Genesis 16
Sarai and Abram impatient with Godverses 1-4
Now Sarai – Abram’s wife – bare him no children
and she had an handmaid
an Egyptian – whose name was Hagar
And Sarai said unto Abram
BEHOLD now – the LORD has restrained me from bearing
I pray you – go in to my maid
it may be that I may obtain children by her
And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai
and Sarai – Abram’s wife took Hagar
her maid – the Egyptians
after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan
and gave her to her husband – Abram- to be his wife
And he went in to Hagar – and she conceived
and when she saw that she had conceived
her mistress was despised in her eyes
Sarai realizes her wrongverses 5-6
And Sarai said to Abram – My wrong done me be upon you
I have given my maid into your bosom
and when she saw that she had conceived
I was despised in her eyes
the LORD judge between me and you
But Abram said to Sarai
BEHOLD – your maid is in your hand
do to her as it please you
And when Sarai dealt hardly with her – she fled from her face
Angel of the LORD with Hagarverses 7-14
And the ANGEL of the LORD found her by the fountain of water
in the wilderness – by the fountain in the way of Shur
And HE said
Hagar- Sarai’s maid- from where came you?
and where wilt you go?
And she said
I flee from the face of my mistress – Sarai
And the ANGEL of the LORD said to her
Return to your mistress
and submit yourself under her hands
And the ANGEL of the LORD said to her
I will multiply your seed exceedingly
that it shall not be numbered for multitude
And the ANGEL of the LORD said to her
BEHOLD – you are with child – and shalt bear a son
and shalt call his name Ishmael
BECAUSE the LORD has heard your affliction
And he will be a wild man
his hand will be against every man
and every man’s hand against him
and he shall dwell in the presence of
all his brethren
And she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her
You God see me – FOR she said
Have I also her seen HIM that see me?
Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi
BEHOLD – it is between Kadesh and Bered
Ishmael bornverses 15-16
And Hagar bore Abram a son – and Abram called his son’s name
which Hagar bore – Ishmael
And Abram was fourscore and six years old
when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray you, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. (6113 “restrained” [atsar] means shut up, withhold, close up, to keep a firm hold, or have a state or condition cease)
DEVOTION: The LORD had promised Abram and Sarai children. They had waited a number of years since HE made that promise.
The Bible teaches that patience is a virtue. Believers are commanded to wait on the LORD in both Testaments. Abram was at the top of the list for the founding of the children of Israel.
He was visited by the LORD on occasions. He was given commands of the LORD. He was given promises from the LORD. The LORD made a covenant with Abram. Abram was given a special place by the LORD.
However, Abram was also a person who was disobedient to the LORD on occasions. He had a problem trusting the LORD fully. He believed in the LORD and it was accounted to him as righteousness or right living.
On this occasion Sarai had a hard time trusting the LORD because HE took too long for her. She knew that HE was in control of children coming into the world. She had waited for a time period but thought that God wasn’t going to keep HIS promise so she asked Abram to marry her servant and have children by her.
What she didn’t realize was that the LORD was going to open her womb in the future. Abram was not strong enough to wait on the LORD as well. He was willing to go to plan B.
Too often we want something from the LORD that HE has promised in HIS Word and we see it not happening when we want it to happen and so we act like Abram and move ahead of God.
Does God know that this is a problem with those who follow HIM? The answer is that God is omniscient. HE does know everything. HE knows the past, present and future of every individual.
Did HE know that Sarai was going to ask Abram to have a baby with Hagar? YES!! Why didn’t HE stop them? There would be no trouble in the Middle East today if Hagar didn’t have Ishmael. There would be no Moslem religion.
Yet this is all in the foreknowledge of God. This is included in HIS plan for the world before HE created the world. It seems at times like a wrong plan but remember God is Holy and never does anything wrong. HE gives man choices. We have a choice to wait on the LORD or work on our own every day.
CHALLENGE: What choice are we going to be making regarding decisions we make today? Are we going to be impatient or patient? Are we waiting on the LORD for HIM to work in our life?
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 10 And the angel of the LORD said to her, I will multiply your seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. (7235 “exceedingly” [rabah] means to become numerous, to make great in size, magnitude, enlarge, or have an activity or state continue or remain)
DEVOTION: When reading the Word of God we have to be looking for the meaning of what is being taught in all the passages of the Bible. We are not to just read the Bible without meditating on it. Each portion of Scripture has something to teach us.
Here we find the “angel of the LORD” talking to Hagar about her future son. In HIS conversation with her HE makes this statement with the word “I” at the beginning.
If this was just a normal created angel he would not use the word “I.” He would say the LORD says or something like that to the individual. When we find the personal pronoun “I” in a passage we need to sit up and take notice. Why? Because that means that this is a THEOPHANY or a visible appearing of deity in the Old Testament. There are only three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The Father doesn’t take on a physical form. The Holy Spirit normally doesn’t take on a physical form except HE took on the form of a dove at the baptism of Jesus. Now the Son does take on the form of a man in the New Testament as the baby Jesus who grows to being an adult and dies on the cross for our sins. In the Old Testament we find HIM appearing on many occasions as the representative of the Godhead.
This is one of those occasions. HE is visiting Hagar to inform her of what her son is going to be like in the future. This has come true throughout the lifetime of him and his descendants.
They are going to fight against God’s people from the very beginning to the present time. They are going to try to kill all the Jews or children of Israel they can.
CHALLENGE: We need to understand what is happening and that it is part of the plan of God for our time period.
: 13 And she called the name of the LORD that spoke to her, You God sees me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that sees me? (7121 “called” [qara’] means to shout, to name, appoint, summon, proclaim, announce, to call, invite, or to assign a specified proper name whether to another or to oneself)
DEVOTION: There are many names given to God throughout the Bible. The three main names we have mentioned a few days ago. These three names are found in many parts of the Old Testament: Jehovah, Elohim and Adonai.
The name given to God by Hagar is “El-roi which means a God who is seeing. God sees everything. Hagar realized that God saw her condition and came to her aid. HE was concerned with what was happening in her life. HE is concerned about what is happening in our life.
God sees everything that we do. HE sees those who are giving us a hard time. HE sees those who are helping us through our trials. HE is watching over our world at all times. Nothing happening in the world is out of HIS site.
Too often we think that we can hide something from God. Many times we will read in the Bible where people thought that God couldn’t see in the dark or behind closed doors. We tend to think that we can keep secrets from God. It is a lie of Satan to think these thoughts. We tend to believe his lies.
Remember that we worship a God who sees everything in our life. HE sees not only the outside but also what is going on in our mind. HE knows what we are thinking at all times.
CHALLENGE: Guard your thought life to the point that it is pleasing to HIM.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. (6501 “wild” [pereh] means wild donkey, running wild, or onager (maybe a zebra).
DEVOTION: Impatience, how many have it? The Bible tells us to wait on the LORD. HIS timing is always perfect. HIS ways are always right. BUT how many of like waiting on the LORD? How many of us want the LORD to work in our time frame. IF HE doesn’t work in our time frame do we give up on HIM? Do we start acting on our own? The answer in most cases YES!
Sarai was impatient with the LORD. She told Abram that he should do something different that wait for the LORD. He followed her advice and took Hagar as a second wife. This was WRONG.
Hagar was with child of Abram. She held this up to Sarai and Sarai got mad. Abram let her do what she wanted with Hagar. She sent Hagar away. In the wilderness, she met with the angel of the LORD. HE used the word “I” in the phrase which tells us that it is a theophany. That is a visible appearing of the Second person of the Godhead.
HE gives a promise to Hagar. Here is a prediction regarding Ishmael’s future. This prediction told of him being a natural enemy to everyone he meets. This prediction tells us that he will only get along with his brethren. His descendants are the Arab nations today. His descendants are still against every man and every man is against them.
Some people who don’t realize that God knows the future would think that all the Arab nations are friendly with all other people. Ishmael’s descendants are at war with the rest of the world. It started from the day that he was born. Abram ran ahead of God’s plan and there have been consequences to our day.
If we run ahead of God there are consequences. Let’s stay in God’s time. We don’t want to be called a “donkey” do we?
CHALLENGE: Watch your timing!! Don’t go ahead of God. Don’t lag behind God.
:15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. (3458 “Ishmael” [Yishmaʿeʾl] means 1 son of Abraham and Sarah’s handmaid Hagar and the progenitor of the Arabian peoples. 2 son of Nethaniah and the murderer of Gedaliah. 3 a Benjamite, one of the sons of Azel a descendant of Saul through Meribbaal or Mephibosheth. 4 a Judaite, father of Zebadiah. 5 a Judaite, son of Johanan and one of the captains who aided Jehoiada in restoring Joash to the throne. 6 a priest of the family of Pashur with a foreign wife whom he was forced to put away by Ezra. Additional Information: Ishmael = “God will hear”. [Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship])
DEVOTION: Have you ever tried to do what you thought was God’s will your own way? Then, you realized what a flop that was. Abram was trying to do this as well, since God had promised him children (Genesis 15:5). What more natural way (since Sarah wasn’t pregnant yet) than to have sex with Sarah’s mistress/servant? While we don’t know too much about Hagar, we are told that she was originally from Egypt, and that makes it likely that Abram and Sarah had acquired her into their family somewhere in the land of Canaan.
Abram capitulated to the suggestion of Sarah that he go ahead and have sex with Hagar. At least Abram did not go down to the local pagan temples and have sex with one of the fertility prostitutes in the land. In fact, we realize later that God was the one who had closed Sarah’s womb, since after her death, Abram enjoyed sex a lot with his second wife Keturah and had six sons by her (Genesis 25:1-2) even after he was over 100 years old. These sons later fathered nations who would oppose Isaac and the nation of Israel.
So, one wonders how history would have been different if Abram had not decided to have sex with Hagar. Even though he did, God allowed him to father a son Ishmael, which was to reflect God’s grace in the fact that God will hear. It is the sons of Ishmael who will preserve Joseph when he is taken into captivity in Egypt. God then promises that He will hear His children even when they do not fully obey Him.
CHALLENGE: Do you have an area of half-hearted obedience toward God? For men, this is likely in the area of sex. Make sure that you are doing what is right in the eyes of God rather than what you think is right.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
LORD heard Hagar’s afflictionverse 11
Hagar called on the name of the LORDverse 13
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD (Jehovah)verses 2, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13
LORD is judgeverse 5
LORD heard of Hagar’s afflictionverse 11
God (Elohim)verse 13
Sees Hagarverse 13
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Angel of the LORD (Theophany)verses 7-11
I will multiply your seed …verse 10
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – ourcomforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal =ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Goodand Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Sarai (Abram’s wife)verses 1-9
No children
LORD has restrained me from bearing
Gave Abram her handmaid
Dealt dealt hardly with Hagar
Mistress of Hagar
Hagarverses 1-15
Sarai’s handmaid
Egyptian
Wife of Abram
Conceived
Despised Sarai
Fled from Sarai
Told to submit to Sarai
Mother of Ishmael
She called the name of the LORD
Abramverse 2
Hearkened to Sarai
He went in to Hagar and she conceived
Shurverse 7
Ishmael born to Abram and Hagarverses 11-12, 15, 16
Wild man
Hand against every man
Dwell in the presence of all his brethren
Well called Beer-lahai-roi
Between Kadesh and Beredverse 14
Abram 86 years old when Ishmael bornverse 16
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Impatience with Godverses 2-3
Despise someoneverses 4, 5
Wrongverse 5
Dealing hardly with personverse 6
Relinquish responsibilityverse 6
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Submitverse 9
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
Often in Genesis popular etymologies capture the message. These are rhetorical devices that draw from the account the explanation of names. Thus the name was a mnemonic device for remembering the events and their significance. In this passage two popular etymologies form not only the climax of the section but the point of the whole unit. God Himself named the boy Ishmael, which He then explained: for the Lord has heard of your misery (16:11). Clearly, He meant this primarily for Hagar, but it was also meant for Abram and Sarai.
The other naming was Hagar’s referring to God as “the One who sees” after her, that is, looks out for her. So in these two names is a world of theology: God hears and God sees. This spot would afterward become holy, a place where God could be found providing for and hearing the cries of His people.
The names provide the message: God spoke in direct revelation, and Hagar responded in faith. God sees distress and affliction, and He hears. Sarai should have known this. Since God knew Sarai was barren, she should have cried out to the Lord. Instead she had to learn a lesson the hard way—from the experience of a despised slave-wife who, ironically, came back with a faith experience. How Abram must have been rebuked when Hagar said God told her to name her son Ishmael, “God hears.”
In great distress (here Sarai’s barrenness) one must turn to the Lord because He hears the afflicted, sees them in their need, and will miraculously fulfill His promises. They cannot be turned by human intervention. Giving children to the barren is God’s work (Ps. 113:9). Later Leah also knew that God heard her affliction, for she named Reuben and Simeon to reflect that (Gen. 29:32–33). Sarai still had a way to go in her faith.
So God provided for the pregnant woman who was thrust out into the desert. God promised that Hagar would be a matriarch—her son would become the father of a great tribe of wild, hostile people (cf. 25:18), living in the Arabian desert (25:12–18). But they would not be the promised seed; they would only complicate matters. Sarai’s sin caused the origin of the Ishmaelites, a harvest that is still being reaped. In fact Joseph, Sarai’s great-grandson, was later taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelites (37:28).
The lesson was clear for Sarai, Abram, Hagar, Israel, and for Christians: God’s servants are to trust His Word and to wait for its fulfillment, enduring patiently till the end. It becomes increasingly clear in Genesis that any person or any nation that owes its existence to divine election should live by faith. Human efforts will not help. But the good news for God’s people is that the living God sees and hears. (Ross, A. P. (1985). Genesis. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 57). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Hagar had to submit to God (Gen. 16:7–14). This is the first appearance in Scripture of the Angel of the Lord, who is generally identified as our Lord Jesus Christ. In Genesis 16:10, the angel promised to do what only God can do; and in 16:13, Hagar called the angel “God.” These pre-Incarnation visits of Jesus Christ to the earth were to meet special needs and to accomplish special tasks. The fact that the Son of God took on a temporary body, left heaven, and came down to help a rejected servant-girl surely reveals His grace and love. His servants Abraham and Sarah had sinned against the Lord and against Hagar, but the Lord did not desert them.
The angel called her “Sarah’s maid,” which suggests that God did not accept her marriage to Abraham. Apparently, Hagar was on her way back to Egypt when she met the angel, but God told her to return to Abraham’s camp and submit herself to her mistress. That would take a great deal of faith, because Sarah had mistreated Hagar before and might do it again.
God then told her that she was pregnant with a son whom she should name Ishmael (“God hears”). While he would not be Abraham’s heir in the blessings of the covenant, Ishmael would still enjoy blessings from God since he was Abraham’s son. God promised to multiply Ishmael’s descendants and make them into great nations (21:18; 25:12–18), and He did; for Ishmael is the founder of the Arab peoples.
Ishmael would be a “wild donkey of a man” (16:12, NIV), which is not a very flattering description. It identified him with the wilderness where he lived by his skill as an archer (Gen. 21:20–21; Job 24:5). It also revealed his independent and pugnacious nature.
He would be a hated man, living “in hostility toward all his brothers” (Gen. 16:12, NIV). While we must not apply these traits to every descendant of Ishmael, the centuries-long hostility between the Jews and the Arabs is too well known to be ignored. The Arab nations are independent peoples, dwelling in the desert lands and resisting the encroachments of other nations, especially Israel and her allies.
Hagar’s wilderness experience brought her face-to-face with God and taught her some important truths about Him. She learned that He is the living God who sees us and hears our cries when we hurt. The name of the well means “The well of One who lives and sees me.” He is a personal God, concerned about abused people and unborn babies. He knows the future and cares for those who will trust Him.
Hagar did return and submit herself to Sarah. Surely she apologized for being arrogant, for despising her mistress, and for running away. She trusted God to protect her and her son and to care for them in the years to come. We never solve life’s problems by running away. Submit to God and trust Him to work things out for your good and His glory.
Sarah had to submit to God. How did Sarah feel when Hagar came back to the camp and reported that God had talked with her? Did God have time for a poor servant? Was God concerned about a slave-girl’s baby? Did the God of Israel care for an Egyptian? Yes, because that Egyptian’s baby had Abraham as a father; and God had a covenant with Abraham. The record does not tell us how Sarah responded, but it would appear that she accepted both Hagar and her report and took her back as her servant. Sarah did not mistreat her again; for, after all, God was watching! (Wiersbe, W. W. (1991). Be Obedient (pp. 58–60). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Ver. 11. And the angel of the Lord said unto her, &c.] Continued his discourse with her, informing her she should have a son, and what his name should be, and what his character, and the place of his habitation: behold, thou art with-child; this she knew, and it is said, not for her information, as to this respect, but to lead on to something else he had to acquaint her with, she did not know. Jarchi indeed would have the sense to be, thou shalt conceive or be with-child, as was said to Manoah’s wife, Judg. 13:5 for it is a fancy of his, that Hagar had miscarried, and he supposes the angel to promise her, that if she would return, or when she should return, she should conceive again; but this is said and supposed without any foundation: and shalt bear a son; this was what she hoped for, but was not certain of; but the angel assures her of it, that the child she went with was a son, which none could foretel but God, that is omniscient: and shalt call his name Ishmael; the Jews’ observe, there were six persons who had their names given them before they were born, and Ishmael is one of them; the six were Isaac, Ishmael, Moses, Solomon, Josiah, and the Messiah: the reason of his name follows, because the Lord hath heard thy affliction; heard of it, had took notice of it, and observed, and fully understood the nature and cause of it; he had heard her groans and sighs under it, and her prayer and cries for deliverance from it; and so the Targum of Onkelos, “for the Lord hath received thy prayer,” which she had put up in her affliction, both when in the service of her mistress, and since her flight from her. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 1, p. 118). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
Finally, as in 3:15, where a renewed hope of blessing was sounded amid the chords of despair, so also in 16:10–12, the angel of the Lord offers a blessing to a distraught Hagar found wandering through the wilderness. The child to be born will be named “Ishmael” (yišmāʿēʾl), because “the Lord has heard” (kî-šāmaʿ yhwh) her “misery” (ʿonyēḵ). The key term throughout the chapter is “misery” (ʿonî), which occurs as a noun in v.11b and as a verb in v.6 (watteʿannehā, “mistreated”) and v.9 (wehiṯ ʿannî, “submit”). Hagar was afflicted by Sarai (v.6); she was told to put herself back under that affliction (v.9); and the Lord heard her affliction (v.11). (Sailhamer, J. H. (1990). Genesis. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers (Vol. 2, p. 135). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
F. Hagar and Ishmael (16:1–15). How does one handle the problem of childlessness, especially in a society that places a premium on having children? To the contemporary reader Abram’s and Sarai’s method appears quite strange and highly suspect. Sarai offers her maidservant Hagar to Abram. He cohabits with her, and he fathers a child—Ishmael. This child then becomes Sarai’s child. Such a procedure, however illicit it may sound to us, is well documented in ancient literary sources such as the Code of Hammurabi and in the texts from Nuzi.
Still, one wonders to what degree Abram’s belief in the Lord (15:6) informs his action in 16:1ff. If there is a vivid contrast between the Abram of the first half of chapter 12 and the second half of chapter 12, then we observe an equally vivid contrast between the Abram of chapter 15 and that of chapter 16.
Hagar does not help the situation. She despises her mistress, for she can bear a child while Sarai cannot. Sarai is, understandably, incensed (v. 5). Abram is of little help. He refuses active involvement with his lame “do with her whatever you think best.” As a result, Hagar is banished from the premises.
God finds her at a spring on the road to Shur (a word meaning “wall”) which runs from Egypt to Beersheba. He engages her in conversation by asking her questions (v. 8) to which he knows the answers.
It is the angel of the Lord who meets Hagar in the wilderness. But in verses 13ff. the text says that it is God who speaks with her. The angel of the Lord and the Lord—distinct, yet the same. All sorts of explanations, usually along the lines of form-critical concerns (what was the original form of the story?), have been offered to explain this “incongruity.” Might we see here, as we saw in the “us” of 1:26 and 11:7, a hint of God’s trinitarian nature?
The child born of this union between Hebrew patriarch and Egyptian servant girl is Ishmael. The name means “El [God] has heard,” but the explanation given for the name is that the Lord has heard. This shows there is no real difference between El(ohim) and Yahweh as names of deity.
Ishmael is to be a wild donkey of a man (v. 12). He will live the life of a Bedouin, a nomad, and at the same time he will be warlike.
Now it is Hagar’s turn to name somebody. And she names God. She calls him “You are the God who sees me” (and, again, note the emphasis on seeing as in previous chapters), or as the Hebrew has it, El Roi. And she names the well where this all takes place Beer Lahai Roi, “well of the Living One who sees me.” Hagar ran away from Sarai and ran into God. These names do not stress the gift she has received (a child), but the Giver of that gift. A distraught, frightened, pregnant, non-Israelite slave girl encounters God in a desert, and is never the same again. (Hamilton, V. P. (1995). Genesis. In Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (Vol. 3, pp. 21–22). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.)
10–12. Similarly, his comfort for her affliction (11) was bracing rather than soothing, drawing her mind to things ahead, away from past injuries. The name Ishmael (‘God hear(s)’; see on 17:19) would always recall this encounter and oracle. To her mind, lacking the questing faith of Abram, the promise might well offer all she could wish, though it said nothing of blessing for the world or of a promised land. Enough that Ishmael would multiply, and be at nobody’s beck and call. To some degree this son of Abram would be a shadow, almost a parody, of his father, his twelve princes notable in their times (17:20; 25:13) but not in the history of salvation; his restless existence no pilgrimage but an end in itself; his nonconformism a habit of mind, not a light to the nations.
In the last phrase of verse 12 there is a double entendre characteristic of such oracles of destiny (see footnote at 3:15), for it can have equally a local and a hostile sense (lit. ‘to, or against, the face of’), and both were to be true of these cousins of Israel, from whom the Arabs of today claim descent. The saying is echoed at 25:18. (Kidner, D. (1967). Genesis: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 1, p. 138). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
THE REAL REASONS FOR REVIVAL: THE GLORY OF GOD
And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? Exodus 32:9-11
You see Moses’ concern? He is concerned about the name—that is, the reputation and the glory—of God. And that is the point he is making here. “This nation,” he says, “is Thy people.” He is saying, in effect, that God’s honor and God’s glory is involved in this situation. They are, after all, His people; they have claimed that, He has given indications of that, and He has brought them out of Egypt in a marvelous and a miraculous manner. He has brought them through the Red Sea. Is He going to leave them here in the wilderness? What will the Egyptians say? What will the other nations say? Has He failed? He promised them great things. Can He not execute them? Can He not bring them to fulfillment?
Moses is suggesting to God that His own glory, His own honor, is involved in this whole situation. Now you will find this plea endlessly in the Psalms. You will find it constantly in the prophets. Their prayer to God is, “for Thine own name’s sake,” as if to say, “We have no right to speak, but for the sake of Thine eternal honor.” Moses thus had a concern for and was jealous about the name and the glory of God. And here he is asking God, for His own sake, to do this extra, this special, thing.
A Thought to Ponder: Moses was concerned about the name and the glory of God.
(From Revival, pp. 188-189, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones).
2 Kings 19
When Sennacherib attacks Jerusalem, Hezekiah calls upon the Lord.
INSIGHT
In spite of all the trouble that comes upon Israel and Judah, God wants to bless them. It is only as He is blessing them that His desire for the world is advanced. All that is needed is obedience. Hezekiah demonstrates just how quickly everything can turn around. He is looking into the jaws of an Assyrian military machine one minute, and the Assyrians are routed the next. God is not reluctant to bless us. But we must be sure we are eligible by being faithful to Him. (Quiet Walk)
Sin and the Christian God
“But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:11-12)
A Christian has no desire for his past life of sin. As we see in our text, we should “flee these things” and “lay hold on eternal life,” putting off whatever is old and instead putting on what is new. The second verse of our study hymn “Higher Ground” expresses this as well.
My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Though some may dwell where those abound,
My prayer, my aim, is higher ground.
One of the most precious promises of Christianity can be found in 2 Corinthians 5:17, where we see that “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” We are told that we can put our old habits of sin behind us and live a new life in victory over sin and death. No longer can sin reign over us—we can live in victory. Even doubts and fears can be dismissed from our presence. Our God has promised throughout His Scriptures: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” (Isaiah 41:10)
There is no need to be anywhere else. My prayer and my aim are to walk where He leads and be where He wants me to be. Only while there can we be assured of higher ground with Him. (JDM, The Institute for Creation Research)
Debt Eraser
[Jesus Christ] loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.
Revelation 1:5
Stunned is just one word that describes the response of the crowd at the 2019 graduation ceremony at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. The commencement speaker announced that he and his family would be donating millions of dollars to erase the student debt of the entire graduating class. One student—with $100,000 in loans—was among the overwhelmed graduates who expressed their joys with tears and shouts.
Most of us have experienced indebtedness in some form—having to pay for homes, vehicles, education, medical expenses, or other things. But we’ve also known the amazing relief of a bill being stamped “PAID”!
After declaring Jesus as “the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth,” John worshipfully acknowledged His debt-erasing work: “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood” (Revelation 1:5). This statement is simple but its meaning is profound. Better than the surprise announcement the Morehouse graduating class heard is the good news that the death of Jesus (the shedding of His blood on the cross) frees us from the penalty that our sinful attitudes, desires, and deeds deserve. Because that debt has been satisfied, those who believe in Jesus are forgiven and become a part of God’s kingdom family (v. 6). This good news is the best news of all! (By Arthur Jackson, Our Daily Bread)
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