Genesis 21. 22-33: "Out there"

 Here we find Abraham, once again, in a bigger context: not just in the challenges of family life, not just pursuing his relationship with God as a “private citizen” or even as someone with a specific call from God – a prototype spiritual leader, a Father to a Nation – but as a businessman and pioneer – a man who knows he is on a mission from God to establish a people – the people of God – in this land of Canaan.   This is God at work, Abraham making his way, In the “Secular” world: the world of work, finance, politics.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
His dealings right now are with a guy called Abimelech – one of the first Philistine leaders to settle   in Canaan.  He pays a fairly formal visit to Abraham, taking his army commander along.

Now, Abraham and Abimelech go back a wee while together.  Chapter 20 – which we missed out – tells how when Abraham entered Abimelech’s territory, he introduced Sarah, not as his wife, but as his sister.  That was a half-truth, as we have already found out.  And Abraham had already done the same thing, to Pharaoh in Egypt.   You would think he would have learned his lesson. Yet here was, repeating the same old mistakes again, betraying his wife into the hands of a foreign King, then lying low and hoping something would work out.   This pattern of wrong behaviour was so deeply ingrained that it was repeated in the next generation: What Abraham had done, his son Isaac in turn did – to Abimelech!  (Gen 26. 7)

This time, God had done two things.  He had appeared to Abimelech in a dream and warned him in no uncertain terms not to touch Sarah.  And he had caused a sudden outbreak of infertility in Abimelech's tribe.  (as well as causing the women in Abimelech's tribe to become infertile!  So the situation took place over a protracted period of time, once again!)

And again, as had happened in Egypt, Abimelech told Abraham off severely – and asked Abraham what he was playing at. And Abraham's excuse for his behaviour? He was afraid, because “I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife!”  Now, that is not a great way to win friends and influence people!  It was honest, but it was honestly stupid.  Too often Christians struggle in our dealings with the “secular world” because in our hearts we are thinking the same s Abraham was:  “There is no fear of God in this place.”  I believe that sort of negative, judgemental, and sometimes shallow assessment of our world, pulls us out of shape, blinds us to the possibilities for effective, positive witness, and predisposes us to be fearful and inept in our dealings with the big, bad world.

But God was gracious: he was on Abimelech's and Abraham's and Sarah's case!  So Abimelech's response was to give Abraham sheep and land to stay in as compensation for taking his wife.  God was gracious, and Abimelech showed himself to be honest and fair-minded.

That's all background. Now Abimelech turns up again with the commander of his army.  He's not looking for trouble: quite the opposite, he wants to head trouble off.  He's looking for some sort of agreement, some sort of treaty, that will allow his people, and Abraham's people, to co-exist, in the new land they have come to.

Is it possible to co-exist with the Philistines?  Is it possible to co-exist with the “secular world”?  With an employer, a Trade Union, a political party?  Not if we are full of fear and tend to dismiss everything outside the Christian faith as “Godless” and bad.   And not if like Lot, we walk blindly into our world and uncritically copy its values and actions.  We want to be salt and light in our world; we want to change our world.  That means we have to be there but be different.

Abimelech  has two things to say:

Firstly, “I recognise that God is with you”.
Abimelech had reasons to know that “God is obviously with you, helping you in

Sunset on Castleland Hill, Photo by G Lilly

everything you do”  HE already knew Abraham to be a prophet even if one who made mistakes; he had seen Abraham become more and more prosperous (and had helped him become richer); he had no doubt heard about the miraculous birth of Isaac.

Abraham was able to demonstrate God's power and God's grace.   That is a desirable aim:  in the world of work, politics, business, for people to be able to recognise God is with you”.... 
It is grace.  We make mistakes – just like Abraham did, we misjudge people, we self-protect, we lie, we connive.  And God is on our case!  He wants to refine our character, to pour out his power, to provide for us, to answer our prayers, so that people can see “God is with you.”

And, secondly, “Promise you will not deceive me”.  
“Don't lie to me; and deal with me according to the covenant love or loyalty (hesed) I have shown to you.”  A bit embarrassing for Abraham!   Abimelech had reasons to say “Promise you won't deceive me!”   Abraham is happy to enter into a treaty with Abimelech; but first, he wants to be sure it will not be empty words but a workable agreement they can all use for future reference, so he needs to deal with something that has been an irritation for some time – and was actually vitally important in an area where water is a valuable commodity.  Some of Abimelech's men have taken over by force a well dug by Abraham.  Abimelech denies all knowledge.

The way the agreement was “signed” was through a ceremony when animals were handed over.  And Abraham includes seven lambs as a sign that he, Abraham, had dug and therefore was the rightful owner, of that well.

There area a number of lessons we can take from this treaty, for our witness, co-existing in our world.

Firstly, to be affirming and positive. To recognise virtues  and strengths. “Deal with me according to the loyalty I have shown you
Secondly, to be grace-givers, who are prepared to show generosity in situations where there is wrong.
Thirdly, to be realistic and proactive in dealing with difficulties.
Finally, to be honest and upright at all times.

We have covenants, agreements, responsibilities and points of contact with the secular, commercial, business world: we buy and sell houses; we borrow money, we accept jobs; we go to school, we use the NHS.   And some of us have that connexion in our own homes, maybe in marriages with people who don't know Jesus or with kids or parents who aren't living as Christians.  All around us there are people, situations, that are saying to us “deal with me according to the loyalty I have show to you.”

We need to hear that.  We need to be in the place where we are hearing these two cries, from the “secular world”:  “I recognise that God is with you,”  and,  “promise that you will be fair with me”

So the place gets a new name: The well of Seven, which sounds like The well of oath.   Beersheba.  There Abraham plants a tamarisk tree – any tree would be a sign of looking to the future and the tamarisk has particularly hard, durable wood.  A great sign of permanence, and reminder of the “everlasting God”.  Quietly, on his own again, Abraham worships the “everlasting God.”   If we are in there in the power of he Spirit, the secular world doesn’t distract from our spiritual life – it enriches it and makes it makes it stronger.

© Gilmour Lilly June  2015

Genesis 21, verses 1-21

Genesis 21, 1-21
 
Abraham and Sarah have plenty to celebrate.  God has been good to them! The ninety-one year-old Sarah gives birth to a healthy baby boy and the hundred-year-old Abraham delights in performing the duties of a father – circumcision on the eighth day and throwing a big party when the baby is weaned.  

But, there's an “elephant in the room” in the form of the clumsy, goofy teenager Ishmael. He's a constant reminder of a mistake – or a series of mistakes – Abraham and Sarah have made.  Desperate for the fulfilment of God's “Plan A” and promise to give them a son,  Sarah had  concocted a “Plan B,” and given her slave-girl Hagar to Abraham as a very inferior second wife.  Abraham had accepted this, and Hagar had duly produced Ishmael. He's there, fourteen years old, when Isaac is born.  He's there, two or three years later when Isaac is weaned and Abraham throws a big party.  

And Ishmael is laughing at Isaac – not playing with him (RSV) but at the very least teasing him (NLT) or (more likely) generally mocking the whole proceedings (AV, NIV are correct; the Hebrew does not say who Ishmael was laughing at).  I believe this is more consistent with what we know of Hagar's character and of the dynamics of the relationship between Hagar and her masters. And it seems to have been passed on to young Ishmael: you can imagine the jokes between mother and son – especially if you've been in a family or a workplace which thrives on mockery. And mockery comes so naturally to teenagers.   

So it looks like the whole sordid problem of “Plan B” was still staring Abraham and Sarah in the face, even at their kid's big celebration.

Then, it seems, Sarah has a “hissy fit”. Abraham has seen that look before: his wife's eyes narrow to little slits, her face hardens, her  hands tremble slightly, and there are a few moments of terrible silence; then she says “Get that woman and her brat out of here: "he will never take even a share of my Isaac's inheritance.”

What is poor Abraham going to do?  This seems so wrong. He has a pattern of doing what Sarah tells him to; but he loves the boy and has some feelings of decency towards Hagar.  He's troubled. He wants to do what Sarah says.  But still it seems so wrong.  Understandably he is struggling to decide what to do.  Then God speaks and tells Abraham “Do what Sarah says”.   Emotionally and morally, how could he?  And how could God?  Does God condone the abandonment of Isaac and ultimate betrayal of Hagar who has been used abominably by Abraham and Sarah?

Remember this wasn't a mess of God's making.   God's “Plan A” was for Abraham and Sarah to become parents by having Isaac. Ishmael was the result of “Plan B.”  God was working around, and unpicking the consequences of, Abraham's and Sarah's mess.  

And there were plenty of consequences. Sarah may have feared for young Isaac: Ishmael was much older than Isaac and had, it seems, picked up his mother's contempt for Abraham and Sarah.  He could have been a threat to his younger half-brother.   There were consequences for Abraham –  the sorrow and pain of separation from Ishmael.  And for Hagar it was being the despised and misused slave girl; for Ishmael being an unwanted child. Our “Plan B” strategies have consequences. Unbelief has a way of leaving footprints.

Paul says in Romans 8, “For we know that to his loved ones, God co-operates or assists all things into good, for those being welcomed or invited according to his purpose.”   God works all things out, assists all things – even the bad things – to produce good.  Even Sarah's scheming unbelief, and jealousy; even Hagar's and Ishmael's foolish mocking, and Abraham’s weakness and fear, God didn’t send them; he didn't even use them; but he worked them into his design.  

There is a story (possibly made up)  told of a piano concert, given by the great Padrewski: before it began a small boy gave distracted parents the slip and found his way onto the stage, sat down and started plonking out “Twinkle Twinkle little star” with one finger. Padrewski appeared on stage, stood behind the wee boy and surrounded the boy's inept playing with a wonderful variation.  That is what God does all the time, with our mistakes.  He weaves them into his tapestry. That is what God was doing here. Not inflicting evil on Hagar and Ishmael; but using the situation for his glory

God goes on, then, to say, “Through Isaac shall your descendants be named.”  (v12)   Abraham had grounds to know that, now. Because there sits Isaac, a chubby three-year-old eating solid food.   God had already done what he said. Three times, just in case we don't notice, verses 1 and 2 repeat that Isaac’s birth was “as God had said”.  God had said, all along.  God would give Abraham a whole nation of descendants through Isaac. That was the plan.  

And then God speaks about Ishmael:  “I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.”  So, Ishmael is going to be OK, too.   Abraham has good, solid grounds for figuring that, if The Lord could give Abraham and Sarah an Isaac in their old age, as he had said, he could look after Ishmael, protect him and make him a nation too, as he had said.  

And in the purpose of God, what Sarah said “Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac” was a prophecy. Paul quotes Sarah's words in Gal 4. 30  Sarah meant it out of jealousy or fear.  God used it to bring out a vital principle for every God-seeker in every age. It is the child of faith, not the child of human effort, that inherits eternal life and the Kingdom of God.  We need to be children of the Spirit not children of the Flesh. God keeps his promises.  Life in the Spirit – trusting God and seeing Him at work instead of trusting ourselves, is a possibility.  

If you want to connect with God, to have a relationship with the creator of the universe, a life that will survive to eternity, you need to receive that by Spirit not flesh.  Jesus once had a visit from a very “religious” man who stayed up late studying the Bible and tried to live a good life.  But still he wasn't sure he had eternal life.  Jesus said to him “You need to be born again – a miracle done by God's Spirit inside you.”  Ask God to send his Spirit to you to make you a new person. 

And if you're desire is to serve God today, to use your gifts, to reach broken people , to bring family members to know Him, to know his healing; to see the Church alive and growing like Abraham's family – it happens by Spirit not flesh. God is faithful, he keeps his promises. He “does chesedh – steadfast love and mercy,”  Trust him and walk in his way – he will do what he promised.

I guess it is still with a  heavy heart that Abraham packs Hagar and Ishmael off, with about as much as they could carry for  the journey. And the rest of the story tells how God is looking after Hagar and her son, right up to the point where, leaning on each other, the young man collapses and his mother puts him in the shade of a shrub, and God opens her eyes to see the water he has provided.   He keeps the promise he had made to Abraham about the boy.  Ishmael is going to be OK.  He is going to make it.  At the end of the section we find him settled down and married.  

We should avoid making the oft-repeated comment that “we are still suffering for Abraham's mistake today”.  God loved that boy and preserved him; God looked after him.  If he is the father of the Arab race, then God loves the Arab and wants to bless the Arab with the same blessing that comes through Abraham to all the nations of the earth.  

But Abraham didn't see that.  He had to let Ishmael go.  His journey – the flip side of the joy and excitement of seeing God keep his covenant – was marked by relinquishment.  At this point it was Ishmael.  There would be other “letting go” moments.  Walking by faith involves a letting go of anything and everything that gets in the way of our relationship with God, anything and everything that we trust in, instead of trusting God.  
 

© Gilmour Lilly June  2015

Genesis 18

Growing faith.

This is the sixth time God has come and made promises to Abraham. We have followed the progress of these promise over the last few weeks.

It began in Genesis 12: God called Abram to move from Ur of the Chaldees to Canaan; twice he promised a land and a people; and Abram obeyed in a faith that took God at his word.

Then in Genesis 13, God came again and repeated the promise – this time promising descendants as numerous as the desert sand. And Abram continued to move in obedience to god's will.

The fourth time – in Genesis 15 – Abram had a moan about the fact that the promise still hadn’t been fulfilled; But God sealed his covenant with Abram using that sacrifice cut in half. But eventually Abram did what you shouldn't do with a promise, and made it come true by his own scheming.

The fifth time, God got a bit more specific – telling Abraham that he and Sarah would have a son called Isaac. And Abram had to be circumcised as a sign of that covenant.

So, for Abraham, there has been a building up of the details and demands of the promise; as it becomes more specific it demands more faith, and demands full commitment. And as the promise unfolds, Abraham wavers between amazing simple faith, and just a bit of cynicism, fear, and self-reliance.

Now God comes, appears to Abraham. There is a slight difference. This time the Lord (18. 1) is in human-like form accompanied by two others, angelic beings (19. 1). The whole scene is typical of desert hospitality: visitors appear, waiting to be invited into the camp was the desert equivalent of knocking the door; being sat down, made welcome; the host declaring that the visit is a God-given opportunity to show hospitality;; fresh bread made, a calf killed... for some time while Abraham, Sarah, and his servant, prepare a meal – slaughtering the fatted calf... And God promises that within a year, Sarah will give birth to a son. Fulfilment, of a specific promise, within a specific time-frame. All God's dealings with Abraham, have come full circle. And it is so amazing, so unbelievably precious, after so many years of waiting, And Abraham’s faith, has come full circle. Abraham's faith – and I mean the whole way he does his walk with God – has been developing, maturing.

We go through stages in our development, and there are stages in faith development too: that can get a bit complicated as it's partly related to our age... but we start with very simple faith – and then you struggle to hold it all together in various times of trial, unanswered prayers. That's a questioning stage. There's another stage, when you can hold the simple faith and the questions together. Judge Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “The only simplicity for which I would give a straw is that which is on the other side of the complex — not that which never has divined it.” That is grown-up faith. It is childlike but not childish. Simplicity, not pretending the questions aren't there but surviving on the other side of all the complications and questionings. And that is where I believe Abraham had come to. He had even been circumcised as an expression of that mature tested faith.

And Sarah, overhearing in the tent, has a wee giggle to herself. (Literally “Laughing within her midst”) You get the impression of her talking to herself and laughing at her own rude joke about her and Abraham's sex-life!  ("ShallI have pleasure?") Now we discovered that Abraham's laughter was OK: it was an expression of joy and celebration. Sarah's had a bitter, cynical edge. God challenged her about it and she denied she had laughed: it wasn't something she was proud of. So it looks as if Sarah was at a different place in her faith journey. She was still in the place of scepticism and questioning. 

 

It is possible to get “stuck” at any stage of the faith journey, from a “Baby” faith of Bible stories without knowing what they mean, to a stage where we “believing what we are told” , to a questioning doubting stage. Or we can keep moving forward. I think Sarah was stuck, and Abraham had moved beyond the questioning stage. Maybe their human instincts, and drives made them respond differently to things: Sarah had not become a mother, but Abraham had become a father: that simple fact may have helped to make them grow on from the questioning stage at different speeds. Maybe Sarah was angrier about the situation. But remember Abraham had a more grown faith – but he certainly wasn't perfect. In fact he repeated the same sins and mistakes over and over. Grown up faith isn't the same as perfection.

God is in the business of dealing with us. He is in the business of growing our faith. He is in the business of taking us from simple faith – through various times of struggle, disappointment, failure – back to simple faith. Maybe a less arrogant faith; maybe a faith that is less self-centred, self-obsessed. To a faith that is prepared in a fresh way to take on the heart-circumcision of belonging totally to God and to his people...

In response to Sarah's laughter,  God says something really simple yet really profound. “Is there anything too heard for the Lord?” (v 14) "Too difficult" originally means " too wonderful." The theme of what is too hard for God comes up again (Jeremiah 32. 17 , 27 , and Zechariah 8. 6.)

How will we answer that question?So how do we respond when God comes and says “OK, now is the time: I am going to fulfil these promises now?” Are we like Abraham: we have come through the doubts and returned to that place of simple faith? Or are we like Sarah: “Yeah, right!”

Then, as the visitors are leaving and Abraham escorts them down the road, they reveal what God plans to do in the cities of the plain. God acknowledges Abraham to be his friend close and intimate .Being “Chosen by God” and being God's friend, means not only that he s going to become a father; it means he is involved in the plans of God for the nations; so it is perfectly appropriate that God reveal to Abraham what he plans to do in Sodom.

God is judging Sodom for the evil that was happening there. Sodom had become a thoroughly violent, arrogant and sexually promiscuous, amoral place, where the attitudes of immorality had rubbed off on Lot and his family... Chapter 19 describes what one scholar calls "a loveless squalor" not only in the behaviour of the people of the city but on the part of Lot's daughters later on.

So Abraham prays: his praying shows how mature his faith is: a deep understanding of who God is (you might say right doctrine) working through the questions and worked out in godly character.

As he prays he comes out with another of these key phrases: “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (v. 25) Abraham knows his Good to be not tribal but universal, and not tyrannical but just.

When he begins he is saying “Lord, would yo destroy the city if here were fifty good guys in there? Then he takes the number down to 45, 30, 20, 10. It's quite a prayer, rooted as it is in concern for God's character and in a compassion for the lost!!

"Interceding love is ingenious". We need a passion for God, and a passion for God's creatures. How would we have prayed?

So, where are you on that faith journey? Do you still live with the faith of the nursery: folk-religion, or folk-atheism that you believe because everyone else does? Do you have living faith that is yours and makes you part of the living Church? Do you have questions that maybe feel overwhelming? OR have you come through the questions to a faith that is simple enough, strong enough and flexible enough to thrive in a challenging world and show God's compassion there? 

© Gilmour Lilly June  2015