The Promise of a Son

- Everything but children

Up to this point in the life of Abraham we find that he has been called from his homeland, his people, his wife, for a time, and also from his beloved nephew Lot, and he has become filthy rich,

We read that God has also promised to give him and his descendants the land which he is in,

What you and I call the land of Israel.

At this point, Abraham is just living life in Canaan,

Then all of the sudden he has a vision,

God came and repeated his promises of filling the earth with his offspring etc.

But then Abraham, now filthy rich beyond anyone’s dreams, and tells God, yeah, that all fine and dandy, but you forgot a key something, a key ingredient in fact,

I am childless.

Genesis 15:1–2 (CSB)

1 After these events, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield; your reward will be very great. 2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”

- The Promise

To this God, responds by saying, that this Eliezer guy will not be his heir, that in fact, he has promised that he will have a son from his own body.

Then he led him outside to look up at the stars and said the offspring from your own body will be as numerous as those stars.

But then, after he promised him that he would one day have a son through which he would pass on the promise, and what scripture calls the covenant.

Because it is here that God establishes a Covenant with Abraham and his future descendants.

Basically establishing the deal, He will be there God, and they, (The descendants of Abraham, IE: the nation of Israel), will be His people.

Now let’s be clear on the differences that may at times be over looked,

- Promise vs Covenant?

A promise is defined in scripture as:

PROMISE: Declaration by one person to another that something will or will not be done, giving the person to whom it is made the right to expect the performance of whatever has been specified.

(Faithlife, LLC. “Promise.” Logos Bible Study, Computer software. Logos Bible Study Factbook. Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, LLC, February 27, 2024. https://ref.ly/logos4/Factbook?ref=bk.%25promise.)

Meaning, its a one way projection

However, a Covenant is defined as:

COVENANT: “a contractual arrangement between God and a person, or between human beings, which required binding action from one or both parties; one party often had higher status in the arrangement.”

(Faithlife, LLC. “Covenant.” Logos Bible Study, Computer software. Logos Bible Study Factbook. Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, LLC, February 27, 2024. https://ref.ly/logos4/Factbook?ref=ws.covenant.n.03.)

So, a Covenant is a contractual agreement, by two or more parties.

Its important to understand this difference as we continue through biblical history.

There is a major difference between the two.

- Promise of Slavery

Genesis 15:13–14 (CSB)

13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know this for certain: Your offspring will be resident aliens for four hundred years in a land that does not belong to them and will be enslaved and oppressed. 14 However, I will judge the nation they serve, and afterward they will go out with many possessions.

God has Promised Abraham, that he would in fact have children by through his own body, but at some point in the future, they would be enslaved, for four hundred, years,

That is pretty impressive accuracy.

I mean, He could have said, they are going to

have a rough time,

There would be afflicted,

They would suffer etc.

But pinned it down right here, with using the very specific word, enslaved.

There is no doubt that this event occurred, which we’ll discover as we move forward in history, into the time of Moses.

Let’s move forward now a decade or so since this vision and establishment of the “Covenant”

- A look at Sarai

Let’s chat a moment about the wife of Abram, Sarai.

She was truly Abram’s half sister.

They shared the same father, but not the same mother, scripture told us earlier in the call of Abram.

She has followed her husband all over Mesopotamia dwelling in tents, enduring famines, being held captive in a strange foreign country, in the harem of Pharoah.

We aren’t told much of anything at all about how she endured all of this, not too mention that here she was, the first lady so-to-speak,

The lady of the house, of quite possibly the most richest man on the planet at the time,

With all that comes with being so blessed, with servants, and luxuries you and I can only imagine.

For few have ever reached that level of wealth.

Yet, she was unable to have children

In those times, women who could not bear children were ostracized, cast aside, talked about, held in low esteem, etc.

Why?

Because, that is the world of paganism they had come from, where fertility was interpreted as a blessing from the gods, etc.

The more children you had, the more pleased with you the fertility god must have been with you etc.

Sarai endured all of these things, on top of that, she was with a husband/brother who claimed to have recieved visions and visits from who claimed to be the one True God.

And then having to endure all of that as well, from hearing others talk around the well how her husband the master,

“Sees and Hears” things, you get the idea.

Now many years had past, from her hearing from her husband,

“Don’t worry, The Voice who speaks to me, He said we are going to have a son.”

Tired of waiting, probably figuring, “Hey, we got all this money, power and wealth, maybe this God meant

“We have the tools necessary to have a child”

I tell you what, I have an idea, why don’t you sleep with my Egyptian maid servant, Hagar, that no doubt came up from Egypt with them when Pharoah kicked them out.

“Why don’t you get her pregnant, and I’ll raise the kid as my own, after all, she is mine.”

Genesis 16:1–3 (CSB)

1 Abram’s wife, Sarai, had not borne any children for him, but she owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar. 2 Sarai said to Abram, “Since the Lord has prevented me from bearing children, go to my slave; perhaps through her I can build a family.” And Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So Abram’s wife, Sarai, took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and gave her to her husband, Abram, as a wife for him. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan ten years.

Things seem to go just as Sarai had intended until, things went from bad to worse.

- Enter Hagar

It turns out, Hagar began to look down on Sarai, “Like, huh, all this and you can’t even get pregnant, now I am the lady of the house, so-to-speak.

So, Sarai was the boss, and she made it very clear who was running the show around there, so much so, that Hagar was so mistreated, she ran away.

There in the wilderness, the angel of the Lord appeared to her and told her to go back.

And that He was with her child too.

Genesis 16:9–13 (CSB)

9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her authority.” 10 The angel of the Lord said to her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too many to count.” 11 The angel of the Lord said to her, “You have conceived and will have a son. You will name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard your cry of affliction. 12 This man will be like a wild donkey. His hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; he will settle near all his relatives.” 13 So she named the Lord who spoke to her: “You are El-roi,” for she said, “In this place, have I actually seen the one who sees me?”

Abram was 86 years old when all of this baby momma drama happened.

- The Birth of Ishmael

Ishmael, Abraham’s son through his Egyptian maid servant, is considered to be a prophet and the ancestor of Muhammad himself, in Islam.

Islam also believes that Abraham took Hagar and Ishmael to Mecca, the holy place of Islam in present day Saudi Arabia,

and there built the Kaaba, the holiest site in islam, where you’ll see them walk around it in droves,

(https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/introduction-cultures-religions-apah/islam-apah/a/the-kaaba)

It appears Ishmaelites truly are like wild donkeys, with their hand against everyone to this day.

Eighty-six, wow, I am fifty years old, and I am having a difficult time keeping up with a five and a four year old,

could you imagine?

I suppose it makes a big difference when you have all the help you need.

- Changing of Names

Well, Abram was ninety-nine years old when the Lord appeared to him, and said, you are going to have a son with your wife Sarai,

From her will come so many children, they will be like the stars.

Kings, and princes will come through her.

As a matter of fact, Im going to change tour names because of it.

Abram will now be Abraham = Father of many Nations

And to Sarai, now Sarah = Princess

Genesis 17:3–8 (CSB)

3 Then Abram fell facedown and God spoke with him: 4 “As for me, here is my covenant with you: You will become the father of many nations. 5 Your name will no longer be Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I will make you the father of many nations. 6 I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you. 7 I will confirm my covenant that is between me and you and your future offspring throughout their generations. It is a permanent covenant to be your God and the God of your offspring after you. 8 And to you and your future offspring I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as a permanent possession, and I will be their God.”

Whenever I talk about this subject, I feel its necessary to mention this point, so it is not over looked.

Notice what changed in these two names?

To Abram was added the breath we add in english with the letter “H”

To Abra”Ham” To Sarai is also added the breath “Sarah”

This is also seen in the new Testament when Jesus, after His resurrection from the dead, when Jesus decided it was time for the apostles to start fulfilling the purpose for which they were created,

To start living for Him!

He appointed the apostles, by breathing on them

John 20:22 (CSB)

22 After saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

I think this is very profound, especially when we harken back to the beginning of Adam’s life.

He was an inanimate item, until God decided it was time for him to live.

Here, in both of these accounts, it was God that decided it was time for Abraham and Sarah to start fulfilling His purposes

So in order to initiate this, He breathed on them, in the Hebrew the word is (Ne-sha-mah) = nešā·mā(h)

The recording of Jesus breathing on the apostles was in greek, and the word is (Emphi-sao) = emphysaō

Brothers and Sisters, when you recieved the Jesus, you received the Holy Spirit, you recieved the Breath of God, being pumped back into your lives

And do you know why?

Because God decided it was time for YOU to start fulfilling the calling to which you were created, living for Him.

You too were inanimate, just like Adam, without life,

But when you accepted Jesus, you were born again, a new life was breathed into by the very Spirit of God that gave life to Adam, changed the destiny of a tent dwelling sojourner, and his barren wife,

And changed the world using only a few ordinary men.

Its time for YOU to begin living for Him.

- Circumcision

But in order to do so, you must separate yourself from this dead world.

This is what he told Abraham.

As a matter of fact, God devised a mechanism so audacious to demonstrate to the entire world at the time,

that one had been separated to unto God,

The Circumcision.

Genesis 17:11–13 (CSB)

11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 Throughout your generations, every male among you is to be circumcised at eight days old—every male born in your household or purchased from any foreigner and not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or purchased, he must be circumcised. My covenant will be marked in your flesh as a permanent covenant.

Have you ever wondered why God chose the eighth day?

I have. You know the Bible tells us that even Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day. This tradition is still in practice in Judaism, Islam, atheist, and Christianity even though we don’t have too.

But why after the eighth day?

There are elements required for the clotting of the blood that aren’t available to a new born until the eighth day.

So, the reason they wait until then is so the baby doesn’t bleed to death.

https://evidence-for-the-bible.com/scientific-evidence-for-the-bible/scientific-evidence-for-circumcision-on-the-eighth-day/

It turns out, God knew what He was doing.

Imagine that.

But why Circumcision?

God was really making a point here.

That definitely prove your allegiance I’d say, because even in that world, this was level of committment was way out there.

God was serious about separating the want-a-be’s with and the one’s who put their blood sweat and tears into their committment.

In the New Testament, the apostles discussed this obligation for gentile believers,

Should gentile believers in christ be circumcised? it was called the Jerusalem council.

Although they determined Christians no longer needed to be circumcised in the flesh, God still expects that same level of commitment,

The apostle Paul picks up on this in

Romans 2:28–29 (CSB)

28 For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, and true circumcision is not something visible in the flesh. 29 On the contrary, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart—by the Spirit, not the letter. That person’s praise is not from people but from God.

Your blood sweat and tears, are not visible in the flesh, but rather through the flesh, in the form of how you now carry yourselves in the world

In the same manner that one could tell if you were a follower of God when they see you naked in the flesh,

Can someone tell YOU are a follower of God when they see YOU, the real YOU, naked in character before men and God?

That is the true test of your committment to the Lord.

Lastly, we come to the promise of a son.

- The Promised One

The Promised one,

Genesis 17:15–17 (CSB)

15 God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai, for Sarah will be her name. 16 I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will produce nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”

17 Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, give birth?”

Join us next week, as we discover the answer to this question, and conclude our walk through the life of Abraham in our series, the Patriarchs.

Invitation