Grace Institute: Genesis: Genesis 18-25: Isaac

Isaac Genesis 18-25 February 24, 2008

The Clan of Abraham (Chapters 13-14, 19)

The Division with Lot (13:1-19)

Abram had brought his nephew Lot with him to Canaan . They lived together as they sojourned in the land of Canaan . But there came a point where their flocks together were to great and they could not remain together. Abram gave Lot the choice of where he would settle. Lot chose the Jordan River valley. This was a well irrigated land which was fertile and would support Lot 's flocks well. However, this was also, we find, the location of the city of Sodom , whose sin and judgment would eventually cost Lot his fortune.

Abram was left with the less fertile Judean highlands. But because of Abram's great generosity and courtesy, God affirms that all the land, including that of Lot would eventually belong to his descendents (13:14-15). Yet for now, Abram would remain a nomad in this land (13:18).

Moses is again repeating the extent of the land which was given to Abraham by God. As the Israelites are about to enter the land, it is important for them to know the geography of that territory which God had promised to them.

The Danger for Lot (14:1-24)

At that time, King Chedorlaomer of Elam , a land east of Babylon , invaded the land of Canaan . He ruled over the land for nearly 13 years, when the kings of Sodom , Gomorroah, and others rebelled. Chedorlaomer squelched the rebellion and took many captives, including Abram's nephew Lot . Abram gathered 300 of his servants and pursued Chedorlaomer's army and raided their camp by night, recovering Lot , other captives, and great amount of booty.

Abram gave away the booty, first with a tithe to Melchizedek the king of Salem , and priest of God. Then he gave the rest to the King of Sodom so that it could not be said that the King had made him rich. In both acts, Abram is communicating to those around him that all his possessions are a gift from God and were not given to him by others.

Moses is setting a precedent for taking of booty for their own greed. Repeatedly in the book of Joshua, God instructs the Israelites to destroy everything, including the cattle and goods. They were to take no booty in their conquering.

The Disaster around Lot (18:14-19:29)

Lot had taken up residence in Sodom , a city renown for its great sin. Sodom had finally reached a point where they were so evil, that God had to bring down his judgment. In chapter 18 God warns Abraham that he will need to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah .

This is of great concern for Abram, for that is where his nephew lives. So Abram begins a negotiation with God, appealing to God's great mercy. He asks, would God really destroy the city if there were 50 righteous men? No, not if there were 50, responds God. How about if there were 30? How about 20, or 10? God responds, no, if there were 10 righteous persons found, the city would be spared. However, there were not 10 righteous people in Sodom . It appears there was only one: Lot . So God would destroy the city, but would rescue Lot beforehand.

God sends two angels to rescue Lot before judgment falls. In their visit we see the depths of the depravity of the Sodomites. All the men of the city surround the house of Lot demanding that Lot release the angels so they can gang-rape them. The situation is about to become violent when then angles confuse and blind the riotous mob and escort Lot and his family from the city.

In the midst of this, Lot attempts to mollify the mob by offering his daughters to be raped rather than the men. Why would Lot offer such a horrible thing for his daughters? First, it should be noted that Lot did not actually give up his daughters, and may have been using this as a delay tactic. Secondly, this emphasizes the great importance on hospitality. We see glimpses of this in Abraham's generosity and hospitality to his three visitors in chapter 18. Furthermore, in middle eastern culture, a guest of your house was under the protection of that house.

The Mosaic Law repeatedly emphasizes the importance of treating foreigners in the land with hospitality and with respect. These narratives might be serving as an example to Israel as to the great hospitality their ancestors showed to foreigners.

The Descendents of Lot (19:30-38)

While Lot escaped with his life, he had lost his fortune in the destruction of Sodom . Now Lot lived in the mountains, in a cave (19:30). Lot's daughters, who had obviously been tainted by the perversity of Sodom , feared that they die childless. So they got Lot drunk and had incestuous relations with their father. The descendents of the resulting offspring became the nations of Moab and Ammon.

Israel would have many interactions with these two nations, and Moses inclusion of this story sets the background for those interactions. Most specifically, Israel would be commanded not to conquer these nations, in deference to the righteousness of their ancestor Lot and due to the close familial ties to these nations.

The Crisis of Abraham (Chapters 16-20)

The Beauty of Sarah (12:10-20, 20:1-28)

On two occasions famine caused Abraham to seek food; once to Egypt and once to the Philistines. On both these occasions, Abraham feared that the kings of those lands would see the beauty of Sarah, kill Abraham, and then take her for their harems. This was a common practice in middle eastern culture, but somewhat remarkable given that Sarah was 65 when in Egypt and over 90 in Philistia . It points to the remarkable beauty that Sarah must have possessed.

Abraham tries to pass Sarah off as his sister (which is partially true—she is his half-sister- Gen. 20:2), and offers her to the harem to avoid his own death. This does not please God. But God must also protect the womb of Sarah, for it is through she and Abraham that the seed will be passed. So he brings plagues to Egypt and closes the wombs of all the women in the Negev as a warning. Abraham's deception is discovered and they move away from those lands, but not without being given blessings and possessions by the kings. This is further proof of the unconditional nature of the covenant.

The parallel of going to Egypt to avoid famine, the plagues, and then the exit from Egypt should not be missed, for this was clearly important to Moses readership. Likewise, God's protection, even in the midst of Abraham's failures speaks to God's mercy.

The Barrenness of Sarah (16:1-16, 21:1-21)

The Birth of Ishmael

Of greater crisis to Abraham was Sarah's barrenness. How could God make Abraham the father of a great nation when his wife could not bear children? Ten years after arriving Canaan , Sarah offered a solution to this dilemma in a manner which would have been very common in that culture (see Genesis 30:3). She would give her handmaiden, Hagar, as a wife to Abram. This was successful, for Hagar conceived and produced Abram's first born, Ishmael.

This was not God's plan for fulfilling the promises of the covenant (Genesis 17:15-19). This was Sarah and Abraham's attempt to assist God in fulfilling his promise. After 10 years, surely God needed this help. Abraham's faith had its moments of doubt. Further, while God had promised Abraham that he would make his name great, even Abraham would at times struggle with pride and desire to make his name great by himself.

While Ishmael is indeed the first born, and Abraham's choice for bearing the seed (Genesis 17:18), God would not choose Ishmael to carry the Messianic line. Nonetheless, because God's promise to Abraham is unconditional and eternal, even Ishmael would benefit from the covenant of his father, for he too would become the father of a great nation. Furthermore, Sarah would not be allowed to reject Ishmael and his mother. And so Ishmael remained part of the family all the way up to the birth of Isaac.

The Birth of Isaac

Abraham does not seem to believe that he would have any other heir than Ishmael. And it was not for 13 year that God finally speaks to him and tells him that Sarah would be the mother of the seed through which the covenant would be fulfilled. At this point Ishmael is 14 years old, Sarah 90 and Abraham 125. The unbelievablilty of this event caused Abraham to laugh (17:17) and Sarah to laugh as well (18:12). So when the child is born, he is named Isaac, which means laughter.

After the birth of Isaac, relations between Hagar and Sarah soured. So she demanded that Abraham send Ishmael and his mother away. This distressed Abraham, for he seemed to have a great love for Ishmael, and still perhaps saw him as his primary heir. It was not until God intervened and reminded Abraham that Isaac was the heir and he promised to protect and prosper Ishmael that Abraham sent him away.

The Character of Abraham (Chapters 21-23)

The Sacrifice of Isaac (22:1-24)

Abraham now accepts and understands that Isaac is the son through whom the covenant would be fulfilled. So imagine the shock when God asks Abraham to take his son to Mount Moriah and kill his son as a sacrifice. This would serve as Abraham's greatest test of faith and establishes him as the father of all who are saved by faith.

It is significant that the sacrifice of Isaac took place on Mount Moriah . This is the temple mount (2 Chronicles 3:1), where the Solomon's temple would be built nearly a millennium later. It is the future location of Jerusalem , the city were Jesus would be crucified.

Why was Abraham willing to sacrifice his son? Because he had such confidence in the promise of God that the covenant would be fulfilled through Isaac. As they approach the location of the sacrifice, Abraham leaves his servants behind and tells them “I and the lad will go over there and we will worship and return to you.” Abraham fully expected that Isaac would return. For indeed, if God wanted him to kill Isaac, and Isaac was also the heir chosen by God, then the only solution left was that God would raise Isaac back from the dead.

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac… offering up his only begotten son…. He considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead, from which he received him back as a type. (Hebrews  11:17, 19)

This event, then serves as a “type” of Christ. Jesus is the descendent through whom the Abrahamic covenant would find its final fulfillment. Jesus also an only begotten son sacrificed by his Father, knowing that he would be raised from the dead. In fact, it is this final sacrifice and resurrection which would serve as the actual fulfillment of the covenant.

Of course, God does not demand Isaac's life, but instead “God will provide for Himself the lamb.” Because of Abraham's faith, God reiterates the provisions of the covenant.

God provides that lamb. A sacrifice requires that it cost the one performing the sacrifice. Yet, here the sacrifice is provided by God by his grace. The same is true of the lamb of God. In the Mosaic covenant, the atonement for sin was made through the sacrifice of a cow, sheep or goat owned by the one seeking forgiveness. But none of those sacrifices is sufficient for the remission of sins. So, God ultimately provides he lamb, His own Son, Jesus, whose sacrifice is sufficient for the remission of sins. The sacrifice of Jesus is not a sacrifice we make, but a sacrifice God makes on our behalf. It reaffirms that our salvation is a result of anything we do. God provides everything we need to be saved.

The Death of Sarah (23:1-20)

Abraham and his family never established a permanent home in Canaan . They were sojourners and aliens in the land. The only land Abraham possesses in the promised land is a tomb he purchases to bury his wife Sarah. The purchase of the tomb, therefore, is in itself and act of faith. Here Abraham would bury his wife and would himself be buried, as a testament to the fact that this would be the land which God would give to his descendents.

The Children of Abraham (Chapters 24-26)

The Bride of Isaac (24:1-67)

After the death of Sarah, the focus shifts to Abraham's children. It was important to Abraham that Isaac's wife be from his family back in Mesopotamia . His other son, Ishmael had taken a wife from the Egyptians. But for this son, the purity of the family line would be important, for this is whom the promised seed would come.

So Abraham sends an unnamed servant to find Isaac a wife. While the servant was charged with finding the wife, the narrative makes it clear it is God who provided the wife (24:27). While we know little about this servant, we are aware that he has great faith in God, and relies on God to direct him. Following God's direction, he finds Rebekah, Isaac's cousin and the daughter of Nahor, Abraham's brother. Interestingly, it is not Nahor who negotiates for his daughter's hand in marriage, but her brother Laban, a man who will play a big role in the narrative of Jacob.

Moses' emphasis on finding a bride from within the family has great relevance to his readers. The Mosaic Law has strict restrictions on marrying outside the nation. Every time we see intermarriage in Israel , it leads to apostasy. Moses is setting up the example of Isaac as one which all of Israel needs to follow. This is again emphasized in the contrast of the marriage of Ishmael and later Esau (26:34-35).

The Descendents & Death of Abraham (25:1-11)

After the death of Sarah we learn that Abraham remarried and had several more children. But just as with Ishmael, all of these sons would be given gifts and then sent away from Isaac. We know little of these descendents, although some show up again, such as the sons of Midian. But the primary focus of the narrative remains on Isaac.

Abraham finally dies at the “ripe old age” of 175, and is buried next to Sarah in the only land in Canaan which he can call is own.

The Descendents of Ishmael (25:12-18)

Moses outlines the descendents of Ishmael as well. As has become a pattern for the book, the descendents of those for whom the seed will not follow comes first, providing for us a contrast to the Messianic line. This spur off the seed of Eve provide a fuller context for the nations into which Israel found itself.

Ishmael's line becomes the Arab nation, and in a commentary that appears strangely contemporary, “they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.”

The Deeds of Isaac (26:1-34)

What's notable about Isaac is that there is nothing notable about him. All the details of Isaac's life sound as if they are merely a recounting of incidents encountered by his father. Isaac seems to be merely going through the motions without having much personal conviction.

•  The Sins of His Father (26:1-11): Just as Abraham tries to pass off Sarah as his sister to avoid trouble with Abimelech, so Isaac tries to pass off Rebekah. Like Isaac, this strangely results in a blessing for Isaac, as he is blessed materially by God.

•  The Quarrel of His Father (26:26-33): Just as Abraham had to settle a quarrel with Abimelech regarding water rights with a covenant, so also Isaac has water right issues with Abimelech.

•  The Covenant of His Father (26:12-25): However, Isaac demonstrates some faith in God by moving to another part of the land and trusting that God will allow them to flourish (26:22). God rewards this faith by reiterating the Abrahamic covenant to Isaac, assuring him of his place as a patriarch in the Messianic line. Isaac responds by worshipping God and calling upon the name of the Lord. Finally this is His own faith, not just that of His father Abraham.