A Lamp Unto My Feet Bible Study Website
GENESIS 16
Lesson #30
THE ROLLER COASTER RIDE OF FAITH
- Memory verse: Luke 10:27
- In Genesis 15 Abraham was seen as a man of faith. However, some ten years later in chapter 16 he is seen as a man of unbelief. We have discussed how faith has its mountain tops and valleys, but the general overall direction should be one of progressively upward.
- The trials of faith:
- Remember that God tests faith at every point of progress in your life, just as he did Abraham. That’s why we see Abraham’s faith look more like a roller coaster ride. For example:
- God’s call to Abraham in Ur — the testing of cultural background (Gen 12:1-3) = The trying of the fervor of his faith
- The famine in the land — the test of circumstances (Gen 12:10) = The trying of the sufficiency of his faith
- Friction between Lot’s herdsmen and Abraham’s herdsmen — the testing of personal relationships (Gen 13:6-11) = The trying of the humility of his faith
- The rescue of Lot and his family from the attacking kings — the testing of courage (Gen 14:14-16) = The trying of the boldness of his faith
- The king of Sodom offers him wealth — the testing of the source of one’s provision (Gen 14:21-23) = The trying of the dignity of his faith
- Sarah’s offer of Hagar — the testing of marital relationships (Gen 16:2-3) = The trying of the patience of his faith
- Read Gen 16:1-16
- Hagar means = “flight”
- Hagar was an Egyptian. Evidently Abraham and Sarah acquired her when they first went down to Egypt at the time of the famine (Gen 12:10).
- It was a time when they were outside of God’s perfect will in going there.
- There are always consequences as a result of being out of God’s will. The acquiring of Hagar was one of those consequences.
- Remember that Egypt is a symbol of worldliness in the Bible. Therefore, Hagar is a representative of that worldliness.
- Read Gal 4:22-31.
- The cultural practice of the time:
- The offering of a maid to bear a man’s child was a legally authorized custom of that time. If a man had no son who would inherit when he died, he could legally adopt, as Abraham did with Eliezer, or he could take to wife a household maid.
- If he did both, as Abraham did, the son born to the maid would inherit over the adopted servant.
- However, just because the practice of polygamy was a common one, does not mean God condoned it. In fact, the opposite was true. God’s perfect will was one of monogamy.
- Sarah’s suggestion and its repercussions to faith:
- Sometimes God gives us a promise and we wait and wait, pray and pray. There comes a time when our patience wears out. We think we will help God out by manipulating people and circumstances in order to fulfill God’s promise.
- This is what Abraham and Sarah did.
- They relied on worldly thinking to fulfill the promise. That’s why Hagar represents doing things in a worldly way.
- The worldly way = manipulation and prideful self reliance:
- It is manipulating circumstances and people to fulfill the promise of God in your own way.
- It is taking the fulfilling of the promise out of God’s hands and placing it in your own hands.
- It is disregarding the idea of God’s perfect timing and assuming you know better.
- Sarah’s suggestion and its repercussions to family relationships (Eph 5:22-33)
- Discussion:
- Evaluate Sarah’s and Abraham’s marital relationship according to New Testament principles.
- Evaluate Hagar’s and Sarah’s relationship according to New Testament principles.
- My personal comments:
- Sarah was not wrong in making suggestions to Abraham. However, her suggestion lacked faith in God. We do not see either one of them taking the suggestion to God in prayer. Abraham, as head of the household, is accountable to God because he agreed to the suggestion. The role of the man in the home is to make the final decision and be responsible for the consequences of that decision. When trouble arose between Sarah and Hagar, Abraham washed his hands of it and surrendered his leadership position to Sarah. By doing so, he weakened his position as head of the household. He made the decision that caused the problem, and should have dealt with the consequences of it. Had he done so, Hagar would not have felt she had to flee.
- Surrogate parenting is becoming more common today. What parallels do we see with this passage?
- We see more than one mother and one father in raising children today.
- With the increase in divorce, we have step families and blended families.
- We have invitro fertilization and surrogate motherhood.
- We have more grandparents raising children in place of parents.
- We have homosexual couples with a desire to raise children.
- We have more day care centers providing multiple parenting models during the day.
- All of these blur the one mother, one father concept in the mind of a child. Therefore, we will see many similar family problems to those in the Old Testament polygamous families as a result. (my personal viewpoint)
- Discussion:
- The Angel of the Lord (7)
- Who is the Angel of the Lord?
- This is the first time in the Bible the Angel of the Lord is mentioned.
- There are 2 interpretations of his identity:
- -1- This is an angel such as Gabriel who is a messenger of God.
- -2- This is another appearance of Jesus Christ in the flesh before his birth in Bethlehem.
- Evidence for this interpretation is based on verse 13:
- “She called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, thou God seest me…”
- Mention of the fountain is significant:
- It is mentioned twice in verse 7.
- The place is named “Beer-Lahai-roi” which means = the well of him that liveth and seeth me. Jesus said, “he that hath seen me hath seen the father” Joh 14:9
- In Gen 21:19 God reveals to Hagar again a fountain. The fountain of water is a type (prefigure) of Jesus and everlasting life in John 4.
- We, therefore, have another name for God, “La Roi” = the God who sees. It tells us we have a God who sees our every need.
- The location and its significance:
- Kadesh (14) means = consecration.
- It was a place of testing many times in the Bible:
- Abraham would again be tested here regarding Sarah as his sister (gen 20:1)
- The 12 spies that Moses sent out to spy out the Promised Land were sent from here. This tested the people’s faith.
- The Israelites wandered in the wilderness and complained of no water. Moses’ patience with the people was tested. He disobeyed God and struck the rock twice for water here.
- The consequences for Hagar, Sarah, and Abraham of doing things in a worldly way:
- Hagar
- Because Hagar was a maid, she had no say in the matter.
- She was at the mercy of Abraham and Sarah. She is not to blame for the polygamy.
- However, she was responsible for her attitude.
- She looked down on Sarah, her mistress. (4) She is to blame for a wrong attitude of pride.
- Harsh treatment by Sarah was a consequence, as well as having almost lost her life and the baby in the desert.
- But God is merciful and gracious. (7)
- God told Hagar to return to Sarah and submit to Sarah according to principles in Eph 6:5-9.
- Thirteen years later, God directs her to leave Abraham and Sarah, but not at this time.
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- Sarah
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- Sarah would have to bear the reproach of Hagar for 13 years as a consequence to her suggestion. And I am sure God continually worked with Sarah in regards to her treatment of Hagar during those 13 years.
- How often we make decisions without the thought to the possible consequences that may follow.
- Abraham
- Abraham would continually have the problems of more than one wife in the home.
- He was 86 and would continue to wait another 14 years for God to fulfill the promise of a son.
- Ishmael, Isaac, the Jews, and the Arabs:
- The prophecy (10-12)
- Hagar would have a multitude of descendants.
- This is fulfilled in the number of Arabs today.
- Hagar’s son would be named “Ishmael” = God shall hear
- Ishmael will be a “wild man” = free and roving character.
- Ishmael’s hand will be against every man.
- He will have problems getting along with others.
- Every man will be against Ishmael and his descendents.
- Others will have trouble getting along with him.
- He will dwell in the shadow and presence of his brother.
- The fulfillment of the prophecy:
- The descendants of Ishmael are the true Arabs.
- Countries that we call Arab countries and the people that the news media calls, “Arabs” are not necessarily descendants of Ishmael.
- For example, Iran is not an Arab country nor its people Arabs. They are Persians from the old Persian empire. Most of the countries that we call “Arab” are of the Muslim religion. Mohammed, the founder of Islam, was from the line of Ishmael.
- True descendants of Ishmael are therefore located in the Saudi Arabian peninsula, the people of Kuwait being one group.
- Gen 25:13-16 lists 12 princes descended from Ishmael.
- The Nabataeans [Nabaioth] (now called Bedoins) and the people of Kuwait [Kedar] are the only ones easily identifiable today.
- The people descended from Ishmael were nomadic types and intermarried frequently which fulfills the prophecy. The people in this area of the world have always had trouble getting along even among themselves. They have always dwelt in the vicinity of the Promised Land alongside the Jews, thus also fulfilling prophecy.
- The conflict in the Middle East is more between Jews and Muslims rather than Jews and only the “true Arabs”. The true Arabs are also Muslim.
- Hagar
- Hagar means = “flight”
Homework
Genesis 17
- Application of Gen 16
- Chart your own life of faith and mark its milestones just as Abraham’s faith is charted below.Z
| Journey begins | Famine & flight | Family friction | Courageous conflict | Denial of wealth | Sarah’s suggestion |
| —————— | —————– | —————— | ——————– | —————— | ——————- |
- Preparation for Gen 17
- Read Gen 17:1-27
- Why did God give the command to circumcise?
- What is the spiritual significance of circumcision?
- Read Phil 3:3 Col 2:11
- Why do you think Isaac, the fulfillment of God’s promise of a son, will not be born until after the circumcision?
- Of whom in the church today is Ishmael a type (prefigure)?
- Read Gen 17:1-27
- Memory verse: Col 2:11
