The Life of Abraham #4: Circumcision &
Intercession
CCEA
School of Discipleship
April
6, 2025
In Class
Take three minutes, get in groups of three or
four, and share one thing you got out of reading Swindoll’s: Chapter 9: What
Happens When We Pray?
Instead of reciting our memory verses this week, let’s read them and think
about them…
Let’s read Hebrews 11:6 together:
(Hebrews
11:6 NKJV) But without faith it is impossible to
please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that
He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
It’s important to remember that we can’t be pleasing to God without
trusting Him.
Trusting Him requires that we believe He exists, and that He’s good – He
will reward us if we are diligent about seeking Him.
Now let’s read to Hebrews 11:8,9 together:
(Hebrews
11:8 NKJV) By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go
out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not
knowing where he was going.
Abraham’s faith involved obedience. It involved obeying even when he didn’t
know what was up ahead. He obeyed even though he didn’t understand.
(Hebrews
11:9 NKJV) By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in
a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him
of the same promise;
Abraham’s faith involved living in a place that seemed strange or foreign
to him, yet it was the place God promised Him. We may not always feel
comfortable living the “Christian life”, but this is where we belong. We may
not live in “castles” in this Promised Land, but that’s okay.
Abraham’s family lived in tents along with Abraham. They too were on a
journey.
Circumcision & Intercession
Genesis 17-18
It’s now been close to fifteen years since God last spoke to Abram back in
chapter 15.
17:1-8 New covenant, new name
:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and
said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.
:1 “I am Almighty God;
Almighty God – El Shaddai
– this is the first time this name is used for God.
Almighty – Shadday –
almighty, most powerful.
The name is found 48 times in the Old Testament. It seems to be an “ancient” name for
God. God said,
(Exodus 6:3 NKJV) I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but
by My name Lord I was not
known to them.
The book of Job was written during the times of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. The name is used 31
times in the book of Job. The name is
found 6 times in the book of Genesis.
It’s used twice by Balaam, the non-Israeli “prophet” who was connected
to God, but not connected to Israel. That makes the name used 39 out of 48 times
by people prior to or at the time of Moses.
Some say this word comes from shad –
breast, and carries the idea that God is our source of life just as a baby
depends on its mother’s breast.
It seems better to link this with the word shadad – to deal violently with, devastate, destroy. Isaiah writes,
(Isaiah 13:6 NKJV) Wail, for the day of the Lord
is at hand! It will come as destruction (shod) from the Almighty (shaddai).
Joel 1:15 says the same thing.
It would seem to me that the name would be one to remind
men to fear the God who will one day come to judge and bring destruction, not
the God who is the nurturing breast.
:1 walk
before Me and be blameless.
walk before Me – literally, “walk before My face”, walk in His
presence.
blameless – tamiym – (KJV – “perfect”) The word does not
mean “sinless”. It means “complete, single-hearted,
or wholly devoted to the Lord.” It describes what is complete or entirely in
accord with truth and fact. We call this
“integrity.
Lesson
Integrity
The Romans coined a word “sin-cere”, which literally meant “without
wax”. When you walked into the
marketplace and wanted to buy something from the merchant selling pottery or
things carved out of stone, you would ask if it was “sin-cere”, “without
wax”. Some unethical merchants would
take damaged pottery or broken statues and repair them with wax. In the early morning light
you couldn’t tell that the big clay pot had a large crack in it. You couldn’t tell that the statue had an arm
that was previously broken. But if you
took the pot home and let it sit in the hot afternoon sun, the wax would melt
and your new pot didn’t hold water. A
statue’s arms might fall off.
Integrity, sincerity means that you aren’t
phony. It means that what people see is
what they get. It means that you are
exactly like you present yourself to be.
Jesus often warned about hypocrisy.
(Matthew 15:7–8
NKJV) —7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 ‘These people
draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me
with their lips, But their heart
is far from Me.
The word “hypocrite” comes from the Greek word used to describe an
“actor”. It was someone who played a
part, someone who pretended to be something they weren’t.
God doesn’t want to be represented by phonies.
(Romans 12:9 NKJV) Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to
what is good.
How do I stop being a phony?
Admit the truth of who you are. If
you have faults, admit them. Don’t hide
them.
Ask God to change you. Be the real
you.
:2 "And I will make My covenant between Me and you,
and will multiply you exceedingly."
:2 I will make My covenant
I made an incorrect statement last week.
I said that when covenants are made, they are always “cut”
(Hebrew). Not so.
The word “make” here (natan) means to
“give” or “make”. There are other words used as well in the creation of
“covenants” (i.e. “establish”)
:3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying:
:4 "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with
you, and you shall be a father of many nations.
:5 "No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be
Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
Abram – ‘Abram – “exalted
father”
Abraham – ‘Abraham –
“father of a multitude”
:6 "I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of
you, and kings shall come from you.
:7 "And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your
descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be
God to you and your descendants after you.
:8 "Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in
which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession;
and I will be their God."
This “covenant” with Abraham not only included children, but also the
land. God promised that the land of
Canaan would belong to Abraham and his descendants.
17:9-14 Sign of Circumcision
:9 And God said to Abraham: "As for you, you shall keep My covenant,
you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.
:10 "This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and
your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised;
:11 "and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and
it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
:11 circumcised … a sign of the covenant
God made a covenant with Noah. It
too had a “sign”.
It was a rainbow.
(Genesis 9:16–17
NKJV) —16 The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to
remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all
flesh that is on the earth.” 17 And God said
to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established
between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
Abraham’s covenant had a sign – circumcision.
I think I like Noah’s sign better.
Circumcision would be how you could tell there is a covenant between
Abraham, his family, and his God.
Lesson
Circumcision
Circumcision wasn’t a new concept in Abraham’s day. The Egyptians had practiced circumcision for
several millennia.
Yet it was meant to be a sign of God’s covenant with Abraham. Abraham wasn’t circumcised in
order to make the covenant with God; he was circumcised because of the
covenant that God made with Abraham.
Circumcision is tied with the part of the covenant that promises the land
of Canaan to Abraham and his family
Circumcision was an outward sign of something that had already taken place.
Baptism is like this for the believer.
We aren’t baptized to get saved.
We are baptized because we’ve been saved.
And as uncomfortable as it is to become circumcised, there are even health
benefits from it.
Studies have shown that circumcision may reduce the risk
of urinary tract infections, and sexually transmitted infections (such as
HIV).
Lesson
Salvation
When the church was born on Pentecost, every believer was a Jew. The church knew nothing else except Jews were
saved.
When the Gospel began to be heard by Gentiles, some of the people in the
church felt that these pagan Gentiles needed to convert first to Judaism before
being saved. And why shouldn’t they
think so? It made sense.
But as the church began to discuss these things, they realized that it
wasn’t being a Jew or being circumcised that saved you, but putting your faith
in Jesus and His sacrifice for us.
Paul constantly dealt with these issues in his ministry.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul pointed out that Abraham was saved by
“believing” (Gen. 15:6), and it wasn’t until later that he became circumcised
(Gen. 17).
(Romans
4:9–12 NKJV) —9 Does this
blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the
uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for
righteousness. 10 How then was it accounted? While he
was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while
uncircumcised. 11 And he received the sign of
circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while
still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe,
though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them
also, 12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of
the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father
Abraham had while still uncircumcised.
Circumcision came AFTER Abraham was counted as “righteous”
for having believed God.
Circumcision doesn’t bring righteousness, faith brings
righteousness.
If you are a person wanting to know God, I’ve got good news for you. You don’t have to be physically circumcised
to know God. But you do have to trust
God. You do have to have faith that
Jesus died on a cross to pay for your sins.
Quiz Alert!!!
Lesson
Spiritual circumcision
There are spiritual principles involved in circumcision that are very
applicable to all believers.
Circumcision could be defined as a literal “cutting away” of flesh.
The word “flesh” is also used to describe our sin nature.
Circumcision can become a picture of cutting away my sin
nature.
Paul wrote,
(Romans 2:28–29
NKJV) —28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is
circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is
a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart,
in the Spirit…
God wants His people to live by better influences than
just what their fleshly sin nature urges tell them to do. He wants us to live after the influence of
the Spirit.
In talking about the legalistic false-teachers, Paul didn’t call them
“circumcisers” but “mutilators”. He
talked about a “true” circumcision:
(Philippians 3:2–3
NKJV) —2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice
in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,
Paul also wrote,
(Galatians 6:7–8
NKJV) —7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows,
that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of
the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
We have a choice to make daily – will we live after the impulse of our
“flesh”, or the prompting of the “Spirit”.
There’s an old Eskimo proverb that says within every
person there are two dogs that are fighting.
The dog you feed is the dog that wins.
Inside me there is flesh and Spirit. Which one do I feed?
If I am constantly feeding my flesh by the things I watch
on TV, things I see on the internet, books I read, conversations I have with
people, junk I put into my mind – will it be any surprise if I have trouble
doing the things that please God? Should
I be surprised when I find it difficult to say “no” to temptation?
Illustration
There was a young boy named Sammy who loved to go
fishing. One day he found a huge jackpot
of worms under a stump. Yet every time
he baited his hook and tossed his line into the water
he felt a stinging on his hand. He
ignored the little bit of pain because these worms were helping him catch the
biggest fish he ever caught. He made his
way home and met the sheriff who looked terrified. Sammy hadn’t noticed that his arms had
swelled up to twice their normal size.
Sammy shared how he had found the best bait ever, but the sheriff looked
at the worms to discover that they were baby rattlesnakes. Sammy had the best catch ever that day, but
he died because he was using poisonous bait.
So how do we live our lives? Are we ignoring that “sting”
that the flesh nature makes in our hearts?
If we live our life after the fleshly
sin nature, we’re poisoning ourselves. We need the “cutting away”, like “circumcision”
and to live after the Spirit.
:12 "He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every
male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with
money from any foreigner who is not your descendant.
eight days old – doctors tell us that a baby’s blood does not have
the ability to clot properly until eight days old.
:13 "He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money
must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting
covenant.
:14 "And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the
flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has
broken My covenant."
In other words, if a person claimed to be following the faith of Abraham
and they didn’t get circumcised, they would be considered fake and no longer a
part of the community.
:14 that person shall be cut off
cut off – karath – to cut, cut off
This is the same word used to describe the making of a covenant, used back
in Gen. 15:18. The ancients used to “cut
a covenant”.
But here, the word is turned to say that a male who was not circumcised was
“cut off” from the family of Abraham.
Jews today call this kereth.
Abraham had cut the sacrificial animals in half and, according to custom,
the covenant makers would walk down the middle of the cut up
animals. The idea is that if you break
the covenant, you get cut up like the animals.
It’s interesting that this word is used for the one who
breaks the covenant by not being circumcised.
God saw circumcision as the thing that made a person part of Israel.
Before Moses arrived back in Egypt to bring the people out of Egypt, he ran
into trouble. He had never circumcised
his own son. Before God would allow
Moses to deliver Israel, he required the boy to become a part of Israel by
being circumcised (Ex. 4).
While the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, none of the boys born in
the wilderness were circumcised. But at
the end of the forty years, when they finally crossed the Jordan into the
Promised Land, they stopped and circumcised all the males (Josh. 5). God would not allow them to take the land He
had promised them until they remembered to do the thing that was to remind them
that God had promised the land to them.
17:15-22 Sarah and the promised child
:15 Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not
call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.
:16 "And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will
bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from
her."
Sarai – Saray – “my
princess”
Sarah – Sarah – “princess”
Her name change seems to be only a slight variation of the same word. But
perhaps it is to focus on the fact that she’s not just “Abram’s princess”, but
she would indeed be the mother of nations and kings.
:17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart,
"Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall
Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"
laughed – tsachaq – to laugh
Abraham was laughing. He wasn’t just
“lol” (laughing out loud) laughing.
He was “fdroflol” (falling down
rolling on floor laughing out loud) laughing.
Since he was the man of “faith”, it seems his laughing wasn’t because he
couldn’t believe it. But it did strike
him as funny.
:18 And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before
You!"
:18 that Ishmael might live
Abraham seems to be wondering if this means that Ishmael would have to die,
or perhaps that Ishmael was going to be cut off from Abraham’s blessings.
Ishmael has grown up with Abraham.
At this point, he is the only son Abraham has ever known. He’s a thirteen year old
young man.
We can totally understand from the human aspect why Abraham is asking for
Ishmael.
Yet in the spiritual lessons that come from the life of Abraham,
Ishmael is a reminder to us of our flesh, of our sin nature. Ishmael was conceived because of Abraham’s
obvious mistake with Hagar (Gal. 4:23).
And in the spiritual sense, it might not be a good idea to ask for Ishmael
to live.
It might be better if we learned to let Ishmael, our own fleshly nature die.
Amy Carmichael was a missionary to India.
She wrote to a friend who was perplexed about a painful experience, “I
will say what our Heavenly Father said to me long ago, and
says to me still very often: ‘See in it a chance to die.’”
:19 Then God said: "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you
shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an
everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.
Isaac – Yitschaq – “he
laughs”
This comes from that same Hebrew word for “laughs”
:20 "And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him,
and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget
twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.
:20 as for Ishmael
Ishmael – Yishma‘e’l – “God will hear”
heard – shama‘– to hear – this is the root word in Ishmael’s name
The child was named “Ishmael” because God wanted Hagar (his mom) to
remember that God had heard her when she cried out to God in her affliction.
But now Abraham is again reminded that “God hears”.
:21 "But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall
bear to you at this set time next year."
:22 Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
God would listen to Abraham’s prayers for Ishmael and bless him.
But God’s special covenant wouldn’t be with Ishmael, it would be with
Isaac. The land wouldn’t belong to
Ishmael but to Isaac.
17:23-27 Circumcision performed
:23 So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all
who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house,
and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had
said to him.
:24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh
of his foreskin.
:25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh
of his foreskin.
:26 That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael;
:27 and all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money
from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
:26 Abraham was circumcised
Abraham obeyed God.
I wonder what the men of Abram’s household thought when he announced that
he was changing his name to “father of a multitude”.
I wonder if he heard them laugh as well.
I wonder what the men of Abram’s household thought when he announced that
they were all going to get circumcised.
“You want me to circum-what???”
Yet Abraham believed God. Abraham
obeyed God.
And the people that were under his roof would know exactly where he stood
with God.
Do the people around you know how serious you are about following God?
We’ve been looking at Abraham as a “man of faith”.
Three times in Scriptures He’s also called “the friend of God”. (2Chr.
20:7; Is. 41:8; Jam. 2:23)
Now we’re going to get a little glimpse of why He’s God’s friend.
18:1-8 Visitors
:1 Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was
sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day.
Note God’s name, Yahweh used here (LORD)
:1 the terebinth trees of Mamre
Mamre was Abraham’s friend
terebinth tree – ‘elown – terebinth (a tree that turpentine is made
from); other translations are “oak tree” (NLT, NAS), “great tree” (NIV).
Mamre – Mamre’ –
“strength” or “fatness”; the name of one of Abraham’s friends
Abraham had originally moved to this area back in Gen. 13:18. The area is
Hebron, about 20 miles south of Jerusalem.
:2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by
him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed
himself to the ground,
:2 he ran … to meet them
This seems like an odd thing for a hundred-year-old man to be doing. You’re going to see him doing a bit of
“running” in this chapter.
:2 bowed himself
shachah – (Hithpael)
to bow down, prostrate oneself; before superior in homage; before God in
worship
:2 three men were standing
One will be Yahweh (LORD) in a human form (Jesus), the other two will be
the angels that are on the way to Sodom.
:3 and said, "My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not
pass on by Your servant.
:3 My Lord
Notice it isn’t all caps. This is Adonai
(“Lord”) in Hebrew.
:4 "Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest
yourselves under the tree.
:4 wash your feet
This is a simple gesture of hospitality.
In ancient days you walk all day in open-toed
sandals on dirt roads.
When Jesus visited the house of Simon the Pharisee, a sinner woman showed
up and washed His feet with her tears …
(Luke 7:44 NKJV) Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this
woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has
washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.
:5 "And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have
come to your servant." They said, "Do as you have said."
:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, "Quickly, make
ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes."
Abraham “hurried”. Old man running…
:6 three measures of fine meal
There are three guests.
In ancient Israel, you didn’t make bread to last for the week, you made
bread each day. In a day without
preservatives, bread dries out and goes bad pretty quickly. Bread becomes as hard as a rock after a day
or two. When Jesus taught on prayer He
said, “Give us this day our daily bread” because you made fresh bread each day.
In the ruins of ancient Capernaum they’ve found
lots of small millstones for grinding wheat, apparently each house had their
own millstone so the wife could grind wheat each day for that day’s bread.
Abraham is simply asking Sarah to make up some fresh bread for their
guests.
:7 And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a
young man, and he hastened to prepare it.
The old man is running again…
:7 a tender and good calf
In ancient days, you didn’t have a freezer full of hamburger patties. In fact eating meat
was probably something only done on special occasions.
When the Prodigal Son returned home, the father said,
(Luke 15:23 NKJV) And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat
and be merry;
This is not going to be a quick visit.
Slaughtering, preparing, and cooking a calf is going to take time. I would suggest that fellowship with God also
takes time.
:8 So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared,
and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.
:8 He took butter and milk and the calf…
By the way, Jews today would consider this meal
not “kosher”, having dairy and meat in the same meal.
There’s a strange law in the Law of Moses, repeated three times (Ex. 23:19; 34:26; Deu. 14:21):
(Exodus
23:19 NKJV) …You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s
milk.
We might see this as a principle of learning compassion and decency towards
animals. The Jews have taken it a bit
further. In their minds, if you drink
milk and eat beef at the same time, you might end up “boiling” that beef in
your stomach with the milk of it’s
mother, and so the Jews will not eat meat and dairy products at the same
time. Hence, in Israel you generally
don’t find “cheeseburger” on the menu.
I find it fascinating that Abraham is not serving a Kosher meal. And even more interesting, the Lord eats it.
There’s a fun place to visit in Israel called “Genesis Land”.
It’s not located in Hebron like our passage, but it’s in a similar location
in the hills of Judah overlooking the Jordan valley.
It’s meant to give you a taste of what life was like back in the days of
Abraham, and specifically this very passage.
When you get off the bus, you are offered a camel ride that takes you back
in time…
Play “camel ride” video
…in a few minutes you arrive at Abraham’s tent
When you get off your camel, you are greeted by Abraham himself.
And then you sit down to a meal in Abraham’s tent
while you are taught all about Mideastern hospitality.
Lesson
Hospitality
(Hebrews 13:1–2
NKJV) —1 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing
some have unwittingly entertained angels.
entertain strangers – philoxenia
– love of strangers, hospitality
The suggestion has been made that the writer of Hebrews was referring to
this incident with Abraham and his visitors.
The early church father Clement reminds us of Lot’s hospitality that he’s
going to show to the angels in Genesis 19.
(Clement: For his hospitality and godliness Lot was saved
from Sodom, when all the country round about was judged by fire and brimstone[1])
Rahab the harlot was also an example of hospitality in how she took in the
two Hebrew spies before the fall of Jericho.
(Clement: For her faith and hospitality Rahab the harlot
was saved.[2])
In the Law of Moses, God reminded His people over and
over about how to treat strangers:
(Exodus 22:21 NKJV)
“You
shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in
the land of Egypt.
Paul wrote that leaders in the church must be “hospitable” (1Ti. 3:2)
(1 Timothy
3:2 NKJV) A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of
one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to
teach;
(Titus 1:7–9 NKJV)
—7 For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not
self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for
money, 8 but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy,
self-controlled, 9 holding fast the faithful word as he
has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and
convict those who contradict.
Peter writes,
(1 Peter 4:9 NKJV) Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
Paul lays out a list of things that ought to demonstrate to the world that
we are Christians. The list includes…
(Romans 12:12–13
NKJV) —12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly
in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the
saints, given to hospitality.
God wants us to learn simple, decent hospitality. God wants us to learn to “refresh” one
another.
(Romans 15:32 NKJV)
that
I may come to you with joy by the will of God, and may
be refreshed together with you.
I’d say that Abraham “refreshed” the heart of God with his
hospitality. Abraham is “the friend of
God”.
Sometimes hospitality needs to be aimed at those who aren’t strangers.
(John 13:1-17 NKJV) Now before the feast of the Passover,
when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to
the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the
end. {2} And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart
of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him, {3} Jesus, knowing that the
Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and
was going to God, {4} rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a
towel and girded Himself. {5} After that, He poured water into a basin and
began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which
He was girded.
As we’ve seen, washing feet was a common gesture of
hospitality. But it was also an act
often reserved for a slave, not the head of a house.
Simon the Pharisee didn’t offer to wash Jesus’ feet, it
was probably beneath him to wash feet.
At the Last Supper, none of the disciples wanted to be in charge of washing the feet. After all, they were always too busy arguing
over who was the greatest. And the
greatest does not wash anybody else’s feet.
He has slaves to do that.
But here is the Master humbly washing the feet of His
disciples.
{6} Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, "Lord,
are You washing my feet?" {7} Jesus answered and said to him, "What I
am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this." {8}
Peter said to Him, "You shall never wash my feet!" Jesus answered
him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me." {9} Simon
Peter said to Him, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my
head!" {10} Jesus said to him, "He who is bathed needs only to wash
his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean,
but not all of you." {11} For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, "You are not all clean."
Jesus doesn’t want the guys confused in thinking that this
is what salvation is. Jesus is giving an example of serving one another, of
refreshing one another, of loving one another.
He’s not setting up some sort of ritual that saves people.
{12} So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat
down again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? {13} "You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well,
for so I am. {14} "If I then, your Lord and
Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. {15} "For I have given you an example, that you should
do as I have done to you. {16} "Most assuredly, I
say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent
greater than he who sent him. {17} "If you know
these things, blessed are you if you do them.
18:9-15 The Promised Son
:9 Then they said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" So he said, "Here, in the tent."
:9 Here, in the tent
Abraham never lived in a house, he lived in
tents. Today as you drive from Jericho
to Jerusalem, you still see Bedouins living in tents alongside the road, along
with their flocks of sheep and goats.
One of our memory verses is:
(Hebrews
11:9 NKJV) By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in
a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him
of the same promise;
:10 And He said, "I will certainly return to you according to the time
of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son." (Sarah was
listening in the tent door which was behind him.)
:10 according to the time of life
In nine months
I wonder if she had an upside down glass to her
ear listening through the tent …
:11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had
passed the age of childbearing.
Abraham is 99, Sarah is 89.
Play Video: Old Driver
:12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, "After I have
grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?"
:12 Sarah laughed within herself
laughed – tsachaq – to laugh
The root word is the same used to describe Abraham’s response the last time
the Lord told him he would have a child:
(Genesis
17:17 NKJV) Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed…
:13 And the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall
I surely bear a child, since I am old?'
:14 "Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will
return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son."
:14 Is anything too hard for the LORD?
Lesson
The Impossible
Frankly, I think that sometimes I unintentionally pass on my own human
limitations to my concept of what God is able to
do. What seems hard to me must seem hard
to God.
Illustration
I was talking once with a friend who had worked for Gospel for Asia as a
computer tech. He was telling me about
his trip to India. GFA likes their
employees to visit the mission field to better understand what they are working
for. He said that in one village a man
came up to him and said through the translator that he wanted Eric to pray for
his leg to be healed. Eric said he
didn’t quite know what to do. Eric said
he was afraid to touch the man’s leg so he just put
his arm around the man and prayed. After
he prayed they were both standing there looking at the
man’s leg. He wasn’t sure anything had happened
right then and there, except that a line of people started forming of people
who wanted Eric to pray for them. I
understand Eric’s reluctance. We don’t
often see miraculous things happening when we pray here in America. But they do in India. I don’t think it’s that God doesn’t like to
work in America, I think it’s because we don’t expect Him to.
Write these verses down…
Jeremiah said,
(Jeremiah
32:17 NKJV) ‘Ah, Lord God!
Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by
Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.
Gabriel said to Mary,
(Luke 1:37 NKJV) For with God nothing will be impossible.”
In talking about who can be saved…
(Matthew
19:26 NKJV) But Jesus looked at them and said to
them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Why don’t we pray more for difficult things? Are we afraid that God won’t work if we
pray? Why should we be afraid of
that? It certainly shouldn’t be because
we’re not sure if God can answer that prayer.
I imagine it’s usually because we don’t want to be the one who looked
foolish and “failed”.
I wonder if we’d see more answers to prayer if we stopped worrying about
looking foolish and just learned to ask God.
And then leave the results up to Him.
Paul prayed,
(Ephesians
3:20 NKJV) Now to Him who is able to
do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the
power that works in us,
:15 But Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. And He said, "No, but you did
laugh!"
:15 I did not laugh
It seems that most folks feel that when Abraham laughed about having a baby
(Gen. 17:17), it was a laugh of faith, but when Sarah laughs,
it’s a laugh of doubt.
Perhaps that’s so, since Sarah was afraid to admit that she laughed.
But don’t be quick to think that God is rebuking her for her laughter. It seems all the Lord wanted was for her to
admit her laughter at it.
Lesson
Sarah’s faith
Sarah did have faith.
(Hebrews
11:11 NKJV) By faith Sarah herself also received strength to
conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she
judged Him faithful who had promised.
I wonder if one of the reasons these three visitors came was to encourage
and build the faith of Sarah. Abraham
had already heard this promise of a son back in Genesis 17:17. It might be that
God wants to reiterate the promise to Abraham, but in the process, Sarah gets
to hear for herself about the promised baby.
How about you?
God had a promised son for Sarah.
God has a Promised Son for you.
When it came to Isaac, Sarah laughed perhaps because she thought it too
impossible that God would do such a wonderful thing for her.
Perhaps when it comes to Jesus, you might find it amazing that God would
love you so much that He would do the impossible in order to
reach you.
You might think that no one could take away the guilt you feel over the
life you’ve lived. You might think that
no one could fill the emptiness you feel inside. But it’s true.
God loved you so much that He gave His only Son to die for you. And you, just like Sarah, simply need to
trust God.
18:16-33 Interceding for Sodom
:16 Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went
with them to send them on the way.
Hebron is up in the southern hills while Sodom is down in the valley
northeast of the Dead Sea. Perhaps
Abraham walks with the three men to a spot in the hills where they get a
glimpse of Sodom down at the Dead Sea.
As a young Christian with Campus Crusade
for Christ, I was taught that sometimes it’s a good thing to get a glimpse of
what you are praying for.
We would go to the top of the Humanities
building, the highest spot at CSUF, and pray over the campus.
:17 And the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing,
:18 "since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and
all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
:19 "For I have known him, in order that he may command his children
and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do
righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has
spoken to him."
God is going to show Abraham something because of Abraham’s walk with the
Lord.
Abraham’s walk with the Lord involves how he raises his family.
Because of this, God is going to share some things to Abraham.
:20 And the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah
is great, and because their sin is very grave,
outcry – who is crying out against Sodom and Gomorrah to God?
Lot may be crying out –
(2 Peter 2:7 NKJV) and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy
conduct of the wicked
The victims may be crying out.
their sin is very grave – we’ll see this in chapter 19.
:21 "I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether
according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will
know."
:22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham
still stood before the LORD.
Remember, three people showed up at Abraham’s tent.
Two of the people, the angels, continue on toward
Sodom.
The third person, the LORD, stays to talk with Abraham.
:23 And Abraham came near and said, "Would You also destroy the
righteous with the wicked?
Abraham knows something about Sodom.
Remember that Abraham was the one who rescued the people of Sodom and
Gomorrah from the eastern kings (Gen. 14).
Abraham also refused to accept any reward from the king of Sodom.
Most of all, Abraham is thinking of his nephew Lot, who is still living in
Sodom.
:24 "Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You
also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in
it?
:25 "Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the
righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far
be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
:25 the Judge of all the earth do right
Lesson
The Righteous Judge
I cannot stress how important this verse has been for me, a pastor.
It’s important when people ask very difficult questions.
I may not always understand why things happen.
A plane flies into a tower filled with people. A mother dies of cancer. An innocent girl is raped by her father. A
friend dies and we don’t know if they were right with the Lord or not.
But there are two things that I lean on –
God knows what He’s doing, and
He will always do what is right.
He may not do what I want when I want it, but I can trust
Him.
This becomes the root of the argument that Abraham uses to haggle with God
over the fate of Sodom.
:26 So the LORD said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the
city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes."
:27 Then Abraham answered and said, "Indeed now, I who am but dust and
ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord:
:28 "Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You
destroy all of the city for lack of five?" So He
said, "If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it."
:29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, "Suppose there should be
forty found there?" So He said, "I will not
do it for the sake of forty."
This is just like the haggling that goes on in a middle eastern market, where
the buyer is haggling to get the merchant to lower the price.
But also notice how respectful Abraham is with the Lord.
:30 Then he said, "Let not the Lord be angry,
and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?" So He said, "I will not do it if I find thirty
there."
:31 And he said, "Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to
the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?" So
He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty."
:32 Then he said, "Let not the Lord be angry,
and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?" And He
said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of ten."
:33 So the LORD went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with
Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.
:32 Suppose ten should be found there?
I wonder if Abraham stopped at ten because he felt pretty
confident that there had to be at least ten righteous people in Sodom
and Gomorrah. After all, there was his
nephew Lot and his wife, the two daughters, perhaps Abraham heard that the
daughters were engaged, that that made at least six people. How hard would it be to have only four more? There
had to be at least ten!
Except there weren’t ten. But God
still did not destroy the righteous with the wicked. God removed the righteous before He destroyed
the wicked.
I wonder if Abraham’s prayer played into that at all.
I think this principle will play out with the rapture of the church. Before God brings judgment on the world, He
will remove the righteous just like He removed Lot from Sodom.
Peter talks about this when he is talking about the coming judgment for
those who rebel against God.
God not only judged Sodom, but He made sure that Lot was
rescued.
(2 Peter 2:9 NLT) So you see, the Lord knows how to
rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under
punishment until the day of final judgment.
Lesson
Intercessory prayer
Keep in mind who Abraham is praying for.
He’s not just praying for Lot, he’s praying for
Sodom.
Charles Spurgeon said: “If they [lost sinners] will not hear you speak,
they cannot prevent your praying. Do they jest at your exhortations? They
cannot disturb you at your prayers. Are they far away so that you cannot reach
them? Your prayers can reach them. Have they declared that they will never
listen to you again, nor see your face? Never mind, God has a voice which they
must hear. Speak to Him, and He will make them feel. Though they now treat you
despitefully, rendering evil for your good, follow them with your prayers.
Never let them perish for lack of your supplications” (Metropolitan Pulpit,
vol. 18, pp. 263–264)
Do you have unbelievers on your prayer list?
Are you praying that their eyes be opened and that they would be saved?
Let me summarize this chapter with…
Lesson
God’s Friend
Abraham has been called “the friend of God”.
(James 2:23 NKJV) And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed
God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was
called the friend of God.
What does a “friend of God” look like?
God’s friend runs to meet Him.
God’s friend bows in humility.
God’s friend is gracious in hospitality.
God’s friend ministers to his own family (like Sarah).
God’s friend prays for the lost.
Quiz
From the lecture (10pts):
Fill in the blank:
1.
_____________ Circumcision
(Spiritual)
Homework
Read Swindoll: Chapter 12: Overcoming Depravity’s Dangerous
Undertow
(Optional Reading: Swindoll chapters 10-13)
Memorize & Review Hebrews 11:6,8-9 (no new verses this week)
(Hebrews
11:6 NKJV) But without faith it is impossible to
please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that
He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
(Hebrews 11:8–9
NKJV) —8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place
which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he
was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of
promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob,
the heirs with him of the same promise;
Blessing