Continuing a chronological Bible study:
(Genesis 22:1) And it came to pass after these things, that God did test Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham," and he said, "Behold, here I am."
This event came to pass after the weaning of Isaac, and the other things we read about in the last chapter. The word transcribed as "test" was originally translated as "tempt" in the KJV. Although I have come to realize that the KJV is probably the most accurate translation we have (please see my previous post on Biblical translations), the KJV translators missed the boat on this word. The original word is "nasah"and it means "test, try, prove, tempt, or put to the proof or test". Actually, as I see where this word is used in other places in scripture, it's most often used as "prove" and other times used as "tempt", but never as "test". The KJV translators did not use the word "test" anywhere in their transcription of the Bible, so perhaps the word was not so much a part of their vocabulary back then. The Biblical scholar, Adam Clarke, wrote that the word "tempt", from the word "tento", means no more than to "prove or try", but it has come to be understood by us as a solicitation to evil, but God never tempts any man to do evil as evil is not a part of His nature. The word used here is absolutely meant to be "test or prove".
2) And He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."
Note that God called Isaac Abraham's only son. God is well aware that Ishmael is also his son, as He blessed Ishmael in the previous chapter because he was Abraham's son. However, Isaac was the son willed by God, his only legitimate son, his only son by his lawful wife Sarah, the only son of the promise, and actually, he was the only son left to Abraham, as Ishmael had been cast out. Wow! God told Abraham to take this only son, the son Abraham loved, and go to a land of His designation, and offer that beloved son as a burnt offering!
(3) And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and split the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up and went to the place of which God had told him. (4) Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
It appears that God may have spoken to Abraham in a dream or a vision, and Abraham awoke early in the morning and was immediately obedient, preparing for and starting out on his trip that apparently took him three days. Dr. John Gill wrote about the significance of the third day, saying that the Jewish people interpreted the day as the third day of the resurrection; the deliverance of Isaac on this third day was a symbol of Christ's resurrection from the dead. When Abraham began on his journey, he would have considered his son dead because he was going to offer him up as a sacrifice at the end of his three day journey. Dr. Gill pointed to Hosea 6:2, "After two days He will revive us; in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight."
(5) And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; and the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and come back to you."
Abraham told his two servants to stay with the donkey, while he and Isaac went to worship. Isn't it very interesting that Abraham stated that they would go worship and that they would come back? The fact that he did not want his servants to go may mean he didn't want them to know what he was going to do. Surely they would have tried to stop him if they saw him binding his son with the intent of offering him as a sacrifice, so maybe in saying this, he was further hiding the truth from them. However, could it be that Abraham was speaking by faith in prophecy that he and his son would both return? When you think about it, how else could Abraham do such a thing? He had great faith and trusted God with all his heart. He had obeyed before when he didn't know how it would work out. He had even tried to "help" God before and found it wasn't necessary. He had learned that he could totally trust God, so he was completely obedient, but he also may have truly known in his heart or by the Holy Spirit that he and Isaac would both return.
(6) And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they both went together.
Wow! Again it is Dr. Gill who points out that Isaac is a picture of Christ carrying his own "cross" on which he will be sacrificed. Even more than that, note that the father laid the wood upon the son, a symbol of God the Father laying our sins on His Son. Wow!
(7) And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father", and he said, "Here I am, my son." And he said, "Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" (8) And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering." So the both of them went together.
Once again, wow! Imagine his only beloved son asking Abraham where the sacrificial lamb was, and Abraham answering that question, knowing his intentions to sacrifice that son! The general understanding of Abraham's answer is that "God will provide the sacrifice", meaning either that if it be God's will that Isaac was the sacrifice, then it would be, or God would provide another way. For the first time I am struck by the exact wording, "God will provide Himself". Not only did God provide for Himself the perfect Lamb sacrifice, but God provided Himself! God Himself came down from heaven in the human form of Jesus Christ, God the Son, to be the perfect unblemished sacrifice for our sins!
(9) And they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. (10) And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
I can only imagine the protests of his son while Abraham bound him. Just imagine a father hearing the cries of his son who does not understand while he raises a knife to slay his only beloved son! To speak the words he did and to do what he was doing, Abraham was surely acting and speaking from the Holy Spirit of God this beautiful prophetic depiction of God's ultimate plan to save sinful man.
As I read old Biblical commentaries of this passage, I was struck by something of which I had not thought. Actually, the scripture says nothing of Isaac protesting. That was my imagination. Because of historical chronological studies (of which I am not learned), it is the consensus of most Biblical scholars that Isaac is a grown man by this time, anywhere from 25 to 37 years of age. Some suggest he was probably 33, considering all the other perfect similarities between him and Christ. Could a strong young man not have overcome an old 125 to 137 year old man if that is what he wanted to do? So also must Isaac's character be considered in this. He must also have trusted God or was, at the very least, also acting by the Holy Spirit of God, even if he didn't fully realize what he was doing. Adam Clarke states it beautifully, "All this was most illustriously typical of Christ. In both cases the father himself offers up his only-begotten son, and the father himself binds him on the wood or to the cross; in neither case is the son forced to yield, but yields of his own accord; in neither case is the life taken away by the hand of violence; Isaac yields himself to the knife, Jesus lays down his life for the sheep."
(11) And the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." (12) And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, nor do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."
Obviously, God did not need such a test to prove Abraham's faith. He already knew Abraham's heart, but through Abraham's obedience to his Lord in this, we have a beautiful historical record of his faith and of his giving his all, all that was dearest to him, to his Lord and Savior. It was also meant to be a prophetic illustration of God sacrificing His only beloved Son. It must be noted that this particular sacrifice of Isaac's son was prevented. God does not approve of human sacrifice. I have often thought about this story, and whether or not I could ever have enough faith to do what Abraham did. However, I have come to realize he was acting through the Holy Spirit to give us a perfect picture of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. We can do all things through the Holy Spirit of God!
Not to over-think this too much, but I don't think we would be called to sacrifice our children in this day and age, as a test of faith. We are told to always try (test) the spirits to see if they are of God. As the Bereans were commended because they searched the scriptures to see if what they were told was true, we also use the Word of God as our reference to determine if something is true, and we know God has told us not to kill, and He hates the sacrifice of children. Additionally, when Satan told Jesus to throw Himself down because scripture said God would save Him, Jesus told him that we are NOT to tempt (test) the Lord with such acts.
(13) And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns, and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering instead of his son.
The Lord Himself provided another sacrifice rather than the death of Isaac, as the Lord has provided the sacrificial Lamb in exchange for our eternal deaths.
(14) And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah Jireh, as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of the LORD it shall be seen."
The strict definition of "Jehovah Jireh" is "Jehovah sees", meaning Jehovah sees to it, or the Lord provides. Dr. John Gill writes that from this time to his present time, the phrase had been used "as a proverbial saying, that as God appeared to Abraham, and for his son, in the mount, just as he was going to sacrifice him, and delivered him, so the Lord will appear for his people in all ages, in a time of difficulty and distress, and when at the utmost extremity, who call upon him, and trust in him." He takes it a step further and writes that it might also be taken literally, that the Lord will literally be seen, "This may also refer to the presence of God in this mount, when the temple should be built on it, as it was...and to the appearance of Christ in it, who was often seen here..."
(15) And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham out of heaven a second time, (16) And said, "By Myself have I sworn, says the LORD, for because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, (17) That in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. (18) And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."
I have to smile at the phrase, "By Myself have I sworn". While we humans swear by God, there is no greater than God Himself for God to swear by! God is swearing by His own nature and by perfection itself, that because Abraham was willing to give his only beloved son, God will bless and multiply Abraham abundantly. God repeats His blessing to Abraham that his descendants will be millions, as numerous as the stars in heaven or the grains of sand on the shore. In addition, Abraham's descendants will possess the gates of their enemies, as in "the gates of hell", meaning they will triumph over their enemies and overcome the world. Gates represented the security and strength of a city; a strong gate fortified by troops meant a strong city. Also at the gates of a city were where the courts were, so the idea is that no evil strength or wicked counsels will be able to prevail against Abraham's descendants.
There is much more to Abraham's blessing that God swore to him; an incredibly wonderful part of the blessing is that ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH WILL BE BLESSED, because of Abraham's faithfulness and obedience. Imagine that! Because of Abraham, and of course, more exactly, because of the Messiah who will come from his descendants, all people from all nations will be blessed, and will have the opportunity to be saved and overcome the world and the eternal death that goes with it. God promised OUR salvation to Abraham, and that fact He beautifully illustrated in the "test" of Abraham's faith.
(19) So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba. (20) And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, "Behold, Milcah has also borne children to your brother Nahor; (21) Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram, (22) And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel."
Abraham returned to the young men he had left with his donkey when he took Isaac with him "to worship". They all proceeded to Beersheba, where it is said that Abraham dwelt. It was apparently there that Abraham heard from someone that his brother's wife had borne him children
(23) And Bethuel begat Rebekah; these eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother. (24) And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.
Note that there is a distinction between the eight children borne by Nahor's wife and the ones borne by his concubine. Just as God called Isaac Abraham's only son, it seems He may give a little more honor to the legitimate children of marriage; at least He did distinguish between the two. The history is continued to set up the genealogy of Rebekah, who was to become Isaac's wife. But that, my friends, is a different story! :-)
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Can God Bless America?
After the re-election of Obama, I emotionally checked out of this country. If the majority of this country actually wants to continue down this destructive, immoral, and Godless path, then I want no part of it! I have come to realize that all the wicked laws are not what is going to bring God's judgment on our country, but rather we accept all the wicked laws because we have rejected God. Fighting political battles is not going to change hearts and save lives and change our country's destructive course. There is only One Way to save this country, but this country, as a whole, has rejected Him.
I had recently changed the purpose of my blog. Oh, my purpose was always to share the truth, but I was originally more politically based. Then I came to realize if people just knew the real Truth, if they truly sought the Lord their God with all their hearts, He would show them the Truth and the Way, and give them wisdom. There is absolutely no wisdom apart from God, and it is so apparent when you see the insanity of what goes on in this country. Evil is called good, and good is evil, just as the Bible says it would be. It is so ridiculous that it is almost laughable that we are so foolish except that it really is so incredibly sad. For the most part, I just share the Word of God and my study of it in my blog now. Occasionally, I can't help but note how it plays in our present culture, hoping someone might see and investigate for themselves. That is how I came to be really saved and born-again. It began with my soon-to-be husband scaring me with Biblical prophecy. I remember running around the block, crying, truly scared of what I did not know. I then decided I would read and study my Bible and find out for myself the truth. I truly began to search God's Word; I was seeking Him with all my heart and as He said, He would be found if I did that. So that is my wish for others, that they might seek Him in His Word, and they will come to see the Truth, too. I guess I appear to place more importance on the Word of God first because that is tangible black and white proof of what God said. Of course, prayer and a relationship with our Lord and Savior is essential, but without knowing exactly what God said, people can be led astray by deceiving spirits, because the Bible tells us that even Satan can appear as an angel of light. We have to know what God said so that if some charming preacher or dream or feeling tells us something that seems right, we know if it really lines up with what God says is right. So often people will talk about what their God would do or not do, but there is only One God and He is true only to Himself and not to what we think is right! We know by reading Biblical prophecy, that there will come a time when the majority of the people will be deceived by the anti-Christ, and I can't help but believe that time is quickly approaching, so we must be armed with the Truth so we won't be deceived.
I came to realize I had to change the icon of the title banner of my blog. It said, "God Bless America". It had a vintage look, and I do believe that God has blessed America immensely since its founding. It's because the founders looked to God to form the greatest nation in history. However, over the years, our nation has turned from God. We decided there was no place for Him in our schools. We decided He might be offensive to others in the public square and we must get rid of every symbol of Him. We've allowed ourselves to believe there must be a separation of church and state. How else could we allow ourselves to believe it is okay to murder millions of babies, the very most innocent human life? How else could we take something God called an abomination and hail it as "marriage equality"? How else could we support a man who was the worst of the worst on life issues and even went so far to vote three times to kill (by intentional neglect) born alive babies who had the misfortune of surviving botched abortions? How else could we support that same man who went further than any other president ever has to elevate homosexual "rights", to the point of ignoring our laws, the very laws he has sworn to uphold? How else could we believe it was okay that this man had to cover up a symbol of Christ before he could speak on the same stage? How else could we vote for the party who rejected God and Israel and wanted them out of their party platform? How could we actually support such open and blatant Godlessness? The only way is to ignore God and pretend that we can still be good Christians in our private lives while supporting Godless acts in our public lives. When we try to do that, we are attempting to make a little god in our own image and place him in a little box and put him in his own place, and we are following a false god, because that is not the One True God of the Bible!
I have to admit I am beginning to no longer believe that God can bless America. I want to believe that 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says, "If my people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land," means that Christians are the only responsible parties and that if we were to change our wicked ways, God could bless this country again, with or without the Godless people. However, I just can't see God blessing a country that kills millions of babies and celebrates such an immoral culture. It's not that I don't believe something God said. Perhaps a part of Christians' evil ways is that they have completely missed the boat in sharing the news of Jesus Christ and changing lives. I know God will continue to bless His people who follow Him and He will continue to draw His lost sheep to Him, even in the midst of a fallen country, and He can heal those personal lands, but I just can't believe that He will truly bless America again until America changes her wicked ways. Once again, it is probably the fault of Christians and churches not doing their jobs that has led to this country's state and that is what must change, but for the time being, I just can't continue to display the banner, "God Bless America".
Because this blog is now about the study of God's Word, and because I have a love for the vintage, I looked for images of studying the Bible in old paintings. I found many beautiful old images. The one used in my banner above is from a painting by Hermann Kaulbach (1846-1909), entitled "Reading the Bible". The image at the top of the right column is from "The Orphans, Reading the Bible", 1845, by Hughes Merle. Below is Vincent Van Gogh's "Still Life with Open Bible," 1885:
This is "Old Woman Reading a Bible", 1630, by Gerrit Dou:
Another painting I found while I was searching is one I will not show here, but I found it very interesting. It was the posting of a man whose wife had found a painting on eBay called "Proof Reader", depicting the devil reading the Bible, by Todd Hamilton. Although I have no idea what the artist's intentions were, I found what I saw depicted in the painting to be very true. The devil knows the Bible quite well, as evident in the way he quoted scripture to Jesus when he tempted Him:
And he (Satan) brought Him (Jesus) to Jerusalem, and set Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, cast Yourself down from here, for it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'" And Jesus answering said to him, "It is said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'". - Luke 4:9-12
We have to know the entire Word of God in context to know when Satan tries to deceive us with scripture out of context. I realize we can never know everything about the nature of God or everything in His Word with 100% accuracy, but if we truly seek Him, He will guide us in His Word and by His Holy Spirit, and with the very Author guiding us, we will come as close as we humanly can in this world!
I had recently changed the purpose of my blog. Oh, my purpose was always to share the truth, but I was originally more politically based. Then I came to realize if people just knew the real Truth, if they truly sought the Lord their God with all their hearts, He would show them the Truth and the Way, and give them wisdom. There is absolutely no wisdom apart from God, and it is so apparent when you see the insanity of what goes on in this country. Evil is called good, and good is evil, just as the Bible says it would be. It is so ridiculous that it is almost laughable that we are so foolish except that it really is so incredibly sad. For the most part, I just share the Word of God and my study of it in my blog now. Occasionally, I can't help but note how it plays in our present culture, hoping someone might see and investigate for themselves. That is how I came to be really saved and born-again. It began with my soon-to-be husband scaring me with Biblical prophecy. I remember running around the block, crying, truly scared of what I did not know. I then decided I would read and study my Bible and find out for myself the truth. I truly began to search God's Word; I was seeking Him with all my heart and as He said, He would be found if I did that. So that is my wish for others, that they might seek Him in His Word, and they will come to see the Truth, too. I guess I appear to place more importance on the Word of God first because that is tangible black and white proof of what God said. Of course, prayer and a relationship with our Lord and Savior is essential, but without knowing exactly what God said, people can be led astray by deceiving spirits, because the Bible tells us that even Satan can appear as an angel of light. We have to know what God said so that if some charming preacher or dream or feeling tells us something that seems right, we know if it really lines up with what God says is right. So often people will talk about what their God would do or not do, but there is only One God and He is true only to Himself and not to what we think is right! We know by reading Biblical prophecy, that there will come a time when the majority of the people will be deceived by the anti-Christ, and I can't help but believe that time is quickly approaching, so we must be armed with the Truth so we won't be deceived.
I came to realize I had to change the icon of the title banner of my blog. It said, "God Bless America". It had a vintage look, and I do believe that God has blessed America immensely since its founding. It's because the founders looked to God to form the greatest nation in history. However, over the years, our nation has turned from God. We decided there was no place for Him in our schools. We decided He might be offensive to others in the public square and we must get rid of every symbol of Him. We've allowed ourselves to believe there must be a separation of church and state. How else could we allow ourselves to believe it is okay to murder millions of babies, the very most innocent human life? How else could we take something God called an abomination and hail it as "marriage equality"? How else could we support a man who was the worst of the worst on life issues and even went so far to vote three times to kill (by intentional neglect) born alive babies who had the misfortune of surviving botched abortions? How else could we support that same man who went further than any other president ever has to elevate homosexual "rights", to the point of ignoring our laws, the very laws he has sworn to uphold? How else could we believe it was okay that this man had to cover up a symbol of Christ before he could speak on the same stage? How else could we vote for the party who rejected God and Israel and wanted them out of their party platform? How could we actually support such open and blatant Godlessness? The only way is to ignore God and pretend that we can still be good Christians in our private lives while supporting Godless acts in our public lives. When we try to do that, we are attempting to make a little god in our own image and place him in a little box and put him in his own place, and we are following a false god, because that is not the One True God of the Bible!
I have to admit I am beginning to no longer believe that God can bless America. I want to believe that 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says, "If my people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land," means that Christians are the only responsible parties and that if we were to change our wicked ways, God could bless this country again, with or without the Godless people. However, I just can't see God blessing a country that kills millions of babies and celebrates such an immoral culture. It's not that I don't believe something God said. Perhaps a part of Christians' evil ways is that they have completely missed the boat in sharing the news of Jesus Christ and changing lives. I know God will continue to bless His people who follow Him and He will continue to draw His lost sheep to Him, even in the midst of a fallen country, and He can heal those personal lands, but I just can't believe that He will truly bless America again until America changes her wicked ways. Once again, it is probably the fault of Christians and churches not doing their jobs that has led to this country's state and that is what must change, but for the time being, I just can't continue to display the banner, "God Bless America".
Because this blog is now about the study of God's Word, and because I have a love for the vintage, I looked for images of studying the Bible in old paintings. I found many beautiful old images. The one used in my banner above is from a painting by Hermann Kaulbach (1846-1909), entitled "Reading the Bible". The image at the top of the right column is from "The Orphans, Reading the Bible", 1845, by Hughes Merle. Below is Vincent Van Gogh's "Still Life with Open Bible," 1885:
This is "Old Woman Reading a Bible", 1630, by Gerrit Dou:
Another painting I found while I was searching is one I will not show here, but I found it very interesting. It was the posting of a man whose wife had found a painting on eBay called "Proof Reader", depicting the devil reading the Bible, by Todd Hamilton. Although I have no idea what the artist's intentions were, I found what I saw depicted in the painting to be very true. The devil knows the Bible quite well, as evident in the way he quoted scripture to Jesus when he tempted Him:
And he (Satan) brought Him (Jesus) to Jerusalem, and set Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, cast Yourself down from here, for it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'" And Jesus answering said to him, "It is said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'". - Luke 4:9-12
We have to know the entire Word of God in context to know when Satan tries to deceive us with scripture out of context. I realize we can never know everything about the nature of God or everything in His Word with 100% accuracy, but if we truly seek Him, He will guide us in His Word and by His Holy Spirit, and with the very Author guiding us, we will come as close as we humanly can in this world!
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
No Man Is an Island
Continuing a Bible study of Abraham:
(Genesis 21:1) And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as He had spoken. (2) For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
Sarah bore a son as God had promised. Note the Lord Himself did this; after all, Sarah was 90 years old by this time! Dr. John Gill, in his Biblical commentary, brought to my attention something of which I had never given much thought. Notice how the scripture tells us twice that the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and that the Lord did to Sarah as He had spoken (actually three times if you count that Sarah bore a son at the time God had told Abraham). Dr. Gill says the repetition is made to cause attention to God's fulfillment of His promise, but that reminded me of something more I have come to learn in scripture. God always states something at least twice, for "in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established" (Deut. 19:15, Matt. 18:16, 2 Cor. 13:1). When I was looking up references to that truth in scripture, I found that even that principle of God's is found three times in the Bible! I marvel at how God is always so steady and so true!
In Bible study, I have found the above fact to be a great aid in determining what is really meant in scripture. In the past, I have stumbled over obscure passages or ones that seem to state something contrary to what I thought I knew about God and the Bible. I now know that if it is something God wants to be an established fact, then it will be repeated. If it is only stated in one place and it seems to be an odd, obscure, or contradictory statement, then I know that we have probably interpreted it wrong. How exciting it is that God makes it so plain and easy for us!
(3) And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.
Isaac is the name God had directed Abraham to name his son (Gen. 17:19). The original word for our Anglicized "Isaac" is "yitschaq", and it means "laughter" or "he laughs". We remember that Abraham laughed for joy at the promise of having a son in his old age. Additionally, Sarah laughed in mockery and disbelief. Again it is Dr. John Gill who writes an interesting observation on the fact that the name "might presignify the joy and laughter that would be expressed by others at his birth; and perhaps also that he would be the object of the laughter and derision of his brother; such a number of events agreeing with his name." Isn't that often the way with God? He is so much more complex than we are, and most times there are multiple meanings and lessons derived from each part of His Word. That is how you can read the Bible again and again and always find new pearls of wisdom each time.
(4) And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. (5) And Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
Again Abraham strictly observed a command God gave him (Gen. 17:12). Isaac was the first that we read of in scripture who was circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. All others were circumcised at the time God gave the command. God's covenant with Abraham was established with the birth of Isaac in his old age, and he is cheerfully obedient to his Lord.
(6) And Sarah said, "God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me." (7) And she said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age."
Here we have Sarah's interpretation of Isaac's name, either that God made her laugh with the prophecy, or perhaps that she now laughed for joy at the birth of her son. All who hear the news will rejoice with her. A year before no one would have thought it possible that Sarah would nurse her own baby of Abraham's, but the miracle had occurred.
(8) And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. (9) And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking.
Ishmael was 14 years older than Isaac, and we know this because we were told earlier in scripture that he was born when Abraham was 86. We can assume that Isaac was weaned by 2 or 3 years, so Ishmael was about 16 or 17 years of age when he mocked either little Isaac, or perhaps his old mother; we are not really told the exact object of his mocking or what he said. Either way, Sarah didn't like it.
(10) Therefore she said to Abraham, "Cast out this bondwoman and her son, for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac." (11) And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.
The child of Abraham by Hagar might be considered as having a right at least to a part of Abraham's inheritance, and Sarah wanted there to be no possibility of that. However, the idea of casting them out greatly grieved Abraham, for after all, Ishmael was his son, too.
(12) And God said to Abraham, "Let it not be grievous in your sight because of the lad and because of your bondwoman; in all that Sarah has said to you, hearken to her voice, for in Isaac shall your seed be called. (13) And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is your seed."
It is indicated here that it is God's will for Ishmael and his mother to be turned out, for it is Isaac alone from whom God's promised seed would come. This is not to say that it was initially God's will to be cruel in allowing Sarah's harsh intentions to come to fruition. We must remember that it was Abraham and Sarah who brought this dilemma upon themselves. God will also bless Ishmael; He reiterated His promise that from Ishmael will also come a nation.
(14) And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away; and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
Abraham rose early the morning after God spoke to him, and did send Hagar on her way, with provisions, and with her son.
(15) And the water was gone in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. (16) And she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said, "Let me not see the death of the child." And she sat across from him, and lifted up her voice and wept.
Scripture states that Hagar wandered in the wilderness. Surely, Abraham had given Hagar enough water to reach the next well, but she wandered around in the wilderness. However, regardless of whether or not she had been given enough provisions, when God tells us to do something, we should do it, and rest assured that God will take it from there. So now we find Hagar at the end of her rope, so to speak. She expects she and her son will die, and she can't bear to face the death of her child, so she pushed him under a shrub and sat a little distance away from him, crying.
(17) And God heard the voice of the lad, and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, "What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. (18) Arise, lift up the lad and hold him in your hand, for I will make him a great nation." (19) And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad a drink.
God did indeed hear their distress, as the scripture says He heard the lad, who probably cried, also. God's angel spoke to Hagar to comfort her. He told her not to fear, because God knew where the child was. We must remember that nothing ever catches God unaware; He always knows where we are. He instructed Hagar to get up, raise her son up, and take him by the hand. It's as if it's sort of an instruction to pick herself up by the boot straps and push onward, and in doing so, she saw the well. God also repeated His promise that her son would be a great nation, which meant he would not die, so stirring her to action to get up and take care of him. Often in despair and hopelessness, we cannot see or think clearly. Usually when we get calm and quiet (and get in prayer), God helps us to see. There's no indication that Hagar or the child actually prayed to God, but this was the promise He had made to Abraham, and it was His will that the child live and this He helped Hagar to see.
(20) And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. (21) And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
Ishmael lived in the wilderness of Paran, a desert region of Arabia near Mount Sinai, where God was with him, and he grew and prospered in health and in ability as he became an archer. Hagar found a wife for him of the women of her own country, Egypt.
(22) And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the chief captain of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, "God is with you in all that you do. (23) Now therefore, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son; but according to the kindness that I have done to you, you shall do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt." (24) And Abraham said, "I will swear."
Sometime after Abraham and Sarah had left Abimelech and dwelt in the land of their choosing, Abimelech and the chief captain of his army spoke to Abraham. They could see that God was surely with Abraham and blessed him in all that he did. Seeing he was a powerful man of God (or with God, he was powerful), they wanted him on their side. The fact that Abimelech wanted Abraham's word not just now, but for future generations, makes me wonder if Abimelech knew or had heard of God's promise to give the whole land of Canaan to him and his posterity, and therefore wanted to insure that his own posterity would not be driven out. Abraham, undoubtedly mindful of Abimelech's fair treatment of him, agreed that he would always deal fairly with Abimelech and his future generations.
(25) And Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.
It appears to be at the same time that Abraham is swearing to deal as kindly to Abimelech as Abimelech has dealt with him, that Abraham points out that Abimelech's servants have not dealt so kindly concerning a well they had seized.
(26) And Abimelech said, "I do not know who has done this thing; neither did you tell me, neither had I heard of it until today."
Abimelech claimed to have known nothing about the seizing of the well. From all we have seen up to this point, I believe we can assume that this man found the fear of God by observing His work in and through Abraham, and truly wished to deal fairly with Abraham, and probably truly did not know his servants were doing things not so fairly.
(27) And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them to Abimelech, and both of them made a covenant.
It appears that Abraham believed Abimelech to be truthful about the well as he agreed to enter into a covenant with him.
(28) And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. (29) And Abimelech said to Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?" (30) And he said, "For these seven ewe lambs you shall take from my hand, that they may be a witness to me that I have dug this well."
Abraham gave Abimelech sheep and oxen, but he made it a point to separate seven ewes from the rest of the flock. The original word for "seven" is "shibah" or "sheba", and it means "the sacred full and complete thing". Nothing could be added to it or taken from it. Abimelech asked about the separate ewes and with Abraham's explanation, it is established by both men that these were to be a testimony that the well that had been taken away from Abraham was one that he had dug, and was his property, and Abimelech acknowledged this by his acceptance of these seven ewes.
(31) Therefore he called that place Beersheba because there they swore both of them.
The actual meaning of the name appears to me to be "well of seven", but by the explanation in the verse, it was intentioned to mean "well of the sacred agreed upon complete oath". Those are my words, but that pretty much sums it up for me.
(32) Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba; then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines. (33) And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God. (34) And Abraham dwelled in the land of the Philistines many days.
Abimelech and the chief of his army left the place of his and Abraham's covenant, but Abraham remained there. He planted a grove, and I believe that was to mark this place and it gave him a physical place to worship his Lord, and I believe it was, in his heart, a place to honor his Lord, the everlasting God. Maybe it was to be a public display of the acknowledgement of God while he dwelled in the land of the Philistines, and left as a memorial to Him after he left.
As I read over these scriptures and my notes, I saw that this chapter contained two different "stories", one about the turning out of Hagar and Ishmael, and the other about the covenant between Abimelech and Abraham, but I was struck by a similarity and connection of the two. Abraham, as a blessed friend of God, brought blessings to the people who were associated with him! He was a blessing to others! Some blessings were due to his direct actions, but others were due to God's blessing of Abraham that brought blessing to those close to Abraham. What a beautiful thought that not only can we be (or bring) a physical blessing to others, but that they might be blessed because we are blessed by God! I am always in awe about how God moves in such intricate ways. No man is an island, for sure! The fact that our little individual portions of the earth can bless others is an awesome truth of our sweet everlasting Lord!
(Genesis 21:1) And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as He had spoken. (2) For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
Sarah bore a son as God had promised. Note the Lord Himself did this; after all, Sarah was 90 years old by this time! Dr. John Gill, in his Biblical commentary, brought to my attention something of which I had never given much thought. Notice how the scripture tells us twice that the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and that the Lord did to Sarah as He had spoken (actually three times if you count that Sarah bore a son at the time God had told Abraham). Dr. Gill says the repetition is made to cause attention to God's fulfillment of His promise, but that reminded me of something more I have come to learn in scripture. God always states something at least twice, for "in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established" (Deut. 19:15, Matt. 18:16, 2 Cor. 13:1). When I was looking up references to that truth in scripture, I found that even that principle of God's is found three times in the Bible! I marvel at how God is always so steady and so true!
In Bible study, I have found the above fact to be a great aid in determining what is really meant in scripture. In the past, I have stumbled over obscure passages or ones that seem to state something contrary to what I thought I knew about God and the Bible. I now know that if it is something God wants to be an established fact, then it will be repeated. If it is only stated in one place and it seems to be an odd, obscure, or contradictory statement, then I know that we have probably interpreted it wrong. How exciting it is that God makes it so plain and easy for us!
(3) And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.
Isaac is the name God had directed Abraham to name his son (Gen. 17:19). The original word for our Anglicized "Isaac" is "yitschaq", and it means "laughter" or "he laughs". We remember that Abraham laughed for joy at the promise of having a son in his old age. Additionally, Sarah laughed in mockery and disbelief. Again it is Dr. John Gill who writes an interesting observation on the fact that the name "might presignify the joy and laughter that would be expressed by others at his birth; and perhaps also that he would be the object of the laughter and derision of his brother; such a number of events agreeing with his name." Isn't that often the way with God? He is so much more complex than we are, and most times there are multiple meanings and lessons derived from each part of His Word. That is how you can read the Bible again and again and always find new pearls of wisdom each time.
(4) And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. (5) And Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
Again Abraham strictly observed a command God gave him (Gen. 17:12). Isaac was the first that we read of in scripture who was circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. All others were circumcised at the time God gave the command. God's covenant with Abraham was established with the birth of Isaac in his old age, and he is cheerfully obedient to his Lord.
(6) And Sarah said, "God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me." (7) And she said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age."
Here we have Sarah's interpretation of Isaac's name, either that God made her laugh with the prophecy, or perhaps that she now laughed for joy at the birth of her son. All who hear the news will rejoice with her. A year before no one would have thought it possible that Sarah would nurse her own baby of Abraham's, but the miracle had occurred.
(8) And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. (9) And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking.
Ishmael was 14 years older than Isaac, and we know this because we were told earlier in scripture that he was born when Abraham was 86. We can assume that Isaac was weaned by 2 or 3 years, so Ishmael was about 16 or 17 years of age when he mocked either little Isaac, or perhaps his old mother; we are not really told the exact object of his mocking or what he said. Either way, Sarah didn't like it.
(10) Therefore she said to Abraham, "Cast out this bondwoman and her son, for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac." (11) And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.
The child of Abraham by Hagar might be considered as having a right at least to a part of Abraham's inheritance, and Sarah wanted there to be no possibility of that. However, the idea of casting them out greatly grieved Abraham, for after all, Ishmael was his son, too.
(12) And God said to Abraham, "Let it not be grievous in your sight because of the lad and because of your bondwoman; in all that Sarah has said to you, hearken to her voice, for in Isaac shall your seed be called. (13) And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is your seed."
It is indicated here that it is God's will for Ishmael and his mother to be turned out, for it is Isaac alone from whom God's promised seed would come. This is not to say that it was initially God's will to be cruel in allowing Sarah's harsh intentions to come to fruition. We must remember that it was Abraham and Sarah who brought this dilemma upon themselves. God will also bless Ishmael; He reiterated His promise that from Ishmael will also come a nation.
(14) And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away; and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
Abraham rose early the morning after God spoke to him, and did send Hagar on her way, with provisions, and with her son.
(15) And the water was gone in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. (16) And she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said, "Let me not see the death of the child." And she sat across from him, and lifted up her voice and wept.
Scripture states that Hagar wandered in the wilderness. Surely, Abraham had given Hagar enough water to reach the next well, but she wandered around in the wilderness. However, regardless of whether or not she had been given enough provisions, when God tells us to do something, we should do it, and rest assured that God will take it from there. So now we find Hagar at the end of her rope, so to speak. She expects she and her son will die, and she can't bear to face the death of her child, so she pushed him under a shrub and sat a little distance away from him, crying.
(17) And God heard the voice of the lad, and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, "What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. (18) Arise, lift up the lad and hold him in your hand, for I will make him a great nation." (19) And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad a drink.
God did indeed hear their distress, as the scripture says He heard the lad, who probably cried, also. God's angel spoke to Hagar to comfort her. He told her not to fear, because God knew where the child was. We must remember that nothing ever catches God unaware; He always knows where we are. He instructed Hagar to get up, raise her son up, and take him by the hand. It's as if it's sort of an instruction to pick herself up by the boot straps and push onward, and in doing so, she saw the well. God also repeated His promise that her son would be a great nation, which meant he would not die, so stirring her to action to get up and take care of him. Often in despair and hopelessness, we cannot see or think clearly. Usually when we get calm and quiet (and get in prayer), God helps us to see. There's no indication that Hagar or the child actually prayed to God, but this was the promise He had made to Abraham, and it was His will that the child live and this He helped Hagar to see.
(20) And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. (21) And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
Ishmael lived in the wilderness of Paran, a desert region of Arabia near Mount Sinai, where God was with him, and he grew and prospered in health and in ability as he became an archer. Hagar found a wife for him of the women of her own country, Egypt.
(22) And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the chief captain of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, "God is with you in all that you do. (23) Now therefore, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son; but according to the kindness that I have done to you, you shall do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt." (24) And Abraham said, "I will swear."
Sometime after Abraham and Sarah had left Abimelech and dwelt in the land of their choosing, Abimelech and the chief captain of his army spoke to Abraham. They could see that God was surely with Abraham and blessed him in all that he did. Seeing he was a powerful man of God (or with God, he was powerful), they wanted him on their side. The fact that Abimelech wanted Abraham's word not just now, but for future generations, makes me wonder if Abimelech knew or had heard of God's promise to give the whole land of Canaan to him and his posterity, and therefore wanted to insure that his own posterity would not be driven out. Abraham, undoubtedly mindful of Abimelech's fair treatment of him, agreed that he would always deal fairly with Abimelech and his future generations.
(25) And Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.
It appears to be at the same time that Abraham is swearing to deal as kindly to Abimelech as Abimelech has dealt with him, that Abraham points out that Abimelech's servants have not dealt so kindly concerning a well they had seized.
(26) And Abimelech said, "I do not know who has done this thing; neither did you tell me, neither had I heard of it until today."
Abimelech claimed to have known nothing about the seizing of the well. From all we have seen up to this point, I believe we can assume that this man found the fear of God by observing His work in and through Abraham, and truly wished to deal fairly with Abraham, and probably truly did not know his servants were doing things not so fairly.
(27) And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them to Abimelech, and both of them made a covenant.
It appears that Abraham believed Abimelech to be truthful about the well as he agreed to enter into a covenant with him.
(28) And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. (29) And Abimelech said to Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?" (30) And he said, "For these seven ewe lambs you shall take from my hand, that they may be a witness to me that I have dug this well."
Abraham gave Abimelech sheep and oxen, but he made it a point to separate seven ewes from the rest of the flock. The original word for "seven" is "shibah" or "sheba", and it means "the sacred full and complete thing". Nothing could be added to it or taken from it. Abimelech asked about the separate ewes and with Abraham's explanation, it is established by both men that these were to be a testimony that the well that had been taken away from Abraham was one that he had dug, and was his property, and Abimelech acknowledged this by his acceptance of these seven ewes.
(31) Therefore he called that place Beersheba because there they swore both of them.
The actual meaning of the name appears to me to be "well of seven", but by the explanation in the verse, it was intentioned to mean "well of the sacred agreed upon complete oath". Those are my words, but that pretty much sums it up for me.
(32) Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba; then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines. (33) And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God. (34) And Abraham dwelled in the land of the Philistines many days.
Abimelech and the chief of his army left the place of his and Abraham's covenant, but Abraham remained there. He planted a grove, and I believe that was to mark this place and it gave him a physical place to worship his Lord, and I believe it was, in his heart, a place to honor his Lord, the everlasting God. Maybe it was to be a public display of the acknowledgement of God while he dwelled in the land of the Philistines, and left as a memorial to Him after he left.
As I read over these scriptures and my notes, I saw that this chapter contained two different "stories", one about the turning out of Hagar and Ishmael, and the other about the covenant between Abimelech and Abraham, but I was struck by a similarity and connection of the two. Abraham, as a blessed friend of God, brought blessings to the people who were associated with him! He was a blessing to others! Some blessings were due to his direct actions, but others were due to God's blessing of Abraham that brought blessing to those close to Abraham. What a beautiful thought that not only can we be (or bring) a physical blessing to others, but that they might be blessed because we are blessed by God! I am always in awe about how God moves in such intricate ways. No man is an island, for sure! The fact that our little individual portions of the earth can bless others is an awesome truth of our sweet everlasting Lord!
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