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Genesis 18-19
Lesson 11
“By Faith Abraham Obeyed”
 God makes and keeps promises
 God’s people of old acted based on
their faith
 God has made me a promise
 Based on my faith
 Achieved by my obedient actions
God appears to Abram
 God’s relationship to Abram
 Abram’s concern
 Very old
 No offspring
 An heir is coming
 Can you count the stars?
God’s promise
 I brought you out of Ur
 To give you this land
 How shall I know?
 Sacrifices ordered and prepared
 Covenant ratified
 To your descendants I will give this
land
 From River of Egypt to Euphrates
Sarai’s plan
 Offers her handmaid to Abram
 To bring an heir
 Genesis 2:24
 Not so from the beginning
 Abram complies
 Hagar conceives
 Trouble begins
Sarai’s regret
 Her plan backfires
 Sarai is despised by Hagar
 She blames Abram
 Sarai deals harshly with Hagar
 Hagar flees
Angel appears to Hagar
 Referred to as “Hagar, Sarai’s
maid”
 Angel tells her to return to Sarai
 Submit yourself under her hand
 Promise to Hagar
 Multiply your descendants
 Child to be named Ishmael
 To be a wild man
 Abram is 86 when Ishmael is born
God appears to Abram
 Abram is 99 years old
 Thirteen years after Ishmael
 Still no heir
 God offers a covenant
 Abram fell on his face
 Talking with God!!!!
God’s covenant
 Abram the father of many nations
 Name changed
 Abram – a high father
 Abraham – the father of a multitude
 Make many nations from you
 Everlasting covenant
 To you and your descendants
God’s covenant
 I will be your God
 I will give you the land
 An everlasting possession
 You shall keep my covenant
 Throughout your generations
 Circumcision of every male
 Otherwise, cutoff
God’s covenant
 Sarai changed to Sarah
 Mother of nations
 Abraham laughed at promise of
child
 Again, offered Ishmael
 As a substitute heir
 Abraham circumcises his household
Visitors For Abraham
 To Abraham these appeared at first
as men
 But he entertained angels unawares
 Hebrews 13:2 Do not forget to
entertain strangers, for by so doing
some have unwittingly entertained
angels.
 Washed feet, refreshments, rest,
and a meal
Promise Of A Son
 By this time next year a son
 Sarah laughed
 Is any thing too hard for the Lord?
 Can any thing be too great a
miracle for Him to effect?
 Luke 1:37 “For with God nothing
will be impossible.”
Promise Of A Son
 To correct Sarah's unbelief?
 To strengthen her faith?
 Human wisdom said she would not
have a child
 By nature she would not reproduce
 Yet God has full sway, and by his
own omnificent* power works all
things after the counsel of his own
will
*creating all things; having unlimited powers of creation
Promise Of A Son
 Abram is 99 years old
 Sarah laughed within herself--Long
delay seems to have weakened
faith. Sarah treated the
announcement as incredible
 Genesis 18:14 "Is anything too
hard for the LORD? At the
appointed time I will return to you,
according to the time of life, and
Sarah shall have a son."
Is God limited?
 The births of John and Jesus
 Luke 1:36 "Now indeed, Elizabeth
your relative has also conceived a son
in her old age; and this is now the
sixth month for her who was called
barren. "For with God nothing will be
impossible." Then Mary said, "Behold
the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be
to me according to your word." And
the angel departed from her.
Is any thing too hard for the
Lord?
 God created the earth and
everything in it and on it by His
spoken word.
 Why would Sarah doubt His power
to do ‘anything?’
 What do you and I learn from this?
Is any thing too hard for the
Lord?
 Do we ever doubt God’s power?
 Do we put our total trust in Him?
 Do we ‘cast our cares on Him?’
 1 Peter 5:7 casting all your care upon
Him, for He cares for you.
Promise Of A Son
 Genesis 18:15 But Sarah denied it,
saying, “I did not laugh,” for she
was afraid. And He said, “No, but
you did laugh!”
 Acts 5:3 But Peter said, “Ananias,
why has Satan filled your heart to lie
to the Holy Spirit and keep back part
of the price of the land for yourself?”
 You can’t lie to God!!
 You can’t deceive God!!
Looking Toward Sodom
 Genesis 18:17 the Lord said, Shall I
hide--The chief stranger, no other than
the Lord, disclosed to Abraham the awful
doom about to be inflicted on Sodom and
the cities of the plain for their enormous
wickedness.
 18 since Abraham shall surely become a
great and mighty nation, and all the
nations of the earth shall be blessed in
him?
Looking Toward Sodom
 Genesis 18:20 And the LORD said,
"Because the outcry against Sodom
and Gomorrah is great, and
because their sin is very grave
 Are God’s actions justified?
 Abraham knows Lot is in Sodom
 He ‘negotiates’ with the Lord to
save the righteous in Sodom
Lot In Sodom
 Remember Lot’s choice?
 Genesis 13:12 Abram dwelt in the
land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the
cities of the plain and pitched his tent
even as far as Sodom. But the men of
Sodom were exceedingly wicked and
sinful against the LORD.
 Strangers come to Sodom
 Lot shows hospitality
 similar to Abraham
Men Of Sodom
 Genesis 19:5 And they called to Lot
and said to him, “Where are the
men who came to you tonight?
Bring them out to us that we may
know them carnally.”
 so that we may take our pleasure
with them. (BBE)
 have sex with them. (NIV)
Men Of Sodom
 Depraved people
 Genesis 18:20
 Crime was the deepest disgrace to
human nature
 Too bad to be described
 Iniquity most abominable wretches
 Sodomy
Lot ‘Protects’ His Guests
 He offered his daughters to the
men of the city
 He esteemed the persons of his
guests as sacred, and was willing
to protect them at all costs. But in
this proposal he did very wrong,
and showed the weakness of his
faith in God.
Lot ‘Protects’ His Guests
 Of two moral evils we
should choose neither, and
should never commit sin to
avoid any supposed evil, or
obtain any supposed good.
The only course of wisdom
and safety is to trust in God
and do right.
Choosing lesser of two evils;
End justifies the means
 Lot offering his daughters—of two
moral evils we should choose
neither, and should never commit sin
to avoid any supposed evil, or obtain
any supposed good. The only course of
wisdom and safety is to trust in God
and do right.
 Lot’s daughters—Lot endeavored to
sanctify the improper means used,
by the goodness of the end at which
they aimed
Destruction Announced
 Genesis 19:13 "For we will destroy
this place, because the outcry
against them has grown great
before the face of the LORD, and
the LORD has sent us to destroy it."
Lot To Leave
 Genesis 19:14 “Get up, get out of
this place; for the LORD will
destroy this city!”
 But to his sons-in-law he seemed
to be joking.
 "Arise, take your wife and your two
daughters who are here, lest you
be consumed in the punishment of
the city."
Escape To The Mountains
 “Escape for your life! Do not look
behind you nor stay anywhere in
the plain. Escape to the mountains,
lest you be destroyed (consumedRSV).”
 It is not an ordinary judgment that
is coming; a fire from heaven shall
burn up the cities, the plain, and all
that remain in the cities and in the
plain
Sodom Is Destroyed
 Genesis 19:24 Then the LORD
rained brimstone and fire on
Sodom and Gomorrah, from the
LORD out of the heavens. So He
overthrew those cities, all the
plain, all the inhabitants of the
cities, and what grew on the
ground.
Lot’s Wife
 God had commanded
 Don’t look back
 The wife of Lot disobeyed this
command; she looked back
 She became a pillar of salt
 This is all the information the
inspired historian has thought
proper to give us on this subject
 Commentators and critics have
written much about this event
Aftermath
 Abraham is anxious
 Lot and daughters are in Zoar
 Leave to live in a cave
 They make Lot drink wine
 They lay with him
 From the older – Moab (Moabites)
 From the younger – Ben-Ammi
(Ammonites)
Why?
 It does not appear that it was through
any base or sensual desires that the
daughters of Lot wished to deceive
their father.
 They might have thought that it would
have been wrong to have married into
any other family, and they knew that
their husbands elect, who were
probably of the same kindred, had
perished in the overthrow of Sodom.
Why?
 They might have supposed that
there was no other way left to
preserve the family, and
consequently that righteousness for
which had been remarkable
(delivered from Sodom because of
their righteousness), but the way
which they now took.
 “Reasoning” to convince
themselves this was ‘OK’
Why?
 They knew their father would not
commit such an act with them.
They got him drunk because he
would have considered it as
profane (sin); yet, judging the
measure to be expedient and
necessary…
Why?
 …they endeavored to sanctify
the improper means used, by
the goodness of the end at
which they aimed; a doctrine
which, though resorted to by
many, should be reprobated by all.
Acting on this bad principle they
caused their father to drink the
wine.
Is wrong ever right?
 The end (result) justifies the means
(sinful action).
 When?
 Never
 Why?
 “sinful action”
 Always wrong
 Applications to this point???
Is wrong ever right?
 Singing sound better with music
 Ball team to get people to attend
‘church’
 Women preachers/elders because
of their education or ability
Is wrong ever right?
 Fellowship rooms (meals) to
promote unity (or convenience)
 Church sponsored schools to do the
work of parents
 Both parents working—not enough
time
Summary
 Lot left influence of Abraham
 Lot moved into Sodom
 Wickedness of Sodom – God knew
 Judgment of God
 Righteousness of God – mercy on
Lot
 Sins of Lot and daughters
Sodomy—homosexuality
 Genesis 2:24 Therefore a man shall
leave his father and mother and be
joined to his wife, and they shall
become one flesh.
Sodomy—homosexuality
 How happy must such a state be where
God's institution is properly regarded, where
the parties are married, as the apostle
expresses it, in the Lord; where each, by
acts of the most tender kindness, lives only
to fulfill the wishes and contribute in every
possible way to the comfort and happiness
of the other! Marriage might still be what it
was in its original institution, pure and
suitable; and in its first exercise,
affectionate and happy; but how few such
marriages are there to be found!
Sodomy—homosexuality
 Romans 1:26-32 For this reason God
gave them up to vile passions. For
even their women exchanged the
natural use for what is against
nature. Likewise also the men,
leaving the natural use of the woman,
burned in their lust for one another,
men with men committing what is
shameful, and receiving in
themselves the penalty of their error
which was due.
Sodomy—homosexuality
 And even as they did not like to
retain God in their knowledge, God
gave them over to a debased mind,
to do those things which are not
fitting; being filled with all
unrighteousness, sexual immorality,
wickedness, covetousness,
maliciousness; full of envy, murder,
strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they
are whisperers, backbiters…
Sodomy—homosexuality
 haters of God, violent, proud,
boasters, inventors of evil things,
disobedient to parents, undiscerning,
untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving,
unmerciful; who, knowing the
righteous judgment of God, that
those who practice such things are
deserving of death, not only do the
same but also approve of those who
practice them.
…
God appears to Hagar
 Referred to as “Hagar, Sarai’s
maid”
 Angel tells her to return to Sarai
 Submit yourself under her hand
 Promise to Hagar
Circumstances
 Multiply your descendants
are
not always
 Child to be named Ishmael
pleasant
 To be a wild man
 Abram is 86 when Ishmael is born