Genesis 14

Study Guide 6: Genesis 13-24 BY FAITH Overview In the New Testament, God looks back on Abraham, and reminisces. There the Lord focuses on Abraham’ s positive traits, and especially on Abraham’ s faith. For it is faith that Abraham exemplifies. But Abraham was not without faults. He failed all too often, and showed many of the weaknesses that plague believers today. So we are to learn from Abraham’ s one great strength, but also to learn from his many weaknesses. In fact, we are to discover that faith is the one principle that lifts any person beyond his inadequacies; the one quality that wins approval from God. FAITH. In the Old Testament faith is a personal, trusting response to God, who speaks words of promise. This same basic meaning is carried over into the New Testament as well. In different ages the word of promise has been different: to Abraham, it was God’ s promise of a son to be born from his and Sarah’ s dead flesh. To us, the word of promise is Jesus Himself. When we respond, as Abraham did, with a simple trust in God, we receive the same gift he was given — righteousness, and a personal relationship with God. LOVING-KINDNESS. This term in new versions, and “ grace” in older ones, translates hesed. The Hebrew word means “ covenant love” or “ covenant faithfulness.” God loves us because He is committed to us by His oath.

Commentary What does the New Testament emphasize as the central message of Abraham’ s life? What it emphasizes is not that he, like us, was a lost sinner, but that Abraham was lifted beyond himself by faith. Hebrews 11:8-19 focuses on three events in Abraham’ s life that God fondly remembers: By faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith Abraham, even though he was past age — and Sarah herself was barren — was enabled to become a father because he considered Him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand of the seashore.. By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “ It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death. These three times when reason might well have challenged the spoken word of God, Abraham responded with faith. It is here, in Abraham’ s faith-response to God, that we find this basic Bible theme brought into clear focus. Earlier God had affirmed His existence and His care for men. God had spoken to individuals before, like Noah and Cain. But it is in Abraham that we discover a clear illustration of what has always separated mankind’ s Noahs from its Cains. It isn’ t that Cain was intrinsically “ worse.” Both were men of mixed character. Both did good things, yet found reflected in their actions the taint of sin. No, what sets men apart as far as relationship with God is concerned has always been a simple thing: faith. Noah trusted God and built an ark in which he and his family were saved. Cain refused to trust God. This led directly to his final bondage to sin, a servitude whose full expression is found in the murder of his brother. Faith divides man from man. The way you and I respond to God as He speaks His message to us is the critical issue of our lives. This is the message we hear in the story of Abraham. From Abraham we learn much of the nature of that faith which pleases God and frees Him to act in our lives today. LINK TO LIFE: CHILDREN Boys and girls can understand faith and respond to God trustingly. A simple illustration may help. Hold out a small gift to a child in your classroom. “ Bobby, this is for you.” If Bobby takes the gift, say, “ Good! I told you it was for you. You believed me, didn’ t you, and came and took it.” If Bobby does not take the gift, say, “ Bobby, I promise you can have this. Will you come and take it?” Again give praise when Bobby comes. Tell your boys and girls that Jesus has a gift for us too. It is the gift of forgiveness for all our sins. Jesus promises us this gift in the Bible. All we need to do is what Bobby just did: take the gift that was offered to him. Boys and girls can bow their heads and talk to Jesus, telling Jesus they take His forgiveness gift right now.

Abraham’ s Failures Sometimes we tend to idealize Bible people. We forget that, while they were giants in many ways, they were also all too human. In fact, before we look at the faith of a man like Abraham, we need to realize that he was, like all believers, far from perfect! We have an early indication of Abram’ s flaws in Genesis 12:1-20. Abram had been called by God to go to a land which the Lord Himself chose. He had obeyed in an act that required real faith. But once in the land, Abram’ s faith was shaken by a famine. Rather than trust God or wait for further direction, he went to Egypt. There he continued to show lack of trust by getting Sarah to tell a half-truth about their relationship, to deny she was his wife. Fear that he might be killed outweighed his commitment to his wife! Even when she was taken in Pharaoh’ s household, Abram did not reveal their relationship. Instead he profited in silence from the favor extended to the supposed brother! Abraham’ s tendency to rely on his wits rather than on God also is shown in the events leading up to the birth of Ishmael. Some 10 years passed while Abraham waited for God to send the son He had promised. Finally Sarah began urging him to take her maid as a secondary wife. Even though this was a custom of the land, it took Sarah’ s nagging to make him take action. He “ hearkened to [obeyed] the voice of Sarai” (Genesis 16:2, KJV). Perhaps Abram thought he would “ help” God keep His promises! Perhaps he felt that 86 was just too old to wait any longer. In any case, Abram did not consult God. He simply went ahead, without direction, relying on his own plan to fulfill God’ s purposes. Self-reliance and self-effort took the place of trust in God. And then, how stunning. Abraham repeated the sin he did in Egypt! Again Abraham misrepresented Sarah as only his sister, and she was placed in the harem of a king named Abimelech. God protected Sarah even though her husband was not willing to, and before Abimelech came to her God spoke to him in a vision. Abimelech, fearful at the divine visit, complained to Abraham that he might have led the king into unknowing sin! Abram’ s reply was weak (Genesis 20:11-12). Abraham was worried, afraid that the people of the foreign land they visited might not fear God, and thus might kill him for Sarah. Abraham feared for his life — but not for his wife! Abraham apparently had not stopped to think that though a particular people might not know God, God knew them! There was no place that Abraham could go to be beyond the protection of the Lord. Yet, even after an earlier rebuke in Egypt, Abraham repeated the same sin and let fear and selfishness control his choices. No, the Abraham we meet on the pages of the Bible is no idealized man. He is a man we need to see both as weak, and as a willful sinner. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH/ADULT To help your group members get a clear picture of Abraham the man, display the following chart. Work together as a group to list Abram’ s actions, and to suggest traits they may imply. More than one trait can be implied by a single event. You can personalize this study by giving each group member a sheet of paper on which this chart has been reproduced. Ask each to do a similar, but private, analysis of his own life and character.

Abraham’ s Character “ Good Acts”“ Bad Acts”ActionsCharacter Trait Inferred Leave Ur Trusting, adventurous Go to Egypt Lie about SarahLack of trust, fearfulness Selfishness, materialismNot good? The normal reaction at this point is to object. We want to point out some of the many good qualities that Abram exhibits, to balance the portrait of the sinner. We want to stress Abraham’ s initial trust in God, his generosity to Lot, his refusal to risk God’ s glory when offered the loot of Sodom. We can find many things to praise in Abraham. In this too Abraham is like each of us. We’ re not totally bad — not totally good. We are a strange mixture of admirable traits, and traits that in all honesty must be labeled despicable. Abraham was a man whose best traits are flawed by the mark of Adam’ s sin. In him as well as in all believers lie weakness and willfulness. God’ s image is there, but so is the unmistakable stamp of Adam’ s Fall. It is just this fact that makes Abram such an important illustration of Bible truth. No, he cannot be held up as an illustration of the goodness of man. He is, instead, an example of the fact that God cares for, and gives His salvation to, the unworthy! In later centuries Abraham’ s children would miss this message. The men of Israel would look back and claim God’ s favor as their birthright on the basis of their descent from Abraham and on the basis of their possession of the Law. They would not, as Abraham did, admit sin and need, and come to God with no empty boast of ability to earn His favor. They would not be willing, as Abraham was, to bow as a sinner before God and to trust God alone, in order that faith might be counted for righteousness. This is Paul’ s point: What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about — but not before God. What does the Scripture say? “ Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. Romans 4:1-5God, who justifies the wicked. It is in this way that you and I need first to see Abraham. We need to look at him as the Bible shows him to be in order to explain so many of his failures and sins. Yet it is in his failures that you and I can find comfort! For our failures and our sins are just as real as his were. Like Abraham, we need to turn away from our own works to rely on God alone. “ This is why ‘ it was credited to him [Abraham] as righteousness.’ The words ‘ it was credited to him’ were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness — for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead” (Romans 4:22-24). And so in Abraham we have a mirror of ourselves. And we have a message from God. As Abraham did, we need to turn away from any confidence in our own goodness and find in God’ s promise in Jesus our own way of faith’ s escape.

Abraham’ s Faith The three incidents recalled in Hebrews 11:1-40 now become the focus of our study of Abraham as well as the key to understanding how his experience ministers God’ s message to us today. Abraham obeyed and went (Genesis 12:1-20). It would be wrong to picture Abraham as an adventurous man eager to travel. It would also be a mistake to see him as a crusader, a man gripped with the vision of one God which he was determined to transplant to another land. The Bible says that when the family lived “ beyond the river . . . [they] worshiped other gods” (Joshua 24:2). During the first 75 years of his life, Abraham lived in a pagan world — and prospered. There’ s no reason to suppose that when God spoke to him Abraham was other than a successful businessman who enjoyed considerable wealth and a comfortable life in a center of world civilization. Even today, when people move so often, it’ s difficult for a person to be uprooted. God’ s call to Abraham demanded total restructuring of his lifestyle. He left his own civilization for a foreign land. He left a place of culture to move to the backward home of wanderers. He left his home to take up residence in a tent. He left stability for the uncertainty of travel and ever-changing circumstances. He left the security of an established code of laws to wander, afraid, from land to land (cf. Genesis 20:11). He left a long tradition of worship of Nanna, the moon god, for the God who had spoken to him, but whom he did not yet really know. Leaving Ur was an act of faith. In making this difficult decision Abraham exhibited a unique trust. In some ways each of us makes this kind of decision when we first trust Christ as Saviour. Our lives have developed a pattern, sometimes one that is well established. We don’ t really know what the Christian experience may bring, or where God is leading. So we take a risk. We give up the familiar for the strange. We too leave our past for a “ land we know not of.” The beginning of Abraham’ s pilgrimage is a picture of the beginning of each man’ s pilgrimage into Christ. LINK TO LIFE: CHILDREN Faith is expressed as obedience in Abraham, and in children too. When we obey we show that we trust God enough to do what He says. Help the children see faith as obedience. Draw three pictures, each to represent an adult speaking to a child: (1) Come in. The dog won’ t bite. (2) Go along to school. I won’ t let the big boys hurt you. (3) You go and ask Mrs. Brown if you can come in. I’ m too busy to phone just now. Talk about the pictures and why the child shown might not want to do what he or she is told to do. What bad thing might happen? What do you suppose he or she is worried about? Talk about the adult’ s promises. What will the child do if he or she believes the adult? (Real trust will lead to obedience) Point out that we can obey God, because we can trust Him always. People who have faith in God obey Him, just as Abraham left his home when God told him to go. Abraham considered God faithful (Genesis 15:1-21). We see the next great act of faith in Genesis 15:1-21. God had given Abraham great promises which hinged on the founding of a family line. But Abraham had no child. When Abraham raised this issue with God, the Lord promised, “ A son from your own body shall be your heir” (Genesis 15:4). God then went on to promise Abraham uncountable descendants. “ Abram believed the Lord; and He credited it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). The New Testament emphasizes the great trust this act of faith required. “ Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead — since he was about a hundred years old — and that Sarah’ s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised” (Romans 4:19-21). In this event we gain deep insight into saving faith. Faith faces the facts. Abraham had no illusions about his own ability to father a son, or Sarah’ s to become a mother. Physically speaking this was impossible. The two were, as far as parenthood was concerned, “ as good as dead.” Yet Abraham’ s kind of faith also faced the fact of God. And God changes every equation! Abraham stands here as evidence that God can be trusted to keep His word, and that such trust is never disappointed. Several factors need to be noted to grasp the message God is communicating. *The promises. Abraham did not exercise blind faith. Instead, he responded to a word spoken by the Lord. It is the concrete, objective expression of God’ s promise that calls out response. “ Faith” in what we imagine to be God’ s will is not Abraham’ s kind of faith. Abraham’ s faith is a response to divine revelation. *The Person. Abraham’ s confidence was in God as a Person who is both able and committed to do what He promises. At times we think of “ faith” as subjective; as something we do Abraham’ s kind of faith does not rely on its own intensity or sincerity. Abraham’ s kind of faith puts reliance on the object of faith: God Himself. It is God’ s trustworthiness and not our trusting that is critical. *The perspective. Abraham boldly faced the fact of his and Sarah’ s ages. He realistically looked at the situation, and just as realistically ignored the circumstances! Realism understands that physical and other limitations do not apply to God, for God is the underlying reality; and whatever the circumstances, God can bring to pass what He promises. Abraham might very well have cried out, “ I can’ t!” And he would have been right. Instead Abraham cried, “ God can!” This perspective, which sees God as the touchstone of reality, is to characterize our faith as well. *The product. God announced it: “ It was credited to him as righteousness” (Romans 4:22). Like you and I, Abraham was not a righteous person. There was no basis on which God and Abraham could fellowship until God revealed that He would accept faith and, because of it, credit Abram’ s account with righteousness. More is involved here than a divine bookkeeping transaction. Through faith God works to produce actual righteousness in us. As we learn to live by Abraham’ s kind of faith, facing each test and trial with our eyes on God and His trustworthiness, God the Holy Spirit produces in our lives the fruit of a righteousness which we ourselves do not possess (cf. Galatians 5:18-23). God counts faith as holiness, and then through faith produces in us the very holiness He has promised is — and will be — ours. Abraham reasoned (Genesis 22:1-24). This is one of the most unusual and, at the same time, most exciting stories in the Bible. Isaac, the promised heir, had been born. The old man had grown to dearly love this child for whom he had waited so long with such eager expectation. Suddenly, as if to shatter the old man’ s world, God spoke to him again. “ Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about” (Genesis 22:2). Then the Bible tells us an amazing thing: “ Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about” (Genesis 22:3). There was no hesitation. Abraham obeyed. We can’ t know how Abraham felt on the three-day journey, or the doubts and fears that may have filled his heart and mind. But we do know that before he arrived, Abraham had worked the problem through. “ Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead” (Hebrews 11:19). Abraham knew that God had promised, “ through Isaac . . . your offspring will be reckoned” (Hebrews 11:18). God would not go back on His stated word. If God chose to accept Isaac as a sacrifice, Abraham would give him, sure that the Lord would give the child back again. And so the Genesis text reveals, in a Hebrew plural: “ Stay here,” Abraham told the servants who accompanied them. “ I and the boy [will] go over there. We will worship, and then we will come back to you” (Genesis 22:5). Abraham did not know the means. But he did know that God would provide. God did. As Abraham was about to plunge the knife into the bound body of his son, the Lord stopped him and pointed out a ram whose horns had been caught in a thicket. The ram was slain; the boy was freed. God Himself had provided a substitute. And then God spoke again. The test was complete. God’ s promises to Abraham were reconfirmed and Abraham, his trust also confirmed by the events, returned with Isaac to their tents. What is there in this story for us? Much! *Faith’ s life. The life of faith that God calls us to is not an easy one. Like Abraham you and I may well be called to make some heartrending decisions. But also like Abraham, we can fix our confidence securely in God. *A reasoned faith. Faith is not opposed to reason. The man who relies on God simply takes more into account than the man who does not believe. Often an appeal to “ reason” means no more than an insistence we consider only what a person can see and touch and feel. We all face this danger. In the decisions you and I make, do we look only at factors we can see? Or do we reason that God is able to alter circumstances to fit His will? Abraham reasoned that God’ s will is the ultimate reality and that His expressed purposes are sure. It was this kind of reasoning — that takes God into account — that was part of Abraham’ s faith. And must become a part of ours. *An unhesitant faith. Abraham did not wait. He rose up early to obey God. An overt response to God’ s Word is still an integral part of what it means to have “ faith.” Often our feelings and desires struggle against our intention to respond to God. But trust in God as a Person not only frees us to respond; our actions give evidence of the reality of our trust. Abraham’ s journey to Mount Moriah is portrayed in Scripture as a test. It was a test that Abraham passed, and in passing demonstrated to God, to himself, to Isaac — and to us — the reality of his trust in God. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Have your group develop a definition of faith from Genesis 22:1-24; Hebrews 11:1-40; and Romans 4:1-25. Let each member write down a 20-word ‘ faith is” statement. Then divide into study teams. Each team is to take one of the three faith incidents, to (1) study it in its Old Testament context, (2) to study the Hebrews 11 commentary on it’ and (3) to think of it in light of Romans 4:1-25. Then each team is to make a list of elements that must be included in a biblical definition of faith.” Have the teams come together to report, and work as a group to see if you can come up with an adequate definition of faith.

Observations on the Text Even today a visit to a foreign land may introduce us to customs and folkways that are easily misunderstood. Imagine a visit to the lands of Abraham, some 4,000 years and half a world away! But the science of archeology has provided many insights into Abraham’ s time. Through the discovery of codes of law and customs, of business contracts and letters, etc., we can understand many otherwise hard to understand events of Abraham’ s life. Here are a few discoveries which will enrich your grasp of Genesis. Genesis 11:31 — 12:9. Abraham’ s journey was taken along well-established trade routes that connected Ur with Haran, Palestine, the Mediterranean coast, and Egypt. Even the towns that Abraham visited lie in rainfall zones, with annual inches of rain sufficient to support the sheep and herds he brought along. Genesis 12:10-20. Abraham’ s fear that Pharaoh might kill him to obtain Sarah had some precedent. There is a record of a Pharaoh doing just this in the case of a visitor from the north! Genesis 13:1-18. Lot went against custom when he failed to give Abraham, his elder, first choice, even though Abraham offered it to him. Lot chose the more prosperous and populated valley areas; Abraham had less-populated hill country. Genesis 14:1-24. Until recent years the story of the invasion of the five kings reported here was questioned by liberal scholars. Archeology has now shown that kings from as far away as lower Mesopotamia did make such incursions, and both people and place-names fit what we know of Abraham’ s time. Even the reason for such invasions is now known: copper, asphalt, and manganese were valuable natural resources of the region. Genesis 15:1-21. The Nuzi tablets, about 20,000 documents written on hardened clay discovered in 1925-41, date within 400 or 500 years of the patriarchs. They show customs like those mentioned in Scripture. One custom involves adoption of a slave or freeman who in return for serving his benefactor becomes his heir. The contract of adoption also contained provisions stating that if the patron later had a son, the son would be the heir. This is reflected in Genesis 15:1-4, with Eliezer designated as “ the one who will inherit [Abraham’ s] estate.” Genesis 16:1-16. Ten years after the promise of a son to be Abraham’ s heir, Sarah suggested that Abraham take her maid, Hagar, as a secondary wife. This was by custom a moral action, and may have seemed to Abraham the way God would keep His promise. But it was not God’ s plan. Sarah’ s bitterness and her insistence that Hagar and Ishmael be expelled went against custom (Genesis 21:10). God had to personally intervene to move Abraham to do what the patriarch felt was a wrong action. Abraham’ s statement in Genesis 16:6, “ Your servant is in your hands,” was not, however, permission to mistreat Hagar. Instead it recognized the existing legal right of Sarah to “ deal harshly” with a slave. Genesis 18:1-33. The picture of Abraham and Sarah themselves preparing a meal for the three strangers reflects a strong cultural emphasis on hospitality. Genesis 19:1-38. The city gate, where Lot met the two angels who came to search out the righteous in Sodom, was a place where men of the ancient world gathered to talk, conduct business, and settle disputes. It was the focus of city life. The heavy doors on Lot’ s own house (Genesis 19:9) are also interesting. Archeologists have found that homes of a later date were not hung with heavy doors. But homes in Palestine in Abraham’ s day were so protected. Leon Wood describes the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and shows how the biblical description fits geological and other data: The destruction of Sodom was effected by a rain of “ brimstone and fire.” In examining the meaning of the phrase, scholars have ruled out volcanic action on the basis of geological indications. Many believe that it refers to an earthquake resulting in an enormous explosion. Several factors are pointed out as favoring this view. The idea of brimstone and fire suggests incendiary materials raining down upon the city as the result of an explosion. Another descriptive word used is “ overthrew’ (Genesis 19:29), and this fits the thought of an earthquake. That Abraham saw smoke rising in the direction of the city indicates that there was a fire. Inflammable asphalt has long been known in the area. Records from ancient writers speak of strong sulfuric odors, which suggest that quantities of sulfur were there in past time. Further, the whole Jordan Valley constitutes an enormous fault in the earth’ s surface, given to earthquake conditions. It’ s possible, then, that God did see fit to miraculously time an earthquake at this precise moment, which would have released great quantities of gas, mixed sulfur with various salts found in abundance, and measurably increased the flow of asphalt. Lightning could have ignited all, and the entire country have been consumed as indicated (A Survey of Israel’ s History, Zondervan). The action of Lot’ s daughters after the destruction finds no justification in custom or ancient culture. Genesis 21:1-34. Even though Sarah was upset by the 15-year-old Ishmael teasing her 2-year-old (Genesis 21:9, TLB), there was no excuse in custom for her insistence that Ishmael and his mother be sent away with no part of Abraham’ s wealth. In fact, custom dictated that Ishmael be provided for. No wonder it “ distressed Abraham greatly” (Genesis 21:11). God intervened to promise Abraham that He would care for Ishmael and make him a nation too. Only then was Abraham willing to expel the two.

Teaching Guide Prepare Think for a moment about the impact of faith in your own life. How have your choices and actions in the past few years shown that you trust God?

Explore

1. Begin by working on each group member’ s personal definition of “ faith.” Compare, and then do the study activity suggested in the “ link-to-life” feature above.
2. Or, you may begin with a look at Abraham the “ all too human.” Share the material above on Abraham’ s Failures. Then use the chart above to list his weaknesses. When that chart is complete, ask: “ How does seeing Abraham’ s weaknesses make you feel? Why? Why do you suppose they are so clearly spelled out in the Bible?” You might then turn with your group to Romans 4:1-25, and see Paul’ s emphasis there. The justification of Abraham by faith offers hope to us all, for each of us is, like Abraham, an imperfect person.

Expand

1. A minilecture on the promises, person, perspective, and product of faith might be appropriate. Or, on what we can learn about living by faith, drawn from Abraham’ s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac. Keep the focus on faith as an intelligent (not blind) response to God, which leads to a transformed life. Show too that faith must be expressed in obedient action, or else it is a pseudo rather than real thing.
2. Complete the chart of Abraham’ s weaknesses by working together from his three great tests of faith to fill in the top cells. We want to avoid Abraham’ s mistakes. But what positive lessons for living can we learn from him? After completing the chart, work in teams to develop a list of at least five “ steps of faith” the believer is likely to take if he or she has a settled confidence in God.

Apply

1. Go around the circle and ask your group members to share one difference that having faith in Christ has made in their lives.
2. Or, go around the circle and ask your group members to share one way that they express their faith in God in their choices and actions. Close in prayer, thanking God that we can trust Him as Abraham did, and asking Him to deepen our faith in Jesus.