Promised Fulfilled and Passed Through

Overview

What you will see through these next several chapters is how God is continuing to bless Abraham. Several years are going to pass on by and we are going to see God’s covenant continue to be upheld by the birth of Isaac, the blessing of Ishmael, and the covenant being passed onto Isaac. We then will see how faithful Abraham is and an awesome woman named Rebekah. A man willing to give up his child for the sake of obedience as well as a woman who is willing to leave everything to be a faithful woman to God and to be apart of a lineage that God has promised to bless.

The Walkthrough of How God Blesses in Genesis 21

God Blesses with the birth of Isaac (Genesis 21:1-7)

Genesis 21:1: “21 The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised.”

Remember the portion where The Lord appeared as a man to Abraham and Sarah? How Sarah laughed at Him when He said “I’ll visit this same time next year for your child.”? This is the fulfillment of the prophecy! The Lord told that it would happen and it happened.

Genesis 21:2 “Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to Him”

She gives birth to a man named Isaac, his name means one who laughs. At first, when both Abraham and Sarah laughed that God would bear a son through Sarah, the name was meant more as a rebuke of the laughter. However, God turned this rebuke in something beautiful. A laugh of rejoicing.

God Blesses Hagar and Ishmael (Genesis 21:8-21)

In the next portion, Sarah wants Hagar and Ishmael banished as Ishmael was scoffing at Isaac, a baby. Abraham doesn’t want to but the Lord actually affirms for Abraham to do this and that He will protect Hagar and Ishmael, which He does. However, this conflict isn’t just a jealous response from Sarah, this is the origin story of two nations who will constantly be at war and conflict with each other for the next several generations and so forth.

Nonetheless, God protects Hagar and Ishmael and Ishmael becomes a man of the wilderness.

God’s Blessing is Made Known (Genesis 21:22-34)

Now we move onto a different chapter, so to say, even though we are still in Chapter 21. Reminder, Chapters and verse numbers didn’t come into the Bible until the 1400s. So we are now in a different “episode” if that makes sense. We have “At that time.” Abraham now makes a treaty with a Ruler among the canaanites who took possession of their well. Abraham offers gifts to Abimelech and rebukes him for this wrong. However, they make a treaty and move forward.

What I want to point out in this section though is that the blessing of God was made known in Abraham’s life. Time and time again you have God protecting Abraham and I am sure this was made known as it says in verse 22-24

Genesis 21:22-24: 22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do. 23 Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned.” 24 And Abraham said, “I will swear.”

Abimelech feared Abraham because he knew the power of God and saw that God was with Abraham. Feared him to the point where he needed Abraham to swear that God will not deal falsely with him.

The Faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Rebekah in Genesis 22 and 24

Opening questions:

What is one of your most favorite possessions, person, or place? What would it take for you to give it up?

The Faith of Abraham and Isaac

This next moment might be crazy for us all, but this is sometime for when Isaac was around the age of a high schooler. In Genesis 22:6, it says that he carried up wood for sacrifice. That would be a lot of weight for a child. The main thing that I want to mention though is this has been now after all the waiting, Abraham and Sarah finally have their child. Now, 15ish years later, God asks Abraham to kill his own child.

Genesis 22:1-2 “After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

Can you imagine that? The prophecy, the covenant, the big pinky promise that God made, about to be destroyed.

As they travel up to the land of Moriah and go to one of the mountains, Isaac starts to ask his Father, where’s the lamb for the sacrifice? Abraham responds by saying God will provide the lamb for the burnt offering. So they build the altar and Abraham bound his son and laid him on the altar. Isaac is no little child, scholars says he’s at least 15, he knows what's going on. I mean, Abraham is old, Isaac could have probably easily ran away or possibly even overpowered him. But he didn’t. This is why I say faith of Abraham but also of Isaac. Within this passage, you don’t see any writing of Isaac trying to run away or leaving in fear, but being a living sacrifice to die as Abraham obeys his God. But, as Abraham grabbed the knife to kill his only child that God had promised, there is a roar from heaven that says “do not lay your hand on the boy, for I know that you fear God.” Out of no where, a ram appears and they sacrifice the ram instead of Isaac.

This is a direct comparison of the greater sacrifice to come. Jesus Christ on the cross. The only son of God, just like Isaac was the only son, to be sacrificed for the world. That those who would believe in Him would be saved.

Would you be willing to give up what you loved most to God? Do you have faith that God will provide?

The Faith of Rebekah

Ladies, I want to first say, that reading about woman in the book of Genesis may be a struggle at moments. Especially with hierarchy of men. The New Testament has balanced it out more so but seeing how maybe Hagar was treated by people, how some woman were just offered or treated like property, it can be a challenge I’m sure. But I want to encourage you that woman are very much equal as heirs to the kingdom of God. That woman play a huge and vital role in this story. In fact, the woman was the one who was promised to bear a child to bruise the head of Satan. You would see the genealogy come all the way to Joseph AND Mary.

I want to read to you a short story of Genesis 24 written by P.T Jeshaw and listen to this beautiful love story but also the faith of a beautiful and faithful woman of God.

A Wife for Isaac by T.P. Jeshawt (Chat GPT)

The sun hung low in the sky as Abraham, now old and weathered, summoned his most loyal servant. His voice, though aged, carried the weight of destiny. “Swear to me,” he began, “that you will find a wife for my son, Isaac—not from this land, but from my own people.” The servant nodded, eyes searching his master’s face for assurance.

“What if she refuses to come back with me?” he asked cautiously. “Should I then take Isaac to her?”

“No,” Abraham replied firmly, his gaze far off as if looking at a vision only he could see. “The Lord, who brought me to this land, will send His angel ahead of you. You will find her. If not, you are released from this oath.” The servant bowed, his heart stirred by the gravity of the task.

Days passed, and the journey was long. The servant, now weary, reached the town of Nahor as evening fell. He paused by the well, the desert winds whispering around him. Kneeling beside his camels, he prayed, “Lord, make my journey successful. Let the woman who offers water to me and my camels be the one You’ve chosen for Isaac.”

As if on cue, a young woman approached, graceful and radiant, carrying a jar on her shoulder. The servant’s breath caught as he watched her. Mustering his courage, he stepped forward. “Please, give me a drink from your jar.”

Her eyes softened, and with a gentle smile, she lowered the jar. “Drink, my lord.” Then, without hesitation, she added, “I will draw water for your camels as well.” She moved swiftly, back and forth to the well, filling the troughs until every camel was satisfied.

The servant’s heart pounded. Could this be the one? He reached into his pouch, drawing out a gold nose ring and bracelets. “Whose daughter are you?” he asked, hope quivering in his voice. “Is there room in your father’s house for us to stay?”

She looked at him, her face bright with kindness. “I am the daughter of Bethuel,” she said. “And yes, we have plenty of room and feed for your camels.”

The servant’s eyes glistened. Dropping to his knees, he whispered, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has led me straight to my master’s family.” Rebekah, breathless with wonder, turned and ran to her home, her heart beating like a drum.

Her brother Laban soon appeared, his eyes wide with curiosity and excitement. “Come in, you who are blessed by the Lord!” he called. The servant entered, but before touching a morsel of food, he spoke. His voice filled the room, telling of his master, his journey, and the prayer answered at the well.

Laban and Bethuel exchanged glances, awe in their eyes. “This is from the Lord,” they said. “Rebekah is yours to take as a wife for Isaac.”

The dawn broke softly, spilling golden light into the room. The servant stood, ready to depart. But Rebekah’s family hesitated. “Let her stay with us ten days,” they pleaded.

The servant shook his head, his gaze resolute. “Do not delay me. The Lord has granted success to my journey.”

All eyes turned to Rebekah. Silence filled the air, heavy with expectation. “Will you go with this man?” they asked.

Rebekah took a deep breath, her eyes steady. “I will go,” she answered, a quiet resolve in her voice.

The journey back was long and quiet, filled with the rustle of sand and the soft steps of camels. One evening, Rebekah saw a figure walking in the fields, his form outlined against the setting sun. Her heart quickened. “Who is that man?” she asked.

“That is my master,” the servant replied. In one graceful motion, Rebekah veiled herself, a blush warming her cheeks.

As they approached, Isaac stood still, watching. The servant dismounted and recounted the story, every word like a thread weaving together fate. Isaac listened, eyes never leaving Rebekah. When the tale was finished, he reached out his hand to her. She took it, her fingers trembling in his.

He led her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and there, they became husband and wife. In Rebekah, Isaac found love. In love, he found comfort for his mourning heart.

And so, beneath the vast expanse of stars, a new chapter began, echoing the faith and promises of those who came before. And those who came.

We see 3 wonderful things here, what are they?

A generous spirit and servants heart. She is kind to the servant and offers him water. As well as drawing up water for the camels. This wasn’t like grabbing a glass and filling up water from your fridge. This was a well with a bucket on a pulley system or just simply a rope tied to a bucket. She was pulling up a lot of water for these people out of the kindness of her heart. Faithfullness in God to go. The short story is not much different than the scriptures. This wasn’t a well let me get to know him, what’s he like, what’s his interest, is he cute. They all knew this was from God and Abraham was well known and she was asked to be the wife of his son. Without the knowing aything about him, she said“ God’s Sovereign Plan and His faithfulness. The servant did not have much direction, go to this area and find someone that was relatedish with Abraham and he just happened to pass her by and it was the perfect one. God guided the servant as the servant trusted in the God of Abraham. Do you trust in this God?

The Fast Forwarded Version of Genesis 23 and 25

Sarah dies at age 126 and they have a huge burial service for her (Genesis 23) Abraham then later remarries to a woman named Keturah that does bring about many children. However, Isaac was the one that Abraham gave all of his inheritance to, when Abraham died, at 175 years old (Genesis 25:1-6).

The Setup God’s Covenant Passing Through Isaac

The next two chapters go over a few things and they are kind of weirdly placed, chronologically. Between both, I’ll give you a run down of what happens.

Isaac makes a treaty with a ruler and the Lord blesses Isaac with riches. Land, food, possessions, servants, the scriptures say “he became very wealthy.” (Genesis 26:13) The ruler he made a treaty with, gets jealous and says to leave because you are “much mightier than we.” (Genesis 26:16). He then settles in a land of Gerar and near Beersheba, which is a place where Abraham actually made a treaty with a different ruler and called this place Beersheba. This is a cool location because Beersheba is where a lot of events take place in Genesis. At this place, God blesses Isaac and says you are blessed because I am the God of Abraham, your father. Isaac is continuing the this covenant and placing the same kind of faith in God that Abraham, Isaac’s Father Did. You are going to see how Isaac and Rebecca have two Children. The first born is Esau, the second born is Jacob. What you will see in reading this is Esau doesn’t really care about the legacy being continued. How his birthright is more of an item, rather than understanding the importance of God’s covenant since Abraham. In a conversation with his brother, Jacob has been making dinner and Esau comes in from hunting and asks for food. Jacob asks for his birthright and you know what Esau says, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” It goes on to say that he despises his birthright.

Why is that so significant? Remember the covenant for Abraham, it would be Esau’s responsibility to pass down a bloodline tied to Abraham. We see Isaac echoing this, the first born upholding the responsibility but Esau does not care for it. Will the bloodline continue through the first born?

We will see next week.