Cities of the Plain Destroyed

"The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; and He overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his [Lot's] wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord: and he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah , and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt. And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar; and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters." (Genesis 19:23-30)

So, sometime shortly after sunrise one morning, sudden destruction fell upon the cities of the plain: "brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven." We can speculate that it might have been a volcano erupting. If it had been a volcano, for example, the cloud of smoke could have been a cloud of ash, such as is seen with the eruption of large volcanoes today. But we could be wrong about a volcano, because whatever it was that happened…it came "from the Lord out of heaven." And the destruction was so great that anything that "grew upon the ground" no longer did.

Nothing growing is consistent with what scientists or archaeologists exploring the area in modern times have found. Apparently the southern end of the Dead Sea is much shallower than the northern end, indicating that there is something buried there (such as cities and their inhabitants.) And it is the DEAD Sea after all…nothing grows in it, it is all salt, just like the Great Salt Lake in Utah, only I think the salt density might be even heavier in the Dead Sea. Tourists love to try out the theory that you can't sink in the Dead Sea, the salt keeps you afloat. I don't hear that happening so much in the Great Salt Lake which leads me to think that the Dead Sea has a higher concentration of salt.

Then there is Lot's wife who, because of her disobedience in heeding the words of the Lord, becomes a pillar of salt. Reminds me of the bodies of humans and animals who were entombed in volcanic ash in the town of Pompeii, Italy; a very wicked town in its day.

All of which leads us to believe that the Dead Sea became the Dead Sea after this event, being filled with salt which must have been a chemical reaction of the fire and brimstone sent from the Lord.

It is interesting that Lot begged to go to Zoar, which by the way, caused that city to be spared as it was slated to be destroyed because of its great wickedness; and then Lot is suddenly fleeing from Zoar into the mountains (the same ones he earlier feared going into) only now he is no longer as afraid of what might happen in the mountains, as it cannot compare to the evil he must have witnessed in Zoar. We are not told how long he remained in Zoar before fleeing into the mountains, but it might have been rather quickly.

And it is confirmed for us that the reason Lot was spared was because of Abraham's intercession on his behalf; for "God remembered Abraham," meaning He remembered Abraham's pleading for the righteous in Sodom. Such is the power of intercessory prayer with a loving merciful and gracious God.

Tomorrow, we'll see what the future holds for Lot and his two daughters, the only survivors from Sodom.

Preserved by a Merciful God

"And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law. And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live. And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing til thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar." (Genesis 19:14-22)

When Lot speaks to his sons in law about the imminent destruction of Sodom, they thought he was joking. They did not take him at all seriously, to their own demise. Why then did Lot believe the angels so easily? (And by this time without a doubt he must know that they are angels.)

Lot's trust of the words of the angels, his trust that they have been sent by the Lord both to preserve him and to destroy Sodom, is another display of why it is that Lot is called by the Word of God: righteous. Righteousness is first about believing God's Word, and secondly about obeying it.

God's grace extended to Lot's family members, for Lot's sake, not necessarily because they were considered to be righteous; in fact, what follows in the next section of scripture that we study will show us that neither his wife, nor his daughters, behave righteously.

How much better might it have been, however, if Lot had chosen to remove himself and his family prior to this imminent destruction? We will see that even though God's grace preserves Lot, he will still lose much, beginning with all of his property, because of his decision in the first place to live in such a city of iniquity.

In fact, when the angels instruct Lot to leave immediately, Lot hesitates. Perhaps he is trying to figure out how he can take his possessions with him, or whether he should even try to? Perhaps he is just so overwhelmed by it all, that he is in a bit of a daze. Regardless of what it is that causes him to hesitate, it is not, I think, that he doubted the angels. He would not have run off to warn his sons in law had he not believed them immediately.

There are five cities in the valley of Jordan, the "plain" that is being discussed here. We saw the names of these five cities back in Genesis 13, during the battle of the "kings." Sodom and Gomorrah are two of the cities, but there is also Admah, Zeboiim and Bela, which is also known as Zoar. Zoar is listed last because it is the smallest of the cities; its name means "insignificance." But it is an evil city nonetheless, and is slated to be destroyed right now, along with Sodom and Gomorrah.

Yet Lot begs to be allowed to flee to Zoar instead of the mountains. He is fearful of some evil befalling him, perhaps wild animals is his fear. He prefers to live in the safety of numbers, perhaps, and chooses yet another evil city to dwell in. And he is given that which he requests.

But I wonder who it is exactly that he is asking this request of, and who it is exactly that is answering him?

They, the angels, bring Lot and his family "abroad," in other words, out of the city, possibly to a higher vantage point. And then Lot uses the term "my Lord" which could most definitely be used out of respect to any person esteemed higher than oneself. But we know that with Abraham were three men, one of which was the Lord, yet only two went into the city to rescue Lot. Have the angels and Lot and family now rejoined him? The conversation that takes place sounds just like what the Lord would say. And while all references to the angels use the term "they," now suddenly it becomes "he."

Whether it is the Lord himself speaking or whether it is the angels speaking on behalf of the Lord, might not be all that important to determine. What is important is that phrase that says "for I cannot do any thing til thou be come thither." In other words, 'I cannot destroy this place til you are safely out of it.'

The Word of God is filled with examples of the righteous being preserved or saved before the wrath of God comes down in judgment on the world. The righteous are not always preserved from evil (God's own prophets were murdered most of the time by unbelievers, a thing that happens still today), but they are always preserved from God's wrath, which is not evil, but justice. Noah and his family are the first examples given of this behavior of God in protecting His own, but there are many more to be seen as our study continues.

But to be counted as one of God's own, requires trusting the Word of God when it is heard, and obeying it as well, not just in part, but entirely. Men cannot go their own way, instead of going God's way, and still hope to escape His wrath. It will not happen.

Our God is both merciful and full of grace: He provides a way of escape for us, and then provides the grace necessary to walk righteously before Him. Both the way of escape and the grace to be obedient are found in one place: Jesus Christ, aka the third man who spoke with Abraham, aka the "angel of the Lord" who is none other than the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ, aka the ultimate sacrifice for our sins that causes us to stand at the day of judgment and be counted as "righteous."

 

 

 

The Cry of Sodom and Gomorrah

I'd like to spend a little more time on the wording used by the Lord in Genesis 18:20 which reads "And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great…" as well as in Genesis 19:13 which reads "For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord."

Obviously, there was a "great cry" reaching the ears of the Lord. We have already explored that this was, at least in part, the complaints of Lot that reached God's ears, the intercessory prayer of Abraham as well, but there seems to me to be something more at work here, that we might want to explore just a bit more.

It was the words the "cry of them" that alerted me that there is something I was missing here. I now think that the "them" being referred to here, is actually the inhabitants of the city; and that it might signify that as men do evil to men, their crying, or cries of protest or fear or pain, or whatever that cry contains, reaches God's ear as well.

It might be like a parent hearing two young siblings in conflict with each other in the other room. The parent had nothing to do with the fight, but suddenly hears a fight ensuing and goes to investigate. These folks are God's creation; even though they have turned from Him, He has not yet turned from them and is going to investigate. Sadly, God sees that the only cure that will stop the cry is to destroy them completely, as He once did the entire earth for its wickedness.

One reader of this blog [GW] has suggested that this cry could come from "the innocent (children) prior to becoming corrupt and violated/abused by the adults in town, could it be travelers who inadvertently stop for food and shelter and are violated (much like the men of the town wished to do to the Angels they thought were mere men) or maybe even God's creation, crying out as it witnesses the despicable acts of Man?" These are all three excellent thoughts and exhibits the thing I like best about a "discussion" (even on a blog) between Christians about the Word of God. What does not occur to one, occurs to another, and all of us benefit from the discussion.

I agree that most definitely travelers through the town would have been affected and cried out to God. Men bent on their own pleasures seldom seek to satisfy the needs of travelers such as Lot did to the angels with his hospitality. Certainly, a cry must have come from them.

Then there is the fact that the earth itself could have been "groaning" under the weight of the gross sins that were taking place in Sodom and Gomorrah, and that cry could have reached the ears of God. There are many examples in the bible about the earth and all that it contains (such as rocks and mountains and trees and animal life) "crying out" to God in praise, certainly also in pain. We have already discussed earlier in Genesis the extremely close tie that exists between the earth and mankind, after all man is created from the very dust of the earth. The results of man's sin affects not only man but also the earth. The homosexuality of this mob at Lot's door gives clear evidence of how even the earth is affected by their behavior (we will get into that further in today's discussion.)

And I'm sure it was the innocent crying out prior to being corrupted and following as perhaps their parents did; the sin that visits following generations and shapes them into what their parents were before them. However, there is one point that needs to be considered regarding children here in Sodom and Gomorrah.

If most the men of the town were homosexual, and their desires did not turn towards women at all, then how could there have been a lot of childbirth in the town? Thus, how could there have been a lot of children? We have not heard how the women in the town were, we have not been given any details about the women. Were there women? Were the women homosexual as well? We just don't know. What we do know is that the entire town of Sodom was full of evil, and only one man who has been deemed "righteous" escapes with his family.

The mob at Lot's door were homosexuals. Even though Lot offers up his daughters in his efforts to protect the angels, the daughters are rejected. Obviously, they would be. These men had perverted the use that God had designed for their bodies, and changed it to unnatural uses.

I have always thought that if folks could just understand why it is that God hates the sin of homosexuality (so much so that He was willing to destroy a town (or five) on account of it) and how He has provided a way of escape from that lifestyle, they would not be so angry at God (and Christians) and would perhaps choose to be obedient to God rather than disobedient (and the Bible tells us it is a choice no matter what else is said by society and science.) The reason homosexuality is considered a sin by the Word of God (the Bible) is because it stops the creation of God through mankind. If every man and every woman were homosexual, let's say back in the days of Lot here, then at this time, none of us would exist. Mankind would have come to an end. We would ourselves become extinct creations of God.

God designed the bodies of man and woman, male and female, to fit perfectly together for HIS purposes of Creation. Sex was not designed just for the pleasure of it; there was a purpose God had in pro-creating the world through mankind and He gracefully allowed that act of pro-creation to be one that we could also derive pleasure from so that we would not abhor doing so. To give pleasure only was not the primary purpose of the sexual act which God ordained to be between husband and wife alone; and sex outside of marriage, known as sexual immorality, His Word declares to be sin.

God is THE Creator and has put in us to pro-create as well. Men (and women) who choose the lifestyle of homosexuals, subvert God's plan for Creation and become enemies of God (as we all are who blatantly sin and continue to sin without repentance, whether those sins are of ANY form of sexual immorality, any form of gluttony – and most sins that are addictions are rooted in the sin of gluttony which can be identified by folks who are self-centered, stubborn and rebellious towards God - any form of idol worship – such as the men of Sodom were in that their gods were their own desires, not Almighty God, and so forth.) There is not one person born, other than Jesus Christ, who has not sinned in some way or another against God. Thankfully, God knew that we were capable of sin, He designed us to have free will. But He also provided a Savior to deliver us from the rebellion that would want to turn us away from our Creator.

There are so many resources available that show that homosexuals who encountered Jesus Christ, suddenly overnight became: non-homosexuals. They made a decision NOT to to be homosexual any longer. They went on to marry and to have children and chose to work WITH God's plan of creation, rather than AGAINST it. No matter what extra DNA they might have been born with, they are living fruitful and happy lives because of their commitment to GOD through Jesus Christ.

As we said, earlier, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?"

The Evil of Sodom

"And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; and he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat. But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: and they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, and said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great; so that they wearied themselves to find the door. And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? Son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it." (Genesis 19:1-13)

We have to ask what Lot was doing living in a city filled with such rampant evil. It is obvious that the evil vexed his soul, that he complained about it to the Lord; but why did he continue to live there? Many bible commentators call this a weakness in Lot, while they at the same time find wisdom in Abraham that he chose to set his tent apart from such vast iniquity. It doesn't look all that good for Lot by comparison to Abraham, does it? And yet, Lot did remain a righteous man even in the midst of all of that evil, as we will see here; and we all know that remaining obedient to God in the face of evil and mockery is not an easy task, but certainly a blessed one, the great blessing of which Lot will soon experience.

Interestingly, the two angels that were earlier seen eating with Abraham and the Lord, have been sent ahead to do the Lord's will and destroy the city, so great was the evil of it (actually five cities are destroyed by what is to come which we will see further on.) Abraham's plea-bargaining with the Lord for the sake of the cities, did not prevent their destruction, because ten persons were not found righteous in them. [Note: We have to wonder what caused Abraham to stop at the number ten in his bargaining? Either he left off there because he felt certain that at least ten would be found, sadly not the case at all. Or the Holy Spirit restrained him from continuing. There is a scripture in Jeremiah where the Lord tells Jeremiah not to continue to pray for Judah for He is set on destroying them for their wickedness and he will no longer hear that prayer, in fact He forbids Jeremiah to pray for them (Jeremiah 7:16).] By the appearances of this passage of scripture here in Genesis 19, the evil in Sodom was so great (as we assume it is in all the cities that fell under the same judgment) that even the patience of God had met its limit; His Word tells us that He will not always strive with the wickedness of men, at some point He will take appropriate measures to cease the wickedness, and such is the case now for the city of Sodom and its cohorts.

Just look at what is happening at one small house, Lot's house, in this city? What else is going on all over the city that we are not privy to? Men lusting after men, voracious in their sexual appetites that are without restraint of any sort it seems. Rest assured, this is only one small area of Sodom's overall wickedness that we are being allowed to observe. And when the angels strike these vile men blind, this voraciousness is not even daunted it appears. What kind of frenzy (sexually motivated frenzy, obviously) causes men who have suddenly been struck blind to still grope frantically for the door that will lead them to the objects of their frenzy until they are wearied, worn out, by the effort? What crazy, out of control (demonic, I would think) behavior causes to not even stop and question why they have gone blind, but continues on with the goal of satisfying that sexual perversion? Frenzy, mindless demonic frenzy at that, is the only word I can think of to describe it.

And so the Lord has determined, after judging it for Himself, that Sodom must be destroyed. And He has sent two angels to carry out His judgment. Is it just coincidence that these angels have been spotted by Lot at the city gates (although we must assume he sees them just as men rather than angels.) Lot's hospitality extended towards these "men" is common in Lot's culture at the time; but Lot's pressing his hospitality upon them so strongly is evidence of his fear for their lives, knowing the city in which he lives as well as he does. He even offers up himself (by going outside of the door to face this mob) and his family (his virgin daughters) in his attempt to save these two men when the wicked men are trying to tear down his door to get at these angels. In the end, the angels seek to save Lot and his family, "to bring them out of this place" before they destroy it.

It is not coincidence, I think, that brought those angels to the city gates while Lot was sitting there. God is a great orchestrator, and I believe, because of Abraham's intercessory prayer, Lot and his family were singled out for salvation.

“I will go down now, and see…”

"And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And He said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. And he spake unto Him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And He said, I will not do it for forty's sake. And he said unto Him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And He said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And He said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And He said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And He said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake. And the LORD went his way, as soon as He had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place." (Genesis 18:16-33)

I have always been so blessed by this particular passage. The reason is that before the Lord decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, He went down Himself to check out how much evil was being done there. He had apparently "heard" a cry coming from the vicinity of Sodom and Gomorrah, that caused Him to delve deeper into the situation.

Now, I really hate to give too much away, but I have to tell you that in the end, which we will soon see, there are only four people removed from the cities. And these four were removed only because of the righteousness of one. Because one was righteous, and because the Lord had mercy on him and removed his family as well, four people were removed from the cities before the destruction hit. They were given a way of escape. (Although one of them soon died even so because she would not heed the instructions of the Lord; she did not believe Him, she did not have faith.)

Therefore, the "cry" that went up to the Lord about the evil being done in the two cities, had to have come from that one righteous person. Who else besides a righteous one would "cry" out to the Lord? None else!

And what was that cry? It is otherwise known as "prayer." It is a calling upon God, it is a communication with the Lord, it is a heart-felt plea….it is a cry. Prayer is what happens when those who know the goodness of God find themselves witnessing horrible evil being done around them, maybe to them, maybe to others, and their hearts are grieved, dreadfully grieved at the evil and cry out to God to please make it cease! And I believe that the fact that this person (or persons) was crying out to God is evidence of his righteousness before God; in fact, without that crying out, I don't think he would have been considered righteous. He KNEW that God was able to help. And he KNEW God would hear his cry. And God did.

It was this person's cry that brought God to visit the terrible situation at hand. But it was the prayerful plea of another righteous man, as well, that delivered these four persons out of imminent danger and destruction. That particular righteous man was Abraham. It was his communication with God also that sealed the fate of those four people; that brought them out of the cities safely. And that particular prayer is called "intercession." To pray a prayer of intercession, means to "intercede" on the behalf of another. In this case, Abraham was interceding on behalf of any righteous inhabitants of the cities; but most assuredly he was also interceding specifically for his nephew Lot who Abraham knew lived in Sodom.

But for now, what is important to me is that God cared: He cared about the cry that was reaching His ears, He cared about the cities and their inhabitants that He might have to destroy if the evil was as bad as He had heard, He cared enough to verify the facts, and then, and only then, did He destroy as He determined was necessary for so great was the evil that was happening in these places.

Ours is not a capricious God, who one day loves and protects, and the next day hates and destroys. Those whose God is capricious do not know the Almighty God. This passage is evidence of who the Almighty God is; of what His character is. And I find great comfort in knowing that He is not capricious, but loving, and just, and constant.

I also find comfort in the fact that a mere mortal such as Abraham, although one confirmed by the Lord Himself to be righteous and obedient to God, was able, perhaps because of His obedience, to converse in such a manner with God Himself, without fear. THAT is evidence of the relationship that they had together. THAT is evidence that Abraham knew He could trust GOD, even though GOD is GOD. This did not make God someone who could be wrapped around Abraham's finger. Not at all. It just shows us that God loved Abraham, and Abraham knew it and felt safe in that knowledge; safe enough to even risk making the Lord a little angry with his persistent questions. How blessed to have such a relationship with GOD Himself!

How blessed are we to have the offer of just such a relationship, if we would but receive God's promises, still today!

The Three Heavenly Visitors

"And the LORD appeared unto him [Abraham] in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; and he lift up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, and said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: and I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and made cakes upon the hearth. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat. And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh." (Genesis 18: 1-15)

The opening phrase of this passage that says "and the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre…" is extremely important, for it is the first clue that we have that one of the three men who are suddenly standing in front of Abraham's tent is the LORD Himself. The second clue is that one of the men prophetically announces (a confirmation of an earlier prophecy) that Sarah will soon have a son. The third clue is that when Sarah laughs, and it is not a laugh of faithful joy as Abraham earlier laughed, it is a sneering kind of laugh, full of unbelief; Sarah knows immediately her error when this man [the LORD] announces to her who is standing inside the tent that he heard her laugh, for she knows that the laugh was not out loud but only deep in her heart, something impossible for any common human to have known. She is suddenly caught and ashamed, and compounds her error by lying about it.

What is interesting to me about this passage is that I can't help but wonder who the other two men are. Are they angels in attendance with the LORD? Why do they all three answer Abraham, in unison it seems, when Abraham asks them to stay so that he can refresh them with food and drink and washing of their feet. Would angels answer in unison with the LORD? Or would they let the LORD answer for Himself? Whoever these other two are, they are in unison, it seems with the LORD, almost as though the three are one. Sounds like the trinity, yet I have found no biblical scholars who suggest that possibility, and it is because of a verse that follows shortly after this section of scripture, which we will get into. This is not the trinity. Yet ONE of these men IS the LORD. And yet they all seem to speak in unity. Further along in the passage, is the verse that again says "they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife?" THEY said unto him, not just one of them spoke.

The next section of passage will reveal to us that these men who accompany the LORD are angels. How wonderful then, that the angels have such a unity with the LORD…just the sort that we will have one day when we are in His presence as well; something that we strive to have now, but fail at many times because we let our flesh get in the way. But once the flesh is out of the way, the unity will be perfect, such as is displayed here. What a day that will be!

Another interesting point is that the meal that Abraham serves is not kosher. In a kosher meal dairy would not be served with meat. In this case, milk and calf are served together. Obviously, kosher rules comes into play further down the line with the law of Moses, and for a good reason which we will get into at that time, but those rules are not evident at this point at all.

One final point is that even with Sarah's sneering sort of laugh and doubt, yet she is called a woman of faith by the writer of the book of Hebrews who is most likely Paul. The reason is simply this: if she had not had faith to trust that she would have become pregnant, she would not have received the blessing of bearing a child. Faith works the same way for all of us. Jesus told many when He walked on this earth during his short three year ministry that it was their faith that healed them. So it is with Sarah. It is her faith that allows her to reach out and receive that blessing that the Lord has promised; she might have doubted for a moment, as we all may do, but her faith was strengthened apparently, for she did conceive just as promised, and it was because in the end she trusted in the word of God more than she did in the evidence of her age.

So it is with us. The promises of the LORD only apply to us as we receive them. If we don't take them as our own, they never become our own. They have no power in our lives, unless we trust that what the LORD says is true; versus believing what our old tired bodies, or other folks around us tell us is true. There is only one truth. And that truth resides in the God with whom ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!

"…IS ANYTHING TOO HARD FOR THE LORD?"

 

 

Covenant of the Circumcised

"And I will bless her [Sarah], and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? And shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. And He left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him. And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him." (Genesis 17:16-27)

Here, Abraham is told very clearly that the son that God promised him will not be the one that Abraham enjoyed that came from Hagar, but will come from his own wife, Sarah, instead, who is at this time ninety years old! Abraham fell on his face and laughed, yet we know that his laughter was not a disrespectful laugh of disbelief, or of sneering at God because the situation was ludicrous, but his laughter was one of joy and amazement at what God was able to do even with ones as old as he and Sarah.. We know this because had it been of unbelief, God would have dealt with Abraham differently and swiftly as God always does. Instead, God tells Abraham that his son's name will be Isaac, which means "laughter."

Loving Ishmael as his first-born, and up to that point, only son, Abraham boldly asks the Lord to bless Ishmael as well as this soon to be born son from Sarah. God first responds regarding Sarah's son, then responds to Abraham's request on behalf of Ishmael, telling him that Ishmael will be blessed with fruitfulness, with being the father of a large nation himself; but He reiterates that the special covenant that He is making is with Isaac and with the seed of Isaac after him. It is the child of the Spirit that is to be blessed with this covenant between God and man; not the child of the flesh.

Here, in the token [or sign] of the covenant, lies the distinction that later determined who were a people led by God and who were not; who were led by the spirit, versus being led by the flesh. Men, being the head of the households, were the only ones required to be circumcised; their commitment to God covered the whole family, including the servants, the males of whom were also required to be circumcised. The covenant guaranteed God as their protector, as the One who would bring blessings upon them, but obedience was also required of those led by God.

The first act of obedience, and we can see it was immediately being "the selfsame day," was that Abraham immediately had every male member of his household circumcised that very day, including himself and Ishmael. I believe this act of circumcision was not only painful but humbling to Abraham and those of his household; it had never been done before. Yet the benefits of it far outweighed the pain and embarrassment. They now carried in their own bodies the mark that they belonged to God; that God Almighty was their God!

But we will see as we continue in our study of the Bible that this act of physical circumcision was merely a "type" or "sign" of the circumcision of the heart that had already taken place in Abraham and Sarah and those of their household. In fact, in the New Testament we will see that the greater value is placed upon circumcision of the heart (pr a spiritual circumcision, a spiritual "belonging" to God) rather than circumcision of the flesh.

Those today who belong to God, who hear God and commune with Him, have that circumcision of the heart that marks the covenant they have with God through His Son Jesus Christ….for they are children of the Spirit, rather than children of the flesh.

The Cutting Off of the Flesh

"And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. And God said unto Abraham, thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee: Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant. And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be." (Genesis 17:1-15)

Thirteen years have passed since the birth of Ishmael, a first-born child that Abram surely loves; more than thirteen years have passed since the Lord last provided a revelation to Abram…surely because of the marriage to Hagar which was not pleasing to the Lord. Perhaps, Abram's hastiness in "helping" God with His promise of "seed" has in fact deferred the arrival of that "seed." At the very least, while Abram has still enjoyed communion with the Lord during this interval, revelations have ceased for none are recorded here, and we can easily see the reason why: revelation follows after obedience; but with disobedience there comes no revelation. Surely Abram is aware of what his actions have cost him.

Now, here is the Lord again, appearing to Abram and causing a humbled Abram to fall on his face before him as the Lord reminds Abram of the covenant that God made with him; and the Lord shows Abram, by the simple changing of his name, that things were going to change in his life because of that promise of God about to be fulfilled. Not only was Abram's name changed to Abraham, but Sarai's name was changed to Sarah.

If we study the change in names for a moment, we will see that what was consistent in both names changes was the addition of the letter "h." Actually, in Hebrew the letter that denotes our English "h" looks something like a small squiggle and the sound that it represents is simply a breath, much as our own letter "h" also represents: a breath. Interestingly "breath" is what the Hebrew word for the Spirit means as well. So, the change that is about to take place in Abram's and Sarai's lives which is memorialized by the change in their names as well, is none other than by the breath or Spirit of God which gives new life. This should not be surprising to anyone as He is the same One who changes our lives even today after we acknowledge our need of a Savior through Jesus Christ.

God first seeks us out, just as He did Abram, then, if we desire to know more of God we begin to seek Him as we follow God in obedience, just as Abram did. But all of this "obedience" is enabled by the Holy Spirit of God; all that is required of us is the desire to seek God. Another way of saying this is that what is begun "by the Spirit of God" cannot continue in any other way than "by the Spirit of God." In other words all that happens with God must happen by the Spirit, not by the flesh.

God promises to enable us to be obedient, but only if that is in fact our desire, and He seals that promise with blood; in this case, the blood of circumcision, later it will be by the blood of His own Son, Jesus Christ. The fact that servants were to be circumcised as well, is prophetic in its pointing to the saving of Gentiles as well as Jews in the New Testament. And should any individual reject the "blood" of the covenant (circumcision), they then show that they despise God Himself. They either submit to the "cutting off" of flesh, or they are themselves "cut off" from God and from God's people. They either trust in the "blood" that reconciles them to God, or they do not.

The same is true for us today as well. We will either trust in the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse us of our sin and submit to our flesh being "cut off" (in a spiritual sense, i.e. dying to the flesh, loving God more than self) or we show that we love the flesh (sin and its temporal pleasures) more than God and thus, in fact, that we despise God.

Once more, from its beginning chapters the Word of God points prophetically, as it does throughout the entire Book, to the saving grace of God to us through Jesus Christ, and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. Those who have been given eyes to see, see it clearly; but there is a multitude who do not see because they prefer to remain in their sin:

"Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house."( Ezekiel 12:2)

Let me try to put all of this regarding Abram, Sarai, Hagar and Ishmael into very simple terms that will show that which is of the Spirit and that which is of the flesh:

God led Abram and family out of Ur of the Chaldees and into a new promised land (Spirit). God promised to give Abram seed (Spirit). Abram and Sarai became impatient in waiting on God's promise to arrive, so they took matters into their own hands (flesh). Hagar gives birth to Ishmael (flesh). THEN, after Ishmael, the "fleshly" son of Abram is born (and remember he has been predicted to be a wild man, a man of the flesh and its passions, but not necessarily a man of God), God changes Abram and Sarai's names by adding a "breath" to it (Spirit), Abraham and Sarah who have been claimed by the Spirit of God as His own, will soon become parents of the future son of the promise, and that son will represent those who are born by the Spirit of God, not by the flesh. God declares the token of HIS Covenant with Abram's seed to be the blood of circumcision by the cutting off of flesh: those who are circumcised (who cast off their flesh) show their love and obedience to God (Spirit); those who reject circumcision show that they despise God (flesh.)

What is begun in the Spirit cannot be finished in the flesh. The New Testament book of Romans speaks much about Abraham and his children, and Sarah and Hagar. And we also will study that along the way here in Genesis once the child of promise is born to Abraham and Sarah.

The Angel of the Lord

"And the angel of the LORD found her [Hagar] by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur; and he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? And whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. 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 that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me? Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bore, Ishmael. And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram." (Genesis 16:7-16)

The direction that Hagar is heading indicates that she is on her way back to Egypt, most likely where she has relatives. This show her desperation; for to embark on a trip such as this, alone, would have been difficult for her to survive. Fortunately, for her sake and that of the child she is carrying, the Lord comes to her aid. Something that needs to be noted here is that whatever religion is practiced by a household in those times, such was the religion of the servants as well. When Hagar encounters God, her reaction shows us that she has been taught (or learned through Abram's behavior) who God is.

This passage begins with the first mention of a term that we will see many times again in our studies: "the angel of the LORD." Hagar gives this angel a name that means "Thou God seest me" or "You are a God that sees me." In other words, Hagar ascribes deity to this angel; indeed, she calls this angel GOD.

We will find many example of the term "angel" being used in the bible with no one ascribing the terminology of "GOD" to those angels. And we will find many other examples (approximately 79 times) of the term "angel of the Lord" in which it is clear to us that it is God Himself speaking to the selected individual, and that individual always knows that they are speaking to God. What most scholars believe to be true, as a result, is that the terminology "the angel of the Lord" refers to Jesus, albeit Jesus in a heavenly form rather than His later human form. Thus this particular angel is called the "pre-incarnate Jesus." Why the term "angel" is applied at all is still a bit of a mystery to me. Angels are created beings, and we know that Jesus is not a created being but as John chapter 1 tells us Jesus is the Word and the "Word was with God, and the Word WAS God." John goes on to tell us that all things were created by Jesus, who was in the beginning with God. Jesus could not create Himself obviously, and if ALL things were created by Him, then He himself was not created.

So, while "angel" is a bit confusing, just remember that whenever the Bible says "angel of the Lord" it is referring to Jesus. In fact, for further proof of this, one particular verse in Zechariah 3:1-4 confirms that this is Jesus. The New Testament spells out clearly to us that Jesus is the only One able to take away our sins, and yet the "angel of the Lord" in the passage in Zechariah claims to take Joshua's iniquity away from him. It can therefore only be Jesus.

Another interesting point in this passage is that the "angel of the Lord" refers to Hagar as "Sarai's maid" rather than as "Abram's second wife." I believe this to be clear evidence that God does not recognize that legal marriage between Abram and Hagar, even if society, and even Sarai, does. It goes completely unacknowledged by God.

The third very interesting point here is that the angel of the Lord prophecies that Hagar's unborn child will be a boy, and that she will call him Ishmael, which means, 'God will hear;" and then the angel of the Lord goes on to describe him as a future wild man, which in the most literal translation of that Hebrew term means: "wild ass man." That is not meant as some sort of vulgarity, but rather that he will be as wild as a "wild ass." Matthew Henry describes the meaning as: rude, bold, fearing no man, untamed, untractable, living in strife and a state of war at all times with all men.

Biblical scholars believe that Ishmael is the ancestor of the Arab nation. Many Arabs are also Muslim (although not all, for some Arabs are also Christians); those that are Muslims, and believers in the writings of the Quran, find themselves opposed (by commandment of the Quran) to any who do not believe in Allah, and are commanded by the Quran to kill those who do not believe; thus you could say they are always in a "state of war." But it seems that this state of war that many Muslims find themselves in, began with their ancestor Ishmael.

At this point in our study, I'd like to pause for a moment to say something about Muslims; especially one specific Muslim known as Osama Bin Laden who was recently killed. I believe justice was done when he was killed, after all he was the murderer of over 2000 people in the twin towers alone, much less all else that has been attributed to him. Yet, even so, I was appalled that there was "rejoicing in the streets" in America and elsewhere over his death. The death of an unrepentant sinner, which Osama Bin Laden most certainly was, is not something to rejoice about. I hope these were not followers of Christ who rejoiced, in fact, I believe we can safely assume that they were not true followers of Christ. The Word of God tells us that this man is now condemned to spend eternity suffering in hell. The Word also tells us that God so loved "the world (including Osama Bin Laden) that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosever would believe in Him would not perish but would have life everlasting." (John 3:16). The word "perish" in this passage, indicates eternal suffering, rather than extinction; something that the same passage tells us that each and every human being on this earth is sadly guaranteed to experience if they do not receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. In order to do that, we must repent of our sins against God and receive the gift that God has provided in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ. If instead, we reject God's gracious gift of His Son, who became the ultimate sacrifice and atonement for our own sins, then our destiny is irrevocably set on hell rather than heaven. That soul is eternally lost.

God does not rejoice over the loss of one of His creatures, and neither should we. Certainly, we all seek justice and God Himself provides justice to all; but justice and rejoicing over another's suffering are two different things. I believe that those who rejoiced in the streets of any nation, including our own, at Bin Laden's death, reduced themselves to the same evil as those who rejoiced when the Twin Towers fell. And if they claim to be rejoicing thinking that evil is now at an end, they need to read the Word of God; the death of this one man will not end the evil that he participated in. That evil will not end until the Lord Jesus Christ returns and ends it Himself. Thankfully, He will do so soon.

I am saying this to remind us all that no matter if we meet Muslims or Hindus or any other religion that is not equal to ours, we are to LOVE, not HATE. The violent nature of the Quran causes us to be suspicious of, and sometimes even fearful of, Muslims. But the attitude of Muslims has no bearing on how we are to behave. "Perfect love casts out all fear." Either our love for others is perfected in Jesus Christ or we do not have Christ within us as we think. In fact, Muslims are coming to Christ every day. They, like all of us, seek hope and find it in Christ.

The Lord certainly did not hold anything against Hagar. He didn't hold against her that she was the second, and in His eyes, illegal wife to Abram. He didn't hold against her that she was hateful to her mistress, Sarai. He didn't even hold against her that her son would be one given to war. He loved her, provided for her, guided her back to her home with Sarai, and counseled her on how to act; all the while giving her much hope for her future with her child.

We who are called to follow Jesus, should walk as He did: in love and encouragement, rather than suspicion, fear and hatred.

Waiting on God…or Not!

"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 hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto 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 Egyptian, 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 unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee. But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face." (Genesis 16:1-6)

Ten years have passed since God first mentioned Abram's "seed" to Abram (see Genesis chapter 12); but Abram and Sarai are still childless. Apparently, ten years is the limit for Sarai's patience in waiting on God. I don't know that I would have had the patience to wait even as long as Sarai did; after all Abram was already just past 75 years old and Sarai just past 65 years old when "seed" was first mentioned. Surely, time was a-wastin'. Sarai knew she was now long past the normal child-bearing age. Who can blame Sarai for her actions; or Abram for listening to and agreeing with Sarai?

But the consequences of Sarai's actions are recorded to help us learn a valuable lesson, and that is that the blessing that we derive from God's promises are only blessings to us if we wait on Him, on His timing, no matter how long. To jump ahead of God, as Sarai did, is to bring upon ourselves consequences that will not prove to be blessings at all. We will see in future chapters that this changed attitude of Hagar's will get worse as times goes on. It certainly would have been better if Sarai had remained barren, rather than jump ahead. God HAD promised, and He would fulfill that promise without fail eventually; if only Sarai had waited.

Seeing that Sarai was impatient is the easiest part of this passage to understand. The rest of it is rather confusing at first glance.

For example, why would Sarai and Abram both believe that taking a second "wife" would be acceptable to God? And why does Sarai come back and blame Abram when Hagar becomes surly towards Sarai? It was Sarai's idea in the first place, so why blame Abram for it? Did Abram throw the blame back on Sarai (or at least not take responsibility for it) by basically saying, "Look she's your handmaid, you deal with it?"

Let's expound upon each of these issues.

Why did Sarai suggest Abram's taking of Hagar as a wife? This was not something that Sarai came up with on her own; it was the socially acceptable custom of those times. Children were important, especially sons. If a wife was barren, the next best way to obtain a legal heir was to "legally" wed the wife's handmaiden. But remember that just because something is acceptable to the current-day society at large, does not mean it is acceptable to God. And such was the case here, as we will see further in this chapter. Nevertheless, Abram agreed, not only because it was socially acceptable, but possibly also because he thought, as we might think in the same circumstances, that perhaps this is what God intended when He said Abram would have "seed." Maybe this was the way God was going to fulfill that promise. We all have experienced times when it's difficult to know the method that God will use, and easy for us to "assume" one method is correct, and yet be way off base as far as God's plan goes. Again, God understands our humanness, and, while we still have to accept the consequences of our choices, He does not give up on us too easily. He certainly did not give up on Abram; and He does not give up on us either.

Regarding Sarai blaming Abram for Hagar's surliness…well, tables have turned. Adam blamed the woman in the garden of Eden, now the woman is blaming the man; just more humanness at work. But then Abram blunders by not taking responsibility as head of the household to handle the situation. Instead, he rather cowardly sidesteps the necessary confrontation and turns the job over to Sarai. Isn't it Interesting that he was able to face hostile kings in battle, but avoided dealing with a disgruntled wife, or two. Perhaps things might have gone differently, had Hagar received proper "attitude adjustment" counseling from the head of the household; but instead two wives were left to deal with each other.

There is just no way that could have gone well; as we will see proof of in the remainder of the chapter to be discussed tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

Smoking Furnace, Burning Lamp

"And He said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? And He said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. And He took unto Him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided He not. And when the fowls came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. And He said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites." (Genesis 15:7-21)

God reminds Abram in the beginning of this passage, just who it is that God is: He is the One that brought Abram out of Ur of the Chaldees safely into this new land which that same God promises that Abram will inherit. It would seem faithless to us to question God for a sign of this inheritance, yet God knows our frailties and patiently gives that which our faith needs to grow strong. The LORD then prepares a "covenant" to further aid Abram's faith.

At that time a covenant was a promise under a binding "seal" of agreement for the performance of some action, usually between two or more parties. Animals would be killed and split in half; and the two parties would walk between the parts of the dead animals, representing that they themselves would face the same fate of the sacrificial animals if they broke the promise of the covenant. Jeremiah 34:18-19 exemplifies such a covenant ritual.

In this case, however, both parties were not making a promise; only God made a promise, and thus, because only God bore the burden of keeping the covenant, it was only God who passed between the split carcasses. God waited until dark to perform the ritual, which meant Abram was busy keeping vultures and other carnivorous birds of prey away from the carcasses until darkness fell.

But we need to look a bit more closely at the animals that were used in this ritual. There was a three-year old heifer, and three year old she-goat, and a three year old ram, along with two different species of bird: the turtledove and the pigeon. I have said before and will say always that the Word of God is so multi-leveled that it is impossible for us to comprehend at this time, on this side of heaven, just what all is contained within it. This passage, for example, speaks prophetically (as the entire Word of God does) about Jesus Christ whose ministry lasted only three years before He died on the cross. These animals are the ones used in sin offerings, for the atonement of sins, as Jesus, the ultimate sin offering, also was.

The deep sleep that came upon Abram is the same deep sleep that came upon Adam when God took the rib from his body to create woman. The "horror" that befell Abram is that horror was either a sampling of the misery which engulfed the Israelites during their time of bondage to Egypt, or possibly the terror of knowing God's wrath. The Lord tells Abram all about the future wrath of God upon the Israelites, but He also speaks about their future redemption. I believe the birds that were not split in half, signify the heavenly redemption and restoration that Jesus provides to all who will accept it.

The Lord speaks to Abram during this deep sleep about all that will come to pass, and then, as the day finally winds down, and it is dark, the Lord passes through the split parts of the animals, not in any form that Abram would be able to observe and still live (for it is impossible in our mortal form to see God Himself and not die), but rather God appeared as a smoking furnace (God's wrath and judgment; the affliction that would befall Israel under the bondage to Egypt Exodus chapters 6 and 12; Jeremiah 11 speaks also of the smoking furnace) and as a burning lamp (a light in the darkness, salvation and restoration, as spoken of in Isaiah 62:1.) All of this the Israelites would experience until in their fourth generation, they are finally released from the punishment of their sins. Indeed, we will see that Moses, who led the Israelites out of Egypt, and his brother Aaron, were of the fourth generation of Israelites born in bondage, and so they signified the end of that period of God's judgment upon them.

What is important for us to see here, is that Abram was faithful, and obedient to follow God to a strange land. And only after that obedience occurred did the Lord reveal all that was revealed to Abram, and seal His promises with a covenant. We might experience persecution or trouble along the way, but the rewards, the revelation, to follow are always great.

The Lord taught Israel always to covenant only with men of righteousness or faithfulness to God, yet so often they were disobedient to His teaching and suffered the consequences of making pacts with the non-faithful. Yet God is always faithful to His covenant, He cannot be otherwise. Fortunately for Abram and for us, His promises to us are not "earned" by our works, but are simply a gracious gift of God to those who are faithful to Him and who seek after His righteousness, rather than after some form of their own.