Genesis
16:4 ¶ And he went in unto Hagar, and
she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was
despised in her eyes. 5 And Sarai said
unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and
when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge
between me and thee. 6 But Abram said
unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And
when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.
Abram
knew what God had promised him. But, at the urging of his wife he did not wait
on God to provide what was promised in God’s own time. This is understandable
from a human perspective. Abram knew what the promise was but he did not know
how God was going to accomplish it. By going ahead of God he caused emotional
turmoil in his own family and thousands of years of political struggle, most
notably manifesting itself in the struggles in the Middle East in the last
hundred years. The offspring of this union between God’s man and this Egyptian
servant-woman will be who the Muslims consider to be their progenitor, an
ancestor of Mohammed and the father of the Arab peoples.
Sarai
is blaming Abram for Hagar’s contempt for her as now Hagar has done something
that Sarai could not. She has conceived a child. Abram, lacking in moral
courage and a sense of responsibility from our perspective, like Adam, tries to
remedy this situation by affording Sarai the opportunity to get revenge by
mistreating Hagar for the perceived wrong which is her’s and Abram’s fault.
Hagar is a servant. She had no power to deny either Sarai or Abram. If anything
she is the victim in this. But, now she will suffer unless God intervenes,
which He does.
Hagar
does the only thing she can do at this point, pregnant and powerless. She runs
away.
God
permits man to exercise his free will even to evil, to great evil I might add.
God worked out the successful completion of His will taking into account man’s
proclivity to violence, malice, and evil. Jesus will tell us that offences will
come, they must come, but woe to him through whom they come. (Matthew 18:7;
Luke 17:1). Even God’s people are fully capable of doing wrong but they are not
capable of thwarting God’s will. He will permit what He will permit and block
what He will block.
We
often are amazed and disturbed at stories we hear. A child is born to worthless
parents who abuse him or her and raise them without nurture and love. That
child grows up to be a drug-addicted adult and then dies of a heart attack. All
seems to be lost, randomness seems to be reality, and nothing makes sense to
us. But, God told us through the story of Job that a great many bad things can
be done to perfectly unblameable or even good people and we may never know, in
this life, the reason. We are to trust God, He has it under control.
Understanding that God is involved in every detail of existence, good or evil,
and that He is in control, is very important Theology 101. It is difficult to
understand when genocide is committed or a child is abused. But, the Bible
makes it clear, abundantly, that somehow, in a way we will probably not
understand, God works out His will through the chaos, man’s malice, and man’s
heart-wrenching cruelty.
As
Job said that he did nothing wrong to deserve what happened to him and God did
not argue with that, so we must understand when an injustice is being done to
us, God will work this out. We can and must do the right thing, as we know it
to be, as that is our part. We can, if possible, remove ourselves from a bad
situation, have a malefactor brought to justice, or defend our persons from
attack, again, if possible. But, we must remember that God is in control. Trust
Him. Expect Him to work things out. In the end, it is to be for His glory, not
for our immediate benefit. We expect things to be made clear in eternity, or
perhaps even to be forgotten as greater and more magnificent things await us
than the sufferings we might endure here. But, God is in control, as we will
soon see here.
Genesis
16:7 ¶ And the angel of the LORD found
her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to
Shur. 8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s
maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the
face of my mistress Sarai. 9 And the
angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself
under her hands.
Genesis
16:10 ¶ And the angel of the LORD said
unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered
for multitude. 11 And the angel of the
LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and
shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he will be a wild man; his hand
will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell
in the presence of all his brethren. 13
And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest
me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me? 14 Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi;
behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
Genesis
16:15 ¶ And Hagar bare Abram a son: and
Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. 16 And Abram was fourscore and six years old,
when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.
The
angel of the Lord is the presence of the Lord in a form found in many places in
the Bible narrative.
Man
and woman have three parts to them, as does God.
1Thessalonians
5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify
you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit
and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
[Notice
the union with and uniting body, soul, spirit as part of one
person.]
Matthew
28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
2Corinthians
13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.
1John
5:7 For there are three that bear record
in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
The
Lord Jesus Christ is the physical image of God, the body of God.
Colossians
1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:…2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the
Godhead bodily.
Hebrews
1:3 Who being the brightness of his
glory, and the express image of his
person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by
himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
John
14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been
so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father;
and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
Three
parts to one God with one will, not three individual persons with separate
wills.
Deuteronomy
6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is
one LORD:
John
10:30 I and my Father are one.
Christ
is the appearance of God; the angel of the Lord, His presence.
Isaiah
63:9 In all their affliction he was
afflicted, and the angel of his presence
saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and
carried them all the days of old.
Galatians
4:14 And my temptation which was in my
flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. [Note
that even typically links two things
that are identical as in I, even I in nineteen verses.]
Who
led the Hebrews out of Egypt.
Judges
2:1 ¶ And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I
made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I
sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.
God
asking questions which He obviously knows the answer to is a common thread in
the Bible beginning with asking Adam and Eve where they were when they hid
after their sin.
The
Lord told Hagar to return. Obviously, He would make the situation bearable. If
we are obedient to God He can make even our enemies to be at peace with us.
Proverbs
16:7 When a man’s ways please the LORD,
he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
God
promises Hagar a great multitude of progeny. In this, God has blessed her in a
way the people of that time would understand more than we do now. She must feel
that God has had great mercy on her. God also promises to give Hagar a son to
be named Ishmael, meaning “God will hear.” He will be tribal, dwelling in the
presence of his brethren, and violent, constantly quarrelling and warring
against those around him. This is evident in history and one reason why it was
so hard to unite the Arab tribes against the Turks during World War One.
The
place where God visited Hagar is memorialized. Abram is 86 years old when
Hagar, the Egyptian, bears Ishmael.
Genesis, chapter 17
Genesis 17:1 ¶
And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to
Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou
perfect. 2 And I will make my covenant
between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. 3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked
with him, saying,
Genesis
17:4 ¶ As for me, behold, my covenant is
with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5 Neither shall thy name any more be called
Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made
thee. 6 And I will make thee exceeding
fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
Thirteen
years after Ishmael is born God appeared to Abram. To be perfect is be finished
or completed.
2Chronicles
8:16 Now all the work of Solomon was
prepared unto the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD, and until it
was finished. So the house of the LORD was perfected.
It
is to be complete in all the will of God.
Colossians
4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a
servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers,
that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
A
perfect man is an upright man, fearing God and avoiding evil.
Job
1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz,
whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared
God, and eschewed evil.
He
seeks to be like God, to hold close the principles of God as expressed in the
popularly called Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew
5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as
your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
God
reaffirms His covenant with Himself regarding Abram. He will make Abram the father of many nations. Nations in the
Bible are not like the modern nation-state. The implication is more of an
ethnic group, a tribe, or a people. Abraham will be the physical progenitor of
the Arabs, the Jews, Midianites, and others. But, we will see eventually that
he gives everything he has to Isaac, the child of promise.
Abram’s
name is changed to Abraham which
means, read the text, father of many
nations. Kings will come from him.
Genesis 17:7 ¶
And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after
thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee,
and to thy seed after thee. 8 And I will
give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a
stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be
their God. 9 And God said unto Abraham,
Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their
generations. 10 This is my covenant,
which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child
among you shall be circumcised. 11 And
ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the
covenant betwixt me and you. 12 And he
that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your
generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any
stranger, which is not of thy seed. 13
He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must
needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting
covenant. 14 And the uncircumcised man
child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut
off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
The
Holy Spirit has left us two meanings to this covenant, both wrapped up in the
Jews and in the Messiah, who is Christ. First, the covenant is to Abraham’s
descendants through Isaac. This is a grant of land from which God’s
reconciliation of mankind throughout the earth is to begin. As you probably
have figured out what God has been doing is directed toward this reconciliation
of the breach between man and God caused by Adam and Eve, instigated by Satan,
driven by the fallen sons of God, and perpetuated by Noah’s descendants.
The
second meaning is that this reconciliation will be completed in Christ. The
covenant that God made with Himself is a covenant between the two parts of God
the Bible reveals as God the Father, the soul and seat of self-identity and
will of God, and the Son of God, the visible image, the body of God who is
offered for us as payment for our sin against God that separated us from Him.
Two parts of God making a covenant for the purpose of reconciling man to God as
the Law given to Moses later will show man that his own righteousness is sorely
lacking. This promise of reconciliation with man and this covenant with the Jews
were not erased by their failure as it preceded the Law and was dependent not
on their success or goodness but on God’s goodness and mercy.
Galatians
3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the
curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every
one that hangeth on a tree: 14 That the
blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we
might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men;
Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth,
or addeth thereto. 16 Now to Abraham and
his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as
of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. 17
And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in
Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot
disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. 18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is
no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
This
absolute covenant represents God’s promise to man through Christ binding man
and God together by a promise made by God and satisfied by God, not we
ourselves. In Christ, God erased the difference between Jew and non-Jew, called
Gentiles or Greeks in the Bible, and made one new person in the church, the
body of Christ. Both in this one new man are reconciled to God by the Cross at
Calvary.
Ephesians
2:11 ¶ Wherefore remember, that ye being
in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which
is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being
aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of
promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were
far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
14 ¶
For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the
middle wall of partition between us; 15
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments
contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making
peace; 16 And that he might reconcile
both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
17 And came and preached peace to you
which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18 For through him we both have access by one
Spirit unto the Father. 19 Now therefore
ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints,
and of the household of God; 20 And are
built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself
being the chief corner stone; 21 In whom
all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together
for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
As
the sign of the Jews, which the Hebrews became to be called, receiving this
covenant they accepted circumcision. In like manner the receiving of God’s
promise of reconciliation for the church is being born again by the Spirit and having God the Father, the Son of God,
and the Holy Ghost indwelling man by the Spirit of God. It is the proof and the
deposit on our eternal inheritance. If you are not born again you have no part
in it no matter what your philosophy.
Ephesians
1:10 That in the dispensation of the
fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both
which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance,
being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things
after the counsel of his own will: 12
That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in
Christ. 13 In whom ye also trusted,
after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom
also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which is the earnest of our
inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise
of his glory.
Notice
then the similarity between the God putting Abraham to sleep and making the
deal with Himself and the Cross and the Empty Tomb whereby salvation was delivered
with man playing no part. The proof of the receipt was Abraham accepting
circumcision in the flesh and the Christian receiving the Holy Spirit by being
born again in which a spiritual circumcision is performed by God where the sins
of the flesh do not affect the destiny of the soul.
Colossians
2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised
with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins
of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: 12
Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through
the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
Where
the Jews were concerned their signs were physical. The church bears spiritual,
invisible marks.
Baptism
is a symbol, a type, representing, not circumcision but Christ’s burial and
resurrection, a symbol acting out the gospel.
As
there are two circumcisions; one physical for the Jew and one spiritual for the
church, there are two baptisms; one of national confession of sin and
repentance for the Jews and one for symbolizing Christ’s burial and
resurrection for the Christian as stated in the passage above from Colossians
2.
Baptism
as a public confession and repentance of sin for the Jews is shown here;
Matthew
3:5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and
all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, 6 And were baptized of him in Jordan,
confessing their sins.
Notice
here in Acts where the Jews engaged in public baptism for the sin of murdering
their Messiah and then received the Holy Spirit.
Acts
2:36 Therefore let all the house of
Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have
crucified, both Lord and Christ.37 ¶ Now
when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and
to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be
baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of
sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Then,
when Gentiles are embraced the action is reversed and the Holy Ghost is
received before baptism.
Acts
10:47 Can any man forbid water, that
these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
So,
two circumcisions, one Jewish (Hebrew) and one Christian. Two baptisms, one
Jewish and one Christian, both signifying different agreements.
The
promise of the land is an everlasting
covenant for an everlasting
possession. The promise of eternal life is an everlasting inheritance, as
well, for the Jewish and Gentile believer in Christ.
Romans
6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but
the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
God
has given Abraham title to a land he does not currently possess, but his
descendants will, in part, and the promise will be fulfilled completely when
Christ returns to take physical control of the kingdoms of the world.
Revelation
11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and
there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are
become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever
and ever.
Genesis
17:15 ¶ And God said unto Abraham, As
for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her
name be. 16 And I will bless her, and
give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother
of nations; kings of people shall be of her. 17
Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart,
Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah,
that is ninety years old, bear? 18 And
Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! 19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee
a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my
covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard
thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply
him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great
nation. 21 But my covenant will I
establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the
next year. 22 And he left off talking
with him, and God went up from Abraham.
Genesis
17:23 ¶ And Abraham took Ishmael his
son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his
money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh
of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him. 24 And Abraham was ninety years old and nine,
when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old,
when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised,
and Ishmael his son. 27 And all the men
of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were
circumcised with him.
Sarai’s
name is now changed to Sarah. She is part of the covenant, the promise. Not
only will the son of promise come from Abraham but he will come through her, as
well. She will be the mother of nations and
kings of people will come from her.
The
idea that a 90 year old woman, even in those ancient days when people lived
much longer than they typically do now and were youthful much longer than they
typically are now, would bear a child was preposterous. Abraham was so
overtaken by the idea that he fell on his face and laughed in front of God! He
said nothing about his astonishment out loud but then said aloud he hoped that
Ishmael, who was already with him, would be the one promised to him.
The
phrase said in his heart is used
dozens of times to indicate private thoughts. We do not say, “thought in his
brain,” when discussing things of a fundamentally private or emotional nature.
We use phrases like, “my heart tells me,” or say that someone is kind-hearted.
God
then insisted that Sarah would bear a son and that his name would be called
Isaac, which means appropriately in the Hebrew, according to Strong’s
dictionary, “He laughs.” God knows what you think as this is stated several
times in the Bible from Genesis 6:5; 1Chronicles 28:9; Job 42:2; Psalm 94:11;
Psalm 139:2; etc. Note that God stated he established His covenant with Isaac.
Ishmael
will be taken care of and this is part of God’s grace and kindness in spite of
the circumstances under which Ishmael was conceived. But, God reinforces that
the covenant will be executed through Isaac. Abraham then takes Ishmael and all
of the men of his household regardless of where they were from and circumcises
them.
The
word stranger is used to denote a
foreigner, an alien to a people, who lives among that people.
Genesis
15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a
surety that thy seed shall be a stranger
in a land that is not theirs, and
shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
Genesis
17:12 And he that is eight days old
shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is
born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of
thy seed.
Leviticus
24:22 Ye shall have one manner of law,
as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the
LORD your God.
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