Genesis 16: Covenant (Interlude with Hagar)

Sarai takes charge 16:1-6
Now, they’d been living in Canaan for ten years [since chapter 12], and they’d been trying and trying to have a baby. Perhaps, as Hamilton notes, they see this not as “we’re going to have a baby!” but rather as “we have to have a baby!” In any case, Sarai gets impatient and comes up with a way around her infertility. Whereas Abram turned to Egypt when the land was infertile, now Sarai would have them turn to Egypt again to get around her own infertility. Sarai intends to give Hagar, a slave they picked up in Egypt, to Abram to be a surrogate for her.

The central verse here is verse 2. Sarai is the impatient one. She comes up with the plan, and tells Abram what to do. Abram acquiesces to his wife uncritically (Genesis 3, anyone?). So, through Egypt he again finds fertility: Hagar conceives. And once again Egypt becomes hostile: Hagar begins to despise Sarai.

Sarai’s response is to hold Abram responsible for her own idea. “May the Lord judge between me and you” is an expression of very clear hostility. (It’s probably up there with “God d*** you!”) He backs down and lets her do whatever she wants to Hagar. So, Sarai mistreats her servant and drives her out.

Sarai’s behavior here is completely inappropriate. Much like Eve, she has a tendency to usurp power in the relationship, which inevitably leads to bad results. And Abram, like Adam, sure doesn’t seem like much of a man here. Circumcision jokes can’t be used for Abram, because he was lacking in the manhood department before being given circumcision. Sorry – I couldn’t resist.

The Lord appears to Hagar 16:7-15
Apparently Hagar was traveling alone to Shur while pregnant. She stops at a well along the way, and the angel of the Lord appears to her. The angel asks her where she came from, and where she’s going. All she can answer is where she came from – she has nowhere to go. The angel tells her to return and submit to her mistress, yet the Lord will give her a blessing much like that of Abram: descendants beyond number. Her son Ishmael will grow to be great in his own right. Let’s not miss the pun in verse 11: “You will name him ‘God hears,’ for the Lord has heard your misery.” Ishmael is called a “wild donkey of a man,” both referring to his hostility (donkeys are stubborn!) and to his wildness (he was an outdoorsman and archer by trade, living away from civilization).

Let’s talk Hagar for a moment, because she is quite special. She’s the first person that the angel of the Lord ever appeared to. What’s more, she’s the only person to ever give God a new name: the Living One Who Sees Me. This is also the only event in the Bible where an encounter between God and a woman leads to a commemorative place name (“Well of the Living One Who Sees Me”).

Hagar is also special because she, not Sarai, is the prototype for Mary. Mary likewise gets pregnant through no fault of her own, and is greatly shamed by the community and her betrothed. The angel of the Lord appears and saves her from the disgrace. Now, I believe in the virgin birth, but no one would have believed her until the angel appeared. Until that time, she was a confused and shamed girl who had no idea where to go or what to do.

OK. End-of-the-show lesson segment. As I say in my notes over Genesis 3: a man should listen to his wife. It’s important to hear her ideas, and even more important to listen to her feelings. However, uncritically letting her take the lead is simply out of the question. Lesson number two: God cares for everyone, even the people that God’s chosen people despise. Even those caught in unspeakable shame with nowhere else to turn. No matter who you are, no matter where you are, God hears your pain.

Genesis 15: Covenant (Part I)

Genesis doesn’t tell us where Abram is at this time. Is he still in the King’s Valley? Back at Hebron? Did he sneak off to his altar between Bethel and Ai? We don’t know. It’s not important. What is important is that the Lord immediately reacts to Abram’s act of faith by appearing to him once again. The Lord tells Abram not to fear – why might he be afraid? Perhaps because Lot didn’t come to his senses and leave Sodom like any sane person would have done after that rescue? Perhaps he fears retribution from the eastern kings he just defeated? We can’t say for sure.

In any case, the Lord is Abram’s Shield and his great Reward. Abram’s response just smacks of depression: “what can you possibly give me, since my chief servant will now be my heir?” (Apparently he is still fixed on making Lot his heir.) The Lord specifies now that it will indeed be an heir from Abram’s own body that will bring forth descendants. The Lord took Abram outside (was He there in Person?) and showed him the stars. Indeed his descendants will be innumerable (second time promised, third if “great nation” counts). We now can say that the middle eastern sky shows about 8,000 stars on a clear night, but that’s an uncountable number.

Abram believed, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Here is the first explicit reference to faith in God’s promises. The Lord begins a formal covenant declaration by stating who He is: “I am the Lord, who brought you out…” Abram now believed in the promise for a son, but now he asks for a guarantee for the land promise. So the Lord instructs him to bring some animals for a covenant. Abram brought these to the Lord’s presence and cut them in two and arranged a path to walk through the halves.

Let me quickly explain how covenants work. Butchering animals is pretty icky, but there’s a good reason for it. When you make a serious covenant, both members go through the path of animal halves. It symbolizes an oath that says, “if I am not faithful to this covenant, then may I be cut in two just as these animals are.” It's especially solemn if you're the one who arranges the animals. And so Abram arranged the halves, and waited until dusk.

Then he fell asleep, and thick darkness surrounded Abram. From his dream, he heard the Lord speak a promise about his descendants going to Egypt, becoming slaves, returning here, and taking the land. The Lord gives the Amorites time to repent, even.
When the sun had set completely, the thick darkness still enshrouded Abram. Not just is he asleep, but even if he did wake up, he’d see nothing. I would say he is in a semi-lucid state, like where you’re asleep but you still hear and feel what’s happening around you. So, the Lord appears in the form of a blazing flame and passes through the pieces. In his dream, Abram feels the heat on his face, and hears the Lord again: “to your descendants I give this land…” God gave the land from the Wadi el-Arish to the Euphrates, two very major rivers. Even though separate peoples possess it now, it will be given to his descendants.

I want to tell you why this section makes me shake and even cry. To pass through the halves is to say “if I break my covenant vow, may I be cut in two likewise.” The Lord passed through the halves in the form of flame, and when Abram awake, the halves were charred; he could not put himself under the same damning oath. Oh, what grace, that God would spare Abram in advance for any unfaithfulness! That the Lord would put Himself under such an oath out of His great love for us!!! It’s amazing. So amazing.

Genesis 14: The Empire Strikes Back

The Conquest 14:1-12
Kederlaomer, king of Elam, has three allies that he goes to campaign with one spring. Now, he had five vassals who had been his subjects for twelve years. In the thirteenth year, they refused to pay tribute and gathered together in rebellion against him while he was away at war. As his troops came back that fall from an extremely successful year, the rebel alliance (which included Sodom and Gomorrah) ambushed them in a valley. Their hope was to catch their former master and his troops battle-weary on their march home. This hope was dashed to pieces, and the rebels were utterly routed. Kederlaomer even launched a counter-offensive to take the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and he plundered the cities completely – taking also Abram’s nephew Lot.

The Rescue 14:13-16
One of those who escaped must have known Lot, and Lot must have told of his uncle Abram. The fugitive finds Abram in Hebron and tells the whole spiel. Abram immediately moves out with all 318 trained fighting men in his household to rescue Lot. Even with such a small force, he pursues over a hundred miles and routs the four great kings. He’s confident enough to even divide his forces into smaller units to “surround” the much larger army. As is the case when Hebrews fight, it is God’s faithfulness that empowers them to victory (“those who curse you, I will curse”). And so, Abram and his Amorite allies rescue Lot and they come to the King’s Valley, near Jerusalem.

Politics, politics, politics 14:17-24
Now, the king of Sodom comes out to meet Abram. Then Melchizedek, the king of Salem (Jerusalem) comes out to bring Abram a simple meal in thanks of what he’s done. Melchizedek gives an honest gesture of friendship and hospitality. You see, he was a priest-king in the service of God Most High. What is interesting is that he probably attained his position as a high priest of the Canaanite god, who also has the title “god most high.” Yet at some point, he came to know the real God, because Abram acknowledges his blessing and gives a tithe to God through Melchizedek. Abram recognizes completely that it is God who gave him victory that day, and openly declares his faith and thankfulness with that tithe.

The king of Sodom, who had been passive through this entire affair, speaks up. “Of course, you’ll give me back my people, but keep all the goods for yourself.” If Abram took this offer, then he’d certainly be richer. However, it would put him in Sodom’s debt, in effect making him a vassal just like Sodom was to Kederlaomer. Here we see the first example of Sodomite hospitality – it comes with strings attached. They were a people who had no problem inflicting the same wrongs on others that they had suffered for twelve years.

Yet, Abram refuses this get-rich-quick scheme and takes nothing for himself, other than the meal for him and his men (offered by Melchizedek and not Sodom), though he will accept the shares for his Amorite allies. Whereas the last chapter has Abram making peace amid family strife, here he does “become a blessing to the nations” by solving international strife.

In this chapter, Abram shows great courage and devotion to his family. Abram acknowledges that God grants victory, and he proclaims faith in God, because God is faithful to him. Also worth noting is that Abram is not moved by greed for material gain. He wants to point not to his own wealth, but to God. He wants for everyone to say “God made Abram rich.”

What the king of Sodom tried to pull is much like the “rent-to-own” scheme people fall for, where you pay two to four times the price of an item over a long period of time. We could also liken it to the misuse of credit cards. Interest piles up, and you eventually become enslaved as a debtor. Abram refused to fall for that. Financial schemes are a true snare. We must be wary and remember that God will provide our needs – maybe not all our wants and desires, but all our needs will certainly be met.

Genesis 13: Separation Anxiety

The Return 13:1-4
This chapter opens by repeating the end of chapter 12: Abram went up from Egypt with everything he had. This is extremely important. Verse two spells it out more clearly that he had become wealthy because of the time in Egypt. Most people who end up tricking and embarrassing a king, end up leaving the king’s throne room empty-handed and beheaded. Not just did Abram survive, but he actually prospered through this time in Egypt. Yes, he was exiled in shame, but he came out better for it.

It’s not that God condoned his trickery. God’s didn’t approve of Abram’s actions, and that goes without saying. God blessed Abram not as a nod of approval but because of God’s faithfulness. Abram realized this, so he went back to where he built an altar between Bethel and Ai and worshiped God in thanksgiving. It also allowed him to renew his commitment to the Lord and remember who he is.

The Separation 13:5-13
The herdsmen of Lot and the herdsmen of Abram get into some petty squabbles. Really, the plains were big enough for both of them, but because of greed, Lot and his herdsmen felt that there actually wasn’t enough space. Lot demanded an area for himself. Verse 6 shows how Lot perceived the situation: “there’s only room for one sheriff in this town.” Sadly, they break into an argument even though they are surrounded by not-so-friendly Canaanites and Perizzites. Being surrounded by enemies is a terrible time for people to fight among themselves, but that’s what’s going on here.

But because of the famine incident, Abram has renewed his faith in God’s ability to provide for him. Abram takes the initiative in settling the dispute. He comes to Lot and, surprisingly, gives Lot the first choice of which land to take. Since Abram his older, custom would allow him first choice, but he chose humility and peace-making over custom here. Lot, on the other hand, acted on greed. Seeing the fertile plain around the Jordan river, he took this area completely for himself. He didn’t take into account the wickedness of Sodom, and even pitched his tents near them. Here, Lot has clearly chosen wealth over family, honor, and virtue.

The Lord Appears 13:14-18
Abram acted in faith that God would provide for him, even if the more fertile places were chosen by Lot. Surely he even expected it. The Lord was watching, though, and He appeared to Abram because He was pleased with this act of faith. Whereas Lot looked at the land in selfish greed (v 10), Abram looked as God commanded and was blessed.

The Lord reaffirms the land promise (the third time He has said this) and even reaffirms the promise for innumerable descendants. This is noteworthy. Abram at this point probably thought that God was going to give Abram descendants through his adopted son, Lot. Remember, Lot’s father Haran died earlier. So, Abram is basically Lot’s godfather. And yet, Abram let Lot separate, which might put that promise of descendants (through Lot) in jeopardy. The Lord thus showed Abram that Lot’s separation will not threaten either of those promises. Finally, God tells Abram to move around and inspect all the land God is giving to him. So Abram goes to Mamre and builds an altar there, then calls on the Lord again in thanksgiving and praise.

As a geography side note, Mamre is a city named after Mamre the Amorite, whom Abram allies with (see 14:13). Hebron itself means “union,” so it’s fitting that Abram would move here and then make these allies. Hebron is also called Kiriath Arba, which means “town of Arba.” It’s named after Arba, who was a great leader of the tribe of Anakites (Joshua 14:15). However, this name is a pun because it also means “town of four,” and in Joshua 15:13-14 it says that Caleb drove out Anak and his three sons (total of four opponents). These two towns are clustered close together,and Abraham holds this place very dear to his heart. He builds an altar here, allies here with Mamre, Aner, and Eschol, and this is also where Sarah dies.

Let’s remember how Abram handled the dispute with Lot. Being surrounded by hostile foes makes a very poor time to fight among your own family, yet it’s what we Christians do. If we don’t present a united front as even a small group, then how are we going to stand? Christianity is a religion of togetherness. We either stand together, or we fall together. Just as the Lord is one (Deut 6:4), let us be one also.

The lessons in this chapter are wonderful: humility and initiative are important in settling disputes. Don’t let pride, greed, or your “rights” (like Abe’s right to first choice) get in your way of making peace with family. Trust that no matter what obstacles arise, God will still provide for you. And, once again, worship God and thank Him for His goodness!