Genesis 17:1

Genesis 17:1 says, And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.  Thirteen years had passed since the birth of Ishmael, and Abram was still waiting for God to fulfill His promise.  We are not told what happened during those years, but now God appeared to Abram and told him that He was the Almighty God and for Abram to walk before Him and be perfect.  When God calls to us, we must hear Him and follow His guidance.  Verse two states, And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.  God once again told Abram that He was going to multiply Abram's seed, or children, in accordance with God's covenant with Abram.  God always sets the terms of our covenant with Him, but He also always keeps His covenant.  Verse three declares, And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,  Abram fell on his face before God.  Sometimes I believe that we have become too casual in our relationship with God.  We need to come to God with a great respect and humility.  God continued to speak to Abram.  Verse four states, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.  This is a reaffirming of God's covenant with Abram.  The passing years had not changed it, just as the passing years have not changed God's covenant with us through our faith in Christ.  Verse five adds, Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.  After ninety-nine years, Abram's name was to be changed to Abraham, meaning he was the father of nations.  Verse six continues, And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.  This was quite a promise to a man Abram's, now Abraham, age, when Sarai and he had no children.  God can and will always deliver on His promises if we simply have the faith to believe.   Verse seven states, And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.  God's covenant was not to be a temporary covenant, but an everlasting one.  God's covenant with us through our faith in Christ is an everlasting covenant.  Verse eight adds, And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.  God promised Abram that He would give Abraham a land where he was a stranger, the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and He would be their God.  We are promised a everlasting home where we are strangers in heaven if we are followers of Christ.  Verse nine declares, And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.  Abraham and his descendants were to keep God's covenant for this to be true.  When we accept Christ, we enter into a covenant relationship with God, and we must live by faith in Him.  Verse ten adds, This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.  The sign of the covenant for Abraham and his descendants was circumcision.  We really don't have a sign of our relationship with God through Christ except for the Holy Spirit living in us.  Though baptism is a sign of obedience, it is not something that marks us in any physical way. Verse eleven says,  And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.  Verse twelve adds, And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.  These two verses simply state that everyone born into the house or strangers brought in were to be circumcised. Verse thirteen says, He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. Then verse fourteen adds, And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.  Circumcision was to be a sign of the covenant and a dividing point between those who were God's people and those who weren't.  Today, accepting Christ's death on the cross is the dividing point.

Genesis 16:7

Genesis 16:7 says, And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.  God sent a messenger to Hagar.  This is the first record of the appearance of an angel. She may have felt all alone, but God had not about abandoned her, even if those who were to represent Him had.  We have to be careful as followers of Christ that we do not begin to feel that other people deserve God's punishment and not His forgiveness.  Sarai may have looked down on Hagar, but Hagar had simply done what she was basically forced to do.  Verse eight states, And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.  The angel first asked Hagar where she came from and where was she going.  This is the same question everyone must answer when they encounter Christ.  Hagar said she was fleeing from her mistress Sarai and she didn't say where she was going, because I don't believe she knew.  When we encounter Christ, we are fleeing from God at that point, and not because God has mistreated us, and we really don't know where we are going.  Verse nine declares, And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.  This is probably not the answer that Hagar was looking for, but it was God's answer to her.  God may not always give us the answer we are looking for, but if it is God's answer, we like Hagar must decide whether or not we will obey Him.  Verse ten adds, And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.  God promised Hagar that she would be the mother of a great multitude as well.  We need to remember that these were also descendants of Abram, though they were not the descendants of the covenant.  Hagar was not punished by God for the sins of Sarai and Abram.  Verse eleven continues, And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.  This was before ultrasounds, but the angel told Hagar not only that she was expecting a child, but also that her child would be a son.  She was to name him Ishmael, which meant that the LORD had heard her affliction.  Verse twelve concludes, And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.  Ishmael was to be a wild man, but one who could stand his own against anyone.  Verse thirteen says, And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?  Hagar said God saw her, and asked if she also looked to Him.  We can be certain that God always sees us, but the question is do we look to Him and surrender to His will.  Verse fourteen adds, Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi;behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.  We are told the name and given the location of the well.  Verse fifteen states, And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.  Hagar had Abram's son, and Abram named him Ishmael.  We must conclude that Hagar told Abram what happened at the well.  When God does something in our lives, we should always be willing to tell others, especially those closest to us.  Verse sixteen says, And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.  Abram was eighty six at this time, and still waiting for God to fulfill His promise.  We must never become impatient with God, no matter how old we are.

Genesis 16:1

Genesis 16:1 says, Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.  Even though God had promised Abram that he would be the father of a great nation, Sarai and Abram still had no children.  Sarai thought she had a solution involving her Egyptian handmaiden.  We should never get impatient with God and attempt to carry out His will with our own plans, but should always wait for God to do things His way.  Verse two states, And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.  Sarah in effect said God had failed, but she had a plan.  Abram could have a child with the handmaiden, and Sarai could claim the child as hers.  There was no consideration for the handmaiden.  Abram did as Sarai asked him to, and at no point do we see them asking God about the plan.  This should have been at least Abram's first response.  We must make sure that what we are doing is God's plan, no matter how close we may feel that we are to God.  Verse three declares, And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.  After ten years in Canaan, Sarai gave the Egyptian handmaiden, Hagar, to Abram to be his wife.  Of course, God never intended for marriage to be between more than one man and one woman for a lifetime.  Verse four adds, And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.  After Abram and Hagar were together as man and wife, she became pregnant and then despised Sarai.  Hagar never had a voice in all of this, so it is no wonder that she despised Sarai.  If we use others to attempt to bring about God's will, we should not be surprised if they despise us.  Verse five says, And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.  Now Sarai was blaming Abram for Hagar's attitude, though she was the one who devised the plan.  We cannot blame others if our plans fail when we implement them without consulting God.  Sarai told Abram to choose between Hagar and her.  Verse six states, But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.  Abram did not call Hagar his wife, but called her Sarai's maid, and then told Sarai to do what she wanted to with Hagar.  We are then told that Sarai dealt hardly with her, and Hagar fled from her.  We cannot punish others if they carry out our plans and the plan fails.  Abram and Sarai were the ones to blame, not Hagar.

Genesis 15:12

Genesis 15:12 says, And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.  Abram fell into a deep sleep and it says a horror of great darkness fell on him.  Matthew Henry says this was more than just a normal sleep, and that the horror came from not understanding it before God spoke to Abram.  We may at times be spiritually asleep and need to once again listen for God to speak to us.  When the fears of the world come, God will always see us through them if we listen to Him and follow His guidance.  Verse thirteen states, And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;  God had told Abram that he was to be the father of a great nation, but God now told him that it was not going to be greatness in worldly terms.  Abram's descendants were to be strangers in a land that was not theirs and serve others for four hundred years.  When we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are not promised worldly greatness, and we will always be strangers to this world.  We are simply passing through, and we are called to serve others.  Verse fourteen adds, And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.  God told Abram that He would ultimately judge the nation that Abram's descendants served, and his descendants would come out with great substance.  One day, God is going to judge the world, and those that are His will come out with the riches of heaven, though that is not really what is important.  The important thing is that the followers of Christ will come out of God's judgment with an everlasting relationship with God with no obstacles between God and them.  Verse fifteen continues, And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.  God promised Abram that he would die at peace at a good old age.  I believe that as followers of Christ we should always die at peace.  That does not mean that everything in the world will be right, but our relationship with God should always leave us at peace with leaving this old world.  Verse sixteen concludes, But in the fourth generation they shall come. hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.  Though they would serve for awhile, Abram's descendants would have the land restored to them.  God's promises are always sure, but they are also on His timetable.  Verse seven declares, And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.  These were just physical signs of God's presence.  Verse eighteen states,
In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:  Verse nineteen adds, The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,  Verse twenty continues, And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,  Verse twenty-one concludes, And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.  God promised Abram a land, but He never said that there wouldn't be others there who opposed them.  When we accept Christ, we are a part of God's kingdom, but in this world there will always be those who oppose us.

Genesis 15:1

Genesis 15:1 says, After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.  After Abram rescued Lot, he received an assurance from God that he did not need to be afraid.  I believe that when we go through a bad situation that God will always be there to reassure us, whether we are successful or not.  Verse two asks, And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?  Abram was still questioning God.  How often do we question God when things don't go exactly as we think they should.  Abram said that he was still childless, which was not what he thought would be true by this time.  Verse three adds, And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.  Abram basically said that God had failed.  We may often look around at the conditions in the world and feel that God has failed us, but He never has and never will.  Abram said his servant's child would be his heir.  Verse four declares, And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.  God told Abram that he was wrong.  If we ever question God's promises, we can be certain that we are the ones who are wrong.  Instead of questioning, we should just be patient and wait on God in faith.  Verse five adds, And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.  God brought Abram out and told him to look at the stars and asked if he could number them.  Then, God promised Abram that he would have descendants that would not be able to be numbered.  Abram was still looking at the world in physical terms and not spiritual ones.  The God Who created the universe could certainly give Abram an heir when He promised to do so.  God is still capable of fulfilling His promises to us.  Verse six says, And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.  Like Abram, when we believe God's promise of salvation through Christ, it is counted to us as righteous.  It is our belief that brings us righteousness.  Verse seven adds, And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.  God promised Abram a land for himself and his descendants.  He promises us a heavenly home, which is for all who believe in Him.  Verse eight asks, And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?  We may want to ask the same thing at times about our heavenly home, but we must simply believe God.  Verse nine declares, And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.  God gave Abram instructions to follow, just as we have instructions to put our faith in Christ in order to attain salvation.  Verse ten says, And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each pierce one against another: but the birds divided he not.  Verse eleven adds, And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.  Abram sacrificed the animals but not the birds.  He also kept the birds away from the sacrifice.

Genesis 14:14

Genesis 14:14 says, And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.  Abram heard about Lot being taken captive and armed his trained servants, three hundred and eighteen of them, to go after Lot.  This was not many men to be pursuing a great army, but Abram had God on his side.  When we are facing great odds, we need to be sure that God is with us and that we are following His will.  Verse fifteen states, And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.  Abram was not a military man, and this is the only battle we have recorded of his participating in.  We are not necessarily called to be military people, but as followers of Christ we are a part of His army.  I believe that God led Abram to his strategy, and we must allow God to lead us to ours.  Verse sixteen says, And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.  We aren't told much about the battle, but Abram was successful and brought back everything.  Verse seventeen declares, And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale.  This tells us that Chedorlaomer and his allies were destroyed.  Verse eighteen adds, And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.  There is more than one interpretation as to whom Melchizedek was, but we do know that he was a king and a priest.  This would mean that he was not set aside exclusively for the priesthood.  As followers of Christ, we may be called to serve in more than one capacity.  Verse nineteen states, And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:  Melchizedek blessed Abram in the name of God.  We cannot really bless people out of our own abilities, but must always do so by calling on God's blessings for others.  Verse twenty adds, And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.  God was blessed for having brought success to Abram, and Abram gave a tithe to Milchizedek.   We must always be quick to give God the glory when we are successful in our battles against sin.  Verse twenty-one states, And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.  The king of Sodom would have been satisfied to simply have his people returned to him, at least at this time.  Verse twenty-two declares, And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,  Verse twenty-three adds, That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:  Abram refused to take any of the goods and gave God the credit for the victory.  Abram did not want anyone to think that he had become rich at someone else's expense.  We today must always look to God to guide us and must never attempt to serve Him simply for material gains.  Verse twenty-four concludes, Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.  Abram said he only wanted the food that his men had eaten, but that those who went with him, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre should be allowed to take what they wanted.  We should never attempt to limit what God blesses others with, but we also should never feel that God has to bless us materially.  Abram went only to rescue Lot and not to enrich himself.  We are challenged to present the gospel to the lost that they might be spiritually rescued, but we are never to do so in an attempt to enrich ourselves.

Genesis 14:1

Genesis 14:1 says, And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations;  Verse two adds, That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.  War broke out, the first war that we have a record of in scripture, and Sodom and Gomorrah were involved in it.  This was close to Abram, but especially close to Lot.  Followers of Christ today are often caught up in wars and are sometimes the targets of those at war.  Verse three states, All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.  I believe this means the war was fought in the valley of Sidom.  Verse four adds, Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.  I would interpret this to mean  an uprising after the initial defeat.  Chedorlaomer and his allies won, and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah and their allies were under his rule for twelve years, then they rebelled.  We hear a lot today about people rebelling against those in power over them, often without success.  Verse five declares, And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim,   Verse six adds And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto Elparan, which is by the wilderness.   Those allied with Chedorloamer soon routed those who were rebelling against them.  Sometimes, those with the military power win today, but we as followers of Christ can be certain that ultimately we will be on the winning side, even if it is not in this lifetime.   Verse seven states, And they returned, and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezontamar.  Then verse eight adds, And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim;  This again speaks of a battle in Siddim, but since these cities had already been under the rule of Chedorlaomer for twelve years before the revolt, I believe this must be a second battle.  Verse nine states, With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.  There were three kings fighting with Chedolaomer against five who had rebelled, including those of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Verse ten declares, And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.  The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled to the slime pits, and those that didn't follow them fled to the mountains.  This would imply that the two kings abandoned their those that they ruled over.  We know that it is not unusual for ruler to put their own safety first if they are attacked, often abandoning their subjects.  Verse eleven says, And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.  The conquering armies took all the goods, or material wealth, of Sodom and Gomorrah with them.  Taking away their wealth meant Sodom and Gomorrah would no longer be a threat.  Controlling the resources of a country today often leaves those living there subjected to another country.  Verse twelve declares, And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.  This was a big mistake on the part of those in victory.  They took Lot and his goods with them.  Even if we are taken captive in this life, we can be certain that God has already given us everlasting freedom, and He will never leave us alone without hope.  Verse thirteen declares, And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.  News reached Abram about Lot being taken captive.  We can assume that the battle wasn't close enough for Abram to know about it, or that it just didn't concern him.  There are many wars today that we know very little about, even in these days of instant communication, and Christians are caught up in many of them, but I don't believe that we are called to conquer them all.  God has already defeated them for those who follow Him, though it may not be in this lifetime.