Today's reading from the Chronological Plan is Genesis 15-17. Click here to read it online.
Hello everyone! It is so nice to "meet" you!
Today's Reading includes the introduction to the Abrahamic covenant, by which God promises Abraham an heir and eventual descendants who will one day possess the land of Canaan. He also promises Abraham that his descendants will eventually be as innumerable as the stars in the sky (verse 5 of chapter 15). Huge prophecies, parts of which we know came true in later chapters and parts that still continue on being fulfilled today. What I love about all the prophecy in chapters 15-16 is that they show the love that God has for His creation and His people. I'll get to that more specifically, in a moment. One thing I will note is the use of Abram and Abraham. They are one in the same person. God changes Abrams name to Abraham as you will see in chapter 17, verse 5.
Years have passed, and Abram was still without an heir. He pleaded his case to God and suggests adopting his servant as his heir. God tells him no and promises him that he will have an heir out of his own bowels (meaning physically procreated). This is the first sign of God's love. We just discussed Abrams previous short comings in previous text, and yet he brings his hearts desires to the Lord, and God hears him. Not only does He hear him, but He answers him and has compassion for him. God then tells Abram of His promises for him and his descendants.
In the beginning of chapter 16, we see me. No not really, but we see a woman with my temperament. We are told of Sarai, Abram's wife and how she decides that since she can't give her husband a son herself, she must figure out how to fix the problem on her own. Surely, God meant that you are to have a child with our handmaid, that must be it. And she gives her husband her maid, to conceive a child with. I have to hand it to her, that must of taken a lot of strength and desire to please her husband, in order to do that. But what she should have done, was believed in God's promise and waited upon Him. This is all to often what I do. If things aren't going along fast enough, or as I think they should be, I work my way in the middle of all of it, and think of what I can do to fix it. Like God's too busy, and needs me to step in and take over for Him....I don't think so. There are times where we need to put footwork to our prayers, but most of the time we need to be patient and wait upon the Lord. He does not forget His promises and He will NEVER fail us!
Of course, I can't leave out that Abram gave in to Sarai's plea, and joined in on her plan. He could have stopped this whole thing at any time. It shows his giving into the desires of the flesh rather than the desires of the spirit.
Hagar flees from Sarai and Abram due to harsh treatment, but is met by an angel in the wilderness. Here, the angel tells her that she is to go back and bear her child who is to be called Ishmael. Read verse 11 of chapter 16 carefully....in the King James, it is written, "...because the Lord hath heard thy affliction." Isn't that beautiful? God doesn't even forget about the maid. His compassion is more deep than we will ever know here on this earth! Hagar is told that Ishmael's seed will be great in number as well, but that he will be a wild man and there will always be turmoil between he and every man. God later provides for Hagar and Ishmael when they are alone and hungering in the desert. He never leaves us...ever.
Lastly, in chapter 17 we have the covenant to Abraham, now, and his seed. That they will have the land given to them by God as an everlasting possession. (verse 7,8) Everlasting, means that as long as this earth is here, that land is rightfully theirs. To this day, that land rightfully belongs to the Jews, and there will always be fighting and turmoil there as long as the Jews are being forced off it. America is in BIG TROUBLE as a nation when we stop backing the Jews. Then, God changes Sarai's name to Sarah, and promises to bless her and give her a child. This is another example of God's love I was talking about. All these horrible things that Sarah did, and God is blessing her. The seed of Ishmael today is still a thorn in the side of God's people, and Sarah and Abraham were at fault, but God looked past that and blessed them, and they still were able to do many wonderful things for God in their lives. We can too! No matter what our past, no matter what our present, we can change it, submit it to God and still be used for His honor and glory!
God promised Abraham that He would make Ishmael a great nation, and later Abraham and Ishmael, and all the men of Abraham's house, were circumcised as a part of the covenant. It indicated that his offspring were set apart and uniquely dedicated to God.
I'm sorry, I know it's a lot. A long post, but there are soooo many important things in these 3 chapters! As I said, I love these chapters and the characteristics of God that they display. Love, compassion, faithfulness, all knowing power. It's incredible! However on the sad note, this is where all the fighting in the middle east originates from. The Jews and the Arabs. God has promised us here that there will not be peace amongst these nations until His return. All we can do is pray and be thankful that there will be peace in eternity. And these chapters show His faithfulness, and truthfulness, and we can rest on that and have peace.
Tomorrow's reading is Genesis 18-21:7. Click here to read it online.
17 comments:
I love your passion and enthusiasm Tammy, its infectious :D
These are just thoughts I had as I was reading. Abram believed God about the promise of a baby but then in 15:8 he didn't believe him about possessing the land. I just thought that was odd that he believed God for one thing and not another. Although we do that too huh?
I too noted Tammy that I was like Sarai wanting to do it NOW, not wait, I will be the one to fix the problem. But the thing that struck me the most was Abram just went along with what she said and didn't seek God, didn't say no. He wasn't really that strong, yet it is said that his faith was credited as righteousness to him. So what does that mean for us? We don't always have the faith ALL of the time...
Had to laugh in 16:2 when Sarai was blaming Abram!! LOL it was her idea!! Take responsibility woman is what I was saying in my head.
I am wondering in 17:25 if this is where the Jews get the age of the barmitzvah from? hmmm I will look it up. I love reading about the Jews because that is what my mother's family is, so it gives me ways to talk to my Nanna and the rest of my family.
OOPPS!!! I thought it was Tammy!! Sorry KrisitLea!! Great post!!
I'm reading a book right now that compares Covenant and Dispensational Theology and I'm interested to know if these are somewhat regional teachings. I know they aren't, really, but based on what you said, KristiLea, about Americans being in trouble if they turn their backs on the Jews, I'm wondering is that a belief that is widely held in US churches? Or is it just my Mennonite, Canadian upbringing that makes me relatively unfamiliar with Dispensationalism Theology? I don't know that anything specific has been taught from the pulpit, but I'd have to say that both church conferences I've been a member of would definitely be leaning towards Covenant Theology. (that The Church is somehow grafted into the Abrahamic Covenant and that the possession of the Holy Land is a figurative promise pointing to eternal life)
I know when it comes to faith, Canadians are significantly more liberal than Americans, so I was just curious. I think I'm actually leaning a bit more towards literal promises and Dispensationalism these days.
Tammi- I try not to get too much into Theology. I think a little bit of it is great, but too much, and you can find yourself conflicting with yourself. I'm just a simple girl who believes that the bible says what it means, and means what it says. I love history though, love it! I can say though, that most Baptist, Church of Christ, and non-denominational churches believe the covenant to be for only Abraham's seed. The church is not tied into it, and it's only for the land of Canaan, here on earth. In Revelation 21:9-27 the bible tells of the New Jerusalem and then talks of all saved nations (people) inhibiting it together.
We believe that Abraham's seed, the Jews are God's special and chosen people. The church has not replaced them, it (we) are just a means of continuing to spread the gospel while the Jews will face judgement for what they have done. But the Jews are still God's chosen people, and dear to his heart and they do have promises here, and eternal that God will fulfill. Revelation is a hard book to understand, but with prayer and some correct study guides, it tells of some amazing things in store for us and the Jews!
That's why when I say America is in trouble when it stops backing Israel, is that those are God's chosen people, and I believe God made our country strong because we believed him in as a nation, and so that we may protect His people. If we stop protecting His chosen people, and stop believing in Him as a nation, I do believe He will turn His back on America and take away His blessing on it. He has every right. We are trying to turn into a modern day Sodom and Gemmorah. America is not mentioned anywhere in Revelation and there is a lot of speculation as to why that is.
Nicole- That's okay. I thought about putting my name to the end of it, but it was late and I was hoping you all would just see who posted it! Abrahams faith wavered all the time. He waivered about God protecting Sarai, and lied about her being his sister, he didn't believe Sarai could conceive, then he did, then he didn't, his faith waivered about the land...on and on. You're right, it just shows that we are so weak in the flesh. We need God and the Holy Spirit so badly. I always couldn't believe that those in the early Old Testament who could audibly hear God speaking, still couldn't have stronger faith. Although, we have the Holy Spirit indwelt within us, and they did not.
For me, the main focus of these passages as it applies to us now is having faith up to a certain point and then letting doubt or skepticism or impatience take over. I believe everyone struggles with this.
Abram and Sarai believed God would do what he said... but not enough to wait on God's timing. I'm sure I would have been impatient too, and wondered if God had meant something different - just as Sarai did in thinking perhaps Hagar was the way to go about fulfilling this promise. I've often said to God "Here's what I think you should do and you should do it NOW." We're so IMPATIENT! But then, our lives on earth are short and God is infinite, so his timing differs greatly from our own. Psalm 27:14 - Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Tough.
As far as the covenant with the Jews as God's chosen people, I have no instruction on those matters whatsoever. Simply from reading the passage, the word "everlasting" is used more than once, and specifically in reference to the land of Canaan. Gen. 17:8 - The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.
(A problem is that many believe the Jews and the Arabs are fighting over the wrong piece of land in the first place, but that's a whole other topic.)
My instinct would be that God did promise a specific, physical land to the Jews forever, and that they are still his chosen people, salvation notwithstanding. I don't think God's promises change in meaning simply because of the passing of time. It's terrible that war continues in the Middle East to this day over it. Being a pacifist myself I abhor war, although I struggle with the fact that it is sometimes necessary - where would we be if we hadn't fought Hitler in WWII for example?
Anyway, that's once again an entirely other issue.
As far as America being mentioned in Revelation - that came from out of nowhere for me. Why would it be?
Miriam-It was just part of my "discussion" with Tammi expalining part of my post. Revelation speaks of many nations and people, but America is not included. So naturally, people who live in America have questions as to their fate, and role in the end times.
Thanks so much for your post Kristi! (I added your name in the title, hope that's ok!).
I can only imagine how hard it would be to wait on God's timing, especially when the waiting seems to be making the fulfillment of the promise into an impossibility. It took 25 years for God to begin to fulfill his promise to Abraham and Sarah that they would have descendants as numerous as the stars, by giving them their son Isaac. 25 years!! Sarah's womb was barren for 99 years! That just blows me away. And it doesn't really surprise me that Sarah decided to take things into her own hands, to help God along a little in His plan, since it wasn't going the way she thought it would.
Aren't we so arrogant as humans when we do that? We actually think we know better than God! We may not outrightly say that, but our actions certainly bear witness to the fact that that's really what we believe. It is so hard to wait for God's timing.
Can you imagine all the pain and turmoil that would've been avoided if Sarah and Abraham had resisted that human tendency and simply waited on God?
Really such a good reminder to us that we need to stop relying on our earthly, imperfect "wisdom", and rely on God and His promises. He is faithful!
Something I love about this passage is how God cares for Hagar and Ishmael and how He blesses them. None of this was their fault, or their decision, and He blesses them. We serve such a merciful God.
It seems very much in our nature to "help" God along a little every now and then! I think very few humans are actually BORN with patience!! (at least, that's how I console myself!)
Kristilea, thanks for your response. I'm just finding that particular subject interesting because I'm reading about it right now and the book I'm reading is written from the opposite standpoint from what I've kind of always been taught, so now I'm curious about it and asking everyone I meet the same survey question! Thanks for humouring me.
Do you know what I don't get either, Abram wasn't really that old when God promised him a child, I mean not compared to the people before Abram, back in Noah's time, but I guess maybe they didn't know all of that? But then again, they would of had to because Moses wrote about it, although God would of over seen what was written I guess.
Umm the stuff that you were talking about has gone way over my head LOL.
Nic - that's true. And yet after the flood people started to live shorter lives, so it probably was becoming more unusual. Based on their reactions, it definitely was!
I feel very out of the loop here! I usually end up doing my reading in the evening before bed, and by the next morning everyone is already talking about the next day's passage! Maybe I need to change up my reading schedule...
Andrea I usually post after all you guys because I am in Australia if it makes you feel any better :) I know I always come back and read after I've posted. But you do what works best for you :D
I struggle so badly with patience and I know that place in Sarai's position, I would have surely done the same thing. I can however think of a time where I (or we, my husband and I) did wait on the Lord and I was reminded of it when reading this passage. A few months before our wedding, we found this adorable 545 square foot (1 bedroom) house that was minutes away from the place where my husband was working at the time. It was super cheap(because it was so small!) and we thought it would be better than renting because our mortgage payment would be 1/3 of the rent we would have to pay and at the end of it we would have a place to sell and use the money more a good down payment on another place that we would really want to live in. We prayed about the house and asked God to be with us as we put in the offer to buy it. We offered just slightly less than the amount they were asking (it was not like the housing market right now!) and we decided that if the offer would be accepted, then it was a sign that we should buy this house. They countered our offer and asked for $500.00 more and we declined. In hindsight, I am not sure why we didn't just pay the extra 500 but we decided that we would not buy the house. We trusted God to lead us to where we were supposed to live and when we got married a few months later, we found ourselves in an apartment and paying much more than we had expected (or that we would have if we had bought that house!) What we didn't know was that God had something else in mind for us. Within 3 months, it became very clear why God did not want us to buy that house...we were pregnant! If we had bought that house we would have been crammed into that tiny house for a long time because that house had a for sale sign on it for at least a year after we had put an offer on it which means we probably would have had a hard time selling it. Thankfully, we waited on God but it was easier because God's plan became clear to us shortly after. If I had had to wait 25 years, it may not have been so easy to be patient.
I had not actually considered Abram's role in situation. He did have every opportunity to stand up and tell Sarai to continue to wait on God. I wonder if he was easy to agree with Sarai's plan or if he was a reluctant participant in it?
Wow Pamela, that's a great story and testimony to how God's plans are always bigger and more than we expect.
Abram seemed to go against things a bit, coming up (I am reading a day ahead because of my time zone) he does something off his own bat that God had already told him not to do. So I would think he was easy to agree to it. Either way, he still could of said no.
Which also had me thinking about Sarai not really submitting to her husband. She kind of liked to do her own thing, not exactly what we are taught, going against your husband etc.
Andrea - there are two ways to get around that problem.
1) Ignore the post that contains your day's readings until after you've read it. I know we would all still appreciate "late" input, so that would be totally fine.
2) Get one day ahead. That's what I'm doing - especially because I'm posting so often. You'd have to double up your reading on one day, and then you'd be set after that.
Nic - I don't see Sarah ever doing her own thing, without Abraham agreeing to it. In fact, Sarah is held up as a submission model in the NT.
She asks (and perhaps ever coerces) Abraham into making some decisions (like with Hagar). Convincing our husbands that our idea is correct is not necessarily wrong - it depends on the idea (whether or not it's a sinful act) and the motivation.
Pam - I know I've heard that story before, but I loved hearing it again! It's so awesome to hear about times God has His hand in our lives in such an obvious way.
Hmmm I will go back and re read thanks Tammy
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