Story: Abraham Intercedes for Sodom
Passage: Genesis 18:22-33
Characters: Abraham, God
Summary: Thethree men who visited Abraham began to leave but Abraham stopped God and approached Him to ask if He would spare Sodom if there were 50 righteous men there. God said that He would. Abraham asked about what God would do for 45, 40, 30, 20, and 10 righteous people. God said He would spare the city in each circumstance.
Notes: Abraham was very bold. He stopped God and approached Him to ask Him to spare his relatives. He appealed to God's inability to punish the righteous. God is just and it is unjust to punish the righteous. As He negotiated with God, Abraham did some quick math as he calculated how many family members Lot probably had. Remember that Lot was living in Sodom at the time. God patiently answered each of Abraham's questions. You can tell that Abraham was embarassed or ashamed to be asking these questions of a holy God. His wording was never direct or to the point. He even made God do math at one point! However God always gave a direct answer. He showed no indication of being annoyed or impatient, but He was direct. It shows His authority in this encounter. The other two men were not indicated as being present for this encounter. Now the word righteous does not mean sinless in the old testament. Noah is described as righteous. To be righteous was to walk with God. What Abraham may not have fully realized is that Lot and his family were humans and were therefore not sinless and deserved the punishment which God was about to mete out on Sodom. Remember for tomorrow's reading that the deal was that God would spare the city if there were 10 righteous people in the city.
Questions: Where did the other two people go? How did God feel about Abraham's approaching Him? Was He amused? Annoyed? Were Lot and his family actually righteous?
Lessons: According to the new testament, we are supposed to be persistant in our prayers and petitions to God. God wants us to trust Him, to approach Him with our thoughts, concerns, praises, and issues. He wants us to beg Him to be involved in our lives. He wants us to acknowlege His supremacy. He won't get impatient with us. Abraham was asking God a silly thing to spare sinners from His punishment. But God patiently listened and we will find out that He did indeed spare Lot's family. God loves it when we stop Him and "annoy" Him for the sake of others.
Showing posts with label genesis 18. Show all posts
Showing posts with label genesis 18. Show all posts
Monday, February 13, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Isaac's Birth Promised
Story: Isaac's Birth Promised
Passage: Genesis 17:15-18:21
Characters: God, Abraham, three men, Sarai
Summary: God changed Sarai's name to Sarah. He promised Abraham a son through Sarah and He blessed the son. Abraham did not believe God and asked for Ishmael to have the blessing. God said that He would bless Ishmael, but His covenant was with Isaac. Abraham circumcised his entire household. Three men appeared to Abraham. Abraham served them. The men said that Sarah would have a son in the next year. She overheard and laughed at the men and God questioned her laughter. The Lord decided to tell Abraham his plan for Sodom.
Notes: Abraham fully believed that God's covenant was with Ishmael. When God promised a son to Sarah, he laughed at God's promise! God still chose to bless Ishmael though. His covenant however was with Isaac. God's choice of names was interesting. God puts a lot of stock in names. Throughout the old testament, and even into the new testament, God changed peoples' names to better represent His plan for their lives. He had already changed Abram's name to Abraham. Now He changed Sarai's name to Sarah. Sarah means princess. I'm not sure exactly why He deliberately called her princess, but I suspect that she felt like a failure. She couldn't give Abraham a son. But God wanted her to know that she was still a princess in His eyes and she would be the mother of an eternally royal line. Isaac means "he laughs". This is fitting since both Abraham and Sarah laughed when God told them they would have Isaac. Abraham then immediately obeyed God's command to circumcise his household. Remember that although God's command occurred in the previous chapter, it was the same conversation with Abraham as this one. Abraham immediately obeyed. It wasn't just Abraham's family who was set apart, it was those who Abraham had bought and acquired. It was all of his servants. Likewise, we have been bought by God and we are set apart for him, even though most of us are not Jews. God then appeared as three men. I assume that these men represented the trinity. This is significant because I cannot think of another time in the Bible when God physically portrayed the trinity so clearly. Obviously this was a pivotal moment in the story that God was writing. The only other place I can think of where the trinity was observably present was Jesus baptism. The Spirit was a dove, the Father was a voice, and the Son was obviously Jesus. This was another pivotal moment in history. In this case, I wonder if Abraham was aware of who these visitors were. He treated them with tremendous respect and served them immediately. God asked where Sarah was and heard she was in the tent. Instead of sending Abraham to get her, He spoke about Isaac as if she were there. He was well aware that she was listening. He was also well aware that she laughed. I love that she argued with Him saying she did not laugh. God responds by saying, "No, but you did laugh." And then He just moves on. It wasn't an argument so much as it was a statement. Sarah tried to argue with God and God just sort of brushed her argument aside. I just find that funny!. Anyway, I think it is interesting that God decided to share with Abraham his plan for Sodom. Obviously, God and Abraham were very close if God felt like he deserved to be told about His plan.
Questions: Did Abraham believe God initially about Isaac? Why did God change Sarah's name to princess? Did Abraham know who the three men were? Did the men enjoy the food that Abraham gave them? Why did Sarah bother arging with God? Why did God choose to share His plans with Abraham?
Lessons: As first born, Ishmael deserved to have the covenant with God. But God places no weight on birthorder. God blesses who He wants to bless and uses who He wants to use. We as gentiles do not deserve the convenant we have with God. But God loved us and chose to use us in His story. We also see Abraham display immediate obedience. When God tells us to do something, we need to do it immediately!
Passage: Genesis 17:15-18:21
Characters: God, Abraham, three men, Sarai
Summary: God changed Sarai's name to Sarah. He promised Abraham a son through Sarah and He blessed the son. Abraham did not believe God and asked for Ishmael to have the blessing. God said that He would bless Ishmael, but His covenant was with Isaac. Abraham circumcised his entire household. Three men appeared to Abraham. Abraham served them. The men said that Sarah would have a son in the next year. She overheard and laughed at the men and God questioned her laughter. The Lord decided to tell Abraham his plan for Sodom.
Notes: Abraham fully believed that God's covenant was with Ishmael. When God promised a son to Sarah, he laughed at God's promise! God still chose to bless Ishmael though. His covenant however was with Isaac. God's choice of names was interesting. God puts a lot of stock in names. Throughout the old testament, and even into the new testament, God changed peoples' names to better represent His plan for their lives. He had already changed Abram's name to Abraham. Now He changed Sarai's name to Sarah. Sarah means princess. I'm not sure exactly why He deliberately called her princess, but I suspect that she felt like a failure. She couldn't give Abraham a son. But God wanted her to know that she was still a princess in His eyes and she would be the mother of an eternally royal line. Isaac means "he laughs". This is fitting since both Abraham and Sarah laughed when God told them they would have Isaac. Abraham then immediately obeyed God's command to circumcise his household. Remember that although God's command occurred in the previous chapter, it was the same conversation with Abraham as this one. Abraham immediately obeyed. It wasn't just Abraham's family who was set apart, it was those who Abraham had bought and acquired. It was all of his servants. Likewise, we have been bought by God and we are set apart for him, even though most of us are not Jews. God then appeared as three men. I assume that these men represented the trinity. This is significant because I cannot think of another time in the Bible when God physically portrayed the trinity so clearly. Obviously this was a pivotal moment in the story that God was writing. The only other place I can think of where the trinity was observably present was Jesus baptism. The Spirit was a dove, the Father was a voice, and the Son was obviously Jesus. This was another pivotal moment in history. In this case, I wonder if Abraham was aware of who these visitors were. He treated them with tremendous respect and served them immediately. God asked where Sarah was and heard she was in the tent. Instead of sending Abraham to get her, He spoke about Isaac as if she were there. He was well aware that she was listening. He was also well aware that she laughed. I love that she argued with Him saying she did not laugh. God responds by saying, "No, but you did laugh." And then He just moves on. It wasn't an argument so much as it was a statement. Sarah tried to argue with God and God just sort of brushed her argument aside. I just find that funny!. Anyway, I think it is interesting that God decided to share with Abraham his plan for Sodom. Obviously, God and Abraham were very close if God felt like he deserved to be told about His plan.
Questions: Did Abraham believe God initially about Isaac? Why did God change Sarah's name to princess? Did Abraham know who the three men were? Did the men enjoy the food that Abraham gave them? Why did Sarah bother arging with God? Why did God choose to share His plans with Abraham?
Lessons: As first born, Ishmael deserved to have the covenant with God. But God places no weight on birthorder. God blesses who He wants to bless and uses who He wants to use. We as gentiles do not deserve the convenant we have with God. But God loved us and chose to use us in His story. We also see Abraham display immediate obedience. When God tells us to do something, we need to do it immediately!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)