God's Promises and Our Sin

God's Promises and Our Sin

Spencer Cary

Transcript

My name is Spencer. I'm one of the pastors here with Mill City Church. We are in Genesis 20 today, which is on page 9 in the blue Bibles that are around you. If you don't have a Bible at home to read, please take that Bible. That is our gift to you. But we'll be in Genesis 20 today.

This is our last week in Genesis for the fall. We're going to take a break. Every year we do a gift series after Thanksgiving, and we will jump into that. In the new year we will come back to Genesis. But this is our last week.

We have been journeying through Abraham and leading up to the promised son, the promised son of Isaac. And today we get another chapter of Abraham's failures. We get to see him fall on his face yet again. Abraham, he feels a little bit like character Gabriel from The Walking Dead. Gabriel is a priest. And you know when Hollywood gets a chance to portray Christians and priests, it's going to really go well.

And he shows up in the fifth season, and immediately something's off. And you quickly learn that he's a coward. That he's a fearful man. That when the apocalypse happened and zombies started to take over, he locked out his church members who came for refuge and safety at his church, and they all died because he was fearful. And you think that there's going to be some character development. It happens a little bit.

There are times where he starts to grow and being a little bit courageous. He starts to grow as a character. But then there are times where he falls again. And he's fearful. And he turns on the people that he's with. He's just this character whose influx is moving between fear and courage.

Finally, I feel like right now he's hitting his stride, which is about the time that usually characters in the show die off. But he's finally starting to hit his stride. And we're kind of there with Abraham. His life is fear and then it's courage. But we're not there to his shining moment.

When we pick up in the new year, we're going to see Abraham's moment where he gets to trust the Lord and his word. But today we get to look at another chapter of his failures because Abraham is a man that is driven by fear. That in the face of God's promises, the face of this unveiling covenant that is happening, he is driven by fear. So that's what we're going to walk through today and sing this in this story. And I know that some of you heard, oh, we're going to talk about fear. Cool.

I don't have fears. Listen, just because you're always packing, just because you maybe can bench 300 or you know some moves, doesn't mean that we all don't have fears. Because the reality is that we do. We have, some of us have fear of man. Some of us have fear of financial uncertainty. Some of us have fear of failures.

And in those moments, there is fear within us that shapes the decisions, that shapes our outward actions. And in that, we get to relate to Abraham. He's a character that we absolutely can relate to. And what we're going to see in this story and what we see throughout the Bible is that God accomplishes his purposes by giving generous grace to those who are driven by fear. That God accomplishes his purposes by giving us generous amounts of grace, those of us that are driven by fear. So we're going to walk through this.

We're going to see this. I'm going to pray. And then we'll be in verse 1. God, I am so thankful that you've given us stories like this. God, I pray that you would help us see the gospel in it, that you would help us see that you are better and that you are worthy of our fear and nothing else is. In Jesus' name, amen.

All right, verse 1. From there, Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur and he sojourned in Gerar. Which, by the way, I will continue to point this out. I just love how the Bible does history. I think it's giving you specifics of the territory of the Negev, somewhere between Kadesh and Shur and he's sojourning in the Gerar. All right, so let's give some context.

We bounced around a little bit in this part of Genesis. I'm going to give some context for the timeline here. In Genesis 18, God comes to Abraham and Sarah and says, you are going to have Isaac. He is going to come. He will be here in a year. So that's Genesis 18.

Quickly after that, in Genesis 19, we have Sodom and Gomorrah. God brings destruction on those cities. And then after that is when they move to this territory. Now, in 21, which we're not going to get to today, that is when Isaac is conceived. Which means, if you do the math, this is about a three-month stretch that we just went through before Isaac is getting ready to be conceived and before the nine months later he is going to come. So that's where we're at a little bit in this timeline.

And it picks up with from there. Now, we don't really know why they moved from there. The text doesn't give us that. It's possible that living next to two cities that just got destroyed wasn't that great. But we really don't know.

It just tells us that they moved and they moved into a region that they are strangers. That they're not known. That they're sojourners and they're strangers. And we don't have time to get into Genesis 21, which should give us another part of this story. But there's an important detail about this territory that we need to know that comes from that chapter.

And that is that this people, these are the Philistines. And if you know a little bit about the Old Testament, that should trigger something in your brain. Because the Philistines and the Israelites have a really, really rough history. They're consistently at odds and at war. If you've heard the story of David and Goliath, Goliath was a Philistine. So it is possible that this is the first meeting between Abraham, who is the father of the Israelites, and the Philistines.

And this doesn't go well today. And it's possible that from this is where the tension starts to grow. All right, picking up in verse 2. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister. And Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah. Now if you remember Genesis 12 and what happened there, this is the moment of a collective facepalm.

It's like Groundhog Day. If Bill Murray was pimping out Anna McDowell for safety. It's like, what? This is happening again. He's 100. And this is still happening.

Back in Genesis 12, he goes before Pharaoh and says, This is my sister. And then she's brought into the household of Pharaoh. It's like, are we, collective wisdom says, You're 100. She's 90. Why don't you just roll up into the region of the gap and say, no, no, no. We don't have to do this.

No, let's make cookies. We'll be the cool old people that knit sweaters for dogs. Like, we'll be invited. We'll be neighbors. Why do you need to run this again? And if you step back and look at the context of this, God in eternity past shows Abraham, whose life is filled with fearfulness like this.

And that should be an encouragement for us. Because if you're in the zone where you're thinking, Man, there's no way God can use me because of my past. Maybe there is sexual sin in your past. Maybe there is a streak of violence in your past. Maybe you've got something, some stuff currently going on in your life. And you're thinking, There's no way that God can use me because of my anxieties, because of my fears, because of my anger.

All of that. And if we take a step back and realize, God chooses people that are broken. He can use anybody. He uses Abraham in spite of his fears. We get that example from this. So jumping back into the story, what is strange about this is that it works again.

She's 90. She has to be the most stunning looking 90-year-old woman in history because it works, and Abimelech brings her in to his household. All right, verse 3. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, Behold, you're a dead man, because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife. Now Abimelech had not approached her.

All right, pause. This probably is the first recorded you're a dead man threat we have on record. And it's because he has taken, who's about to learn, is Abraham's wife. And what's important here is what the text tells us. It adds an important caveat. He had not approached her.

Nothing sexual has happened here. And it's important for this to be noted because the text is telling us, No, it is about time for Isaac to be conceived. Abimelech is not the father. No, Abraham is. So once the text makes that clear, Abimelech goes into his defense.

Pick it up. He says, Lord, will you kill an innocent people? Now that word people is intentional. It didn't say, will you kill an innocent man? It didn't say, will you kill an innocent person? This is a people.

The Hebrew word for nation is the same word that is used here for people. Because Abimelech, he knows what's up. He gets it. I mean, this is, he has probably heard of the destruction that has happened in Sodom and Gomorrah. He is fearful and is a right response. He's not like the kings of Sodom and the kings of Gomorrah.

He is fearful of the Lord. And he continues his defense. He said, 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. So he is pleading his case before the Lord.

I was deceived. She was in on it. I did not know this. I have not touched her. And he's doing this because he knows that judgment is on the line here. And that ignorance and not knowing what is happening here is not going to be an excuse for him.

He appeals to his heart and to his intentions. And then in verse 6, it continues. It says, 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. There are two things from this verse that show God's sovereignty, how he rules and he reigns that is important for us to see.

And the first one is that God sees the heart. He sees the heart, which is your innermost self. It's your affections. It's your motivations. It's your desires. It's where all of your actions stem from.

He sees the heart of Abimelech. He sees the heart of Abraham. He looks through and sees the heart. And that is important for us to know. We need to own that. That God can see our hearts.

If we have outward actions that don't match our inner self, there's a problem. If you are currently angry with another believer and there's bitterness that's welling up within you, but your go-to is to smile and not act like everything is okay. Maybe you're fearful of confrontation. Maybe you're fearful of making it awkward. God sees through that. He sees the heart.

Maybe you're the kind of person that here on a Sunday or in your group, you look, talk, act one way. But when you get around people that don't love Jesus, that don't follow Him, you look and act completely different. The reality is that God, He sees the heart. You cannot hide your heart from God. He knows the motives behind every single action. God is sovereign in how He sees our hearts.

He's also sovereign in this verse in how He keeps us from sin. That's the second thing that we see here. It says, It was I who kept you from sinning against me. Tim Keller is a pastor in New York. He has this quote. We've used it before.

He says, You are far more sinful than you could ever possibly imagine, but you're far more cherished than you could ever possibly dream. That has vast implications for a lot of different things. But that first part, you are far more sinful than you could ever possibly imagine, is a reality that left to our own devices, left to our own self, we are far more jacked up than we could ever possibly understand. So when you have lustful thoughts, you think, There's no way that I could ever commit adultery. But that quickly rolls over.

It takes a little more thoughts, a little more action, and then eventually, that's where you land. It's how quickly, for anger goes from, Oh, I'm just a little bit angry to violence. It rolls over very quickly. It's how malice turns into rampant gossip, into slander. It rolls over very quickly, and we think, and we see, especially when we see other people that fall. We see other people that fall into sin.

It's easy for us to pass judgment and say, I would never do that, but the reality is, is that God keeps us from sinning. Circumstantially, He can prevent you from it, but we see, Jude 24 says, Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy. Tell me, who is it that prevents us from sinning? Who is it that presents us righteous before the Lord? For those of us who are in Christ, the Holy Spirit in us, intercedes for us, keeps us from sinning, keeps us, hear this, from being the worst possible version of ourselves. So God is sovereign in how He keeps us from sinning, and how He keeps us from letting our fears that rule in our heart, let that result into all kinds of rampant sin.

God accomplishes His purposes by giving generous grace to those of us that are driven by fear. So the Lord, He keeps Abimelech from sinning further, and then He tells him what to do next. Verse 7. He says, 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.

Alright, so what we see out the gate from this verse is that Abraham is a prophet. This is the first time in the Bible that we see anyone is called a prophet. And this prophet, from what we can see in his storyline, he is not exemplary at all. He is driven by fear. There's this old saying that God uses crooked sticks to make straight lines. We don't really know who said that.

This has been attributed to a few different people. But how true is that? That God uses crooked sticks. He uses the broken to accomplish his purposes. So Abraham is a prophet, and he says to Abimelech, he says, if you don't return her, you're done.

You and all of your household, all of the nation, all of you. Now we don't have time to look at this, but the very last part of this chapter, judgment has already happened because of this. God has closed up all of the wombs in the house of Abimelech. All the women are barren. Judgment is weighing on Abimelech, and they do not take this lightly. It picks up in verse 8.

It says, So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. Hear this. And the men were very much afraid. But unlike Sodom, unlike Gomorrah, this place fears the God of Abraham. They take this warning very seriously. In verse 9 it says, 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 in my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not 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. I feel like Abimelech would have been understandable had he been a little more aggressive in his approach. Because the reality is that Abraham's actions has put him, his wives, his kids, his nation in jeopardy.

And he comes to him, he says, What have you done? Why have you done this? Abraham says, I did it because I thought there was no fear of God in this place, and I thought you would kill me because of my wife. Now aside from the fact that Abraham was dead wrong, there is fear of God in this place. It's evidenced by their response. He put that whole nation at risk at the age of 100 because he was fearful.

After decades of getting to see how God has been beside Abraham, we have evidence. You go back to Genesis 14 as we walk through that he supported, he was behind Abraham in the wars that defended Lot. We go to Genesis 15 when he looks at Abraham and he picks up his head and he says, Look at the stars. You see the stars? That's how numerous your descendants will be. He does the ceremony that we got to walk through where Abraham splits the animals and God walks through the center.

What's being said there is may I be burst apart. The God of the universe, may I be burst apart if this promise doesn't come true. Abraham is given example after example, evidence after evidence to not be afraid to trust God. And he's fearful. And then we get a little bit of the back story of what all went into this and how far this deception goes back. He says, Besides, she is indeed my sister.

Alright. The daughter of my father, though not the daughter of my mother. I said, That makes it better. 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 to me. At every place which we come, say of me, he is my brother.

Now, I don't have time to get into why it was somewhat permissible here for intermarriage to happen, for him to marry his sister. And yet, when the law is handed down in Exodus, it's explicitly forbidden. We did cover that early in our Genesis sermons over why that was permissible. You can go back and listen to that. But, aside from that, Abraham, we get some more background on how he cowardly passes off his wife as his sister. Part of it is, is it's a half-truth.

He says, Well, she's kind of my sister. By my dad's side. Now, I wasn't really being deceitful. I wasn't really lying. And some of you, man, some of you hear that and you're like, Well, technically, he wasn't lying. She is his sister.

Well played, Abraham. You did it right. It's technically not lying. No. It is absolutely lying. It is absolutely deceitful.

I can be a little more blunt with this because the worst version of myself does this. Before I was a Christian, like that was my MO. That's how I got out of trouble. My mom would say, Are you, you going over to your friends? Is there going to be drinking? Yeah.

There's going to be a few guys. There's going to be some beers. But there's not going to be any driving. It's going to be chill. It's going to be okay. And the reality was, the full truth was, that there's going to be a lot of people.

There's going to be a lot more drinks. There's going to be a lot more drugs. It was a half truth that I could give out to get out of trouble. And I've seen this, y'all. I've seen this already welling up in my daughter. She's three and I'll see her and I'll say, Ellie, did you just take your brother's toy?

And she goes, No, no, no, no. I gave him a toy. See, I gave him a toy. And I just, I said, No, no, no. First of all, I saw all of this. You took your brother's toy.

You made it look better because you gave her a toy in replacement. But that, she's already picking up on the sinful nature that I've passed down to her. That half truths are, that she can deal in half truths. And what she's going to have to learn and what I had to learn upon becoming a Christian and being changed by Jesus is that we as Christians don't get to dabble in half truths. Half truths are not truths at all. They are deceitful.

They are lies. The people of God who've been claimed and redeemed by Jesus don't get to tell half truths. Abraham's scheme was just that. It was a scheme. It was a lie masquerading as a half-baked truth. So if you love and follow Jesus, you don't get to deal in half truths.

And he's been doing this for a while. We see the history here. It says, When God caused me to wander from my father's house, I said to her, This is the kindness you must do to me. At every place to which we come, say of me, He is my brother. Which means they've been running this place since they left their homeland. This is how long this has been going on.

And again, take a step back. Look at this. God, in eternity past, chose to bring redemption through Abraham. In spite of his failures, in spite of his fears, God gives generous amounts of grace to those of us that are driven by fear. So we get this powerful picture in Abraham of God's grace towards us, and we also get a picture of repentance from Abimelech.

Verse 14. It says, 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 wherever 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 his 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. So Abimelech's actions here are evidence of a contrite heart. That God has, that he is, he is repentant. He gives oxen, he gives silver, he shows hospitality here. Saying that this land, you can dwell in this land.

You are, you are welcome here. Take this, settle here. And all is well at the end of this story between Abraham and Abimelech. So outside of just this being another example of God's radical grace of how he has shown so much grace towards Abraham, how does this story fit into the greater picture of the Bible? Two ways. First, God's rescue plan here is preserved.

Abimelech threatened the rescue plan. He threatened the line of redemption that was going to come through Abraham. That Abraham and Sarah were promised that they were going to have a son and through him redemption would come and that plan was threatened which is why God's response to Abimelech is so severe. Because the reality is is that without the seed coming through Abraham and Sarah there is no redemption for sinners anywhere. That includes the line of Abimelech. That future Philistines down the line will have the opportunity to hear the gospel because God's redemption through Abraham and Sarah.

Second, this is the first time that we see explicitly a prophet who makes intercession in the Bible. Intercession in the Bible is when someone Acts as a mediator between God and man and there's two main pictures that we see that happen throughout the Old Testament. For this, we see prophets and priests that act as intercessors between God and man. Priests interceded at the temple. Their job was to be at the temple to make sacrifices on behalf of the people that it might turn away God's wrath for sins. They interceded on behalf of the people at the temple in the presence of the Lord.

Prophets were raised up. Prophets were raised up that they might preach repentance. They might preach and call Israel to turn back from sin and call them into fellowship with God. Those are the two main roles of intercessors that we see in the Old Testament. Notice that Abimelech has to go to Abraham to have him pray for him that he might be forgiven, that his nation might be spared. And if you think about this, Abimelech goes to the man who deceived him to have him intercede between God and them.

Abraham, like the rest of the prophets that are going to follow, Abraham is not perfect. He is fallen. He is a poor type of the one prophet who is to come. He is a poor example of the prophet in Jesus that is coming. So praise God that we have a better prophet in Christ who came preaching a message of the kingdom, preaching a message of repentance, serving the least of these, who came bearing the message of the gospel and standing, hear this, courageously in the face of death, courageously in the face of people who were threatening him.

He stood his ground and was taken to the cross to take our sins on him. Praise God we have a better intercessor, a better high priest who took our sins with him on the cross, the final sacrifice for our sins that we might have a high priest who stands before us in the heavens. As the book of Hebrews talks about as our intercessor, it says, Hebrews 4, for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in the time of need.

That Jesus perfectly fulfills the role of intercessor. He is able also, hear this, he is able to sympathize with us. That in every respect he was tempted and tried, which means he was tempted in the same way that Abraham was to tell half-truths, to be deceitful. He was tempted like Abraham to be fearful, to fear others and not fear the Lord. All of us are tempted to chase after idols, to chase after things, to let fear rule in us that it might shape us to make decisions in ways that are contrary to what God has for us. And Jesus can empathize with all of those temptations because he was tempted and tried and did not sin.

That is the God that we get to pray to. That is our high priest. That is the one who made intercession for us. All of the prophets like Abraham failed. Jesus did it perfectly. So that's how that fits into the greater story of the Bible.

Now coming back to Abraham, if I'm honest, it is frustrating as we walk through his story. It's frustrating because I'm like, seriously, after all that God has done, after all the promises he has made, you, this unique relationship that you have with the God of the universe, you still are fearful at the age of 100 after decades of hearing this promise unfold. And when I get that judgmental posture in my own heart, man, we need to look in the mirror because God makes promises to us all the time. We have promises throughout the Bible that call us to trust him. I think of Matthew 6 is a passage in the Sermon on the Mount where God is addressing our fear of God providing.

How many of us are fearful of seeing bills paid, fearful of how we're going to make budget, fearful of how we're going to plan for retirement, fearful for how God is going to provide for daily bread and Jesus, he sees that. He says, look at the birds of the air. They neither reap nor sow nor gather in barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? How quickly are we driven to anxiety and fear of our finances when God has given us a promise? You are more valuable than all of creation.

I am going to take care of your needs. How many of us are fearful and when that happens we are driven into old sinful patterns. When we get scared, when we get worried, our go-to is to be driven back into who we used to be. That's our old patterns. Whether it's drinking, whether it's running, whether it's escapism, you fill in the blank. What we have in Romans, Paul says, for you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry, Abba, Father.

Meaning, we don't have a spirit of fearfulness in us. We have the Holy Spirit living and reigning inside of us. We don't have to let fear drive us into old patterns. We can trust in what God is doing. We can trust in His promises. He will work in us.

And I'll give you one more. For those of us that fear man and what man can do to us. Whether that's you fearing others and you being so concerned about their opinion of you. Maybe that's you. You are fearful to share the gospel with somebody because of how they might respond. We let other people and our fear of them drive us to do actions or to not do actions like sharing the gospel.

And Jesus in Matthew 10 says, And do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in hell. And the picture that we have here is that those fears are so temporary. They are so temporary. We are eternal. If we believe in Jesus, if we have trusted in Him, He has claimed us.

What could anybody possibly do to us? We are eternally His. We have no reason to fear. We can trust in His promises. This is the Lord who came from heaven who sought us and redeemed us that we might not fear anyone else, that we might only fear and worship Him forever. God accomplishes His purposes by giving radical, generous amounts of grace to those of us that are driven by fear.

And we can relate to Abraham and y'all, that is good news because God has given us grace.

Sodom and Gomorrah

Sodom & Gomorrah

Chet Phillips

Transcript

Well, good morning. My name's Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. Y'all enjoying the new carpet smell? We are excited to have new carpet, and I actually like the smell. We close the doors, the chemicals start seeping into your brain, and as the sermon goes, my jokes get funnier.

Alright, that would kill at the end of the sermon, just letting y'all know. So, Kim, just keep breathing in those fumes. Grab your Bible, go to Genesis chapter 18. We're walking through the book of Genesis. We're in chapter 18, and we're going to actually pick up. So, what we did a couple of weeks ago, and even for the past two weeks, was we looked at some stuff that was happening in Genesis chapter 16, 17, and then we jumped past 18 and 19 to look at 21.

So, now we're picking back up. We're going to go 18, 19, and chapter 20 next week. So, we're going to look at 18 and 19 today. We'll be looking at picking back up with Lot. Last time we saw Lot, he and Abraham, he is Abraham's nephew. And the last time we saw him, they had grown too large for each other.

They had too much cattle, too many herds, too many people kind of living in their camps. And so they said, hey, let's not fight. Let's spread out. And so Abraham tells Lot, pick where you want to go. If you go this way, I'll go that way. Lot looks around.

He looks this way. And everything's dry and rocky. And it almost sounds like it even kind of maybe stunk that way. Like it just wasn't good. He looks this way. Everything was pretty and lovely.

And there was water. And it was like the garden of God. And so he was like, hmm, this way. And so Lot goes that way. And it says that he moved his camp all the way to Sodom, which was a very wicked place. And so it was kind of, it was bird-dogging a little bit, kind of telling us where it was headed.

And then it tells us kind of what happens with Abraham. So we're picking up in 18. I'll pray. And we'll start reading. Lord, we thank you for your word, that it doesn't move, that it is sure and steadfast, that we can study it now. And a hundred years from now, others can open it and study it.

And it helps. And it teaches. And it leads. We pray that we would learn from your word today. That your Holy Spirit would guide us in our time. In Jesus' name.

Amen. Amen. All right, we've read some of chapter 18 already. When we were talking through the story of Sarah and Isaac, the birth of Isaac, we're going to read back through it and kind of follow through the rest of the chapter. So it says, The Lord appeared to him, him as Abraham, by the oaks of Mamre.

Now that's where Abraham had settled as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. So Abraham is kind of hanging out in the, would have been like just like a covered space in front of his tent. These are goatskin tents, most likely black tents. It's hot. So we know that it's a hot time of year.

And a lot of times they would roll up the sides of their tents, but they still had an inside area that was still had the sides down where women, children were often. And so he's sitting in front of his tent. It says, God appears to him. The Lord appears to him. He lifted up his eyes and looked and behold, three men were standing in front of him. Okay, so it reads like we don't know if they just appeared.

If like they weren't there and he looked this way and he looked back and they were there. And so it was kind of magical. Or if he was like dozing off because that was a common thing in the middle of the afternoon and it was super hot. I wish South Carolina would institute a siesta. I think that would be wonderful. But we haven't.

But they had a similar system as that. And so he may have been sleeping a little bit. But it says he sees three men. So we're already told that it's the Lord or that the Lord is among them. He sees three men. So it is the Lord in some form of veiled glory.

It's not the Lord as we will see him. It's not the Lord as he has seen at other times in all of his glory. It's veiled glory. He looks like a man or at least it's fair to describe him that way. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said, Oh, Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Now, that could read as him knowing exactly who he is talking to.

He doesn't say the name Lord. If you'll notice in your Bibles, when it said at the very beginning, verse one, it says, And the Lord and its capital, all caps, L-O-R-D. Down here it says, and he says, Oh, Lord. And it's lowercase O-R-D. That means it's a different word in the Hebrew. So the first one is the divine name of the Lord.

This one is just a term, Lord. And so he's either being very gracious, very hospitable. This isn't odd for him to describe visitors this way. So this wouldn't be out of place for him to say, You're my Lord. I'm your servant. He's being really humble.

It's like when someone brings you in and says, Look, this house is your house. You don't say, Sweet, give me the keys and get out. You understand they're being humble. They're saying, You can have whatever's here. They're not giving you the... So that's what he's doing.

He says, Oh, you're my Lord. I'm your servant. It is obvious that he uses the singular Lord. So there's at least of the three, one of them, who is obviously in a higher status than the other two. It is possible. Abraham knows who he's talking about.

It's possible he doesn't. It doesn't make a big difference because in a little bit he's going to have figured it out. And the story plays out the same. So he says, Let a little water be brought and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree while I bring a morsel of bread that you may refresh yourselves. And after you have and after that, you may pass on since you have come to your servant. So they said, Do as you have said.

And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, Quick, three sea is a fine flour. Sea is about a gallon. So he said, Get a lot of flour. Three sea is a fine flour. Knead it and make cakes. And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man who prepared it quickly.

Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate. Okay, so if he knows it's the Lord, he goes above and beyond for the Lord. He is sacrificial. He gets a calf, not a goat or a lamb. Which a goat or a lamb would have been plenty for three visitors.

He gets a calf, a young, tender, fat one. So he goes above and beyond. He gets milk. He gets curds. He gets her. He says to him, Oh, let me give you a little water.

Just a bite, a morsel, a skosh of bread. And they're like, okay. And then he's like, okay, kill a whole cow. Get three gallons of flour. Bake cakes. He goes above and beyond.

And he's being very hospitable here. There's a guy who hangs out with a community group. He was baptized a year ago. His name is Taha Hataram. And his family lives in my neighborhood. They are from Pakistan.

And I was over there talking with them at one point. And they said, hey, come in and have some tea. Would you like some tea? And I said, yeah. They said, we make really good chai tea. I said, that sounds delicious.

So I came in. I sat down there. And they were like, while you're having tea, here's some puri. And here's some, and I was like, okay. And I started eating that. And they were like, here's some kebab, which was like a smushed chicken thing.

And then they said, here's some naan. Here's some dal. She just cooked. By the time I was done, there was this whole table was full of food. And I was just eating like a king. And then I was like, I got to head home.

Bag it up. You know, like, it was great. Every once in a while, I swing back by. And I'm like, y'all got any tea in there? You know? That's what he does here.

He says, let me get you a little bit. And he goes above and beyond. And this is common Middle Eastern hospitality. We talk about Southern hospitality. The Middle Easterners eat our lunch on this. And we're less hospitable than we used to be.

But we ought to grow in hospitality as a church. Because it's one of, it's a very godly thing to welcome people. The New Testament over and over again says that we'll entertain angels unawares. That when we welcome somebody, we welcome Jesus. And so this ought to be a thing that as a church, we ought to be good at. When people come over, don't just pop out the mountain lightning.

Get out some mountain dew. Like, go above and beyond. Host well with whatever you have. And if mountain lightning is your favorite, well, pop it out. If that's your best. If that's what you like.

You know, but host well with what you have. So that's what he does. He stands by them while they eat. Now, verses 9 through 15. We have already read a couple weeks ago. I'm going to paraphrase it just so we don't miss this part of the story.

That is where the Lord starts asking about Sarah. He calls her Sarah, which means he knows her name has changed. He starts saying prophecy stuff about she's going to have a child. At this moment, if Abraham did not know he was dealing with God or some sort of divine representative, he does now. This is where God says, Sarah's going to have a child. She's super old, so she laughs by herself.

God looks at Abraham and says, why is your wife laughing? Abraham's like, uh. And then his wife says, I didn't laugh. And God says, yeah, you did. And that whole ending of change goes on. All right, we stopped there and skipped ahead before.

Now we're going to keep reading. Verse 16. Then the men set out from there and they looked down towards Sodom. So down means they are in a higher elevation. So where they are, they are up a hill, up a mountain, looking down.

It's a hilly region. Sodom is in a valley. They look down towards Sodom. Also, Sodom would be about 20 miles away. So they're just looking in that general direction.

I don't know if you'd have been able to actually see the city or not. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. And 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. Okay, so the Lord stops. Abraham's walking with him. He stops. And it's almost like he speaks to the other two men, which we're told later are angels. And he says, should I tell Abraham what I'm going to do?

Should I hide from him? He's going to be a great and mighty nation. He's going to be the one through whom I bring the promise. He's going to be the one who blesses all nations. He's talking about Christ. He's saying, should I leave him out of this or should I go ahead and include him on what I'm going to do?

They don't answer, but God keeps going. Then the Lord said, because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave. I will go down there to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know. So he says, should I tell Abraham what I'm about to do?

And then he looks at him and says, the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave. And we're going to check it out to see if it's as bad as the outcry has been. Now, I don't think it would be correct, given the rest of Scripture, for us to understand that God actually had to show up over there to know what was going on. I think this should be very encouraging to us. First of all, that God wants to include Abraham in what he's doing. He doesn't need Abraham.

He chooses to include Abraham in what he is doing. It's like when Archer has helped me build furniture. He did not help. I chose to include him. That's what he's doing with Abraham. He doesn't need Abraham.

He chooses to include him. And then he says, the outcry has been great and I'm going to go be near. I'm going to go be close to that. And honestly, that's a thing that we would want from God. That he would be near when we're crying out. That he would investigate.

That he wouldn't just sit far off, but that he would come close to what is going on. That he would see it. That's what it says. The sin is great and I'm going to go be close. I'm going to go investigate. I'm going to go see this.

So the men turned. This is verse 22. Turned from there and went towards Sodom. But Abraham stood, still stood before the Lord. Then Abraham drew near and said, Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

Suppose there are 50 righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the 50 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 the earth do what is right?

Okay. That was bold. God says, should I include Abraham in on this? And Abraham immediately jumps in and says, hold on a second, God. And his question, I think, is a fair question. I think it's one that we have all the time.

Abraham, first of all, understands what God's going to do. God said, I'm going to go investigate. I think Abraham knows at least the reputation of Sodom and Gomorrah. It doesn't say that he's thinking of Lot when he kind of goes into talking to God about this. But it's likely that he knows that Lot lives there or is in that city.

He at least knows that's the direction he went last time we picked up with him. There's a good chance he knows a lot more than that. But here's his question. He's asking God about what's good and what's right and what's just and what's fair. And he's pleading with God. If you're going to plead with God, pleading with God based on his own nature is a good way to go about it.

God, you are good. Won't you do what's good? You are just. Won't you do what's just? But he says, far be that from you.

Don't go down there if there are righteous people in that city and just wipe it away. Now, city, we don't know how big it is. There were ancient cities that got pretty big. This one doesn't seem like it's that big. Sodom and Gomorrah I don't think would have been that large. We saw that they were part of 13 other cities that were paying tribute earlier.

So we don't know how big a group of 50 is in this city. Similar to. They had a king. Similar to what we've seen. If you've watched. I've studied.

Or. If you've studied history. Or. Watched movies and television. I was just going to assume no one had studied. But I don't want to be rude.

The two of y'all have studied. Y'all know about this. If you're like me and you've watched television. There would have been like a castle. Some of these in this area would have been made out of wood. Some of them might have been made out of stone.

We heard about one that was in the same area where they made. Their own bricks. Then they would have had a walled area. And people who lived inside the area. Lived inside the city. And had the protection of the king.

So we don't know how big this area was. Most likely not a very massive place. But. Substantial in the area. And his question is. If there are 50 there who are righteous.

You'll destroy the whole city. Will the righteous fare the way the wicked do? And his question is a fair question. And it's one we're still asking. Which is. What is just?

You see. When someone harms us. Our outcry goes to God. And we want God to care about injustice. We want God to when someone is harmed or abused. Or when someone in power takes advantage of somebody else.

We want him to care. We want him to pursue this. We want him to follow up. We want justice to be served. But then we have all these questions about.

Well. How much and how and to whom. What's fair? Have you ever thought about this? If there is a God. I would postulate that there is.

But. If there is a God. And he has a system for judging. What's fair? This is. This is a question that.

That's. It's. It's in our culture all the time. We're having to answer this. If you're mostly a good person. But you've done some really bad things.

Is it 50-50? What's his threshold? Is it graded on a curve? Do you have to be better than half the population? Do you have to be. Does it.

Does it matter what you come from? So if you're in general a nice person. But you also have a good digestive system. And you grew up in a fairly wealthy family. With nice parents. In a nice area of town.

And you turn out nice. Did you do much? Never really harmed anybody. It's like. Yeah. But where you came from.

You should be doing a lot more. If somebody comes from a place. That's not nice. Didn't have parents. All they ever got was. Was beaten.

All they were ever taught. Was how to be aggressive. And they grow up aggressive. Can. Can. Can.

Is Scrooge okay. Can you be a terrible person. For 80 years. And a nice one. For five. We just.

Supreme Court justice. Does it matter how long you've gone. How long it's been. Since something's happened. Can we just say. Oh well I was like that.

But that doesn't matter. Now there was a guy in Columbia. Who committed. Three murders. 45. 50 years ago.

And lived in Columbia. As an upstanding citizen. They found out it was him. They arrested him. Why? Because he committed three murders.

That's what he's saying. What is just. What is right. What are you going to do. And I think this is a fair question to ask. How good is good.

How righteous is righteous. And what should happen. So what he says is. Will you let the righteous fare the way the wicked do. Will you destroy the wicked. A wicked along with the righteous.

Here's God's response. 26. 26. And the Lord said. If I find at Sodom. 50 righteous in the city.

I will spare the whole place for their sake. So Abraham says. It's unjust. For the wicked. And the righteous. For the righteous to get what the wicked deserve.

And God says. Okay. If there are 50 righteous. Then the wicked will get what the righteous deserve. Is that just? Is that how that should work?

27. Abraham answered and said. Behold. I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. I who am but dust. And ashes.

Suppose five of the 50 righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city. For lack of five. He said. I will not destroy it. If I find 45.

There. Again. He spoke to him and said. Suppose 40 are found there. He answered. For the sake of 40.

I will not do it. Then he said. Oh. Let not the Lord. Be angry. And I will speak.

Suppose 30. Are found there. He answered. I will not do it. If I find 30 there. He said.

Behold. I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose 20 are found there. He answered. For the sake of 20. I will not destroy it.

Then he said. Oh. Let not the Lord be angry. And I will speak again. But this one.

Suppose 10. Are found there. He answered. For the sake of 10. I will not destroy it. And the Lord went his way.

When he had finished speaking to Abraham. And Abraham returned to his place. God invited Abraham in on that. And Abraham intercedes on behalf of Sodom. Abraham goes before the Lord. And says.

I've undertaken to do this. What about 10? What if there's just 10? He says. I won't do it if there's 10. Abraham doesn't push it further.

We don't know. If God gave him some clues. Throughout the conversation. It gets. The sentences get shorter. So it's possible Abraham knew.

I should stop. But we don't know. You thought Job interviews were tough. Or that first dates. Were nerve wracking. I think Abraham walked back to his tent.

A little. Interceding with God was. A bit much. But God. Graciously. Listens to Abraham.

19. The two angels came to Sodom in the evening. Okay. So the three men. One of them was the Lord. Two of them were angels.

The Lord is no longer among them. At least. Visibly. Came to Sodom in the evening. And Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. So most likely they would be closing the gate soon.

Most of the people who sit in the gate. Are prominent people. So Lot is in the gate of Sodom. Which means he's. Most likely a fairly prominent person. In the city.

When Lot saw them. He rose to meet them. And bowed himself with his face to the earth. And said. My lords. Again.

I just think this is interesting. He's going to respond. You'll see some similarities. Between how he and Abraham treat them. And also. Abraham said.

My Lord. Because I think there was obviously one. That was above the others. He says. My lords. Because.

Couldn't really tell. Y'all just seem like y'all are friends. You're on the same level. 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. That word is like. He grappled with them. Like he twisted their arm. 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.

So it was evening. Sun's going down. Before they go to sleep. The men of the city. The men of Sodom. Both young and old.

All the people. To the last man. Surrounded the house. So he no longer lives in tents. He lives in a house in Sodom. And they called to Lot.

Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us. That we may know them. That phrase is used as a euphemism. It can mean know. Like get to know.

We want to befriend them. It can mean we want to have sex with them. Similar to the way we use the term slept together. It can mean slept. It can mean not slept. So we don't really know yet.

We're about to figure it out. It's not the good one. Lot went out to the men at the entrance. He shut the door after him. 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. Okay this got crazy. So these two men come to his home. They're like we're going to stay in the city gate. He knows about the city he lives in. He says no you're not.

They're like we'll be fine. He's like no no no no. Come come come come come. Come stay in my house. Every man to the last man young and old. Guys they didn't have TV.

Or cell phones. Word traveled. Seems like they didn't have anything else to do. I guess this town doesn't get visitors often. They show up. They surround the house.

And they say. Two men came in there. Send them out. We want to rape them. Lot. Steps out.

Closes the door behind him. He's staring at a sea of faces. I don't know if they had torches. I don't know how well he could see. It was getting dark. I don't know if he can tell.

It's just people and people and people. Until it gets too dark to see. Bravely says. Do not do this. And this sounds. Says something that sounds so absolutely crazy to us.

He says. I have two daughters. Take them. Now. That is absolutely crazy to us. It's crazy that this situation has played out to this point.

But if you understand a little more about Middle Eastern hospitality. That some people hold to. This is less crazy. If you've ever seen or heard the story about. Marcus Luttrell. He was the Navy SEAL.

Who they made the movie about. Lone Survivor. Navy SEAL. Four of them were sent in. Three of them die. He eventually escapes.

The Taliban is who they were trying to. There was a leader in the Taliban. They were trying to take out. He makes it to a small village. He is very very badly beaten. He has a broken back.

He has a dislocated shoulder. He's at some point bit his tongue in half. Muhammad Gulab. Sees him. Takes him into his home. The Taliban show up.

Muhammad gets a gun. And starts fighting. And the whole town fights to defend this guy. That has come under his roof. Because they understand. If he comes under my roof.

I have a sacred oath to him. That I must defend him. That's what's going on here. So Lot says take my daughters. And it's like what on earth. But he understood.

That there was a sacred thing. To hospitality. So he goes out. He says. I beg you. Don't do this.

Take my daughters. Verse 9. But they said. Stand back. And they said. This fellow came to sojourn here.

And he has become the judge. Now we will deal worse with you. Then 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. Okay. So these men have surrounded the house. They yell. Hey Lot. Send those men out here.

We want to rape them. Lot comes out and says. Do not do this. Do not act so wickedly. But he can tell.

They didn't just disperse them. He says. Look I have daughters in here. You can have them. Leave these men alone. They've come under my roof.

And they say. You're going to judge us. We're about to do worse to you. Than we were going to do to them. Instead of two men. We'll have three.

And they come at him. Angels grab him. Snatch him inside the house. I think this was probably the most aggressive grabs he has ever received. And thankfully so. They close the door.

And the angels strike with blindness every man outside. For the record. The angels would have been fine in the town square. And it says. That they wore themselves out. Trying to get to the door.

That's one of the craziest parts in the story to me. I think. If we were in the middle of something. And I suddenly went blind. I think I would say. Hey I suddenly went blind.

Some version of that. I think you pretty quickly would have found out. Yo me too. I am also blind. What a weird occurrence. At that point.

I don't know who's leading this gang. Someone should have said. Let's call it a night. Since we're all blind. Magically. It almost seems like it just made them angrier.

They must know. They have such a great vast majority. That they think. Even blind. We got this. And they.

They're enraged. And it says. They wear themselves out. Trying to get in the door. Blind. Now.

This puts on display. The great wickedness. Of Sodom. It has been often taught. That the primary sin of Sodom. Was homosexuality.

The New Testament. Does say. Does highlight. Their sexual sin. This passage. Is highlighting their sexual sin.

I don't think. The primary point of this passage. Is homosexuality. Those in the LGBT community. Have come along and said. That's not it at all.

It doesn't have anything to do with homosexuality. It has to do with a lack of hospitality. Certainly. What they suggested. Was not hospitable. I don't think.

That is a fair reading of that either. I think what this displays. Is when there is a complete rejection. Of God. And when there is active. Unrepentant sin.

Sexual sin. Rises. Rises to the top. Sexual confusion. Sexual misunderstanding. Sexual assault.

I think you can see that culturally. Right now. For us. We've spent some time. Talking about. Gender dysphoria.

Homosexuality. And I want you to know. If that's something you struggle with. Or don't struggle with. Feel perfectly fine in. Think that you want.

To celebrate. You're welcome here. Would encourage you. To talk with us afterwards. So we can clarify this position.

A little more. Because we believe. That you're welcome. That Jesus loves all of us. But that we're loved.

And welcomed in our repentance. And that God offers. Grace to sinners. This is sin. And it is actively. Aggressively.

Put on display. That's all the time. We'll spend. Talking about that. Specifically. Because it's not the point.

Of the passage. Then the men said to Lot. Have you. Have you. Anyone else here. Sons-in-law.

Sons. Daughters. 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. Can you imagine. The visitors. That showed up. The people. Who were wondering.

And saw lights. In a city. And went to Sodom. For refuge. All the times. That it wasn't angels.

Can you imagine. Why Lot. When they said. We'll stay in this town square. What he knew about. When he said.

No no no. Don't stay in the town square. Can you imagine. The tears. And the pain. Can you imagine.

The amount of times. If this is happening. And they're gathering. To do this. How much. Abuse.

How much. Theft. How much murder. How much. Has taken place. In this city.

And how often. Someone. Beaten. And bloody. Wept. And it came to God's ears.

How often. The outcry. Just rose. Rose. We see this. In small fashion.

When it comes out. That a teacher's been. Sexually assaulting people. And all of a sudden. You'll start hearing. More came forward.

More came forward. More came forward. More came forward. As soon as the Me Too movement. Started. And there was just.

Me. Me. Me. And how many tears. And how much brokenness. And how much of an outcry.

Had arisen to the Lord. From a city. That welcomed. And accepted this. Down to the last man. Maybe some of them.

Were just there. To see what was going to happen. But none of them. Save Lot. Were saying. This is wicked.

And we ought to stop. It says. The outcry. Has been great. So Lot.

Went out. And said. To his sons-in-law. Who were to marry his daughters. I'm assuming. Since it was down to the last man.

They were at his home. Earlier in the evening. Up. Get out of this place. For the Lord. Is about to destroy.

The city. But he seemed. To his sons-in-laws. To be jesting. He comes to him. And says.

Get up. Get up. Move. Get out of here. The Lord. Is going to destroy.

This place. And they thought. He's a joke. Some of you. May be in a similar situation. You've had people.

Come into you. And say. I'm telling you. God will judge sin. And Jesus. Does save sinners.

And they sound. Crazy. Sounds like a joke. They didn't believe. What Lot believed. And they thought.

He was kidding. As morning dawn. So it's been all night. As morning dawn. The angels urged Lot. Saying up.

So he said. Up to his sons-in-laws. They're saying. Up to him. Up. Get up.

Move. Take your wife. 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's 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 Zor. Which means little. So he says. Get up. We're about to destroy the city.

Lot lingers. I don't know if he was packing. I don't know what he was doing. He doesn't tell us. I don't know if he was thinking. Well if the two of y'all.

Are going to destroy the city. You're not going to. As long as you're here. I don't know what he was doing. But they eventually just grab him.

They walk him out. And they say. Run. Run to the hills. Don't look back. Don't stop.

Don't linger. Don't catch your breath. Go. This whole place is getting destroyed. And he says. Let me go there.

It's closer. I'm not going to make it. All the way there. And that's. It's a little. It's barely even.

It's little. Isn't it little? Looks really small from here. There's not that many people. Let me go there. And what always baffles me.

Is I want angels and God at times. To just slap someone and say. Shut up. Do what I told you. He says. I'll grant you this favor also.

He says. Okay. And he says. Hurry. He says. Hurry.

I can't do anything. I'm not allowed to do anything. Until you get there. When you get there. Trouble starts. 23.

The sun had risen on the earth. When Lot came to Zor. Then the Lord. Reigned 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. A pillar. Of salt.

Okay. Lot makes it to. To Zor. His wife is behind him. We don't know how far behind him. He was moving.

She was not moving as fast. And God from heaven. Rains down fire. And sulfur. I think this would have been. In the past.

Hard to picture. But with movies. And video. From wars. I think we can kind of understand. What happened.

Things started flying. Exploding. And there was fire. And there were tears. And there were two sons-in-laws. Who were very surprised.

The city was destroyed. And it says. Lot's wife looked back. And I heard this. Growing up in Sunday school. All the time.

And I always thought. Wow. That was super strict. Don't look back. Yeah. Salt.

I don't think that's a fair reading of the text. Especially. Since Jesus later clarifies it a little better. And we'll read that in a minute. But Jesus says.

Remember Lot's wife. Those of you. Who want to save your life. Will lose it. And those of you. Who are willing to lose your life.

Will save it. And the point was. When she looked back. She was longing for Sodom. She had turned back. She wanted to save.

What she had. She loved it. She had grown used to it. She didn't want to give up everything. Her looking back. Was not following.

What the Lord had said. Was not trusting him wholeheartedly. But going. I know. But. And it's not.

What if it's not. And then she turns back. And she's destroyed. And swept away. 27. And Abraham went early in the morning.

To the place where he had stood. Before the Lord. And he looked down. Towards 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. He looks towards this valley. And the sky is just filled.

So it was. That when God. Destroyed the cities of the valley. God remembered Abraham. God remembered Abraham. And sent Lot.

Out of the midst. Of the overthrow. When he overthrew the cities. In which Lot had lived. There were not ten righteous. But when God comes.

He remembers. Abraham. And he has mercy on Lot. Verse 30. Now Lot went out of Zor.

And lived in the hills. With his two daughters. He was afraid to live in Zor. Okay. So. We don't know why he was afraid.

I think he should have run for mayor. Y'all only exist. Because I didn't want to run further. But. He leaves. It's a bad place to be.

So he lived in a cave. With his two daughters. In this area. In the Middle East. There are a lot of caves. This is why.

When we've. Been in fights with the Taliban. And that sort of thing. They've moved from cave. To cave. To cave.

To cave. To cave. This is historically. People would. Move to caves. To hide.

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 into 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. They understood. That he would not be on board with this. And the firstborn.

Went in. And lay with her father. He did not know. When she lay down. Or when she arose. He was very very drunk.

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.

The younger. Also bore a son. And called his name. Ben Ami. He is the father. Of the Ammonites.

To this day. And that is the last. We hear of Lot. In the book. Of Genesis. That story is gross.

And it makes you go. Why is this even. In here. I think there are. A few reasons. Why it is.

And a few things. We can quickly. Learn from it. I think it is. In here. Because it happened.

I think it is. In here. Because it tells us. Where the Moabites. And the Ammonites. Come from.

Who will play out. In the rest of Israel's history. I think it is in here. Because the Bible. Does not shy away. From displaying to us.

What humans are like. As much as we want to act like. This is. And what people are like. It shows to us. How much Sodom.

Had crept into. How much the daughters. Of. Lot. Were willing to accept. The sexual ethic.

Because you think. How would this come into. Anybody's mind. As an acceptable idea. Lot. It also displays.

That Lot. Isn't. A superhero. You read this story. And you are like. Okay.

Cool. There was one righteous. God goes and saves Lot. And then it is like. Lot got super drunk. And slept with his daughters.

It is like. What on earth? It is like. If you watched Rudy. And he gets to play. That last play.

And he makes the tackle. And it freezes. And then he goes. Twenty years later. And the last fifteen minutes. Of the movie.

Are him super drunk. Yelling at his television. And beating his children. And you would say. To the director. Why on earth.

Is that how the movie ended. Why would you put. Fifteen minutes of that. In here. And him cussing. And knocking over the table.

At their birthday party. It is like what. Just because he played. A little bit of Notre Dame. Doesn't make him a good person. I want people to understand.

How stuff works. It would be a terrible movie. That is what happened to you. You read this. And you are like. Okay Lot.

And then you go. Oh. What on earth? And you see. I think. When we look at this story.

As a whole. And we see. What is going on here. I think it is. We need the New Testament. To help us.

Understand how to read this. So. I am going to show a few verses. Where the New Testament. Begins to address some of this. Second Peter 2.

Six. Says. 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. The Sodom and Gomorrah. Is a small picture.

Of what is going to happen. Jude seven. Just as Sodom and Gomorrah. And the surrounding cities. Which likewise. Indulged in sexual immorality.

And pursued a natural desire. Serve as an example. By undergoing a punishment. Of eternal fire. That God. Will not stand sin.

Sodom and Gomorrah. Is a small picture. Of ultimately. What he is going to do. Which is judge. Wickedness.

Jesus. Brings it up as well. In Luke 17. They ask him. When the kingdom will come. And he says.

It is already working. Among you. He says. That don't get. Don't get confused. When someone says.

I found Jesus. He has already returned. He says. I'll come back like lightning. I'll rip the sky open. It'll be very obvious.

Then he says this. Likewise. Just as it was. In the days of Lot. They were eating. And drinking.

Buying. And selling. Planting. And building. But on the day.

When Lot went out. From Sodom. Fire and sulfur. Reigned from heaven. And destroyed them all. So we'll be on the day.

When the son of man. Is revealed. On that day. Let the one. Who is on the housetop. With his goods.

And the house. Not come down. To take them away. Likewise. Let the one. Who's in the field.

Not turn back. Whoever loses his life. Will keep it. So Jesus says. That his return. Will be like.

It was in Sodom and Gomorrah. The day before. Will be normal. And there will be many. Who are like Lot's wife. Who've just grown used to it.

If you think about. Us right now. What we've grown used to. What we've begun to accept. What we've begun to love. And to long for.

That's just earthly. Think about the sin. In our culture. That we're just becoming. Numb to. That we don't weep over.

We don't lament. We don't pray. That God would end. That he would fix. We're just. Used to it.

Think about what you. Watch now. That maybe you. Used to wouldn't. Think about what you'll. Laugh at now.

That maybe you used. To wouldn't. Think about. What you'll partake in now. Or accept now. Or join in now.

That maybe you used to wouldn't. That certainly. Our grandparents. Wouldn't have. You see. It's going to look normal.

There'll be weddings. Somebody will be leaving. For their honeymoon. It'll be a normal day. You'll get up and go to work. And the sky will crack open.

And Jesus will appear. And at that moment. For those who like Lot. Have trusted. And run from it. Some will be like Lot's wife.

Who thought that's what they were doing. But then turned around and said. I don't know. I kind of like this. And many will be like the sons of. Sons in law of Lot.

Who thought it was a joke. So the question. I think we need to ask. Because the band comes back up. Is when God cracks the sky open. What's his standard for righteousness.

I think if you'll genuinely believe. And understand. That there is an eternity of punishment. Coming for those who are wicked. That we will pay for our sin. That it will find us out.

That we will not live forever. Peaceably. But we will stand before God. My son. Watches. This movie called Lego Batman.

And at one point. They get taken to this little place. And this little block shows up. And says. Plays a little highlight reel. Of their badness.

I think if you played a highlight reel. Of some of your good qualities. Be your favorite movie ever. You'd be looking and going. Wow. Look at what I did.

Look at how I acted. Look at how great I was. And we could immediately. All of us could flip it. And show all the times you were petty. And all the times you lied.

And all the times you took advantage of somebody. And all the times you hid. And all the times that you went out of your way. To puff yourself up. Or to put somebody down. And I think we could watch.

In excruciating agony. As we saw how little we deserve God's grace. And I think it's a fair question to ask. What is his judgment going to look like? And how will he judge us? And what does righteousness look like?

Who gets. Who counts in the ten? Romans 3 says this. Paul's answering that question. For we have already charged. That both Jews and Greeks are under sin.

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. Later in the chapter he says. We all have fallen short. So that if God's standards of righteousness.

Is that you. Would live up to his perfect goodness. When he returns. No one is righteous. And there is. An eternal punishment.

Sodom and Gomorrah is a blip on the radar. There are people who are spending. Eternity in hell. They were there last night. They woke up there. This morning.

And they are not one day closer to that ending. There are people. That you work with. That when Jesus returns. Will not be a joyous occasion. Second Corinthians 521 tells us this.

For our sake. God. Made Jesus. That's the he made him. To be sin. Who knew no sin.

So that in him. We might become the righteousness. Of God. That there are. That there are. A group of righteous.

That will be redeemed. That will be. That will escape the city. And it's those. Who have had Jesus. Become their sin.

So that they can become righteous. That's the hope. That's the only hope. That Jesus Christ. Who knew no sin. Who deserved no punishment.

Took all of our sin. And all of our punishment. And all of our blame. And became our sin. He became the worst. Among us.

He became an abuser. He became a rapist. He became a murderer. He took it all on himself. And was nailed to a cross. And when he rose again.

He swapped places with us. So that all who place faith in him. Become the righteousness of God. That there are a righteous. Who are redeemed. That story says.

That on that day. When he destroyed Sodom. God remembered Abraham. And he rescued Lot. And there will be a day on judgment. Where I'm going to say.

When God judged the world. He remembered Christ. And so he saved his church. I want you to know. As best as I can say it. If Jesus Christ has not borne your punishment.

You will bear it. If Jesus Christ has not become your sin. And your wickedness. You will own it. And as Lot ran around and said. Up.

The city will be destroyed. Make a move. Do something. Trust me. Some of you need to get up. You need to trust.

You need to decide. You've been hanging out for a while. But you haven't decided. I'm going to follow Jesus. I'm going to trust in him. I need him to pay for my sin.

Because I will stand before God. And my highlight reel of my sin. Is not pretty. And I will justly deserve. The punishment I get. And there are so many of us.

That will not get what we deserve. Will get what Jesus deserved. Will be loved. And cherished. And welcomed. For eternity.

Because we've been made. Righteous. In Christ's righteousness. And will shine like the stars in heaven. And will reign with him. Because Jesus redeems sinners.

So here's how we're going to finish today. If you're a Christian. Prior to taking communion. Where we actively remember. That Jesus Christ became our sin. So that we could be made righteous.

So that the day that Jesus cracks the sky open. And like lightning shows up. Will be the most explosive. That the day that has ever happened for us. That's why we can leave everything behind. That's why we can run from everything the world has to offer.

Because it pales in comparison to the Christ. Who redeems those who don't deserve it. Prior. To taking communion. And celebrating that. I want you to ask the question.

Am I running around the city telling people to get up? If I believe that Sodom is a blip on the radar. If you thought tomorrow. That Columbia would be destroyed. Who in Columbia would you rescue? And Jesus says it won't just be a city.

It's going to be eternal. And it's going to be the whole world. And who are we seeking to say get up. Trust in him. I don't care if you think I'm a joke. I don't care what I look like.

This place is going to be gone. No. And if you haven't placed your faith in Jesus. In a moment. When his church gets up. After praying.

After repenting. After praying. Pleading for God. To redeem. Standing in the gap like Abraham. And saying Lord.

As we take communion. There's going to be some people around the room. Over in this area. And a few over in this area. Some of you need to get up. And you need to decide today.

I'm going to follow Jesus. You need to get up. You need to make a move. You've been hanging out for a while. You've been toying with it. You've kind of taken some steps.

You've kind of taken some steps back. Some of you are in the mode. Where you're jogging along behind the church. You're Lot's wife. You're trotting along. Everybody thinks you're going to escape.

And everything's holding you back. And at some point. You're just going to stop. And you're going to turn around. Because you never really believed it. You never really bought in.

Your heart never left Sodom. Some of you need to decide today. I'm going to get up. I'm going to trust. And I'm going to encourage you to stand up. To make a decision now.

To go talk with somebody. To pray. To place your faith in Jesus. Some of y'all need to walk through. What that looks like. Some of y'all just need to get up.

And take communion for the first time. As an actual Christian. Trusting that Jesus can become your sin. And you can be made righteous. And when we stand in judgment. We'll join with all those who've had mercy.

Poured out on them. Let's pray. God. God. God. We ask that in these next moments.

That those. Who have thought this is a joke for too long. Would hear it. See it. Know it. Believe it.

And that you would change them. And we ask in this moment. For those who seem like they're escaping. Who are trotting along with the church. And we can't tell the difference. But their heart.

Longs for this world. That they would trust you. And not look back. And we pray. That for those of us. Who know the truth.

That we would be unashamed. In proclaiming it. God.

Circumcision and the Outsiders

Circumcision and the Outsiders

Spencer Cary

Transcript

Good morning. My name is Spencer. I'm one of the pastors here with Mill City Church. We are going to walk back through a little bit. Last week, Chet walked us through the story of Sarah and Hagar. This morning, we get to do that.

We get to do it a little bit differently this time. It's going to be on page 7 if you have a Blue Bible. We're going to be mostly in 17 today. If you don't have a Bible, please take that Bible home. That is our gift to you. A few weeks back, my wife and I got to do something that's been on our bucket list for a while.

We got to see the Broadway production Hamilton. If you haven't heard of it, it's a hip-hop Broadway that tells the life and legacy of Alexander Hamilton. We finally got to see it, and it absolutely blew our minds. It was way better than we thought it could be. And there's this two-song set in the first act. And the first song is the telling of how Alexander Hamilton met his wife, Eliza Schuyler.

And it's just the story. It's how they met. It's how Angelica, her sister, introduced the two of them. They meet. They start writing letters. They fall in love.

They get married. And on the set, when the wedding is over and the song is done, there's this center part of the stage that is circular. And it can go forward and it can go backwards. It goes in a circle. And they start reversing the set. And they start going back in time.

And they tell the story again. The second song is called Satisfied. It's one of the biggest songs from the whole production. And in that song, it tells the story, but it tells it differently. It gives a little bit of a why, a little bit of what's going on behind the scenes. It's this Angelica Schuyler, it's the sister.

She's the one singing the song. And you realize it's a whole lot more complicated than it actually looked, that Angelica actually sees Alexander and falls for him. But she doesn't realize, she doesn't think he has the money, has the class to hang with her New York royalty. So she sees her sister. Her sister also falls for him. She introduces the two of them with the hope that she can kind of have access to him later.

It turns into this weird love triangle that continues throughout the whole time as you see it play out. And we get to do a little bit of that today. We get to walk back through a story that was told last week. But we get to see what's going on behind the scenes. We get to see the bigger picture of what's happening here. Because if you are just working through this story, you might miss what's happening.

Like I can read one of the passages we're going to have today is Genesis 17. And in 10 and 11 it says, This is my covenant, which you shall keep between me and you and your offspring after you. Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. And when you read that, it kind of feels a little bit out of place. Like we're going through this story.

Where did this come from? But there is major eternal significance in what's happening here. It has implications that play throughout the rest of the Bible. So we want to get a different view on this story. As we work from Genesis into the New Testament this morning, we're going to see the implications that play out. So I'm going to pray, and then we're going to dive in.

God, I'm thankful that you've given us your word. I'm thankful that we get to hear what you have to say. God, I pray that you would show us the big picture of what's happening here, and that would motivate us to respond to your glory. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, so like I said last week, Chet introduced this story of Sarah and Hagar.

I want to give a quick recap of what happened in chapter 16. So Sarah and Abram, at this point, had been changed to Abraham. Sarah and Abram are waiting on this promise. This promise of a line, of a son, of a legacy, of descendants. They're waiting on it, and it does not happen. And Chet hinted at this last week.

At this point, she probably has gone through menopause, and they don't believe the promise is going to come, so they decide that they're going to force the promise themselves. Sarah suggests, why don't you take my servant Hagar, and we can have a line through her. And Abraham doesn't step up. He doesn't say, no, we're going to wait for the promise. No, he says, okay. So she conceives, and then when she conceives Hagar, the text says that she looked upon Sarah with contempt, which is a little bit of saying, it's a little bit of a power play.

There's a little bit of a, she's going to stage a little bit of a coup here. She's going to try to overthrow the line, overthrow the promise. And Sarah's not having that. She responds with deep anger, and the text tells us that she abused her. So in the middle of all of this, Hagar, she bounces.

She just leaves. It kind of turns into a Latin soap opera very quickly, which, for the three of you that laughed, everyone else, if you don't know Latin soap operas, go YouTube Tello Novello today. Take five minutes to watch the dramatic scenes. You're welcome. But it quickly turns into that.

And Hagar is in the wilderness, alone, pregnant, and God meets her. He meets her where she's at, and he calls her and says, there's a greater purpose for you. There's a plan here that you are going to have a son. That son will be called Ishmael. Ishmael is he who hears. This is God hearing her affliction, and he responds.

And he says, you're going to have a great nation that comes from you. And what ancient commentaries have done is they have traced the line of the Arab people back to Ishmael. They've looked at, we won't read this today, but later in 17, it talks about how Ishmael is going to have 12 princes come from him. They're ancient commentaries that look back at those 12 princes, and that is where they draw their line. The Arab people come from Ishmael. And then later on in history, we know the story, Islam comes along, takes hold of that tradition, and claims that Ishmael is actually the one who got the real promise.

And then the rest is history after that. We see the great proclamation in Genesis 16, 12, the prophecy. It says, he, talking about Ishmael, shall be a wild donkey of a man. This is talking about his legacy. His hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen. And that played out even into today.

That Arabs and Jews are still at odds, that Arabs and surrounding nations are still at odds. And then 13 years later, it picks up in Genesis 17, where we're going to be today. So 13 years later, Ishmael is 13, Abraham and Sarah are approached by God. It says in verse 1, When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, I am God Almighty, walk before me and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly. So this covenant, this promise, starts in Genesis 12.

And we've watched it unfold, that God tells him he's going to make a great nation. He's going to bless his descendants as numerous as the stars and the sand. And then he promises that he's going to have the promised land. There's going to be a great land for his people. And then we walk through Genesis 15, when the ceremony of splitting the animal in two, and God walking through. And this promise, this covenant is continuing to unfold.

But this right here is the climax. This is the climax of the covenant in Genesis 17. So this is a big moment. And the text continues in verse 3. It says, That Abram fell on his face, and God said to him, Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be called Abraham.

For I have made you into a father of a multitude of nations. So that's what Abraham means. A father of many. This name change is significant. It's meant to jar Abram, because names are significant in the Old Testament. They have meaning and value, and a name change is really big.

It would be big in our culture, too. If I walked in this morning with my kids, only one of them, because one of them decided to get sick on the way here, and went back home. But if I walked in with both of them, and checked them in, and Isaac's at the front, and Isaac goes, Hey, Ellie. Hey, Bridgers. And I said, No, no, no, no. That was them.

We changed their names. This one, Ellie, is now she who rules the children. And Bridgers is he who destroys the children. Now, what snacks are you having today? That would catch Isaac off guard. First, he'd be like, Dude, we can't put that on a name tag.

You got nicknames? Yep. Ruler. Destroyer. You got this. What about snacks?

Like, he would be, No, no, no, no, no. Are you trying to stage a coup in Kid City? What's happening here? You get Raz involved, it would be a big thing, because a name change is meant to jar you, it was meant to jar Abraham, to remind him of the promise. No, this promise is going to happen. You are going to be a father of a great nation.

There is going to be many that are blessed through you. So, Abraham's all right. Feeling it? Verse 6. I will make you exceedingly fruitful. I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.

And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant to be God to you and to your offspring after you, and I will give to you and your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. I will be their God. Now, we'll get to this in a second, but that language of offspring is significant. And we'll pick that up later. It continues in verse 9. He says, And God said to Abraham, As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations.

This is my covenant, which you shall keep between me and you and your offspring after you. Every male among you shall be circumcised. Now, I feel like Abraham was feeling really good until that last line. He's like, wait a second. The name change was cool? Circum what?

Huh? Huh? And he would have been familiar with signs that came with covenants. He could think back to Noah. He's like, man, Noah got the rainbow. You did this really cool thing when you made the covenant with Noah.

Circumcision? That's really how this is going to be? Yes. And he keeps going in verse 11. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. Now, there's a few things I found puzzling in life.

My wife mentioned this a few weeks back. She said, why do mosquitoes exist? And I wanted to argue because that's what I love to do. And I couldn't. I said, I don't know. I don't know if they serve a purpose.

Like, they're just annoying. I can't really make a case for them. I don't know if you've ever thought about this either. Why does Tarzan have a clean-shaven face? It doesn't make sense. He grew up in the jungle, raised by apes.

It's like, that doesn't make sense. And I have stumbled upon this before over and over again. And I'm like, why? The most significant sign of the Old Testament. Why did God choose circumcision? It seems odd.

It seems like a curveball. It seems a little bit out of place. So first out of the gate, let me give you, let me say two quick things. Firstly, this is what circumcision is. It is the removal of the foreskin from the male genitalia. There's the scientific explanation.

Circumcision means to cut around. Now, you may have heard of something called female circumcision. That is a false term. It is. That's not like that. That is what we, what happens across the world is called, female circumcision is actually called female genital mutilation.

It is a barbaric practice that still happens today. But the term female circumcision, it doesn't apply because circumcision only applies to males. There is no sign, there's no female circumcision in the Bible at all. It is only male circumcision and females are brought into the covenant by being mothers, by being daughters, by being wives. They're brought into the family of God that way. There's no need for a female son.

So that's, that's something that we need to know coming out the gate. Secondly, I just want to state this. We'll get to this more clearly later. We as Christians in the new covenant do not have to practice this. This is a medical choice that you can make, but this is not something that is practiced. Jesus fulfills the law of the Old Testament.

He fulfills the sign of circumcision. What happens in the New Testament, which we don't have time to get in today, is that it gets replaced by the sign of baptism, that baptism is the new sign of the new covenant just as Abraham trusted God and was circumcised. Those in Christ who trust in him are responding in baptism and that is our sign. So those two things we need to state right out the gate. Let's keep diving into the text.

Verse 12. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not in your offspring, both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, hear this, shall be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.

So not only is this it's seeming a little bit odd it gets more serious. If you don't do this, if you are not circumcised, if the men in your household are not circumcised, if you do not circumcise your son, you are cut off from the covenant. So this is a really serious sign and the question is why? Why is this so significant? Why is it so important? I'm going to give you four reasons why this sign has great importance in this story.

The first is that this is a sign of the promise through faith. It's a sign of the promise through faith. Hear this, Abraham had to have trusted God. We see the evidence here. But also, he wouldn't have circumcised himself if he didn't trust God.

That's not how that works. You just don't up and do that. No, he had to actually trust God and follow through on this command. And this sign, this promise, this sign is explicit for a reason. It is intentionally sexual. Abraham trusts God and then he goes through with this and he is going to pass this on to his son Isaac.

Because we read last week that we're not going to have time to read this week that Ishmael gets circumcised. He responds and circumcises himself. He circumcises Ishmael and the men in his household. So why can't Ishmael get the promise? And the reality is is that he's not going to get the promise because there's something unique and intentional about Abraham trusting God then being circumcised then conceiving Isaac. It's intentional for a reason.

He is going to pass this on through Isaac and this is going to go all the way down the line. Second, this covenant was a sign of cleanliness and purity. We see this play throughout the entire Old Testament. Circumcision was a cleansing ritual. The rest of the Old Testament is going to refer to those who were clean and those who were unclean. You're going to see that over and over again.

Clean, unclean. And the reason why is because God is taking possession of his people. And this is an act, a holy act, what the Bible is going to say, a consecrated act. They have made themselves holy, that they are going to be set apart from the rest of the surrounding nations. So this clean, unclean distinction is going to show up over and over again.

And it is a daily and regular reminder for the people of God that you belong to him. That you are his people. You are supposed to be set apart. Third, this was a sign of priesthood. Circumcision is a priestly sign. Contrary to popular belief, Jews were not the only ones that did this.

They were the most famous for doing this and there weren't many other ones who actually did this, but there were some and there's one group of people that's actually very significant for understanding this and that was Egyptian priests. Egyptian priests would circumcise themselves and what they were doing was they were saying, we are separate from the rest of the Egyptian people, we have consecrated ourselves, we have made ourselves holy and we have access to the Egyptian false gods. And what happens as the story plays out is that the Israelites eventually end up in Egypt. They are enslaved for 400 plus years.

Then God, through Moses, brings them out of the promised land and when they come out of the promised land, here's what God tells them, you will be a kingdom of priests. You are going to be, as the New Testament calls it, a royal priesthood. You're a kingdom of priests. They just circumcised their priests. This whole nation bears this sign. And when you get into the land, the promised land, and you set up the nation of Israel, this is where I will rule and reign from, this is where the tabernacle and then the temple will be, you are to be a royal priesthood that will reflect the glory of God to the surrounding nations.

It's a priestly sign. Lastly, it's a sign of new creation. This is a sign of new creation. Why the eighth day? Why were circumcised, why were boys wait, why do they wait eight days to circumcise them? Chet gave a little bit of medical evidence, this is a little bit of God's design in humans, that blood starts to clot better by the eighth day.

It is safer then. But the theological reasons are because the eighth day, hear this, comes after the seventh. The significance of that, and this is a, is that it goes back to Genesis 1. The God created the world in seven days. This was the first week and the first day after, that was the first day of this newly created world. And what happens is, is that on the eighth day that the males are brought into the covenant.

They're brought into the covenant. This is day one for you being a part of the nation of Israel. So there's a whole lot of significance that is packed in to this sign. But like many signs and many symbols over time, this is going to start to lose its meaning. It's going to start to fade. And this happens with symbols.

I mean, in our culture, if you've ever been to a barber shop and you've seen a barber pole, you probably thought, cool, America. The red, white, and blue stripes. That's actually not where that comes from. It goes back to medieval times. In medieval times, there were barber poles and what these would signify is that barbers weren't just skilled with the blade to shave, but also could do basic surgery. So this pole, the red stripe symbolizes blood, the white would symbolize bandages.

Some think that the blue symbolized veins and that they were known for this is a place that once you see the pole that you can get basic medical care. But over time, that sign fades. We start to lose the significance of it and that happens with the sign of circumcision. Over time, circumcision ceases to be a sign of the faith, a sign of the promise, a sign of new creation, a sign of priesthood and it gets reduced down to a few things. It gets reduced down to ethnic superiority. We see this in the New Testament that the circumcised ones are superior.

They follow the law. Circumcision is always attached to the law. They follow the law that that makes them righteous, that makes them better and that makes them insiders. That they are higher than the pagan outsiders. That circumcision makes you an insider. And by the time that Jesus comes, circumcision has been so corrupted by pride and self-righteousness.

And then he comes. Jesus enters the scene and what does he start doing? He starts ministering to outsiders. He starts ministering to Samaritans. He starts ministering to Romans. He starts ministering to outsiders and he starts calling out the insiders.

He starts calling out the religious leaders. And he starts to expose the hypocrisy of the whole system. He starts to expose the hypocrisy of the good parts of their story. Circumcision was meant to be a good sign. The law is a good gift that God had given and they had used it as a bludgeon to keep outsiders out. Even against their own people.

And he starts to expose the failure of the system. He starts to expose the failure of them as a priesthood. And eventually this gets him killed. And he's killed. He conquers death at the resurrection. Then he commissions out the church.

And he says, go and make disciples of all nations. And then the church responds. And you read through the book of Acts that Gentiles start to be reached. That outsiders start to be reached. They start believing and trusting in Jesus. And then a new problem happens.

A group of people called the Judaizers which comprised of super Jewish Christians but also Jews who just wanted to stir trouble in the New Testament church. They start to come into the church and this is where we pick up in the New Testament in Galatians 4. It's page 566 in your blue Bible. In Galatians Paul addresses the problem of this group. This group comes into the church. They start preaching a different message.

They start preaching yes, okay, Jesus but you need Jesus plus circumcision. So they were going around trying to have people circumcised. You need Jesus plus the law. You need Jesus plus customs. You need Jesus plus the festivals. And anytime whether it's then or now that you start preaching a Jesus plus message you have lost the gospel.

It is only by Christ and faith in him alone. It is only by grace by what we just sang. And Paul just absolutely dismantles it. Take some time today to go read the first three chapters of Galatians. Man, he absolutely just dismantles the argument. Goes hard after it.

And then we get to chapter 4 and he shifts the story back to Sarah and Hagar. And we look at this from a different angle. Picks up in verse 21 it says, 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, 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 the promise.

Now this may be interpreted allegorically. Let me pause real quick. Allegorically here means he's taking two literal people with literal stories and they are symbolic of something that is greater. Doesn't mean they weren't real people with real stories. We see that he uses Abraham and circumcision in the book of Romans. They are real people with real stories and real meaning.

He just takes these two figures and shows something greater. This may be interpreted allegorically. These women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai bearing children for slavery. She is Hagar. So Paul begins to set up this argument.

He starts to say children of freedom and children of slavery. And in verse 25 he says, Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia. She corresponds to the present Jerusalem for she is in slavery with her children. Now, you probably didn't catch this because you're not a first century Judaizer going around trying to circumcise people. But Paul just threw some major shade.

I mean, he just threw some major shade here. You see, Mount Sinai is the place where the law was handed down. And he talks about present day Jerusalem and he's referring to these people. He said, You Judaizers, you people, you who boast in the law, who boast in circumcision, who uphold these things and do not understand them, y'all aren't children of freedom. You are Ishmaelites. You are children of slavery.

And that, man, those are some fighting words. That's the moment in the playground when two kids are going at it. One kid finally says something. Everyone backs up because they know something's about to go down. Someone's about to start throwing bows. He absolutely lays it down, but he didn't let up.

Verse 26, he says, But Jerusalem above is free. She is our mother. He's talking about heavenly Jerusalem. This isn't literal Jerusalem. This is the place where God rules and reigns from. And then he picks it up in verse 27.

This is where the story really all starts to tie together. Isaiah 54, 54, this is what's being quoted here in this passage. He says, 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. I just want to pause for a second.

This is a sub-point of this. But isn't it cool here? This is a small picture that we get that you don't have to have literal children to have a spiritual legacy, an eternal legacy, that by taking the gospel to those who don't believe, you can have children of faith that will eternally be in the presence of God. That's just a helpful word for a culture, I think, that's overly obsessed with kids. He says, Who has no husband, now you brothers, like Isaac, are children of the promise. So he quotes Isaiah 54 and this story starts to come into full view.

He says, For years, of this argument coming up to here, is for years they have lost the symbol of circumcision. They've lost what understands the story of Abraham, the formation of the nation of Israel. They've lost the handing down the law. All this has been lost over time. And they have made it as a message of outsiders, insiders and outsiders, Jews and those who were not Jews. Paul quotes Isaiah 54 and what's being implied here often in the New Testament when the Old Testament is being quoted.

This is not just Isaiah 54 1 that is being understood here. He's actually bringing in the meaning, the context, which is verse 2 and verse 3 of Isaiah 54. And this is what Isaiah 54 2-3 says. Enlarge the place of your tent. Let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out. Do not hold back.

Lengthen the cords. Strengthen your stakes. For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left. And your offspring will possess the nations and will people, or in other words, inhabit, and will people the desolate cities. And that is when this story starts to come into full view. The tent was always going to get bigger.

The tent was always going to get stretched. It was not literal descendants of Isaac. It was not literal descendants of Abraham. That was never the story. It was through faith that you became children of God. Through faith in the promise.

The tent was always going to get bigger. And that word offspring here is significant. Paul in Galatians 3 addresses this. This offspring here is singular. And it would have been understood at the time to be implied to the nation singular Israel. Paul comes along and says, actually, no.

No, actually, in Christ, He is the offspring. That is the one this is talking about. That an offspring is going to come and perfectly fulfill the requirements of the law, perfectly fulfill the sign of circumcision, that He's going to take that perfection on the cross with Him, and then He's going to make a way through the resurrection, loosening the power of death, loosening the power of the law, and then after this, in the big, beautiful twist, what Chet likes to call the M. Night Shyamalan move, which, his name is M. Night Shyamalan, in case you're wondering. The big twist that happens here is that this tent was always going to be expanded and that Ishmaelites, Africans, Greeks, Romans, everyone, the plan was to save them all.

The plan was to save the nations that when Christ would come, they would be brought into the tent. That's the beautiful twist of this whole story. This story's been longing for, because I'll be honest, man, sometimes when I read this story, I get frustrated, because Chet said last week, there's no good, there's not any exemplary characters here. I mean, Abraham is, again, passive, again, failing. Sarah gets vicious, and Hagar, I mean, she's not innocent. She tries to overthrow the line.

She shows contempt. But there's a part of me that gets frustrated, because I'm like, now what kind of choice did she have? What about Hagar? What about Ishmael? And I have often heard, in the past, as people have thought about this story, as they've thought about, as we ended last week in 21, when Hagar and Ishmael are wandering in the desert, they are thirsting to death, they are getting ready to die. I have heard people say, you know, wouldn't it have just been better had they died?

Wouldn't it have just been better had they not gotten water? Had God just left them? And what's being implied when that is said is what good are this people, this wild donkey of a nation? What good are the Arab people? And the same that is said about them can be said about us, because all of us were outsiders. I haven't seen your Ancestry.com profiles, but I'm willing to go on a limb and say most of you, if not all of you, are not Jewish.

We are all outsiders, wandering in the desert, thirsting, having no hope. Jesus comes along, someone brings the gospel to us, and then we actually get to drink living water. We get exposed to the gospel, we believe in Him, we're brought into the family of God. That's the hope of the mission of the church. That's the hope of the mission going forward. And what can clearly be seen is that God cares about the Arab people.

You can see it in His care for Hagar and Ishmael and the story, and you can see it today. There's a something called the 1040 window in missions. It's the latitude and longitude from North Africa all the way to Indonesia, and it's the most unreached, the most lost people groups in the world, and the overwhelming majority of that window are Arabs and Muslims. Because Islam eventually comes along, takes that tradition, and there are billions that are wandering around in the desert that don't have water, that don't have the hope of the gospel. Some of them don't even have access to it. There's not someone within a thousand miles who believes in Jesus who can actually bring living water.

They are thirsting in the wilderness. But the hope of the gospel is that God cares about Arabs. He cares about the lost. And He is sending people out today to go out and bring living water. There's a couple in our church, Ben and Patricia. They're here.

I'm not going to point them out and make it awkward for them. But they're here and they're sitting over here. They are here. They were in Lebanon. Patricia is Lebanese. She grew up in Lebanon.

And this is her first time in the States. And Ben was a missionary for close to a decade. They are part of a missions organization called 1040 Hope. And I've loved having them here. I've loved having them in our group as we've talked through how Jesus is saving lost people in Lebanon. How people are trusting in Jesus.

And it gets me excited. It gets me fired up. But you know what's even cooler than that? They are like one of hundreds of thousands of mission organizations of churches who have a heart for the Arab nation and are sending people in to bring living water. And as we close out today, may we be humbled in worship by the God who sins because if He had not sinned, we would still be outsiders. We would not have access to this living water.

Sarai and Hagar

Genesis Week 11 - Sarai and Hagar

Chet Phillips

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Transcript

Good morning. Grab a Bible. Go to Genesis chapter 16. If you do not own a Bible, there should be, or if you didn't bring one with you, there should be a blue one on your row. If you don't own a Bible, take that one home with you. We want you to own a Bible.

We want you to read it. But you will need a Bible today, so I would encourage you to grab one. There won't be any verses on screen, and we have a lot of reading to do. We're going to be working our way through kind of a longer story. The story we're going to look at today will span several chapters. We'll actually skip a few because in the middle of kind of this story playing out, there's some other things that happened, and so we'll come back to those later.

And so it's the first time we've kind of moved around a little bit. We'll do that. And the story that we're looking at has great theological and historical implications. I mean, massive for how humanity plays out, for how the rest of the world is going to work, and we are going to talk about none of that today. We will talk about that next week. So next week we'll look at a lot of the similar texts and look at the historical significance and the theological significance.

And today we're really just zooming in and kind of seeing this story as it happens, in the time it happens, to see how God interacts with these individuals. And I'm hoping that as we go through it, we're going to be pretty straightforward today. We're just going to read the story. We're going to talk about the story. We'll draw some things out kind of as we go. And then hopefully as we move through it, we will see how God chooses to interact with these individuals.

And we'll learn a little bit about what does God do and what do we do when life gets sideways, when our circumstances are just terrible, everything's bottomed out, when people have sinned against us and we are in a bad spot, when we in our hearts have grown angry and bitter and frustrated and lost hope and lost faith, when our circumstances are bad, when we are sinning, when others are sinning against us. And for most of us, that is how life plays out. I think sometimes we like to think that we are the, at least I do, I like to think I'm the main character of my story. And, you know, like in a good movie, there's a few plot twists, but mostly like I develop character over time.

There's like things I'm going to overcome and then there'll be this resolution and everybody will be happy. At some point in my life, I'll just freeze and there'll be words at the bottom of the screen that say, you know, the last little bit of facts that happened, but they're not super important because I already accomplished all this stuff. But that's not really how life works. For most of us, we have, I have whole seasons where my character doesn't develop at all, you guys. And they just be terrible to watch. Like, it's like, when is this guy going to grow?

And it's like, I don't know, keep watching, maybe never. You know, it's like sometimes my life looks like, what's the police show where it's the same thing every single time you watch it? Like, it just feels like that. And if I remember that, that would have been helpful, but I don't remember the name of the show. So, um, it goes, don't, don't, you know, it's all I'm talking about now. No, not helpful.

Law and order. It's the same thing every single time you watch it. Sometimes my life looks like that. No character development, no change, no whatever. Even if the character dies, I just swap them out for the same person who does the same stuff. So, uh, there's whole seasons of life like that.

There are other times where you feel like, oh, I've conquered this, I've overcome it, I've gotten better. And then, no, you haven't. And so that's kind of what we're seeing here is real people in a real story in real life. And it's a mess. What does God do? How does he interact?

What happens in the middle of that? And so let's pray and then we'll start reading. God, we pray that your word, um, would train us, would correct us, would encourage us today. and that ultimately as we see this story, um, that we would see you more clearly and more fully and in a real, genuine way that sinks into the depths of our hearts. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Um, Genesis chapter 16.

So we'll, we'll read through 16, we'll read through a good bit of 17, we'll read through half of 18, and we'll read through some 21. So we got, we got our work cut out, but it is a story and so hopefully it'll be better than if we just read through all of Ephesians or something at once. All right. Now, Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. Okay, so we hadn't talked about Sarai in a little while. Uh, when they introduced her at the beginning of this in chapter 12, they say Sarai, or chapter 11, they say, uh, Abram's wife, Sarai, was barren, she had no children and this is kind of her marker throughout life.

This is, uh, her identity is wrapped up in, uh, barrenness. And so it seems that, uh, for Sarai, this would have been part of who she understood that she was, part of who, how she understood her life. And if you think about this, there's a lot of pain wrapped up in that one verse that we just read. She, at this point, is in her seventies. she would have gotten married fairly young, most likely. Um, so if she got married somewhere between 15 and 25, she has been married for 50 to 60 years and has born no children. And in this culture, even in our culture, but in this culture, that was specifically, uh, consistently painful. she's actually married to a great man who's the head of a clan.

And that's very surprising because they have no children. He actually, at one point, has to go to war. We already read about that. He took 300 trained men that were born in his household, but he doesn't have a physical offspring. He doesn't have a physical household. He has a household that he has amassed through, uh, growth over time, but he's married to Sarai and she has never born children.

And this has to hurt that for a long time, she prayed and hoped and wished nothing. The people kept kind of thinking, right, is this going to happen? And then eventually the assumption would be there's something wrong with her or God is displeased with her or at least he hasn't put his favor on her. Forty years go by. I'm assuming at some point she accepts this. This is how it's going to look.

This is what it's going to be like. And then God, God, goes and speaks to her husband and says, you're going to be the father of a great nation. You're going to be a father of a great offspring. Your children won't be able to be numbered. And I'm assuming when he went back and told Sarai that for the first time in a long time, she had some hope here. Sarai the barren wouldn't be barren any longer.

When we pick up here, that was ten years ago. So for ten years, she waited, hoping, longing. Abraham waited. Abram waited. I'm assuming every month, no, not pregnant. Okay.

Every month for ten years, no, not pregnant. Now, Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. It's possible they picked her up while they were in Egypt. If you'll remember that story, they went there. Abram said, you're really pretty, but that's a problem.

Pretend to be my sister. He let her marry another guy. It was not his finest hour. Don't worry, though. He learned from it and does it again in chapter 20. So, she, it's possible that's where they picked her up.

It's possible at some other point. They kind of live on a trade route, so it's possible that people were going back and forth throughout there. They are Chaldeans, or at least they come from that land, and this is an Egyptian servant. And Sarai said to Abram, Behold, now the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go into my servant, it may be that I shall obtain children by her. So, Sarai comes to Abram, she says, Behold, now the Lord has prevented me from bearing children.

It is most likely, it's possible that she lost hope over the course of ten years, but she's reached 70, she's in her 70s, it is most likely that what she is saying is, I have ceased to have my cycle. That she has entered menopause or gone, completed menopause, which you know that had to be so painful the first time that, because when you enter menopause, and I looked this up, I don't know much about it, your menstrual cycle becomes irregular. And so for Sarai, who's been hoping and praying and longing for an irregular menstrual cycle, one time it doesn't happen. she waits. She's not pregnant. She goes through menopause and is no longer able, biologically, factually, to bear children.

I assume this crushed her. She goes to Abraham and says, the Lord's prevented me. God has chosen to say no to this. And I guess the hope that was in her, that maybe that was going to happen through her, that she was the one who was going to receive the promise that God was going to make a great nation out of her, that finally this thing she had longed for was going to happen, that she would no longer be Sarah, the barren, is gone. And so what she does is she comes up with a plan. She immediately enters in with, okay, I've got the backup plan.

She kind of tries to take control of the situation. I think she probably felt pretty insecure in her situation with Abram anyway, if he was willing to let other people marry her. I think that probably damaged their relationship a bit. And so she now is no longer able to bear children, but this promise to Abram is that he will have children. She was never mentioned in the promise. It was just to Abram.

It was assumed. Maybe she longed for, hoped for, that it would be her, but it's not. And I think if you went to her and you said, well, just hope, maybe it's still you, she would say, hope is gone. Look at the facts. We were wrong. It's not me.

But she comes up with this plan. She says, I'll give you Hagar, and maybe by her, I'll bear children. Now, that may sound crazy to us, and maybe it doesn't sound crazy to you, but that was a common practice. to have a surrogate practice in this way was common in this time. I don't think it was ideal. I don't think God blesses this as we read the rest of the story, but this was a common practice. That someone who was in a position of power, someone who had means and had servants, would present a servant to their spouse and say, she's going to bear children for me, and the children would actually be hers.

That's what Sarah says. Now, I wish this story stopped here. Let's read. It says, Go into my servant. It may be that I shall obtain children by her. And Abram listened to the voice of Sarah.

I wish that it didn't say that. I wish it said that Abram looked at Hagar and said, I'm sure you're very nice. I'm sure you're a lovely person. And then he looked at Sarah and said, Boo. You are the only woman for me. And then the lights got dim and he said, baby, baby, baby, baby.

I wish that was the story. Or at least he said, hey, maybe we ought to pray about this. God's the one who gave us the promise. Maybe we ought to seek him a little bit. It does seem like maybe that's not what's going to happen. I don't know all the stuff you've got going on, but you're saying you're not going to have children.

Maybe we ought to pray about this. Maybe we ought to seek his face. What it says is, and Abram listened to the voice of Sarah. Now, most people would argue that listening to your wife is a very good thing. This phrase, however, when used in Genesis, has only ever been used negatively. It was what God says to Adam when he shows up.

He says, because you listened to the voice of Eve, because you listened to the voice of your wife, and now it says he listened to the voice of Sarah. It does not mean just listened. It means obeyed. Abraham's the idea that he just took her word and submitted. He took her word and followed. It's what we're supposed to do with God.

Listen to the voice of God. If it said, and Abraham listened to God, what it would mean is he took it, he took it to heart, and he acted on it. You see, Abram is supposed to lead, love, defend, care, and he doesn't. Abram's in this story throughout the rest of this time, and he's the first sitcom dad. He does this. That's pretty much what he does in the rest of this story.

He just is kind of there. There's a lot of times where you're like, okay, do, okay, no. Okay, you're going to, okay, no. And he doesn't lead, love, serve as he ought. Abram listened to the voice of Sarah. Verse three.

So after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, so that's when the promise came when they came, so she's had ten years of trying to be pregnant. Sarah, Abram's wife, took Hagar, the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram, her husband, as a wife. And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. So that's Hagar.

When she saw that she was pregnant, she suddenly viewed Sarah as worthless. she hated her. She looked on her with contempt. Now, Hagar hasn't had a say in this. This historically plays out this way that those who have no means, often what they do have, their body, their talent, is taken from them by those who do have means. that those who have the ability to pull some strings and have some money and have some ability will take those who have nothing really and will use them for their own purposes, their own value, use them up. They're only good for what they're able to do. They have no value in and of themselves.

So Hagar is in this position and her response is hatred, contempt, towards Sarah. She suddenly feels like, okay, hold on a second. First of all, it confirms very quickly according to the text that Sarah was the issue, that she was not able to get pregnant, that it was something going on with her, not with Hagar. And so Hagar immediately is pregnant and then looks down on Sarah. Treats her differently, Acts differently towards her. And it also can kind of hold the idea, contempt can mean that she just kind of rejects this idea, she's going to keep the child, it's not going to be Sarah's.

There are places in the Bible where it says that you have contempt on the plan, you're not going to do this until it seems like that may be what is happening. She looked on contempt with her mistress. Verse 5, And Sarah said to Abram, May the wrong done to me be on you. I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between me and you. But Abram said to Sarah, Behold, your servant is in your power, do to her as you please.

Then Sarah dealt harshly with her and she fled from her. So Hagar gets pregnant, she treats Sarah with contempt, she becomes maybe haughty, she looks down on her, she treats her as worthless, Sarah goes to Abram and says, This is your fault, may the wrong done to me be on you. She had told herself that if Haggai got pregnant she would feel better, that this would work, that this would be beautiful, that this would fix the plan. And she had, in the midst of her turmoil and hurt, she had grabbed the reins and just said, I'm going to work this out. I'm going to make sure I'm still in control here, I'm going to make this work, and it doesn't.

And that's played out in human history, that's played out in our histories over and over again. This will fix me, this will make me happy, if I can just make this work out, I'm just going to step in, I'm going to pull some strings, and then when we get it, it's worse. When we get what we wanted, it falls apart, it makes it worse, it's more hurtful, it's more painful, that's what happens. And she goes to Abram and says, this is your fault, and she's not entirely wrong. And all he says is, hey, hey, hey, hey, she's your servant, do whatever you want. So it seems as if Sarai beats her, she dealt harshly with her, and Hagar flees.

The angel of the Lord found her, that's Hagar, by a spring of water in the wilderness. So she runs away into the wilderness. This would not have gone well for her. She is pregnant. We don't know how pregnant, but obviously pregnant. She runs off into the wilderness where we're told in the land that they are in it is not well watered, so she finds a spring.

She's hanging out there. She has no real hope of a future. She can live in the woods and try to have a baby by herself, which probably won't go well. She can get picked up by somebody else and be a servant or a slave. She can die. She finds some water, she's there.

The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going? We're told at the beginning that that's her name, is Hagar. She's not called by that any time that Abram or Sarai speak of her. She's called the servant. Servant, servant, servant, servant, servant.

Until God shows up, until the angel of the Lord shows up and he says, Hagar. Because her value to him does not come from what she's able to do. Her value comes from who he has made her. His love for her. That she is a person that he cares about and he calls her by name. And I'm assuming the voice that she heard both instilled her with fear and with longing and with hope.

He said, Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going? She said, I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai. The angel of the Lord said to her, return to your mistress and submit to her. Those are not words of hope. That sounds terrible. He says, no, go back.

Submit to her. Change your attitude. Change your posture. Be there. The angel of the Lord also said to her, I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude. So there now lies hope that the baby will live or that eventually she'll have more children, that she will live.

And the angel of the Lord said to her, behold, you are pregnant and you shall bear a son. And that's exciting. She got to do an old fashioned God version of an ultrasound. And you shall call his name Ishmael, which means God hears. He doesn't say that, but that's what it means. You shall call his name Ishmael because the Lord has listened to your affliction.

He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him. And he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen. Now, when we hear that, we might think, okay, is that like, is that good? Is that Bible talk for something good to be a wild donkey of a man? Because I've read Song of Solomon and he says your teeth looked like sheep and he was trying to be nice. Your neck is a pomegranate.

Like, is this just one of those weird? No, it translates about as well in English. It's not a nice thing to say about someone. If you're like, yeah, my neighbor is a wild donkey of a man. You're going to be like, he seems nice. So it's not a good prophecy.

He will be great. He will be a great multitude, but he will be against everyone and everyone will be against him. That plays out in history. Very significantly, and we're not going to talk about it. Verse 13. Talk about it next week.

So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her. You are a God of seeing. For she said, truly here I have seen him who looks after me. So she says, I'm seeing. He knows me. He hears me.

That's what he says. I see you. I hear you. I know you. Only person in the Old Testament, male or female, to give God a name. Right here.

You are a God of Abraham. Abraham a son. Abraham called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abraham was 86 years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abraham. So Abraham is excited.

He has a son. The promise is being fulfilled. She comes back and says, God says he's going to make him a great multitude. He's going to be a wild donkey. We'll talk about that later. Abraham is like, what was that?

She's like, you're going to Abraham was 86 years old. Now he's 99 years old. This is a 13 year old. Ishmael is 13 now. So Sarai, she's not mentioned.

Hagar comes back, says, God met me, told me to come back. Hopefully she changed her attitude and did what God told her to. There's a son. Sarai watches Ishmael grow to be 13. the promise has moved. He's going to be the great multitude. That's the situation Sarai is in.

When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, I am God almighty before me. I'm God almighty. Walk before me and be blameless that I may make my covenant between me and you and may multiply you greatly. Then Abram fell on his face, which is a good response. And God said to him, behold, my covenant is with you and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, which means exalted father, but your name shall be Abraham, which means father of a multitude.

Be Abraham, which means father of a multitude. For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly

Fruitful and I will make you into nations and kings shall come from you and I will establish my covenant between me and you and

Your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant to be God to you and to your offspring after you and I will

Give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession and

I will be their God so Abraham is laying on his face and God is just saying this is what I'm going to do

This is my promise this is what's going to happen and God said to Abraham as for you you shall keep my covenant you

And your offspring after you throughout their generations this is my covenant which you shall keep between me and you and your offspring after

You every male among you shall be circumcised you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins and it shall be a sign

Of the covenant between me and you he who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised which is interesting that's when blood

Begins to clot in a human generations whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not your

Offspring both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised so shall my covenant

Be in your flesh an everlasting covenant any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from

His people he has and we're not going to talk about that verse 15 and God said to Abraham as for Sarai your wife

This is the first time that we've seen God speak about Sarai as for Sarai your wife you shall not call her name Sarai

But Sarah which means princess so all of you who get really down on little girls being called princess and being taught that they're

A princess boom proof text Sarai is a princess I will bless her and more over I will give you a son by her

I will bless her and she shall become nations kings of people shall come from her then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and

Said to himself you ever laugh at an inappropriate time Anna and I were at a wedding reception rehearsal dinner they were doing toast luckily we were at the

Back table we got to laughing so hard we were both crying I couldn't look at her it was terrible this is worse Anna and I really shouldn't go places together

It's a problem he laughed and said to himself shall a child be born to a man who is 100 years old shall Sarah who

Is 90 years old bear a child and Abraham said to God oh that Ishmael might live before you and God said no but

Sarah your wife he says that over and over again by the way he says Sarah your wife Sarah your wife a little bit of hey next time

She says marry this other lady say no Sarah your wife shall bear you a son and you shall call his name Isaac this

Is great y'all Isaac means he laughs so Abraham falls over laughing I guess he thinks God didn't know and he said you know

What you're going to name him you think this is funny it's going to be hilarious that's what it says that Abraham falls over

And Esau is the same it says Abraham falls over he laughs he says yeah that's what we're going to name him I will

Establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him as for Ishmael I have heard you behold I have

Blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly he shall father twelve princes God shows up when Ishmael is thirteen and

He says hey Abraham your name is Abraham now which is good because that's what I've been calling him the whole time hey Abraham

Remember that covenant that we cut I'm about to cut it into your flesh we're going to cut it into your flesh and it's

Going to be with you and Sarah your wife and I'm assuming that when Abraham went back to Sarah and he said it's you

You you're the one he said her her her she she she Sarah Sarah Sarah Sarah I even I hate to bring this up

I was like are you sure and he was like yeah Abraham has great love for his son Ishmael but God says no I'm going

To do it through Isaac and it's interesting the Bible doesn't place a lot of circumcised who conceives Isaac God comes in and says no this covenant wasn't clear

Enough I'm making the promise to you and to her and we're cutting it into your flesh the rest of this chapter says that

Abraham got up and did what God said and on that very day circumcised himself and everybody in the household which I can just imagine some

Guys watching some sheep and some people came running towards him and they were like what's going on and they were like God just

Spoke to Abraham God spoke to Abraham what'd he say the covenant he's gonna have children do what now everybody I wasn't even born

Here I was bought bought too he clarified twice when right now okay this is all coming on a little fast I'm gonna be

Honest well they got it over with and Abraham did what the Lord told him to 18 and the Lord appeared to him by

The oaks of Mamre and as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day now their tents would

Have been goat skin tents so these are big black tents made out of goat skin and they would have during the summer most

Likely rolled the sides up so it was just like a big open air kind of thing and during the winter they rolled the

Sides down because it gets pretty cold but it says he's in the heat of the day he's sitting out in his tent so

It's probably pretty warm he's sitting out underneath the covering also remember he's very old as he sat at the door of his tent

In front looked and behold three men were standing in front of him I said earlier that the Lord appeared to him so these

Three men it says the Lord is among them and behold three men were standing in front of him when he saw them he ran

From the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said oh Lord if I have found favor in your sight

Do not pass that you may pass on since you have come to your servant so they said do as you have said and

Abraham went quickly into the tent and said quick three seeds of fine flour knead it and make cakes and Abraham ran into the herd

And took a calf tender and good and gave it to the young man who prepared it quickly then he took curds and milk

And the calf that he had prepared and set it before them and he stood by them under the tree while they ate I

Don't know if they fried the cheese curds but if you ever get a chance to eat fried cheese curds are delicious verse nine

They said to him where is Sarah your wife I want y'all to see this God shows up to Abraham the first thing he

Says when he sits down he says where is Sarah he cares about her he reinstituted this promise and he says this is for

Sarah and he says where is she he said she is in the tent and the Lord said I will surely return to you

About this time next year okay if we're sitting next to a tent just think about this for a second we're sitting next to

A tent or in the so she wasn't even like she was at the door she was at the flat behind him now Abram

And Sarah were old advanced in years the way of women had ceased to be with Sarah so Sarah laughed to herself saying after

I am worn out and my Lord is old shall have pleasure meaning will this come true will this finally be real now immediately

You're like is that a good laugh is it like a joyous laugh is it like a not good laugh it's not good one let's see how

God respond Lord said to Abraham why did Sarah laugh and say shall I indeed bear a child now that I am old is

Anything too hard for the Lord so her laughter was lack of faith she scoffed we'll talk about that in a second is anything too

Hard for the Lord at the appointed time I will return to you about this time next year and Sarah shall have a son

But Sarah denied it saying I did not laugh I did not laugh she just pokes out behind the curtain or she just shouts

It what no laughing in here something else was funny for she was afraid and he said no but you did laugh no you

Did Sarah you did okay here's what happened God said I've made a promise to Sarah and then he reiterates it and she goes

Yeah okay we do that somebody comes up to you you're in the midst of a situation you can't see past the situation all

You know is pain all you know is hurting they say let me tell you something God loves you and in your heart you go

Okay do we do the thing I know I do this I don't necessarily laugh but I'll do the thing where it's like theologically

I know God can do whatever he wants secondarily I know he won't she has facts on her side after the way of women

Has ceased it's just how she wants to walk out and say don't you know biology I thought you created stuff ain't happening it's

Not a joyous laugh when Abram came back and told her this promise she was too shut down she was too hurt she didn't hold

On to this because it says about the same time next year twice meaning that God shows back up the first question he has

About Sarah is because when the news reached her that the promise was to her she did not believe it and God wants to

Talk to her about it this is where is she about this time next year she's gonna have a son and he says why

Are you laughing is anything impossible for so many of us we get in these situations where all we can see is impossible and

Then somebody comes along in your group and says let me remind you how much Jesus loves you let me remind you what happens

When the Holy Spirit works on somebody that they might repent let remind you and you go yeah okay and he says no but

You did laugh all right Sodom and Gomorrah happens situation with Abraham and Abimelech where Abimelech marries Sarah again somebody else marries her it's not great he thinks

You get over some stuff they would quit doing this anyway chapter 21 it's an exciting chapter you'll notice a little heading that was added

Later the birth of Isaac kind of giving away the ending here but okay chapter 21 the Lord visited Sarah as he had said

And the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised meaning that God fulfilled his promise he said he was going to do this

He did and she conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him now think about this she just

Started gaining weight y'all she's 90 wasn't like she was on a menstrual cycle that she could notice was missing all of a sudden one

Day she was just like no maybe she started throwing up first I don't know I don't know how this went she started having

Problems and then she was like wait a second Sarah conceived bore Abraham a son 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 who Sarah bore to 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 Isaac was born to him and Sarah said God has made laughter for me

Everyone who hears will laugh over me I love that verse she said who would have said to Abraham and Sarah who would have

Said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children yet I have born him a son in his old age she has a son 75

80 Years late 25 years after the promise and she says I get the joke he made laughter for me so much joy in

That moment she also says everyone else will think this is funny and it is funny picture a 90 year old woman now picture

Her nine months pregnant it's startling yet humorous she gives birth to this child she does not die she has a healthy child she

Is healthy she nurses she says who on earth would have ever said this would happen and she now believes the impossible she says

The Lord did this and I get it I get the kind of laughter that this Isaac was going to be I get it

And the child grew and was weaned started eating solid food and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned

Men take a note here if you're the husband the dad the head of the household find things to celebrate this is one of

The cool things that Abraham does here he says you're eating solid food now well you're about to get all kinds of solid food

This is going to be a celebration find things to celebrate put your foot in the ground on some stuff don't always just be

Like it about time you started eating food I've been telling your mama I thought you were behind on that don't do that say boy

You ain't even have fried chicken for have you like just throw down find things to celebrate find things to be excited about don't just

Fuss when things are bad but celebrate but Sarah saw that the son of Hagar the Egyptian whom she had born to Abraham laughing he's

15 16 At he had an attitude 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 her heart towards Hagar has not changed cast out this slave woman her

The son of this slave woman will not be an heir with my son and the thing was very displeasing to Abraham he's that

Word pretty heavy he's very frustrated very angry on account of his son he's like that's my son you can't just say get rid of

Your 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 so I just want to point this out earlier was a problem when he

Listened to his wife because God wasn't involved now she has some wisdom God steps in and says no listen to her so it's

Not like a general rule don't listen to your wife no she's helpful but listen to God as well what God said to him

Be not displeased because of the boy because of your slave one whatever Sarah says you do as she tells you for through Isaac

Shall promises for Sarah and Isaac that's where the promise has always been send them out I think this is a big messed up

Situation I think God also thinks it is but this is what should happen they're still facing the consequences of their sin and their

Desire to take control in their own hands so Abraham rose early in the morning he took bread and a skin of water and gave

It to skin was gone so this is some days later she had a skin of water they've been rationing it I'm assuming they're

Trying to figure out a place to go they're trying to make it somewhere safe when the water and 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 at the distance of the

Shot for think it means he was refusing water and letting her drink that's my guess so she lays him parched lips chapped lips

Cheeks sunk in she drags him under a bush when he finally falls over because they're out of water and they've been out of

Water for a while and she just goes off somewhere kind of close but not too close because she doesn't want watch her son

Die she sits down 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 his name is God hears

He said I have Ishmael Ishmael and it's like M. Night Shamelan signs or whatever when all just comes together at the end he

Was going to hear him all along I heard the voice voice the boy where he is verse 18 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 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 she's like I'm done with these Chaldeans okay you read this who's

The person that you think ah let's learn moral lessons from this character Hagar isn't the main character she does she's not terrible from what

We can see she has a lot of really bad circumstances happen to her but they're not really highlighting Hagar Sarai has this moment

Of redemption where she's laughing and it's almost like you got it you see what God was doing and then she sees Ishmael laughing

And says the joke is not for him kill him and you're like like y'all were having a party what what on earth she

Goes to Abraham in the middle of the party and says they gotta go he'll have nothing to do here and there may be

Some he was a threat to her son she's afraid of it but she's not saying send him away give bread give him some water and they

Can go die Abraham is not the hero in this he's not held up as like they wrote this so that everybody would think Abraham was awesome

That's not how it's written Ishmael seems okay from the little bit that we see Isaac started eating solid food that's pretty good I think he's the

Best character he made people happy and then he ate food and it's like all right Isaac this story is a mess and that's so

So good because your story is a mess and do y'all see how good God is in this story how tender he is how loving

He is like I want him to show up and bang some people's heads together like you want him to show up and say

What are you doing come no come here Abraham come sit down Sarah you think this is funny too come here both y'all in

Trouble like you want him to do that when he shows up to Hagar like he there's just these moments where you're like but

He just shows up and he's so kind and he's so gracious and he's just walking with them through this we so often think

That he's just so disappointed in us and he's so slow to anger and so slow to wrath and so welcoming and gracious and

In the middle of this he's just working it out with them and he's saying it's going to be okay no no let me

Clarify that the promise was for her now I hear you about Ishmael but I will bless him but it's not for him and

He just the whole time is just working through this and I want y'all to know that that God definitively does that for us

In Christ that he calls our name that he works out our problems that he accomplishes his purpose for our good in Jesus that

Ultimately Jesus is the Isaac that we get the laughter and the joy in the midst of our broke down inability to get there if you are

Not a Christian today I want you to just think and be like Hagar for a moment and know that God calls your name

I want you to hear him call your name and know that he knows you and that he sees you and that he loves

You and he can work in the middle of this and you can't see past your pain I want you to know that he

Works with you so similarly to the way he works with Sarah the promises don't break down because you actively worked to destroy them

He shows back up he renews him he reminds you and he works for your good and he calls you princess or prince if

That's better for you that you're a son or daughter of the king and his promises will hold fast a band is going to

Come back up here Matt and Bianca are going to come back up here we're going to sing we're going to worship a God

Who in the midst of our chaos and our sin and our lack of faith and our contempt and our scoffing at his promises

Consistently works to draw us nearer to him loves us so deeply is so kind and so gracious and that's what those pages are drenched

With the love of God for them and I don't know where you are I don't know what you've got going on right now

I don't know the circumstances you can't see past I don't know the promise you've been waiting on for 5 10 15 25 35

45 60 Years I don't know I know what you've been holding out on I don't know what you thought was going to happen

In life that hasn't happened in life I don't know what you have seen just crash around your ears but I know that there

Is a God who sees you and knows you and knows your name and through Christ is at work for your good and who

Cares and who loves and who in the midst of you being so devastatingly disappointing is not disappointed but comes to you and says

No and that through Jesus we can have that eternally secured for us forever let's pray God we thank you for your grace that you

See us thank you that you hear us and we thank you that when we are a catastrophic mess you call to us you

Clarify you walk with us you address us and you drag us forward towards your hope and your joy we pray that those who

Don't know Jesus would be forever changed by him would hear him calling their voice today would step out in faith we pray those

Who have grown hardened to your promises that you would soften them they would see the joy and laughter and the hope and the

Promises that are given from you and they would know that nothing is impossible with you in Jesus name we pray amen

The Covenant

The Covenant

Chet Phillips

Transcript

Good morning. My name's Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. We are going to be in Genesis chapter 15. So we've been walking through the book of Genesis, and we are in a section we're calling the Patriarchs, which is just we're looking at the life of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

And so the beginning of Genesis chapters 1 through 11 is kind of this the history of humankind and kind of how we have spiraled out of control after we rebelled against God and spiraled into sin. And then God's promise that he's not going to let sin win. And it zooms in on this one man, this one family, and kind of the rest of Genesis is going to carry out of this family. And really the rest of the Bible is going to carry out out of this family, out of what God does with Abraham and then Isaac and Jacob and Joseph and just this family as it plays out in history. And is he going to be able to fulfill his promise to not let sin win, to not let us all be overcome by sin and rebellion and death?

Can he somehow redeem us? And that's where we are. We're in the story of Abraham in Genesis. God hasn't changed his name yet, so it's still Abram. We're in chapter 15. We looked at the first kind of three chapters of Abraham last week, 12, 13, and 14.

And so we're picking up today and we're going to see two massively important kind of events take place in the life of Abraham and really in the life of us as believers. And so let's pray and then we'll study this story together. God, we thank you for your word, for the instruction and for the hope that is found in it. And we pray that as we read this story of something you did with this one man long ago, that we might see you more clearly in it and your son more clearly through it. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, so we're going to start reading in chapter 15, verse 1.

After these things, and that just means the events we read about last week, after these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. Fear not, Abram. I am your shield. Your reward shall be very great. So he comes to Abram in a vision.

He says, fear not. I am your shield. I'm your protector. I'm your defender. I'm what covers you. I'm what guards you.

And he says, your reward should be very great. And Abram responds. He says, but Abram said, oh, Lord God, what will you give me? For I continue childless. And the heir of my house is Eleazar of Damascus. And Abram said, behold, you have given me no offspring.

And a member of my household will be my heir. Okay, so Abram's response is kind of interesting. God comes to him and says, I'm going to be your shield. Your reward will be very great. And Abram starts interacting with the promises that God's already given him, which is that he's going to make him into a great nation. That he's going to give him land.

He's going to give him a great nation. He's going to give him people. And so Abram's saying, like, if you keep giving me stuff, the thing I really want, the thing that really clinches this deal, makes this wonderful, is that you would give me an heir. And so in some ways he's questioning God's plan. And in some ways he's just trying to understand if I misunderstood what's going to happen here. Do you actually want to continue to bless me and have all this go to the current heir that I have, which is Eleazar of Damascus?

Like, I'm going to give it to a person who's just part of my household, but he's not. He's not. He doesn't come from me. He's not in my family line. Or are you going to do something different? It's kind of what he's asking.

He's questioning God on how is this going to work. And I think maybe some of us have been there before where we're looking at the situation we're in. We're looking at what God says he's going to do. We're looking at how the Bible says things play out, how he treats Christians. And we're going, I don't see it. I don't see how you're going to do that from here.

I don't see how that's going to work out well from here. So that's what Abraham's saying. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him. This man shall not be your heir. Your very own son shall be your heir. And he brought him outside and he said, look toward heaven and number the stars.

So this vision happened at night or really early morning prior to sunrise. If you are able to number them. Then he said to him, so shall your offspring be. So he takes him outside. He tells him to look at the stars. And maybe you're used to looking at the stars in Columbia.

So you've ceased to try to look at the stars. But at this moment, Abraham walks out of his tent in an area where there is no light pollution. And he stares up. And he sees innumerable little pinpricks of light. Like the pictures you see on your computer desktop. Where it's just insane.

Where it almost looks like you're staring out beyond the world. And you can almost fall into it. That's what he sees. And he's staring at this. And God says, if you can number those, you'll have a good handle on the number of your offspring. And so as Abraham's staring up and as he's hearing the word of God, it says this.

Verse 6. And he believed the Lord. And he counted it to him as righteousness. So what that says is that Abraham believed the Lord. And God counted it to him as righteousness. Okay, so this is very interesting.

And very, very good news for us. What it says is that Abraham believed the Lord. Now that phrase there means that this, it settled. It became firm. That's the first time this word is used. And it means that it kind of, it settled in.

He locked it in. He believes him. Because we've seen Abraham trust the Lord before. We've seen him do things the Lord told him to go do. But this, in this moment, is where it really settles in his heart that he genuinely believes.

He comes to a firm, okay, I trust you. I don't know how you're going to work this out. I don't know when that's going to happen. I'm really, really old. And so is Sarai. But okay, I trust you.

It's this moment where that happens for him. That he locks this belief in. And for those of us who are genuinely believers in Christ, maybe you fully understand what it's saying. Because there might have been times prior when you were studying your Bible. When you were hanging out with a church or something. Where you kind of believed the Lord.

And then you would kind of back off. You would get a little bit tossed to and fro. You would vacillate. There was like this, no, I do believe. And then something would happen. And you're like, well, maybe not really fully.

I don't really know. And then at some point it became so clear to you. That actually in the face of mounting evidence. In the face of doubt. In the face of frustration. In the face of questions.

No, I believe. I trust you. Beyond I trust what you've done or what you will do. I trust you. And that's what Abram does here. And it says that the Lord counted it to him as righteousness.

Now, we need to know what righteousness is. Righteousness means being right. It means being good. It means being holy. It's actually, if you ask people. The majority of people believe that there is a God.

And if you ask them, what does he want from you? The general response is, he wants me to be a good person. That may be your answer. He wants me to be good. There's a big holy creator God. And he looks down at me and says, behave.

Do the things you're supposed to do. Don't do the things you're not supposed to do. Be good. Be righteous. That he wants me to be generous. He wants me to be kind.

He wants me to not hurt people. That's what the term righteousness means. But what did we just see? Is Abram righteous? He is because God credited him with righteousness when he believed him. So that Abram places his trust in God.

And he just says, I trust you. My faith is in you. I believe you. And God says, okay, that counts as righteousness. If you'll think back to school. Some of you are still in school.

So you don't have to think as hard as other people. Some of you got to think kind of hard. If you'll remember extra credit. So there were some people that you went to school with and they had intelligence. They didn't need extra credit. And there were other people who needed extra credit.

They needed something that made up for being able to just show up, take tests, do well. Maybe you didn't test well. Maybe you didn't study well. Maybe you, because you never studied, even though you might have been good at it, you never tested well. I don't know. But you needed extra credit.

You needed your teacher to say, I will trade hard work for intelligence. And there were annoying people in your class who were like, I don't need to do extra credit. And there was you who was like, I'm doing all the journal assignments. I'm doing all the things. I'm cutting clippings out of newspapers and gluing them to some sort of marker board. I'm doing whatever it is for me to get extra credit.

And what your teacher was saying was, I will trade. I will count. I will credit extra work, hard work for good grades. And so what God just said to Abram was, I will credit faith for good behavior. I will credit faith for righteousness. That you, if you trust me, that's the same.

I will credit it as if you have just perfectly behaved yourself. This is, Paul picks this up in Romans. We're just going to have this on the screen. That God applies this to his account, whose account. So if it says for, if Abraham was justified by works, now justified means made right, made righteous.

You're justified that your actions are justified. If you did something perfect and you said, no, I feel justified in this. It means that you did it the way it was supposed to be done. So if he was justified by works, then he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.

Okay, so what it says is, if Abraham was just a really good person, and if he was just righteous, then he could walk before God and say, look at my account. I have done so, so well. He would have something to boast about. He would say, everybody else on earth. This is the deal that God would have with Abram. And this is what we're tempted to think.

That God looked around on earth and he said, Abram's got it together. That's the guy I want. That Abram could actually look at God and say, everyone else on earth, trash. They're the worst. But I'm doing great.

Now, if you were here last week and you saw when Abram told his wife to pretend to be his sister so she can marry another guy, you probably aren't sold on his righteousness. Probably aren't convinced that he's the best. He has nothing to boast about before God. He can't walk before God and say, just take it on all my account. Just grade my little sheet and you'll know that I'm perfect. It doesn't say that.

It says, no, he didn't have anything to boast about before God because he believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. Now, to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift, but as his due. If you have a job, when you get your paycheck, your boss says, thank you, not your welcome. It's your due. You worked for it. They don't act like that you somehow are indebted to them.

They're indebted to you. That's what it's saying. So that if God had a system where you behaved and you went to him and you said, look at my behavior and he would owe you, but he doesn't owe you. It's not your due. It's a gift. And to the one who does not work, but believes in him who justifies, makes right the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.

Now, all of our little hearts should have just started fluttering because what it says is that God justifies the ungodly. Y'all know who that is? Us. We're the ungodly. You can't stand here and say, no, in all my actions and in all my thoughts, I have been like God. I've been godly.

I've been holy. I've been pure. No, you haven't. This is us. We're the ungodly. I know y'all.

That's y'all. My wife's here. Ask her. She can co-sign. That's me. His faith is counted as righteousness.

And then he says this, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works. Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord does not count his sins. So not only does he credit us with righteousness, but he doesn't count our sin. He takes our sin away. How?

By faith. That we trust God and he gives us righteousness. Now, some of you are genuinely appropriately excited. And some of you are like, wait a second. That doesn't sound fair. And you're right.

It is not fair. But it's not fair in our favors who don't complain. It's not fair towards the ungodly. We don't get what we deserve. He doesn't hold our sin against us. If we trust Jesus, if we place our faith in God, we get righteousness on our account.

The only people who have a problem with this are the people who think they're good enough. The only people who have a problem with this. That's why Jesus and the religious leaders didn't get along. Because Jesus came along proclaiming this idea. This is what he worked for. This is the people he reached.

And everybody who thought they had it together was really annoyed with him. Because they had been working. And they felt like God owed them. I've been punching the clock. You owe me. But the people who know they're ungodly.

Who know their sin. And who know that they can't work enough to pay it back. Or to be good enough. Who just trust Jesus covers me. God, you are good. And you are gracious.

And you justify the ungodly. Those people are excited. Remember in class. And the teacher, you had homework. But she forgot to take it up.

And you were so happy because you didn't do it. Teacher didn't say anything about homework. And you were like. And then this little greasy hand shot up. In the back. Um.

This is how they talked. I didn't go to your school. But I know what they sounded like. You didn't take up homework. And you were like. I'm going to choke somebody today.

Now do you know who raises their hand and says that? The person who did their homework. Not a single person ever shot their hand up and said. You didn't take up homework. And I didn't do it. But I just felt like being honest.

He justifies the ungodly. Abram is righteous. Not because he was well behaved. Not because he put in work. Not because he was good. Not because we're going to read Genesis.

And be blown away by how magical Abram was. He's righteous. Because he believed God. When God spoke. He's righteous. Because when God made a promise.

He said I trust you. And he placed all his faith in him. And he pushed all his chips over to God. And he says I'm following you. I trust it's settled in his heart. And that's good news for anyone who knows that they're ungodly.

So let's keep going. Because this is going to get more interesting. Where God kind of continues along with Abram in this story. Verse 7. And he said to him. I am the Lord.

Who brought you out. From Ur of the Chaldeans. That's modern day Iraq. I'm the one who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans. To give you this land to possess. But he said.

So this is Abram. Oh Lord. How am I to know that I shall possess it? I want y'all to be really encouraged. We just got told that Abram believes God. And he believes him so much.

Settled so much. That he has faith in him. But he still has questions. Sometimes people think. Like if you're going to be a Christian. It's just blind faith.

You can't question anything. You can't. It's like no. Like we get to wrestle with God. We get to talk to God. Did you read the Psalm we read a minute ago?

The part that Josh read. We don't read the discouraging parts out loud. We read the encouraging parts out loud down here. But did you hear what Josh said? Are you going to be angry forever? Is it going to be terrible forever?

Is everything going to fall apart forever? That's in the Bible. Like we get to wrestle with God. We get to ask him questions. And still trust. And still have faith.

And so that's what he says. Oh Lord. How am I to know. That I shall possess it? Verse 9. God said.

He said to him. Bring me a heifer. That's a female cow. Three years old. A female goat. Three years old.

A ram. Three years old. A turtle dove. And a young pigeon. And he brought him all these. Cut them in half.

And laid them each half. Laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. And when the birds of prey came down on the carcasses. Abram drove them away. Okay.

So that got weird. God was like. Go get some animals. And Abram just starts chopping them up. It's like. Hey.

I think he jumped the gun. He didn't tell you what to do with them man. But what happened here. Is that Abram knows what God is asking for. Even though we don't. But we're separated from Abram culturally.

So as soon as he said this. Abram knew what he was talking about. I'll give you an example of like cultural things that we're used to. That would seem weird to like. If you weren't familiar with our culture. And there were two people.

And one of them. They were haggling over. Like a car. They were talking about price. And they were going back and forth. On how much they were going to.

How much they were going to spend on it. How much they were going to buy. How much it was going to be selling. All of a sudden. One of them just said. He just.

Poked his hand out at the other one. The other one clasped his hand. And they jiggled it firmly. Makes perfect sense to us. That's a handshake y'all. But if we'd never seen one.

You'd be like. What just happened here? And then they said. Draw it up. Draw what up? We know.

Contract. Draw it. Like let's write it up. Let's put it up on some paper. It doesn't mean. Draw a picture of the car.

But we would know that. Because we're familiar with the concept. There's just certain things. That were social cues. That we're used to. I was playing football in college.

And one of our coaches. Was chewing out. One of the other linebackers. His name was Chris Hackney. He was chewing him out. About something.

They were arguing. Because there was a disagreement. Over how a play had been handled. And what had happened. And so. Chris was giving his point of view.

On how it went down. And the coach was giving his point of view. And in the middle of this. As they're kind of debating. Back and forth. The coach just sticks his hand up like this.

Which in the coach's mind. Symbolized. Shut your mouth. But in Hackney's mind. It symbolized. I just realized you're right.

Give me a high five. And this was awesome. Because they're arguing. Coach sticks his hand up. Hackney high fives it. And turns around.

And it didn't go well for him. But there's these cultural things. That we're used to. These cues. That we're used to seeing. These things that we understand.

That we know culturally. And here's what happens. When God tells him to get these animals. It's not that Abram lost his mind. Or that he was like. Oh you want me to get animals?

I'm mad at him. It's that Abram knew something was happening here. It's not that every time you tell Abram. He does this. It's like Uncle Abram. I want a pony for Christmas.

Will you get me one? I'll get you a pony. It's not like that. It's not. What he's doing. Is they're entering into.

A suzerain vassal covenant. Or a suzerain vassal treaty. That phrase actually. When earlier. Where it said. I am your shield.

One of the ways to accurately translate that. Is for him to say. I'm your suzerain. So this is how much of the ancient world. Was organized. There were suzerains.

And suzerains were the greater party. They were the kings. They were the stronger party. The more powerful party. And vassals were the weaker party. The humble party.

And they were often kings as well. But they were kings of smaller kingdoms. Or weaker kingdoms. And so here's what would happen. We actually read about this. Some of you were here last week.

In 14. When there was. Kings battling kings. It said that these used to serve that one. But they stopped.

That was actually a suzerain vassal covenant. That they broke. And that was why there was a big war. And it was a big mess. What happens is. A more powerful king.

A more powerful kingdom. A suzerain will have vassals. And that just means. That your kingdom. Submits to my kingdom. That I'm taking you in.

You are a part of my kingdom now. So you still get to reign. You still get to have your kingdom. Or whatever. But you're underneath me.

Your people are like my people. I will protect you. If somebody attacks you. As if you're my people. But you're going to obey me.

You're going to follow me. You're going to. If I muster your army. You're going to show up. You're going to do what I say. You're going to pay taxes.

There's just. That's the agreement. And the vassal would be saying. I obey you. I follow you. I'm going to submit to you.

Often in these treaties. When they were written up. And we have a handful of copies of these. That we know about. They would be called Lord. And servant.

Or master and servant. Or they would be called father and son. So you entered into these treaties. It's a very serious thing. That the suzerain is going to be the father. He's going to be the Lord.

The vassal is going to be the son. Or the servant. And the way they would do these treaties. They would call it cutting a covenant. They would take animals. They would cut them up.

It was different animals. Or a lot of animals. Whatever. They would cut them up. They would cut them in half. They would lay them.

On either side. So that there was this trail. Of blood. In between the animals. And then. There was two ways this would play out.

Way number one. The suzerain and the vassal. The suzerain. The suzerain. The suzerain and the vassal. Would walk through the trail of blood.

It was a mess. They would get stuff caked all around their shoes. Their feet. If they had sandals. They would get it if they had long robes. I'm assuming they dragged those in the blood as well.

And it would soak up. Because the only reason I assumed that. Is if you had a long robe. I think you would look funny. If you held it up like this. While you walked.

So I just. Just as I picture it. They dragged that through the blood as well. But it was to symbolize. So the suzerain and the vassal.

Would walk through. And what they were saying. Was the suzerain was saying. You now serve me. You now belong to me. And if I break this covenant.

Let me be like these animals. That you'll cut me up. That was one way that would happen. The vassal would be walking through saying the same thing. I serve you. I follow you.

And if I break this covenant. If I don't obey you. If I don't do what you say. You can cut me up like these animals. These animals aren't just animals. They're me.

Often. Often. And this makes sense. The suzerain didn't walk through the blood. Just the vassal. They'd cut up animals.

The suzerain would watch. The vassal was the one who would walk through by himself. And say. I commit myself to you. And if I fail to hold up my end of the bargain. You can cut me up.

Like these. Suzerains were allowed to have more than one vassal. Vassals were only allowed to have one suzerain. That's what they're doing. Abram knows that. So as soon as he says.

How will I know? He says. He's already told him. I'm your shield. He already told him. I'm your protector.

I'm the one overseeing you. He says. Go get these animals. And so Abram rolls up. Cuts them up. Knows exactly what he's waiting for.

We're going to do a suzerain vassal covenant. And you know that Abram. While he's cutting them up. He has to think. He has to be thinking. Can I do this?

Can I. Can I obey fully? Can I obey perfectly? Can I actually commit to. This kind of consequence. For not following God.

We're to assume. He decides. Yes. Like he doesn't try to back out of this. He says. No.

I can do this. We actually have. And it'll be on the screen. We have. A segment from a. One of these covenants in another place.

It says. This head. Is not the head of a spring lamb. It is the head of Matai Elu. It is the head of his sons. His magnates.

And the people of his land. If Matai Elu should sin against this treaty. So may. Just. As the head of the spring lamb. Be cut off.

The head of Matai Elu. Be cut off. And his sons. And his magnates. And it's a long document. And it keeps going.

It says. This shoulder. Is not the shoulder of. This is the. It says. We're going to cut you in half.

Like we cut this in half. We're going to cut your wife in half. Like we cut this in half. Like it is a very serious thing. I think. That if we still did covenants like this.

We wouldn't break them as often. If you were at Verizon. You worked out your deal. And he's like. Right. Let me head to the back.

He gets your iPhone. He walks out with a goat. He's like. All right. You sure about this? Family plan.

Two years. That would make those commercials. When they were cutting the bills in half. With like chainsaws and stuff. Those commercials would be more intense. Because they'd be like.

We will fight Verizon for you. You may break your covenant. We will assault them. This is how they did it. And this is the seriousness. With which Abram understands.

He's entering into. This covenant. He chases off the birds of prey. As they're trying to mess with him. He sits out there all day long. Because it was the night.

When he was first talking to God. He goes and gets this. This is a long process. Now verse 12. As the sun was going down. A deep sleep.

Fell on Abram. And behold. A dreadful. And great darkness. Fell upon him. Then the Lord said to Abram.

Know for certain. That your offspring. Will be sojourners in a land. That is not theirs. And will be servants there. And they will be afflicted.

For four hundred years. So he's prophesying. The Israelites being in Egypt. But I will bring judgment. On that nation. That they serve.

And afterward. They shall come out. With great possessions. As for you. You shall go to your fathers. In peace.

You shall be buried. In a good old age. And they shall come back here. In the fourth generation. For the iniquity of the Amorites. Is not yet complete.

When the sun had gone down. And it was dark. Behold. A smoking fire pot. And a flaming torch. Passed between these pieces.

So a torch. Passed through. Smoking fire pot. These represent divinity. They represent God. Passed.

Through these pieces. On that day. The Lord made a covenant with Abram. Saying. To your offspring. I give this land.

From the river of Egypt. To the great river. The river Euphrates. The land of the Kenites. The Kenizzites. The Kadmonites.

The Hittites. The Perizzites. The Rephaim. The Amorites. The Canaanites. The Girgashites.

And the Jebusites. So God promises him. I'm going to give you this land. And all of these people. Are going to be conquered. And kicked out.

Now. We don't know much about these covenants. We're not used to these. But they just did something very, very weird. If you remember how these covenants work. One way.

The suzerain and the vassal walk through. That's option one. Option two. Just the vassal walks through. Okay. But in this one.

Just the torch. And the fire pot go through. Abram doesn't. God actually. Like knocks him down. Puts him to sleep.

And then. In this moment. He. Dreadful darkness. Goes around him. And then just the torch.

And the fire pot go through. And this should trigger for us. Something. Something strange just happened. It's like if you. You've been to a wedding before.

You go to a wedding. I get to perform weddings every once in a while. It's a lot of fun. I get to stand at the front. Um. With the groom.

We usually walk out. First. We stand there. And then. People walk down. And they play whatever kind of music.

You know. Canon and D. Or whatever. And then. Like the doors will close. Or.

If it's outside. Like. The girl will hide behind a tree. Or whatever. Then the music will stop.

They wait like three seconds. So everybody can go. And then. They start playing the other song. The wedding march. Or whatever.

Which. Bum. Bum. Bum. Bum. Bum.

Bum. Bum. Bum. That song. And then. She starts walking down.

Everybody has to stand up. If the mom stands up. Or whatever. And everybody's got to look at her. And she walks all the way down. Okay.

But if you were at a wedding. You came walking in. Right when you walked in. To get seated. The bride was standing up at the front. In her dress.

You might. Would be like. Am I late? If you don't know. So you just go sit down.

And. They start playing music. People start walking in. Then music stops. Gets real quiet for a second. And then here comes the groom.

Here comes the groom. Starts playing. You're not as familiar with it. Sounds like the song from Star Wars. And the doors open. And this guy comes walking in.

With his little suit on. You would be like. Okay. It's 2018. And they're making some kind of point. I don't know what the point is.

But they did this on purpose. You would be. You would realize. That this had been done. Different. Backwards.

Whatever. For a reason. And so if you know. Suzerain vassal covenant. You read this section. You go.

Wait a second. I actually was reading. In one of my commentaries. And it said. This setup. Most resembles.

A suzerain vassal covenant. But. It cannot be. Because in. A suzerain vassal covenant. There is no example.

Where just the suzerain. Walks down the aisle. And that messed me up. Because here's what God just did. When he. Is the master.

He's the Lord. He signs off as the servant. And when he's the father. He signs off as the son. He walks through here. And he signs both sides of the covenant.

And he. Takes the position. Of son. And servant. Which is unheard of. And you almost want to yell at the text.

Like you did this wrong God. You're not the son. You're not the servant. That's Abram. Abram's on the hook. For this.

Abram's the one who's got to obey. Abram's the one who's got to make this work. He's the one who's smaller than you. You're. You're the shield. You're the suzerain.

You're the king. You're the Lord. You're the father. And God is. But he signs off.

As son. And servant. And he makes a promise. That Jesus is going to make good on. Which is Abram. You're going to obey me.

You're going to follow me. You're going to do what I say. You're going to be faithful to me alone. And if you don't. I'll make myself like these animals. This isn't the blood.

Of a heifer. It's the blood of me. A son. And a servant. This isn't the blood. Of a goat.

It's my blood. When I'm a son. And I'm a servant. And then we see Jesus Christ come and fulfill this. That we fail. That we fall into sin.

That Abram's family doesn't live this out. But God comes as a son. And a servant. And he says. I didn't come to be served. But I came to serve.

And to give my life as a ransom for many. That the son of God would be nailed to a cross. That we might have redemption. And freedom. And that this covenant. That might be fulfilled.

That God would justify. Those who have faith. Through his own blood. That's how he gives us righteousness. He doesn't pull it out of the air. He takes it from his son.

And he gives it to us. Because he makes good on the promise. That Abram couldn't make good on. And that we couldn't make good on. I want to read. Paul picks this back up.

In Romans. He says. No unbelief. He's talking about Abram. 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. This is why his faith.

Was counted to him. As righteousness. So the God promises. Abram. I'm going to make you right. I'm going to be.

Your faith. Your faith will count as righteousness. And then it says this. But the words. It was counted to him. Were not written for his sake alone.

But for ours also. It will be counted to us. Who believe in him. Who raised from the dead. Jesus our Lord. Who is delivered up for our trespasses.

And raised. For our justification. Justification means for our righteousness. That he was raised. That we might be made righteous. That this is the hope.

That we have in the gospel. That every single one of us. We're supposed to enter into a deal. With God. That said. I will behave.

I will be good. I will worship you alone as king. And if I don't. Then I don't deserve you. And I don't deserve love. And I've fallen so far from your glory.

And I haven't treated you. As holy as you are. Then you can destroy me. That every single one of us. By our birthright. I entered into that.

But that Jesus came. And swapped places with us. And he said. No I'll sign off. And if you trust in me. And my work.

It'll be my head. My blood. My body. Not yours. That we get to. By faith.

Approach God. And in trust. And in Christ. And that God raised him from the dead. That he died for us. And that he rose from the grave.

That we get to be made righteous. That God pays our penalty. That he signs both sides of the covenant. And that we do not come to God. To present our good work. Or to boast.

We come to God. To enjoy. And celebrate. And in faith. Love and worship Jesus. Who paid the price for us.

That that is our hope. In Christ. That's why we do what we do. That's why we gather on Sundays. Because we're here. Not to practice being good people.

But to proclaim that Jesus was good on our behalf. To celebrate what he's accomplished for us. That's why we gather in community groups. That we might be on mission together. That we see more people come to know Jesus. We aren't going around and saying.

Hey do you want to join the behavior club? We're going around to our friends. And saying. Hey I've noticed over time. And I just wanted to point out. That you're the worst.

But I have really good news. Jesus saves the ungodly. He redeems people like you. And like me. Because we can't be good enough on our own. But Jesus was for us.

We're going to take communion. We've started taking it more often as a church family. And it's because we need to remind ourselves constantly. That we need Jesus for us. When we take communion. What we're doing.

Is we're taking a piece of bread. That symbolizes Jesus's body. We're taking a cup. That symbolizes his blood. We're reenacting. A suzerain vassal covenant.

That was signed by Jesus for us. And that's not our blood. And that's not our body. Even though it deserved to be. Even though through our sin. We had earned it.

It's his blood. And it's his body. And that he paid the price for us. And so that we get to have a shield. We get to have a suzerain. We get to have God watch over us.

And care for us. And love us. And we get to have righteousness. Through faith. And through the work of Jesus. And so if you're a Christian.

In a second.

The Call, Failures, and Faith of Abram

The Call, Failures, and Faith of Abram

Chet Phillips

Transcript

Well, good morning. My name's Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. If you will grab your Bibles, we'll be in Genesis chapter 12 today. We are continuing along in Genesis, and we have worked through the first 11 chapters, and Genesis changes. The story of Genesis, the approach of Genesis changes at chapter 12.

So here's what happens in the book of Genesis. The first 11 chapters are kind of setting up the history of humankind, and then at chapter 12 it's going to shift into focusing on one family. And so we're still walking through Genesis, but we're calling this section the patriarchs, and that just means the heads of households that are males. And so the New Testament's going to talk about the patriarchs, and that's Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, three Middle Eastern men, as it zooms in on this family. And so here's the book of Genesis starts off with God creating the world, and he makes it beautiful and glorious, and then humanity rebels against him.

And sin enters the world. It's kind of like if you've ever been on Facebook or Instagram, and somebody takes a picture of like, look at this cake I just baked, and look at how beautiful it is. And then like five minutes later you see their next post, and it's the cake on the floor, and it just says, I dropped it. That's kind of how the Bible starts off. It's like, look at how glorious and beautiful it is. And then immediately humans are like, okay, all right, well, all right.

But it was a little more malicious than that. We actively rebel against God, and so then we see that sin enters the world, and God kind of comes in and he makes this promise that he's going to have a seed. There's going to be a seed, an offspring of Eve that is going to destroy the serpent, that the serpent isn't going to win, that sin isn't going to win, that Satan isn't going to win, that ultimately sin isn't going to overcome God's good design. And that's the promise made in Genesis 3. And then we just get to watch humanity kind of carry out until Noah and the flood. And then after that we still don't get it together, and it kind of just continues to go downhill in sin and rebellion until the Tower of Babel and God disperses humanity across the face of the earth.

That's what we read last week in Genesis 11. The back half of Genesis 11 is a genealogy, just kind of telling us this person had this person had this person until we get to Abram and his wife Sarai. And it introduces her in Genesis 11 as Sarai was barren. She had no child. Really trying to make that point, drive that home, because it's going to play out in this story through the rest of this time. So we're going to pick up in Genesis 12 this morning.

Let's pray, and then we'll kind of talk about what we're going to see as we spend our time here this morning. So let's pray together. Lord, we ask that you would bless the reading and the study of your word. We pray that you would bless the proclamation of your gospel, the good news that is for us and found for us in Christ. And we ask that you would help us to grow in our love for one another and our love for your word and our love for you this morning. In Jesus' name, amen.

So we're going to pick up in Genesis 12, and it starts this way. Now the Lord said to Abram, Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you, and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. So the end of chapter 11 kind of intros Abram.

It just tells us who his parents were. It tells us he's got a brother who passed away, and his brother had a nephew, and the nephew's kind of with him. His name's Lot, and it tells us that he's married to Sarah, and that she's barren. And then it just says God speaks to Abram. We don't know anything really about him other than some basic details. And God speaks to him, and God says, Abram.

Ultimately, later, this is going to be Abraham. God changes his name later, but he starts off as Abram. He says, Go from your country. Go from your kindred. Go from your house. Go.

Go. I'm going to send you to a place that I'll show you. They didn't even tell him what it is yet. He just said, I'm going to show you. I'm going to send you to a place. And he says, I'm going to bless you.

You're going to be a great nation. So he doesn't have any children, but being a great nation means that he will. He's promising him he's going to have children. He's going to be a great people. And he says, I'm going to make you so great that you're a blessing to everybody. And through you, the whole world's going to be blessed.

And then he promises protection. He says, Those who bless you, I'll bless them. If somebody's your friend, they'll be my friend. Those who dishonor you, it's not going to go well for them. They won't be my friend. Like he says, I'll bless those who bless you.

I'll curse those who curse you. This is the promise that comes in Abraham. And this is where the rest of Genesis is going to follow this family. As this answer to the fall, that God now says, I'm taking you and I'm going to use you to bless the rest of the world. So what we're going to see today, we're going to look at three chapters as our introduction to Abraham and to his walk with the Lord.

We're going to look at three chapters. We're actually going to see these three different scenes, these three different stories in Abraham's life to try to understand who he is and how he walks with God. A lot of times when we study the Bible, we zoom in on one particular thing and the Bible's sturdy enough to handle that. We can take one verse and spend a lot of time on it. But sometimes when we do that, especially when there's narrative, we kind of miss out on the fact that as humans, we exist in a story that your life plays out over time and that there are some parts of your story that you fondly remember or you won the championship or you were really generous or you were super kind or there's this good season and there are parts of your story that you don't want to remember at all and you hope everybody else forgets that you've tried to bury.

And we're going to see as we watch Abraham, it's like his story playing out before God and the whole time, Abraham's going to get to choose faith, trusting God's promise because God just comes to Abraham and that's it. We just know, we don't know anything about him other than God promised him. So he's going to get to choose God's promise over what he can see. 2 Corinthians 5 puts it this way for Christians. It says, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Meaning that as Christians, we're called to live our life trusting God over and against what we can see.

That we walk by faith, not by sight. And that's going to be the story of Abraham and that's going to play out as the story of God's people throughout the rest of the Bible. That God designed humanity to walk by faith, not by sight. To trust him and his word and trust his promises. And so we're going to look at three stories in the life of Abraham and we're going to see when faced with circumstances, when faced with what he can see, does he trust God? Does he lean into his promises or does he not?

And then we'll draw some conclusions at the end for how we get to walk in a similar manner with the Lord. Now, God told him, go from your country, your kindred, your father's house to the land that I will show you and I'll make you a great nation and I'll bless you and I'll make your name great so that you'll be a blessing. And he later says, all the families of the earth should be blessed. Now for us, that sounds really nice. Like those are some good promises. Those are good promises that he's going to do all this.

But this lines up a little better with the American dream rather than the Middle Eastern dream because we value self over everything else. We value the individual over everything else. We like the Wrangler man, not the Wrangler, the Marlboro man who rides around on a horse smoking cigarettes. He's like an American hero because he doesn't care about anything and he just does what he wants. But that's not, that's not a Middle Eastern thing.

He's coming from an area where your family was who you were. Your value in life was how you served your family, how you fit in with your group. So for God to come to him and say, I want you to leave your family. He's saying, I want you to leave everything you use to define yourself. I want you to leave your kindred. I want you to leave your people.

I want you to leave your country. And then I'm going to make you great. Now he would have appreciated and understood the idea of being a great nation, but it's not as easy as some of us would have been like, sweet, leave my dad's house and go get to do my own thing. You got it, God. Like this is a little more difficult for Abram. So this is the promise.

This is the word that he has. And so it says this, verse four. So Abram went as the Lord had told him and Lot went with him. That's his nephew whose dad passed away. Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran. Okay.

Now people in Genesis lived longer. We've talked about this before, but still 75. He's middle aged. He's 75 years old. He departed for Haran and Abram took Sarai, his wife, and Lot, his brother's son, and all his possessions that he had gathered and the people that he had acquired in Haran and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. I want you all to see that.

God says go and he went. Our first impression of Abram is pretty good. God comes to him, speaks, says go do this and Abram obeys. When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem to the Oak of Morah. Now Oak of Morah would be a place where the Canaanites were worshipping and it tags that.

It says at the time the Canaanites were in the land. So that means it's like a shrine. It's some sort of setup to a deity. And then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, to your offspring I will give this land. So he said, I want you to go to the place I'll show you.

He brings him out there. He says this is it. So he built there an altar to the Lord who had appeared to him. From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed on still going toward the Negev.

So God says go. Abram goes. God shows up to him. He's building altars. So far our intro to Abram is good.

He's following. He's obeying. And we're going to get to kind of continue to see this story. One of the things my dad says sometimes is that he thinks when he meets a person he's kind of meeting a blank canvas. He doesn't know anything about this person at this point. And he says the more you get to know him the more you get to color in parts of the canvas.

The more you get to understand a little bit what they're like. And he says sometimes you'll go through a situation and it'll be really good and you'll get to paint this whole section of the canvas of this person as generous or kind or whatever. Sometimes it's kind of like oh wow I didn't realize that's how you watch sports and so you're going to you know realize you're not invited to the next party. Why were you throwing things? Whatever. So it's just like you get to paint in and so we're going to get to do with Abram a little bit.

We're going to get to kind of this is our first introduction to him. Let's see what he's like. How he walks with God. Whether he trusts him when he walks in moments where he's faced with difficult circumstances. So pick up.

This is kind of the first scene the first time we get to see Abram faced with difficult circumstances. We'll read through this together and then we'll talk a little bit about it. Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there for the famine was severe in the land. When he was about to enter Egypt he said to Sarai his wife I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance and when the Egyptians see you they will say this is his wife then they will kill me but they will let you live say you are my sister that it may go well with me because of you and that my life may be spared for your sake.

When Abram entered Egypt the Egyptians saw the woman was very beautiful and when the princes of Pharaoh saw her they praised her to Pharaoh and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house and for her sake he dealt well with Abram and he had sheep oxen male donkeys male servants female servants female donkeys and camels. Let's stop there for a second. Okay guys I think many of us have heard about Abram or Abraham maybe even sang the song Father Abraham and many sons we're going to get to that God promises him that. One of the temptations as we walk through the Bible is for us to lift these people up as superhuman heroes of the faith.

Father Abraham and many sons we're going to get to that God promises him that. One of the temptations as we walk through the Bible is for us to lift these people up as superhuman heroes of the faith. This isn't a good introduction to Abram. So far we've only seen his actions God tells him to go he goes but the first time he speaks it's kind of creepy. It's not a good thing so here's what we see

This is the first time he's faced with difficult circumstances as far as we know Abram as far as the story we're getting told there's a famine in the land. Now we don't understand famine. We don't. The best thing to compare it to mentally is probably the Great Depression when the whole society just kind of shuts down and everybody's just trying to survive just trying to find a way to eat because when there's

A famine there's no food and it could be due to a drought it could be due to some sort of blight on the crops could be due to locusts but all of a sudden he goes where God sends him he's in the place where God wants him he's following and obedient so far he's crushing it some of us this is us as Christians it's like I became a Christian and I immediately started doing all the stuff I was supposed to do

I was going to a group and I was repenting of sin and I quit doing some of that stuff and I started doing some of this stuff he's right where he's supposed to be right where God told him to be and all of a sudden there's no food and that's a big problem and so all we're told is he goes to Egypt and at first when we're reading that we're going okay we don't really know is he abandoning what the Lord wants from him is he going down there with good intentions

Is it really just the famine is what it is and you gotta do what you gotta do and then he speaks and we realize his heart is far from God he is way off he's not trusting in the promises of God he's operating out of fear he's entered into a mode of let me fix the problem so ladies let's think for a second you're dating a guy he seems nice he's attractive enough he has a job he bathes regularly he doesn't play video games this is going pretty well you are with this guy

You're going to the first kind of public outing to like a party or maybe like like the club I don't know where y'all are going but it's somewhere like that it's going to be alcohol and other people and he stops right before you get in and he says girl girl you are so beautiful and you're like and then he says and that's going to be a huge problem when we get inside because there's going to be a lot of guys here

There's going to be a lot of alcohol they're going to come hit on you and then I'm going to be in a spot I'm going to be in a pickle because what am I going to do do I have to tell him to stop do I have to like defend your honor defend my honor I ain't trying to get in all that so here's what we're going to do when we go in there you're going to be my sister that way when guys hit on you you introduce me as your brother they'll want to be nice to me

Because they want to get along with you I might even get a free drink or two out of this now none of you would swoon and say this is the man I'm going to marry that's messed up it wasn't just Dana this is his wife and he says hey when we get in here I'm going to need you to tell them you're my sister and his reasoning is I want things to go well with me because of you I want you to take a risk

I want you to put in a weird spot I want you to have your feelings hurt I want you to be I want to harm my marriage but I want to get some stuff out of it that's his plan they're running from a famine they're not trusting God they've left the place they were supposed to be not leaning into the fact that God can feed them God can provide for them not waiting for God's instruction on what to do they show up he comes up with this plan that this is how

We're going to work this out they go in he lets her marry another person at no point he was like okay too far time out there wasn't even like at the ceremony when they say you got any objections I don't know if the Egyptians did that but like at some point you think he would have been like hey guys surprise y'all watch

Soap operas this is about to get interesting he doesn't do that so much so that he takes her to his house we're supposed to assume he just they got married they moved off he was there like throwing rice at the wedding and then he's there long enough to get stuff oxen and camels and female servants and male servants he just hangs out stays in Egypt profits off of this while his wife

Is married to somebody else okay let's pick it back up verse 17 but the Lord thank goodness but the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife so Pharaoh called Abram and said what is this you have done to me why did you not tell me that she was your wife why did you say she is my sister

So that I took her for my wife now then here is your wife take her and go and Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had so God puts plagues on Pharaoh's house and Pharaoh figures out hold on a second something's wrong here they somehow discern understand that he they are being

Punished by God because she is Abram's wife and he is livid the last sentence there where he says here is your wife take her and go that is translated in English so that it is smoother in Hebrew it is here wife take go it is this very curt and the fact that Abram does not respond in the text shows us

That he understands that he was wrong this was poorly done and so the only person who shows up looking good in this is Pharaoh and maybe Sarai she trusts in the Lord in this process but we don't really know where her head is so he sent out God showed up on Abram's behalf on Sarai's

Behalf and he fixes this chapter 13 verse 1 so Abram went up from Egypt he and his wife and all that he had and Lot with him into the Negev now Abram was very rich in livestock in silver in gold and he journeyed on from the Negev as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been

At the beginning between Bethel and Ai to the place where he had made an altar at the first and there Abram called upon the name of the Lord I just want to highlight this because we're Christians and I want us to see this in the text God shows up in the middle of he's made a promise to Abram I'm going to do this

Abram derails and God shows up in the middle of that and brings him right back to where he had him at the first and there are some of us who began following Jesus and trusting him and walking him and circumstances showed up and we derailed and there's this temptation to think well that's it I'm done can't fix that it's over but God

In his grace at times will use circumstances will knock us down will bring us back and get us right back where he wanted us because our hope ultimately is that God makes good promises to us through Christ and that he's the one who upholds all of that not us and not our ability but Abram situation one he's over one had an opportunity to face circumstances and to trust the promises that God had made that he was going to

Look if he's told him I'm going to make you a great nation that means you're going to live through the famine if he's told him I want you here in this land that means that he'll either provide for him in that land or send him somewhere else he's made real promises that Abram could have just said hey God what what do we do and trusted that the Lord could speak to him

That the Lord could provide for him that the Lord would care for him but he doesn't let's see how he continues from here story number two verse six verse five and Lot who went with Abram remember this is his nephew but kind of seems a bit adopted kind of as his son we'll see he doesn't really say that but he's with him the whole time also had flocks and herds

And tents so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together and there was strife between the herds there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock at that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land then Abram said to Lot let there be no strife

Between you and me and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen for we are kinsmen is not the whole land before you separate yourself from me if you take the left hand then I will go to the right or if you take the right hand then I will go to the left and Lot lifted up his eyes and he saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord like the land of Egypt in the direction of Zor this was before the Lord destroyed destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah so Lot chose

For himself all the Jordan Valley and Lot journeyed east thus they separated from each other 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 the Genesis is kind of tipping its hand a little bit there because it's going to go poorly for Sodom in the next story and then a few stories

Later it's going to go really bad for Sodom the Lord said to Abram after Lot had separated from him lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are northward and southward and eastward and westward for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever again promising you have children you don't yet Sarah's barren but you're going

To have children I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth so that if one can count the dust of the earth your offspring also can be counted arise walk through the length and the breadth of the land for I will give it to you so Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre which are at Hebron and there he built an altar to the Lord so the second story works like this

Abram and Lot move back and they don't get along their people aren't getting along because there's too much too many of them they're fighting over water they're fighting over pasture land somebody gets hit in the head with a stick like it just goes poorly I read that into the text it doesn't say that but there was strife between herdsmen I think someone swung a stick alright Abram goes to him and says hey let's not do this

Now how would Abram handle the situation if what we know from him about in Egypt carries on well he would try to figure out viewing his circumstances how best to work things in his favor no matter who it hurt no matter the cost but what's he do he looks at Lot and says you pick you go that way I'll go this way you go that way I'll go this way and any other iteration

Of that wherever I can point you pick so Lot looks around and it seems like the choice wasn't actually all that difficult Lot looks around and Abram is the senior partner here he could have just said Lot go I want you to understand that like he he has he is over Lot in the patriarchy system here but he does and he says you pick Lot looks around and he sees a place that looks like

The garden of God you guys it's nice that's what that means it's well watered it's beautiful and then Canaan's over here and not so beautiful and he says I'm going to go this way Abram says okay and then God renews his promise to Abram he says you see where you are this is yours so Abram in that situation just stopped and he said he just leaned into the promises

He leaned into trusting God he knows at this point it seems that God's going to provide God's going to care he saw the plagues in Egypt hopefully he learned a thing we'll see later as Genesis plays out he didn't learn all the things he should have learned but that's kind of how we work and so in this moment he's now one and one

He trusts he leans into the promises and God provides and God cares and Abram shows generosity and kind of a blind choice and some faith alright next story as we continue to see this play out and I think this is helpful for us to continue to walk through some of this stuff because I think sometimes we in the American church have gotten caught up in experiences y'all know this right

You're going to go away to this conference and you're going to have this experience and you're just going to be you're going to come back or you're going to go on a Sunday and it's just going to be this lightning bolt and you'll be fixed forever and that would be awesome but that's not really how that tends to work most of the time we play out our stories in time with God continually having to make similar decisions continually having to

Act the same way in circumstances continually having to choose faith over sight over and over and over and over again that's why we're perfectly fine with a lot of our community groups meetings being kind of boring what was the magical thing that happened we shared a meal with people who will live for eternity we tried to love each other we talked about some stuff

We spent way too long talking about this one weird passage in Revelation turns out everybody in my group is super into dragons and I don't even think that's what that was about because we believe that it's formative that's why we study through whole books of the Bible because we believe it's formative that over time we continually grow by making similar decisions in the face of similar circumstances and that's what we're looking at Abraham

As he continually faces circumstances what kind of decisions is he going to make is he going to lean into the promises that God has made him and trust that God can carry that out because he's God or is he going to which we all want to do take the reins get everything in our control and do what we can to get out of the situation situation number three also I know that at times there are a lot of pregnant ladies in our church family or people who want to be pregnant later this next section

Is I mean loaded down with awesome baby names so get ready chapter 14 verse 1 in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar Ariok king of Elessar Chedeloamar king of Elam Tidal king of Goam these kings made war with Barah king of Sodom Bersha king of Gomorrah Shinab king of Adma Shemabur king of Zeboam and the king of Bella that is Zor and all these joined forces in the valley of Siddam that is the salt sea it's kind of now that was intro telling us a little bit of the backstory here 12 years had

They had served Chedeloamar but in the 13th year they rebelled in the 14th year Chedeloamar and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim and Ashtaroth Karnam and the Susam and Ham and the Emam and Sheva Kiriatham and the Horites in the hill country of Sair as far as El Paran at the border of the wilderness then they turned back and came to end Mishpat that is Kadesh

And defeated all the country of the Malekites and also the Amorites who were dwelling in the Hazazon tomorrow okay did y'all catch that? I feel a little bit when I read that passage like when I listen to people talk about the World Cup it's like I'm sure that means something to you there's a king this is how this would have worked there was a king who would have a kingdom and most of them were kind of small

It was tribal but there were certain kings that had more powerful kingdoms so they would come through and they would basically rock up and they would say you pay tribute or we're going to kill you and there were all these what they would call a suzerain and a vassal and so what we're seeing is there was a bunch of vassal states underneath this bigger king and they did this for 12 years and they kind of get to talking and they're like I don't think he's as strong as he used to be I remember being real scared when I met him a long time ago but I'm really tired

Of shipping off our money and our food and our people to him so let's just stop that and see what happens so they do and Cheddar Lower Mar which I think is the name that wins if you get to choose call him Chet for short marches down through Israel through it's not Israel then but it becomes Israel it's the land of Canaan marches down and just starts just destroying everybody that's what we hear and then let's pick up in verse 8 see what happens

Then the king of Sodom the king of Gomorrah the king of Adma the king of Zeboim and the king of Bella that is Zor went out and they joined battle in the valley of Siddam with Chetalo Amar king of Elam title king of Goem Amraphel king of Shinar and Ariok king of Elessar four kings against five now the valley of Siddam was full of bitumen pits that's tar pits asphalt big pits full of it bitumen pits and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah

Fled some fell into them and the rest fled to the hill country so the ones that rebelled do not win so the enemy took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah and all the provisions and went their way they also took Lot the son of Abram's brother who was dwelling in Sodom and his possessions and went their way did y'all see that coming remember Lot got to choose

Where he wanted to live and he went and lived next to Sodom and then Sodom was full of wicked people and they rebelled and then this guy shows up and takes Lot and now we go oh this is why this is here went their way verse 13 then one who had escaped came and told Abram now Abram wouldn't have had a kingdom but at this point we're going to find out he's actually a pretty big like nomadic tribe that's traveling around that's taking over this area Abram the Hebrew

Who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite brother of Eschol and of Aner these were allies of Abram when Abram heard that his kinsmen had been taken captive he led forth his trained men born in his house 318 of them and went in pursuit as far as Dan ok so this tribes in areas where it wasn't safe he had trained men 318 of them and they were born in his house which means loyal to him as loyal as it can get because they belonged to him all his life

It wasn't newly people that had joined him it wasn't people who had married in it was people born in his house 318 of them if there's 318 trained men that means there's probably around a thousand that are rolling around with Abram at this time he's a big big nomadic tribe leader in the area 15 verse 15 and he divided his forces against them by night he and his servants and defeated them and pursued them to Hoboth north of Damascus then he brought back

All the possessions and also brought back his kinsmen Lot with his possessions and the women and the people so Chetalo Amar and his group have come down and beat up everybody and they have taken all this stuff and they're heading back and then Abram takes 318 he splits them up at night he's 75 years old or older and he leads an army to attack them they defeat them and they get everything so they defeated them well

Because it wasn't just like they defeated them and they all ran away at night they defeated them and they were like load up all the stuff and so they start marching back down with caravans full of people and all the things that had been taken from all the kingdoms around and here's how this works all that stuff is now under the control of Abram to dispense with as he wishes or to have to defend if someone wants

To take it from him but it belongs to him he's the last person who won and took it now so far Abram has handled this better than we maybe would have thought he would especially if he'd handled it the way he did in Egypt in Egypt he said I want you to take a risk so that I can have good things and so far he's taken a risk on behalf of another

So at least that's better but it's possible he just wanted all the stuff he saw an opportunity to become the most powerful person in the region everybody around him has been defeated maybe he thinks cool I can become the new suzerain over this whole area and everybody in all the kingdoms will bow to me we don't know yet 17 after his return from the defeat of Chetelomar

And the kings who were with him the king of Sodom went out to meet him so the king of Sodom goes out to meet Abram he just ran he didn't fall in a pit but he made it back he's going to go meet Abram just been defeated not in the best most powerful spot meet him at the valley of Sheva that is the king's valley and Melchizedek king of Salem brought out brought out bread and wine he was a priest

Of God most high okay we got to pause for a second just so to make you aware Melchizedek just now showed up he has not been mentioned yet so he has no connection to this whatsoever other than he just appears at this moment Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine he was a priest of God most high we don't know yet

When you're reading this you're going okay is that the God that Abram follows is that the Bible telling you he's the God most high what's happening and he blessed him and said he blessed Abram blessed be Abram by God most high possessor of heaven and earth and blessed be God most high who has delivered your enemies into your hand and Abram gave him a tenth of everything he just says every tenth item

Every tenth person whatever is yours and the king of Sodom said to Abram give me the persons but take the goods for yourself but Abram said to the king of Sodom I have lifted my hand to the Lord so that's proper name for God God most high so he says I'm connected with this priest king of Salem he and I worship the same God that blessing was this God I've lifted my hand to him

That I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours lest you should say I have made Abram rich I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten and the share of the men who went with me let Aner Escol and Mamre take their share okay we gotta unpack this for a second because what he just did there is kind of amazing

Abram comes back he rolls in as the most powerful person in the region another king just shows up and gives him bread and wine just kind of blesses him prays a blessing over him he's got one king sitting here that represents just this kind of blessing from God his name Melchizedek means the king is righteous and it says he's the king

Of Salem and Salem means peace so this is a righteous king who's the king over peace Hebrews later tells us that Jesus is a better Melchizedek he comes in that line he's the king of righteousness he's the king of peace he's a king and a priest that's Jesus and it says that he's like Melchizedek not that Melchizedek

Is Jesus we'll get that twisted up but Melchizedek points us shows us kind of Jesus is like him all right so Melchizedek shows up he just prays a blessing and then the king of Sodom shows up in a very weakened position and is not gracious he just says hey give me the people he's still trying

To show a little force give me the people but then he's also saying you can have all this stuff and so at this moment Abram gets a guy who's not connected to anything just giving a blessing and he gets the king of this area who apparently is he's listed first every time was the most powerful king in the area saying you can have

All this stuff and he could absolutely have this power position in the area which would seem like it was God doing what God had promised giving him the area giving him power in the area and what's he say he says no I already told God I'm going to trust that he's going to provide

All this and we're not going to have anybody in this area saying they're the ones that blessed me they're the ones that provided for me they're the ones that made me strong it's not going to happen now before he went into Egypt we heard him speak first and then we watched him act

And this one flips we see him act first we don't know his intentions and then we see that beforehand before he even went he said God I'm trusting you you're the one who says you're going to give me this land you're going to give me the land you're the one

Who's going to make me rich you're going to make me a big nation you're going to make me powerful you're going to do it I'm not going to do it my own might I'm not going to trust myself I'm trusting you and see how this plays out he comes

Back he gets to see a blessing from the God most high and then Sodom and he chooses blessing he gives that guy 10% of everything he says we're on the same page this person I worship the God most high

And he says take all your stuff I don't need it now he's two in one he handled this one better and here's the thing throughout the rest of Abram's life and throughout the rest of your life we will consistently be faced

With situation after situation after situation where we get to trust the promises of God or we get to trust our own ability our own strength our own wisdom our own know-how our own effort to make everything work out so Melchizedek

Is this picture briefly here of what Jesus is for us Jesus shows up and he gives a better bread and wine which is his blood and his body shed for us and he gives

A better blessing and better promises if you are a Christian you have better promises than Abram ever had you get an eternal home you get an eternal family you get to reign in the eternal kingdom that God

Says that we will belong to him and that we will relate to him and that we will be his children his sons and daughters not that we'll have a lineage but that we'll have an inheritance from the God of the universe

Through Christ that God has given us better promises and then called us to walk by faith and not by sight so how do we do that when so often we're just bombarded with circumstance we're just bombarded with what we can see

And feel and know you feel really hungry during a famine and you feel very much like you've got to do something real fear real hunger real pain real sadness I think firstly we have to know a deep and in a deep and abiding way we need to know the promises of God

We have to know his word because we're always having to choose between trust in his word and trust in what we see we have to know in a deep and abiding way the promises Abram needed to have repeated those promises to himself over and over and over and over

Again wouldn't it be nice if God promised you you'll have children and you hadn't had children yet when you enter into a battle I guess you'd be like well maybe she's pregnant now and I'm gonna die but otherwise I think I'm making it out of this

One see he gets to lean into these promises there are times as a Christian where you're gonna get to go God it doesn't look like I'm gonna be provided for but I know you say you will it doesn't look like this is gonna work out

But I know that you love me and that you promise that I'll never be you'll never leave me or forsake me so I can trust that you're here in the middle of this God I so badly want all the things that I can see but I know that you've promised me that there's pleasures at your right

Hand forevermore and that I'm to spend my life for something that matters eternally not something that I can have for a few years we're gonna do this throughout our lives you're gonna be in middle school where the primary currency of middle school is coolness and it's middle school coolness so it's not even real

But the primary currency and it feels real it's so real in the daily life of being in middle school and there's gonna be a kid who is so not cool that just talking to her just being around him makes you lose cool points you can feel him just being sucked out of you you get to choose faith or sight you trust a God who says there's more to life than what

We can see and that everybody matters and everybody has a dignity and everybody has worth can you think for a second about what it's like to be this kid who goes home every day just having to be them you're gonna get to choose and that choice doesn't stop in middle school some of you face that situation at work there's one co-worker that everybody just has

So much fun talking about them behind their back and you get to choose am I gonna look like Christ and defend them am I gonna care for them am I gonna befriend them am I gonna join in you're gonna get to choose when you get a job how honest you're gonna be are you gonna bend the same rules that everybody else bends and say well that's just how this industry works you're gonna get to choose in relationships some of us are gonna have

To choose faith oversight and stay with someone we're married to even though it does not look like that'll ever work or be good and some of us are gonna have to choose faith oversight and leave somebody because even though we know that the finances won't work out if we're not living together and going into retirement when the American dream is so palpable and so within reach and it's just like Sodom saying here take all this we're gonna have to say no

I have riches you don't understand from a God who's bigger and more eternal I'm not gonna have the nicest house I'm not gonna have the boat I'm not gonna have the stuff but I am gonna have a God who has a mission and I'm gonna see some people meet Jesus and then I'm gonna go meet him this is gonna play out forever and the hope for us is the same hope that was for Abraham you see when you become a Christian you are saying I am a sinner in need of a savior and I trust that these

Promises are good and our hope for us is that the promises will overcome the fact that we are terrible at carrying this out that the promises are strong enough to get us out of Egypt that when we've derailed when we've run when we've fallen the promises are strong enough that God will redeem us that he will save us that his his cross is bigger than our sin that his resurrection is bigger than our death that we get to trust in him and he'll bring us out and the truth is if you are a Christian he will so that's our hope and

We continue to walk this out with Abraham and see his story we're gonna see all the other times he has to choose between trusting in faith and walking by sight and our hope is that we would do that daily as we trust in Jesus and that we would know his promises so well that nothing else seemed appetizing band's gonna come back up we're gonna sing in a minute we'll take communion my prayer for us as a church is that we would be people who so believed in God and his goodness and his word that we wouldn't be enamored with everything we can see wouldn't be derailed by

Job loss wouldn't be derailed in the midst of pain of relationships and hurt we'd be hurt certainly we'd be confused certainly we'd be hungry we'd but we'd be trusting and that we'd live as people who walk by faith and not by sight and that ultimately God's promises would overcome our failures which is what he promises to do in the cross let's pray God we thank you for your grace and your goodness we thank you that you redeem real people not the perfect not the absolutely moral not those who always keep it together not those people who only go undefeated but those people who are absolutely defeated

And know that they need a savior and we ask that you'd help us to so trust you and so believe in you that even as we walk through the situations that we are in the middle of right now that we believe that you're good that you won't forsake us that we can cast our anxieties on you that you care for us that a peace that we don't understand will guard us that your Holy Spirit is a helper and a comforter that you walk with us God that we would know and love your promises and we would trust that you're the one who takes care who feeds who provides who

Loves in Jesus name amen and thank you thank you so

And defeated all the country of the Malekites and also the Amorites who were dwelling in the Hazazon tomorrow okay did y'all catch that? I feel a little bit when I read that passage like when I listen to people talk about the World Cup it's like I'm sure that means something to you there's a king this is how this would have worked there was a king who would have a kingdom and most of them were kind of small

It was tribal but there were certain kings that had more powerful kingdoms so they would come through and they would basically rock up and they would say you pay tribute or we're going to kill you and there were all these what they would call a suzerain and a vassal and so what we're seeing is there was a bunch of vassal states underneath this bigger king and they did this for 12 years and they kind of get to talking and they're like I don't think he's as strong as he used to be I remember being real scared when I met him a long time ago but I'm really tired

Of shipping off our money and our food and our people to him so let's just stop that and see what happens so they do and Cheddar Lower Mar which I think is the name that wins if you get to choose call him Chet for short marches down through Israel through it's not Israel then but it becomes Israel it's the land of Canaan marches down and just starts just destroying everybody that's what we hear and then let's pick up in verse 8 see what happens

Then the king of Sodom the king of Gomorrah the king of Adma the king of Zeboim and the king of Bella that is Zor went out and they joined battle in the valley of Siddam with Chetalo Amar king of Elam title king of Goem Amraphel king of Shinar and Ariok king of Elessar four kings against five now the valley of Siddam was full of bitumen pits that's tar pits asphalt big pits full of it bitumen pits and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah

Fled some fell into them and the rest fled to the hill country so the ones that rebelled do not win so the enemy took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah and all the provisions and went their way they also took Lot the son of Abram's brother who was dwelling in Sodom and his possessions and went their way did y'all see that coming remember Lot got to choose

Where he wanted to live and he went and lived next to Sodom and then Sodom was full of wicked people and they rebelled and then this guy shows up and takes Lot and now we go oh this is why this is here went their way verse 13 then one who had escaped came and told Abram now Abram wouldn't have had a kingdom but at this point we're going to find out he's actually a pretty big like nomadic tribe that's traveling around that's taking over this area Abram the Hebrew

Who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite brother of Eschol and of Aner these were allies of Abram when Abram heard that his kinsmen had been taken captive he led forth his trained men born in his house 318 of them and went in pursuit as far as Dan ok so this tribes in areas where it wasn't safe he had trained men 318 of them and they were born in his house which means loyal to him as loyal as it can get because they belonged to him all his life

It wasn't newly people that had joined him it wasn't people who had married in it was people born in his house 318 of them if there's 318 trained men that means there's probably around a thousand that are rolling around with Abram at this time he's a big big nomadic tribe leader in the area 15 verse 15 and he divided his forces against them by night he and his servants and defeated them and pursued them to Hoboth north of Damascus then he brought back

All the possessions and also brought back his kinsmen Lot with his possessions and the women and the people so Chetalo Amar and his group have come down and beat up everybody and they have taken all this stuff and they're heading back and then Abram takes 318 he splits them up at night he's 75 years old or older and he leads an army to attack them they defeat them and they get everything so they defeated them well

Because it wasn't just like they defeated them and they all ran away at night they defeated them and they were like load up all the stuff and so they start marching back down with caravans full of people and all the things that had been taken from all the kingdoms around and here's how this works all that stuff is now under the control of Abram to dispense with as he wishes or to have to defend if someone wants

To take it from him but it belongs to him he's the last person who won and took it now so far Abram has handled this better than we maybe would have thought he would especially if he'd handled it the way he did in Egypt in Egypt he said I want you to take a risk so that I can have good things and so far he's taken a risk on behalf of another

So at least that's better but it's possible he just wanted all the stuff he saw an opportunity to become the most powerful person in the region everybody around him has been defeated maybe he thinks cool I can become the new suzerain over this whole area and everybody in all the kingdoms will bow to me we don't know yet 17 after his return from the defeat of Chetelomar

And the kings who were with him the king of Sodom went out to meet him so the king of Sodom goes out to meet Abram he just ran he didn't fall in a pit but he made it back he's going to go meet Abram just been defeated not in the best most powerful spot meet him at the valley of Sheva that is the king's valley and Melchizedek king of Salem brought out brought out bread and wine he was a priest

Of God most high okay we got to pause for a second just so to make you aware Melchizedek just now showed up he has not been mentioned yet so he has no connection to this whatsoever other than he just appears at this moment Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine he was a priest of God most high we don't know yet

When you're reading this you're going okay is that the God that Abram follows is that the Bible telling you he's the God most high what's happening and he blessed him and said he blessed Abram blessed be Abram by God most high possessor of heaven and earth and blessed be God most high who has delivered your enemies into your hand and Abram gave him a tenth of everything he just says every tenth item

Every tenth person whatever is yours and the king of Sodom said to Abram give me the persons but take the goods for yourself but Abram said to the king of Sodom I have lifted my hand to the Lord so that's proper name for God God most high so he says I'm connected with this priest king of Salem he and I worship the same God that blessing was this God I've lifted my hand to him

That I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours lest you should say I have made Abram rich I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten and the share of the men who went with me let Aner Escol and Mamre take their share okay we gotta unpack this for a second because what he just did there is kind of amazing

Abram comes back he rolls in as the most powerful person in the region another king just shows up and gives him bread and wine just kind of blesses him prays a blessing over him he's got one king sitting here that represents just this kind of blessing from God his name Melchizedek means the king is righteous and it says he's the king

Of Salem and Salem means peace so this is a righteous king who's the king over peace Hebrews later tells us that Jesus is a better Melchizedek he comes in that line he's the king of righteousness he's the king of peace he's a king and a priest that's Jesus and it says that he's like Melchizedek not that Melchizedek

Is Jesus we'll get that twisted up but Melchizedek points us shows us kind of Jesus is like him all right so Melchizedek shows up he just prays a blessing and then the king of Sodom shows up in a very weakened position and is not gracious he just says hey give me the people he's still trying

To show a little force give me the people but then he's also saying you can have all this stuff and so at this moment Abram gets a guy who's not connected to anything just giving a blessing and he gets the king of this area who apparently is he's listed first every time was the most powerful king in the area saying you can have

All this stuff and he could absolutely have this power position in the area which would seem like it was God doing what God had promised giving him the area giving him power in the area and what's he say he says no I already told God I'm going to trust that he's going to provide

All this and we're not going to have anybody in this area saying they're the ones that blessed me they're the ones that provided for me they're the ones that made me strong it's not going to happen now before he went into Egypt we heard him speak first and then we watched him act

And this one flips we see him act first we don't know his intentions and then we see that beforehand before he even went he said God I'm trusting you you're the one who says you're going to give me this land you're going to give me the land you're the one

Who's going to make me rich you're going to make me a big nation you're going to make me powerful you're going to do it I'm not going to do it my own might I'm not going to trust myself I'm trusting you and see how this plays out he comes

Back he gets to see a blessing from the God most high and then Sodom and he chooses blessing he gives that guy 10% of everything he says we're on the same page this person I worship the God most high

And he says take all your stuff I don't need it now he's two in one he handled this one better and here's the thing throughout the rest of Abram's life and throughout the rest of your life we will consistently be faced

With situation after situation after situation where we get to trust the promises of God or we get to trust our own ability our own strength our own wisdom our own know-how our own effort to make everything work out so Melchizedek

Is this picture briefly here of what Jesus is for us Jesus shows up and he gives a better bread and wine which is his blood and his body shed for us and he gives

A better blessing and better promises if you are a Christian you have better promises than Abram ever had you get an eternal home you get an eternal family you get to reign in the eternal kingdom that God

Says that we will belong to him and that we will relate to him and that we will be his children his sons and daughters not that we'll have a lineage but that we'll have an inheritance from the God of the universe

Through Christ that God has given us better promises and then called us to walk by faith and not by sight so how do we do that when so often we're just bombarded with circumstance we're just bombarded with what we can see

And feel and know you feel really hungry during a famine and you feel very much like you've got to do something real fear real hunger real pain real sadness I think firstly we have to know a deep and in a deep and abiding way we need to know the promises of God

We have to know his word because we're always having to choose between trust in his word and trust in what we see we have to know in a deep and abiding way the promises Abram needed to have repeated those promises to himself over and over and over and over

Again wouldn't it be nice if God promised you you'll have children and you hadn't had children yet when you enter into a battle I guess you'd be like well maybe she's pregnant now and I'm gonna die but otherwise I think I'm making it out of this

One see he gets to lean into these promises there are times as a Christian where you're gonna get to go God it doesn't look like I'm gonna be provided for but I know you say you will it doesn't look like this is gonna work out

But I know that you love me and that you promise that I'll never be you'll never leave me or forsake me so I can trust that you're here in the middle of this God I so badly want all the things that I can see but I know that you've promised me that there's pleasures at your right

Hand forevermore and that I'm to spend my life for something that matters eternally not something that I can have for a few years we're gonna do this throughout our lives you're gonna be in middle school where the primary currency of middle school is coolness and it's middle school coolness so it's not even real

But the primary currency and it feels real it's so real in the daily life of being in middle school and there's gonna be a kid who is so not cool that just talking to her just being around him makes you lose cool points you can feel him just being sucked out of you you get to choose faith or sight you trust a God who says there's more to life than what

We can see and that everybody matters and everybody has a dignity and everybody has worth can you think for a second about what it's like to be this kid who goes home every day just having to be them you're gonna get to choose and that choice doesn't stop in middle school some of you face that situation at work there's one co-worker that everybody just has

So much fun talking about them behind their back and you get to choose am I gonna look like Christ and defend them am I gonna care for them am I gonna befriend them am I gonna join in you're gonna get to choose when you get a job how honest you're gonna be are you gonna bend the same rules that everybody else bends and say well that's just how this industry works you're gonna get to choose in relationships some of us are gonna have

To choose faith oversight and stay with someone we're married to even though it does not look like that'll ever work or be good and some of us are gonna have to choose faith oversight and leave somebody because even though we know that the finances won't work out if we're not living together and going into retirement when the American dream is so palpable and so within reach and it's just like Sodom saying here take all this we're gonna have to say no

I have riches you don't understand from a God who's bigger and more eternal I'm not gonna have the nicest house I'm not gonna have the boat I'm not gonna have the stuff but I am gonna have a God who has a mission and I'm gonna see some people meet Jesus and then I'm gonna go meet him this is gonna play out forever and the hope for us is the same hope that was for Abraham you see when you become a Christian you are saying I am a sinner in need of a savior and I trust that these

Promises are good and our hope for us is that the promises will overcome the fact that we are terrible at carrying this out that the promises are strong enough to get us out of Egypt that when we've derailed when we've run when we've fallen the promises are strong enough that God will redeem us that he will save us that his his cross is bigger than our sin that his resurrection is bigger than our death that we get to trust in him and he'll bring us out and the truth is if you are a Christian he will so that's our hope and

We continue to walk this out with Abraham and see his story we're gonna see all the other times he has to choose between trusting in faith and walking by sight and our hope is that we would do that daily as we trust in Jesus and that we would know his promises so well that nothing else seemed appetizing band's gonna come back up we're gonna sing in a minute we'll take communion my prayer for us as a church is that we would be people who so believed in God and his goodness and his word that we wouldn't be enamored with everything we can see wouldn't be derailed by

Job loss wouldn't be derailed in the midst of pain of relationships and hurt we'd be hurt certainly we'd be confused certainly we'd be hungry we'd but we'd be trusting and that we'd live as people who walk by faith and not by sight and that ultimately God's promises would overcome our failures which is what he promises to do in the cross let's pray God we thank you for your grace and your goodness we thank you that you redeem real people not the perfect not the absolutely moral not those who always keep it together not those people who only go undefeated but those people who are absolutely defeated

And know that they need a savior and we ask that you'd help us to so trust you and so believe in you that even as we walk through the situations that we are in the middle of right now that we believe that you're good that you won't forsake us that we can cast our anxieties on you that you care for us that a peace that we don't understand will guard us that your Holy Spirit is a helper and a comforter that you walk with us God that we would know and love your promises and we would trust that you're the one who takes care who feeds who provides who

Loves in Jesus name amen and thank you thank you so