock Isaac, the son of promise. 

Notice that this is the interpretation that the New Testament gives, for Paul refers to this laughter of Ishmael as persecution in Galatians 4:29, saying,  “But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now” (Galatians 4:29, ESV). This was not joyous laughter. This was not innocent laughter. Ismael was mocking the boy and was known to persecute him. Sarah knew this intuitively, and so she, being concerned for the welfare of her son, demanded  that Ishmael, the son of the bondwoman, be sent away from the son of promise. Verse 10: “So she said to Abraham, ‘Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac’” (Genesis 21:10, ESV).

Notice that this grieved Abraham to core. In verse 11 we read, “And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son” (Genesis 21:11, ESV). No doubt, Abraham loved Ishmael very much. The thought of sending him away with Hagar at the age of 16 grieved his heart. 

APPLICATION: Friends, have you noticed that our sin often has consequences? Sin makes life messy and complicated. Sin entangles. It wounds. It divides. Sin, which is any lack of conformity unto or violation of the law of God, always has consequences which grieve the heart and infuse life with a bitter taste. Do you want a good and pleasant life? Then keep God’s law! Notice I did not say that life would be without struggle altogether if we keep God’s law, for even the righteous suffer in this world. But I am saying that an obedient life is a blessed life. To walk with God and in obedience to him in this world is a blessed experience. It produces a blessed life, even if it is a difficult  life marked by suffering. Indeed the scriptures are true: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers” (Psalm 1:1–3, ESV).

16 years earlier Abraham and Sarah decided that God needed their help. They concocted a plan involving a Sarah’s bondwoman, Hagar. Perhaps God would give Abraham a son through her, they reasoned. After all, it was clearly impossible for Sarah to have a son. And now Abraham and Sarah, Hagar and Ishmael are reaping some of that bad fruit which sown so many years earlier. It’s a sad story, isen’t it? It would probably be a good idea to put yourself in the sandels of each of the characters and to look at the situation from their unique perspective. And if you do you will see that the situation is sad and painful for each of them, but in different ways. I’m sure that each one of them — Abraham and Sarah, Hagar and Ishmael  — shed many tears in the days in which the bitter fruit of the sin of Abraham ripened. 

APPLICATION: Brothers and sisters, I wonder if you will learn from this story? I wonder if you will learn from the scriptures, that the wages of sin is death?  Or will you be one of those who has to learn the hard way, that is to say, by  experience. You do understand that there are two ways to learn this truth that sin is bitter, don’t you? You can learn it by believing, or you can learn it by experience. How much better it is to learn it by believing. 

God’s word says, “My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil, men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways. So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God; for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the departed; none who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life. So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will remain in it, but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.” (Proverbs 2:1–22, ESV)

I’ll let you read this story again for yourself so that you can more thoroughly consider all of the pain that the sin of Abraham caused once that bad fruit had fully ripened. But there is something else I would like to emphasize before moving on to the third and final point of the sermon, and that is that God shows mercy to his covenant people even as they suffer under the consequences of their own sin. 

Where do I see that in this text? Well, in two places. 

One, the LORD did speak to Abraham to give him clarity over what he should do as he agonized over the decision that was before him. Verse 12: “But God said to Abraham, ‘Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named. And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring’” (Genesis 21:12–13, ESV). God, in his mercy, spoke to Abraham to help him know what to do as he stood perplexed in this messy situation. And he also comforted him concerning Ishmael, whom he undoubtably loved as a son, saying, “I will make a nation of” him, “because he is your offspring.”

Two, I also see the mercy of God displayed in his care for Hagar and Ishmael. Evidently they got lost in the wilderness. They found themselves without water. Hagar thought Ismael would die, so she left him in the shade and walked away, because she could not bear to witness the death of her son. But what does the text say? Verse 16: Hagar “lifted up her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, ‘What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.’ Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. And God was with the boy, and he grew up…” (Genesis 21:16–20, ESV).

Do you see that in the midst of all of this pain and suffering which was the result of sin, God was merciful to his covenant people. (If I had more time I would go to Galatians 4:21 and following to show how Paul interpreted this event. When he looks at Isaac the son of Sarah and Ishmael the son of Hagar he sees two covenants represented. This agrees with what I have said earlier about considering Abraham in a double capacity. There are two aspects to the Abrahamic Covenant — one fleshly and one spiritual; one earthly and one heavenly. In Abraham there are two kinds of offspring. There are children of Abraham according to the flesh, and there are children of Abraham according to faith in the promise. Ishmael descended from Abraham according to the flesh, but he laughed at the promise, not because he rejoiced in it, but to mock it. Isaac was the child of promise. Through him the nations of the earth would be blessed.  And what did the Apostle to Christians, most of the being Gentiles and not Jews? “So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman” (Galatians 4:31, ESV). This is all very important if we are to understand the story of the Bible and know the relationship between the Abrahamic, Mosaic and New Covenant’s. But explaining all of that would take too much time. Perhaps I’ll recommend a book on that subject soon.) For now I am content to say, brothers and sisters, consider the mercy of God shown to sinners even as they agonize under the weight of sins which they themselves committed. 

APPLICATION: This should not be difficult for you to apply to your own lives. I have already shown you that sin carries consequences. And you probably thinking to yourself, no kidding! I’ve experienced that first hand! But here I am emphasizing another more comforting truth — God does not abandon those who belong to him. He does not turn his back on them because they have sinned. Far from it! He is in fact full of mercy and grace. He draws near to his covenant people the sustain them, even as they suffer the consequences of their sin. I cannot say the same for the one who is not in Christ. Those not in Christ suffer in this world, but without the hope that the Father is using it for their God. But those in Christ know, “that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28, ESV). And we are encouraged that even the discipline of the LORD is for our good. Hebrews 12:5 askes, “Have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? ‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.’ It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees…” (Hebrews 12:5–12, ESV)

Brothers and sisters, our sin has consequences. It produces turmoil and pain. But God is gracious still. He often uses the “natural consequences” (so called) of our sin to disciple us if we are his children. And this he does because he loves us in Christ Jesus.  

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The Constancy Of The LORD To Be Present With His Covenant People In Their Sojourning   

The thirdly and final point will have to be very brief. As we look upon verses 22 through 34 let us simply consider the constancy of the LORD to be present with his covenant people in their sojourning. 

Here in this story Abimelech and the commander of his army come to meet with Abraham to enter into a treaty with him.  Though more could be said, notice three things. 

One, in verse 22 Abimelech and his commander approached Abraham saying, “God is with you in all that you do” (Genesis 21:22, ESV). Even non-believing king was able to recognize that God was with Abraham. In other words, Abraham was blessed of the LORD! 

Two, this is to be contrasted with what we just learned about Ismael. Ishmael, the son of the flesh, mocked the son of promise. He thought little of the blessing of the LORD upon the house of Abraham. But Abimelech the foreign king saw it. He saw that Abraham was blessed of God. This seems to indicate that the same sort of thing will happen in the future. Some who would be born from Abraham’s loins would be like Ishmael who misunderstood mocked the promises of God made to him and the blessing of God that were upon him. But others who were not born from him — who not of his clan, but were of the nations — would call Abraham blessed. This is indeed how things would go within ethnic Israel and with the grafting in of the gentiles under the New Covenant. Read the New Testament and see. 

Three, the text concludes with these words, “And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines” (Genesis 21:34, ESV). This reminds us that Abraham was promised, not only a son, but also a land. The land promise was still unfulfilled — he owned not a sliver. And yet Abraham went on to sojourn amongst the Philistines walking by faith and not by sight. 

 APPLICTAION: Brothers and sisters, how is your walk? Are you walking by faith and not sight? Are you living for the world to come? Is your hope in the new heavens and new earth, in which righteousness dwells? My prayer for us is that we would “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1–2, ESV).

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Conclusion 

Almighty God, grant that the words which we have heard today, with our outward ears, may by your grace be so grafted inwardly in our hearts, that they may bring forth in us the fruit of good living, to the honor and praise of your name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  

Posted in Sermons Joe Anady Genesis 21
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QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AT HOME OR IN GOSPEL COMMUNITY GROUPS

• How should the doctrine of unconditional election produce humility within the believer? How might the rejection of it lead to pride?
• Is it ever right to say of non-believer, that person is a good person? In what sense might they be good? To what degree? How is this possible?
• What are some ways that we might tend to the garden of our souls to be sure that we don’t succumb to temptation?

Posted in Study Guides Gospel Community Groups
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Old Testament Reading: Genesis 20

“From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, ‘She is my sister.’ And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, ‘Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.’ Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, ‘Lord, will you kill an innocent people? Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.’ Then God said to him in the dream, ‘Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.’ So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, ‘What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.’ And Abimelech said to Abraham, ‘What did you see, that you did this thing?’ Abraham said, ‘I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. And when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, ‘He is my brother.’’Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelech said, ‘Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.’ To Sarah he said, ‘Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.’ Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. For the LORD had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife” (Genesis 20, ESV).

New Testament Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18–31

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’” (1 Corinthians 1:18–31, ESV)

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Introduction

I can certainly understand itif when I was reading Genesis chapter 20 you thought to yourself, this sounds like familiar story — didn’t we cover this text already? Indeed, the story told in Genesis chapter 20 is very much like a story told in Genesis chapter 12 which we considered only a couple of months ago. The two stories are not identical. They differ in some important ways. But the similarities are hard to miss.

In both stories Abraham and Sarah were on the move and came into the presence of powerfull kings. In chapter 12 they sojourned down to Egypt, and here in chapter 20 we are told that they traveled down towards the Negeb, which is the dry desert region in the southern part of Canaan, and from there to the east towards Gerar. Egypt we are familiar with. Gerar, not so much. But notice that sojourning in both of these regions had the same affect upon Abraham. He began to fear that the powerful ones in the land would notice his wife and take her as their own, either because of her beauty or for the purpose political advancement, and do him harm. In each instance Abraham walked in fear and not by faith as he urged his wife to lie about her identity, saying only that she was his sister. 

Now, as you know there was some truth to that lie. Sarah really was the half sister of Abraham.  She was “the daughter of [his] father though not the daughter of [his] mother.” This sounds very strange to you and me. In fact, the law that would come to Israel through Moses forbid marriage between such close relatives. But  remember that  Abraham lived before the giving of that law and was brought up in a pagan land where marriages of this kind were not forbidden. And so there was some truth to the lie. Sarah was “indeed [Abraham’s] sister, the daughter of [his] father though not the daughter of [his] mother… (Genesis 20:12, ESV). But it was still a lie — for a half truth is in fact a lie. The full truth was that Sarah was Abraham’s wife. 

Here in Genesis 20 we learn that it was their agreed upon mode of operation to lie in this way. When Abraham was called by Abimeleck, king of Gerar, to explain the deception he said, among other things, “And when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to [Sarah], ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, ‘He is my brother’” (Genesis 20:13, ESV). We know that Sarah told this lie in Egypt and Gerar, for the scriptures tell us about those events. But I wonder, how many other times did Sarah and Abraham lie given that it was their agreed upon tactic since the day they left Ur? We simply do not know. But it is possible that Sarah and Abraham told this lie many times. And it is also possible that their plan worked in every other instance. But in these two instances — in Egypt and Gerar — the same terrible thing happened. Sarah was taken into the kings harem, the king and his servants were struck with some kind of curse or plague, the LORD then appeared to the pagan kings to warn them so that  Abraham was found out and confronted by these kings, after which he was rebuked by them,  given gifts, and sent on his way. So yes, this story should sound very familiar to you. It is basically a repeat of the story told in Genesis 12:10-20. 

But here is my question. Why the repetition? Why did Moses, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, decide to tell what is essentially the same story twice?  Stated a little bit differently, what role does this particular story play in the overall narrative of Genesis? What is its purpose?

I think there are three answers to that question. One, this story is told to promote humility within the children of Abraham. Two, this story is told to prevent pure pessimism concerning the wickedness of the nations. And three, to persuade the children of Abraham to tend to the garden of their souls, lest when they think they stand, they fall. 

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To Promote Humility Within The Children of Abraham

First of all, let us consider how this story promotes humility within the children of Abraham. 

Immagine being one of Abraham’s physical descendents. Imagine being Issac, Jacob or any one of the people of Israel who lived under Moses up until the death, burial and resurrection of the Christ. If you were one of these children of Abraham according to the flesh then it was rightly said of you that you were one of God’s chosen people. You, having descended from Abraham’s loins, were set apart in the world as distinct from the nations. You belonged to a holy people. Prophets walked amongst you. You were in a unique covenantal relationship with God. Your people were entrusted with the promises of God. From you the Christ would come. Indeed, it was a great privilege to be one of God’s chosen people in that Old Covenant age.

Paul spoke of the privileged position of the Hebrew people when he wrote, “They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen” (Romans 9:4–5, ESV).

The Hebrew people, who descended from Abraham according to the flesh, were God’s chosen people. When I say that they were chosen, I mean of course that they were chosen according to the flesh. Their nation was set apart from the other nations and given a place of privilege in the world. They were indeed a people uniquely blessed by God. And with this privilege came the temptation to grow puffed up with pride. 

What I am saying is that the story of  Genesis 20 is meant to deter pride and to  promote humility amongst the Hebrews. How so? Well, the story demonstrates yet again that the election, calling and blessing of Abraham was not based upon something deserving within him, but purely upon the grace of God. Therefore, when the Israelite thought considered their election by God it should have produced humility, and not pride.

I say that the story demonstrates yet again that the election, calling and blessing of Abraham was not based upon something deserving within him, but purely upon the grace of God, because evidence for this is peppered throughout the Abraham story. For example, Abraham was called, not from a holy and righteous people, but out from amongst an idolatrous people. Joshua highlighted this when he spoke to the nation of Israel concerning their heritage, saying, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods” (Joshua 24:2, ESV). What was Joshua’s point? Was it not to demonstrate to Israel that Abraham their forefather was called by the grace of God alone, and not because of something deserving within him. Abraham’s election, therefore, and Israel’s election, was not a reason to boast. To the contrary, it was a reason to stand before the LORD with humility and gratitude in the heart. Not only was Abraham chosen and called by grace, he was also preserved by the grace of God alone. Peppered throughout the history of Abraham are stories highlighting his flaws and imperfections. And this story is one of those. 

Abraham looks really bad in this story, doesn’t he? He lied yet again. He made a mess of things. And God himself had to intervene to preserve Sarah as his wife.

By the way, all of this should be considered in light of the promises made both to Abraham and Sarah that together they would have a son. That was all threatened when Sarah was taken into the kings haram. Not only was Sarah endangered, but so too was the fulfillment of the promise of God concerning a son. How in the world would Abraham and Sarah have a son now that Sarah belonged to Abimelech, king of Gerar? Perhaps you have noticed that this is a major theme in the narrative of Genesis. An offspring as promised both to Adam and to Abraham, and that offering is always being threatened. 

Notice also that when Abimelech, king of Gerar, finally confronted Abraham, Abraham ended up looking very foolish. Ironically, Abimelech appeared to me more righteous than Abraham, God’s chosen one. Verse 9: “Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, ‘What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.’”  

The point is this — Abraham  really made a mess of things when he decided, yet again, to live being driven by fear instead of living by faith. Moses did not bury this unflattering story when he wrote Genesis and delivered it to Israel. Instead he highlighted it. This he did, in part, to check pride within ethnic Israel. This he did to promote humility within the children of Abraham. It is as if Moses said this, but in the form of a narrative: “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God’” (1 Corinthians 1:18–29, ESV).

APPLICATION: Brothers and sisters, I do not know of any within this congregation who are descendents of Abraham according to the flesh. In other words, I don’t know that there are any among us who are of Jewish descent. But if you have faith in Christ  — that is to say, if you have the faith of Abraham — then you are his children according to the Spirit. The scriptures are very clear concerning this, saying, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Galatians 3:27–29, ESV). And again the same Apostle writes, “That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all [Abraham’s] offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, ‘So shall your offspring be’” (Romans 4:16–18, ESV).

If you are in Christ, you are a child of Abraham. You are his offspring, perhaps not according to the flesh, but by faith. And the scriptures also call you chosen ones, or the elect of God. Again you chosen not in a fleshly way as the Hebrew people were, being set apart in the world based upon ethnicity. But you have been chosen in a spiritual way. You have been chosen in Christ Jesus. You have been particularly selected to belong to God through faith in the Christ whom he has sent. How any Christian who claims to have the scriptures as their authority for truth can deny this, I do not know, for it is so plainly set forth in scriptures.

In John chapter 17Jesus himself prayed for a particular group of people who were given to him by the Father. He prayed for them, this is, for the elect, saying, “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours” (John 17:9, ESV).

In the book of Acts we have record of the preaching of the gospel to Jews and Gentiles alike. But in one place we are told that “as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48, ESV). This is the doctrine of election. Many heard the gospel proclaimed that day in Antioch in Pisidia, but it was those who had been “appointed to eternal life” who believed.

Paul clearly teaches that if we are in Christ it is because we were chosen by God. In Romans chapters 8 he teaches that those in Christ were foreknown and predestined. Later in the same chapter he calls those who have faith in Christ “God’s elect”. What does it mean for someone to be “elect”? It means that they have been chosen by someone for something. In this instance it is the Christian who has been chosen by God for eternal life in Christ Jesus. How is this not clear. If what Paul mean to say was that Christians are those who have chosen God, then why does he call them the elect — that is, the chosen ones? Would he not have said that Christians are the choosing ones, or the electing ones if what he meant to emphasize was our choosing of God rather than God’s choosing of us? No friends, it was not we who first chose God, but God who chose us before the world was created. This he explains more fully in Romans 9 as discusses, and I quote, “God’s purpose of election”. 

I could set before you many, many passages from Paul’s letters to demonstrate to you that if you are in Christ it is ultimately you were chosen by God, but one of the clearest passages is found in Ephesian 1:3 and following where we read, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he [the Father] chose us in him [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:3–6, ESV).

Brothers and sisters, if you have faith in Christ it is because God chose you even before he created the heavens and earth. He knew you as his own before you were even born. He predestined you. He chose you and set you apart. When Christ prayed that priestly prayer in John 17, he prayed for you, and not the world. When died, he died for you, and not the world. No where do the scriptures ever teach that Christ shed his blood to atone for the sins of those who were not given to him. Remember how he said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11, ESV). And in another place, “for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28, ESV) — many, and not all. And yet again remember that husbands are to love their wives “as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25–27, ESV). Friends, this Christ did for the church, and not for the world. 

Friends, if you love Christ it is because he first loved you. The faith that you have is a gift from him. It did not originate in your mind and heart. For “by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9, ESV). Even your perseverance in Christ is by the grace. He will finish the good work that he has begun in each of his children. “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Romans 8:29–30, ESV). Your salvation in Christ is God’s work, not yours.  

Now, I do not doubt for a moment that you have done many things along the way. You did, in fact choose Christ. At some point you decided to turn from sin and to Christ. You, in that moment, believed upon him and called him Lord. It was you who did that, and not God for you or on your behalf. And even today you are choosing to remain in Christ. You are persevering in him. And this you must do to the end. These choices are real choices. You have made them freely and willing. But here is the deeper truth that the scriptures also reveal. All of this is a gift. It is all by God’s grace. You have turned from sin to believed upon Christ because he has freed you from your natural bondage to make you willing and able to believe. 

Abraham was chosen by the grace of God, and not because of something deserving in him. 

So too, Israel was chosen by the grace of God, and not because of something meritorious in her!

Listen to the how the LORD spoke through Ezekiel the prophet concerning Israel’s beginnings. Ezekiel 16:1: “Again the word of the LORD came to me: ‘Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born. ‘And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment…” (Ezekiel 16:1–7, ESV)

Was Israel chosen by God? Yes they were! According to the flesh they were chosen by him. Not all in Israel had faith. In fact, many did not. They were a chosen nation. But they were chosen by God’s grace, and not because they were deserving. 

And the same is true for all who are chosen by God to have salvation in Christ Jesus. Their election is based, not upon some foreseen good in them, but in the sovereign good pleasure of God. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9, ESV). And in another place we read, “For he says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ So then [Paul says] it [election] depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” (Romans 9:15–16, ESV)

Brothers and sisters, do you see that the narrative we are considering today in Genesis 20 — indeed, all that the scriptures have to say concerning the election of Abraham, Israel and those united to Christ by faith, Jew and Gentile alike — is meant to promote humility amongst the children of Abraham. If our election and calling is grounded in the grace of God alone — if it is all unconditional and unmerited favor — then there is no room for boasting. But if our election and calling is grounded in something in us — an inherent righteousness, or faith that is foreseen by God, or some other meritorious thing — then there is room for boasting.

I can make this really simple by asking you the question, why did God choose you? That he chose, elected, selected and called the one who has faith in Christ is the plain teaching off scripture. But here I ask you the question, why? And if your response begins with the words, “because I…” Then it proves that you have badly misinterpreted the scriptures, for then you would have grounds for boasting. 

And so I ask, why did God choose you? And I pray that none of you would dare say, Because God foresaw that I would believe. Or, Because God noticed that I was searching for him. Or, God saw that I was morally upright. Or, God knew that I would work hard for his kingdom. None of these answers will do, for they contradiction the plain teaching of scripture that your election “depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” Indeed, if these answers were true, then you would have reason to boast before God and man, for the ground of your election and calling would then be found in you. 

But here is the truth, “God… has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:3–6, ESV). And though “…you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked… and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind… God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:1–10, ESV).

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To Prevent Pure Pessimism Concerning The Wickedness Of The Nations

I have two more points to make in this sermon and only a very short time to make them. These will more like observations than fully developed points. 

Why the story of Genesis 20? One, to promote humility amongst the children of Abraham by clarifying, yet again, that Abraham was chosen and called by grace alone, and not because of something meritorious within him. And two, to prevent pure pessimism concerning the wickedness of the nations.

Do you remember the story of Genesis 19? There we  were told of the great wickedness of Sodom and Gomorra and the destruction of that place, God’s wrath having been poured out upon it. If we are not careful we might assume that all of the nations, and all of the non-believing peoples within those nations, are as wicked as them. 

The doctrine of total depravity is a very important doctrine. It recognizes that “Man, by his fall into a state of sin, has wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation; so as a natural man, being altogether averse from that good, and dead in sin, is not able by his own strength to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto.”

But it would careless of us to assume that all men are equally wicked. It would also be careless for us to assume that men and women never do good, for the do! Indeed, no one is good but God alone. But men and women — even those who are not in Christ — do do good! But even this is by the mercy of God. 

Is this principle not clearly illustrated in this passage? Did not the heathen king Abimelech act more righteous than Abraham who was chosen and called by God, and made righteous through faith in the Christ who would come?

Abraham did what he did because he thought that “there [was] no fear of God at all in [that] place, and they [would] kill [him] because of [his] wife” (Genesis 20:11, ESV). In fact, it seemed as if the people of Gerar feared the LORD more than Abraham did (at least in this moment) (v. 8). Abimelech was deeply distressed over the thought of almost having committed such a “great sin”, namely the sin of taking another man’s wife as his own (v. 9). And Abimelech, after confronting Abraham, did the right thing. He “took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelech said, ‘Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.’ To Sarah he said, ‘Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated’” (Genesis 20:14–16, ESV). In this instance Abimelech walked with “integrity” in his heart. His hands were innocent (v. 5).  

But why? Notice what the LORD said to Abimelech in verse 7: “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her” (Genesis 20:6, ESV).

This is why I say that this passage prevents the children of Abraham from pure pessimism concerning the wickedness of the nations, for it reveals that LORD is merciful to restrain evil in the world and to promote good even amongst those who do not worship God.

The  doctrine of common grace, as some call it, is an important compliment to the doctrine of original sin. It helps to understand it can be that we are surrounded by many who are not in Christ and yet seem to be such good people. They are not good in an ultimate sense. Nor are the good with God, for none are apart from faith in Christ. But there are “good people in the  world”, and this also is owed to the mercy of God.

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To Persuade The Children Of Abraham To Tend To The Garden of Their Souls Lest, When They Think They Stand,  They Fall 

Thirdly and lastly, the story that we encounter in Genesis 20 ought to persuade the children of Abraham to tend to the garden of their souls lest, when they think they stand, they fall. 

Here I am making only this simple observation. Think of how old Abraham and Sarah were at this point. Think of how many times the LORD had given his promises to them, and how many times he had proved himself faithful. And yet here they are making the same mistake that they had made so many years ago when they went down into Egypt. 

Application:  Bothers and sisters, we cannot grow complacent with sin. We must fight against it daily and be forever vigilant in our battle against temptation. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:6–8, ESV). “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:12–13, ESV).

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Posted in Sermons Study Guides Joe Anady Genesis 20
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QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AT HOME OR IN GOSPEL COMMUNITY GROUPS

• How do we know that Lot was a righteous man? What evidence is there for his compromising? How  might a genuine Christians compromise today?
• What do we learn from the destruction of Sodom? How might Genesis 19 serve as a warning to our culture?
• If God’s will is often different from our will, why pray? 

Posted in Study Guides Joe Anady Genesis 19
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Old Testament Reading: Genesis 19

“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 bowed himself with his face to the earth and said, ‘My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.’ They said, ‘No; we will spend the night in the town square.’ But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot, ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.’ Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, and said, ‘I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.’ But they said, ‘Stand back!’ And they said, ‘This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.’ Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door. Then the men said to Lot, ‘Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.’ So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, ‘Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city.’ But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting. As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, ‘Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.’ But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. And as they brought them out, one said, ‘Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.’ And Lot said to them, ‘Oh, no, my lords. Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!’ He said to him, ‘Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.’ Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived. Now Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. And the firstborn said to the younger, ‘Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.’ So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. He did not know when she lay down or when she arose. The next day, the firstborn said to the younger, ‘Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also. Then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.’ So 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. Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day. The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.” (Genesis 19, ESV)

New Testament Reading: 2 Peter 2:4–10

“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones…” (2 Peter 2:4–10, ESV)A

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Introduction

I have emphasized in the pervious two sermons that the events recorded for us in Genesis chapters 18 and 19 have a prototypical character to them. By that I mean, not only were these real events that actually happened in the days of Abraham, they also taught Abraham, his descendents — and yes, even you and me — something about what would happen in the world again and again culminating in the consummation of all things at the return of Christ. Just as prototype of a car shows what the actual car will look like when it is built, so too many of the historical events recorded in the Bible functioned as prototypes of events yet to come. They were real events, but they were also events that revealed something about the plans and purposes of God..

As I have said, these events really happened. Abraham was truly set apart in the world as unique and holy. Abraham did intercede on behalf of Sodom. The LORD was faithful to preserve his chosen ones who lived in the midst of Sodom. And indeed, The LORD did pour out his wrath upon that place. These events really happened. But these events were not ordinary events. They also revealed something. They showed something of God’s plan for the future. They established a pattern that would be repeated.

What do the events of Genesis 18 and 19 teach us about God’s plan? Let me state the matter succinctly. One, the LORD, by his grace, will always have a people that belong to him in the world. Two, those who belong to him are to live in obedience to the LORD as they interceded for the nations. Three, the LORD will be faithful to preserve his people even as they live in the midst of wickedness. And four, the LORD will certainly judge. He is indeed a God of mercy and of grace, but he is also holy, righteous and just. He will certainly punish sin. 

In Genesis chapter 19, which is our sermon text for today, we see the last two of these principles portrayed. Notice three things about this chapter. One, the LORD was faithful to preserve compromising Lot. Two, the LORD Judged the wickedness of Sodom. Three, in these events the LORD did answer the prayer of Abraham. 

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The LORD Preserved Compromising Lot

First of all, let us consider that the LORD was faithful to preserve compromising Lot.

How are we to think of this man, Lot? Did he have true faith? Was he righteous? Or is he to be numbered amongst the non-believing and unfaithful of the world? 

Ultimately, we must confess that Lot was a righteous man. He had the faith of Abraham, and was justified by faith, just as Abraham was. How do we know this? For two reasons. 

One, the New Testament directly says that he was a righteous man. That statement is found in that 2 Peter 2 passage that was read at the begging of the sermon. In verses 7 we read, “and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment…” (2 Peter 2:6–9, ESV)

Did you hear the way that Peter interpreted the events surrounding the destruction of Sodom and Gomorra? He said what I have already said (I got it from him, and not he from me!), that these events were prototypical. They demonstrated that the “Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment…” And what did Peter have to say about Lot? The text explicitly says that Lot was righteous and godly. Evidently his soul was tormented by the “lawless deeds that he saw and heard” around him.

And so how should we view Lot? We are to view him as a righteous man, for the New Testament describes him as such. And the narrative of Genesis 19 also points in that direction. Did you notice that Lot showed the two visitors (who were really angels) hospitality in much the same way that Abraham did. He pleaded with the men to stay with him. He prepared a feast for them. He was clearly concerned for their wellbeing. He is portrayed as a good and hospitable man, just like Abraham. And we should not forget that the LORD rescued Lot before destroying Sodom demonstrating that Lot belonged to the LORD. Clearly, Lot was a righteous man who lived among wicked men. 

Now, if it is true that Lot was a righteous man of faith, why then do I call him “compromising Lot”? I describe him in that way because the narrative of Genesis also points in that direction. He seems to have compromised. He seems to have drifted away a bit from a sincere and single hearted devotion to the LORD. Did Lot belong to the LORD? Yes, he did! But it appears that the world also had a bit of a hold on him. 

Remember how Lot moved away from Abraham as recorded in Genesis 13. It was noted then that Lot seemed to loose interest in being closely allied with Abraham, who was blessed of God. He also seemed impressed with affluence of Sodom. That narrative concluded with these ominous words: “Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD” (Genesis 13:12–13, ESV). And so Lot seemed to drift away from Abraham, and from the blessings of covenant which the LORD had made with him.  

Let us not forget that Lot was capture and needed to be rescued by Abraham. This also contributes to the idea that he was, to a certain extent, entangled with and swallowed up by the word. 

And notice a few things about the narrative of Genesis 19. Lot was no longer living in tents near Sodom. Now he was sitting in the city gate (v. 1). This indicates that he was somewhat well respected in that place. He had assimilated to some degree. Notice also how when the men of Sodom pressed Lot to hand over his guests he offered his virgin daughters to them instead (v. 8). This does not seem right. Consider also that when Lot spoke his sons in law concerning the looming judgement, his sons in law did not take him seriously (v. 14). In verses 16 we are told that Lot lingered in Sodom when he was urged to leave. The angels had to drag him out of the city. They “seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city” (Genesis 19:16, ESV). And remember that Lot’s wife looked back because she loved that place (v. 26). And what are we to say of the perverse thing that Lot’s daughters did in seeking to preserve their father line (vs. 30-38)?

I do not doubt that Lot had the faith of Abraham. I’m sure that he was a righteous man — godly in comparison to the world around him. The scriptures clearly say that he was. But the narrative of Genesis also strongly suggests that Lot was somewhat entangled with the world. The narrative also seems to highlight all of the trouble and heartache that his compromising.

APPLICATION: Friends, this can happen to any of God’s people if they are not diligent to tend to the garden of their  souls. How easy it is for weeds to sprout up to choke out the vitality of our faith. Covetousness is like a cancer to the soul. Love for the world will inevitably cause our love for God and for the things of God to grow cold. This is why the scriptures warn against these things. 

“But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Timothy 6:6–10, ESV).

“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. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15–17, ESV).

The exhortation of Hebrews 3:12-14 seems appropriate here: “Take care, brothers [and sisters], lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end” (Hebrews 3:12–14, ESV).

Though Lot was compromising, he truly belonged to the LORD, and so the LORD preserved him? The LORD always preserves those who belong to him. You have the responsibility to persevere, be he always preserves his people. You can be sure of this, “that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6, ESV).

The mercy of God shown to his people is vividly portrayed in this episode. Lot, having been thoroughly warned of the judgement to come, lingered in the city. Sometimes we “linger” in our sin, don’t we? Sometimes we wallow in the mire having grown comfortable and complacent with the filth. But do you see that the LORD was merciful to Lot. Quite literally he was pulled out of the wicked place by the messengers. “The men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city” (Genesis 19:16, ESV). 

Lot would have perished if left to himself. But by the grace of God he was spared. This is true of you and me if we are in Christ Jesus. If left to ourselves we would surely perish. Left to ourselves we would too would think little of the warnings of God. We too would linger in our sin. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:4–9, ESV).

Don’t you see, brothers and sisters, how the LORD  preserved compromising Lot. And don’t you see that he shows the same kindness to you and me if we are his in Christ Jesus. He is faithful to give his elect the gift of faith, and he is also faithful preserve them to the end, thanks be to God. 

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The LORD Judged The Wickedness Of Sodom

Secondly, let us give attention to the fact that the LORD judged the wickedness of Sodom. 

Indeed it is true “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, ESV), but it is also true that some people and peoples are more wicked than others. This was certainly true of the people of Sodom. Remember what was said of them in Genesis 13:13 — “Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD” (Genesis 13:13, ESV). And remember what the LORD said of them in Genesis 18:20 — “Then the LORD said, ‘Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know’” (Genesis 18:20–21, ESV). The narrative of Genesis 19 clarifies the nature and extent of their sin. 

Notice how eager and insistent Lot was to have these two visitors stay with him, and not in the city square as they had planned. Sure, Lot was hospitable. But he also knew what would happen to them if they slept out in the open. And notice that his plan was to send the two on their way first thing in the morning. If Lot were speaking more directly to the two he would have said, there is no way you are sleeping in the open square tonight. You have no idea what the men in this town will do you. Stay at my house and then leave at first light. 

So great was the wickedness in Sodom that the men of the city — each one, young and old — surrounded Lot’s house at night. They demanded to have the men so that they might “know them”. Clearly the meaning is that they desired to know them sexually. And after Lot tried to reason with them and begged them not to do such a wicked thing, they pressed even harder and said, “‘This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them…’ and [they] drew near to break the door down” (Genesis 19:9, ESV).

The men of Sodom were sexually perverse. They practiced homosexuality. In fact, it was worse than that. They were violent men who forced themselves upon others. Now we better understand what the LORD meant when he told Abraham that “the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave” (Genesis 18:20, ESV). These were brutal and oppressive men. Who knows how many victims had cried out to God for justice prior to the day when the LORD poured out his wrath. 

Homosexuality is sin. The scriptures are very clear concerning this. It is a perversion of God’s design.  

But rape, either of the heterosexual or homosexual kind, is a very grave sin, for it involves a victim. 

So great was the sin of Sodom — so widespread was the sin of homosexuality, and so common the grave sin of homosexual rape — that the LORD determined to make an end of that people, and this he did. Verse 23: “The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground” (Genesis 19:23–25, ESV).

We should remember the words of Peter when he said that “by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly…” (2 Peter 2:6, ESV). This event really happened, but it happened, in part, to serve as an example. When the LORD judged Sodom in this way, he demonstrated what will happen to the ungodly at the end of the age. 

APPLICATION: Brothers and sisters, as you know very well it is considered hateful to say things like, “homosexuality is sin” in our day. But it is the view of the Christian that homosexual behavior is sinful behavior. We believe this because the scriptures so clearly teach it. We do not hate the homosexual. In fact, we care enough for them to say that their behavior is sinful, as unpopular as it may be. And we would say the same thing concerning many other sins — drunkenness, thievery, adultery and the like. It is important to call these behaviors sinful because these behaviors are to be turned from  as one turns to Christ to follow after him. And indeed that is our desire — to see men and women turn from their sins to trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. When we call sin sin, be it the sin of homosexuality or any other we do so in love and with much humility. In love because we care for person committing the sin. In humility because we realize that we are no better. Were it not for the grace of God we too would be caught in sin and under God’s just condemnation. 

We call sin sin  and urge men and women to turn from it and to faith in Christ because we believe what the Apostle Paul has said, “that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” And then he adds these  words: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9–11, ESV).

Are you practicing homosexuality? Are you a drunkard? Are you an adulterer? Are you greedy? Then I say, turn from these sins and run to Christ for the forgiveness of sins, so that these words would apply to you instead  — “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9–11, ESV).

Or are you a professing Christian who is unwilling to say to say, “homosexuality is sin”? There are an increasing number of those in our day. I have two questions for you: One, are you really as loving as you claim to be? You approve of what the scriptures call sin in the name of love, but does this not demonstrate that you have neither love for God (for you disregard his word) nor love for man (for you are more concerned with your own well being than for the eternal destiny of those who are living in rebellion). Are you really loving then? I wonder if you do not love yourself supremely. Are you not afraid that the world might look at you and say what they said to Lot — They told him to  “Stand back!” And then they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them” (Genesis 19:9, ESV). Many are afraid to call sin sin in our day because they are afraid of what it will cost them. Stated differently, they love themselves more than God or neighbor. So I ask, re you really as loving as you claim to be? Two, if the professing Christian says, but I simply do not believe that it is sin, then I ask, why do you call yourself a Christian? To be a Christian is to believe that God’s word is true. And the scriptures are very clear on this matter, friends. If you do not believe that homosexuality is sin, then you do not believe the scriptures. And if you do not believe the scriptures, then you are not of the Christian religion. You probably call yourself a liberal or a progressive Christian, but a close look at your belief system will reveal that yours is a different religion all together. Your god is different from the God of scripture, your authority is different, your doctrine of salvation is different, and it is no wonder, then, that your morality is different too. 

Friends, the LORD judged the wickedness of Sodom “making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly…” (2 Peter 2:6, ESV). If you are living in sin — sin of any kind — I plead with you to turn from it and to look Christ for the forges of your sins. My prayer is that you would be washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God. This I say in love and with much humility admitting that by nature I am no better than you. 

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The LORD Answered Abraham’s Prayer

The third and final point of the sermon today is that the LORD did, in fact, answer the prayer of Abraham. 

Do you remember how Abraham interceded for Sodom? He asked the LORD to spare the place appealing to his righteousness. Genesis 18:24: “Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” (Genesis 18:24–25, ESV). The LORD agreed. He would spare the place if their were 50, 45, 40, 30, 20 or even 10 righteous in the city. If their were 10 he would refrain from pouring out his wrath. But there were not 10. Only 4 were redeemed from Sodom before the LORD poured out his wrath, and one could argue that only 1 of those 4 were truly righteous. The LORD did answer Abraham’s prayer, didn’t he? But not in the way he expected.

APPLICATION: And here we learn something about intercessory prayer. One, we are invited to intercede just as Abraham did. Two, when we interceed we should do so understanding that the LORD’s plans and purposes might very well be different from our own. This is why we should pray saying, if it is you will, do such and such. Three, when we pray the LORD often teaches us something in the process. We learn to wait upon him. We learn something of his character. We learn that his ways are always just. We should have the posture of Abraham when we pray. He bowed himself to the earth when he met the LORD, he stood still before he spoke to the LORD, and when he spoke, he spoke humbly. And after having prayed he went away in peace to wait upon the answer to his prayer. 

Verse 27: “And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.” (Genesis 19:27–29, ESV)

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Posted in Sermons Joe Anady Genesis 19
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QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AT HOME OR IN GOSPEL COMMUNITY GROUPS

• Israel errored when that they thought God was supremely concerned to bless them (not all, but many did). What should they have thought? 
• What should our attitude be towards the unbelieving world?
• In what ways can we intercede for the nations today?
• In what ways can we promote and preserve righteousness?

Posted in Study Guides Joe Anady
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Old Testament Reading: Genesis 18:16-33

“Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. The LORD said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.’ Then the LORD said, ‘Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.’ So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. Then Abraham drew near and said, ‘Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?’ And the LORD said, ‘If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.’ Abraham answered and said, ‘Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?’ And he said, ‘I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.’ Again he spoke to him and said, ‘Suppose forty are found there.’ He answered, ‘For the sake of forty I will not do it.’ Then he said, ‘Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.’ He answered, ‘I will not do it, if I find thirty there.’ He said, ‘Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.’ He answered, ‘For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.’ Then he said, ‘Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.’ He answered, ‘For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.’ And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.” (Genesis 18:16–33, ESV)

New Testament Reading: 1 Timothy 2:1–15

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.” (1 Timothy 2:1–15, ESV)

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Introduction

One of the things that God promised to Abraham is that he and his descendents would be a blessing to the nations of the earth. That promise is familiar to you and me. We know it well, and we also know how it has played out with the passing of time. But that promise must have sounded incredible and even a bit mysterious to Abraham when God first uttered it. Abraham must have wondered, what does this mean that the nations of the earth will be blessed through me — who am I that I should have an impact upon them? He must have puzzled over what the fulfillment of this promise would be. 

You and I know the answer because we live 4,000 years after the call of Abraham. God’s plan of redemption has progressed greatly since then. What began as a seed has grown into a mature tree! You and I have the benefit of looking upon something more developed and mature. But for Abraham, everything was in seed form. For him, everything was in the stage of promise. You and I are blessed to see the fulfillment.  

So what did God mean when he promised that the nations would be blessed in Abraham?

Well, above all things, we know that the Christ, who is the Savior of the world, would come from him. Abraham would produce Issac; Isaac would produce Jacob; and from the sons of Jacob the nation of Israel would emerge. And it would be from Israel that the Christ would come into the world. While Issac was Abraham’s immediate seed,  Jesus the Christ was his distant and most significant seed as it pertains to the promises of God.   And this Christ would live, die and rise again as the lamb of God who takes away the sins, not only of the Hebrews, but of the world. The Christ that came through Abraham and his offspring was and is the Savior of the world. Indeed, “there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5, ESV). This was the ultimate and supreme fulfillment of that promise made to Abraham, “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3, ESV).

While it is indeed true that all of these promises ultimately find their fulfillment in Christ Jesus, more can said. Not only would Abraham and his offspring bless the nations with the Christ, he himself would be a blessing to the nations even in his own lifetime. His children and grandchildren were also to be a blessing to the nations. So too was the nation of Israel prior to the arrival of the Christ. 

The story that we are considering today from Genesis 18:16-33 helps us to understand how Abraham and his descendents were to bless the nations of the earth. That they wouldbe a blessing to the nations was made clear in the promises that God made to Abraham. But this story brings some clarity to the question of how? How were Abraham and his offspring to be a blessing to the nations of the earth?

Two things are made clear in this story. One, Abraham and his offspring were set apart by God to intercede for the nations. And two, Abraham and his offspring were set apart by God to promote righteousness while living in the midst of the nations. Intercessions and righteous are the main themes of this story. 

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Set Apart To Intercede

First of all, let us consider that Abraham and his offspring were set apart by God to intercede on behalf of the nations. Stated differently, Abraham was chosen, blessed, and set apart by God so that he might stand in the gap, being eager to see the nations reconciled to God. He was to be concerned for the nations that they might also come into a right relationship with God and give glory to his name. This principle is clearly seen in the intercessory role that Abraham takes in the story that is before us today.

Notice how the LORD enticed Abraham to intercede on behalf of the people of Sodom. 

Verse  16: “Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. The LORD said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?’ (Genesis 18:16–18, ESV).

The “men” that “set out from there” are the three “men” that Abraham and Sarah showed hospitality to in the previous story. Two of them were angels, the other was the LORD himself, though Abraham did not know it at first. These are the ones who “set out from there”, and Abraham joined them. 

It is unclear if the LORD said what he said in verses 17 and 18 silently and to himself, to the two  angels privately, or to the two angels in Abraham’s presence so that he could hear. I tend to think that Abraham heard the LORD ask the question, for the entire episode was for the purpose of revealing things to Abraham so that he might participate in his plan. 

Listen yet again to the question. “The LORD said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?’” (Genesis 18:16–18, ESV).

The vast majority of the plans and purposes of God are hidden from us. We do not know his plans for later today or for tomorrow. God knows, but his purposes are usually hidden from our sight. I say “usually” because there are rare instances where the LORD chooses to reveal his purposes to his people. In particular the LORD made a practice of revealing his plans to his holy prophets who lived in that Old Covenant era. Abraham was one of these unique individuals who received this kind of special revelation from the LORD. Given that “Abraham [would] surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth [would] be blessed in him,” the LORD determined to reveal these particulars to him.

 And what did the LORD reveal? Verse 21: “Then the LORD said, ‘Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know’” (Genesis 18:20–21, ESV).

Notice five things about verses 20 and 21: 

One, the LORD obviously did not need to “go down to see” anything. He sees all things all the time with perfect clarity. Indeed, he knows all things. Never has the LORD gained knowledge. 

Two, this talk of LORD going down to see is to remind us of a previous story in the book of Genesis, namely, the story of the tower of Babel. Remember that before the LORD dispersed the peoples to disrupt their unified rebellion against him he, went “down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built” (Genesis 11:5, ESV). The story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorra and the story of the dispersion  of the peoples from the tower of Babel are to be compared, therefore.  

Three, this talk of the LORD going down to see as if he were on a kind of  reconnaissance mission is to be understood as an act of condescension and revelation. The LORD came down to see, not because he could not see from where he was seated in the heavenly places, but in order to kindly reveal his purposes to Abraham so as to bring him along.

Four, the “grave sin” of Sodom and Gomorra produced an outcry that reached the ears of the LORD. Where did this outcry come from? It came from those who suffered as a result of the sin of the people of Sodom and Gomorra. Sin, though it might produce a kind of momentary pleasure, also results in suffering. 

Five, the remark “I will go down to see whether they have done” these things, “and if not, I will know”, is meant to show the patience of the LORD and his perfect justice. He does not act rashly. He does not explode in anger. When he does pour out his wrath he does so having perfectly considered the situation.

But the thing to notice is that all of this information that LORD revealed to Abraham concerning his intent to deal with the terrible sin of Sodom and Gomorra compelled Abraham to intercede on behalf these people. Though it was not stated so directly, Abraham knew what the LORD was about to do. He was about to pour out his wrath! And so Abraham began to plead with the LORD in prayer. 

Verse 22: “So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. Then Abraham drew near and said, ‘Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?’ And the LORD said, ‘If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake’” (Genesis 18:22–26, ESV).

We will return to consider Abraham’s prayer more carefully in the second point of this sermon. For now I want you to consider this: Abraham prayed for Sodom and Gomorra. His attitude was one of concern for the people of that place, and so he interceded on their behalf, asking LORD to show mercy. Put differently, his attitude was not one of hatred for or indifference towards the wicked. As he looked down upon those cities — those cites that were indeed filled with wicked sinners — he felt concerned for them, and so he interceded on their behalf. 

APPLICATION: Brothers and sisters I ask you, are you as concerned for the lost as Abraham was? When you look  out upon the world do you feel compelled to pray, to ask that the Lord would have mercy upon them. 

Notice that Abraham was faithful to intercede. 

This means that the his descendents were also to be faithful to intercede on behalf of the nations. 

The nations of Israel was to take this intercessory role. They were to have this understanding of themselves — they existed not only to be blessed, but to be a blessing to the nations. As you know Israel often fell short of this  calling. They often acted in pride assuming that God was only concerned for them — that they were somehow superior to the nations — that God was impressed with them, but not others. But this concern for the nations was not interlay lost within Israel there was always a remnant that retained a proper understanding of God’s will for them.  

Psalm 67 is a testament to this. Israel was to sing this song, which is in fact a prayer: “TO THE CHOIRMASTER: WITH STRINGED INSTRUMENTS. A PSALM. A SONG. May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!” (Psalm 67, ESV)

God’s will for Abraham and his offspring was that they intercede on behalf of the nations of the earth. Abraham was faithful to do it. Israel did it, though not always. And let us not forget that Christ, who was the true son of Abraham, was also concerned for the nations.

Listen to the words of Christ: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:14–16, ESV).

Consider John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, ESV).

And consider Matthew 28:18-20: “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age’” (Matthew 28:18–20, ESV).

Friends, if Abraham was to intercede for the nations, if Israel was to intercede, and if Christ interceded — more than that,  if Christ died and rose again not for our sins only but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2, ESV), then does it not follow that we too are to take up the role of intercession  for the lost? 

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” (1 Timothy 2:1–6, ESV)

Abraham was called to intercede. Let us be faithful to intercede if we are his children. 

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Called To Promote Righteousness

The second observation that we must make concerning this story is that Abraham was called to promote and preserve righteousness by the LORD who always does what is right. 

Let us consider again that question that LORD asked concerning Abraham in verses 17-19. “The LORD said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him” (Genesis 18:17–19, ESV).

Abraham and his offspring were to intercede on behalf of the nations, but they were also to “keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice”. Abraham and Israel after him, were set  apart as a holy people. They were to keep God’s law. This they were to do personally, and this Israel was to do nationally. Here is yet another way in which the nations of the earth would be blessed in them. Abraham and Israel were to preserve and promote righteousness in the world. 

Let me say just a few things about righteousness.

One, notice that Abraham and Israel were to “do righteousness and justice” because the LORD who called them is himself perfectly righteous and just. If the LORD is their God, and if he is righteous, then they as his people should be righteous too. This is the principle that Peter stated when he wrote to the Christians saying, “but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15–16, ESV). The people of God are to do right (be holy) because they belong to a God who always does right (he is perfectly holy). 

That Abraham was to “do righteousness and justice” because the LORD who called them is himself perfectly righteous and just is seen in two places in this text. 

One, notice that  Abraham was chosen by God “that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice. Righteousness and justice is the way of the LORD, and as his people Abraham and Israel were to keep it.

Two, notice how Abraham pleaded with the LORD concerning Sodom and Gomorra. He pleaded with the LORD on the basis of his righteousness. Look again at verse 23: “Then Abraham drew near and said, ‘Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?’ And the LORD said, ‘If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake’” (Genesis 18:23–26, ESV).

Abraham knew that the LORD was the “Judge of all the earth” and that he was perfectly righteous and just, and so appealed to God on this basis. 

It is truly remarkable that Abraham knew this of the LORD. How did he know it? He must of known it because God reveled it to him. The gods of the nations were not known for their righteousness, holiness or justice. The gods of the nations did as they pleased. They were capricious and fickle. But Abraham knew the character of the LORD.  He knew that the LORD, the one true God, the Creator of heaven and earth who had entered into covenant with him, was a righteous, holy and just God. This God was bound act according to his character, and so Abraham pleaded with him on that basis.

APPLICATION: Friends, did you know that there are some things that God cannot do? We are accustomed to saying that God can do anything, and that nothing is impossible for him. And generally speaking, that is right. But there are actually many things that he cannot do. Hebrews 6:18 says that it is impossible for him to lie, for example. It is impossible for God to break his promises, or to act in any way that his contrary to his character. God cannot sin. He cannot be less than perfectly holy. And here is a rock solid anchor for the soul. The would is so filled witty wickedness. And sometimes it can be difficult to make sense  of what we see happening around us. But we have this solid foundation got stand upon. We belong to the LORD who holy and just, who always does what is right. 

Three, consider this about the righteousness of the LORD. Because the LORD is righteous he must punish sin. God does not do wrong when he pours out his wrath upon the wicked. Did you notice that Abraham did not intercede for Sodom in the way that many modern evangelicals would intercede. Many Christians today would plead with LORD to refrain from judgement in this way, saying,  “Shall not the LORD who is nothing but love only show grace?” But that was not what Abraham said. He knew that it was right for the LORD to judge the wicked — this he did not deny. His appeal was that the LORD refrain from pouring out his wrath upon the righteous along with the wicked. 

But here is where Abraham received an education. He though there were fifty righteous in Sodom, but there were not. Then forty-five, but no. Maybe forty? Thirty? Twenty? Nope, not even twenty there. The pleading stops at the number ten. Verse 32: “Then [Abraham] said, ‘Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.’ [The LORD] answered, ‘For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.’ And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place” (Genesis 18:32–33, ESV).

Abraham did not appeal the LORD by saying, how can a God who is love pour out wrath? for Abraham knew that it was right for the LORD to judge the wicked. Instead he appealed to the LORD in this way: it would be unjust for you to sweep away the righteous along with the wicked. And the  LORD agreed. He would not do it. The lesson that Abraham learned was that there were far less righteous in Sodom than he thought. Not fifty, forty-five, forty, thirty, or twenty. As the story unfolds we will learn that there were not even 10. Only four were led out of Sodom as the LORD poured out his wrath upon that place. And even these four did not possess a righteousness of their own. If they were righteous it was because they had been made righteous by faith — the righteousness of another having been imputed to them.

Friends, no mere human is  righteous. “As it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.’ ‘Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.’ ‘The venom of asps is under their lips.’ ‘Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.’ ‘Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.’ ‘There is no fear of God before their eyes.’ Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.” (Romans 3:10–19, ESV)

Friends, we are not righteous. We are in fact deserving of God’s wrath. If that sounds strange to you, then you have not comprehended the severity of our sin. The fact  that God would show mercy to us at all is truly amazing.  

Four, do you see, therefore, that the righteousness of God is a terror to the wicked. If you are still in your sins and not cleansed by the blood of Christ then the fact that God is righteous should terrify you. It means that God will rightly respond to your sin. He will act in justice. He pour out the just penetrably. And do not forget that the wages  of  sin is death. 

Five, the righteousness of God is a comfort to those who have been made right through faith in Christ. The one who has had their sins washed away need not fear the righteous judgements of God. Also, the one who has been made righteous can take solas in the fact that God will make all things right in the end. He will judge with perfect equity.  The Christian should not rejoice over the death of the wicked, but there is a degree comfort that comes with knowing that God will set things straight. This is especially comforting to the one who has been wronged by evil doers. “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord’” (Romans 12:19, ESV).

Do you see, brothers and sisters, that Abraham was called to promote and preserve righteousness by the LORD who always does what is right. God is righteous and his people are to do righteousness and justice. 

Abraham was being prepared for this calling as the LORD involved him in his deliberations concerning Sodom and Gomorra.   

Israel was to do right as she kept God’s law. She was to shine as a light to the nations. 

Christ did this perfectly. Never did he violate God’s law! Christ was righteous, and died in the place of sinners like you and me. His righteousness is given to all who believe upon his name. 

You and I, having been made righteous through faith in Christ, are now to promote and preserve righteousness as  we live as exiles in the midst of a wicked and perverse generation.

Have you ever thought about the effect that your holy living has upon those around you?

APPLICATION: The LORD might use it in a number of ways. As an example. To convict of sin. To restrain the spread of wickedness. To delay the outpouring of God’s wrath upon a place. Let us “be holy in all [our] conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15–16, ESV).

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Conclusion

In conclusion, what did mean that Abraham would be a blessing to the nations? 

Ultimately this promise found it’s yes and amen in the coming of the Christ who came from Abrahams loins. But Abraham and his offspring were also called to intercede for  the nations, and to promote righteousness as they lived in the midst of them.

Is we are Abrahams offspring, having been clothed with the righteousness of Christ through faith in his name, let us also be faithful to intercede for the lost, and to preserve and promote righteousness in the world until the  LORD returns.

Posted in Sermons Study Guides Joe Anady Genesis 18:16-33
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QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AT HOME OR IN GOSPEL COMMUNITY GROUPS

• How do the stories of Genesis 18 and 19 relate to the promises made to Abraham in Genesis 12-17? In what respect are these stories typical?
• Did Abraham know that he was showing hospitality to the LORD at first? Why is hospitality so important? Who should we show hospitality to? What should we do to be ready to show hospitality? 
• Is anything to hard for the LORD? What difference should the answer to this question make in your prayer life? What difference should the answer to this question make as it pertains to your trust in the promises of God? 

Posted in Study Guides Joe Anady Genesis 18:1-15
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