Genesis 18

Genesis 16 — Hagar and Ishmael

1. Sarai’s Plan

Sarai (Sarah) is unable to have children.

She gives her servant Hagar to Abram (Abraham) so he can have a child through her (a culturally accepted practice at the time).

Trying to help the Lord to fulfill His promises

2. Conflict Arises

Hagar becomes pregnant and begins to look down on Sarai.

Sarai mistreats Hagar, and Hagar runs away into the wilderness.

3. God Meets Hagar

An angel of the Lord finds Hagar by a spring.

Hagar is told to:

Return to Sarai

Submit to her authority

God promises:

Her descendants will be too numerous to count.

4. Promise of Ishmael

Hagar is told she will have a son named Ishmael (“God hears”).

Ishmael’s future is described as:

Independent and संघर्ष-filled (“wild donkey of a man”)

In conflict with others

5. Hagar’s Response

Hagar calls God “El Roi” (“the God who sees me”).

She returns and gives birth to Ishmael.

Abram is 86 years old at this time.

Genesis 17 — Covenant and Circumcision

1. God Reaffirms the Covenant

God appears to Abram at age 99.

Calls him to “walk before me faithfully and be blameless.”

2. Name Changes

Abram → Abraham (“father of many nations”)

Sarai → Sarah (“princess”)

3. Covenant Promises

God promises Abraham:

Many descendants

Nations and kings will come from him

The land of Canaan will belong to his descendants

An everlasting covenant

4. Sign of the Covenant: Circumcision

Every male must be circumcised.

This is a physical sign of belonging to God’s covenant.

Applies to:

Abraham’s descendants

Servants and foreigners in his household

Must be done on the 8th day after birth.

5. Promise of Isaac

God says Sarah herself will bear a son.

His name will be Isaac (“he laughs”).

Abraham laughs in disbelief because:

He is old (99)

Sarah is past childbearing age

6. Ishmael’s Future

Abraham asks God to bless Ishmael instead.

God responds:

Ishmael will be blessed and become a great nation

But the covenant will be established through Isaac

7. Immediate Obedience

Abraham obeys God:

He is circumcised at 99

Ishmael is circumcised at 13

All males in his household are circumcised

1. (V1-5) The Lord appeared to him

a) We assume this is Jesus in human form before His incarnation, here among the three men visiting Abraham.

Nobody has seen the Father

John 1:18 “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”

b) The terebinth trees of Mamre: This was a significant location in Abraham’s life.

Abraham moved to Mamre when he came back into the promised land from Egypt and built an altar there.

Abraham purchased a field and cave at Mamre, using it for Sarah’s burial

Abraham himself was buried there, and his son Isaac was also buried there

c) He ran from the tent door to meet them:

According to his godliness and the customs of that culture, Abraham enthusiastically offered the hospitality of his house to these travelers.

1.1 (V6-8) Sarah and Abraham prepare a meal for their visitors.

Abraham’s urgency seems to go beyond the great sense of hospitality that was common in his time. Abraham understood there was something special about these three visitors.

They did it themselves instead of commanding the servants to do it

1.2 ( V9-10) God repeats the promise of son

a) Repeated promises to build our faith

Romans 10:17 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

1.3 (V11-12) Sarah’s reaction

a) Well past child barring age

They lost hope and laughed at the promise of having their own child

1.4 (V13-15) God answers Sarah’s laugh

a) He knows what we think

Nothing hidden before the Lord

2. (V16-19) God decides to reveal the state of Sodom and Gomorrah

The men rose it was customary for a hospitable host to accompany his guests on their journey for a while as they departed.

God asked Himself this question to reveal His thinking to us, the readers of Genesis.

God determined to reveal to Abraham what He would soon do with Sodom and Gomorrah.

God wanted to do something in Abraham’s life through what He would reveal to him.

God wanted him to instruct his children in righteousness

Deuteronomy 4:9 “Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren,”

 And Abraham came near: Abraham came near to the Lord. Effective intercession is a matter of drawing near to God so we can pray with His heart.

He knew their sins but wanted to demonstrate his justice to them