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Biblw 101 Class 3B

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Jim Parker

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Bible 101 Lesson 3B

God makes more promises to Abram.

Gen 13:14 -16 And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.

1. God promises to give Canaan to Abram and his descendants forever.
2. God promises to make Abram’s descendants as numerous as the dust of the earth.

Gen 13:18 Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees** of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the LORD. (Yahoveh)

** Pistacia palaestina ~ Palestine Pistachio


Altars are necessary for burnt sacrifices. Abram offered animal sacrifice to the LORD as did Abel. It was a common practice in the ancient world to offer burnt sacrifices to the gods.

The five (vassal) kings of the plain rebel against the (suzerain) king Chedorlaomer in the 13th year of serving him and promptly get defeated. One outcome is that Chedorlaomer takes Lot as a captive.

When Abram heard about, it he assembled his 318 trained men; promptly defeated Chedorlaomer; freed Lot and took spoils.

Two kings: Melchizedek king of Salem and the king of Sodom.

Melchizedek brings bread and wine and blesses Abram and “God most high.”

Gen 14:18 -20 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.

Things to notice:

Melchizedek
1. Melchizedek, who is both king and priest, brings bread and wine. (Does “bread and wine” ring a bell? Anyone? Bueller?)

2. He blesses “Abram of God Most High.”
(He recognizes Abram as being subject to God Most High.)

3. And he blesses God Most High who gave Abram the victory over an army which had just defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, the Horites in their mountain of Seir, the Amalekites, the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela. Abram defeated them with 318 men and the assistance of God Most High.

4. Abram gave Melchizedek a tithe of the spoil. (That’s a tithe of the spoil, not a tithe of Abram’s annual total income.)

The king of Sodom:
1. Wants Abram to give him back all his people.
2. He says Abram can keep the spoils. (He couldn’t take them from Abram anyway and wouldn’t dare try.)

But Abram says that he will take nothing from the king, not even a shoelace, so that he could never say, “I made Abram rich.”

Abram has been given God’s word that he will have multitudes of people an all the land that he can walk on. He doesn’t want anything from any man because it is God who blesses Abram.

Gen 15:1-6 The promise of an heir.

Abram complains to God that he doesn’t have a heir so God tells him he will have an heir and, also, his descendants will be a numerous as the stars. (That’s the use of the figure of speech called; “hyperbole” by the way.)

When God promises, Abram believes ad we get one of the most used (and abused) verses in Christianity.

Gen 15:6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

Gen 15:7-21 The Covenant for Land

Previously, God had made promises to Abram but, now, God makes a covenant with him and confirming it by using a standard ritual that would be recognized by anyone of that time and place.

The ritual required that animal sacrifices be cut in half and placed in two parallel lines. Birds would not be cut in half. (Too small? I don’t know.)

Then the two parties of the covenant would walk between the two lines of sacrificed animals.

In this case, God causes a deep sleep to come upon Abram and he sees a vision representing God walking between the sacrifices.

Because only God “walked” between the sacrifices, this is a unilateral covenant. Abram has no requirements laid upon him to cause the covenant to be fulfilled. God will fulfill it by Himself.

ALSO: Note that God tells Abram about his descendants time in Egypt and makes the comment:

Gen 15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

What is that about?

The Amorites are the inhabitants of the land of Canaan and their practices are evil. The LORD, however, is going to give them time to repent because He is patient and not desiring that anyone should perish but that all should come to repentance and be saved.

So, He gives them the time of the three generations of Abram, Isaac, and Jacob and an additional 400 years while Israel is in Egypt. Then, when Israel comes back to take their promised land, God will tell them to kill every last one of them, men, women and children and all their cattle because their sin has reached the limit at which God will not tolerate any more. He will protect the surrounding nations from their vile practices by wiping them out as one would cut out a cancer.

Gen 16: Sarai gets a bright idea

Remember that it was Adam who was commanded not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:16-17) but it was Eve who was beguiled by the devil to eat it. Then she gave some to Adam and he ate. (Gen 3:1-6) Adam’s wife was led by the devil to sin and then she led her husband to sin.

This theme gets repeated again.

God promised Abram that he would have descendants but Sarai was barren, not able to conceive.

So Sarai suggests an acceptable means of making God’s promise work by their own efforts. Since God had not made good on His promise (yet), Sarai told Abram to use her Egyptian handmaid, Hagar, as a surrogate mother and Sarai will raise Hagar’s child as her own. (This was an acceptable practice at that time and place.)

Abram doesn’t argue; he agrees. (Happy wife; happy life)

But it doesn’t work out well.

Gen 16:4-6 So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.
Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The LORD judge between you and me.”
So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.


Sarai blames Abram! (Sitcom?..."But Honeee!") It was her idea in the first place!

God treats Hagar kindly and He blesses her son Ishmael whose descendants will later become a serious pain in the rear for Israel.
 
ALSO: Note that God tells Abram about his descendants time in Egypt and makes the comment:

Gen 15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

What is that about?

The Amorites are the inhabitants of the land of Canaan and their practices are evil. The LORD, however, is going to give them time to repent because He is patient and not desiring that anyone should perish but that all should come to repentance and be saved.

So, He gives them the time of the three generations of Abram, Isaac, and Jacob and an additional 400 years while Israel is in Egypt. Then, when Israel comes back to take their promised land, God will tell them to kill every last one of them, men, women and children and all their cattle because their sin has reached the limit at which God will not tolerate any more. He will protect the surrounding nations from their vile practices by wiping them out as one would cut out a cancer.
liked this part - for the many times i've read the ot through i missed this detail and the connection you pointed out

awesome - thanks
 
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