The Promise and the Destruction

The Context (Genesis 11:27-16:16)

Look at your notes and try to think back on somethings that Herrera talked about last week and what stood out to you.

The first point he had was that God Calls Abram. Not Abraham, but Abram. Abram was in a place of darkness and idol worshippers. However, God called Him out of it. God is promising Him land, blessing, and descendants. God chose Abram to be the Father of God’s holy nation, Israel. This is what God says to Abram:

Genesis 12:2: "And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing."

Abram has faith in God and leaves his home and goes to where God calls him to go.

The second point was God’s Covenant with Abram. What is a covenant? You see throughout scripture that God makes covenants with key people. Every covenant we see here is from God and then later in the new testament, Jesus Christ fulfills all of this, a new covenant, a better covenant with what he did on the cross. The first covenant He made was with Noah, called the Noahic Covenant, to not flood the world again. What is the outward sign? The rainbow. He made one with Abram, about His descendants. God makes a covenant with Abram, that his very own son, not the one he had with his servant, Hagar, but Abram’s very own son will be his heir. God says to “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them. So shall your offspring be” (Genesis 15:5-6). Now Just like the Noahic Covenant, there will be an outward sign. What is the outward sign? You will see. Hint, it is something very painful for boys and men.

The last point was the one about the God who Sees, Elroy. The person who called God this is not Abram, nor Sarai, but the servant, Hagar. Herrera only had a limited time, but one component that I love so much in this part of the story is the grace God had on Hagar. As I read what happens and how Hagar was basically the one that Sarai said for Abram to make a baby with, Hagar unfortunately acted with pride and contempt. Sarai got very angry, especially this kind of treatment from a servant and Hagar gets outcasted. God appears to her in a dream and tells her to go back and promises to bless Hagar, this lowly Egyptian slave. I love that Hagar, an Egyptian, recognizes the sovereignty of God and how God is a God who cares for His people and Hagar received grace and mercy from the God who sees.

The Big Picture

There is so much that goes on within these 3 chapters. We get a reminder of what happened prior about God promising the covenant

Jesus is the better covenant than the Noahic, Abrahamic, or any Old Testament covenant. Nothing is to Hard for the Lord Jesus is the Greater Intercessor as Abraham tried to intercede for Sodom Jesus is the Ultimate Rescuer as God Rescued Lot from Sodom.

The Cliff Notes (Genesis 17:1-19:29)

Genesis 17

The Reminder and the Outward Sign (Genesis 17:1-8) God Promises the Birth of Isaac (Genesis 17:15-21) The Outward Sign Enacted - Ouch (Genesis 17:22-27) Jesus is the Better Covenant (Hebrews 8:6)

This one I will spend more time in as we will see the covenant, the outward sign, and the detailed promise of a son named Isaac.

The Reminder and the Outward Sign (Genesis 17:1-8)

Verses for people to look up: Genesis 17:7-8, Genesis 17:10-12, and Genesis 17:19

In Genesis 17:1-8, we have Abram being 99 years old and God is telling Abram about the covenant once again. That God will bless Abram, and his son will be the heir and there will be generations of his offspring.

Here, we have the name changes, Abram becomes Abraham.

Here is what Genesis 17:7-8 says:

7 'And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” '

Notice, how God isn’t specific on who or when this will start. Then, God shows what the outward sign will be of this covenant, Circumcision. Genesis 17:10-12 says

10 'This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. ' 12 'He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, '

Covenant will be circumcision and from here on, those that are 8 days old, will be circumcised. I want everyone to go back and see the connection. We said the same thing how there is an outward sign for the covenant God made with Noah, the rainbow.

God Promises the Birth of Isaac (Genesis 17:15-21)

Sarai becomes Sarah and she is 90 years old. I know just recently, people were living forever, but after the flood, God started to cap the lifespan of humans to 120ish. God promises a son by Sarah and Abraham laughs and talks to himself saying “a son by her?” She’s 90 years old! Hagar already has a son called Ishmael, but God is specific that this child will come through Sarah.

Genesis 17:19 says:

'God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. '

God says later that He will make Isaac into a great nation whom Sarah will bear the following year. God gets specific. They have been waiting. They already were waiting prior to when Hagar (the servant that Abram slept with and the one who called God Elroy), gave birth to her son, Ishmael. Ishmael is now around 13 years. I have a hard time waiting a few months for something.

Everyone gets circumcised - Ouch (Genesis 17:22-27)

From here, all the men in this nation get circumcised. Abram, Ishmael (Hagar’s son who is 13 now), and all the men of the and born in the house. This included servants as well.

Jesus is the Better Covenant

Hebrews 8:6

Genesis 18:1-15

Verses to Look Up Genesis 18:1-3 and then everyone for 18:9-15 God appears in human form (Genesis 18:1-8) God mentions the covenant (Genesis 18:9-15) Nothing is to Hard for God

God appears in human form (Genesis 18:1-8)

Shortly after God had been speaking to Abraham, the LORD appears in human form. We see words such as three men. Abraham notices these three men and runs and bows. Only royalty would you do such a thing. Abraham mentions O Lord.

Genesis 18:1-3: And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks[a] of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth 3 and said, “O Lord,[b] if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant.

Scholars believe that this is Jesus in human form before He was incarnated into the world through miraculous virgin birth. The scripture says three men and the connection of the LORD appeared and Abraham saying “O, Lord” makes sense. It just blows my mind. So this would mean one of the men is the LORD and the other two are mighty angels. We see these two angels later in Genesis 19.

God mentions the covenant (Genesis 18:9-15)

The LORD seems to appear to mention the covenant once again, this promise of a child through Sarah.

(You Read)

Genesis 18:9-15: 9 They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.”10 The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” 13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’14 Is anything too hard[d] for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied it,[e]saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

Adam laughed in the last chapter and now Sarah laughs. I love how the Lord speaks to them and is so conversational. He asks questions and responds in such a human manner as He knows how humans are. He created them and made them to be in the image of Him.

Nothing is to Hard for God

Look at how he responds in verse 14. He basically saying “is there anything too hard for me?”. God created Adam out of nothing, He can make the old and barren woman, a mother.

Genesis 18:16-33

Verses to look up Genesis 13:13, 18:22, 19:14, 19:17, and 19:26 Abraham Intercedes for Sodom (Genesis 18:22-33) Jesus the Greater Intercessor

A new section appears and we see the LORD’s attention turn to Sodom. Sodom was mentioned 5 chapters back:

(Everyone flip back)

Genesis 13:13: "Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord."

The Lord is noticing such wickedness and is getting ready to judge and destroy this city. God was about to go down in this human form and see for himself (although he already knows).

Abraham Intercedes for Sodom (Genesis 18:22-33)

I love this wording “stood before the Lord”

Genesis 18:22: 22 So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.

You will see Abraham try to help save these peoples lives. And through this conversation Abraham is having before the LORD is a negotiation. Abraham says suppose fifty are righteous? 40? 30? 20? 10? And God says if there are 10 righteous, I will not destroy the city.

Jesus the Greater Intercessor

Romans 8:34: "Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us."

Genesis 19

Lot is Visited by the Other Two Men (Genesis 19:1-3) Sodom and Gomorrah is Evil (Genesis 18:4-14) Sodom and Gomorrah is Destroyed (Genesis 19:15-29) Jesus is the Ultimate Rescuer

Lot is Visited by the Other Two Men (Genesis 19:1-3)

In the first part of chapter 19, we have these angelic beings, two of them, visit Lot. Lot is Abraham’s nephew. This must have been some time but not too much, since this is before the birth of Isaac. These two angels are often assumed to be part of the three men that visited Abraham’s house. You also see the word men used time and time again in this passage (Such as verse 12). They were definitely angelic beings that were probably human form but there was this angelic presence within them.

Sodom and Gomorrah is Evil (Genesis 19:4-14)

You will see how evil they are in what they are trying to do in this next section, but these people are evil. Several chapters prior in Genesis, it mentions this:

Genesis 13:13: "Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord."

Long story short, these men are so evil, that they wanted to do inappropriate things to these angels. The whole city was filled with evil that only Lot and his immediate family were found righteous. Not even his sons-in-law took Lot to be serious. Look at Genesis 19:14:

Genesis 19:14: So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “Up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.

Sodom and Gomorrah is Destroyed (Genesis 19:15-29)

As the city is about to be destroyed, one the holy men (angels), said to Lot, do not look back. Why do you think this is so essential? It showcases their heart. The point of this is the harsh reality with how evil this city was. Looking back showed where your true intentions lie. It also shows a trust in the one true God.

Genesis 19:17: ****And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley.

Lot is able to escape with his daughters and wife but unfortunately, his wife looks back and she became a pillar of salt.

Genesis 19:26 But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

As a sinner and human being, I mean the anxiousness of everything that is going on. To hear screams, buildings crashing, and just a curiosity of what is going on?

This is a spoiler to one of my favorite musicals, but also, this story has been out for 2000 years. In this scene, you have the main character’s love, get captured and taken to the underworld, where Hades lives. This guy, out of his desperation for his love, goes to the underworld and long story short makes it there and Hades makes a deal with the main dude. He says, I'll let you take her back, if you can go the entire journey back to the surface with her following you behind. However, if you look back, she stays here forever. So a huge, epic song goes on and throughout it all you see how they both start confidently and after a while, the anxious thoughts, the doubts, the fear, all the what if’s take place, and right before they almost escape and start to see the other side, he looks back. There she is, standing, waiting for him but he looked to early. And she stays trapped with Hades, forever.

It’s easy for us to look at it on the outside and gloss over it, but when you try to find the drama in scripture, it draws you in.

I can’t imagine how Lot felt when that happened as I am sure he loved his wife. However, it shows you just how much God hates sin and wickedness and wants nothing to do with it. God did save Lot and rescued him from destruction.

Jesus is the Ultimate Rescuer

Out of God’s love for the world, this is why He sent His one only son. That whoever should believe that He is the Lord and savior, will not perish or be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah but have everlasting life with the Heavenly Father. To ultimately be rescued from death and brought into life.

Jesus is the better covenant, Jesus is the greater intercessor, and Jesus is the ultimate rescuer from sin and destruction because through His grace, we are saved.