What Ever Happened to Melchizedek?
Genesis 14:17-24
Key verse 14:18 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF
“Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought bread and wine. He was Priest of God Most High.”
Do you like mystery novels? If you do then you will like this one. One of the most mysterious people in the Bible is the king of peace, Melchizedek. Melchizedek is the first priest/king in the Bible. He was a city-state leader whose heart was tuned into God. He was good at encouraging others to acknowledge God and serve God wholeheartedly. He was a man whose character reflected his love for God. He appeared one day in the life of Abram and then was gone. What happened on that day was to be remembered throughout history and eventually became a subject of a New Testament letter, Hebrews. There are many lessons we can learn from him. In today’s lesson we will learn about God who sends his servants at the crucial moments in our walk with Jesus to encourage us and point us in the right way. We will also learn what made Melchizedek great and how we can emulate his life, becoming a blessing to others. May God bless you to grow as a servant of God like Melchizedek.
Part 1: Abram Was At A “Cross Roads” Moment (Gen 14:1-16)
In Chapter 14 we find Abram, despaired of life because Lot had left him in order to pursue his own dream. (As you know, Lot went to live in the city of Sodom, where people were sinning greatly against the Lord.) Sodom, the city where his nephew Lot went to, had just been conquered by King Kedorlaomer. Thousands were no doubt killed. All the goods of Sodom and all of the survivors had just been taken captive. His nephew Lot, and some family members were among them. They were to become slaves in the some far off land.
When Abram heard of this terrible situation, his heart stirred into action. Even though Lot had abandoned Abram and had chosen to compromise with the world, Abram still loved him and hoped that he would repent and change his ways. Adrenaline rushed through his aged veins. He rallied his strength and called together 318 of his militarily trained men who were in his tent village. These men, along with the men of two other tribal leaders, pursued Kedorlaomer’s army for a couple of hundred miles. It was his shepherd’s heart and love for Lot that gave him strength to press forward and never give up. God gave him wisdom to divide his forces and defeat Kedorlaomer. And God blessed him. Abram recovered all the goods of Sodom and all the people, including Lot and his family. God was with Abram and gave him this great victory when he cared about the flock of God and was willing to sacrifice his own life in order to rescue them from slavery. May God stir in us the same courage and compassion for lost souls in our day.
Abram’s victory placed him in a spiritually vulnerable position. Look at Verse 17b, “…the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).” Kings came to him to seek an audience. They offered him, not only recognition, but great wealth. Suddenly Abram was a political and military force to be reckoned with. Look at verse 21, “The king of Sodom said to Abram, ‘Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.’" Abram was tempted with great wealth. He was also tempted to think that, through military victory, political intrigue and worldly wealth, God was going to give him the Promised Land,. Why not seized the land now by these human means?
Abram was also despaired. He once had placed his hope in Lot, that through Lot, he would become a great nation. He poured out all of his energies to raise his nephew through the teenage years. But Lot abandoned his uncle and took half the flocks and herds and left the Promised Land without a second thought. Lot took the best without even a care about his uncles’ feelings, nor God’s hope for him. Abram sacrificed so much to rescue Lot, even risking his own life. And do you know what Lot did after he was rescued? You would think that he would repent and come to his senses and return to the life of faith alongside his uncle Abram. But no! He went back to Sodom. As a dog returns to it’s vomit. (2 Peter 2:20-22) Lot did not learn his lesson. He was so selfish. Abram despaired that all of his efforts were in vain.
Abram’s heart could have went several ways. He could have become a worldly tribal chief and ruled over the area with military might. He could have despaired and spent most of his time, curled up in a ball, sleeping in his tent and giving up on living a life of faith. He could have packed his bags and returned to the Ur of the Chaldeans where he had a lot of relatives to visit and grow old with. I would feel like giving up if I were him. He could have been paralyzed by fear wondering if Kedorlaomer would come back to exact revenge on him the next spring. He could have remained bitter to God forever asking God, “Why is this happening to me?” Can you see why this was a very tempting time for Abram? This was indeed a “crossroads” monent in the Abram’s life.
Part ll: Melchizedek, The Great Encourager! (Gen 14:17-24)
There is one thing, that all people who know God personally, come to realize…God never abandons his people at these crucial moments in their lives. He always sends someone to their them in order to give them wise words of counsel in order to help them on their spiritual journey. That is exactly what God did for Abram. Look at Verse 18a, “Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine.” God sent his servant, Melchizedek.
We must always give credit to God for intervening at the crucial moments in our spiritual lives when we could have gone one way or the other. We must also thank God for his servants who have obeyed God and entered into our lives to shepherd us. It was clearly the hand of God in sending his servant to Abram. But what if Abram did not recognize Melchizedek as a priest of God sent by God himself? He could have told his servants, “Send that old man away. I am too tired and I don’t feel like talking to anyone.” He would have been the looser. But thank God that Abram had spiritual eyes to recognize the true identity of this great servant of God. Let us reflect on how God has been faithful to send someone into our lives to help us, by giving us the life giving words of God and showing us the way, when the way was not clear. In other words, who has been a Melchizedek to you? If you can not recognize the times when people were brought into your life to give you counsel, then ask God to open your eyes. There have been many! You must thank God for sending them. Maybe send them an e-mail. It will be much appreciated.
Who was this Melchizedek? Look at Hebrews 7:1-3, “ This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, 2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means ‘king of righteousness’; then also, ‘king of Salem’ means ‘king of peace.’ 3 Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.” The Bible says that he was the king of Salem. The city of Salem means the “city of Peace.” It is the name of ancient Jerusalem. The oldest part of the city was settled in the 4th millennium BCE, making Jerusalem one of the oldest cities in the world. A city called the “Foundation of Shalem” appears in ancient Egyptian records as the first two references to Jerusalem. In c. 2000 BC and c. 1330 BC a city was founded by a Northwest Semitic people, descendents of Shem, with organized settlements from around 2600 BC. (Wikipedia) They were a people who worshipped the God of Noah and had their own unique religious practices.
Melchizedek ruled over a theocracy. He was the king and also a priest. Apparently in those days there was no separation of church and state. Cities could be ruled by a person that was a political leader and also a spiritual leader. We can see glimpses of this in today’s world. For example who is the symbolic head of the Anglican Church? Not the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is the Queen of England. In the eighties, who was the leader of Iran? It was the Ayatollah Khomeini, a dual spiritual and political leader. One day we may have a Pastor/president.
He is a priest of God Most high. Some of us tend to think that Abram was the first person to believe in one God. But there were other people groups who worshipped God Most High, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Think of Noah and his descendants. They were believers in God Most High. Archeologists believe that the people who pioneered Jerusalem were Semites, decedents of Shem. Melchizedek simply did not worship God as Abram did. Abram is a pioneer of sorts for he pioneered a certain expression of faith. Abram’s faith tells us to believe in God’s promises and decide to live by faith; following God’s leading in our lives, ways that are tough and filled with faith building events. Melchizedek was a spiritual leader of a religion that worshiped the God of Noah and Abraham. But it did not involve living by faith as Abram was doing. Yet, he was a sincere servant of God and God was working though him.
There are times when we don’t respect other followers of Christ, if they do not worship like our own congregation or denomination. But Abram recognized Melchizedek as a servant of God and learned from him and submitted to him. We need to realize that God is not just working through evangelical, non-denominational Protestants. He is working through many denominations and expressions of faith. I am not saying that God is working through all world religions or purveyors of false gospels, but if there are Christians out there that are not like us and who worship differently in their churches we need to respect them as servants of Jesus Christ and acknowledge that God is working through them.
Melchizedek was a great man and yet very humble. He was a king. He was also a priest. He had great power and authority. And yet he came to meet old Abram, out in the desert. He came and brought the bread and wine. He came to encourage and bless and share spiriitual fellowship. This is very humble. He reminds me of Jesus. The attitude of Christ Jesus, was, in a word, humbleness. Philippians 2:6-7 reads, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” Jesus is the Creator God, through whom all things were made (Jn 1:1-3). But he did not clutch the power and glory of his equality with God. It was his. Yet, he divested himself of it and became flesh to dwell among us (Jn 1:14), even being born in a stable.
In our sinful nature, we want to be recognized, and honored. We want people to come to us. But Jesus’ attitude was humility, not self-glory seeking. He made himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant. In the world, no one ever gives up his or her position of authority and power, whether it is deserved or not. We would rather be served by others, and lord it over them. Jesus had all authority in heaven and on earth, but he used his power to serve the weak. Instead of demanding people to come up to his standard, Jesus reached down to us, serving our needs. He said, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mk 10:45) Melchizedek reflected the heart of Jesus.
The fact that he came to have spiritual fellowship is also very significant. We like to socialize and hang out with our friends. But do we intend to have spiritual fellowship with them? When we have spiritual fellowship with people, we pray with them, we discuss spiritual things, we examine the scriptures, we are mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. Having spiritual fellowship is very intentional. It does not come easy. It is a sign of spiritual maturity when we seek this type of fellowship out.
Part lll: Melchizedek, The Blesser (Gen 14:18-20)
Melchizedek came to bless Abram. Look at verse 14:19a, “and he blessed Abram, saying, ….” What does it mean to bless someone? Does it mean to give endless charity? No, in fact, Abram is the one who gave money away to Melchizedek, not the other way around. Then what does it mean to “bless” someone? Look at how Melchizedek did it in verses 19b-20, ““…’Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.’ Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.” Let’s think a little more about blessing others.
First, he turned Abram’s eyes to the God Most High. He knew that Abram was struggling spiritually and he knew that the only solution was to take his eyes off of himself and his present situation and place them squarely on God instead. God is Most High. He is more powerful than the armies of worldly kings. He can give the whole Promised Land to Abram with one swipe of his hand. Nothing is impossible with God Most High. One day John the Baptist saw Jesus coming towards him and he said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn 1:29) Moses told the people to take their eyes off the poisonous snakes, repenting of their fears and vainly trying to save themselves, and look to the bronze snake on pole. (Nu 21:4-9) Those who look to the Son of Man, Jesus, high and exalted on the cross, will be saved. There is one hymn, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.” Verse 1 reads, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus…look full into his wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.” To bless someone is to remind them of who God is and encourage them to fix their eyes on Jesus, the Creator God.
Second, he encouraged Abram to give God the credit for gaining a great victory over his enemies. Look at verse 20a, “And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Abram had indeed accomplished a great task. He defeated an army many more times the size of his own. He was an old man, but he did something that even young men could not accomplish. It was easy for him to think that in his wisdom, his strength, his leadership, and his stick-to-itiveness, he got himself the victory. To think this way is pride itself. There is a danger of thinking that we can do it all because of our own power. But the Bible says that God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. (Ja 4:6) What have we got that we have not been given? Paul knew that his great spiritual successes were not from him but from God. He says in 2 Corinthians 4:7, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us.” If we become proud we are in a real danger of loosing the blessings that God has brought into our lives. I thank God for Bethany Erickson. She is the girl who got her arm bitten off by a shark and became a surf champion with one arm. She stated again and again that her strength comes from Jesus Christ.
Now is the time to think about all the victories that God has brought forth. What about school? sports? relationships? jobs? career? and family? These are outward things, but what about spiritual things? Is it not a victory that you are standing as a believer in God when the whole western world seems to be falling away from Christ? What about the fact that you are growing stronger as a servant of God and his word? What about taking away fear, judgment, criticism, and despair from your heart? Did you take them away on your own? No. It is all because of Jesus and his Gospel. Today, it is time to be blessed and give all glory and honor and credit to Jesus. Part of blessing others is helping them to give all the credit and glory to God for every victory in their lives.
Melchizedek blessed Abram by helping Abram to obey God. Melchizedek’s spiritual influence was great. Look at Verse 20b, “…Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.” and also Hebrews 7:4, “Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder” It was not easy for Abram to give a tenth to Melchizedek. He had the equivalent of millions of dollars. A tenth of this was tens of thousands of dollars. Most people don’t want to offer anything to God. They hold onto their last dollar as if they were on a white knuckle roller coaster ride. As if that last dollar is going to make any difference anyways! It is not just money. People do this when they need to tithe their time, effort, and passion to Jesus. But Melchizedek had spiritual influence and power to help Abram obey God and offer. This is a great work of God. I don’t even have the authority and influence to help people to obey God in this way. I pray that all of us can offer God our tithe, but also grow in spiritual power and influence to bless people by helping them to obey what is right before God.
Melchizedek blessed Abram by helping him to accept the word of God with conviction of heart. Look at Verses 22-24, “But Abram said to the king of Sodom, ‘I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.' I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share." Abram was not this vague old man who was just lingering, fearful and tired. No way! He had conviction of heart to do the right thing and walk the right path, the path that is pleasing to God. The devil was using the king of Sodom to come and tempt Abram to act like an ordinary king and keep the plunder for himself. This would have been devastating to the work of God. All of the surrounding peoples and the recorders of Biblical history, could say that Abram was blessed because of the generosity of the king of a wicked city. They could say that Abram’s heart was swayed by money. It would have ruined his witness. It would be like receiving money from an abortion clinic to open up a church. But through the shepherding and mentoring of Melchizedek, Abram could be very strong spiritually. He told the king of Sodom clearly the truth that he learned from Melchizedek. He stood firmly and boldly on the side of truth with a loud voice. Blessing others means to help them have a clear conviction of heart based on God’s word and declare their faith to an unbelieving world.
Melchizedek served the Lord with integrity of heart. After Abram gave him a tenth of everything, Melchizedek just leaves. He took the offering back to Salem and used it for propogating the knowledge of God Most High, the Creator. Abram did not demand an audit of how the offering was used. He gave it and never tried to micromange it from afar. He trusted God and he trusted Melchizedek because he was a trustworthy servant of God.
Melchizedek was selfless. After he interacted with Abram you don’t hear anything else about him. He went home and carried on with his mission to be a king and a priest. He did not want bring glory to himself, but bring all the glory to God. He was not competing with Abram. He was like John the Baptist who was a small light leading others to the true light Jesus Christ. John became less so that Jesus can become greater. And when his Jesus’ ministry grew he was more than willing to fade into the shadows and let Jesus take over. How often we want to stick around to gain more glory for ourselves. We want to compete with other ministries that are up and rising, feeling threatened by them. But we need to learn Melchizedek’s humility and support what God is doing and if it is God’s will, then simply disappear.
Part lV: Jesus Is Identified With Melchizedek (Heb 7:1-28)
Melchizedek was a Christ figure. The author of the book of Hebrews compares Jesus to Melchizedek. Hebrews 7:11, “If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), why was there still need for another priest to come—one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron?” Jesus is so many things. But he also Priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. What does that mean, “in the order of Melchizedek”? Hebrews 7:7-17 explains this a little bit. I would like to include it but it is all very theological and the subject of another message. Let’s think of some highlights. Melchizedek, who blessed Abraham, was greater than he, and thereby, greater than Levi, Abraham's descendant, for Levi was still in Abraham’s DNA. (To be born some 400 years later.) Under the Law, priests must be descendants of Levi. Through the priesthood, established by the descendants of Levi, God made a way for salvation through the blood of animals. In this way sinners could come to God. But this sacrificial system was inadequate. Melchizedek was a priest, but he was not a descendant of Levi. Jesus is not one also. Jesus came from the house and line of Judah. Concerning Melchizedek’s lineage, Hebrews 7:3 reads, “Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.” The priesthood of Levi could not bring lasting and complete forgiveness of sins. This inadequate system looked forward to a better priest and a perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God. Jesus is a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. Jesus is the Son of God, without beginning of days or end of life. Psalm 110 speaks of a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. Jesus is that priest--not because of his human ancestry, but by the power of his sinless and indestructible life. Through him we may draw near to God. That is the connection between Melchizedek and Jesus.
In this passage we learned about God who sees our need and knows our situation and always sends someone to help us along on our spiritual journey. We also learned how to be a blessing to others through Melchizedek’s blessing of Abram. We learn how to have spiritual fellowship with people encourage them. May God help you to be a person of abundant blessings and may you turn many hearts to the the Most High God, Jesus Christ.
Part 1: Abram Was At A “Cross Roads” Moment (Gen 14:1-16)
1. What event had Abram just been through? What was the outcome of the battle? (17a) What did the king Sodom offer Abram? (17b, 21) What was the temptation for Abram at this time?
Part ll: Melchizedek, The Great Encourager! (Gen 14:17-18)
2. Who came to Abram at this crucial moment in his life? (18) What was his dual occupation? Which city was he the king of? What did he bring? What does this mean? What is it important for us to bless others? What does this teach us about God?
Part lll: Melchizedek, The Blesser (Gen 14:19-20)
3. What did he do to Abram? (19a) What did he say to Abram? (19b-20) What God did Melchizedek worship and serve? What can we learn about our attitude towards others believers who worship the God of the Bible?
4. Who is the giver of every victory in life? How is our God able to give us victory upon victory? What enemies are delivered into our hands nowadays? How can we bring glory to God through our victories in life? What affect did Melchizedek’s counsel have on Abram’s spirit? (22-24)
5. What did Abram give to Melchizedek? Why? How does this reveal the greatness of Melchizedek? (Heb 7:4) What do you think Melchizedek did with the offering?
Part lV: Jesus Is Identified With Melchizedek (Heb 7:1-28)
6. What observation did the author of Hebrews make concerning Melchizedek? (Heb 7:3) How is this like Jesus?
7. What are the limitations of the Levitical priesthood? (Heb 7:11) How is Jesus’
priesthood like that of Melchizedek and not like that of Levi? On what basis was
Melchizedek and Jesus made priests? (Heb 7:7-17) What is Jesus identified with
Melchizedek and not with Levi? (Heb 7:18-28; Psalm 110)
Showing posts with label Whatever Happened To..? (Genesis). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Whatever Happened To..? (Genesis). Show all posts
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Genesis 24:1-66
What Ever Happened To Eliezer Of Damascus?
Genesis 24:1-66 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF
Key Verse 24: 12
“Then he prayed, ‘O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.’”
Eliezer of Damascas, was a servant who, with great diligence and faith in God carried out the tasks assigned to him, to carefully and meticulously find a spouse for Abraham’s son. The meaning of his name is, “God is (of) help.” Eliezer was Abram’s chief servant, and "son of his house," that is, one of his large household. Eliezer demonstrated a high priority on the desires of his master and not one iota on his own needs. As servants of our master Jesus Christ, we need to emulate both the selflessness and obedience of Eliezer as well as his deep dependency upon God. We can learn from him what it means to be a servant of God and an ambassador of Jesus. We can learn how to be a most trusted servant of our Lord Jesus in our mission field.
Part l: A Faithful And Trusted Servant (Gen 15:2, 24:1)
Eliezer of Damascus and Abraham go a log way back, at least to the time of Abraham’s original call from God. He was there when Lot left Abraham for good in Genesis 14. You may recall that Lot had abandoned Abraham in order to live in Sodom and Gomorrah. Even when Abraham and his 318 trained men and his allies went in pursuit of Lot and rescued him from Kedorlaomer’s armies and from certain slavery, Lot decided to go back to Sodom to live. It was a hard blow to Abraham. He had hoped that Lot would return and live as the “son he never had.” But he did not. He once again abandoned Abraham for he sake of his worldly desires. Abraham was in deep despair and was searching for someone else he could hope to pass on his inheritance and ultimately the blessings of God. He thought about one of his most faithful and trusted people in his life, Eliezer of Damascus.
Here is an interesting fact. Eliezer’s name, if you translate the name to Hebrew add up the sum of the letters, it comes out to 318. This may reveal that Eliezer fought next to Abraham’s side when they routed Kedorlaomer and his army.
Abraham was convinced that Eliezer would inherit his estate and a great and powerful nation would come from him. And so Abraham cried out to God in Genesis 15:2,3, “But Abram said, ‘O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit [c] my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir." God made it clear in verse 4 that this servant would not be the heir. Rather a son from Abraham’s own body would be an heir. But it does illustrate the close relationship they had. Eliezer was loyal to Abraham. He was there when Abraham was called at 75 years old. He was there at Sarah’s death when she was 137. He was there when Abraham want to get a son for his son, Isaac, who was 40 years old. Abraham had known Eliezer for at least 65 years! Wow! Can you imagine having such a loyal friend in your life for at least 65 years!
It is not easy to make and keep friendships and co-working relationships. We all tend to drift apart. Those who keep their friends over a decade are truly blessed. There could be one person or two. Julie’s mother has a friend that she has kept from kindergarten, almost 6 decades! We may have many companions, but the Bible says that there is one who sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24) A professor/shepherd friend once posted one thing his dad taught him. He said that if he could do it all over again, he would have more friends. One senior told me that when his father died, his father did not have one single friend. We need to have and keep friendships in our lives. To do so requires forgiveness, loyalty, faithfulness and commitment. Then you have a chance to have a co-working/friendship like that of Abraham and Eliezer that spans the decades. I thank God co-working friendships with Shp Teddy and Liz and Triton co-workers that have spanned 20 years now and the co-working friendships that I have had with Msn David and other DuPage UBF members for the last 10 years. May God grant you such co-working friendships in your life and ministry.
Eliezer was Abraham’s most trusted servant. We can get a glimpse in the Bible what it means to be a most trusted servant. Let us think of Joseph. Genesis 39:2-6b reads, “… 2 The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6 So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.” This was Joseph, but it is also anyone who becomes a trusted servant. One who is such a person has some personal stewardship over a household. They have a sense of ownership. Whatever they find to do, they do it with their whole hearts. (Ecc 9:10) In our ministry we pray to raise up such a person. We call such a person, “An Abraham of faith.” It is a person who says, “even if nobody stays, I will stay because this is where God wants me to be and this is the work that he wants me to build up.”
It is not easy to have such an attitude. It is hard to be faithful to even fulfill our own needs. We drift here and there like a ship without an anchor. But we can be like Eliezer when we have experienced Jesus’ faithfulness and commitment to us. Jesus is our good shepherd. He lays down his life for the sheep. (Jn 10:10) He is very faithful and true to his mission to live and die as the Lamb of God. If you think about it, Jesus has been faithfully loving and serving us for decades and he will never stop. When we taste Jesus’ faithful serving and his true friendship, we can become a little more like Eliezer of Damascus ourselves.
Part ll: A Servant Of God On A Mission (24:2-67)
In Chapter 24 we get a glimpse of what kind of servant Eliezer was. He set a perfect example of a person who carries out his mission from God. In 24:2-3, we find 139 year old Abraham wanting to find a wife for his son Isaac. This was a very serious mission. The proper wife would help Isaac live by faith and grow as a man of God who could live by faith his entire life. When Eliezer put his hand under Abraham’s thigh he was committing himself to Abraham’s mission, but also to the mission of God. It really had nothing to do with him and his personal benefit. It was all about Abraham’s mission and God’s will. Do we only do things that give us personal benefit? Or do we ask God in prayer what he wants us to do and do it? Let’s try to be a little more like Eliezer?
Eliezer had faith in God. Look at verse 5. “The servant asked him, "What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?" He foresaw a problem. What if the girl would not come back with him to marry Isaac? Abraham taught him faith. He promised that the angel of the Lord would go on ahead of him. He accepted this word of counsel. We want to go places where the road is clear and well marked. But Jesus calls us to places where there are no charted roads at all. He calls us to embrace tasks that are much greater than ourselves and impossible for us to accomplish on our own. How can we do such things? We can not. We can only do so when we have faith that God is with us and he is going on ahead of us to help us fulfill our mission in the Lord. That is the basis of Jesus’ world mission command. Let’s read it, Matthew 28:18-20, “Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Jesus is with you to obey Jesus’ world mission command. This was Eliezer’s faith.
Eliezer was man who was totally prepared for his mission. Look at verse 10. “Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim [h] and made his way to the town of Nahor.” He prepared ten camels and all the essentials for his journey. He did not just do things off the cuff. He was prepared, not only in prayer, but also in practical matters. Paul urges us to be prepared servants of God in 2 Timothy 2:21, “If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.” We need to be prepared servants of God and then we can be ready when God calls us to a mission. I thank God for Hope. The opportunity came up for her to teach the Bible to one of her friends. She was prepared. She took good notes during group Bible study and kept them in a binder. She was ready to share what she knew from Revelation even though she is eleven years old. We may fly by the seat of our pants on many issues of life, but we can not do it with Jesus and the mission of God. Let’s be prepared servants of God, like Eliezer!
Eliezer was a man of prayer. Look at verse12-14. “ 12 Then he prayed, ‘O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too'-let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.’" He prayed at the beginning. He prayed during. And he prayed at the end of his mission. He depended on God in prayer. He prayed specifically for God to guide him to right woman. He did not jump to conclusions and become presumptuous. He was very careful that God was answering his prayer in detail.
We need to learn pray from Eliezer. We must pray before we do anything for Jesus. The truth is that more things are wrought from our prayers than from our actions. Do you pray before you practice music or have a Bible study? We are so overconfident in ourselves and in our own abilities, which are ineffective compared to God’s abilities. But Eliezer was not proud. He prayed. He depended on God. He knew he was weak and helpless, and that God is almighty. Let’s learn to depend on God in prayer as we serve Jesus’ mission.
Eliezer was also a generous man. When he discovered that God answered his prayer he unloaded treasures on Rebekah and her family. Look at verses 22 and 53, “When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka [i] and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels.” and “Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother.” He gave away bracelets and a nose ring of 4 oz of gold. That is worth $2,000 today. He gave the best things of Canaan to the family. He did not hold back. Some may say, “Well that was not his, it was Abraham’s”. But it still required generosity on his part. He could have kept some for himself and checked a few bars and shopping malls on his way back to the Promised Land. All that we have is given to us by God. God gives us wealth to serve others with. None of it is our own. And yet we become misers and want to hoard our wealth for ourselves. How selfish! Eliezer battled with the same feelings. Yet he never kept things for himself. He overcome and was very generous. Jesus became poor so that we can be made rich spiritually. 2 Corinthians 2:9:11, reads, “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” We need to be generous Christians and dole out the blessings of God, like Eliezer did. Cast your bread upon the waters and it will come back on every wave. (Ecc 11:1)
He was a bold and confident servant of God. Once he knew that his prayers were answered he boldly put a nose ring in a girl’s nose. Can you do that? He also invited himself to her house and he confidently told the facts about how God was leading in this whole situation. He was totally committed to the work of God. He was focused on God’s mission. And God’s spirit was at work in his heart to make him bold. Eliezer’s boldness reminds me of Jesus who boldly called out to Zacchaeus and invited himself and his disciples to Zacchaeus’ house for supper. (Luke 19:5) It is not easy to open our mouths and be bold when it comes to the work of God. We are bold in voicing our opinions, but not in regards to the Gospel. But Paul, in 2 Corinthians 3:12 says, “Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.” Paul also urged young Timothy to be bold. He wrote, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline.” (2 Tim 1:7) It is not easy to be bold when we are surrounded by 95% unbelieving people. But when the hope of God is alive in your heart you can be a bold servant of God like Eliezer.
Eliezer was very earnest and focused in completing his mission. Look at verses 33a and 56. “Then food was set before him, but he said, "I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say…" and “But he said to them, ‘Do not detain me, now that the LORD has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master.’" He could have kicked back and enjoyed the hospitality of Rebekah’s family, and rested for ten days. But he knew he was on a mission and the time for rest would come after his mission was complete. He was like a soldier on a mission. 2 Tim 2:4 reads, “4 No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer.” What would it be like if our soldiers, when they went to Iraq, suddenly decided they wanted to take a short vacation? They need to be true to their mission right to the end. Jesus also said that a person who puts his had to plow and looks back is not fit for service in the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:62) Where would we be if Jesus decided to take a break from being our Savior? Taking a break and a vacation is not bad. But Eliezer knew that when he need to do something for God, he needed do it to completion.
When he had this attitude other people recognized him as a servant of God. Look at verses 34 and 50. “So he said, ‘I am Abraham's servant’” and “Laban and Bethuel answered, ‘This is from the LORD; we can say nothing to you one way or the other.’” Eliezer was very clear about his identity as Abraham’s servant doing a very important mission for God. And he served that mission with his whole heart without any duplicity. He was trustworthy and true. When he had this core quality about him, people saw him as a servant of God. People responded to him. People should not be surprised one day, to hear that we are Christians, “Oh I didn’t know you believed in Jesus.” People around you must know you are a servant of Christ Jesus, like Eliezer was known.
Eliezer had spiritual authority to help other people make decisions of faith. Look at verses 50-51 and 58. “Laban and Bethuel answered, ‘This is from the LORD; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. 51 Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has directed.’" and “So they called Rebekah and asked her, ‘Will you go with this man?’ ‘I will go,’ she said.” He did not procrastinate. He presented the clear facts about what God was doing and he challenged them to make a decision that required a whole lot of faith. As servants of God we can be friends with people. We can encourage them and we need to do these things. But do we have enough spiritual clout and authority to help people decide to do things that don’t come natural to them? How about convincing them to do something that requires faith, like being faithful to Sunday worship service? What about offering? What about actually deciding to teach what they know about Jesus to another person? Eliezer had this kind of authority and we need it too. Where can we get it? It does not come from having a theology degree. Such spiritual authority is found in Jesus alone. Look at the world mission command again in Matthew 28:18-20, ““Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.". “all authority..” Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth and he is willing to give it to us when we decide to strand as servants of God who want to serve Jesus’ mission in this world.
Eliezer shared all good things with his master. Look at verse 66. “Then the servant told Isaac all he had done.” Galatians 6:6 reads, “Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.” This means to share about the great and glorious work of God going on, in and through our lives. How easy it is to become mute and stumble over our words when it comes to telling what the Lord has done in our lives and ministry. It is almost like we don’t know who to talk. In our ministry we are tending to drift away from writing testimonies. But we need to learn how to share what God is doing in our lives with others. Otherwise we don’t have anything to say or share. Testimonies are not just repenting of our sins. It is also telling the world about all God has done. Let’s be like Eliezer who can share the good things of God.
In this passage we see the importance of making and keeping friendships and co-working relationships with other people of faith. We learned what it means to be a most trusted servant who carries out a mission from God. This may not sound so appealing in our freedom obsessed culture, but it is essential for a servant of Christ. We also learned that Eliezer had faith in God. He was man who was totally prepared for his mission. He was a man of prayer and also a generous man. He was a bold and confident and very earnest and focused in completing his mission. When he had this attitude other people recognized him as a servant of God and God gave him spiritual authority to help other people make decisions of faith. May God help you be a faithful and true friend and servant of God. May God raise up a whole new generation of Eliezer’s among us.
Part l: A Faithful And Trusted Servant (Gen 15:2, 24:1)
1. Who was the Abraham’s most trusted servant? What hope did Abraham have in him? (15:2) How many years did he serve in Abraham’s tent village? (Gen 24:1) What does the fact that he put him in charge of all he had mean? Who else was like this? (Gen 29 ;20-23; 41:41) What attitude is necessary in order to be such a servant? (Eph 6:7) Summarize what it means to be a most trusted servant?
Part ll: A Servant Of God On A Mission (24:2-67)
2. What was the mission that Abraham gave his servant? (24:2-4) What shows the
seriousness of this mission? (2b) How important was it? What difficulty did the
servant foresee? (5) How did Abraham plant faith in Eliezer’s heart? (7) Why is
this the faith that God wants his servants to have? (Matt 28:18-20)
3. How did Eliezer prepare for his mission? (10; 2Tim 2:21, 4:12) Where did he start his search for a wife? How did he begin his search? (12) What can we learn from his prayer? (12-14) How was he careful to find out if God answered his prayer? (17,21) What can we learn about prayer from Eliezer?
4. When he was confident that God had answered his prayer, what did he do?
What shows his generosity? (22, 53) What did he do when he discovered God answered his prayer? (26) What identity did he have? (34) On what did he base his decisions? (35-49)What qualities does a servant of God have? (2 Cor 3:12; Luke 19:5; 2 Cor 9:11)
5. What earnestness did the servant have in regards to his mission? (33, 56; 2 Tim 2:4) How did other people see him? (31; 50)
6. How did he help the family to make a decision of faith? (50-51, 58) How can you have enough spiritual authority to help other make decisions that require faith? (Matt 28:18) What did Eliezer do when he brought Rebekah to Issac? What does this mean practically? (Gal 6:6)
Genesis 24:1-66 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF
Key Verse 24: 12
“Then he prayed, ‘O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.’”
Eliezer of Damascas, was a servant who, with great diligence and faith in God carried out the tasks assigned to him, to carefully and meticulously find a spouse for Abraham’s son. The meaning of his name is, “God is (of) help.” Eliezer was Abram’s chief servant, and "son of his house," that is, one of his large household. Eliezer demonstrated a high priority on the desires of his master and not one iota on his own needs. As servants of our master Jesus Christ, we need to emulate both the selflessness and obedience of Eliezer as well as his deep dependency upon God. We can learn from him what it means to be a servant of God and an ambassador of Jesus. We can learn how to be a most trusted servant of our Lord Jesus in our mission field.
Part l: A Faithful And Trusted Servant (Gen 15:2, 24:1)
Eliezer of Damascus and Abraham go a log way back, at least to the time of Abraham’s original call from God. He was there when Lot left Abraham for good in Genesis 14. You may recall that Lot had abandoned Abraham in order to live in Sodom and Gomorrah. Even when Abraham and his 318 trained men and his allies went in pursuit of Lot and rescued him from Kedorlaomer’s armies and from certain slavery, Lot decided to go back to Sodom to live. It was a hard blow to Abraham. He had hoped that Lot would return and live as the “son he never had.” But he did not. He once again abandoned Abraham for he sake of his worldly desires. Abraham was in deep despair and was searching for someone else he could hope to pass on his inheritance and ultimately the blessings of God. He thought about one of his most faithful and trusted people in his life, Eliezer of Damascus.
Here is an interesting fact. Eliezer’s name, if you translate the name to Hebrew add up the sum of the letters, it comes out to 318. This may reveal that Eliezer fought next to Abraham’s side when they routed Kedorlaomer and his army.
Abraham was convinced that Eliezer would inherit his estate and a great and powerful nation would come from him. And so Abraham cried out to God in Genesis 15:2,3, “But Abram said, ‘O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit [c] my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir." God made it clear in verse 4 that this servant would not be the heir. Rather a son from Abraham’s own body would be an heir. But it does illustrate the close relationship they had. Eliezer was loyal to Abraham. He was there when Abraham was called at 75 years old. He was there at Sarah’s death when she was 137. He was there when Abraham want to get a son for his son, Isaac, who was 40 years old. Abraham had known Eliezer for at least 65 years! Wow! Can you imagine having such a loyal friend in your life for at least 65 years!
It is not easy to make and keep friendships and co-working relationships. We all tend to drift apart. Those who keep their friends over a decade are truly blessed. There could be one person or two. Julie’s mother has a friend that she has kept from kindergarten, almost 6 decades! We may have many companions, but the Bible says that there is one who sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24) A professor/shepherd friend once posted one thing his dad taught him. He said that if he could do it all over again, he would have more friends. One senior told me that when his father died, his father did not have one single friend. We need to have and keep friendships in our lives. To do so requires forgiveness, loyalty, faithfulness and commitment. Then you have a chance to have a co-working/friendship like that of Abraham and Eliezer that spans the decades. I thank God co-working friendships with Shp Teddy and Liz and Triton co-workers that have spanned 20 years now and the co-working friendships that I have had with Msn David and other DuPage UBF members for the last 10 years. May God grant you such co-working friendships in your life and ministry.
Eliezer was Abraham’s most trusted servant. We can get a glimpse in the Bible what it means to be a most trusted servant. Let us think of Joseph. Genesis 39:2-6b reads, “… 2 The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6 So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.” This was Joseph, but it is also anyone who becomes a trusted servant. One who is such a person has some personal stewardship over a household. They have a sense of ownership. Whatever they find to do, they do it with their whole hearts. (Ecc 9:10) In our ministry we pray to raise up such a person. We call such a person, “An Abraham of faith.” It is a person who says, “even if nobody stays, I will stay because this is where God wants me to be and this is the work that he wants me to build up.”
It is not easy to have such an attitude. It is hard to be faithful to even fulfill our own needs. We drift here and there like a ship without an anchor. But we can be like Eliezer when we have experienced Jesus’ faithfulness and commitment to us. Jesus is our good shepherd. He lays down his life for the sheep. (Jn 10:10) He is very faithful and true to his mission to live and die as the Lamb of God. If you think about it, Jesus has been faithfully loving and serving us for decades and he will never stop. When we taste Jesus’ faithful serving and his true friendship, we can become a little more like Eliezer of Damascus ourselves.
Part ll: A Servant Of God On A Mission (24:2-67)
In Chapter 24 we get a glimpse of what kind of servant Eliezer was. He set a perfect example of a person who carries out his mission from God. In 24:2-3, we find 139 year old Abraham wanting to find a wife for his son Isaac. This was a very serious mission. The proper wife would help Isaac live by faith and grow as a man of God who could live by faith his entire life. When Eliezer put his hand under Abraham’s thigh he was committing himself to Abraham’s mission, but also to the mission of God. It really had nothing to do with him and his personal benefit. It was all about Abraham’s mission and God’s will. Do we only do things that give us personal benefit? Or do we ask God in prayer what he wants us to do and do it? Let’s try to be a little more like Eliezer?
Eliezer had faith in God. Look at verse 5. “The servant asked him, "What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?" He foresaw a problem. What if the girl would not come back with him to marry Isaac? Abraham taught him faith. He promised that the angel of the Lord would go on ahead of him. He accepted this word of counsel. We want to go places where the road is clear and well marked. But Jesus calls us to places where there are no charted roads at all. He calls us to embrace tasks that are much greater than ourselves and impossible for us to accomplish on our own. How can we do such things? We can not. We can only do so when we have faith that God is with us and he is going on ahead of us to help us fulfill our mission in the Lord. That is the basis of Jesus’ world mission command. Let’s read it, Matthew 28:18-20, “Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Jesus is with you to obey Jesus’ world mission command. This was Eliezer’s faith.
Eliezer was man who was totally prepared for his mission. Look at verse 10. “Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim [h] and made his way to the town of Nahor.” He prepared ten camels and all the essentials for his journey. He did not just do things off the cuff. He was prepared, not only in prayer, but also in practical matters. Paul urges us to be prepared servants of God in 2 Timothy 2:21, “If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.” We need to be prepared servants of God and then we can be ready when God calls us to a mission. I thank God for Hope. The opportunity came up for her to teach the Bible to one of her friends. She was prepared. She took good notes during group Bible study and kept them in a binder. She was ready to share what she knew from Revelation even though she is eleven years old. We may fly by the seat of our pants on many issues of life, but we can not do it with Jesus and the mission of God. Let’s be prepared servants of God, like Eliezer!
Eliezer was a man of prayer. Look at verse12-14. “ 12 Then he prayed, ‘O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too'-let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.’" He prayed at the beginning. He prayed during. And he prayed at the end of his mission. He depended on God in prayer. He prayed specifically for God to guide him to right woman. He did not jump to conclusions and become presumptuous. He was very careful that God was answering his prayer in detail.
We need to learn pray from Eliezer. We must pray before we do anything for Jesus. The truth is that more things are wrought from our prayers than from our actions. Do you pray before you practice music or have a Bible study? We are so overconfident in ourselves and in our own abilities, which are ineffective compared to God’s abilities. But Eliezer was not proud. He prayed. He depended on God. He knew he was weak and helpless, and that God is almighty. Let’s learn to depend on God in prayer as we serve Jesus’ mission.
Eliezer was also a generous man. When he discovered that God answered his prayer he unloaded treasures on Rebekah and her family. Look at verses 22 and 53, “When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka [i] and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels.” and “Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother.” He gave away bracelets and a nose ring of 4 oz of gold. That is worth $2,000 today. He gave the best things of Canaan to the family. He did not hold back. Some may say, “Well that was not his, it was Abraham’s”. But it still required generosity on his part. He could have kept some for himself and checked a few bars and shopping malls on his way back to the Promised Land. All that we have is given to us by God. God gives us wealth to serve others with. None of it is our own. And yet we become misers and want to hoard our wealth for ourselves. How selfish! Eliezer battled with the same feelings. Yet he never kept things for himself. He overcome and was very generous. Jesus became poor so that we can be made rich spiritually. 2 Corinthians 2:9:11, reads, “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” We need to be generous Christians and dole out the blessings of God, like Eliezer did. Cast your bread upon the waters and it will come back on every wave. (Ecc 11:1)
He was a bold and confident servant of God. Once he knew that his prayers were answered he boldly put a nose ring in a girl’s nose. Can you do that? He also invited himself to her house and he confidently told the facts about how God was leading in this whole situation. He was totally committed to the work of God. He was focused on God’s mission. And God’s spirit was at work in his heart to make him bold. Eliezer’s boldness reminds me of Jesus who boldly called out to Zacchaeus and invited himself and his disciples to Zacchaeus’ house for supper. (Luke 19:5) It is not easy to open our mouths and be bold when it comes to the work of God. We are bold in voicing our opinions, but not in regards to the Gospel. But Paul, in 2 Corinthians 3:12 says, “Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.” Paul also urged young Timothy to be bold. He wrote, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline.” (2 Tim 1:7) It is not easy to be bold when we are surrounded by 95% unbelieving people. But when the hope of God is alive in your heart you can be a bold servant of God like Eliezer.
Eliezer was very earnest and focused in completing his mission. Look at verses 33a and 56. “Then food was set before him, but he said, "I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say…" and “But he said to them, ‘Do not detain me, now that the LORD has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master.’" He could have kicked back and enjoyed the hospitality of Rebekah’s family, and rested for ten days. But he knew he was on a mission and the time for rest would come after his mission was complete. He was like a soldier on a mission. 2 Tim 2:4 reads, “4 No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer.” What would it be like if our soldiers, when they went to Iraq, suddenly decided they wanted to take a short vacation? They need to be true to their mission right to the end. Jesus also said that a person who puts his had to plow and looks back is not fit for service in the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:62) Where would we be if Jesus decided to take a break from being our Savior? Taking a break and a vacation is not bad. But Eliezer knew that when he need to do something for God, he needed do it to completion.
When he had this attitude other people recognized him as a servant of God. Look at verses 34 and 50. “So he said, ‘I am Abraham's servant’” and “Laban and Bethuel answered, ‘This is from the LORD; we can say nothing to you one way or the other.’” Eliezer was very clear about his identity as Abraham’s servant doing a very important mission for God. And he served that mission with his whole heart without any duplicity. He was trustworthy and true. When he had this core quality about him, people saw him as a servant of God. People responded to him. People should not be surprised one day, to hear that we are Christians, “Oh I didn’t know you believed in Jesus.” People around you must know you are a servant of Christ Jesus, like Eliezer was known.
Eliezer had spiritual authority to help other people make decisions of faith. Look at verses 50-51 and 58. “Laban and Bethuel answered, ‘This is from the LORD; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. 51 Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has directed.’" and “So they called Rebekah and asked her, ‘Will you go with this man?’ ‘I will go,’ she said.” He did not procrastinate. He presented the clear facts about what God was doing and he challenged them to make a decision that required a whole lot of faith. As servants of God we can be friends with people. We can encourage them and we need to do these things. But do we have enough spiritual clout and authority to help people decide to do things that don’t come natural to them? How about convincing them to do something that requires faith, like being faithful to Sunday worship service? What about offering? What about actually deciding to teach what they know about Jesus to another person? Eliezer had this kind of authority and we need it too. Where can we get it? It does not come from having a theology degree. Such spiritual authority is found in Jesus alone. Look at the world mission command again in Matthew 28:18-20, ““Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.". “all authority..” Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth and he is willing to give it to us when we decide to strand as servants of God who want to serve Jesus’ mission in this world.
Eliezer shared all good things with his master. Look at verse 66. “Then the servant told Isaac all he had done.” Galatians 6:6 reads, “Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.” This means to share about the great and glorious work of God going on, in and through our lives. How easy it is to become mute and stumble over our words when it comes to telling what the Lord has done in our lives and ministry. It is almost like we don’t know who to talk. In our ministry we are tending to drift away from writing testimonies. But we need to learn how to share what God is doing in our lives with others. Otherwise we don’t have anything to say or share. Testimonies are not just repenting of our sins. It is also telling the world about all God has done. Let’s be like Eliezer who can share the good things of God.
In this passage we see the importance of making and keeping friendships and co-working relationships with other people of faith. We learned what it means to be a most trusted servant who carries out a mission from God. This may not sound so appealing in our freedom obsessed culture, but it is essential for a servant of Christ. We also learned that Eliezer had faith in God. He was man who was totally prepared for his mission. He was a man of prayer and also a generous man. He was a bold and confident and very earnest and focused in completing his mission. When he had this attitude other people recognized him as a servant of God and God gave him spiritual authority to help other people make decisions of faith. May God help you be a faithful and true friend and servant of God. May God raise up a whole new generation of Eliezer’s among us.
Part l: A Faithful And Trusted Servant (Gen 15:2, 24:1)
1. Who was the Abraham’s most trusted servant? What hope did Abraham have in him? (15:2) How many years did he serve in Abraham’s tent village? (Gen 24:1) What does the fact that he put him in charge of all he had mean? Who else was like this? (Gen 29 ;20-23; 41:41) What attitude is necessary in order to be such a servant? (Eph 6:7) Summarize what it means to be a most trusted servant?
Part ll: A Servant Of God On A Mission (24:2-67)
2. What was the mission that Abraham gave his servant? (24:2-4) What shows the
seriousness of this mission? (2b) How important was it? What difficulty did the
servant foresee? (5) How did Abraham plant faith in Eliezer’s heart? (7) Why is
this the faith that God wants his servants to have? (Matt 28:18-20)
3. How did Eliezer prepare for his mission? (10; 2Tim 2:21, 4:12) Where did he start his search for a wife? How did he begin his search? (12) What can we learn from his prayer? (12-14) How was he careful to find out if God answered his prayer? (17,21) What can we learn about prayer from Eliezer?
4. When he was confident that God had answered his prayer, what did he do?
What shows his generosity? (22, 53) What did he do when he discovered God answered his prayer? (26) What identity did he have? (34) On what did he base his decisions? (35-49)What qualities does a servant of God have? (2 Cor 3:12; Luke 19:5; 2 Cor 9:11)
5. What earnestness did the servant have in regards to his mission? (33, 56; 2 Tim 2:4) How did other people see him? (31; 50)
6. How did he help the family to make a decision of faith? (50-51, 58) How can you have enough spiritual authority to help other make decisions that require faith? (Matt 28:18) What did Eliezer do when he brought Rebekah to Issac? What does this mean practically? (Gal 6:6)
Genesis 16:1-16; 17:19-27; 21:8-20; 25:6-18; 37:25-27;
What Ever Happened To Ishmael?
(The Biblical Ishmael: A Successful, Worldly Man Short On Decisions Of Faith)
Genesis 16:1-16; Gen 17:19-27; Gen 21:8-20; Gen 25:6-18; Gen 37:25-27;
Key verse: Genesis 17:20-21 Shpd Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 4-3-11
“And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.”
Have you every felt that God put you into the wrong family? This question must have cropped up in his mind. From the beginning, Ishmael felt like an outsider. His mother’s name meant, “Stranger” and he felt like a stranger too, the son of a stranger. His whole life and his position in society were not in his hands. It was bound up in a conflict between his mother and the matron of the clan, Sarah (Sarai). Into this tense home atmosphere, Ishmael was born. As a teenager, he grew outside of the Abraham’s tent village, away from all the friends and family he had ever known. He and his mother etched out a life for themselves in the harsh desert. Despite of the hardships he grew up as a successful man, overcoming a lot, religious, but disrespectful at times and making no decisions of faith. Later in life he was blessed with 12 sons, who became 12 Arab tribes. His descendants became enemies of ancient Israel. Today Ishmael is honored by over a billion Muslims as a spiritual forefather of their faith. We will learn today how to grow up in circumstances that are very trying, but beyond our control. We can learn the importance of how to overcome bitterness and live in God’s unfolding stream of history. We will also learn about God who blesses and who takes the mistakes of others and incorporates them into his plan. Let’s see what all this means.
Part l: Ishmael’s Early Years (Gen 16:16; 17:19-27)
Prior to his birth, there was a conflict between two women, Sarai and his mother Hagar. Sarai, impatient with God’s timetable, had taken matters into her own hands, deciding to have a child through a surrogate, her servant girl named Hagar. Hagar, because she was a servant, submitted to being used this way. She had no choice. Her pregnancy stirred strong feelings of superiority towards Sarah in her heart. She despised here mistress. Sarah sensed this and mistreated Hagar and young, pregnant and single Hagar fled finding herself all alone into the desert.
An angel of the Lord met her personally in the midst of her suffering and comforted her with words that were from God. Look at 16:7-10, “The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, ‘Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?’ ‘I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,’ she answered. 9 Then the angel of the LORD told her, ‘Go back to your mistress and submit to her.’ 10 The angel added, ‘I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count.’” God was so gracious to the expectant single mother. He was like a true husband to her.
In this encounter, God revealed a prophecy concerning her unborn child. Genesis 16:11-12 reads, “The angel of the LORD also said to her: ‘You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery. 12 He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.’” (We will discuss this prophecy later in the message.) Though it was not a humanly glorious prophecy concerning her son, she accepted it. Hagar’s heart was touched. She met God personally. Look at Genesis 16:13, “She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’” She did not know the name of God but she was awestruck that the Lord saw her and her misery. She commemorated the well, where she was at, calling it Beer Lahai Roi, in honor of the God who sees her. Later on, whenever Hagar and Ishmael came near this well, Hagar would share her personal faith and encounter with the Lord that occurred there.
The Lord told Hagar to go back and submit to her mistress Sarai. God had a plan to bless her and the child. She followed God’s direction. No doubt there were tense feelings between Hagar and Sarah, but they learned to live through them and co-existed. There will be times in life where we must endure “tough” feelings towards others around us as we live out the will of God. But we must not run from these difficult moments, rather overcome by practicing forgiveness and grace.
After a few months, Ishmael was born. Hagar told Abraham what the Lord said to name the child and Abraham obeyed God’s direction and gave him the name Ishmael. (16:15) which means, “God hears” in Hebrew. He would forever be reminded of the God who heard his pregnant mother’s cries in that dangerous and lonely desert. It must have been hard for Ishmael to grow up in the tense atmosphere, knowing that his mother was not a fully accepted person in the tribe.
Part ll: The Teenage Ishmael (Gen 16:15-17:27)
Ishmael grew up with a huge generation gap between him and his dad. Most of our fathers are 25 to 35 years older than us. I was 30 when Jennifer was born. But Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael. That is almost a three generation difference! It was not easy for Abraham to keep up with young Ishmael. Not only that, but Abraham was busy taking care of his tent village of nearly 1,000 people. It must have been hard for Abraham to make time for his son. And so Ishmael grew emotionally closer to his mother, who was probably 18 or so, years older than him.
Ishmael was religious but not spiritual. Once, God told Abraham to renew his covenant with him. Part of the renewal meant that he and all the males in his household needed to be circumcised. There must have been 500 men in the little village of his. But they were all convinced to undergo that painful procedure…even Ishmael. Genesis 17:26, “Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that same day.” Ishmael was a teenager, in his mid teens. It is not easy to get a 15 year old boy to do certain things especially to be circumcised. Ishmael must have submitted to the religious life of those who worshipped the God of Abraham. But there is no indication that he had faith in God. Just submitting to a painful and humiliating religious ritual does not mean that a person has faith. Some adherents to a certain religion whip their backs and cut their brows until they draw blood. They do it as an act of group mourning. It does not mean that they have faith in the Creator God. Ishmael was religious but not spiritual as we shall see in the some of the decisions he made later in life.
Part ll: Ishmael And His Mom…A Hard New Life Together (Gen 21:8-21)
Ishmael’s spiritual blindness was eventually revealed after 15 years. Disrespect towards what God was doing through Isaac was shown. Look at Genesis 21:8-9, “The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. 9 But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking,” Mocking in this passage is a little more serious than just poking fun at someone. The definition of mocking is “to attack or treat with ridicule, contempt, or derision.” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mocking) Galatians 4:29 reveals that Ishmael’s mocking was something a little more serious. It reads, “At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit.” Ishmael persecuted Isaac. Why? He was bitter at the birth of Isaac. He might have been bitter about how his mother was treated and about his family’s life’s circumstances. Isaac was weaned at the age of two or three. Ishmael was fifteen. But his behavior at the weaning ceremony revealed that Ishmael was not supportive of what God was doing nor was he repentant of his bitter feelings. His spiritual eyes were not opened. He could not control his hatred nor his jealousy. He managed to hold it all in, quietly, for 15 years, but now it was coming out and he was pouring out his aggression on a little child. What did this baby ever do to him? Have you ever seen an adult give a child a hard time because of unrepentant issues in their own hearts? It is not pretty. In doing so he was creating a bad atmosphere for little Isaac to grow and to prosper as a man of faith. But Ishmael did not care about his spiritual influence. Maybe he had adopted his mother’s own personal sentiments and was playing them out. And why didn’t Hagar try to stop him?
Sarah saw a problem and wanted it solved. Look at Genesis 21: 8-10, “The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. 9 But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, 10 and she said to Abraham, ‘Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.’” Sarah knew that there would be a problem having Ishmael around Isaac. As Isaac grew his older brother could have verbally abused him, year after year, saying, “You’re not the blessed one. You never were and you never will…looser!” Ishmael’s persecution could have continued on forever. Some kids develop ticks, like blinking constantly or grimacing in order to overcome. If there is bitterness in our hearts and we don’t repent of it, then these feelings can last, ten, twenty or thirty years, yes…even a lifetime. We can even pass down our bitter feuds to the next generation or more. Think about the Hatfields and the McCoys. It has happened in our family. Sarah knew this and knew that Ishmael needed to be sent off to make a life for himself elsewhere so Isaac could grow unhindered.
Abraham did not want to send his son away. After all it was his son. He loved him. He watched him grow for 15 years. The sight of his boy growing up infused new life into his weary bones. But God was behind this plan. What God was asking Abraham to do was not without a word of promise. Look at Genesis 21:12-13, “But God said to him, ‘Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. 13 I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring.’” Abraham accepted this as God’s will. He knew that he needed to create and maintain the best spiritual environment for the child of the promise to grow. He knew the Ishmael was not going to stop and Hagar was not stopping him either. And so he made the difficult decision. Look at Genesis 21:14, “Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba.” He provided of their physical needs and sent them off. He must have been crying as he saw them walking off over the horizon. There are times when we need to make the tough decision to send things away in our hearts, sometimes, seemingly innocent things, that are hindering the growth of the seed of faith that God is trying to blossom in your life.
We are tempted to blame Abraham and Sarah. But remember it was God who told Abram to send him away. Abraham still concerned about their welfare when he gave them food and a skin of water. The Bible says that he even gave gifts to the children of his concubines.
Hagar and Ishmael suffered a lot initially. More than we can imagine. We can see their suffering in 21:14b-17a, “…He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba. 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she thought, ‘I cannot watch the boy die.’ And as she sat there nearby, she began to sob. 17 God heard the boy crying …” They were wandering in then parched desert. They were thirsty. Their water was gone. The teenage boy was so weak that his own mother had to help him keep walking. They had lost all hope and felt like they were going to die. All they could do is cry. There are times in our lives when we feel that we are at the end of our ropes and there is no more hope to carry on. We are just waiting to die. But God had a plan to reveal himself in a very personal way to Hagar and Ishmael. He was going to reveal himself to Hagar once again. Indeed, it is more likely that we will meet Jesus personally in our times of extreme suffering, rather than our times of prosperity. (Psalm 78a) Is there a time in your life now that God is leading you to himself? I will wager that it is through a time of adversity.
God indeed revealed himself to them. Look at Genesis 17-18, “God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, ‘What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.’” God would bless Ishmael on account of Abraham. He would become a very prosperous person, with many sons and at least one daughter and his descendants would form twelve tribes. His name would be perpetuated throughout history.
Not only that, God took care of their immediate needs. Look at verse 19, “Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.” Our God is a merciful God who takes care of our needs. Our greatest needs are spiritual needs for eternal life and salvation, but he also cares about our physical needs. Matthew 6:33 reads, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all of these things will be given to you as well.” I don’t think that they were seeking God and his kingdom, but God still took care of them.
Ishmael never went back to live with his dad in the Promised Land. He remained in the desert with his mom. Look at verse 20, “God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While living in the desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.” He found his career path. He would be an archer. Archers are used in battle and to hunt game. He found his profession. This would make any parent happy when their child finds out their career path and has success in it.
I am inspired that Hagar cared about her son’s marriage. She saw her son’s need to marry. To marry someone is good. Proverbs 18:22 reads, “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.” The fruitfulness of your life is influenced by who you marry. His wife may not have been a spiritual woman, but she was fruitful. They had at least 13 kids. Julie and I need to concern over our kids future marriage. Not that we are going to tell them who to marry, but we need to pray for them and counsel them about the Biblical standards of marriage. May God raise up parents who really care about their kids marriages and dedicate themselves to pray for them.
Ishmael had enough faith to marry. That is important. He also had enough faith to have kids. His wife bore him 12 sons and at least one daughter. Our young people today need enough faith to marry and our married couples should not be afraid to have kids. I thank God for Jesus who helped me and Julie to marry in our 20’s and plant enough faith in our hearts to begin building our family. We were dirt poor and I was in nursing school. People told me marry after nursing school and not have five kids. They were planting fear in my heart. We are living on the edge financially. But God blessed our marriage and our kids. It was all through faith in God.
Part lll: Ishmael’s Later Life (Gen 25:6,9… Gen 28:9)
There were no signs of bitterness between Isaac and Ishmael and Abraham later in life. Genesis 25:6 and 9 read; “But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east. ….. 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite,”. Abraham sent gifts to Hagar and Ishmael. He still provided child support. Ishmael is seen going to his fathers’ funeral along with his half brother, Isaac. If he was bitter he would have boycotted the funeral. Ishmael also provided a wife for his nephew, Esau. We read in Genesis 28:9, “so he(Esau) went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.” I wonder what kind of person Ishmael was in order to give his own daughter in marriage to an ungodly person like Esau. I would never agree to that. It shows you once again that Ishmael lacked some spiritual sense.
Part lV: Ishmael’s Legacy (Gen 25:12-18; Gen 37:25-27)
Ishmael died at the age of 137. (25:17) He lived his life outside the Promised Land. The Bible gives an account of his descendants. Genesis 25:12-18 reads, “This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Sarah’s maidservant, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraham. 13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. 16 These were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers according to their settlements and camps. 17 Altogether, Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people. 18 His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the border of Egypt, as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward[a] all their brothers.” Ishmael had twelve sons who became twelve tribal chiefs throughout the regions from Havilah to Shur (from Assyria to the border of Egypt). His children are listed as follows: Nebaioth , Kedar, father of the Qedarites (A northern Arab tribe that controlled the region between the Persian Gulf and the Sinai Peninsula) Adbeel, (whose people established a tribe in northwest) Arabia, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, associated with Adummatu (a tribe that is described as "a fortress of Arabia" in Saudi Arabia) Massa, (father of a nomadic tribe that inhabited the Arabian desert toward Babylonia or modern Iraq), Hadad, , Tema Jetur, Naphish, Kedemah, Mahalath or Bashemath, a daughter who married Esau. (Wikipedia) In the time of Joseph they traded using camel caravans and bought and sold slaves.
His descendents were fighting continuously against Israel. Gideon fought a battle against them. Judges 8:23-24 reads, “But Gideon told them, ‘I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The LORD will rule over you.’ 24 And he said, ‘I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder.’ (It was the custom of the Ishmaelites to wear gold earrings.)” Apparently they wore gold earrings. And the dead Ishmaelite soldiers’ earrings generated a significant plunder.
The were allies with other enemies of God’s people. Psalm 83:5-8, “5 With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you— 6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites, 7 Gebal,[a] Ammon and Amalek, Philistia, with the people of Tyre. 8 Even Assyria has joined them to lend strength to the descendants of Lot.” The prophecy, “He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” (16:12) came true throughout the centuries. God blessed Ishmael on account of Abraham. And he used Ishmael’s descendants in order to train ancient Israel to grow strong as a nation, through their continuous harassment.
What about Ishmael today? Today Judaism has generally viewed Ishmael as wicked though repentant. Ishmael is recognized by Muslims as the ancestor of several prominent Arab tribes and the forefather of Muhammad. Muslim scholars state that it was Ishmael, and not Isaac, who was the son that Abraham almost sacrificed. Islamic traditions hold that the Kaaba, in Mecca was first built by Adam and that Abraham and Ishmael rebuilt the Kaaba on the old foundations. The Qur'an states that Abraham dreamed he was to sacrifice his son. The son is not named in the Qur'an (Qur'an 37:99–113) and, in early Islam, there was a controversy over the son's identity. However the belief that the son was Ishmael prevailed. In some Christian biblical interpretations, Ishmael is used to symbolize the older—now rejected—Judaic tradition. Isaac symbolizes the new tradition of Christianity with its faith in Jesus Christ and his perfect sacrifice.
In conclusion we found the Biblical Ishmael as a quiet, but bitter teenager, estranged from his father and close to his mother. He grew to be a hard working and successful man who was supported and encouraged by his mom. He was very fruitful humanly, etching out a life for himself in the desert. But there are no signs of faith in Ishmael. He made decisions to work hard and succeed but no decisions to support what God was doing right before his very eyes. We can learn from him to work hard and find a good wife and a career, and you can succeed even in a harsh environment. This is good advice in a worldly sense. But we can also learn from what he failed to do. We learn to not hold bitterness in our hearts. We learn to not mock the work of God, but to recognize it and support it. We also learn to think about whom you are marrying and your influence on your own future generations. May it be an influence that pleases God and perpetuates his work.
Part l: Ishmael’s Early Years (Gen 16:16; 17:19-27)
1. What was the circumstances of Ishmael’s birth? Who was his mother and what was her social situation? What was the prophesy concerning Ishmael? (16:11-12) What was the faith of his mother? (16:13) What does Ishmael mean? Why did she give that name to her son? (16:15)
2. How old was his father, Abram? (16:16) What was it like for a young boy to grow
up with such an old father? What struggle would he have to go through? What
shows that Ishmael shared in the faith of his father? (17:26) How do you think
Ishmael felt about his place in the family for the first 13 year of his life?
Part ll: Ishmael And His Mom…A Hard New Life Together (Gen 21:8-21)
3. What happened when Isaac was weaned? How did Ishmael feel about the birth of his new brother? (21:8-9; Gal 4:29) What did Ishmael fail to recognize? (Romans 9:7-9)
4. How did Abraham and Sarah react? (21:10-11) What was God’s direction and promise towards Ishmael? (21:12-13) How did Abraham provide for Ishmael and his mother, Hagar? (Gen 21:14) How old was Ishmael? How do you think he felt?
5. Describe the suffering that they endured? (21:14b-17a) How did God reveal
himself to them at this time? What was God’s promise? (21:18) What shows his
mothers’ dedication? (21:16, 19, 21) What career path did Ishmael take?
(21:20a)
Part lll: Ishmael’s Later Life (Gen 25:6,9… Gen 28:9)
6. What shows that their was a good relationship between Ishmael and Isaac
and even his nephew, Esau, later in life? (Gen 25:6, 9; 28:9) What does the fact that he gave his daughters in marriage to Esau reveal about him? (28:9; 36:3)
Part lV: Ishmael’s Legacy (Gen 25:12-18; Gen 37:25-27)
7. When did Ishmael die? (Gen 25:17) What was his eternal destination? What is said about the descendants of Ishmael? (25:12-18) How was the prophecy given to him, just before his birth fulfilled? (25:18) What were his descendants like? (Gen 37:25-27; Judges 8:23-24; Psalm 83:5-8)
8. How is Ishmael viewed today? Think about the various viewpoints of world
religions?
(The Biblical Ishmael: A Successful, Worldly Man Short On Decisions Of Faith)
Genesis 16:1-16; Gen 17:19-27; Gen 21:8-20; Gen 25:6-18; Gen 37:25-27;
Key verse: Genesis 17:20-21 Shpd Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 4-3-11
“And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.”
Have you every felt that God put you into the wrong family? This question must have cropped up in his mind. From the beginning, Ishmael felt like an outsider. His mother’s name meant, “Stranger” and he felt like a stranger too, the son of a stranger. His whole life and his position in society were not in his hands. It was bound up in a conflict between his mother and the matron of the clan, Sarah (Sarai). Into this tense home atmosphere, Ishmael was born. As a teenager, he grew outside of the Abraham’s tent village, away from all the friends and family he had ever known. He and his mother etched out a life for themselves in the harsh desert. Despite of the hardships he grew up as a successful man, overcoming a lot, religious, but disrespectful at times and making no decisions of faith. Later in life he was blessed with 12 sons, who became 12 Arab tribes. His descendants became enemies of ancient Israel. Today Ishmael is honored by over a billion Muslims as a spiritual forefather of their faith. We will learn today how to grow up in circumstances that are very trying, but beyond our control. We can learn the importance of how to overcome bitterness and live in God’s unfolding stream of history. We will also learn about God who blesses and who takes the mistakes of others and incorporates them into his plan. Let’s see what all this means.
Part l: Ishmael’s Early Years (Gen 16:16; 17:19-27)
Prior to his birth, there was a conflict between two women, Sarai and his mother Hagar. Sarai, impatient with God’s timetable, had taken matters into her own hands, deciding to have a child through a surrogate, her servant girl named Hagar. Hagar, because she was a servant, submitted to being used this way. She had no choice. Her pregnancy stirred strong feelings of superiority towards Sarah in her heart. She despised here mistress. Sarah sensed this and mistreated Hagar and young, pregnant and single Hagar fled finding herself all alone into the desert.
An angel of the Lord met her personally in the midst of her suffering and comforted her with words that were from God. Look at 16:7-10, “The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, ‘Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?’ ‘I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,’ she answered. 9 Then the angel of the LORD told her, ‘Go back to your mistress and submit to her.’ 10 The angel added, ‘I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count.’” God was so gracious to the expectant single mother. He was like a true husband to her.
In this encounter, God revealed a prophecy concerning her unborn child. Genesis 16:11-12 reads, “The angel of the LORD also said to her: ‘You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery. 12 He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.’” (We will discuss this prophecy later in the message.) Though it was not a humanly glorious prophecy concerning her son, she accepted it. Hagar’s heart was touched. She met God personally. Look at Genesis 16:13, “She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’” She did not know the name of God but she was awestruck that the Lord saw her and her misery. She commemorated the well, where she was at, calling it Beer Lahai Roi, in honor of the God who sees her. Later on, whenever Hagar and Ishmael came near this well, Hagar would share her personal faith and encounter with the Lord that occurred there.
The Lord told Hagar to go back and submit to her mistress Sarai. God had a plan to bless her and the child. She followed God’s direction. No doubt there were tense feelings between Hagar and Sarah, but they learned to live through them and co-existed. There will be times in life where we must endure “tough” feelings towards others around us as we live out the will of God. But we must not run from these difficult moments, rather overcome by practicing forgiveness and grace.
After a few months, Ishmael was born. Hagar told Abraham what the Lord said to name the child and Abraham obeyed God’s direction and gave him the name Ishmael. (16:15) which means, “God hears” in Hebrew. He would forever be reminded of the God who heard his pregnant mother’s cries in that dangerous and lonely desert. It must have been hard for Ishmael to grow up in the tense atmosphere, knowing that his mother was not a fully accepted person in the tribe.
Part ll: The Teenage Ishmael (Gen 16:15-17:27)
Ishmael grew up with a huge generation gap between him and his dad. Most of our fathers are 25 to 35 years older than us. I was 30 when Jennifer was born. But Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael. That is almost a three generation difference! It was not easy for Abraham to keep up with young Ishmael. Not only that, but Abraham was busy taking care of his tent village of nearly 1,000 people. It must have been hard for Abraham to make time for his son. And so Ishmael grew emotionally closer to his mother, who was probably 18 or so, years older than him.
Ishmael was religious but not spiritual. Once, God told Abraham to renew his covenant with him. Part of the renewal meant that he and all the males in his household needed to be circumcised. There must have been 500 men in the little village of his. But they were all convinced to undergo that painful procedure…even Ishmael. Genesis 17:26, “Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that same day.” Ishmael was a teenager, in his mid teens. It is not easy to get a 15 year old boy to do certain things especially to be circumcised. Ishmael must have submitted to the religious life of those who worshipped the God of Abraham. But there is no indication that he had faith in God. Just submitting to a painful and humiliating religious ritual does not mean that a person has faith. Some adherents to a certain religion whip their backs and cut their brows until they draw blood. They do it as an act of group mourning. It does not mean that they have faith in the Creator God. Ishmael was religious but not spiritual as we shall see in the some of the decisions he made later in life.
Part ll: Ishmael And His Mom…A Hard New Life Together (Gen 21:8-21)
Ishmael’s spiritual blindness was eventually revealed after 15 years. Disrespect towards what God was doing through Isaac was shown. Look at Genesis 21:8-9, “The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. 9 But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking,” Mocking in this passage is a little more serious than just poking fun at someone. The definition of mocking is “to attack or treat with ridicule, contempt, or derision.” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mocking) Galatians 4:29 reveals that Ishmael’s mocking was something a little more serious. It reads, “At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit.” Ishmael persecuted Isaac. Why? He was bitter at the birth of Isaac. He might have been bitter about how his mother was treated and about his family’s life’s circumstances. Isaac was weaned at the age of two or three. Ishmael was fifteen. But his behavior at the weaning ceremony revealed that Ishmael was not supportive of what God was doing nor was he repentant of his bitter feelings. His spiritual eyes were not opened. He could not control his hatred nor his jealousy. He managed to hold it all in, quietly, for 15 years, but now it was coming out and he was pouring out his aggression on a little child. What did this baby ever do to him? Have you ever seen an adult give a child a hard time because of unrepentant issues in their own hearts? It is not pretty. In doing so he was creating a bad atmosphere for little Isaac to grow and to prosper as a man of faith. But Ishmael did not care about his spiritual influence. Maybe he had adopted his mother’s own personal sentiments and was playing them out. And why didn’t Hagar try to stop him?
Sarah saw a problem and wanted it solved. Look at Genesis 21: 8-10, “The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. 9 But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, 10 and she said to Abraham, ‘Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.’” Sarah knew that there would be a problem having Ishmael around Isaac. As Isaac grew his older brother could have verbally abused him, year after year, saying, “You’re not the blessed one. You never were and you never will…looser!” Ishmael’s persecution could have continued on forever. Some kids develop ticks, like blinking constantly or grimacing in order to overcome. If there is bitterness in our hearts and we don’t repent of it, then these feelings can last, ten, twenty or thirty years, yes…even a lifetime. We can even pass down our bitter feuds to the next generation or more. Think about the Hatfields and the McCoys. It has happened in our family. Sarah knew this and knew that Ishmael needed to be sent off to make a life for himself elsewhere so Isaac could grow unhindered.
Abraham did not want to send his son away. After all it was his son. He loved him. He watched him grow for 15 years. The sight of his boy growing up infused new life into his weary bones. But God was behind this plan. What God was asking Abraham to do was not without a word of promise. Look at Genesis 21:12-13, “But God said to him, ‘Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. 13 I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring.’” Abraham accepted this as God’s will. He knew that he needed to create and maintain the best spiritual environment for the child of the promise to grow. He knew the Ishmael was not going to stop and Hagar was not stopping him either. And so he made the difficult decision. Look at Genesis 21:14, “Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba.” He provided of their physical needs and sent them off. He must have been crying as he saw them walking off over the horizon. There are times when we need to make the tough decision to send things away in our hearts, sometimes, seemingly innocent things, that are hindering the growth of the seed of faith that God is trying to blossom in your life.
We are tempted to blame Abraham and Sarah. But remember it was God who told Abram to send him away. Abraham still concerned about their welfare when he gave them food and a skin of water. The Bible says that he even gave gifts to the children of his concubines.
Hagar and Ishmael suffered a lot initially. More than we can imagine. We can see their suffering in 21:14b-17a, “…He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba. 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she thought, ‘I cannot watch the boy die.’ And as she sat there nearby, she began to sob. 17 God heard the boy crying …” They were wandering in then parched desert. They were thirsty. Their water was gone. The teenage boy was so weak that his own mother had to help him keep walking. They had lost all hope and felt like they were going to die. All they could do is cry. There are times in our lives when we feel that we are at the end of our ropes and there is no more hope to carry on. We are just waiting to die. But God had a plan to reveal himself in a very personal way to Hagar and Ishmael. He was going to reveal himself to Hagar once again. Indeed, it is more likely that we will meet Jesus personally in our times of extreme suffering, rather than our times of prosperity. (Psalm 78a) Is there a time in your life now that God is leading you to himself? I will wager that it is through a time of adversity.
God indeed revealed himself to them. Look at Genesis 17-18, “God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, ‘What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.’” God would bless Ishmael on account of Abraham. He would become a very prosperous person, with many sons and at least one daughter and his descendants would form twelve tribes. His name would be perpetuated throughout history.
Not only that, God took care of their immediate needs. Look at verse 19, “Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.” Our God is a merciful God who takes care of our needs. Our greatest needs are spiritual needs for eternal life and salvation, but he also cares about our physical needs. Matthew 6:33 reads, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all of these things will be given to you as well.” I don’t think that they were seeking God and his kingdom, but God still took care of them.
Ishmael never went back to live with his dad in the Promised Land. He remained in the desert with his mom. Look at verse 20, “God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While living in the desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.” He found his career path. He would be an archer. Archers are used in battle and to hunt game. He found his profession. This would make any parent happy when their child finds out their career path and has success in it.
I am inspired that Hagar cared about her son’s marriage. She saw her son’s need to marry. To marry someone is good. Proverbs 18:22 reads, “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.” The fruitfulness of your life is influenced by who you marry. His wife may not have been a spiritual woman, but she was fruitful. They had at least 13 kids. Julie and I need to concern over our kids future marriage. Not that we are going to tell them who to marry, but we need to pray for them and counsel them about the Biblical standards of marriage. May God raise up parents who really care about their kids marriages and dedicate themselves to pray for them.
Ishmael had enough faith to marry. That is important. He also had enough faith to have kids. His wife bore him 12 sons and at least one daughter. Our young people today need enough faith to marry and our married couples should not be afraid to have kids. I thank God for Jesus who helped me and Julie to marry in our 20’s and plant enough faith in our hearts to begin building our family. We were dirt poor and I was in nursing school. People told me marry after nursing school and not have five kids. They were planting fear in my heart. We are living on the edge financially. But God blessed our marriage and our kids. It was all through faith in God.
Part lll: Ishmael’s Later Life (Gen 25:6,9… Gen 28:9)
There were no signs of bitterness between Isaac and Ishmael and Abraham later in life. Genesis 25:6 and 9 read; “But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east. ….. 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite,”. Abraham sent gifts to Hagar and Ishmael. He still provided child support. Ishmael is seen going to his fathers’ funeral along with his half brother, Isaac. If he was bitter he would have boycotted the funeral. Ishmael also provided a wife for his nephew, Esau. We read in Genesis 28:9, “so he(Esau) went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.” I wonder what kind of person Ishmael was in order to give his own daughter in marriage to an ungodly person like Esau. I would never agree to that. It shows you once again that Ishmael lacked some spiritual sense.
Part lV: Ishmael’s Legacy (Gen 25:12-18; Gen 37:25-27)
Ishmael died at the age of 137. (25:17) He lived his life outside the Promised Land. The Bible gives an account of his descendants. Genesis 25:12-18 reads, “This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Sarah’s maidservant, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraham. 13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. 16 These were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers according to their settlements and camps. 17 Altogether, Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people. 18 His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the border of Egypt, as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward[a] all their brothers.” Ishmael had twelve sons who became twelve tribal chiefs throughout the regions from Havilah to Shur (from Assyria to the border of Egypt). His children are listed as follows: Nebaioth , Kedar, father of the Qedarites (A northern Arab tribe that controlled the region between the Persian Gulf and the Sinai Peninsula) Adbeel, (whose people established a tribe in northwest) Arabia, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, associated with Adummatu (a tribe that is described as "a fortress of Arabia" in Saudi Arabia) Massa, (father of a nomadic tribe that inhabited the Arabian desert toward Babylonia or modern Iraq), Hadad, , Tema Jetur, Naphish, Kedemah, Mahalath or Bashemath, a daughter who married Esau. (Wikipedia) In the time of Joseph they traded using camel caravans and bought and sold slaves.
His descendents were fighting continuously against Israel. Gideon fought a battle against them. Judges 8:23-24 reads, “But Gideon told them, ‘I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The LORD will rule over you.’ 24 And he said, ‘I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder.’ (It was the custom of the Ishmaelites to wear gold earrings.)” Apparently they wore gold earrings. And the dead Ishmaelite soldiers’ earrings generated a significant plunder.
The were allies with other enemies of God’s people. Psalm 83:5-8, “5 With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you— 6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites, 7 Gebal,[a] Ammon and Amalek, Philistia, with the people of Tyre. 8 Even Assyria has joined them to lend strength to the descendants of Lot.” The prophecy, “He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” (16:12) came true throughout the centuries. God blessed Ishmael on account of Abraham. And he used Ishmael’s descendants in order to train ancient Israel to grow strong as a nation, through their continuous harassment.
What about Ishmael today? Today Judaism has generally viewed Ishmael as wicked though repentant. Ishmael is recognized by Muslims as the ancestor of several prominent Arab tribes and the forefather of Muhammad. Muslim scholars state that it was Ishmael, and not Isaac, who was the son that Abraham almost sacrificed. Islamic traditions hold that the Kaaba, in Mecca was first built by Adam and that Abraham and Ishmael rebuilt the Kaaba on the old foundations. The Qur'an states that Abraham dreamed he was to sacrifice his son. The son is not named in the Qur'an (Qur'an 37:99–113) and, in early Islam, there was a controversy over the son's identity. However the belief that the son was Ishmael prevailed. In some Christian biblical interpretations, Ishmael is used to symbolize the older—now rejected—Judaic tradition. Isaac symbolizes the new tradition of Christianity with its faith in Jesus Christ and his perfect sacrifice.
In conclusion we found the Biblical Ishmael as a quiet, but bitter teenager, estranged from his father and close to his mother. He grew to be a hard working and successful man who was supported and encouraged by his mom. He was very fruitful humanly, etching out a life for himself in the desert. But there are no signs of faith in Ishmael. He made decisions to work hard and succeed but no decisions to support what God was doing right before his very eyes. We can learn from him to work hard and find a good wife and a career, and you can succeed even in a harsh environment. This is good advice in a worldly sense. But we can also learn from what he failed to do. We learn to not hold bitterness in our hearts. We learn to not mock the work of God, but to recognize it and support it. We also learn to think about whom you are marrying and your influence on your own future generations. May it be an influence that pleases God and perpetuates his work.
Part l: Ishmael’s Early Years (Gen 16:16; 17:19-27)
1. What was the circumstances of Ishmael’s birth? Who was his mother and what was her social situation? What was the prophesy concerning Ishmael? (16:11-12) What was the faith of his mother? (16:13) What does Ishmael mean? Why did she give that name to her son? (16:15)
2. How old was his father, Abram? (16:16) What was it like for a young boy to grow
up with such an old father? What struggle would he have to go through? What
shows that Ishmael shared in the faith of his father? (17:26) How do you think
Ishmael felt about his place in the family for the first 13 year of his life?
Part ll: Ishmael And His Mom…A Hard New Life Together (Gen 21:8-21)
3. What happened when Isaac was weaned? How did Ishmael feel about the birth of his new brother? (21:8-9; Gal 4:29) What did Ishmael fail to recognize? (Romans 9:7-9)
4. How did Abraham and Sarah react? (21:10-11) What was God’s direction and promise towards Ishmael? (21:12-13) How did Abraham provide for Ishmael and his mother, Hagar? (Gen 21:14) How old was Ishmael? How do you think he felt?
5. Describe the suffering that they endured? (21:14b-17a) How did God reveal
himself to them at this time? What was God’s promise? (21:18) What shows his
mothers’ dedication? (21:16, 19, 21) What career path did Ishmael take?
(21:20a)
Part lll: Ishmael’s Later Life (Gen 25:6,9… Gen 28:9)
6. What shows that their was a good relationship between Ishmael and Isaac
and even his nephew, Esau, later in life? (Gen 25:6, 9; 28:9) What does the fact that he gave his daughters in marriage to Esau reveal about him? (28:9; 36:3)
Part lV: Ishmael’s Legacy (Gen 25:12-18; Gen 37:25-27)
7. When did Ishmael die? (Gen 25:17) What was his eternal destination? What is said about the descendants of Ishmael? (25:12-18) How was the prophecy given to him, just before his birth fulfilled? (25:18) What were his descendants like? (Gen 37:25-27; Judges 8:23-24; Psalm 83:5-8)
8. How is Ishmael viewed today? Think about the various viewpoints of world
religions?
Genesis 16:1-15
What Ever Happened to Hagar?
(A Single Mom Who Tried Her Best Despite Her Difficult Circumstances)
Genesis 16:1-15; 21:8-21 Pastor Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF
Key verse 16:13
“She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’”
Today we want to meet Hagar. She was Abram’s maidservant, who was forced into a very difficult situation. She is a good example of a single mom who did her best to bear up under life’s hard circumstances to raise her son. Through her sufferings, Hagar met God personally and confessed her faith, "I have seen the One who sees me." She accepted God's love and comfort. Through a study of this passage may we learn about Hagar and how to be a good parent despite our difficult and unavoidable circumstances in life. May we also discover the God who sees us and promises to be with us. Let’s see.
Part l: A Young Girl In Circumstances Beyond Her Control (16:1-6)
Hagar was an Egyptian maidservant. Her name means, “Stranger” in Hebrew. She was a stranger for she was a slave. She was not a Semite like Abraham. She did not know the God of Abraham. She might have been bought or born in Abraham’s tent village, which could have had 1,000 people. Her life as a slave was not to be desired. A slave has no plans of their own. All they do, they do for the master. They can not choose the place where they live, their jobs, nor their own husbands and in Hagar’s case she could not choose whether to have children or not. A slave lived a hopeless life of servitude with no future.
One day this maidservant was told what to do even in the most intimate in realms of life. Genesis 16:2 reads, “Sarai said to Abram, ‘The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.’ Abram agreed to what Sarai said.” Abram and Sarai could not have any children. It had been ten years since they had been called to live by faith. They had thought that their nephew Lot may produce offspring to make a great nation. But Lot left. Now they were getting impatient. Where was this baby through whom God was going to raise up a people for himself? Sarai was already 75. She became fatalistic about herself. Things were getting too late. She loved Abram. But they did not pray. She decided to sacrifice her own feelings as a woman and solve Abram's “no son” problem in a “human” way. When she suggested that he sleep with Hagar, he was shocked but quickly acquiesced. Such things were common practice at that time. It was through Abram’s and Sarai’s desperate act that Hagar was flung into this story.
And so Hagar conceived. To this young slave a revolution of thought took place. She was a slave, a nobody with no hope for the future. But now she was pregnant with the child of the leader of this small tribe…the child of the great Abram. She could produce something that the matriarch of the tribe could not, a baby. Pride began to grow in her heart. Genesis 16:5 reads, “Then Sarai said to Abram, ‘You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me.’” Hagar had forgotten who she was. She thought that she could be Abram’s number one wife. She felt a sense of importance. She decided to challenge the authority of Abram’s true wife, Sarai. Her pride was putting her in a very dangerous situation. If she got on Sarai’s wrong side, she could suffer a lot and even be cast out of the village and into the desert wilderness where there were bandits and wild beasts, like lions and bears. She was in precarious situation.
It is always important to remember who we are and not and become proud thinking that we are more than we are. God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6) Jesus says that when we come to a banquet we should take the place of least honor and wait until we are invited to the more coveted places at the banquet table. Who are we? Are we not forgiven sinners, saved and called by the grace of Jesus alone? Our pride may lead us away from the fellowship of believers and away from God’s blessings and protection. May God always help us to take the way of humility.
Abram and Sarai did not respond to Hagar’s lack of humility very gently. Look at Genesis 16:6, “‘Your servant is in your hands,’ Abram said. ‘Do with her whatever you think best.’ Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.” Maybe Sarai was responding with human emotions to Hagar, punishing Hagar with more chores, verbally abusing her, and taking away privileges. But then again, maybe it was Sarai’s attempt to help Hagar keep her place in the tribe so Hagar could continue to live there in safety. What ever the case, God was using these events, to help Hagar meet God personally as we shall see.
Part ll: Hagar…Go Back And Submit (16:7- )
Hagar felt that her back was against the wall. Pregnant, she took off into the foreboding desert. But it was at this time that God was going to reveal himself to her in a very personal way. Genesis 16:7-8 reads, “The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, ‘Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?’” Hagar had always thought that God was Abram’s God and not hers. But now the God of Abram whispered to her own heart. And where did he meet her? It was at the side of the road, in the midst of her extreme suffering.
We think that God should come to us at nice place, like an expensive church production, or over a latte at Starbucks or at a sunset on the beach at Cancun. But in the Bible, people met the Lord at times of suffering, in the desert of their lives. Jesus comes to them, when they are at the side of the road of life. He asks them the same question, “Where have you come from and where are you going.” If God came to you, what would you say? Do you know where you came from and where you are going in a spiritual sense? Some do not where their lives are head or what the meaning of their present circumstance is. They need to tune into God. Can you hear God whispering to your heart in the midst of your current sufferings? Deuteronomy 4:29 reads, “But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.” From where? Your own personal, present place of deepest sorrow and suffering. It is there you will find God.
God gave Hagar some very uncomfortable direction to follow. Look at Genesis 16:9, “ Then the angel of the LORD told her, ‘Go back to your mistress and submit to her.’” God told her to go back and submit. To submit means “To yield or surrender (oneself) to the will or authority of another.” How hard could that have been? She had to submit to Sarai who was mistreating her. She might have been punished. But it was God’s will for Hagar to go back and submit.
God calls each of us to submit to God in various situations. Nowadays marriages are prone to divorce. Maybe it could be God’s will to submit to your spouse and work things out and fall in love all over again. We may not like our professors and so we want to drop a class. But it may be God’s will to humbly submit and learn and get an “A”. We may not like our job and so we may quit without any other alternative. But maybe God wants us to submit for a promotion is just around the corner. We may rather avoid people we don’t get along with rather than saying , “I am sorry” and submitting to a relationship. We may not like a pastor and want to switch churches. But it may be God’s will to submit to his leadership. We are all called to submit to the authority of the word of God. How is God calling you to practice submission in your life right now?
. This direction, however, was not given without a blessing. Genesis 16:11 reads, “The angel of the LORD also said to her: “You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery.” Hagar had always felt like a stranger. She felt all alone. But now she had a personal relationship with God and a child was coming, who would be her very own, to love and to hold. This child’s name would be “Ishmael” which means, “God will hear”. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Ishmael) Every time she would call her son’s name, she would remember the grace of God who heard her cry. The meaning of Ishmael also has a meaning, “outcast”. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Ishmael)
We all need to realize that God is the God who sees us and hears our cries. When Noah was floating in the ocean for almost a year the Bible says that “But God remembered Noah...” (Gen 8:1) God did not forget him and was working out a way to bring him and his whole family to a safe place. God sees you and is actively working in your life, drawing you to himself. You just need eyes to see that God is right there, shepherding your soul today and every day.
She also accepted the prophecy given her concerning her son, though it was not good. Look at what God told her in verse 16:12. “He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” We all like to hear that our kids are going to be honor students; will go to the best universities; will make 6 figure incomes; will have professional careers, beautiful spouses and be involved in many charitable works. Who wants to hear that their son will be a wild donkey of a man and be in perpetual fighting with the nation of Israel? But Hagar was humble and she accepted God’s prophecy concerning her son. Her attitude was, “May the will of God be done, blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Hagar was very obedient. Maybe she learned how to obey by being a slave. First, she decided that she was going to have the child. She was a single mom, living in a hard world. She could have aborted the child. But she was willing to make any sacrifice necessary to raise her son. Though Abram named him, she also accepted God’s name for her son. To obey God, and the truth of God, takes great humility.
Hagar was very excited about God revealing himself to her. She wanted to commemorate it at a very public place where she and others would come to over and over again. Look at verses 16:13-14, “She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’ 14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.” She would never forget the grace of God that was given to her. She wanted all future generations of her people to know that that place was where God met her personally. And they would remember, each time they came to draw water from the well.
I met the God who sees me at the MSU campus in 1986. After one month of Bible study, I went to Bible conference and thought seriously about what God was saying in the book of John in the Bible. I was amazed that the Bible had all the answers to all people’s life problems…even mine. It gave real solutions. I realized how deep the Bible was. I repented of my unbelief and accepted Jesus into my heart. Jesus forgave me of all my hedonistic sins and gave me a new hope and a new life direction to live as a shepherd and Bible teacher. I met the God who sees me. I should rename MSU campus, “Beer lahai Roi” Campus.
Part lll: Hagar Begins An Independent, New Life (21:8- )
Hagar repented and lived under Sarai’s leadership for 15 years. At that time Abraham and Sarah had a baby, Isaac. When Isaac was weaned, at 2-3 years old, something definitive happened to Hagar. Look at Genesis 21:8-9, “The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. 9 But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking” Ishmael was a teenager. He was not very respectful however. He mocked Isaac, God’s chosen one. Mocking is not good even if it done as a joke. People’s hearts are hurt when we mock. There is no indication that Hagar stopped Ishmael. Maybe she gave up trying to correct him for he was already and teenager. Maybe she was blind to what her son was doing. Maybe she felt like mocking the child herself. So often the condition of our own hearts is reflected in our children. Anyway, Hagar was not perfect. Her humanness is showing. This point is that Ishmael was beginning to be a hindrance to the growth of young Isaac.
Sarah took charge once again. She could not bear to see her son being mocked. She could not bear to see the promised son being emotionally attacked by a jealous person. She did not want anything to hinder the growth and the developing faith of young Isaac. And so she said in 21:10, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.” Abram did not want this to happen. He loved Ishmael. He was his own son.
It was the last thing that he wanted, but he submitted after God spoke to his heart. God said to Abraham in 21:12-14, “But God said to him, ‘Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. 13 I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring.” 14 Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba.” It was God’s will to send Hagar and her son away for good. God had a plan, not only to protect and nurture Isaac, but also to bless Hagar and her son on account of Abraham.
This family suffered a lot in the desert once again. But as with the other time, it was the best time to meet God personally. We can see their suffering in 21:15-16, “When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there nearby, she[b] began to sob.” The teenage boy was crying and too weak to walk without the help of his mother. They were about to die of thirst. They were without hope. But the God who sees her saw her again. He saw her tears and her sorrow and he spoke words of comfort and hope to her heart. Let’s read verses 21:18-20a, “Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. 20 God was with the boy as he grew up….” He planted his promises, that they would not die, but live and become a great nation. God also took care of her practical, immediate needs. He revealed to her how to get water. Our God is the God of hope, comfort and grace.
With God’s help Hagar and her son survived and even thrived in the desert. Look at verse 20b, “He lived in the desert and became an archer.” She experienced the joy of seeing her son find his career path in life. I will be very happy when I live to see that all of my kids have found their career paths and have become productive adult citizens. Hagar also took personal responsibility for her son’s marriage. Look at 21:21, “21 While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.” Hagar was a good mom, but not very spiritual. If she was, then she would have tried to get a wife for Ishmael, from among Abraham’s relatives. She did not care if his wife worshipped idols. But she did try to help her son out in regards to his marriage. We all should care about the marriage partners our children may have. We may not be able to choose for them, but we can pray and counsel our children in regards to marriage. It is part of our responsibility as parents.
Part lV: The Heritage Of Hagar
The heritage that Hagar left behind is not a very fruitful. Her descendants are the Ishmaelites and the Hagrites. In 1000 B.C. both of these people groups were enemies of God’s people. Look at Psalm 83:5-6. It reads, “With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you— 6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites,” They formed alliances together to fight against Israel. Israel defeated them. Listen about the outcome of one battle in 1 Chronicles 5:18-22, “ 18 The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 men ready for military service—able-bodied men who could handle shield and sword, who could use a bow, and who were trained for battle. 19 They waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish and Nodab. 20 They were helped in fighting them, and God handed the Hagrites and all their allies over to them, because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him. 21 They seized the livestock of the Hagrites—fifty thousand camels, two hundred fifty thousand sheep and two thousand donkeys. They also took one hundred thousand people captive, 22 and many others fell slain, because the battle was God’s. And they occupied the land until the exile.”
In the New Testament, Paul used Hagar as a symbol to help illustrate the difference between being slave to the law and free spiritually by the Gospel of God’s grace. Listen to what Galatians 4:21-23 reads, “Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23 His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise.” Paul goes on to explain what this symbolism means in verses 24-26, "These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free and she is our mother." Symbolically, the mothers represent two different covenants. Hagar represents the law, which emphasizes human beings' obligation and duty with words such as "You must do this. You must not do that." There is no salvation found in obeying the law. Sarah has come to represent faith in the promises of God and the grace of God which brings us spiritual freedom. All of this is the topic of a future message. We must be mindful of the heritage that we are laying down that will be passed on to the future generations.
There is much to learn from Hagar. Sure, she had her weaknesses. She became proud and forgot who she was in the society she was in. She did not stop her son from mocking the obvious work of God in Isaac. She also got a wife for him from among idol worshippers. She did not lay a foundation of faith in the God of Abraham for the future generations. We can learn from these weaknesses. But there were some good things about Hagar. She met the God who “sees her.” She submitted to a very difficult situation out of obedience to God. She kept the baby and raised him as best she could. She took care of her son until he could find his place in the world and she even helped him find a wife. I pray that the young people of America may meet the God who sees them in their hour of suffering. I also pray that all single moms may take a lesson from Hagar and do their best, in their situation to overcome this world and raise their child to maturity, planting faith in the God of Abraham in their hearts.
Part l: Hagar Flees From Her Situation
1. Who was Hagar? (16:1) What was the role of a maid servant? How did she come
to live in Abram’s tent village?
2. What was the situation of Abram and Sarai that brought Hagar into a very
uncomfortable situation? (16:2)
3. What happened when Hagar conceived a child? (16:5) Why is this wrong and
even dangerous for Hagar? How did Abram and Sarai react to the situation?
(16:5,6)
4. Where did Hagar flee too? (16:7-8) What was the Lord’s direction for her? (16:9)
What doe it mean to submit?
5. What promise did God give Hagar if she obeyed? (16:10) What was the
prophecy concerning her son? (16:11) How do you think she felt about this
prophecy? What shows that Hagar was obedient to God? (11b, 15) Why was it
hard to obey?
Part ll; Hagar Meets The God, Who Sees Her
6. What things did Hagar learn about God? (11b, 13) How did she commemorate
this revelation? Are there others in the Bible whom received the same
revelation? (Gen 8:1) What does it mean that God sees you?
7. What happened when Ishmael was 13 years old? (21:8-9) Did Hagar try to stop her son from mocking Issac? What did Sarah demand? (21:10) and why? What did God tell Abraham to do and why? (21:12-14) How hard was this for all of the people involved? What is the spiritual application?
8. Describe the distress that Hagar and Ishmael felt as they were wondering in the desert?
(21:15-16) What promise did God give her? How did he provide for her? (21:18-21)
What became of her descendants? (Psalm 83:1-6; 1 Chron 5:18-22; )
9. In what ways was Hagar and good example for single moms? (21:16; 19; 21) Think about
the responsibilities that we have towards our own children. How did she feel about the
man her son had become?
10. What is Hagar a spiritual symbol of, in the Bible? (Gal 4:21-31) What allegory did
Paul use to help them understand the difference between being slave and free? (21-23)
What do these two women stand for? (24-26)
(A Single Mom Who Tried Her Best Despite Her Difficult Circumstances)
Genesis 16:1-15; 21:8-21 Pastor Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF
Key verse 16:13
“She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’”
Today we want to meet Hagar. She was Abram’s maidservant, who was forced into a very difficult situation. She is a good example of a single mom who did her best to bear up under life’s hard circumstances to raise her son. Through her sufferings, Hagar met God personally and confessed her faith, "I have seen the One who sees me." She accepted God's love and comfort. Through a study of this passage may we learn about Hagar and how to be a good parent despite our difficult and unavoidable circumstances in life. May we also discover the God who sees us and promises to be with us. Let’s see.
Part l: A Young Girl In Circumstances Beyond Her Control (16:1-6)
Hagar was an Egyptian maidservant. Her name means, “Stranger” in Hebrew. She was a stranger for she was a slave. She was not a Semite like Abraham. She did not know the God of Abraham. She might have been bought or born in Abraham’s tent village, which could have had 1,000 people. Her life as a slave was not to be desired. A slave has no plans of their own. All they do, they do for the master. They can not choose the place where they live, their jobs, nor their own husbands and in Hagar’s case she could not choose whether to have children or not. A slave lived a hopeless life of servitude with no future.
One day this maidservant was told what to do even in the most intimate in realms of life. Genesis 16:2 reads, “Sarai said to Abram, ‘The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.’ Abram agreed to what Sarai said.” Abram and Sarai could not have any children. It had been ten years since they had been called to live by faith. They had thought that their nephew Lot may produce offspring to make a great nation. But Lot left. Now they were getting impatient. Where was this baby through whom God was going to raise up a people for himself? Sarai was already 75. She became fatalistic about herself. Things were getting too late. She loved Abram. But they did not pray. She decided to sacrifice her own feelings as a woman and solve Abram's “no son” problem in a “human” way. When she suggested that he sleep with Hagar, he was shocked but quickly acquiesced. Such things were common practice at that time. It was through Abram’s and Sarai’s desperate act that Hagar was flung into this story.
And so Hagar conceived. To this young slave a revolution of thought took place. She was a slave, a nobody with no hope for the future. But now she was pregnant with the child of the leader of this small tribe…the child of the great Abram. She could produce something that the matriarch of the tribe could not, a baby. Pride began to grow in her heart. Genesis 16:5 reads, “Then Sarai said to Abram, ‘You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me.’” Hagar had forgotten who she was. She thought that she could be Abram’s number one wife. She felt a sense of importance. She decided to challenge the authority of Abram’s true wife, Sarai. Her pride was putting her in a very dangerous situation. If she got on Sarai’s wrong side, she could suffer a lot and even be cast out of the village and into the desert wilderness where there were bandits and wild beasts, like lions and bears. She was in precarious situation.
It is always important to remember who we are and not and become proud thinking that we are more than we are. God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6) Jesus says that when we come to a banquet we should take the place of least honor and wait until we are invited to the more coveted places at the banquet table. Who are we? Are we not forgiven sinners, saved and called by the grace of Jesus alone? Our pride may lead us away from the fellowship of believers and away from God’s blessings and protection. May God always help us to take the way of humility.
Abram and Sarai did not respond to Hagar’s lack of humility very gently. Look at Genesis 16:6, “‘Your servant is in your hands,’ Abram said. ‘Do with her whatever you think best.’ Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.” Maybe Sarai was responding with human emotions to Hagar, punishing Hagar with more chores, verbally abusing her, and taking away privileges. But then again, maybe it was Sarai’s attempt to help Hagar keep her place in the tribe so Hagar could continue to live there in safety. What ever the case, God was using these events, to help Hagar meet God personally as we shall see.
Part ll: Hagar…Go Back And Submit (16:7- )
Hagar felt that her back was against the wall. Pregnant, she took off into the foreboding desert. But it was at this time that God was going to reveal himself to her in a very personal way. Genesis 16:7-8 reads, “The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, ‘Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?’” Hagar had always thought that God was Abram’s God and not hers. But now the God of Abram whispered to her own heart. And where did he meet her? It was at the side of the road, in the midst of her extreme suffering.
We think that God should come to us at nice place, like an expensive church production, or over a latte at Starbucks or at a sunset on the beach at Cancun. But in the Bible, people met the Lord at times of suffering, in the desert of their lives. Jesus comes to them, when they are at the side of the road of life. He asks them the same question, “Where have you come from and where are you going.” If God came to you, what would you say? Do you know where you came from and where you are going in a spiritual sense? Some do not where their lives are head or what the meaning of their present circumstance is. They need to tune into God. Can you hear God whispering to your heart in the midst of your current sufferings? Deuteronomy 4:29 reads, “But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.” From where? Your own personal, present place of deepest sorrow and suffering. It is there you will find God.
God gave Hagar some very uncomfortable direction to follow. Look at Genesis 16:9, “ Then the angel of the LORD told her, ‘Go back to your mistress and submit to her.’” God told her to go back and submit. To submit means “To yield or surrender (oneself) to the will or authority of another.” How hard could that have been? She had to submit to Sarai who was mistreating her. She might have been punished. But it was God’s will for Hagar to go back and submit.
God calls each of us to submit to God in various situations. Nowadays marriages are prone to divorce. Maybe it could be God’s will to submit to your spouse and work things out and fall in love all over again. We may not like our professors and so we want to drop a class. But it may be God’s will to humbly submit and learn and get an “A”. We may not like our job and so we may quit without any other alternative. But maybe God wants us to submit for a promotion is just around the corner. We may rather avoid people we don’t get along with rather than saying , “I am sorry” and submitting to a relationship. We may not like a pastor and want to switch churches. But it may be God’s will to submit to his leadership. We are all called to submit to the authority of the word of God. How is God calling you to practice submission in your life right now?
. This direction, however, was not given without a blessing. Genesis 16:11 reads, “The angel of the LORD also said to her: “You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery.” Hagar had always felt like a stranger. She felt all alone. But now she had a personal relationship with God and a child was coming, who would be her very own, to love and to hold. This child’s name would be “Ishmael” which means, “God will hear”. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Ishmael) Every time she would call her son’s name, she would remember the grace of God who heard her cry. The meaning of Ishmael also has a meaning, “outcast”. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Ishmael)
We all need to realize that God is the God who sees us and hears our cries. When Noah was floating in the ocean for almost a year the Bible says that “But God remembered Noah...” (Gen 8:1) God did not forget him and was working out a way to bring him and his whole family to a safe place. God sees you and is actively working in your life, drawing you to himself. You just need eyes to see that God is right there, shepherding your soul today and every day.
She also accepted the prophecy given her concerning her son, though it was not good. Look at what God told her in verse 16:12. “He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” We all like to hear that our kids are going to be honor students; will go to the best universities; will make 6 figure incomes; will have professional careers, beautiful spouses and be involved in many charitable works. Who wants to hear that their son will be a wild donkey of a man and be in perpetual fighting with the nation of Israel? But Hagar was humble and she accepted God’s prophecy concerning her son. Her attitude was, “May the will of God be done, blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Hagar was very obedient. Maybe she learned how to obey by being a slave. First, she decided that she was going to have the child. She was a single mom, living in a hard world. She could have aborted the child. But she was willing to make any sacrifice necessary to raise her son. Though Abram named him, she also accepted God’s name for her son. To obey God, and the truth of God, takes great humility.
Hagar was very excited about God revealing himself to her. She wanted to commemorate it at a very public place where she and others would come to over and over again. Look at verses 16:13-14, “She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’ 14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.” She would never forget the grace of God that was given to her. She wanted all future generations of her people to know that that place was where God met her personally. And they would remember, each time they came to draw water from the well.
I met the God who sees me at the MSU campus in 1986. After one month of Bible study, I went to Bible conference and thought seriously about what God was saying in the book of John in the Bible. I was amazed that the Bible had all the answers to all people’s life problems…even mine. It gave real solutions. I realized how deep the Bible was. I repented of my unbelief and accepted Jesus into my heart. Jesus forgave me of all my hedonistic sins and gave me a new hope and a new life direction to live as a shepherd and Bible teacher. I met the God who sees me. I should rename MSU campus, “Beer lahai Roi” Campus.
Part lll: Hagar Begins An Independent, New Life (21:8- )
Hagar repented and lived under Sarai’s leadership for 15 years. At that time Abraham and Sarah had a baby, Isaac. When Isaac was weaned, at 2-3 years old, something definitive happened to Hagar. Look at Genesis 21:8-9, “The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. 9 But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking” Ishmael was a teenager. He was not very respectful however. He mocked Isaac, God’s chosen one. Mocking is not good even if it done as a joke. People’s hearts are hurt when we mock. There is no indication that Hagar stopped Ishmael. Maybe she gave up trying to correct him for he was already and teenager. Maybe she was blind to what her son was doing. Maybe she felt like mocking the child herself. So often the condition of our own hearts is reflected in our children. Anyway, Hagar was not perfect. Her humanness is showing. This point is that Ishmael was beginning to be a hindrance to the growth of young Isaac.
Sarah took charge once again. She could not bear to see her son being mocked. She could not bear to see the promised son being emotionally attacked by a jealous person. She did not want anything to hinder the growth and the developing faith of young Isaac. And so she said in 21:10, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.” Abram did not want this to happen. He loved Ishmael. He was his own son.
It was the last thing that he wanted, but he submitted after God spoke to his heart. God said to Abraham in 21:12-14, “But God said to him, ‘Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. 13 I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring.” 14 Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba.” It was God’s will to send Hagar and her son away for good. God had a plan, not only to protect and nurture Isaac, but also to bless Hagar and her son on account of Abraham.
This family suffered a lot in the desert once again. But as with the other time, it was the best time to meet God personally. We can see their suffering in 21:15-16, “When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there nearby, she[b] began to sob.” The teenage boy was crying and too weak to walk without the help of his mother. They were about to die of thirst. They were without hope. But the God who sees her saw her again. He saw her tears and her sorrow and he spoke words of comfort and hope to her heart. Let’s read verses 21:18-20a, “Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. 20 God was with the boy as he grew up….” He planted his promises, that they would not die, but live and become a great nation. God also took care of her practical, immediate needs. He revealed to her how to get water. Our God is the God of hope, comfort and grace.
With God’s help Hagar and her son survived and even thrived in the desert. Look at verse 20b, “He lived in the desert and became an archer.” She experienced the joy of seeing her son find his career path in life. I will be very happy when I live to see that all of my kids have found their career paths and have become productive adult citizens. Hagar also took personal responsibility for her son’s marriage. Look at 21:21, “21 While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.” Hagar was a good mom, but not very spiritual. If she was, then she would have tried to get a wife for Ishmael, from among Abraham’s relatives. She did not care if his wife worshipped idols. But she did try to help her son out in regards to his marriage. We all should care about the marriage partners our children may have. We may not be able to choose for them, but we can pray and counsel our children in regards to marriage. It is part of our responsibility as parents.
Part lV: The Heritage Of Hagar
The heritage that Hagar left behind is not a very fruitful. Her descendants are the Ishmaelites and the Hagrites. In 1000 B.C. both of these people groups were enemies of God’s people. Look at Psalm 83:5-6. It reads, “With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you— 6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites,” They formed alliances together to fight against Israel. Israel defeated them. Listen about the outcome of one battle in 1 Chronicles 5:18-22, “ 18 The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 men ready for military service—able-bodied men who could handle shield and sword, who could use a bow, and who were trained for battle. 19 They waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish and Nodab. 20 They were helped in fighting them, and God handed the Hagrites and all their allies over to them, because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him. 21 They seized the livestock of the Hagrites—fifty thousand camels, two hundred fifty thousand sheep and two thousand donkeys. They also took one hundred thousand people captive, 22 and many others fell slain, because the battle was God’s. And they occupied the land until the exile.”
In the New Testament, Paul used Hagar as a symbol to help illustrate the difference between being slave to the law and free spiritually by the Gospel of God’s grace. Listen to what Galatians 4:21-23 reads, “Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23 His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise.” Paul goes on to explain what this symbolism means in verses 24-26, "These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free and she is our mother." Symbolically, the mothers represent two different covenants. Hagar represents the law, which emphasizes human beings' obligation and duty with words such as "You must do this. You must not do that." There is no salvation found in obeying the law. Sarah has come to represent faith in the promises of God and the grace of God which brings us spiritual freedom. All of this is the topic of a future message. We must be mindful of the heritage that we are laying down that will be passed on to the future generations.
There is much to learn from Hagar. Sure, she had her weaknesses. She became proud and forgot who she was in the society she was in. She did not stop her son from mocking the obvious work of God in Isaac. She also got a wife for him from among idol worshippers. She did not lay a foundation of faith in the God of Abraham for the future generations. We can learn from these weaknesses. But there were some good things about Hagar. She met the God who “sees her.” She submitted to a very difficult situation out of obedience to God. She kept the baby and raised him as best she could. She took care of her son until he could find his place in the world and she even helped him find a wife. I pray that the young people of America may meet the God who sees them in their hour of suffering. I also pray that all single moms may take a lesson from Hagar and do their best, in their situation to overcome this world and raise their child to maturity, planting faith in the God of Abraham in their hearts.
Part l: Hagar Flees From Her Situation
1. Who was Hagar? (16:1) What was the role of a maid servant? How did she come
to live in Abram’s tent village?
2. What was the situation of Abram and Sarai that brought Hagar into a very
uncomfortable situation? (16:2)
3. What happened when Hagar conceived a child? (16:5) Why is this wrong and
even dangerous for Hagar? How did Abram and Sarai react to the situation?
(16:5,6)
4. Where did Hagar flee too? (16:7-8) What was the Lord’s direction for her? (16:9)
What doe it mean to submit?
5. What promise did God give Hagar if she obeyed? (16:10) What was the
prophecy concerning her son? (16:11) How do you think she felt about this
prophecy? What shows that Hagar was obedient to God? (11b, 15) Why was it
hard to obey?
Part ll; Hagar Meets The God, Who Sees Her
6. What things did Hagar learn about God? (11b, 13) How did she commemorate
this revelation? Are there others in the Bible whom received the same
revelation? (Gen 8:1) What does it mean that God sees you?
7. What happened when Ishmael was 13 years old? (21:8-9) Did Hagar try to stop her son from mocking Issac? What did Sarah demand? (21:10) and why? What did God tell Abraham to do and why? (21:12-14) How hard was this for all of the people involved? What is the spiritual application?
8. Describe the distress that Hagar and Ishmael felt as they were wondering in the desert?
(21:15-16) What promise did God give her? How did he provide for her? (21:18-21)
What became of her descendants? (Psalm 83:1-6; 1 Chron 5:18-22; )
9. In what ways was Hagar and good example for single moms? (21:16; 19; 21) Think about
the responsibilities that we have towards our own children. How did she feel about the
man her son had become?
10. What is Hagar a spiritual symbol of, in the Bible? (Gal 4:21-31) What allegory did
Paul use to help them understand the difference between being slave and free? (21-23)
What do these two women stand for? (24-26)
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Genesis 8:15-11:26
What Ever Happened To Shem, Ham And Japheth?
(Three Sons Who Quietly Co-worked With Their Dad, Noah)
Genesis 8:15-11:26 Pastor Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 3-13-11
Key verse 9:1
“Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.’”
Today we are going to study about the son’s of Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth. They were basically good sons. They believed what their father said concerning God’s judgment and they co-operated well with him to build the ark. They stood on God’s side and the side of God’s people. They were blessed along with Noah and their mother. They received God’s holy mission and the same covenant promise as Noah did. They were good boys. But as we know sin has its way of wielding it ugly head, even among believing children. We will see it in Ham. We will see it in the descendants of these three boys. Through a study of this passage let us find some principles of a house church. Let us see believers humbly and quietly co-working together at a crucial moment in God’s history. Let us discover the importance of our influence on future generations. But mostly let us see God, who is the sovereign Lord and who is in control of all world history and who is working out his holy purpose among us, even today.
Part l: A Beautiful Co-working Housechurch (6:9-9:17)
In this passage, we find Noah’s three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth. Japheth was the oldest, Shem was the youngest and Ham was the middle child. They were a Sumerian or Mesopotamian family. In the names of the three sons, we do not find so much spiritual meaning. Their names appear prophetic in nature. Shem means “name”, or “fame”. Ham means “hot”, or “cry out”. Japheth means, “spread out”. These are perfect names for the boys. Shem become the forefather of the Jews and Jesus. Ham was cursed. And Japheth became the maritime people. Our God, who knows the end from the beginning, is so wise in giving the names of these young men.
All three of them were also married. Their wives seemed to have quietly and humbly co-worked together. They were newer families, as they had no children yet. It is so rare for all siblings to be married. Many are opting not to marry; others cohabitate; others wait until late in life. How blessed Noah must have been to see his sons all married to women who believed God’s way of salvation. Noah’s family set a good example for the young people of our generation. I pray for all my kids to have faith enough, and the God-given opportunity, to marry godly spouses, like Noah’s sons.
The three sons also respected the spiritual insight of their father. The Bible says that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. (2 Peter 2:5) He walked with God each day and preached to the people around him about God and how to have a proper relationship with God. It was not easy to do this in that generation. The people of the earth were godless and the violence had spread to the point that God was not going to take it anymore. Even those who were called to be servants of God, had corrupted their ways. (Gen 6:1-2) When Noah spoke about the righteousness of God, he must have been met with rejection and disdain. One day God told Noah about this upcoming judgment and his way of salvation. One day, Noah began to talk about how God would destroy the earth with a flood and anyone who believed God and helped build the ark and get into it, would be saved. The people did not believe Noah. They mocked him, saying, “You foolish old man...What are you doing? Why waste your time. Everything is going on as it always has. There will not be huge flood.” But Noah was steadfast as a preacher of righteousness.
It was not easy for Shem, Ham and Japheth to hear what the people were saying about Noah. This was their father. But God had opened their eyes to see that what their father was saying was absolutely true. They were confident that they were also included in God’s plan of salvation. And so they stood by their father’s side. They were not afraid to identify with the servant of God, Noah. They were not afraid to be despised and reject for the sake of righteous. Jesus once said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matt 5:10-12) Shem, Ham and Japheth stood on the side of their dad, but more importantly on the side of truth and righteousness.
They quietly co-worked with their father. There is no way that Noah could have built this ark on his own. Some to those beams must have weighed hundreds of pounds. God was not like an invisible crane lifting the beam in place. I am sure that the sons and their wives were not just sitting in front of the TV. while Noah was working so hard. They were helping Noah. And their help went on year after year. They were quietly working side by side with their father. Ephesians 6:1-3 reads, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 ‘that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’” Noah’s sons obeyed Noah as Noah obeyed God. They honored Noah through their faith. Their obedient faith also honored God. I thank God for the humble co-working of our children in the work of God. They believe the Gospel. They have spiritual eyes to see what is going on here and they are co-working to reveal Jesus and build up the work of God. Praise the Lord!
God recognized the personal faith of these boys. He included them in his salvation plan. Look at Genesis 7:1-4 “The LORD then said to Noah, ‘Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.’” They were saved on their personal faith in God and their obedience born out of their faith, and not just because they were doing what their father told them. May our young people repent of following someone else’s faith and have their own personal, obedient, saving faith in Jesus Christ and have personal conviction to follow the way of salvation, the Gospel.
Their life in the ark together also revealed their faith. If one considers the time they spent in the ark, they would discover that it was about one year. That was one year of living in a barn that was rocked by the waves. It was not easy for them to live together in such conditions. There must have been many fights and arguments and tears. During storms they all had to lash themselves to the beams of the galley. But they overcame through the power of faith and forgiveness. When Shem complained that he was being forced to clean out the stalls everyday simply because he was the youngest, the others repented and divvied up the tasks evenly among them. They actually helped each other, even if it wasn’t their job. In this way they maintained the ark like a navy vessel. You may think that you can get along with people, but you don’t really know yourself until you live with others in limited space. Then you can discover what it means to love and forgive and serve others. Since leaving home for college at 18, I have always had roommates. For almost a year we had our seven family members and four sisters and three pets in our house. It was common life in the Lord. I thank God, for in these times I could learn faith. May God establish common life among us with growing disciples of Jesus like Shem, Ham and Japheth.
At the end of the year, the ark came to rest on the slopes of Mt Ararat. The Bible says that even after the ark came to rest, they did not leave the ark for about a month. Noah was waiting for God’s clear direction to come out. Noah knew that God knew best. Maybe God was protecting them from malaria or from flash floods or mud slides. God always knows best. But these sons, if they were ordinary men, could have told Noah, “I don’t care, I am leaving this ark now. I am sick of being here. And don’t tell me what to do. I am already a grown man.” They could have jumped ship and did their own thing. But they believed and obeyed their father when he told them to wait on God.
When God finally gave the “go ahead” what did they do? They built an ark and sacrificed some the clean animals and the clean birds. How difficult this would be! If it was me, I would have a big party, slaughter a cow and have a huge barbeque and celebrate. It shows that God was first and foremost on their minds. They also offered some of the clean animals and the clean birds. There were not many of these to be had. There were probably lots of sick and dying animals and unclean animals. Why not offer these? But they offered the best. They remembered the faith of their ancestor Abel. (Gen 4:4) They made and “Able offering” that cost them something. Their first impulse was to worship and thank God. May that be our first impulse in all important events in our lives.
They all received a new beginning in God. God restored their mission in Genesis 9:1, which reads, “Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.’” God recognized them all and made them covenant sons, for since they shared in the same faith as Noah, they also were part of the same covenant.
God then set out to build the image of God in them. Look at 9:1-11. They had been through a lot and seen a lot of things that no person should ever see, like extreme violence and death. There were so many wounds and scars on their hearts. But God began the healing process. They were to not eat the life blood of animals while it was still in them. God was establishing the value of blood sacrifice but he was also telling mankind to respect all life and not to treat animals cruelly even when slaughtering them. He respected mankind’s position in creation, keeping their position above the animals and all creation, even though mankind had sinned greatly against God. This is the unconditional love of God, who forgives and respects us and gives us a place in his family and a position in his glorious redemptive work. Thank God for his grace. God also instituted capital punishment. The boys were desensitized because of the violence they grew up with and the carnage of the flood. Human life seemed cheap. God wanted to change that because a person’s life is valuable simply because they are made in the image of God.
Part ll: The Seeds Of Sin Were Still There…Ready To Sprout. (9:18-28)
The flood did not solve mankind’s sin problem. In Genesis 9:18-28, we see an incident involving Noah and his three sons. Apparently, Noah had planted vineyards. He was being fruitful in every way. He was making wine. One day he was walking around his tent naked and drinking too much wine, and he passed out naked in the tent. OK, he was doing this in the privacy of his home. But it is still never good for a father and a servant of God to drink to the point of passing out naked. But the point of the whole story is the reaction of the boys. Ham happened to enter his father’s tent and saw him lying there. He went out and told his brothers, “Hey! Look at dad!” and brought them in to see him. He wanted to hang Noah’s sins and weaknesses out for all to see. The response of the other two sons reveals the right response. They would not gaze upon their father’s nakedness. They went in backwards and covered his nakedness. They respected Noah, their father and spiritual leader.
When Noah awoke he was so angry at Ham. Ham had disrespected his father. He had also disrespected the servant of God appointed for that new society. He had also diss’d the governor (for Noah was all three). God was very serious about also this. God wanted to establish the new society on a foundation of truth, grace and mercy. Sure Noah had his weakness. Maybe he should not have done what he did. But he is not perfect, just forgiven. He was made righteous by God’s grace. Ham should have forgiven and respected his father and covered over his weaknesses with grace. He should have prayed for his did and if his drinking was a problem then he should offer ways to help him. Ham’s descendants were cursed and 6 centuries later they would be enslaved by the descendants of Shem, the Israelites, when they took over the Promised Land under Joshua.
The Bible tells us to “honor your father and mother” (Ex 20:12), not only if they are perfect, but because they are our parents. We expect our pastors and church leaders to be perfect speakers, managers, counselors, accountants, parents, CEO’s etc. But they are imperfect too. If we are going to build a church and families on love and respect then we must practice love and respect ourselves at home and in the church. May our lives be marked by grace and mercy, love and respect.
Part lll: The Heritage Of Shem, Ham and Japheth (10:1-11:32)
We can see the outcome of the lives of the sons of Noah in the genealogy. Their descendants spread out to in all directions. This could have happened quickly as families might have had 20 kids each. Shem’s people became the Hebrews, (Israel) Chaldeans, Assyrians, (Iraq) and the Persians (Iran). Abraham came through the decedents of Shem. And so did Jesus. That fulfilled the meaning of his name, “Fame”. Ham’s people became the Canaanites, Egyptians, Philistines, Hittites and the Amorites. They were at odds with ancient Israel, and so the name Ham, meaning “Hot”, is very prophetic. Japheth’s people became the Greeks, Thracians and Scythians. The meaning of his name, to “spread out” was fulfilled through them. After Jesus came, Gospel faith spread through the descendants of Japheth, the Greeks, especially through Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles. (Life Application Study Bible).
There a couple of verses concerning the descendants of these boys. In Genesis 10:8, we see a Cushite, a descendant of Ham who was a mighty hunter before the Lord and a mighty warrior on the earth. I don’t know if this is sinful. Actually it sounds kind of cool to me. In 10:25 we find that the earth was divided. It could mean that the earth was divided by water or there could have been political divisions. Whenever there are people there is divisions. God wants his people to be united in faith, hope, love, mission and purpose. We can have this when we have Gospel centered faith, the Holy Spirit and when we serve and glorify Jesus along with other Christians. Then we can have unity. We can have unity when we forgive each others and cover over each others’ weaknesses’ with grace. Factions, that is, divisions among God’s people, are the fruit of the sinful nature and not the fruit of the spirit. (Gal 5:20) So let’s not be divided, but united in Jesus.
Sin slowly grew in the hearts of their descendants is culminating in the Tower of Babel incident. After several generations of spreading, it seems that they did not want to scatter any longer. Civilizations and cultures had advanced to the point where people became proud. They ignored God’s will and concocted a plan to build a huge tower that reached to the heavens. Their motive is revealed in Genesis 11:3-4, “They said to each other, ‘Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.’ They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.’” They set out to make a name for themselves. They wanted to stick together and challenge God’s authority. They were proud of their abilities and thought that, with their latest technology (Tar, mortar and baked bricks), coupled with human ingenuity and co-operation, nothing they planned would be impossible for them to do. So, in their pride they disobeyed God and challenged his sovereignty by building a tower that would reach to heaven.
The fact that they wanted to glorify themselves goes against God’s original purpose. Mankind was created to glorify God, to live for the sake of his name. But people become very proud and set out to bolster their own names for their own glory. They unite in their own strength and challenged God. This was nothing new. When Satan tempted Eve, he promised her, "...You will be like God..." (3:5) He planted pride in her heart and led her to rebel against God. Pride is the greatest of all sins. Pride is living for one's own glory and apposing God. Are we using all of our human power and ingenuity to build our own personal Tower of Babel?
God loved them still. Yet he could not let them carry on as they were doing. And so he came up with a plan. Look at 11:6 & 7, "The LORD said, 'If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.'" God did not destroy them. He forgave them and bore with them. He still hoped in them. He simply broke up their sinful plans by confusing their languages so they could not co-operate, and then he scattered them all over the earth. They would still spread out and fill the earth, obeying God, despite of their own plans. God is going to accomplish his will despite of our own plans. And so it is wise to get “on board” with what God right from the beginning.
God confused their language so that they could not understand each other. For the time being, the descendants of Shem, Ham and Japheth, would not be able to communicate and work together. This would carry on for thousands of years. But nowadays people are starting to communicate together more, through English, the modern trade language, and through computers and the internet. It seems that if we put our minds together there is nothing impossible for us to do. I heard that the Japanese want to clone a mammoth in the next five years. There is talk about extending human life to 200 years. Science is good, but will we use science and technology to build our own tower of Babel and rebel against the Lord? I pray not.
At the time of the building of the Tower, God was already making a long-range plan for the salvation of mankind. God wants people to work together to do good and not to do evil. But to do so our hearts must be changed. One day he would send his Spirit to work in regenerated people to enable mankind to praise him with one voice and heart. He nurtured the line of Shem, and at the right time, called one man Abraham, to become the ancestor of a new redemptive history that would generate a people holy who can live for the glory of God. This would be fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
In this passage we see a beautiful house church in the lives of Shem, Ham and Japheth. They were quietly co-working to serve God’s holy purpose. They were standing on the side of righteousness, and bearing with each other, creating a new beginning for mankind in God. In Ham and their descendants we also see the limitations of our efforts to over come the power of sin on our own. There were still the seeds of sin. We need more than just a new start with a godly family. We need Jesus and his gospel to be saved. We also need to get on board with what God is doing, for God’s redemptive work is rolling on like a river. All aboard!
Part l: A Beautiful Co-working Housechurch
1. Who are Shem, Ham and Japheth? What was there birth order? (9:24; 10:21) What was
their marital situation? (7:13) What had God told their father, Noah, to do? (7:13-14)
How did the sons respond to Noah’s preaching? (2 Pe 2:5; 2 Pe 3:3-7; Ge 19:14) How
were they good co-workers with their father? (Eph 6:1-4)
2. How long were the three sons in the ark? What was their attitude? How long did they
stay in the ark after the ark came to rest on the Mount Ararat? (8:13-19) What would
ordinary people do? What does this show about them?
3. What was the mission that God gave Noah and his sons? (9:1, 7) Why did the animals fear mankind? (9:2) Why the strict laws concerning the life blood of animals and capital punishment? (9:4-6) What covenant did God make with Noah and his sons? (9:8-17)
Part ll: The Heritage Of Shem, Ham And Japheth
4. What did Noah do after starting a new life? (9:20) What happened to him? (21)
What was Noah’s position in this new society? What did Ham do? Why is this wrong? (Ex
20: 12; Ro 12:10b) What did his brother’s do? (23) What was Noah’s reaction? (9:24-27)
How did he curse Ham? What does this mean? (Lev 18:2-3; Jdg 1:30; Jos 9:27; 16:10)
5. Look at the descendants of Japheth? (10:2-5) Which nations did his descendants become?
Look at the descendants of Ham. (6-20) Which nations did his descendants become?
Look at the descendants of Shem. (21-31) Which nations did Shem’s descendants
become? What effect had sin made on the developing nations? (10:25)
6. What happened to mankind over the centuries after Noah’s flood? (11:1-4) What did God
want them to do? What was their intention? (4) How much effort did they make for this
project? (3)
7 What did God think about this? (5-6) What danger did God foresee? (6) What did God do? (7-9) Did they eventually obey God? What does this teach us about God? What happened to the descendents of Shem? What can you learn concerning your own influence?
(Three Sons Who Quietly Co-worked With Their Dad, Noah)
Genesis 8:15-11:26 Pastor Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 3-13-11
Key verse 9:1
“Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.’”
Today we are going to study about the son’s of Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth. They were basically good sons. They believed what their father said concerning God’s judgment and they co-operated well with him to build the ark. They stood on God’s side and the side of God’s people. They were blessed along with Noah and their mother. They received God’s holy mission and the same covenant promise as Noah did. They were good boys. But as we know sin has its way of wielding it ugly head, even among believing children. We will see it in Ham. We will see it in the descendants of these three boys. Through a study of this passage let us find some principles of a house church. Let us see believers humbly and quietly co-working together at a crucial moment in God’s history. Let us discover the importance of our influence on future generations. But mostly let us see God, who is the sovereign Lord and who is in control of all world history and who is working out his holy purpose among us, even today.
Part l: A Beautiful Co-working Housechurch (6:9-9:17)
In this passage, we find Noah’s three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth. Japheth was the oldest, Shem was the youngest and Ham was the middle child. They were a Sumerian or Mesopotamian family. In the names of the three sons, we do not find so much spiritual meaning. Their names appear prophetic in nature. Shem means “name”, or “fame”. Ham means “hot”, or “cry out”. Japheth means, “spread out”. These are perfect names for the boys. Shem become the forefather of the Jews and Jesus. Ham was cursed. And Japheth became the maritime people. Our God, who knows the end from the beginning, is so wise in giving the names of these young men.
All three of them were also married. Their wives seemed to have quietly and humbly co-worked together. They were newer families, as they had no children yet. It is so rare for all siblings to be married. Many are opting not to marry; others cohabitate; others wait until late in life. How blessed Noah must have been to see his sons all married to women who believed God’s way of salvation. Noah’s family set a good example for the young people of our generation. I pray for all my kids to have faith enough, and the God-given opportunity, to marry godly spouses, like Noah’s sons.
The three sons also respected the spiritual insight of their father. The Bible says that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. (2 Peter 2:5) He walked with God each day and preached to the people around him about God and how to have a proper relationship with God. It was not easy to do this in that generation. The people of the earth were godless and the violence had spread to the point that God was not going to take it anymore. Even those who were called to be servants of God, had corrupted their ways. (Gen 6:1-2) When Noah spoke about the righteousness of God, he must have been met with rejection and disdain. One day God told Noah about this upcoming judgment and his way of salvation. One day, Noah began to talk about how God would destroy the earth with a flood and anyone who believed God and helped build the ark and get into it, would be saved. The people did not believe Noah. They mocked him, saying, “You foolish old man...What are you doing? Why waste your time. Everything is going on as it always has. There will not be huge flood.” But Noah was steadfast as a preacher of righteousness.
It was not easy for Shem, Ham and Japheth to hear what the people were saying about Noah. This was their father. But God had opened their eyes to see that what their father was saying was absolutely true. They were confident that they were also included in God’s plan of salvation. And so they stood by their father’s side. They were not afraid to identify with the servant of God, Noah. They were not afraid to be despised and reject for the sake of righteous. Jesus once said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matt 5:10-12) Shem, Ham and Japheth stood on the side of their dad, but more importantly on the side of truth and righteousness.
They quietly co-worked with their father. There is no way that Noah could have built this ark on his own. Some to those beams must have weighed hundreds of pounds. God was not like an invisible crane lifting the beam in place. I am sure that the sons and their wives were not just sitting in front of the TV. while Noah was working so hard. They were helping Noah. And their help went on year after year. They were quietly working side by side with their father. Ephesians 6:1-3 reads, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 ‘that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’” Noah’s sons obeyed Noah as Noah obeyed God. They honored Noah through their faith. Their obedient faith also honored God. I thank God for the humble co-working of our children in the work of God. They believe the Gospel. They have spiritual eyes to see what is going on here and they are co-working to reveal Jesus and build up the work of God. Praise the Lord!
God recognized the personal faith of these boys. He included them in his salvation plan. Look at Genesis 7:1-4 “The LORD then said to Noah, ‘Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.’” They were saved on their personal faith in God and their obedience born out of their faith, and not just because they were doing what their father told them. May our young people repent of following someone else’s faith and have their own personal, obedient, saving faith in Jesus Christ and have personal conviction to follow the way of salvation, the Gospel.
Their life in the ark together also revealed their faith. If one considers the time they spent in the ark, they would discover that it was about one year. That was one year of living in a barn that was rocked by the waves. It was not easy for them to live together in such conditions. There must have been many fights and arguments and tears. During storms they all had to lash themselves to the beams of the galley. But they overcame through the power of faith and forgiveness. When Shem complained that he was being forced to clean out the stalls everyday simply because he was the youngest, the others repented and divvied up the tasks evenly among them. They actually helped each other, even if it wasn’t their job. In this way they maintained the ark like a navy vessel. You may think that you can get along with people, but you don’t really know yourself until you live with others in limited space. Then you can discover what it means to love and forgive and serve others. Since leaving home for college at 18, I have always had roommates. For almost a year we had our seven family members and four sisters and three pets in our house. It was common life in the Lord. I thank God, for in these times I could learn faith. May God establish common life among us with growing disciples of Jesus like Shem, Ham and Japheth.
At the end of the year, the ark came to rest on the slopes of Mt Ararat. The Bible says that even after the ark came to rest, they did not leave the ark for about a month. Noah was waiting for God’s clear direction to come out. Noah knew that God knew best. Maybe God was protecting them from malaria or from flash floods or mud slides. God always knows best. But these sons, if they were ordinary men, could have told Noah, “I don’t care, I am leaving this ark now. I am sick of being here. And don’t tell me what to do. I am already a grown man.” They could have jumped ship and did their own thing. But they believed and obeyed their father when he told them to wait on God.
When God finally gave the “go ahead” what did they do? They built an ark and sacrificed some the clean animals and the clean birds. How difficult this would be! If it was me, I would have a big party, slaughter a cow and have a huge barbeque and celebrate. It shows that God was first and foremost on their minds. They also offered some of the clean animals and the clean birds. There were not many of these to be had. There were probably lots of sick and dying animals and unclean animals. Why not offer these? But they offered the best. They remembered the faith of their ancestor Abel. (Gen 4:4) They made and “Able offering” that cost them something. Their first impulse was to worship and thank God. May that be our first impulse in all important events in our lives.
They all received a new beginning in God. God restored their mission in Genesis 9:1, which reads, “Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.’” God recognized them all and made them covenant sons, for since they shared in the same faith as Noah, they also were part of the same covenant.
God then set out to build the image of God in them. Look at 9:1-11. They had been through a lot and seen a lot of things that no person should ever see, like extreme violence and death. There were so many wounds and scars on their hearts. But God began the healing process. They were to not eat the life blood of animals while it was still in them. God was establishing the value of blood sacrifice but he was also telling mankind to respect all life and not to treat animals cruelly even when slaughtering them. He respected mankind’s position in creation, keeping their position above the animals and all creation, even though mankind had sinned greatly against God. This is the unconditional love of God, who forgives and respects us and gives us a place in his family and a position in his glorious redemptive work. Thank God for his grace. God also instituted capital punishment. The boys were desensitized because of the violence they grew up with and the carnage of the flood. Human life seemed cheap. God wanted to change that because a person’s life is valuable simply because they are made in the image of God.
Part ll: The Seeds Of Sin Were Still There…Ready To Sprout. (9:18-28)
The flood did not solve mankind’s sin problem. In Genesis 9:18-28, we see an incident involving Noah and his three sons. Apparently, Noah had planted vineyards. He was being fruitful in every way. He was making wine. One day he was walking around his tent naked and drinking too much wine, and he passed out naked in the tent. OK, he was doing this in the privacy of his home. But it is still never good for a father and a servant of God to drink to the point of passing out naked. But the point of the whole story is the reaction of the boys. Ham happened to enter his father’s tent and saw him lying there. He went out and told his brothers, “Hey! Look at dad!” and brought them in to see him. He wanted to hang Noah’s sins and weaknesses out for all to see. The response of the other two sons reveals the right response. They would not gaze upon their father’s nakedness. They went in backwards and covered his nakedness. They respected Noah, their father and spiritual leader.
When Noah awoke he was so angry at Ham. Ham had disrespected his father. He had also disrespected the servant of God appointed for that new society. He had also diss’d the governor (for Noah was all three). God was very serious about also this. God wanted to establish the new society on a foundation of truth, grace and mercy. Sure Noah had his weakness. Maybe he should not have done what he did. But he is not perfect, just forgiven. He was made righteous by God’s grace. Ham should have forgiven and respected his father and covered over his weaknesses with grace. He should have prayed for his did and if his drinking was a problem then he should offer ways to help him. Ham’s descendants were cursed and 6 centuries later they would be enslaved by the descendants of Shem, the Israelites, when they took over the Promised Land under Joshua.
The Bible tells us to “honor your father and mother” (Ex 20:12), not only if they are perfect, but because they are our parents. We expect our pastors and church leaders to be perfect speakers, managers, counselors, accountants, parents, CEO’s etc. But they are imperfect too. If we are going to build a church and families on love and respect then we must practice love and respect ourselves at home and in the church. May our lives be marked by grace and mercy, love and respect.
Part lll: The Heritage Of Shem, Ham and Japheth (10:1-11:32)
We can see the outcome of the lives of the sons of Noah in the genealogy. Their descendants spread out to in all directions. This could have happened quickly as families might have had 20 kids each. Shem’s people became the Hebrews, (Israel) Chaldeans, Assyrians, (Iraq) and the Persians (Iran). Abraham came through the decedents of Shem. And so did Jesus. That fulfilled the meaning of his name, “Fame”. Ham’s people became the Canaanites, Egyptians, Philistines, Hittites and the Amorites. They were at odds with ancient Israel, and so the name Ham, meaning “Hot”, is very prophetic. Japheth’s people became the Greeks, Thracians and Scythians. The meaning of his name, to “spread out” was fulfilled through them. After Jesus came, Gospel faith spread through the descendants of Japheth, the Greeks, especially through Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles. (Life Application Study Bible).
There a couple of verses concerning the descendants of these boys. In Genesis 10:8, we see a Cushite, a descendant of Ham who was a mighty hunter before the Lord and a mighty warrior on the earth. I don’t know if this is sinful. Actually it sounds kind of cool to me. In 10:25 we find that the earth was divided. It could mean that the earth was divided by water or there could have been political divisions. Whenever there are people there is divisions. God wants his people to be united in faith, hope, love, mission and purpose. We can have this when we have Gospel centered faith, the Holy Spirit and when we serve and glorify Jesus along with other Christians. Then we can have unity. We can have unity when we forgive each others and cover over each others’ weaknesses’ with grace. Factions, that is, divisions among God’s people, are the fruit of the sinful nature and not the fruit of the spirit. (Gal 5:20) So let’s not be divided, but united in Jesus.
Sin slowly grew in the hearts of their descendants is culminating in the Tower of Babel incident. After several generations of spreading, it seems that they did not want to scatter any longer. Civilizations and cultures had advanced to the point where people became proud. They ignored God’s will and concocted a plan to build a huge tower that reached to the heavens. Their motive is revealed in Genesis 11:3-4, “They said to each other, ‘Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.’ They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.’” They set out to make a name for themselves. They wanted to stick together and challenge God’s authority. They were proud of their abilities and thought that, with their latest technology (Tar, mortar and baked bricks), coupled with human ingenuity and co-operation, nothing they planned would be impossible for them to do. So, in their pride they disobeyed God and challenged his sovereignty by building a tower that would reach to heaven.
The fact that they wanted to glorify themselves goes against God’s original purpose. Mankind was created to glorify God, to live for the sake of his name. But people become very proud and set out to bolster their own names for their own glory. They unite in their own strength and challenged God. This was nothing new. When Satan tempted Eve, he promised her, "...You will be like God..." (3:5) He planted pride in her heart and led her to rebel against God. Pride is the greatest of all sins. Pride is living for one's own glory and apposing God. Are we using all of our human power and ingenuity to build our own personal Tower of Babel?
God loved them still. Yet he could not let them carry on as they were doing. And so he came up with a plan. Look at 11:6 & 7, "The LORD said, 'If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.'" God did not destroy them. He forgave them and bore with them. He still hoped in them. He simply broke up their sinful plans by confusing their languages so they could not co-operate, and then he scattered them all over the earth. They would still spread out and fill the earth, obeying God, despite of their own plans. God is going to accomplish his will despite of our own plans. And so it is wise to get “on board” with what God right from the beginning.
God confused their language so that they could not understand each other. For the time being, the descendants of Shem, Ham and Japheth, would not be able to communicate and work together. This would carry on for thousands of years. But nowadays people are starting to communicate together more, through English, the modern trade language, and through computers and the internet. It seems that if we put our minds together there is nothing impossible for us to do. I heard that the Japanese want to clone a mammoth in the next five years. There is talk about extending human life to 200 years. Science is good, but will we use science and technology to build our own tower of Babel and rebel against the Lord? I pray not.
At the time of the building of the Tower, God was already making a long-range plan for the salvation of mankind. God wants people to work together to do good and not to do evil. But to do so our hearts must be changed. One day he would send his Spirit to work in regenerated people to enable mankind to praise him with one voice and heart. He nurtured the line of Shem, and at the right time, called one man Abraham, to become the ancestor of a new redemptive history that would generate a people holy who can live for the glory of God. This would be fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
In this passage we see a beautiful house church in the lives of Shem, Ham and Japheth. They were quietly co-working to serve God’s holy purpose. They were standing on the side of righteousness, and bearing with each other, creating a new beginning for mankind in God. In Ham and their descendants we also see the limitations of our efforts to over come the power of sin on our own. There were still the seeds of sin. We need more than just a new start with a godly family. We need Jesus and his gospel to be saved. We also need to get on board with what God is doing, for God’s redemptive work is rolling on like a river. All aboard!
Part l: A Beautiful Co-working Housechurch
1. Who are Shem, Ham and Japheth? What was there birth order? (9:24; 10:21) What was
their marital situation? (7:13) What had God told their father, Noah, to do? (7:13-14)
How did the sons respond to Noah’s preaching? (2 Pe 2:5; 2 Pe 3:3-7; Ge 19:14) How
were they good co-workers with their father? (Eph 6:1-4)
2. How long were the three sons in the ark? What was their attitude? How long did they
stay in the ark after the ark came to rest on the Mount Ararat? (8:13-19) What would
ordinary people do? What does this show about them?
3. What was the mission that God gave Noah and his sons? (9:1, 7) Why did the animals fear mankind? (9:2) Why the strict laws concerning the life blood of animals and capital punishment? (9:4-6) What covenant did God make with Noah and his sons? (9:8-17)
Part ll: The Heritage Of Shem, Ham And Japheth
4. What did Noah do after starting a new life? (9:20) What happened to him? (21)
What was Noah’s position in this new society? What did Ham do? Why is this wrong? (Ex
20: 12; Ro 12:10b) What did his brother’s do? (23) What was Noah’s reaction? (9:24-27)
How did he curse Ham? What does this mean? (Lev 18:2-3; Jdg 1:30; Jos 9:27; 16:10)
5. Look at the descendants of Japheth? (10:2-5) Which nations did his descendants become?
Look at the descendants of Ham. (6-20) Which nations did his descendants become?
Look at the descendants of Shem. (21-31) Which nations did Shem’s descendants
become? What effect had sin made on the developing nations? (10:25)
6. What happened to mankind over the centuries after Noah’s flood? (11:1-4) What did God
want them to do? What was their intention? (4) How much effort did they make for this
project? (3)
7 What did God think about this? (5-6) What danger did God foresee? (6) What did God do? (7-9) Did they eventually obey God? What does this teach us about God? What happened to the descendents of Shem? What can you learn concerning your own influence?
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