14:21 Then the king of Sodom (the one who fled instead of defending his own people) said to Abram, "Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself." The king of Sodom was now the king of an empty city and he wanted his people back. As we discussed in class, he wanted his "tax base" returned to him and he was willing to give Abram a handsome reward by letting him keep the flocks, herds, silver, gold, etc. Abram wasn't obligated to give anything back. He could have easily killed the king and made himself the new king of Sodom.

v. 22-15:1 Abram told the king he'd raised his hand to the Lord in a solemn oath that he would accept nothing belonging to the king, "not even a thread or the thong of a sandal" so that the king would never be able to say, "I made Abram rich." He would only accept the food his men had already eaten and a share for each of the three men who were his allies in the fight. After this incredible victory over the four kings Abram had a vision in which the Lord said, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." Notice the three parts of this message and how closely related it is to what Abram had just been through.

1) He's told not to be "afraid" at a time when he was probably still shaken up from fighting the four kings.

2) The Lord is his "shield"-- it was certainly the Lord who shielded him in battle.

3) The Lord is his "very great reward"-- a much greater reward than the king of Sodom offered.

v. 2-5 Abram asks the Lord, "What can you give me since I remain childless?" He had no children to inherit the land the Lord promised to give him. He had only a trusted servant who would be his heir. The Lord said "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." Abram's descendants would be as countless as the stars in the sky.

v. 6 Now here's a critically important verse. "Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness." We discussed in class how Abram not only believed that the Lord exists but he believed what the Lord was saying to him. "Believing the Lord" is not synonymous with "believing in the Lord." When Abram believed the Lord it showed that he trusted the Lord to tell him the truth. Abram believed the Lord when He said he would have a son who would be heir to all the land the Lord had promised him. And the Lord credited Abram's belief as righteousness. 

v. 7 The Lord told Abram that He was the one who brought him out of Ur and led him to Canaan in order to take possession of the land that would eventually be passed down to his descendants (the Israelites). Abram needed to understand that the Lord who spoke to him in Haran and all the other places he had traveled was the same Lord who was speaking to him now. In Abram's day, people worshiped many local gods. For example, those who lived in the mountains worshiped certain gods. People living near the sea worshiped other gods. When a person moved from one place to another they adapted to the local rituals and worshiped the gods of that place. But Abram was being led, sustained and protected by a God who was not stuck in one place. Abram's God was everywhere he went.

v. 8-16 Abram asked the Lord how he could know for certain that he would gain possession of the land.  So the Lord made a covenant with Abram. It was the practice in those days that when men made a solemn agreement with each other they would "cut a treaty." They'd kill an animal, cut it in half and walk between the two halves to signify that if either man broke the agreement then he would be cut in two just like the animal. In Abram's case the Lord told him to bring a heifer, a goat, a ram and two birds. Abram killed them and arranged the pieces opposite each other. That evening Abram fell into a deep sleep. The Lord told him that his descendants (the Israelites) would be enslaved and mistreated for 400 years in a land that was not their own (Egypt). But the Lord would punish (with plagues) the nation they served as slaves. Afterward they (the Israelites) would come out with great possessions (Egypt's wealth). We talked in class about how this prediction of suffering was recorded for the benefit of the Israelites who would read it later. They would have seen that the Lord knew about them long before they were even born. Abram would live a long life and be "buried at a good old age." But in the fourth generation his descendants would come back to Canaan, "for the sins of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure." This statement shows the patience of the Lord. He is not quick to punish sin.

v. 17-21 Later that evening when it was dark there was a "smoking firepot and a blazing torch" that passed between the cut up animals. Only the Lord passed between the pieces-- Abram did not. This indicates a unilateral treaty in which the Lord not only initiated it, He also took on Himself full responsibility for the terms. It's not as if He told Abram to "do this or that and then I will give the land to your descendants." There were no conditions. The Lord was making this covenant with Abram without any strings attached.

16:1-26 Ten years after they arrived in Canaan Sarai was still childless. Since she wanted to build a family she gave her Egyptian maidservant Hagar to Abram as his wife. Any children that Hagar had would be reckoned as Sarai's children. Abram agreed to this. He slept with Hagar and she became pregnant. When Hagar realized she was pregnant she despised Sarai. Sarai blamed Abram for her misery so Abram told her to do whatever she thought best. Sarai mistreated Hagar and she ran away. The angel of the Lord found Hagar in the desert near a spring. The angel told her to go back to Sarai and submit to her. He also said Hagar would have countless descendants. Her child's name would be Ishmael which means "God hears." He would be a "wild donkey" of a man who would live in hostility with all his brothers. Hagar called the Lord "the God who sees me." Hagar bore a son and Abram named him Ishmael. Abram was 86 years old. When Abram was 99 years old the Lord appeared to him again to confirm the covenant He had made earlier. Let's look at the timeframe.

• Age 75-- Abram left Haran, entered Canaan, and is promised a son
• Age 85-- Ishmael is conceived
• Age 86-- Ishmael is born
• Age 99-- the Lord confirms His covenant, Abram is circumcised, Ishmael is 13 years old
• Age 100-- Isaac is born

It's been 24 years since the Lord first made His covenant with Abram. Now He confirms it by giving Abram the sign of circumcision. But first the Lord changes Abram's name to Abraham. Abram means "exalted father" which likely points back to his father who may have been from a royal family. But the name Abraham means "father of many nations" and looks ahead to Abram's future descendants.

v. 9-27 The Lord told Abram that he and all his male descendants must be circumcised. Any uncircumcised male would be cut off from his people and have no share in the inheritance associated with this covenant. Then the Lord changed Sarai's name to Sarah. He confirmed that she would give birth to a son and she would become the mother of many nations. Abraham laughed to himself and wondered whether Sarah could really bear a child when she was 90 years old. He said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!" God certainly would bless Ishmael, making him the father of 12 rulers. But God's covenant would be established with Sarah's son Isaac who would be born the following year. That same day, Abraham and Ishmael and all the males in his household were circumcised. Abraham was 99 years old and Ishmael was 13 years old.

18:1-15 Sometime soon after this Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day when he saw three men standing nearby. He offered them water to wash their feet and some food and drink. They agreed so he told Sarah to bake bread and had a servant kill a calf and prepare it. Abraham served the meal to his guests and stood nearby while they ate. One of the three men was the Lord and He asked Abraham where Sarah was. The Lord said that at this time next year Sarah would have a son. Sarah was listening from the tent and she laughed to herself at what He said. The Lord asked Abraham why she laughed. "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" Sarah was afraid and said she did not laugh but the Lord said, "Yes, you did laugh." (Isaac means "he laughs")

v. 16-33 As the men got up to leave they looked down toward Sodom. The Lord told Abraham that He heard about the wickedness of the people in Sodom and He was going there to see if it was true. The two others left but Abraham stood before the Lord and appealed to Him to spare the city. Remember, his nephew Lot lived in Sodom. Abraham asked Him if only 50 righteous people are there then would the Lord spare the whole city? The Lord agreed that He would spare it. Then Abraham reduced the number of righteous to 45, then 40, then 30, then 20, then 10. The Lord said He would not destroy Sodom if He found even ten righteous people there.

Next time we'll see if there were ten righteous people in Sodom.

--Sandy Blank

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