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The Life of Abraham #6: The Promised Son

CCEA School of Discipleship

April 27, 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 14: It’s a Boy!

Let’s recite 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.

Now let’s recite/read to Hebrews 11:8,9,10 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.

(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;

(Hebrews 11:10 NKJV) for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

The Upcoming Final

I’ve decided on a new format for handling the memory verses on the final.

You can do the verses one at a time. When you memorize a verse, find someone outside of the class (I want you to share God’s word with someone not in our class), and recite the verse to them. Then have them write their name on the “final” that says that you memorized that verse.

Then when you memorize the next one, do the same. And so on.

Each verse is worth 10 points, for a total of 40 points (out of 50 for the final)

You can start right away on the verses you’ve memorized, just don’t send/hand me the paper until you’ve done all the verses.

If you want the last bonus 10 points, then recite ALL the verses at the same time to a person.

I will email you all a copy of the “final” this week so you can start working on it.

The Promised Son

Introduction

Abraham and Sarah have been promised a son. Several times.

It’s been a long time since that original promise. Along the way they tried to help God out by having Sarah’s servant girl Hagar sleep with Abraham. What a mess that brought. But the time has finally come.

Genesis 21

21:1-7 Isaac’s birth

:1 And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken.

:1 the LORD visited Sarah

(1 Peter 2:11–12 NKJV) —11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

The word in the LXX for “visited” (episkeptomai), is the verb form of the word used by Peter “visitation” (episcope).

:2 For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

:2 bore Abraham a son in his old age

I have a video …

Do you know why I played that video?

The hatchlings’ father, Abrazzo, is 96 years old. Their mother, “Mommy”, is 97 years old, and the oldest known first-time-mother in her species, the endangered “Western Santa Cruz Galápagos tortoises”. Mommy has been living at the Philadelphia zoo for more than 90 years. She was brought to the zoo by Milton W. Holden on April 23, 1932.

You can read more about them here.

Kind of sounds a little like Abraham and Sarah, right?

Quiz Alert!

There will be FOUR Quiz Alerts in this lesson

Lesson

Some things take time

It’s hard to wait sometimes.

(Proverbs 13:12 NKJV) Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.

The nation of Israel was promised a Messiah.

Year after year, century after century they waited.

Finally, the day came…

(Galatians 4:4 NKJV) But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman…

When you feel like God has given you a promise and it doesn’t happen when you expect it, we can get upset. We lose hope. We don’t understand.

Illustration

Do you remember the original “Karate Kid” movie?

Daniel-son wanted to learn karate so he could face the mean kids who were bullying him. He asks Mr. Miyagi to teach him karate.

Instead, Mr. Miyagi asks him to wax his car, paint his fence, and sand his floor.

Daniel doesn’t understand and he’s getting pretty angry with Mr. Miyagi about all the time he’s wasted and he feels like he’s being taken advantage of.

Then one day, it all comes together…

Play Karate Kid – Lessons come together video.

Think about some of the lessons we’ve already seen in Abraham’s life up to this point.

He’s learned about walking by faith, leaving the land of Ur and heading to a place when he didn’t know where he was going.

He’s heard God speak to him several times.

He was used to rescue Lot.

He’s met Melchizedek.

He believed God, and his faith was reckoned to him as righteousness.

He’s learning how NOT to do things, as with Hagar.

He’s met the LORD and the two angels.

He’s learned to intercede for Lot and Sodom.

I think these are all lessons that God has used to make him that “karate-kid” of faith, the father of faith.

Perhaps above all, learning to wait is one of the big lessons in the life of Abraham.

Paul wrote,

(Romans 4:19–21 NLT) —19 And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb. 20 Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. 21 He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises.

Don’t despair if things aren’t happening as quickly as you hoped for.

Perhaps God is trying to teach you lessons along the way.

:3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him; whom Sarah bore to him; Isaac.

:4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.

The name and the circumcision are exactly what God told Abraham to do (Gen. 17)

:5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

:6 And Sarah said, "God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me."

:7 She also said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age."

:6 God has made me laugh

I find it interesting that the first time she heard about a baby, Sarah laughed, she was defensive about it, and even denying that she had laughed.

(Genesis 18:15 NKJV) But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”

Now she’s telling everyone about her laughter. Perhaps she’s learned to laugh along with Abraham and God.

She finds it funny that she, a ninety year old woman, has given birth and is nursing her child.

I think there’s a bit of maturity that comes attached with learning to laugh at yourself.

Play Laughing Baby video

One of the marvelous things about this passage is about the keeping of promises.

Some people keep their promises, but it just takes a while.

Illustration

A German farmer with relatives in the US promised them some fresh pork sausages made by hand from his very own stock of pigs. But as the weeks went by they gave him a call to complain that the package had not yet arrived. He told them, “Don’t worry. The wurst is yet to come.”

Lesson

God keeps His promises

God always keeps His promises. You can count on Him.

It may not always happen as quick as we want, but God keeps His promises.

It’s been close to 25 years since the promise was first made.

Along the way, Abraham learned faith – you have to trust God.

Illustration

My call to ministry at 18 years old. Waiting for full time ministry. Waiting for becoming Sr. Pastor. Took me 20 years. It’s not fun to wait.

(1 Thessalonians 5:24 NKJV) He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

God makes a promise and He keeps it. After Joshua conquered the land for Israel we read:

(Joshua 21:45 NKJV) Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.

Here’s one of God’s promises I’m counting on:

(John 3:16 NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

21:8-21 Ishmael kicked out

:8 So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned.

In Abraham’s day, children were usually weaned at three to four years old.

In a day when many children didn’t make it past two years old, it was a big thing for a kid to reach the age of being weaned.

:9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing.

:9 Sarah saw the son of Hagar … scoffing

There is a bit of play on words here, in the Hebrew.

scoffing – tsachaq –

There are two Hebrew forms of this word.

The simple form (Qal) means “to laugh”, and is the word used to describe how Abraham (Gen. 17:17) and Sarah (Gen. 18:12,13, 21:6) both “laughed” with the promise and then birth of Isaac.

Isaac’s name comes from this.

The other form is an “intensive” form (Piel) and carries a little different meaning: “to jest; toy with, scoff”

Maybe the idea is this – Ishmael’s baby brother is named “laughter”, so he decides to make sure that everyone is going to be laughing, really laughing, at Isaac.

(Genesis 21:9 NLT) But Sarah saw Ishmael—the son of Abraham and her Egyptian servant Hagar—making fun of her son, Isaac.

Think of a 17 year old teasing a 3 year old.

:10 Therefore she said to Abraham, "Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac."

:10 Cast out this bondwoman

Sarah isn’t happy with the way things are. She wants Hagar and Ishmael to go. There has been tension between Sarah and Hagar ever since Hagar got pregnant (Gen. 16:4-6), but this seems to be the last straw.

bondwoman – ‘ama – maid-servant, female slave

Just to clarify things … even though Sarah and Hagar have both born children for Abraham, one is a free woman (Sarah), and the other was a female slave (Hagar)

Quiz Alert!

This is Quiz Alert #2

Lesson

Legalism is dangerous

What?? I’m going to take a rabbit trail here, because that’s what Paul did with our passage.

I would define “legalism” as the idea that if you want to be acceptable to God, you need to obey all the law, even after you’ve been born again.

Paul uses this story to teach the Galatians a lesson about legalism.

The church in Galatia was made up of Gentiles. Even though they had come to know Jesus by simply trusting in Jesus, they had been deceived by false teachers who were going through the Gentile churches and proclaiming that all Gentiles needed to become Jewish converts if they were going to be truly saved. They were telling the people that they needed to be circumcised and that they needed to keep all of the Law of Moses in order to be saved.

This was a great controversy in the early church. The issue boiled down to this – are we saved by grace or law? Are we saved because of what we do for God (works like circumcision) or because of what God did for us (faith)?

Even today there are churches who put a heavy legalism over their people, making people think that if they smoke a cigarette that they are going to lose their salvation.

Paul’s letter to the Galatians was aimed at freeing the church from the bondage of legalism. Legalism puts people into the mindset of a slave, of bondage. As we read Paul’s letter, look for the concepts of freedom and slavery.

And so Paul writes,

(Galatians 4:21–31 NKJV) —21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law?

Paul is going to teach a lesson drawn from the Law of Moses itself, from our passage in the book of Genesis, which is part of Moses’ books.

22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman.

Hagar was the “bondwoman”, Sarah was a freewoman.

23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, 24 which things are symbolic.

Ishmael was born because of Abraham and Sarah’s “fleshly” plan to fulfill God’s promise of a child to Abraham. They cooked up the plan of bringing another woman into their marriage, Hagar, and having her try to get pregnant.

Isaac was born because of the work of God, God Himself fulfilling the promise to Abraham and Sarah.

For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar—25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children—26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Paul is using symbolic language here…

The Galatians, just like us, have a choice of two paths.

We can choose a path of bondage, a path of trying to please God by keeping the Law of Moses, the Law which was given on Mount Sinai, the Law which was represented in Paul’s day by the Judaism in the earthly Jerusalem.

Or we can choose to follow the path to freedom to the heavenly Jerusalem (the city whose builder and maker is God!). Isaac was a gift of God to Sarah, just like salvation by grace, not works.

27 For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a husband.”

Paul is quoting from Isaiah 54:1, a promise to Israel that though they had been “desolate”, they would once again flourish.

This might even be a reference to Hannah, the mother of Samuel. She initially couldn’t have children while her “rival” wife Peninnah had several. Eventually Hannah would have many children…she put this in a song…

(1 Samuel 2:5b NKJV) …Even the barren has borne seven, And she who has many children has become feeble.

The point is that those who are saved by faith might initially seem to be few, they would one day be many.

28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. 29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now.

In our story, Ishmael is “persecuting” Isaac. In Paul’s day the legalists were persecuting those who followed salvation by grace.

30 Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.

Did you recognize our verse here?

Just as Sarah told Abraham to kick Hagar out, Paul is encouraging the Galatians, and us, to get rid of legalism.

Side Note: Do you see how important it is to learn your Old Testament if you want to understand the New Testament better?

The Lesson: Be careful about allowing your relationship with the Lord to stray towards legalism, towards thinking you have to complete some list of do’s and don’ts to be pleasing to God. You are pleasing to God because He loves you and has paid for you and you’ve learned to trust Him. Cast out the bondwoman.

Thus endeth our rabbit trail…

Back to our story in Genesis 21…

:11 And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham's sight because of his son.

displeasing – yara‘– (Qal) to tremble, quiver

Abraham isn’t thrilled with the idea of sending his seventeen-year-old son away.

:12 But God said to Abraham, "Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called.

:12 listen to her voice

listen – shama‘– to hear, listen to, obey

Quiz Alert!

This is Quiz Alert #3

Lesson

Obey your wife

One of the most difficult things in marriage is learning to how to make decisions as a couple…

Illustration

This guy wanted a boat more than anything. His wife kept refusing, but he bought one anyway. “I’ll tell you what,” he told her. “In the spirit of compromise, why don’t you name the boat?” Being a good sport, she accepted. When her husband went to the dock for his maiden voyage, this is the name he saw painted on the side: “For Sale.”

Some of us men like to remind our wives of the Scripture:

(Ephesians 5:22 NKJV) Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

We will also sometimes remind our wives that in more than one occasion a man has gotten into trouble by doing what his wife asked –

Eve gave the forbidden fruit to her husband.

It was Sarah who gave Abraham the advice to have a child with Hagar.

But here’s the other side of the coin.

God specifically tells Abraham to do what Sarah is asking.

We need to remember that the command for wives to submit follows a verse that says,

(Ephesians 5:21 NKJV) submitting to one another in the fear of God.

Sometimes God speaks to the wife instead of the husband.

Before Samson was born, the Angel of the Lord spoke to his mom, not his dad (Judges 13).

Samson’s dad wanted to hear it all for himself, but the angel basically said, “I already told your wife everything you need to hear…”

It seems that Abraham wasn’t too excited about what Sarah wanted.

If I was Abraham, I’d probably say to Sarah something like –

“Awe honey, you’re just being overprotective”, or,

“You’ve always been jealous of Hagar”, or,

“Hey, Hagar was your idea in the first place”

And if I was Abraham, I might tend to just rationalize her request away and ignore my wife.

Some men might think their wife doesn’t know what she’s doing. Other men might think “it’s a trap” and she’s waiting for you to make another mistake.

Some men think that if I listen to my wife, I’ll “choose poorly”

In the movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”, Indiana and his adversary make it to secret place where the magic cup was, but they have to choose a cup. Look what happened when the man listened to the woman…

Play Indiana Jones Video – “He chose poorly”

But God tells Abraham that her idea was exactly what needed to happen.

It didn’t matter if she might have decided this because of her “womanly, emotional” logic. It was still the right thing.

Lesson

Making Decisions

“So what are you telling me? Do we do things her way or my way? I’m confused!” May I offer some suggestions?

1. Talk it through

You don’t have to make the decision by yourself. You’re a team. Work together.

(Proverbs 24:6 NKJV) For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, And in a multitude of counselors there is safety.

Husbands and wives should be each others’ best counselors.

2. Scripture

Sometimes the answer is pretty clear – there can be a right or wrong choice based on what the Scriptures teach.

(Psalm 119:105 NKJV) Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

What I find more complicated is when the Bible doesn’t speak to the specific decision we are facing.

3. Prayer

It’s a good thing to pray over your decisions when you can. Yet sometimes all you can do is shoot up a quick prayer.

Keep in mind that Abraham hears his answer from God. There is probably a prayer thing going on between Abraham and God when this happens.

(James 1:5 NKJV) If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

4. Patience

Sometimes I make the biggest mistakes because I’m being pressured to choose too quickly. Sometimes I just need a little more time.

(Psalm 25:5 NKJV) Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.

5. Try, try again

You may not do it right the first time. You may make mistakes.

(Proverbs 24:16 NLT) The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.

We are all responsible to God to make our decisions the correct way. Sometimes your way will be the right choice. Sometimes your spouse has the right idea. Choose wisely. Listen to God.

:13 "Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed."

Because Ishmael was a son of Abraham, God would still take care of him.

:14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba.

:14 the Wilderness of Beersheba

See map

Where is Abraham at this time?

I think the context tells us he’s probably down in the plain around Gerar (where he was in chapter 20).

Abimelech told Abraham he was allowed to dwell anywhere within Abimelech’s land (Gen. 20:15). We will see Abimelech again in a few verses (Gen. 21:22).

Today, Beersheba is a city of 215,000 people. Back in Abraham’s day, there is evidence of human settlements perhaps 1,000 years before Abraham.

It’s only 15 miles southeast of Gerar.

Beersheba was also located on or near several well-traveled trade routes going north to south and east to west.

Among other places, it was on the road to Egypt.

Beersheba was an oasis in the desert.

Be careful of thinking that Abraham is sending Hagar and Ishmael out into the desert to die.

:15 And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs.

:16 Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, "Let me not see the death of the boy." So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept.

:17 And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, "What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.

:17 God heard the voice of the lad

Whose voice did God hear? Ishmael’s. Hagar was weeping, but Ishmael was praying (he was after all Abraham’s son).

There’s a line in an old hymn:

O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer

I understand that there are times when we are overcome with the mess of the situation we’re in. But we need to learn to pray.

We are walking with one of our adult sons through a very difficult time. We are all learning that talking and listening are important, but even more important is prayer.

:18 "Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation."

:19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink.

:19 God opened her eyes

Quiz Alert!

This is Quiz Alert #4

Lesson

Prayer opens eyes

I’d suggest that the well had been there all along, but she didn’t see it.

And because she didn’t see it, she was weeping.

Ishmael prays and her eyes are opened.

Sometimes prayer changes our circumstances, sometimes prayer just changes us.

(say that again)

Either way, prayer changes things.

God had been using the prophet Elisha by telling him the movements of the Syrian troops. Elisha then relayed that information to the king of Israel and the enemy was constantly thwarted. When the Syrians figured out what was happening, they decided to try and kill Elisha.

One morning Elisha and his servant wake up to find that the enemy had sent an army and had surrounded the city where they lived.

(2 Kings 6:15–17 NKJV) —15 And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Let me ask, before Elisha prayed, was the angelic army there? (yes)

Prayer just opened the servant’s eyes to see what was already there.

I wonder how many times we are upset and afraid about our situation when all we need to do is pray and have God open our eyes to the answer.

Sometimes it’s not necessarily the answer we need to see as much as to see that God is going to help – we need to get a glimpse of those fiery chariots.

When Jesus made His way into Jerusalem one morning, He stopped at a fig tree and because there was no fruit on it, He cursed it. When the tree immediately withered, the disciples were blown away. Jesus responded:

(Matthew 21:21–22 NKJV) —21 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. 22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

So often I approach this verse and only try to counter the false teachings of the “word-faith” teachers – their idea that you are the master and you can twist God’s arm into doing whatever you want.

But the truth is still this – we need to pray with faith. Mountains move when we learn to ask God for help. Problems wither when we learn to put the issue into God’s hands and Trust Him.

:20 So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

:21 He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

:21 He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran

See map

The area has been linked with Kadesh Barnea (Num. 13:26) which is on the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula. It’s about fifty miles south of Beer Sheba.

Hagar will then go back to Egypt for a wife for Ishmael.

21:22-34 Covenant with Philistines

:22 And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, "God is with you in all that you do.

:23 "Now therefore, swear to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my offspring, or with my posterity; but that according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt."

:23 swear to me by God

Abraham has been living in the land of the Philistines, of whom Abimelech (“my father is king”) is the king.

In the last chapter, we saw Abraham deceiving Abimelech about Sarah (“she’s my sister”), and as a result Abimelech’s household ended up cursed for awhile.

Abimelech has learned two things about Abraham:

God is close to Abraham.

Abraham isn’t always truthful.

:24 And Abraham said, "I will swear."

:24 I will swear

The Hebrew word used here and in verse 23 (“swear to me…”) is shaba (like “Beer-sheba”)

I’d suggest this “oath” is tied to the fact that Abimelech doesn’t seem to fully trust Abraham.

He wants Abraham’s God to hear Abraham’s promise to be nice.

:25 Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech's servants had seized.

:25 Abraham rebuked Abimelech

While they are making a new “treaty”, Abraham decides to bring up a problem he’s had.

Water was a precious commodity in a desert region. It’s the thing that sustained life in deserts of Canaan.

It seems Abraham had dug a well but Abimelech’s servants had claimed it for their own.

:26 And Abimelech said, "I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I heard of it until today."

:27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.

:27 Abraham took sheep and oxen

In Gen. 20:14-16, Abimelech gave Abraham sheep, oxen, servants, and 1,000 pieces of silver to show the world that he didn’t mess with Abraham’s wife.

(Genesis 20:14–16 NKJV) —14 Then Abimelech took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “See, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” 16 Then to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; indeed this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody.” Thus she was rebuked.

Now Abraham gives Abimelech sheep, oxen, and ewe lambs to show that this well was his.

:27 the two of them made a covenant

Or, literally, “cut a covenant”

:28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.

:28 seven ewe lambs

The Hebrew word for “seven” is sheba. (like Beer-sheba)

A ewe lamb is a young female sheep that has not been weaned from its mother.

:29 Then Abimelech asked Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?"

:30 And he said, "You will take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that they may be my witness that I have dug this well."

Abimelech gave a gift to Abraham as a witness that he hadn’t touched Sarah (Gen. 20). Abraham gives a gift as a witness that this is his well.

:31 Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there.

:31 he called that place Beersheba

Beersheba – B@’er Sheba‘– Beer (well) Sheba (seven or oath)

Beersheba is often referred to as the southern tip of Israel.

The Scriptures describe Israel as “From Dan to Beersheba”, Dan being the far north, Beersheba as the far south.

The name will over time acquire different connotations to it.

There were the seven ewe lambs.

There was the “oath” of Abraham.

There were even seven wells in Beersheba.

Remember where Hagar and Ishmael were wandering? The wilderness of Beersheba. They’re not that far from Abraham.

Beersheba will become the chief city in the south, the “Negev”.

:32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines.

:33 Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.

:33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree

tamarisk – ‘eshel – A tree with thick foliage and spikes of pink blooms. It thrives in desert places like Beersheba, creating a place of shade.

The roots grow deep to find water, and in the morning drops of salt water form on the branches, evaporating during the day and making it cooler under its shade.

I’m not sure there’s any more significance to this than that Abraham was planning on staying awhile.

Except for what it says he did next…

:33 there called on the name of the LORD

We’ve seen this phrase before – it’s about prayer. It’s about worship.

Abraham has turned this desert place into a place of worship.

the LORD, the Everlasting God – Three words used here, “Yahweh El Olam”, “The Becoming One”, “God”, “The Forever One”

:34 And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days.

:34 Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines

stayed – I think that’s an unfortunate translation in the NKJV.

The Hebrew word yagar means “to dwell as an alien”

KJV “sojourned”

This ought to make us think of one of our memory verses,

(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;

Lesson

Pilgrims

I don’t know what you think of when you hear the word “pilgrim”. Perhaps those ancestors of ours with the tall black hats.

I tend to think of John Wayne:

Play John Wayne Pilgrim clip (“The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”)

I had asked the question back in chapter 20, “What was Abraham doing down in Gerar of the Philistines?”

I’ve been thinking about that for a few weeks and I have a suggestion.

He was “sojourning”.

He was a “pilgrim”

God had told Abraham back in chapter 13:

(Genesis 13:17 NKJV) Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”

Perhaps he’s walking through his “inheritance”.

Some of the “faith” teachers will share this principle and say that if you want something (like a new house), you need to walk it to claim it.

But keep in mind, Abraham’s not getting too comfortable in the land because he is still living in a tent.

Peter takes these ideas and applies it to our lives: (look for the Abraham pictures)

(1 Peter 2:11–12 NKJV) —11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

We too are just pilgrims in this world (just like Abraham).

And though we might one day “inherit the earth” (Mat. 5:5), we shouldn’t get too comfortable here and get caught up in fleshly lusts (perhaps like Lot?)

(Matthew 5:5 NKJV) Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.

We too are just passing through on our way to heaven…that city whose builder and maker is God.

Unbelievers like Abimelech are watching us.

We too like Abraham may mess up from time to time, but will the Abimelechs of this world see our good works? Will they say of us, “God is with you in all that you do”?

The “day of visitation” might be when they meet God face to face, but it might also refer to when God keeps His promises to us – the word for “visit” (vs. 1 in LXX) is the same root word used for “visitation” by Peter.

richcathers.com

In Class

Take three minutes, get in groups of three or four, and share one thing you got out of reading Swindoll’s: Chapter 14: It’s a Boy!

Let’s recite 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.

Now let’s recite/read to Hebrews 11:8,9,10 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.

(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;

(Hebrews 11:10 NKJV) for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

The Upcoming Final

I’ve decided on a new format for handling the memory verses on the final.

You can do the verses one at a time. When you memorize a verse, find someone outside of the class (I want you to share God’s word with someone not in our class), and recite the verse to them. Then have them write their name on the “final” that says that you memorized that verse.

Then when you memorize the next one, do the same. And so on.

Each verse is worth 10 points, for a total of 40 points (out of 50 for the final)

You can start right away on the verses you’ve memorized, just don’t send/hand me the paper until you’ve done all the verses.

If you want the last bonus 10 points, then recite ALL the verses at the same time to a person.

I will email you all a copy of the “final” this week so you can start working on it.

The Promised Son

Introduction

Abraham and Sarah have been promised a son. Several times.

It’s been a long time since that original promise. Along the way they tried to help God out by having Sarah’s servant girl Hagar sleep with Abraham. What a mess that brought. But the time has finally come.

Genesis 21

21:1-7 Isaac’s birth

:1 And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken.

:1 the LORD visited Sarah

The word in the LXX for “visited” (episkeptomai), is the verb form of the word used by Peter “visitation” (episcope).

:2 For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

:2 bore Abraham a son in his old age

I have a video …

Play Turtle Hatchlings Video

Do you know why I played that video?

You can read more about them here.

Kind of sounds a little like Abraham and Sarah, right?

Quiz Alert!

There will be FOUR Quiz Alerts in this lesson

Lesson

Some things take time

It’s hard to wait sometimes.

(Proverbs 13:12 NKJV) Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.

The nation of Israel was promised a Messiah.

Year after year, century after century they waited.

Finally, the day came…

When you feel like God has given you a promise and it doesn’t happen when you expect it, we can get upset. We lose hope. We don’t understand.

Illustration

Do you remember the original “Karate Kid” movie?

Think about some of the lessons we’ve already seen in Abraham’s life up to this point.

He’s learned about walking by faith, leaving the land of Ur and heading to a place when he didn’t know where he was going.

He’s heard God speak to him several times.

He was used to rescue Lot.

He’s met Melchizedek.

He believed God, and his faith was reckoned to him as righteousness.

He’s learning how NOT to do things, as with Hagar.

He’s met the LORD and the two angels.

He’s learned to intercede for Lot and Sodom.

I think these are all lessons that God has used to make him that “karate-kid” of faith, the father of faith.

Perhaps above all, learning to wait is one of the big lessons in the life of Abraham.

Paul wrote,

:3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him; whom Sarah bore to him; Isaac.

:4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.

The name and the circumcision are exactly what God told Abraham to do (Gen. 17)

:5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

:6 And Sarah said, "God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me."

:7 She also said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age."

:6 God has made me laugh

I find it interesting that the first time she heard about a baby, Sarah laughed, she was defensive about it, and even denying that she had laughed.

(Genesis 18:15 NKJV) But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”

Now she’s telling everyone about her laughter. Perhaps she’s learned to laugh along with Abraham and God.

She finds it funny that she, a ninety year old woman, has given birth and is nursing her child.

I think there’s a bit of maturity that comes attached with learning to laugh at yourself.

Play Laughing Baby video

One of the marvelous things about this passage is about the keeping of promises.

Some people keep their promises, but it just takes a while.

Illustration

A German farmer with relatives in the US promised them some fresh pork sausages made by hand from his very own stock of pigs. But as the weeks went by they gave him a call to complain that the package had not yet arrived. He told them, “Don’t worry. The wurst is yet to come.”

Lesson

God keeps His promises

God always keeps His promises. You can count on Him.

It may not always happen as quick as we want, but God keeps His promises.

It’s been close to 25 years since the promise was first made.

Along the way, Abraham learned faith – you have to trust God.