Genesis 17-18:15 Sermon

Genesis 17:1-18:15

Sermon Notes

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The Sound of Laughter

7/15/2018

Lynchburg, Virginia

EXHORDIUM

This chapter is filled with laughter. Abraham laughs. Sarah laughs. And I think God gets the last laugh. God’s promise to Abram that he will have numerous descendants becomes increasingly clear. There is a promise of land and descendants. 

Abram has a son, Ishmael. But we know that Ishmael is an allegory of how we do things the wrong way while we are too impatient to wait upon God. Thus, Ishmael could not be the heir. 

Furthermore, God waits a very long time to bring about the promise through Sarah. He is like that. He gives life to empty wombs. Remember barren Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Hannah, Elizabeth and even a virgin, Mary, and their babies. And remember how many peoples and nations issue forth from these women by the promise of God.

Ishmael is the firstborn son of Abram but he cannot be the heir because he is neither the son of promise nor a son of faith. And so it is with all sons of the flesh. They shall not inherit so we know that the inheritance is by promise. But in Isaac shall thy seed be blessed.

EXEGESIS

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I amthe Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. ²And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. ³And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,

         We fast forward about 13 years from our previous encounter with Abram and God. He was then 86 years old and he and Sarai contrived to get Abram a son through Hagar. 

         The Lord appears to Abram again and speaks lofty promises to him. He expressly tells Abram that He will make covenant with Abram. Abram falls down in worship.

Gen. 17:4  As for me, behold, my covenantiswith thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. ⁵Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. ⁶And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

The Lord tells Abram that he will be the father of many nations. He changes Abram name from Exalted Father to Father of Nations. This is a promotion.

Gen. 17:7  And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. 

The covenant is that Abram and his seed would serve God and God would watch over them for good.

⁸And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. 

The promise is two-fold. 1. Descendants 2. Land

⁹And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. 

God charges Abram and his seed to keep His covenant. Remember the stipulation, to serve God faithfully. God, on His part, will provide descendants and land.

This two-fold covenant is important as we look to the New Testament explanation of who are Abraham’s seed. God is still keeping His promise to all who are the seed of Abraham. He has promised to be their God, to provide innumerable descendants and land.

We see how God expands this promise in Jesus Christ. The descendants now become a number too high to count. The land becomes all creation under the authority of Jesus.

¹⁰This ismy covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 

God just told Abraham to keep the covenant. The Covenant is faithfulness to Yahweh now and always. But we have a sign of that covenant that is a mark that such a covenant exists. It binds the parties to keep the covenant. This sign of the covenant is circumcision. God speaks of the sign and as the thing it signifies. God calls circumcision the covenant.

The New Testament tells us that circumcision no longer saves us but the washing of regeneration, baptism. But we have clear teaching in the New Testament that it is not the baptism that saves, it is a sign of the thing signified, the washing of regeration by the Holy Spirit. But it is a clear mark that those who have received the sign are bound by the terms of the covenant.

What is that covenant. That God would be our God and that we would serve Him in Spirit and in Truth. God will provide descendants and land.  That is, the knowledge of the Lord will be as the waters that cover the sea.

¹¹And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. ¹²And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which isnot of thy seed. ¹³He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

This is a very weird sign. It seems odd that at the heart of the relationship between God and man is a sign that we have a difficult time even talking about in public. A portion of the male child’s reproductive organ was to be removed. And the removal of the foreskin was to signify the removal of sin. 

Of course, the removal of the foreskin is no more a removal of sin than the washing of baptism. Sin is in the heart of man, not in the foreskin or as we think about baptism that now saves us, sin is not on our skin or on our head. 

So, why the foreskin? Because this marks the reproductive organ. It is not merely our sins that need cleansed, it is our sinfulness. We are fallen creatures and our sin passes on to our offspring. The only way to be cleansed of our sinful nature is through forgiveness. God is making the point that all who issue forth from man are tainted with sin. This sin cannot be cleansed. It must be forgiven.

This is a household circumcision. The babies did not have a choice in the matter. They were not asked to come to a credible profession of faith before they entered into covenant with God. Furthermore, these children also partook of the Passover meal. As they grew older they asked their parents what it was all about. 

So, the parents explain. The foreskin of your flesh is cut away because you are a sinner must enter into covenant with God to serve Him. He is long suffering and quick to forgive sins. You must repent of sins and seek God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind. As to Passover, God delivered us from Egypt. We were bondmen to the Egyptians but we must rather me servants of God than servants of men. God delivered us from that darkness to His light. 

This idea of being cut off should not go unnoticed. Anyone who does not partake of the covenant by being circumcised and by obeying God will be cut off. It is as if he were saying that their privy member shall be removed and he shall have no offspring to partake in the covenant. It is a death sentence to the promise of descendants and land.

Gen. 17:15  And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarahshallher namebe. ¹⁶And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a motherof nations; kings of people shall be of her. 

God renames Sarai to Sarah. She is no longer just an exalted lady but now a queen of the nations.

         The exact difference in meaning of the names is not known. But what we do know is that when God establishes the covenant with Abram and Sarai, He changes both of their names. 

         God does this sort of thing. Names are important to Him. Jesus changed many names or gave nicknames to His disciples. The name should fit the calling.

         Abraham is the father of nations and Sarah is the mother of nations. They are essentially a new Adam and Eve.

¹⁷Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a childbe born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? 

Abraham falls on his face and laughs. He apparently is in the midst of worship and is overcome with joy. He laughs but not exactly the same as Sarah. He seems to be in the position of being amazed that God would grant such a miracle to Him.

¹⁸And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

Abraham is still loyal to his firstborn son, Ishmael. Does he say this because he cannot believe another son could be born to him? Or, is he simply declaring his love for Ishmael, his firstborn. We do not know the relationship between Abraham and Hagar at this point. We assume it is good. But when Sarah objects to Ishmael’s mocking of Isaac, the Lord and Abraham side with Sarah to cast out the bondwoman and her son.

¹⁹And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, andwith his seed after him. 

The Lord insists that Sarah will bear a son and they shall call his name laughter. Both Abraham and Sarah laugh at the thought of having a child at 99 and 90 years old, respectively. But they do have a son and he brings them much laughter. 

The covenant that God established with Abraham will also be established with Isaac and his seed forever. Initially, it appears that this seed is the literal offspring of Abraham. But it has always been the case that those who put their trust and faith in Yahweh, as Abraham had done, are the true heirs of Abraham.

²⁰And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.²¹But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. ²²And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

God will bless Ishmael for Abraham’s sake but the covenant must come through the marriage lawful marriage and childbearing of Abraham and Sarah.

Gen. 17:23  And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him. ²⁴And Abrahamwasninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. ²⁵And Ishmael his sonwasthirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. ²⁶In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. ²⁷And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.

All males in Abraham’s house were circumcised. This included all family and all who were slaves. It was a household circumcision. After this, all males eight days old were to be circumcised.

Gen. 18:1  And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; ²And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he sawthem, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, ³And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: ⁴Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: ⁵And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. 

Three angels appear to Abraham and he hastens to provide them a meal. Who are these men? Likely Gabriel, Michael and a theophany of Jesus. I say this because in verse 13 says, “And the Lord said unto Abraham.”

⁶And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, kneadit, and make cakes upon the hearth. ⁷And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gaveitunto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. ⁸And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and setitbefore them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.

Abraham calls upon Sarah to help him prepare the meal. They make cakes and find a young calf to slaughter and prepare. He prepares the calf and brings the cakes butter and milk to set before the angels. And they sit under a tree and eat the food.

Gen. 18:9  And they said unto him, WhereisSarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. ¹⁰And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah hearditin the tent door, which wasbehind him. ¹¹Now Abraham and Sarahwereoldandwell stricken in age; andit ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. ¹²Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?

Sarah laughs when she hears that she is to have a child. She may not have realized who these men where and therefore was not prepared to believe the message. But Abraham had also laughed out loud and God was not angry with him. In this situation Sarah is rebuked for her laughter. 

Sarah had already attained the time of menopause. Thus, she knew that she could not have a child. Thus, the Lord not only miraculously opened her womb but also provided an egg to be fertilized from a woman who ceased to produce them.

¹³And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? ¹⁴Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. ¹⁵Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

The Lord response to Abraham tells us why Sarah laughed. She thought it not possible for her to have a child. But the Lord says that nothing is too hard for Him to do. This indicates that God thinks Sarah should have known this and therefore submitted to the word of the Lord.

Furthermore, Sarah here denies the laughter. She denies that she was unbelieving. She commits two errors. One she does not believe God. Two, when confronted, in her fear she denies the truth and tells a lie. It is unclear who is talking to Sarah here. Is it God or Abraham? Either way, they confront Sarah directly. 

Keep in mind that Sarah is not punished. She laughs and it is understandable. She is not as quick to believe as she should be and her fear causes her to commit another sin but she is not a rebellious woman. She is a servant of the Most High God and He blesses her with a son.

EXHORTATION

Laugh With God

         Let us laugh with God. He is very good to us. In fact, truly better than we deserve.  But believe it. Don’t deny it. Even if your denial is the truth that you are too old, or too wicked, or too anything to receive the grace of God.

         Is anything too hard for Him? Is anyone too far gone that God cannot save him or her? Then submit to God as Lord that you might laugh the laugh of joy.