Gen. 16-18: “Hagar Given As A Surrogate Mother / Abraham Circumcises His Household / The Birth Of Isaac Promised”

By

Jim Bomkamp

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1.                  INTRO:

 

1.1.         In our last study we looked at chapters 14-15 of the book of Genesis.

 

1.1.1.  Abraham had to rescue his nephew Lot when a band of kings pillaged the land and conquered the city of Sodom, taking with them Lot and his possessions. 

 

1.1.2.  When Abraham returned victorious with Lot we saw him make a sacrifice and give a tithe to a king of Salem named Melchizedek, a priest of the most high God.  We saw that the scriptures reveal an awful lot about the prophetic and typological importance of this man Melchizedek who serves as a type of Jesus Christ.

 

1.1.3.  Finally, the Lord again appeared to Abraham and re-stated His covenant with Abraham, ratifying it by performing a peculiar rite.  We saw that Abraham believed God and that his faith was reckoned to him as righteousness.  We looked at how by his faith being reckoned to him as righteousness that the scriptures tell us that Abraham serves as a type of those who trust in Jesus Christ and what He did upon Calvary’s cross in dying for our sins, in order to receive salvation.

 

1.2.         In our study today, we are going to look at chapters 16-18 of Genesis.

 

1.2.1.  We will see that Sarah becomes a schemer just as Abraham previously had schemed telling Sarah to tell those in Egypt that she was his sister.  Sarah determines to give God some help and allow her maid Hagar to conceive the child of promise and fulfill God’s promises.  We will look at the consequences of that choice by Sarah after Hagar conceives Ishmael.

 

1.2.2.  We begin to see that the Lord is a holy God when He appears to Abraham telling him to be blameless in all that he does, and then tells him that he must circumcise all of those born in his household and even living in his house.  It only makes sense for us to worship and serve a God who is holy and just, and I cannot imagine worshipping and serving an angry, vengeful, imperfect, and unpredictable God.

 

1.2.3.  We will see how that the Lord tells Abraham that Sarah will conceive a child in one year, and when Sarah overhears this how that she has unbelief in her heart and laughs at the news and is rebuked by the Lord for this.

 

1.2.4.  Finally, we will see how that the Lord appears to Abraham and tells him of His plans to destroy the city of Sodom.  Abraham will then intercede for the city and ask the Lord if He destroys the righteous along with the wicked?  We will see the dialog that ensues between the Lord and Abraham.

 

2.                 VS 16:1-4a  - “1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 After Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. 4 He went in to Hagar, and she conceived;”  -  Sarah realizes she hasn’t yet conceived a child so she convinces Abraham to take her Egyptian maid Hagar as a concubine, which he does, and Hagar conceives a child

 

2.1.         Well, I guess you can say now that there was some negative consequence of Abraham and Sarah fleeing to Egypt when the famine came, they ended up bringing back an Egyptian maid named Hagar, and Satan uses this maid to his advantage.

 

2.2.         We in our 21st century America have no idea of the difficulty and hardship that a woman in Abraham’s day went through if she was barren.  Women were married in order to provide children for their husbands because without children you could not maintain a farm or ranch and support yourself, and you would end your days in poverty.

 

2.3.         In the cultures of that time, if a woman could not bear children she would sometimes look to a surrogate wife for her husband to bear children.  So, we can understand how that Sarah might have thought that implementing a worldly way of dealing with things might just be a good thing.  Besides, as far as we know God hadn’t ever directly forbidden polygamy at this point.

 

2.4.         Whenever we attempt to help out the Lord we get into trouble.  The Lord wants us to trust in Him and to allow Him to do His work and provide for us, not attempt to solve a problem with the cleverness of our fleshly mind.  What great grief we cause ourselves trying to help God out (as if He needed our help).

 

3.                 VS 16:4b-6  - “and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight. 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done me be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her sight. May the Lord judge between you and me.” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence.” -  Hagar begins to treat Sarah poorly after she becomes pregnant with Abraham’s child and so Abraham allows Sarah to do with Hagar what she will, so Sarah treated Hagar harsly until Hagar finally fled from Sarah’s presence

 

3.1.         When Hagar becomes pregnant she becomes jealous of Sarah, Abraham’s proper wife, and she schemes herself trying to win Abraham’s affections for herself alone.  Being jealous of Sarah, she began to do some sort of mean things to Sarah.

 

3.2.         Imagine, giving another woman to your husband as a surrogate wife and then you end up having a life full of complications and having a tiff with your husband?! 

 

3.3.         The Blame Game begins again.  Just as in chapter 3 of Genesis when after eating of the forbidden fruit and being confronted by the Lord, Adam blamed his wife whom the Lord had given him and she blamed the serpent for tempting her, so now Sarah blames Abraham for what Hagar is doing to her.  She needs to take responsibility for her part in this whole thing, after all it was her idea and prodding that put this plan in motion.

 

3.3.1.  It is so important for us as people to take responsibility for our failures and sins.  Denying them or blaming others for them do us no good.

 

3.4.         To Sarah, Hagar was sort of an indentured servant on the level of a slave.  Therefore, in a callous manner Abraham tells Sarah that she can deal with Hagar like a slave and do whatever to her that she wants.  This woman was carrying Abraham’s biological son, therefore at least for his son’s sake Abraham ought to have had compassion on Hagar.

 

3.5.         Sarah decides to retaliate and treat Hagar meanly just as Hagar had treated her, again another ungodly action characteristic of those who are walking according to the flesh.  In the New Testament we read about the way in which we ought to treat those who are mean to us or hate us:

 

3.5.1.  1 Thessalonians 5:15, “15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.” 

 

3.5.2.  Matthew 5:44, “44 “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.””

 

4.                 VS 16:7-14  - “7 Now the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. 8 He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” 9 Then the angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority.” 10 Moreover, the angel of the Lord said to her, “I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count.” 11 The angel of the Lord said to her further, “Behold, you are with child, And you will bear a son; And you shall call his name Ishmael, Because the Lord has given heed to your affliction. 12 “He will be a wild donkey of a man, His hand will be against everyone, And everyone’s hand will be against him; And he will live to the east of all his brothers.” 13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees”; for she said, “Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.” -  The angel of the Lord finds Hagar by a well and encourages her to return to Sarah and submit to her authority, and then the angel encourages Hagar that she too will have many descendants through this son she is carrying, however the angel tells Hagar that the boy will be named Ishmael because he will be a donkey of a man and his hand will be against everyone and their hand will be against him

 

4.1.         The Lord had compassion upon Hagar after she fled from Sarah, after all her difficulty was not all of her own doing.  Here is the first instance of the Lord meeting someone at a ‘spring of water,’ and in the Old Testament we see that the Lord often meets His people at springs of water. Perhaps just as a spring brings refreshing to people, so too the Lord desires to show people that He is the true refreshment and source of life.

 

4.2.         The Lord most likely saves Hagar’s life here since she was trying to flee from Canaan back to her home in Egypt and was not equipped no did she have provisions for such a flight. 

 

4.3.         The ‘angel of the Lord’ is often a phrase that we find in the Old Testament that refers to a pre-incarnate theophany of Jesus Christ, where He appeared in human form.  The word ‘angel’ means messenger, and the Lord Jesus Christ has chosen at times to be such a messenger.  I believe this is such an incident because the angel speaks in the first person to Abraham (“I will do such and so…”), and Hagar calls the angel ‘Lord,’ and is not rebuffed for doing so.

 

4.4.         The Lord commands Hagar to return to Sarah and also to submit to her authority over her life.  Hagar was most likely considered one of God’s people at this time, and she obeys the voice of the Lord.

 

4.5.         The Lord also commands Hagar to name her child ‘Ishmael,’ which means “God hears.”  God had heard Hagar’s cries and the desperation of her heart and now her child was meant to be a constant reminder to her of God’s having heard her and answered her prayer, saving her very life.

 

4.6.         The Lord has compassion on Hagar as well as her child, however notice here what the Lord tells Hagar about this son she will give birth to, “He will be a wild donkey of a man, His hand will be against everyone, And everyone’s hand will be against him; And he will live to the east of all his brothers.”  In several places in scripture, including Gen. 37:25-28, Gen. 39:1, and Judges 8:22-24, you read about these people called the “Ishmaelites.”  Being descendants of Ishmael through Abraham, they are descendants of Shem.  The twelve tribes which came from Ishmael are:  Nabajoth, Mibsam, Kedar, Adbeel, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, Kedemah.  We are not sure where all of these people groups settled.  The Moslems claim that Ishmael is the father of the Arab peoples, however it does not appear that all of the Arab peoples came from Ishmael.  Islam also claims that Mohammed was a descendant of Ishmael and that Ishmael was a prophet, however since Islam does not keep genealogies that fact could never be proven.  Islam also believes that the true inheritor of the promises of Abraham was Ishmael but that the Jews doctored the Old Testament to make Isaac the inheritor.  They then claim that this is the reason that the Palestinians are the rightful heirs of the land of Canaan, not the Jews. However, we will see later in Genesis that this is not the case.  Isaac is the true inheritor of the promises of God and in fact later the Lord will tell Abraham to take “thy son thy only son,” indicating that the Lord did not recognize Ishmael as a true son of Abraham. 

 

4.7.         Ishmael it says literally in the text will be ‘a wild ass of a man,’ and he will be against everyone and everyone will be against him.  The Arabs have been a perennial thorn in Israel’s side and when they aren’t causing strife and making war with Israel they are continually not getting along and fighting each other.  So, this description of Ishmael does in fact fit their history. 

 

5.                 VS 16:15-16  - “15 So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.” -  Hagar bears a son and names him Ishmael

 

5.1.         Hagar obeyed the Lord and returned to Sarah, and then gave birth to her son and named him Ishmael.

 

5.2.         Abraham was 86 years old when Ishmael is born, and it will be another 13 years before Isaac is born.  It seems that God’s people spend most of their time waiting upon God’s time in their lives.  Waiting on the Lord is a very important activity for it causes our character to be purified by the Lord and He builds perseverance in serving Him through those times of waiting on Him.

 

6.                 VS 17:1-5  - “1 Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless. 2 “I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly.” 3 Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, 4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 “No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I will make you the father of a multitude of nations.” -  The Lord again appears to Abraham when he is 99 years old and encourages him to walk blamelessly before him, reminding him of His covenant promise to multiply him exceedingly, then he changes his name from Abram to Abraham

 

6.1.         In verse 1 here we see a new title for the Lord, He calls Himself ‘God Almighty,’ which is “El Shaddai” in the Hebrew.

 

6.2.         Here we see the Lord again appearing to Abram.  This time the Lord speaks to Abraham about being consecrated to the Lord telling him to ‘be blameless.’

 

6.3.         As the Lord is reiterating the promises He made to Abram, He also changes Abram’s name to be ‘Abraham.’  ‘Abram’ meant “exalted father,” and ‘Abraham’ means ‘father of a multitude.’

 

6.4.         The promises to make of Abraham ‘a multitude of nations.’  Twelve nations will come out of Abraham when Jacob’s (Israel’s) sons become the twelve tribes of Israel.

 

7.                 VS 17:6-14  - “6 “I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. 7 “I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. 8 “I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” 9 God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 “This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 “And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 “And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, a servant who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants. 13 “A servant who is born in your house or who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised; thus shall My covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 “But an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”” -  The Lord again promises to give to Abraham and his descendants the land of Canaan, then the Lord tells Abraham that he must circumcise all of the males that come into his houses, including every male child at the age of 8 days old

 

7.1.         The Lord continues to reiterate His covenant promises to Abraham and now He tells Abraham that He will give all of the land of Canaan as ‘an everlasting possession,’ and the Lord promises that He will be the God of Abraham’s descendants.

 

7.2.         The Lord does however require that all of the males in Abraham’s household must be circumcised as part of the covenant promises made to Abraham. 

 

7.3.         The Lord’s choosing of the sign of circumcision as being something that sets His people apart from other peoples is interesting.  Just after having told Abraham that he is to ‘be blameless,’ the Lord tells him that the very male sexual organ itself was to be dedicated to the Lord via the rite of circumcision.  Today, most male babies in the civilized world are circumcised at birth and thus we sort of take circumcision for granted.  However, for Abraham and the males dwelling under his roof circumcision must have been a very intimate reminder of the need to obey the Lord and be holy as He is holy.

 

7.4.         The Lord tells Abraham that the one among his people who is not circumcised shall be put to death.

 

7.5.         Chuck Missler questions how apart from the Lord telling him that Abraham knew to circumcise babies on the 8th day?  He mentions that Vitamin K, a clotting element, is not formed until the 5th to the 7th day after birth and that Prothrombin, which is also necessary for clotting is on 30% of normal on the 3rd day but peeks to 110% on the 8th day, only to level off at 100% of normal after that.  If babies were circumcised before the 8th day it could be fatal to them because their blood won’t yet clot correctly.

 

8.                 VS 17:15-16  - “15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 “I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”” -  The Lord tells Abraham that his wife shall now be called Sarah

 

8.1.         The Lord tells Abraham that ‘Sarai’ shall now be called ‘Sarah.’  ‘Sarai’ means “princess” and ‘Sarah’ means “a noble woman.”  Sarah shall be the mother of kings therefore it is only appropriate that she shall be called more than a “princess” but a royal “nobel woman” who would raise kings.

 

8.2.         The Lord tells Abraham for the first time here that the child from him that shall inherit these promises shall come from Sarah.

 

9.                 VS 17:17-22  - “17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!” 19 But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20 “As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21 “But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.” 22 When He finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.” -  Abraham laughs at the thought that Sarah would would now (1 year from now) have a child for she was 90 years old, then is told that 12 nations shall come out from Ishmael

 

9.1.         When the Lord tells Abraham that Sarah will give birth to the son of inheritance he laughs so hard that it states here that he ‘fell on his face and laughed.’  Since the Lord had first called Abraham to himself life had been interesting and full of surprises, but this was the biggest surprise of all. 

 

9.2.         Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 years old.  They had prayed for children for so many years yet the Lord had now chosen to answer Abraham and Sarah’s prayer in their old age.  Abraham does not laugh in unbelief as Sarah will do in the next chapter when she finds out that she is to bear this child.  Abraham’s laughter just involves the way that the Lord has chosen to bless them and work in their lives.

 

9.2.1.  These verses should give old men and women hope that the Lord hears their prayers and can still do great and mighty works through their lives.

 

9.3.         The Lord tells Abraham that he will be the father of twelve princes and that the Lord will make of him a great nation.

 

9.4.         The Lord tells Abraham that the name of his son shall be ‘Isaac,’ and this name means “laughter,” for Abraham fell on his face laughing when he was told that his wife at the age of 90 would give birth to this son.

 

9.5.         But notice here that the Lord is very specific about whom it is that He will make His covenant with:  ‘But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you.’  The Abrahamic Covenant will not be extended to Ishmael, though the Lord promises to raise up 12 nations from him.

 

9.6.         If the covenant comes through Ishmael (as Islam believes) then the rest of the Bible after this point is in error for the rest of the scripture is the unfolding of God’s covenant to the descendants of Isaac, namely Jacob and his twelve sons, and Jesus Christ who shall descend from the tribe of Judah.

 

10.            VS 17:23-27  - “23 Then Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all the servants who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the very same day, as God had said to him. 24 Now Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 In the very same day Abraham was circumcised, and Ishmael his son. 27 All the men of his household, who were born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.” -  Abraham took all of the males in his household and circumcised them

 

10.1.    In obedience to the Lord and while also trusting God to protect them, Abraham immediately went and circumcised every male among them, including even the servants.

 

10.2.    Abraham is an example of obedience for us today for here for it says that he circumcised all of the males ‘in the very same day.’

 

11.            VS 18:1-8  - “1 Now the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth, 3 and said, “My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by. 4 “Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree; 5 and I will bring a piece of bread, that you may refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have visited your servant.” And they said, “So do, as you have said.” 6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly, prepare three measures of fine flour, knead it and make bread cakes.” 7 Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. 8 He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate.” -  Three men appear to Abraham and he bows before them and asks if he may bring them in and feed them a meal, and then Abraham hurries to prepare them a meal

 

11.1.    The Lord appears again to Abraham not too long after the events of chapter 17, since we see here that the Lord tells Abraham that at the same time next year that Sarah would be giving birth to a son (this was the same timeframe as God’s promise to Abraham in the previous chapter). 

 

11.2.    Abraham immediately recognizes that it is the Lord here when he sees ‘three men…standing opposite him.’  These men appear out of thin air evidently.

 

11.3.    Most likely one of these men is the Lord Jesus Christ in His pre-incarnate state, and the other two are angels. 

 

11.4.    After running to meet the them, Abraham bows before the men and then asks them if he can make a meal for them.  Notice how Abraham hurries and almost runs to prepare this meal.   Abraham’s hurring is further evidence that Abraham knew that it was the Lord who had appeared to him.

 

11.5.    Abraham immediately engages Sarah to begin preparations for this meal.  Sarah cooks up some ‘bread cakes’ while Abraham kills a ‘tender and choice calf’ which he prepares.  At the meal, Abraham presents to the three men ‘curds and milk’ along with the meat and bread.

 

12.            VS 18:9-15  - “9 Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10 He said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. 12 Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” 13 And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’ 14 “Is anything too difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” 15 Sarah denied it however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”” -  The men tell Abraham that at this time next year that Sarah shall give birth to a son, Sarah overhears the conversation and laughs at the thought in her heart, then when the men ask why Sarah laughed at the news, Sarah denies that she laughed, but they tell her that they know better than that

 

12.1.    We see from these verses that Abraham wasn’t the best of communicators.  He hadn’t even told Sarah that the Lord had told him that the child that would be his inheritance would be born of Sarah?!  God had even told Abraham the name of the son they would conceive…  Sometimes men can just be oblivious.

 

12.1.1.We as Christians need to realize that God wants us to act as one with our spouse and this means that we have to learn to communicate with our spouse about everything that is of importance in our life.

 

12.2.    The Lord knows that Sarah is behind the tent and overhearing their conversation, and He only asks were she is so that Abraham can realize that Sarah is hearing Him.  The Lord also wanted Sarah to know that the Lord was aware of her overhearing their conversation.

 

12.3.    Sarah’s laugh here is much different than the laugh that Abraham had when he heard the news from the Lord that Sarah would give birth to a son next year.  Sarah’s laugh was grounded in unbelief.  She really did not believe that what the Lord said was going to take place.  She may not even have had faith at this time that the Lord could do such a thing as cause her at the age of 90 to become pregnant and carry a child to full term.

 

12.4.    The men rhetorically ask Abraham if anything shall be too difficult for the Lord to perform?

 

13.            VS 18:16-33  - “16 Then the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off. 17 The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed? 19 “For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.” 20 And the Lord said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. 21 “I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.” 22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the Lord. 23 Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 “Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 “Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” 26 So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.” 27 And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes. 28 “Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 He spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.” 30 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31 And he said, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.” 32 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.” 33 As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the Lord departed, and Abraham returned to his place.” -  The men tell Abraham of their plans to destroy Sodom, then Abraham asks the men if they will wipe away the righteous along with the wicked, then Abraham seeks to know just how many righteous people would have to live in that city before the Lord would hold off from destroying it

 

13.1.    The Lord has planned to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.  He has decided that if Abraham shall be one of His people that he should be made aware of His plans.  The scriptures reveal to us that God tells His people about His plans and does not leave them in the dark (that is one reason that the Lord has given us prophesy in the scripture, so that we can know His plans for the future) :   

 

13.1.1.Psalm 25:14, “14 The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant.” 

 

13.1.2.Amos 3:7, “7 Surely the Lord God does nothing Unless He reveals His secret counsel To His servants the prophets.” 

 

13.1.3.John 15:15, “15 “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.””

 

13.2.    Abraham is acting as an intercessor before the Lord for the people of Sodom.  He doesn’t want the Lord to destroy the city of Sodom because his nephew Lot and his family live in Sodom.  He is also concerned that there may be other righteous people from those cities who could be destroyed along with the cities. 

 

13.3.    Abraham asks the Lord if He will destroy the city if 50 righteous people are living in it.  The Lord says He will not destroy it if this is the case.  Then, Abraham asks the same question about 45, 40, 30, 20, and finally 10.  Each time the Lord says that He will not destroy the city if that number of righteous people are found in it.

 

13.4.    Do you ever wish that God’s people in the scripture would have asked God some different and more specific kinds of questions in their dialog with the Lord?  I wish Abraham would have asked the Lord if He would always remove all of those who are not His people before He poured out His wrath on the wicked? 

 

13.5.    The next chapter will show us that it was never the Lord’s plan to destroy any righteous along with the wicked, for the angels must first drive righteous Lot and his family out of the city before destroying it.

 

13.6.    The Lord leaves to go check on the city.  We will see that the only righteous people in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are living in Lot’s house.

 

14.            CONCLUSIONS:

 

14.1.     Don’t scheme and try to help God out in order to fulfill His plans and will in your life.

 

14.2.    Recognize that our God is a holy God and make it your goal in life to be holy just as He is holy.  This is what Jesus commanded us as His disciples to do.

 

14.3.    Learn to communicate with your spouses about all of the important things going on in your life and to act as “one flesh” with your spouse.

 

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