Genesis 22. The Father gives up the Son

Genesis 22.

“Abraham. Sacrifice your son Isaac.”

It’s pretty brutal isn’t it.

Here’s Abraham, enjoying the fruits of a life lived under God’s blessing. His son Isaac, growing before his eyes. His son Isaac, strong, a boy becoming a man. His son Isaac, the one who will inherit the very promises of God given to Abraham. His son Isaac, the son of the Promise.

You can imagine him and Sarah, sitting outside their tent, satisified, content. Enjoying the fruits of God’s blessing. Life is good.

And then God says 2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”

Oof. Like a blow to the body. The world goes dark. Panic rises in the throat. “Did God just ask me to give up that which I love most in this world? Did he ask me to give up that which is most precious to me? Did God ask me to sacrifice my son? To watch him suffer and die?

I cannot do this! Why would God ask me to do this? It must be wrong. He cannot require this of me.”
Abraham, take your son, your only son, and go.

God. No! No! I cannot do this.

He looks into Sarah’s eyes and her eyes tell the same story “No, Abraham, no. You cannot.”

And then he looks around at all that he has: his flocks and his herds, his servants and workers, his many tents, his vast wealth – all this he has received from the hand of God. It is a gift.
He looks at the land promised to him. It is a gift. He looks at his son. The greatest gift of all. He is a gift. All gifts from the hand of the Lord.

“Shall I refuse to give back to God what he has so generously given me? Shall I stand in judgement over the commands of God? Shall I determine what is right and wrong, placing myself over God – just like Adam did in Eden? What do I really love? What do I value the most? The gifts, or the Giver of the Gifts?”

The Bible has a word for that: it’s called idolatry. Putting something before God.
But idols are little wooden or stone statues aren’t they? I don’t worship those! Ah, but idolatry in the Bible is a heart matter, not just an external matter. Idolatry is best defined as loving something other than God in the place of God. Letting something else take first place, central place, in your life. And that will never work. For the guys at the Man in the Mirror, you remember the wheel illustration, with Christ at the centre. He is our hub – take him out, and the whole wheel collapses.
We are designed to have God at the centre – without him, everything goes wrong. Just look at our world. Look at our churches that have drifted from the gospel and have tried to replace the Living God with tame religion. They are full of angry, arrogant people, self-righteous - or defeated, sad people, worn-out from the burden of guilt they carry.
Idolatry is valuing the gifts more than the Giver of the gifts. Loving God for what we can get from him rather than He himself. And if we do that, we’re a Dudley Dursley.

Dudley Dursley is a character in the Harry Potter books and films – he’s Harry’s selfish cousin. And in the first film we are introduced to Dudley on his eleventh birthday. Dudley has been given 36 presents. 36! His reaction? “36? But last year I had 38….” – tells us everything we need to know about him. Ungrateful. Selfish. No thankfulness, no joy, just greed.

And that’s what we are like when we value what God has given us more than we love God himself. Psalm 73:25 says this Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. 26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.

God is enough.

When tragedy strikes and that which I value so much is taken from me. God is enough.

When illness robs me of my ability to do what I want when I want. God is enough.

When God keeps saying no to my prayers which seem so right to me. God is enough.

When pain racks my body. God is enough.

When God calls me to leave my country and go to a spiritual wasteland. God is enough.

When my baby boy dies in the womb. God is enough.

When he strips away all I hold dear and all that remains is him. God is enough.

God is enough.

Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. 26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.

And so 3 The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. God is enough.

That’s faith. That’s trust. “I don’t understand this, God. Everything in me says that this is wrong. But I know that I am warped by sin – I cannot see things clearly. I know that I am bound by time and circumstances – I don’t see the full picture. I know my selfish and comfort-seeking heart is always pulling me in the wrong direction. So I will quiet the noise in my head and say “I trust you.””

21 Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside. 22 I was so foolish and ignorant— I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you. 23 Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. (Ps 73 again)

This story here in Genesis blows apart the nonsense of the prosperity gospel: God wants you to be healthy and wealthy. No! He wants you to be utterly consumed with him. He wants you to depend on him in everything.
This story destroys that stupid saying “God will never test you beyond what you can bear”. Of course he will! Who can bear this?

HE will ALWAYS test us beyond what we can bear because we are designed to rest on him, not on ourselves. We cannot bear the weight of living in this world. We cannot bear the sorrows of a fallen world – just watch the news. It is heartbreaking. Who can bear it? Only God. We cannot bear the thought of our own sinful, self-justifying, self-absorbed hearts. My heart is bitter, I am like a senseless animal before you God. I cannot bear it.

No. God will always test us beyond what we can bear so that we stop trusting in ourselves and so trust in him. Faith in God, living faith, active faith, is the antidote to idolatry.

That’s why Abraham is one of the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11. James explains it like this in James 2:21–24 Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. 23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God.

My parents have a saying which I have found immensely helpful for many years: hold loosely to things. Even good things. Not let go. But don’t hang on so tight that that thing, that person, that relationship, whatever it may be – don’t hang on so tight that that becomes your God, your idol, your central thing. For what will you do when God in his grace takes that away from you (or threatens to)? There is only One that matters most in this life, and that is Christ Alone. Hold on to him (or more properly he will hold on to us), and cherish and be thankful for all the good things he has given, but hold loosely, hold loosely and never forget Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.

I discovered this week that my parents weren’t the first to say “hold loosely to things”. The great preacher George Whitefield preaching on this passage says this “Learn, O saints! From what has been said, to sit loose to all your worldly comforts; and stand ready prepared to part with everything, when God shall require it at your hand….let [Abraham’s] example encourage and comfort you. O think of the happiness he now enjoys, and how he is incessantly thanking God for testing him when here below. Look up often by the eye of faith, and see him sitting with his dearly beloved Isaac…. Remember, it will be but a little while, and you shall sit with them also, and tell one another what God has done for your souls.”

God is enough.

But that may have raised a question in your mind. Especially if you are being called to give something up, to move out of your comfort zone – this will be your defence: it’s not fair. God doesn’t understand. What kind of God can do this? Cruel, unfeeling God.

How often have we heard the statement “I can’t believe in a God who allows x”. Or “I went through <this terrible thing> and my faith was destroyed”

We can answer rather brutally with “who are you to stand in judgement above God – are you more God than God, seeing all things, knowing all things?” and “maybe your faith was in the wrong God, the God of your imagination rather than the real God of the Bible” – now those are true answers but they are head answers, and the pain is felt here, deep within. “I have lost my grandchild, my heart is broken. How can God allow this?”

And the answer to their pain is shown in this story.

For we find that the One who tested Abraham to sacrifice his son, only to rescue him at the last instance is the One who sacrificed his own Son, with no thought of rescue.

See, the God who makes these demands of us, we find out is the God who has travelled this road and beyond. He has gone before us so that at the moment when death will overwhelm us, when evil will destroy us, when sin and suffering will have its victory – at the moment when we lie on the altar ready to pay for our sins – at that moment God cries out “stay the knife!” and we are lifted tenderly from our place of suffering, and Jesus takes our place, the substitute ram, the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. He takes our place, and the knife plunges in, and in agony he dies. The Father gives up his son. The son gives up his life. Oh what infinite glory!

The answer to all the riddles is here, in this foreshadowing of the Cross.

6 So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, 7 Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” 8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together. 9 When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. 11 At that moment the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” 12 “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” 13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the LORD will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”

On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided. And it was. 2000 years later, probably on this very same mountain, the Son of God provided a way out for all who trust in him. The Father sacrificed his Son in order to bring many sons to glory.

See the willingness of Isaac to be the sacrifice, as Jesus says “No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again.” Jn 10:18
Isaac carried the wood up the mountain as Christ carried his Cross. He did not struggle or fight, but was silent, as was Christ as he was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. Isa 53:7

The willing sacrifice.

But here the comparison ends. Because Abraham raised the knife – but God calls out “stop” – and Isaac is rescued. But for Jesus there is no rescue because HE is the rescuer. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. This is why he set his face like flint towards Jerusalem. This is why he sweated blood in the garden in prayer and cried out “not my will Father, but yours”. It is this moment for which he came, this is the hour in which he will bring glory to the Father by completing the work he came to do, and the Father will glorify him with the glory he had before the world began. (Jn 17:1–5). This is the moment when Heaven is silent. As Jesus hangs on the cross there is no shout of “STOP”. There is just love, incredible love keeping Him there on the cross, keeping the Father from crying out “enough” – and instead we hear those words “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me”. Words of absolute pain as suffering as he who knew no sin became sin for us. Our sins pressed down upon his shoulders.
But it is also a mighty declaration of who he is, those words quoted from Psalm 22, the Psalm of the KING. Here, O Israel is your King, victorious in death, rescuing in weakness, triumphing over Satan and sin in agony and humiliation. Here is our God.

What have you experienced that can compare with that? Have you ever heard of such a thing? Such love – going to such terrible lengths to rescue your enemies from a fate we deserve? It is unthinkable.

So remember the Cross next time you have devilish thoughts of “it’s unfair. God is unfeeling. God is cruel.” He is not pushing you on to the road of suffering – but he is standing ahead of you, calling out to you – do not be afraid, I have gone on ahead. I have cleared the way. All will be alright in the end. And his strong, scarred hand will reach out in the dark and grasp yours.
God is enough. In the darkness and pain, God is enough.

Whitefield again: “Remember, it will be but a little while, and you shall sit with [Abraham and Isaac] also, and tell one another what God has done for your souls. There I hope to sit with you, and hear this story of his offering up his Son from his own mouth, and to praise the Lamb that sits upon the throne, for what he has done for all our souls, for ever and ever.”

Genesis 22: Regeneration

Genesis 22

What would you do if God told you to give up that which you treasure the most?

What would you do if God commanded you to do something that sounded… completely wrong?

That’s what we’re going to look at today:
1. God’s ridiculous command
2. Obedience brings rewards
3. Regeneration

What would you have done if you were Abraham, and heard God say

1. God’s ridiculous command (the test)

Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” 2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”

Can you imagine hearing such a command from God? Can you imagine the confusion, the inner turmoil? Really? Really God? That is what you want me to do?

The author makes it clear what is going on: “God tested Abraham’s faith”. This is a test – the death of Isaac was never God’s intention. This is a test for Abraham to uncover what he loves: does he love God, or does he love what God gives him? Does he love God? Does he trust God?

“Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much”

Abraham’s response is remarkable. 3 The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about.

That’s faith in God. The story doesn’t tell us what Abraham was feeling – the conflicting emotions, the worry, the hope that God would rescue – it just tells us what he DID. He obeyed. He obeyed quickly. God’s word sounded ridiculous – but it was God’s word. And so he listened. That’s what Abraham did. But what about me?

How often does God’s word sound ridiculous to us. Forgive, do not take revenge. Pay your taxes. Honour the government. Keep sex for marriage only. Submit to your husband. Love your wife as Christ loved the church – sacrifice yourself for her! (“Seriously, God, have you MET my wife”, some might say). God’s ways so often run counter to ours. For we say take revenge. It’s a dog eat dog. Get away with what you can. Politicians are swine. Sex isn’t special, it’s just a need that people have like eating so eat wherever you find food. SUBMIT???? Hahahaha. Sacrifice for your WIFE? Are you crazy. And so on.

What is it that you struggle with? What part of God’s word do you carefully avoid? Or pretend you haven’t heard? Or try to explain away with a great number of words?

This is where the rubber hits the road – this is where your faith is revealed to be genuine or not: NOT where YOU agree with God, but where God’s word and your word are opposed.
Will I submit? Or will I follow my own path.
Who’s really God in my life? God? Or me?

Your obedience reveals your faith. Your trust reveals your heart. Listen to Abraham’s heart.

4 On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”

In Heb 11:17 It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, 18 even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” 19 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again.

God can do the impossible – even raise someone from the dead. So Abraham had full confidence in the God who keeps his promises. That’s what we saw last week, that God keeps his promises – he kept his promise to Abraham of the miracle son, Isaac. He kept his promise to Hagar and Ishmael, to hear their cry and to look after them. And he will keep his promise to bless the whole world through Abraham and his son Isaac.

Abraham knew that Isaac was part of God’s promises, and so knew that if he died, God would, must, raise him back to life again. Only through the resurrection life of the son could the world be blessed.

He knew the character of God. He knew God’s promises. And so he was able to act in faith, in full confidence that, no matter what happened, we will worship there, and then we will come right back.

He trusted God’s word, ridiculous as it seemed, because he knew God.

That is why we gather together on Sundays and on Wednesdays to read the Bible together. If we do not read God’s word we will not know what he is like, what he says, who he is. And if we do not know him, we can never obey him in joy and gladness. Our Christian lives will be crippled. How can you trust someone you do not know?

6 So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, 7 Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” 8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.

Wow. Can you imagine the emotions raging through Abraham as his beloved son asks him “where is the sacrifice?”. And think of the amazing control, the amazing faith in the God whom he knows, to answer “God will provide”.
Not surprising that when they did return from the mountain, Abraham called that place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the LORD will provide”) (v14).

Abraham knew God, and so trusted him.

What about you? Do you know God? Do you trust him? What are you doing to get to know God? Have you asked him?
And if you do know him, are you obeying him as God, no matter what? He is God, and I am not. Where am I avoiding obeying God?

2. Obedience brings rewards

The result of Abraham’s obedience is a restatement of the promises made to Abraham back in chapter 12, and repeated in chapters 13, 15, 17, and 18, - but this time with a difference. Did you notice it?

15 Then the angel of the LORD called again to Abraham from heaven. 16 “This is what the LORD says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that 17 I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. 18 And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”

Because you have obeyed me. All the nations of the earth will be blessed – all because you have obeyed me. Wow.

Now, at this point I’m going to share with you some “deleted scenes” from this sermon. Like on a movie when they cut out scenes that are wrong or just didn’t fit the movie – these are the deleted parts of this talk – the bits left on the cutting room floor. Try and see why I would have cut these out.

“At last we see the reason why God chose Abraham. His heart is finally revealed as a heart that obeys. And because he obeys, God could go ahead with his plan.

God didn’t know if he could use Abraham. After all, in verse 12 the angel says “now I know that you truly fear God”. Lucky God. Because if Abraham didn’t fear God, if he hadn’t obeyed – well, the nations would not be blessed. God would have to try to find someone else, someone worthy of being chosen by God.”

That’s one deleted scene. You could call it the Armenian version: the God who does not know, the dependant God.

But there’s another deleted scene, similar but a bit different.

“We know that in chapter 15 after God had given Abraham the promises Abraham believed God and he was credited with righteousness. But now Abraham had a test to pass. Fail it, and he was out – pass it and all the blessings of God were his. He was blessed because he obeyed. So shape up, Christian! Pull up your bootstraps and try harder. Otherwise you’ll find yourself out on your ear.”

This deleted scene you could might call that the “try-harder” version. Like the first deleted scene, it’s found in many, many Western churches, and we in Norway have not been spared: God opens the door with salvation, but the rest is up to you. Be a good boy, try hard, and God will like you.

But those are the deleted scenes. Because that’s not the gospel – and not actually what this story teaches us.
Because this story is NOT the beginning of Abraham’s story. It is NOT the only story in the book of Genesis. It does not stand alone. False teachers love to rip stories (or even better, single verses) out of their context and use them to make God say what they want him to say. V18 is a great example of a verse that you can rip out of context and make is say whatever you want.

The thing is that chapter 22 is CHAPTER 22 – and we’ve had 10 other chapters before this informing us of the relationship between God and Abraham. And we have learned that Abraham is a total sinner! God doesn’t love Abraham because he obeys him! God loves Abraham because he loves Abraham by grace alone. Abraham is weak in faith, disobedient to God, abuses Hagar, commits adultery against his wife, and then sends his son Ishmael and Hagar into the desert to die. No, we’ve seen time and time again that Abraham is saved by grace – yes - and continues to be blessed by grace and grace alone.

It has NOT been dependant on his performance. The try-harder version is wrong. How often has he failed yet been blessed anyway, simply because God had promised to bless? God keeps his promises.

And his promises are secure. The idea of God not being in control of the future – whether he limits his view somehow or whether he lacks power – if he is dependent on finding out what people are really like to see whether his plan works or not – how could we ever trust him? His words would be flimsy, fickle, changeable – just like ours.

And that’s not the God we have met through the life of Abraham, is it? We’ve seen threat after threat to God’s promises rise up – only to be simply dismissed, swatted away like nothing. His words are secure, unshakeable.

So if this isn’t telling us that God doesn’t know the future, or that God is waiting for us to slip up and fail a test then he’s going to get us – what does it mean? Well, it’s about

3. Regeneration

Regeneration means that we are being transformed, changed from the inside out to be more like God. And as we are changed we are drawn up into God’s plans for the salvation of the world: revealing Christ through us to those around us. It’s all about him.

16 “This is what the LORD says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that 17 I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. 18 And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”

We are very strong on grace in this church. We understand the salvation is by grace alone, by faith alone, through Christ alone.
But we also understand that that grace makes demands on you. It is not cheap grace, pie in the sky when you die (that is, you’re forgiven in the future but there’s no effect on your life now).

James says faith without works is dead. Jas 2:17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. It’s not real faith.
A Christian life unaffected by the gospel is not a Christian life.

Why?
Because the Christian life is evidence of God’s Spirit at work in you.
If there’s no fruit, there’s no root.

James carries on Jas 2:21–24 Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. 23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God.

Abraham’s righteous obedience reveals that God is at work – that he has living faith. He was working out what God had worked in.
Same with us. We belong to Christ. And are now called to work out what God has worked in.

And as we obey – as we kneel in our room to pray (or pray as we are driving, or walking around Tinnemyra), as we share the gospel with a friend, as we hold our tongue with our wife, or happily change the tyres on the car, or put down the paper and “sacrifice” some time to engage with your kids, playing with them, talking with them, as we live as Christian men and women, treating people as eternal beings, infinitely valuable – as we do these things to the glory of God we find that we are lifted up into the very plans of God. We find that our actions, our words are what God is using to achieve his plans in the world. Me? Little old me? Part of God’s plan? Me, bringing glory to God. Yes, you.

Abraham, because you obeyed me, all nations of the earth will be blessed.

It’s like when was putting together our dining room chairs and tables. My kids were there helping me. Holding the legs in place. Screwing in the screws. Who built the chairs? Well, I did, of course. Without me the kids wouldn’t have got very far. I didn’t need their help. I would have achieved my purposes anyway. But because I love them, they joined with me, and so we built the chairs together. And they can say, in truth, “I built those chairs”.
Or like when we wash the car together. “I washed the car”. And they did.

Or I led this person to Christ. I prayed for them for years and God heard my prayer. That’s true! Because God is at work in you, your obedience is taken up to the throne room of heaven and you become part of God’s glorious work in the world!

Because you have obeyed me, all the nations of earth will be blessed.

Lift up your eyes! We are on a tremendous, world-changing adventure. And it starts right here.

Not because we are special, but because God is. And because he keeps his word. And he is at work in you.

So don’t be afraid to step out in obedience. Whatever it is that you have been avoiding, whatever command of his that you have been ignoring – repent now. Say “Lord, I trust you, I will obey you”. And you will not regret it. You will not be made a fool of. He will not let you down. Your obedience will ring true in the throne-room of heaven, another example of the grace of God placed in you being worked out in faith. And that little spark of obedience will be fanned into a flame of glory to God!

Wait and see what God will do. Abraham’s obedience blessed the whole world.

What will he do with yours? “Se hva som skjer!” Wait and see. Our obedience will change the world.

Genesis 21 God, the promise-keeper

Genesis 21

My wedding day was awesome. The loveliest, most godly, most adorable, most beautiful woman in the world walked down the aisle towards me. I took her hands in mine, gazed into her eyes – and made the most outrageous promises to her. Wedding vows are serious business! These are covenants, promises: I will be faithful to you no matter what. I will love you whether I feel like it or not. Through good times and bad, when you love me and when you hurt me, I will love you and stick by you. We are one, and only death can separate us.

That’s the kind of promise God has made to Abraham, to the people of Israel, and indeed to us. I will stick by you, no matter what. And because God is God, he really means it, and has the ability to see it through. No matter what the cost.
Easter is the celebration of His love – a love so vast, so huge, so unquenchable, that God goes to the cross to rescue those he has chosen to love. That’s us. Wow. The Wedding Feast will be amazing!

As it’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve been in Genesis I’m going to spend a few minutes reminding ourselves of the context of chapter 21: what is the journey we’ve been on with Abraham these last few months. And thinking about where we’ve come from in chapter 12, what struck me the most, what surprised me, is the subversive nature of Genesis. Subversive means: how it turns things on its head –it does what we don’t expect. We expect a story about a righteous man, a good man who impresses God, and as he grows in righteousness God blesses him more and more.
What we get is a sinful man who receives ALL of God’s blessings immediately, and then immediately proves he is a sinful man by lying, by not believing God’s promise, and creating a whole lot of trouble for the country he lives in (Egypt, back in chapter 12). But God blesses him. In the next chapter (13) he then tries to give away the land God promised him. But God blesses him, keeping His promise. Abraham then commits adultery with his wife’s servant girl, Hagar, and then he and his wife abuse her so badly she runs away to die. But God blesses him, reaffirms his covenant, and promises him a child.
The story is subversive. We keep thinking that we can earn salvation. We keep thinking that Abraham was a good man, and so God liked him. And Genesis keeps turning our expectations on their head. We cannot earn salvation. Abraham was a sinner, just like us. And God still loved him. God keeps his promises, even when we do not.

Genesis is an uncomfortable book to read (and to preach!) because it keeps messing up our neat theology (our wrong theology!). As I said a couple of weeks ago, when we looked at chapter 20, Abraham is annoying. He’s received all the promises of God, has met personally with God, has even played the role of Jesus, pleading with the Father for mercy on the city of Sodom – and then he goes right back to the same behaviour of chapter 12. Lying, prejudice, selfishness. Disappointing. Annoying Abraham.

But God is even more annoying, I said. Because instead of Abraham getting punished, getting what he deserves – he gets rewarded with sheep and goats and servants and money. It’s unfair!

And that’s the gospel.

The gospel is unfair. It’s by grace we are saved. It is unearned. And we stay Christian only by grace. It is unearned. It is God who is the hero, who is the promise-keeper. We are saved by GOD’s action, by GOD’s grace, by GOD’s decision, by HIS will, not ours. And we remain Christians, we remain blessed, because our standing before God is not based on OUR actions but on His.

This thread of the gospel runs the whole way through the story of Abraham. And next week we’ll look at a huge signpost pointing the way to the son of God giving his life as a sacrifice for sin as Abraham is asked to sacrifice his son as an offering to God. But this week? Well this week we see that God keeps his promises, even to sinful people. God’s word is dependable. We’ve seen that when he says he will judge, he will judge. Sodom found that out. We’ve seen that when he says he will rescue he will rescue: Lot found that out. And we’ve seen that when he says he will bless he will bless: Abraham found that out, Abraham will experience it again in this chapter – and Hagar will find that out. God keeps his promises.

We’ll start off with verses 1-7 the promise to Abraham fulfilled. Then verses 8-21 the promise to Hagar fulfilled. And finally v22-34 the promise of the land will be fulfilled.

1. Promise to Abraham fulfilled v1-7

The writer wants to make it clear that God is a promise-keeping God – and so reminds us three times in v1 and 2 that God keeps his promises: 1 The Lord kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised. 2 She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would.

This is a direct fulfilment of the promise made in chapter 18, just before the destruction of Sodom. Flip back to 18:10 Then one of them said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!” Sarah hears this and laughs in disbelief and so in 13 the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

Why was this promise such a big deal?
Firstly because Sarah had been barren her whole life – she had never been able to have children, even in her most fertile time of life. Secondy, because she’s now an old woman, past the age of childbirth. “Yeah, right, I’ll have a kid. Sure God. I’m a dried up old prune. Good joke at my expense.” Bitter laughter from Sarah.

But the last laugh is the Lord’s, as one year later out pops Isaac, the son of the Promise. Isaac, whose name means “he laughs”. 21:3 And Abraham named their son Isaac. 4 Eight days after Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded. 5 Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. 6 And Sarah declared, “God has brought me laughter. All who hear about this will laugh with me. 7 Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!”

Who would have thought? God does the impossible, and keeps his promise. Is anything too hard for the Lord? Who would have thought that Sarah could produce a child? Who would have thought that God would keep his promise to Abraham and Sarah, despite their failings and rebellion and sin? Who would have thought that God himself would come down to our world, the true son of the Promise, be born in a stable, grow up to be a man, show us the Father in his life, in his power, in his teaching, in his compassion – and then take the road to Calvary, to hang accursed on a tree, to bear our sins, to taste death so that we can have life, eternal life! What a love! What a cost!

See, the birth of Isaac is the beginning of the fulfilment of the promise made in chapter 12:1-3 which ultimately is only fulfilled in Christ “The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

Through Christ all the families on earth will be blessed. Right now, across the world, in large buildings, in underground caves, in homes, in village squares, under trees, in rich places, in poor places, in every country in the world people are meeting to praise God for rescuing them. Across the world our brothers and sisters are rejoicing that they have been saved by grace. They are celebrating that God keeps his promises, by not giving us what we deserve, but blessing us instead.

And Isaac’s birth is the first in a long line that leads to the son of God. For Jesus is a son of Abraham, a great-great-great grandson of the miracle child, Isaac.

God keeps his promises.

And to remind us that this promise is not limited to one people-group – a lesson the early church learned quite quickly in Acts 10 – the writer of Genesis quickly introduces Hagar’s story – and the promise that God keeps that he made to her. God promises are for all people. His mercy is available for all.

2. Promise to Hagar fulfilled v8-21

Hagar’s story starts off by reminding us that our “heroes” aren’t very heroic at all. Just in case we thought we could earn our salvation, you know, be good enough and then God will like us enough to let us into the Club for Very Nice People (aka the Church?). No, no, no. This is the Club for Forgiven Sinners Who Continue to Sin and Mess Up But Love and Accept Each Other Anyway Because God Does (in other words, the Real Church!).

And sometimes we really do strain our ability to forgive each other and really need the Lord to give us strength. Look at how Abraham and Sarah behave.

8 When Isaac grew up and was about to be weaned, Abraham prepared a huge feast to celebrate the occasion. 9 But Sarah saw Ishmael—the son of Abraham and her Egyptian servant Hagar—making fun of her son, Isaac. 10 So she turned to Abraham and demanded, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son. He is not going to share the inheritance with my son, Isaac. I won’t have it!”

Abraham is angry because he loves his son, but gives in to his wife’s demands after a word from the Lord, and sends Hagar and Ishmael out.

Why did the Lord expel Ishmael? Two reasons are apparent in the story: the first is in v12 But God told Abraham, “Do not be upset over the boy and your servant. Do whatever Sarah tells you, for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted. Isaac is the son of the Promise, not Ishmael. The second is a play on words in the Hebrew: Ishmael in v9 is seen as laughing at Isaac, “he laughs”. He’s mocking his name, mocking his status, in a sense, mocking his position as child of the Promise. And since the blessing of God is following Isaac, not Ishmael, Ishmael is mocking God. 12:3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt.

So Ishmael is sent out to the desert – normally a death sentence. But Abraham had faith in the Lord’s words in v13 But I will also make a nation of the descendants of Hagar’s son because he is your son, too. And Hagar and Ishmael soon realise that God is a promise-keeper.

Remember back in chapter 16: the Lord seeks out Hagar, finding her in the desert waiting to die after the abuse at the hands of Sarah. The Lord meets Hagar, sees her when no-one else does, hears her prayer – and says name your son “Ishmael” (God hears). I love her response back in chapter 16:13. It’s beautiful 13 Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?”

The God who sees. Our God of mercy. And again, he sees them. Out in the desert, rejected, alone, God sees them.

16 Then she went and sat down by herself about a hundred yards away. “I don’t want to watch the boy die,” she said, as she burst into tears. 17 But God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven “Hagar, what’s wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Go to him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants.”

God hears. Who did God hear? Not Hagar – but the boy. He may even have been praying, since the Hebrew simply says “God heard the voice of the boy.” (He was 14 at the time – for some reason I’ve always pictured him as a toddler, being left to die – but he was a young teenager, fully understanding what was going on.)

But the focus is not on him, is it? The focus is on God fulfilling the promise he gave Hagar back in chapter 16. Her son, Ishmael, “God hears”, just as Isaac brings laughter “he laughs”. At the time when all hope was lost, God heard their cry, and 19 God opened Hagar’s eyes, and she saw a well full of water. She quickly filled her water container and gave the boy a drink.

And I cannot help but be reminded of Rom 5:6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.

Hagar’s story is our story. Cast out from the place of blessing for our mockery of God. Separated from the promise of life. Utterly helpless to save ourselves. And Christ came at the right time and died for us sinners. He is the God who hears.

He keeps his promises. Happy Easter, indeed!

3. Promise of land will be fulfilled v22-34

Now for this final point I have to admit that I was really struggling to understand why it’s here in the story until I read this in one of the commentaries I have on Genesis.

“This treaty with Abimelech marked another small but decisive step towards the fulfilment of the promises. Under the treaty Abraham secured legal rights to a well near Beersheba. For a herdsman totally dependent on guaranteed access to water for his flocks this was a most important provision. This was the first foothold that Abraham secured in the land of Canaan. As a mark of his thankfulness to God Abraham planted a tamarisk tree and worshipped (33).”

It’s another indication that God keeps his promises – and the theme of this chapter, indeed, one of the major themes of Genesis and the Bible as a whole – clicked into place. As Abimelech says in v22 “God is obviously with you, helping you in everything you do,”.

God keeps his promises. God is with Abraham, as he is with us. We live in the realm of blessing. But, the best is yet to come.

For, like Abraham, we live with not all of God’s promises fulfilled. This chapter reminds us, repeatedly, that Abraham is living amongst the Philistines. He has a well at Beersheba, but that’s all. Even Isaac, the son of the Promise, is born amongst the Philistines, outside of the Promised Land. Again, our expectations are subverted: Abraham lives most of his days in exile.
Heb 11:8–10 puts it like this It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. 10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.

How do we live in this world as aliens and strangers? How do we live waiting for the heavenly city? By faith. Like our father Abraham. And his story gives us strength as we see how God cares for those waiting to enter the Promise Land, the New Creation, with Christ Jesus coming with the clouds in power, the sword of his mouth judging all people, and the earth being remade. As we wait for our life who is Christ to be revealed – have faith. Trust God. He knows how to keep his promises.

v22 “God is obviously with you, helping you in everything you do,”. God kept his promise to Abraham of his son, Isaac. God kept his promise to Hagar and to Ishmael, to hear and to rescue. God keeps his promises, to be with his people of grace, to bless and not condemn. He is with us.

Mt 28:18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

God keeps his promises.

Genesis 20: Abraham, a flawed Saviour

Genesis 20

We are saved by grace. We all know this. But salvation is one thing. After you are saved, you’d better pull up your socks, try harder, and start living right. God helps those who help themselves.

What a pile of unbiblical, Satanic, nonsense!

We are saved by grace. And we continue in grace. This story of Abraham makes that very clear! Abraham was a sinner, and even after he was saved back in chapter 12, and given the covenant, he still kept sinning. So the covenant had to be confirmed – chapter 13, 14, 15, 17…. God doesn’t say “damn it, Abraham, why did you lie about your wife, you’ve wrecked the covenant now.” Or “damn, why did you sleep with Hagar – your sin has stained you – I can’t use you now”. In this chapter again we see that despite Abraham’s sin, he is not damned by God, but blessed.

Why?

Because he lives under grace. We are saved by grace and we continue in grace. We live in the realm of GRACE. It is not our efforts that count, but the efforts of Christ Jesus. And he was perfect.

1. Abraham, the disappointment

The previous chapters have been pretty dramatic: God visiting Abraham personally with a great eternal promise. The promise of a son. Abraham playing the role of Jesus, interceding for mercy. A massive judgement on the rebellious, with Sodom. And Lot was saved because God heard Abraham’s prayer. Wow.

And this chapter is a total let-down! In many ways.
It’s not dramatic. Nothing seems to particularly happen (Isaac, the promised son, is only born in the next chapter). The story seems to be a repeat of the one in chapter 12, when Abraham lived in Egypt and the king of Egypt took Sarah as his wife.
And, quite frankly, Abraham himself is a let-down. I’m disappointed with him. “Abraham, how can you make the same mistake! You KNOW God now, you KNOW he will keep you safe. I had some sympathy for you back in chapter 12, but now? You just spoke with him face to face and he heard your prayer to save Lot. God listened to you! You’re blessed. Part of the covenant. So why are you lying and disbelieving God’s Word? C’mon Abraham!”

The big surprise in this chapter is that our “hero” becomes the anti-hero, and the “baddies”, the Philistines of Gerar, represented by their king Abimelech – he’s the hero! While Abraham is sneaking about, lying, being afraid, Abimelech is taking action, standing up for his people, obeying God, and blessing Abraham. Abimelech appears to be a better Abraham than Abraham!

2. Abimelech, the innocent

Abimelech is an innocent man, who listens to God, and obeys him. And the story is deliberately written in a way to contrast Abraham and Abimelech. Just look at v3-4

3 But that night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are a dead man, for that woman you have taken is already married!” 4 But Abimelech had not slept with her yet, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation?”

Big echoes of Abraham’s conversation with God back in chapter 18. God comes to Abraham, and says “I will judge” and then Abraham says “Will you destroy the innocent along with the wicked?”

Both men are approached by God with tales of judgement to come, both respond with appeals to God’s mercy. Abimelech continues:

5 Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘Yes, he is my brother.’ I acted in complete innocence! My hands are clean.”

And God’s response is shocking. Not so much for us, but for the original hearers of this story – the Jews (Israelites). The Philistines were the big baddies, the evil people who so often attacked Israel and enslaved them, particularly during the time of the judges. (Gerar was a Philistine town, and in the next chapter they are explicitly called Philistines).

6 In the dream God responded, “Yes, I know you are innocent. That’s why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I did not let you touch her.

Innocent? Protected by God? God, what do you think you’re doing? You can’t declare THOSE people innocent.

I feel there’s echoes here of the scandal of God choosing a Chaldean, a descendant of those who built the tower of Babel in rebellion against God – he chooses him – ABRAHAM – and declares him “righteous”. We forget how shocking any act of grace is. How undeserved.
And here we have Abimelech, the king of the hated enemy, declared “innocent” by God. Scandal! Read all about it! This would turn your prejudices upside down!

And even worse: He’s a good king, who’s concerned for his people. Hard to be prejudiced against him when he’s just so darned nice.

As I was preparing this, we got to chapter 10 of Acts in the Bible study. And wouldn’t you know – we meet another “evil pagan” who turns out to be a good man, a righteous man who loved God. Cornelius was his name, and he was a Roman officer. Not an Israelite. Not descended from Abraham. And yet had faith like Abraham in God. Just lilke Abimelech.

And the Apostle Peter in Acts had to learn that God can save Gentiles (non-Jews / Israelites) too. That the gospel is for all. That God really meant what he promised Abraham in Genesis 12: The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.

The blessing of Abraham is not just for a few, but for all. Roman soldiers like Cornelius, Philistine kings like Abimelech – even they can receive the mercy of God.

That is a lesson Abraham had to learn. That is a lesson Peter had to learn.

That is a lesson we must learn.

Peter thought the gospel was just for Jews – for the good people, the special people – until God saved Cornelius and his family. Gentiles! Eeew. How? Come on Wednesday to find out!

Abraham was just prejudiced against Abimelech and his people – look at v11 Abraham replied, “I thought, ‘This is a godless place. They will want my wife and will kill me to get her.’

Abraham, Abraham, not everyone is like Sodom!

Our problem is that we pretend that God is like us, and sees people the way that we do. That’s why we need to keep coming back to the Bible and seeing what he is actually like. Because he is NOT like us. We would save people we like. We are nice to people we like. To people who’ve been mean to us or hurt us we’re mean to them, because they deserve it; or at least ignore them. We don’t save them! We don’t come and die for them to rescue them!
God is not like us.

When we think about those God can save we tend to impose our thoughts on His. We think “they’re beyond reach”.
Why are there so few Christians in Notodden – probably less than 5%? One of the reasons certainly seems to be because Christians are not telling non-Christians the gospel! And you can feel it – I feel it – feel the pressure to keep it light, to not rock the boat. You can feel the resistance to the explosive power of the gospel.
And I am wrong to give in to that pressure. I am assuming that God is not at work in their hearts. I am assuming that God cannot save them. I am assuming that This is a godless place.

Just like Abraham, I am wrong. For God’s Word assures me that there are many Abimelech’s here, many who are ready to hear the gospel and be declared righteous.

Now I don’t know how to change that in me. I don’t know how to go about sharing the gospel. Do we just kick down the door of our neighbours houses and say “Repent and believe, Jesus is Lord!”?
But God knows, and so I can start by asking him. Asking him to change me so I can see people through his eyes. Asking him to give me opportunities to share the gospel, both in actions and in words. With the people I already know. The people I have relationships with.

The hardest is with people who are genuinely good people. Which, if truth be told, is most people we know here in Notodden! We live in a lovely town full of lovely people. But being good is not enough. And that’s the third surprise of this chapter, and my third point. Abraham was a disappointment, Abimelech was surprisingly good, but

3. Abimelech needs a Saviour

Goodness is not enough. His innocence is not enough. God agrees that he is innocent 6 In the dream God responded, “Yes, I know you are innocent.

But he’s still in danger:

7 Now return the woman to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don’t return her to him, you can be sure that you and all your people will die.”

Abimelech may be good, but he still needs a saviour. He still needs a mediator between him and God. The curse of living outside of the Garden of Eden still stands. The Fall has marked us all: we are under the curse of death, and no amount of being really good can change that.

17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants, so they could have children. 18 For the LORD had caused all the women to be infertile because of what happened with Abraham’s wife, Sarah.

Abraham, playing the role of Jesus, prays to God – and death is turned to life. The curse of death is lifted, and Abimelech and his nation will live.

We too are under the sentence of death. We too need a mediator between us and God. We need Jesus to turn our death to life.

That’s the message of the gospel. And it’s fantastic. It’s amazing. And it’s unfair.

4. The gospel is unfair

I really don’t like this story. Abraham is a disappointment, He moves away from the oaks of Mamre and goes to live in Gerar “as a foreigner” (v1). Why did he do that? We don’t know. But it certainly seemed to be a bad idea, and probably rebellious.

Then when he gets there he assumes everyone else living there are godless swine out to kill him, and lies and lies to protect himself – again risking his wife being married off to a foreign king. Foolish, disappointing, Abraham.

So Abraham’s annoying – but God’s even more annoying! Look at verses 14-16 with sheep and goats and servants and money. Isn’t that so frustrating? Why is Abraham blessed after his stupid behaviour? Abimelech should be getting the gifts!

As we’ve already seen in the previous chapters, it’s because Abraham is under God’s blessing. It’s something that GOD has decided, something that GOD does, based on GOD’s actions – not Abraham’s. And so, despite Abraham’s sin, he is blessed.
Despite his failings, he is blessed. In fact, whether Abraham does the right thing or the wrong thing – he is blessed. And that’s unfair.

And that’s the gospel.

We are saved by GOD’s action, not our own. We are Christians by GOD’s grace, by GOD’s decision, by HIS will, not ours. And we remain Christians, we remain blessed, because our standing before God is not based on OUR actions but on His.

Do we understand that when he looks at us he sees Jesus, the Christ? That we are judged not on the basis of our life but his? That’s what it means to be declared righteous by God, as Abraham was.

I am so thankful that the gospel is unfair. Because that means that I can be saved. And that means that anyone else I know can be saved – however unlikely. And that means that we will keep being saved until the end. We can no more fall out of God’s blessing than Abraham could – and he certainly seemed to try!

I am saved – not because of my actions, but because of Christ’s.
I stay saved – not because of what I do or don’t do, but because of what Christ has done.
My friend, neighbour, husband, wife, child, work colleague, boss can be saved – not by their actions, but because of what Christ has done.

It is good news. Not “here’s a list of rules to follow” or “be a better person than everyone else” or “try a bit harder” but: you are forgiven. Forever. You have passed the exam of life. You have a ticket to heaven, bought with Jesus’ blood.

Abraham was a disappointment, but blessed.
Abimelech was a good man, but still needed a Saviour.

On Friday I was walking to the bank and praying for Notodden as I went. I said to the Lord “I don’t know what to do. How do we reach so many lost people? How do we share the good news of Jesus when to so many it sounds like boring religion, a list of rues to follow: “Be good and God will like you.” How do we reach people who’ve been inoculated against Christianity?”

And God reminded me of this passage. Abimelech the Philistine, who meets with God, and is saved by Abraham. And surprising converts like Ruth, and Rahab the prostitute, and Saul, and Nebuchadnezzar. And me. And you.

God can save people. Not just people we like, not just people like us – but those we think are “godless”, and beyond reach. Those he can save. And the “good”. Those he can save. Anyone.

So let’s commit to pray: pray for our family, our friends, our workmates, our children. Because we need God to act.
And commit to share – share the gospel with those around you.

As we take communion now thank God that you are blessed, no matter what you’ve done or haven’t done, because Christ’s body was broken, his blood was shed, so that you can know him.
And then ask the Lord to show you one person that you could share this gospel with this week. Just one. Pray for them now.

And if you are Abimelech? Maybe you’re a good person, maybe not – but you need a Saviour. Without Jesus you will die. Now would be good time to pray to him in your own words, and ask him to save you.

Genesis 19 You suck! But God loves you anyway.

Genesis 19

One day Debby’s going to write a book. This book will be a psychology book, her area of expertise. This book will be an answer to the lies of the “self-help” books. It will be called: “You suck!”.
The subtitle will be “But God loves you anyway”.

That could be the title of these chapters! We’ve reached the final chapter of this little trilogy which started in chapter 17. This story has been a great illustration of sin, judgement, repentance, salvation – and clearly illustrating who gets saved and why. So let’s do the “Previously… in Genesis” and remember what happened back in chapter 17, before we go on to the thrilling finale in chapter 19!

1. Abraham, you suck! But God loves you anyway.

At the end of chapter 16 Abraham and Sarah were failures. They had tried to help God out, messed up their family life, and abused Hagar. They were failures. They probably felt like failures too. “We’ve screwed up. We’ve failed God. We’ll have to settle for second best.” You know, the kind of thinking that we have that God’s plans are dependent on us, and that he had this great plan for our lives but we sinned and ruined it and so now we’ve only got plan b (or c, d, e, z) and we’ll just have to put up with that.

And then God appears to Abraham. Wow! Abraham, you’re still part of the plan. I’m going to bless the world through you - look at 17:7 “I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

Wow! This is no plan B – this is plan A! But Abraham still can’t quite believe it. Gen 17:18 So Abraham said to God, “May Ishmael (Hagar’s son) live under your special blessing!”

How often are we like that? It seems humble, doesn’t it? “No, I’m okay with this life, this level of blessing, I screwed up. I deserve it.”

But it’s not humble. It is disbelieving God’s word. We refuse to believe we are forgiven. We refuse to believe that we are called to live life as God’s children.

So often we turn away from God and accept second best. How many Christians in Norway are living that “second best” life? Just going through the motions, trying to be nice and decent, but never approaching God, never throwing themselves fully into adoring Christ, never risking anything – because they only can see their sin and failure and not the passionate burning love and forgiveness of the Father.

In other words, like Lot. Lot is what many of us have been, what some of us are, and what many sitting in churches across this country are.

2. Lot ran away from God

Lot’s downfall started back in chapter 13. 10 Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the LORD or the beautiful land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 Lot chose for himself the whole Jordan Valley to the east of them. He went there with his flocks and servants and parted company with his uncle Abram.

Lot turned aside from Abraham and took the “easy” path, the path which required nothing of him. But where do we find him in chapter 19. Not outside the city, with his huge flocks and servants and tents like Abraham. No. Something has gone wrong, and Lot who moved near Sodom because of the land – the easy life – is now in the city, the city of wicked people who constantly sinned against the Lord (13:13). What happened? What happened to Lot and all his wealth? He moved away from the blessing of God in order to protect his wealth, to seek comfort – and he has neither. Gone. Foolish Lot.

And now he’s in Sodom on the eve of its destruction…

19:1 That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting there, and when he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed with his face to the ground. 2 “My lords,” he said, “come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up early in the morning and be on your way again.”

The first thing we notice in Lot’s story is that he welcomes the angels, just like Abraham. He quickly prepares a feast for them, just like Abraham. But there’s a difference: Abraham recognises God. Lot doesn’t. “My Lord” says Abraham to the three men. He sees God. “My lords” says Lot to the two men – recognising their authority, but nothing more.

But that’s not really surprising, since it seems that God met with Abraham in a special way. It could have physically been the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity. Jesus has a human body, a resurrected human body, raised imperishable. And since he is outside of time - he could appear as a human in the Old Testament. Let the theologians debate!
What we do know for certain is that God revealing himself points forward to the incarnation – God becoming man – as the supreme revelation of God to humanity. To stand face-to-face with God!

That’s the kind of relationship Abraham had with God.

Lot had that relationship – but he threw it away. He abandoned the blessings of the covenant for… well, for what? Nothing.

Think about this story. Lot didn’t recognise God when he comes to visit. He didn’t obey the word of God when it came – the angels had to drag him out of the city in v16. His moral thinking was totally warped: he offers his own daughters to the men of the city in v8! Who does that? Hospitality is one thing, risking your own life, even, is to be commended – but his daughters? “Here, why don’t you rape them instead?” Lot had been seriously influenced by Sodom. And his daughters had too, as we see at the end of the chapter. Lot’s life is a mess.

What’s interesting is that the author of Genesis doesn’t stop to moralise over the failings of the people he’s writing about. He doesn’t stop and say “now children, what can we learn from this?”. He simply tells the story. And we see how these choices play themselves out.

We see how separating from the covenant blessing and choosing the so-called “easy” life leads to chaos and confusion. We see how adultery brings hatred, abuse, and family strife. We see how lying and disobedience towards God brings problems for you and those around you. We see how destructive sin is.

Lot ran away from God. Instead of sticking with Abraham and the blessing of the covenant, he chose Sodom.

But how often do we do the same? We know, deeply, intimately know the Creator of the universe. And yet we turn our backs on him and run after sin. And what better place to learn about sin than Sodom.

3. Sinful Sodom

13:13 The people of this area were extremely wicked and constantly sinned against the LORD. And in 18:20 the Lord says “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant”

Why Lot? Why would you live in a town like this? Why didn’t you just go back to Abraham and say “I was wrong, I’m sorry”. Pride?

Because Sodom was awful. 19:4 But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. 5 They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!”
Did you notice the men of the town so enslaved to their own sinful desires? Their sin is shocking. And it’s not the homosexuality that’s shocking – people sin sexually all the time; and personally I’m more shocked by the sexual sins of Lot’s daughter’s at the end of the chapter.
What’s shocking is how they totally disregarded even social norms. In the Ancient Middle East hospitality was the thing. No-one, and I mean no-one, treated guests badly. We can see that in Lot’s reaction “have my daughters”. It’s an evil statement, but protecting his guests, maintaining his hospitality, was so important he’d even risk his daughters! But all the men of Sodom? They were so consumed by sin that they would even attack visitors to rape them.

Even after they are struck blind, in v11, they “wear themselves out looking for the door” says a more literal translation. They didn’t just give up (like the NLT says) but wore themselves out trying to sin. So determined were they.
Who does that? Who so desperately wants to rape visitors that even when they are BLIND they keep trying to find the way in?

Only people consumed by sin. Ah, sin promises so much, but like an addictive drug once we take its hand its barbs dig in to us and we cannot let go, cannot free ourselves – and it drags us down, deeper and deeper.

I remember watching one of my bosses at work gradually have an affair. He didn’t start out to have an affair. He loved his wife and his two boys. It started so innocently, just a bit of flirting while on a smoke break. Completely innocent. Completely harmless. And then the smoke breaks became longer. And then they just began to have smoke breaks on their own. And then the odd lunch together. And before long they had slept together, their affair was discovered, and two families were ripped apart. That’s how sin works. It looks oh so wonderful, but then it digs into us and we are powerless to stop it. It’s like a rotten apple, that looks beautiful, delicious, on the outside – but you bite into it and it’s disgustingly rotten.

I remember a friend of mine at university who cheated on his girlfriend while she was away. “I couldn’t stop myself” he said. He was devastated.

In my own life, all too often I play with sin, just a little bit, it won’t matter. It always ends up with: Oh God, forgive me, I am a sinner!

Where are we playing with sin? Giving in, just a little. Don’t. Because it will take it all, and it will consume you, like it did the men of Sodom. Turn back to Christ. Fill your mind with his glory, his beauty, his love, his forgiveness. There’s an old song which says that all things of the earth grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace – and that’s what we want. Capture our vision Lord, fill us with your beauty, so that the sin that seems so attractive just fades away into greyness.

Abraham, for all his faults, was consumed by God. He loved God with everything, and nothing, not even the miracle son Isaac, came between him and God. Everything.
Abraham is the normal Christian. That’s us. That’s who we are. God is our everything. All that I am, is his. Praise God.

Lot, on the other hand, is the type of Christian who tries to keep God at arm’s length. God, you can have this much, but not this. God, Sunday’s are yours, but the rest is mine. God, I have issues with you. God, I think you’re wrong in this area. God…

God made us for himself. We are designed to be in relationship with him. We are designed to be perfect and he is the one who can make us perfect. It doesn’t work any other way. It’s like trying to run your car on Coca-cola. You won’t get very far, you’ll make a big mess, and you’ll wreck your engine!

So, what do we do?

4. The solution

Well, what did Lot do? You know, if you stopped at verse 16: the angels have grabbed Lot and his family, fire starts to rain down – but they are safe. Oh – what would the next scene be? The triumphant joyful reuiniting with Abraham, surely? Hugs and kisses all round. Probably a sacrifice or two to the Lord Almighty, songs of praise, and great thanksgiving.

But no. Even after Lot is rescued he is still afraid, he is still ashamed. Lot never returns for forgiveness but instead exiles himself to a cave – and horrible things happen as a result.

Lot’s self-imposed exile is sin. I can think of no other reason except that he’s trying to pay for his own sin. Cover his own shame. All he has to do is walk up the hill to Abraham. But he doesn’t.

Martin Luther, the Reformer, used to whip himself often as a young monk. He hated himself, hated his sin, hated God and his ridiculous demands of perfection. And so he beat himself, whipped himself, trying to somehow satisfy the wrath of Almighty God.

Is that you? Do you keep yourself away from God? Do you try to punish yourself, whipping yourself with words of abuse or disgust? There is a huge difference between knowing our deep-rooted sinfulness and rebellion, and then rejoicing in the great forgiveness of our Heavenly Father; and wallowing in disgust of ourselves and punishing ourselves for our failures. The first is the work of the Spirit as he shines his light on our darkness, exposes our sin, and convicts us to call on the name of Jesus. Our sin drives us to the Cross.
The second is from the pit of Hell, as Satan condemns us and tells us we do not deserve to come to God, and so we stay away.

Of course we don’t deserve to come to God! Whoever said we did?! That’s grace. Free grace.

Lot did not deserve salvation. Yet he was saved. Why? Because Abraham was praying for him.

Abraham did not deserve salvation. Yet he was saved. Why? Because God loved him.

If you read this narrative in little bits then you can think that Lot is a righteous man. But if you read the story as a whole, chapter 12 to 25, and really dig in – it’s pretty clear that Lot was a wayward fool, a rebellious sinner who was rescued time and again only because of Abraham’s love for him. Abraham blessed Lot, and so Lot was blessed.

It’s a great picture of us and Christ. We are Lot, wayward, throwing our lot in with sinners, getting confused about right and wrong, not recognising the Lord, not running from sin – and in the throne room of Heaven, the Son talks to the Father and pleads for us in our defence. He is our mediator, our Great High Priest who says “my sacrifice is sufficient to cover their sins”.

Now we don’t know what happens to Lot. This is the last we hear of him – a lonely drunkard, raped by his own daughters. Is he in Heaven?
You know, he probably is, since the whole thrust of this story has been that the only reason he’s been shown mercy is because he has an advocate – someone representing him before the throne of Heaven.

But what about you? Are you trying to get to Heaven by yourself? Or do you have an advocate, a representative, at the throne of Heaven? Do you know Christ Jesus, and does he know you?

And if you do know him, is he your all in all? Is he your all-consuming passion? Does he fill your vision in your marriage, watching movies, reading books, with your friends, at work, on the net, at school, with your kids? Is he your glory? Or are you like Lot, hiding in a cave, trying to keep God out?

You’re forgiven. You are accepted. Your sins are paid for. You are part of the covenant. You suck, but God loves you. Believe it.

19:29 But God had listened to Abraham’s request and kept Lot safe.

Genesis 18 Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?

Genesis 18

What will God do with wicked people? What will God do with the righteous – those who follow him? What is our destiny?
And why? Why are the wicked judged? Why are the righteous saved? Why does Abraham know the Lord? Why is Sarah part of God’s plan to bless the world? Why are they the righteous and are blessed?

That’s what these chapters are about. This chapter (18) finishes off 17 and introduces the events of 19. Chapter 17, 18 and 19 are very closely linked: they’re all to do with the righteous and the wicked and the destinies of each (that is: what happens to the righteous, what happens to the wicked).

Sarah’s story in vv1-15 re-emphasises God’s promises that he made in chapter 17, promising to be with Abraham and his descendants. Abraham will be the father of a multitude, and they will be God’s people and he will be their God. They will be part of the covenant, protected by God, blessed by God. The alternative is to be outside of the covenant, cut off from God – and as we see in chapter 19, to be out of the covenant protection is to face God’s wrath against sin totally without protection. Sodom and Gomorrah were two terrible cities who faced the right anger of God, and they were defenceless before him, without excuse. You’re either protected by the covenant, or exposed and naked and defenceless.

So we’ll start with Sarah’s story:
1. Is anything too hard for the Lord;
then move on to look at the covenant of grace:
2. Covered by the covenant
and finish by seeing
3. Christ our intercessor

1. Is anything too hard for the LORD? (Sarah’s story)

13 Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

Poor old Sarah. All her life she had been barren. All her life she would have heard women whispering, talking about her behind her back, looking down on her. All her life she would have felt an unworthy wife to Abraham because she couldn’t provide him with a child. You can imagine how she felt. How the women around her would have subtly or not so subtly made her feel like second class, unworthy, an embarrassment to her husband. The sidelong glances, the little verbal digs “my first child – oh sorry Sarah, I hope you don’t mind us mentioning children”, the whispers and sneers – the way women can crush the spirit of another woman.
Sarah was crushed by her burden of feeling useless, not a woman, because she could not bear children, could not be a mother.
And God’s promise to Abraham only added to the pressure! No wonder she started to be bitter! 16:2 “The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her”.

We can understand her pain and bitterness, her desperate attempt to get rid of her shame through Hagar. Perhaps Hagar could remove her shame. But that only made things worse!

It’s like Lady Macbeth trying to wash the blood from her hands, blood from the murder of the king, “Out, out damned spot” she cried! Her guilt had stained her hands, and she was trying to wash them clean.
Or Pilate trying to wash his guilt away at condemning Jesus, a man he knew was innocent, to a guilty mans death.

Trying to deal with our guilt, our pain, our sin, our own way will only make things worse. Lady Macbeth commits suicide. Pilate never repented, lost control of Judea, and was recalled to Rome to be punished by the Emperor. Sarah ends up abusing her servant, so harshly that she runs away into the desert to die.

Trying to be our own saviour does not work. “Follow your heart” is foolish and destructive advice. We need a Saviour. We need Christ. Only he can remove the shame that we bear. Only he can lift the burdens we carry from the past, only he can lift them, wash us clean, declare us new, righteous, and set us on the path to life and freedom. Only Christ. Is anything too hard for the Lord.

God visits Abraham for Sarah’s sake. V9 “Where is Sarah, your wife?” the visitors asked. “She’s inside the tent,” Abraham replied. 10 Then one of them said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!” Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent.

She, too, is part of this covenant with God. She is covered by his grace. So he meets her where she’s at. “Where is Sarah, your wife”. “Adam and Eve, where are you”. Do you want to be found. He is the God who seeks out those whom he loves.
Sarah, YOU are part of the covenant. Your guilt and shame is covered. You, Sarah, will have a son!

Amazing! Incredible! So incredible Sarah cannot believe it. 12 She laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?”

Abraham laughed in disbelief in 17:17.
Sarah laughs in disbelief in v12.
But their laughter of disbelief will be turned to laughter of joy when Isaac arrives. And if we could read the original Hebrew this was written in, we would know that the name “Isaac” means “he laughs”. And that when Sarah says “I did not laugh” in v15 it is an anagram of her son’s name, Isaac. (Anagram is when you rearrange the letters of a word to make a new word). God is rearranging their laughter, from disbelief to joy.

Is anything too hard for the Lord?

As we’ve gone through these chapters, we’ve seen God’s covenant (promise) to Abraham come under threat many times. Abraham nearly gave away the land. Abraham disobeys. Abraham doubts. Abraham and Sarah try to help God out by using Hagar. And big problem, Sarah can’t have children, and now is too old anyway. At each stage we think “well, that’s it for the covenant”. But “is anything too hard for the Lord”. Lot turns aside and leaves the land for Abraham. Abraham is not killed for lying to Pharaoh but protected by God. He is victorious in battle. God meets him in his doubts and confirms his promise. And Sarah has baby Isaac in chapter 21, a year after the events in this chapter, just as the Lord had said.

Nothing is too hard for the Lord! Is anything too hard for the Lord? No!

But that does raise the question: how? How does God keep doing this? How can God keep his promise when Abraham so often fails to keep his part of the covenant: to obey God and be blameless?

Well, that leads on to my second point:

2. Covered by the covenant

Because when you think about this story, it’s a little odd. Why did God come and visit Abraham again. Why didn’t he just speak to Sarah back in chapter 17? What’s with the second visit, clearly very soon after the first?

The first hint is found in v1. The LORD appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre.
The oaks of Mamre we’ve seen twice before. In chapter 13, when Lot chooses to abandon Abraham, separating himself from the covenant blessings, and move to Sodom, a wicked city. Not surprisingly, soon afterward Lot needs rescuing as he’s caught up in a war and carried off as a hostage (prisoner). Abraham is living at the oaks of Mamre and off he goes, together with Mamre and his allies to rescue Lot. And now the author says again “the oaks of Mamre” and we think “oh boy, Lot’s in trouble again!”.

And we’re right. V16 Then the men got up from their meal and looked out toward Sodom.

Sodom is their destination. That is where the Lord and his angels were going. So why stop and have big meal with Abraham?

17 “Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” the LORD asked.
The Lord came in order to show Abraham his plan. This was the reason for his visit.
Why? 18 “For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. That’s the words of the covenant in 12:2-3 isn’t it. God will show Abraham his plans, reveal who he is, what kind of God he is, because Abraham is part of the covenant.

19 I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised.”

Abraham has been singled out in order to do what is right and just. In order to be the Blameless One, the keeper of the covenant. And so the Lord turns to Abraham, the Blameless, and says 20 So the LORD told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant.

Whoa! Wait a minute. Abraham isn’t blameless, is he? Well, what did we learn last week from chapter 17? We learned that only the blameless, only the perfect can be in relationship with God.
We were reminded that Abraham was not blameless (he even laughs in disbelief at God’s words – not exactly the reaction of someone blameless – you can’t imagine Jesus ever laughing in disbelief at his Father’s words!).
Abraham was not blameless, but God declared him blameless, righteous. Not because of what Abraham has done, but because of what Jesus Christ will do on the cross. Abraham marked his body with the sign of outward circumcision, pointing towards Jesus whose body is marked eternally for the circumcision of our hearts. Jesus’ body bears the mark of God’s everlasting covenant to rescue people from all nations, that all nations will be blessed through the son of Abraham, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God.

Verse 19 “I have singled him out” is actually a bit of a misleading translation. It literally says “I know him”. God called to Abram of the Chaldeans and revealed himself to him. There is an intimacy - a relationship - there. God knew Abraham. Not because of Abraham’s inherent goodness, but despite his evil and sinful heart. God chose him to display his mercy through him.

Abraham is covered by the covenant of grace, his sins are paid for by Christ on the cross – and he is called to respond in belief. Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous.
Trust and obey. That is our portion. Live as if God is God, as if his words are true and life-giving, and rejoice!

Abraham is covered by the covenant. Because of Christ Abraham can be declared righteous, and so in the rest of this chapter play the role of the Christ, the true Blameless One. God now asks Abraham to intercede (mediate, to reconcile) for Sodom.

3. Christ our intercessor

20 So the LORD told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. 21 I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.” 22 The other men turned and headed toward Sodom, but the LORD remained with Abraham. 23 Abraham approached him and said, “Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked? 24 Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city—will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes? 25 Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?

How will we understand what Jesus is doing for us? Because we’ve seen it before with God’s men standing before God, pleading for sinners to be shown mercy. That’s what’s happening here.

“Abraham, come here. I am going down to see Sodom.”
God “going down to see” (v21) is a frightening thing. We’ve seen it with Noah, we saw it with the tower of Babel. It’s basically that God is no longer overlooking our sin, but is now looking at it, and will therefore judge accordingly. But there’s one last hope for those in Sodom: Abraham.
“What about the righteous?” Abraham asks. “Will you destroy them too? Spare the city for the sake of the righteous.”

Isn’t that what we beg God for when we pray for our town? Spare Notodden O Lord, for the sake of those who have yet to hear your message and turn to you. Spare us Father, have mercy on us.

Abraham prays, intercedes for the wicked city of Sodom. It’s a direct fulfilment of the promise that “in him all the nations will be blessed” Despite the fact that the king of Sodom treated Abraham with ingratitude after Abraham had rescued them (in ch.14) - yet Abraham still prays for them and is assured that if there are just fifty, forty, thirty, twenty… even just TEN righteous in Sodom, the whole city will be spared: God’s mercy on the few will outweigh his anger with the many.

Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?

Can God save the righteous in the midst of judging the wicked?
“Can God save his people?” is really the question Abraham is asking. Is it worth it? Can we trust God? Will we be saved at the final judgement or will we be swept aside by the wrath of God along with everyone else? It’s a question Abraham was asking. It’s a question the Israelites were asking. It’s a question we are asking. Is it worth it? Can God really save us?

And poor old Abraham doesn’t get an answer at the end of this conversation. 32 the LORD replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.” 33 When the LORD had finished his conversation with Abraham, he went on his way. Conversation’s over, Abraham! And the scene, and chapter, ends with Abraham return[ing] to his tent. Probably chewing his nails, worried about Lot. Will God save him? The next day we read that he rushes out to the hillside overlooking Sodom to see what happens. Can God rescue his people?

The answer is yes. Yes, God can rescue his people. As Lot is delaying leaving Sodom the angels grab his hands and drag him out of the city, for the Lord is merciful (it says in 19:16). And 19:29 ties Lot’s rescue back to this chapter: it was not because of anything Lot did, but because But God had listened to Abraham’s request and kept Lot safe. Lot is saved because God heard Abraham’s prayer for him.

And as we read this chapter, you and I see and understand that we are saved, and will be saved, not because of what we have or haven’t done, but because God the Father hears Jesus’ prayer for us, and has mercy on us.

Is anything too hard for the Lord? No, even sinners can be saved.

Why? Because we are covered by the covenant of grace.

Why? Because Christ is interceding for us.

Let’s celebrate that now as we take communion. We are sinners, saved by his grace. He is right now in the throne room of heaven interceding for us. “My blood covers their sins. My body was broken to bring them life.” Hallelujah!

Genesis 17 Be perfect.

Genesis 17

Empty spaces - what are we living for?
Abandoned places - I guess we know the score.
On and on, does anybody know what we are looking for...

Lyrics from Queen’s famous song “The show must go on”. Great song. Great questions. Why are we here? What are we here for? What is the reason we exist? Why did God make you and make me? For what purpose?

Well, the answer we get in this chapter is surprising: we’re here to be perfect. God made us to be perfect because he is perfect, and we were made to reflect his glory. Let’s dig in to this chapter:

1. What will God do?

The chapter opens with God making a promise: 2 I will make a covenant (promise) with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”

But hasn’t he already done this? What’s going on?

Well, it’s worth comparing the earlier chapters 12, 13, and 15 to this one, 17. Because here there is something new.

Once again God appears to Abram and promises him a land, a people, and a blessing. But instead of one nation, Israel, Abram will now be the father of many nations – v5. This is so significant that God changes his name to mark this occasion: Abram “exalted father” will now be called Abraham “father of a multitude”.

You see, not only will Abraham be a “blessing to all nations” (ch 12:3) but the father of many nations. And more than that, we suddenly get the idea of Kings coming from the Abrahamic line. But there’s something else, something far more significant: v7 “I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

God promises to be with Abraham’s descendants: he will be their God and they will be his people.

The Bible story is like an onion. As we read through the story, we peel back layer after layer of the story. Or the Bible’s like an ogre, because ogres are like onions, with layers (Shrek!).
The Bible is like a brilliantly written story which reveals just a little bit more of the mystery until at last the whole thing clicks into place and you’re like “Ah!”
Actually it’s not “like” that – it IS that. This is God’s story, revealed to us bit by bit, and the “Ah!” moment is when Jesus steps onto the pages of his story and we’re like “Oh, it was all about him! He’s the hero of the story! He’s the mystery now revealed!”
Jesus is the blessing to all nations. Jesus is the King descended from Abraham who will gather people from every tribe and nation and family and language group on Earth into one new humanity. The new people of God by faith. The people who have Abraham as their father because he is the man of faith. Abraham believed God, and it was credited as righteousness we read a few weeks back. The everlasting covenant of chapter 17 is fulfilled by Jesus. And we are the descendants of Abraham if we too have faith in the promises of God.

So it’s this great new promise, a new revelation of God’s covenant. Wow. But there’s also a new demand, a new sign of faith. God tells Abraham how he must respond.

2. What must Abraham do? Be blameless

17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.

We’ve heard this before. Where? Noah. Gen 6:9 Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.

And God spoke to Noah. So too with Abram: Blameless. To be in a covenant relationship with God, you need to be perfect. Noah knew God, and he was “blameless”. Abram knew God, and God said “be blameless”.

Jesus said “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matt 5:20.

Now the Pharisees we’re used to thinking of as bad guys – they were the ones who killed Jesus! But actually these were the church leaders of the day. They were well respected – everyone wanted to be like them. They were holy men, careful to obey the law in all its details. Righteous? They were righteous. They are the poster-boys for getting to heaven under your own steam: these guys were serious. They would wear the right clothes. They would pray at the right times with the right words. They would tithe their garden herbs, taking a tenth of them to the Temple. Their whole lives revolved around serving God. And Jesus said “You must be more righteous than them!” Whaaat?

To us Jesus might have said you need to be more righteous than Mother Teresa. Or more gentle than the Dalai Lama. Or more lovely than Debby Garratt. It is something shockingly difficult, impossible even.

Jesus said “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of Mother Teresa, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Abram, Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.

The only way to know God is to be perfect. Think about the epistles (letters to the churches) we’ve studied: Romans and Ephesians. Both of those call on us to act perfectly. Eph 4:1–4 (NLT) Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.

Lead a life worthy of your calling. Be humble and gentle, patient and united – always. That is Christian behaviour. How’re you doing with that?

Romans 12:1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

Be a holy sacrifice. Be perfect. Abram, serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.

But wait just a minute. I was here last week. I preached the sermon! And I remember that Abram wasn’t perfect. He wasn’t blameless at all! He was an adulterous sexual sinner, abusing Sarai’s poor servant girl Hagar, along with his wife, using Hagar’s body for his own purposes. What Abram and Sarai did to Hagar was terrible – about as far from “blameless” as you could get. It was so terrible that Hagar ran away to the desert to die.

And then in the very next chapter God says “blameless”. What’s going on here?

Has Abram – Abraham - fixed up his game in the thirteen years since the abuse of Hagar? Has he turned over a new leaf, tried really hard – you know, brushed his teeth, shined his sandals, combed his hair, used New Spice? Is that’s what’s happened?

Well, it might be nice to imagine so, and maybe that’s what you were taught at Sunday school: Abraham was a good guy, so God liked him, and was his friend. He scanned the hearts of all the people, and saw Abraham’s heart was good, and so chose him. That kind of nonsense is all around us: the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach it, prosperity gospel peddlers teach it, most of the State churches appear to teach it, most of the Sunday School material seems to teach it. Be good, and then God will like you.

That is a lie.

Because if you actually READ what the Bible says, instead of what you think it says….well, the message is quite different. Abraham has not changed. Oh, he’s certainly grown in his faith, no doubt about that! Only a man trusting that God could raise the dead would be willing to sacrifice his son whom he loved (chapter 22).
But he still lies about his wife Sarah being his sister (in chapter 20), and this time he really has no excuse! He just doesn’t have enough faith to believe God’s promises.
He laughs when God says he’ll have a son in this very chapter (v17).
He allows his wife to abuse Hagar and Ishmael and send them out into the desert to die (chapter 21).
Abraham is no saint. He’s not really the type of man you’d want your daughters to marry, is he? He’s the kind of leader who would be in Telen all too often for the wrong reasons (or in Se og Hør: exclusive interview with Hagar “He sent me away to die!”).

Abraham was not perfect. He did not try really hard and become perfect. He is not perfect, not blameless. Yet God says to him “be blameless”. God says to us “be blameless”.

What’s going on?!! How can we do this?

Well, here we come to a great truth at the heart of the Bible. To borrow from Major Ian Thomas: if we are made in God’s perfect image, why should He not demand perfection from us. It is a perfectly reasonable demand. That demand only seems unreasonable to us because we’re missing something, something so obvious, so clear, so necessary. Sin clouds our minds because sin says “I am God!”.
What’s missing is this: God. God Himself. He is the missing piece of the puzzle. To quote: “When God made you and me, His intention was that we in normality would be seen as different to the animal kingdom by a quality of life and behaviour that would allow for absolutely no possible explanation but God within us.”

We were designed needing God to be fully human. There is indeed a God-shaped hole in each of us. We are designed to be perfect, but we were NOT designed to achieve that perfection on our own. We must have God’s perfection, God’s righteousness, in order to be perfect, be righteous. True humanity, really LIVING, is only found when God lives within us. He is our life.

And that’s why God says to Abraham, says to us: be perfect. Be like me, for I am with you. 7 I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

Man without God is like a car with no engine. He is our engine, our driving force. Without him, we are nothing. Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.

3. How can we be blameless?

Well, there was a big clue a few chapters back, just before the big mess with Hagar. Turn back to chapter 15, verse 6: And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith.

In the story of Noah, we read that everything humans thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil (6:5), but v8 Noah found favour with the Lord”.

In v1 of Ephesians 4 it says Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.

Therefore. Because of what God has done. Because you’ve been called by God.

Verse 1 of Romans 12 says the same thing. And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you.

And so. Because of all he has done for you. How often we skip over those words! But that’s the truth. Never remove moral exhortation from its redemptive context. That means never preach “this is how you behave” without the gospel of grace. We are saved. We are declared righteous. So be what you are!
It’s not try really hard, but be what you now are: a new creation.
It’s like saying to a car with no engine: drive vs. saying to a car with a new engine fitted: drive. One is impossible, one is perfectly natural!
Christian, be what you are. Let the Holy Spirit transform you. Give yourself over to God: your time, your money, your relationships, your love life, your sex life, your friendships, your work, your dreams, your career, your “rights”. Everything you are, everything you have – give it over to God. You belong to him.

The sign that Abraham believed that he was forgiven by God, that he belonged to God, was circumcision. His body was marked: a sign that he and all his descendants belonged to God. 10 This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. 11 You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you. …13 All must be circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant.

His circumcision was a sign of the covenant. It was a sign of his faith. Because we humans are rather stupid, Israel kept getting that wrong and trusting in the sign rather than having faith! “Oh, I’ve got the sign, I don’t need to trust God!” Whoops.

The external sign symbolised an internal change. That’s why the New Testament talks about a circumcision of the heart, and why our sign is not circumcision but baptism. We do not bear the mark in our own bodies, because that mark was pointing towards the One whose body would be marked for our sins.
Jesus is our sign of circumcision. His body bore the mark of God’s everlasting covenant. Eternally, his body is scarred.

And so in baptism we celebrate our old life being put to death with Jesus on the cross, and us being raised to new life with him in his resurrection. We are a new creation, with new, circumcised hearts. Hearts that belong to God.

So we then are part of the multitude of nations that come from Abraham. He is our father, not by blood, but by faith. And we are part of that amazing promise in v7 “I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
He is our God because our King, Abrahams descendant, Jesus, the Christ, bore our sins upon the Cross, took the mark of the covenant in his own body, and won for us the righteousness of God, so that we can believe and God be counted as righteous.

In Christ, you are fully human. Friends, rejoice! And start living out what God’s put in you. Yes, you will stumble and fall, but remember that Jesus has already borne your sins: you are counted as righteous. And stand and carry on. Abraham stumbled many times – but each time he was forgiven, blessed, raised up. Have faith. Trust God’s word. You are forgiven in Christ.

This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. He is our God.

Our response? I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.

Praise God that he himself bore the marks in his body to cover our sins, to give us a new heart, and make us new creations: truly human. Thank you Father.