The Well: January 13-17

The Well: January 13-17

January 13: Genesis 17, 18

Throughout Abram’s life the covenant promise of God had seemed distant and impossible. Now Moses reminds us of yet another impossibility: Abram was ninety-nine years old! Yet, God declared that he would father a son through whom the promise would become reality.

God then commanded Abraham to circumcise his sons. This was the sign of the covenant between God and Abraham’s lineage. While there are many theories regarding this custom, it seems best to recognize that the purpose of God’s covenant was to establish a people from whom the “He” – the Messiah – would eventually arise. This Messiah would be the rescuer of the faithful, delivering them from the brokenness and corruption of sin. The sign of circumcision, specifically a “cutting away” of the flesh was to be an ongoing sign to Abraham’s physical descendants that this rescue would never be accomplished through human means.

The following chapter seems to follow on without much interruption in the story. For the first time we are told that the Lord takes on human form. It is necessary to note that God, being omnipresent and invisible nevertheless allows himself to be experienced as visibly present in the Old Testament in two different ways. When the presence of God is described as smoke, wind, or fire it is an appearance of God the Spirit. However, when God is described in human form it is a pre-incarnate appearance of God the Son. Such an appearance is described in chapter 18.

The Lord’s visit to the tent of Abraham brought shocking news. In a year Sarah would bear a son. This seeming impossibility made Sarah laugh, but also serves to remind us that God will not share his glory with anyone, and often works in ways that offer no other option.

The chapter ends with the story turning back to Lot who by now has become a resident of Sodom. In a fascinating dialogue with Abraham, God treats his covenant partner with honor, listening as he pleads for the righteous in Sodom. But, as we will see, there was only one righteous person in the city.  God knew this, and his seeming negotiation with Abraham was for the purpose of getting Abraham to realize the utter wickedness of Sodom.

Prayer: Father, forgive me for being too much like Sarah, and thinking that what you have promised me is impossible. Help me to grow in faith, to trust in you today to lead me in the paths of righteousness, for your Name’s sake, through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.

January 14: Genesis 19,20

The two angels that accompanied the Lord on his visit to Abraham now continue on to Sodom. Once again we are faced with a story that combines judgment and mercy. The story of Lot’s family and Sodom reminds us of the story of Noah’s family and the flood.

Sodom was a place of great wickedness exemplified by the blatant homosexuality that plays such a prominent role in the chapter. The men of the city demand Lot send his visitors out so they can engage in sexual relations with them. (Note the use of “know” in vs. 5-8 means an intimate relationship and not merely “knowing about”).

Like the people of Noah’s day the whole city is engulfed in wickedness in which they engage greedily. It is also clear from Lot’s actions and great hesitancy to escape that he is not much better than his neighbors. God’s judgment will fall on the city and this will be just. But God also desires to show mercy, and Lot and his family become the undeserved recipients of his rescuing grace.

And, just like the story of Noah, after Lot’s rescue sin still plays a part in his family, and through his own daughters two prominent nations – the Moabites and the Ammonites – come into being. The parallels here with Genesis 9, 10 are purposeful in that they once again show God’s sovereignty over people and nations.

Chapter 20 takes up the story of Abraham. He has been visited by the Lord, and heard

that Sarah will bear a son. Yet, he leaves the land of promise and travels south to dwell in the kingdom of Gerar. There is enough in this chapter to indicate that Moses intends us to see in Abraham’s life a parallel to the life of Lot. Both took up residence in pagan territory, fell into sin, and needed to be rescued by God.

As readers we are shocked at Abraham’s deceitfulness and lack of trust. Hadn’t he just visited with the Lord? Yet, he took his wife into foreign territory and put the promised line at great risk. The king of Gerar took Sarah into his house as a wife bringing crises into the story. Would the promise of God concerning a son from Abraham be derailed through Abraham’s impetuous action?

As was the case with Noah and Lot, we now see God as Abraham’s rescuer. He delivers Sarah from the king’s home, and even sees to it that Abraham is loaded down with wealth for his return back north to the land God had promised him. Again we see that God will rescue those who are not able to rescue themselves, and he does so for the purpose of his plan, and his glory.

Prayer: Father, I am humbled at your power, your wisdom, and the glory of your great plan for my life. Thank you for rescuing me from my bondage to sin, and the foolishness of pursuing life on my own. Help me to see my life through the lens of your glory today, so that I might reflect your grace and goodness before a watching world. In the Name of Jesus my Lord, Amen

January 15: Genesis 21,22

These two chapters center on the birth and sacrifice of Isaac, the promised son. The birth of Isaac happens, just as God had promised. It is certain that the birth was a huge milestone in the growth of Abraham’s faith and trust in God. God’s faithfulness had now taken the form of a healthy baby boy.

Yet, Isaac’s entrance into the world was not all laughter and joy. Sarah how had a son, and she no longer felt compelled to keep Hagar and Ishmael in the family. They could now be pushed aside.

God also has a plan for Hagar and Ishmael, and demonstrates his sovereignty once again in a “rescue – nation” paradigm. Noah (chpts. 9, 10), Lot ( chpt. 19) and now Hagar are all first rescued, and then seen to be the progenitors of a new nation. Through Ishmael God brought about the Arab peoples.

The chapter ends with a story that shows how Abraham had prospered and grown to be the head of a mighty clan. The treaty with Abimelech now depicts Abraham as equal to the king. Already we are seeing God’s promise of a nation becoming a reality.

The birth of Isaac is followed immediately by the call of God to sacrifice him. From the beginning of the chapter we know that God is only testing Abraham. Yet, the command would have been very real to him given that child sacrifice was a common religious ritual among the pagan clans of Abraham’s world.

Abraham obeyed God’s command, gathered up necessary supplies, and along with his son, set off for Moriah. There is good evidence that Mt. Moriah is the same site where a later Jebusite city would be conquered by David to become Jerusalem. If this is true, then the sacrifice of Isaac would take place where the Temple would later be built, and the same location as the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. God really has a way with details!

The sacrifice of Isaac brings out two important truths. First, Abraham passed the test. From this point on we see him as a champion of faith in God. He has earned the right to be called the Father of the faithful. Second, we see the first clues that will eventually lead us to understand the nature of “substitution” in the redemptive plan. God will provide a substitute Lamb through whom the sins of the world will be covered (John 1:29). 

Prayer: Gracious God, you alone have the wisdom to oversee history, to move the hearts of people, and bring about your plan perfectly and right on time. Father, help me wait patiently for you today. Open my eyes to see that you are infinitely faithful, that I can trust you, laying all of my anxieties at your feet, for I know you care for me, through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.

January 16: Genesis 23, 24

In chapter 23 we read what at first glance appears to be a small detail in the story of Abraham. Sarah has died, and a burial place is needed. Though Abraham is very wealthy and the head of a large and powerful clan, the reality is that he does not own a single piece of land. While the land has been promised, none of it has been possessed.

Ephron the Hittite offers to give him the cave of Machpelah (the only Scotsman in the Bible?) as a burial site. But Abraham insists on buying the land, perhaps in order not to be indebted to a foreigner. Eventually Abraham buys the land and buries his wife. The story is significant simply because Abraham is soon to die as well, and it will turn out that this small piece of Canaan will be the only part he will every own.

One of the greatest responsibilities of fatherhood in those days was to find a wife for his son. For the first time we see Abraham, the representative of God’s promised line (the seed of the woman from Genesis 3:15) recognizing the grave dangers of intermarriage. The intermarriage in Genesis 6 had been one reason for the encroachment of wickedness on the earth. Now Abraham determines that Isaac will not marry a wife from the surrounding clans. He will find a wife from among his own people, and sends a servant off on a specific mission.

That intermarriage was not to be the way of God’s promised line is underscored in the way this chapter develops. Abraham’s charge to the servant (vs. 3ff and vs. 37ff) sets the tone. Under no circumstances was he to take a wife from among the Canaanites. The faithfulness of the servant is actually seen to be dependent on the faithfulness of God. The servant is clear: God has led me here, and God has chosen Rebekah.

The length and repetitive nature of the story is meant to make a clear point: Marriage is very important in God’s mind, and intermarriage with those outside the covenant of God is not to be considered. As we will see, Israel consistently disregarded this truth, and intermarriage brought idolatrous practices into the covenant community, bringing about discipline from God.

Prayer: Great God, I acknowledge today that you always know what is best for me. Lord, as today lays out before me, help me to make the most of it, pursuing excellence in all I do. And let my words be seasoned with grace, and my heart ready to forgive,

as you have forgiven me through Jesus Christ, Amen.

January 17: Genesis 25, 26

With Abraham’s death, the story of God’s promise to bring about the “he” travels on through Isaac to his sons Jacob and Esau. Isaac holds a transitional position in the story, and his life is only mentioned in connection to his much more famous son Jacob.

The birth of Jacob and Esau again demonstrates God’s sovereignty. First, like Sarah before her, Rebekah is barren. For her to bear a child God must intentionally step in. Second, the sovereignty of God is seen is the fact that, even before the twins are born, God lets Rebekah know that two nations will spring from her two sons (Edom from Esau, and Israel from Jacob), and that the younger of the sons (Jacob) will be preeminent. Though Isaac will seek to undo this divine order, God’s plan will prevail.

The two sons couldn’t be more different. Esau was an outdoor man, a hunter, a man’s man. Jacob was a domestic man, preferring to live the quiet life.

From the start Moses sets the readers up for the eventual treachery to be played out in the family through which Jacob eclipses Esau as leader of the clan. We see here that Esau places no value on his covenant position as firstborn. He “despised” his birthright and the responsibility of clan leadership that came with it.

Chapter 26 describes the life of Isaac as an adult. We do see that the promises God made to Abraham are re-iterated to Isaac. God is faithful.

Little is said about Isaac, but this episode shows that he, like his father, was in need of God’s mercy and rescue. In an event paralleling Abraham’s deceit (chapter 20) he lies about his wife and once again, the promised line is put at risk in the house of a pagan king. Once again the Lord intervenes, rescues Isaac and Rebekah, and blesses them with great wealth.

Like his father, Isaac digs a well, and enters into a treaty with the neighboring clans. The parallels are meant to show that God’s promises to Abraham have now passed to Isaac. He is with Isaac, and will bless Isaac, despite his sinful ways. This shows us that God’s promise to Isaac is based on God’s own desires to fulfill his plan, and not on Isaac’s worthiness.

For the second time (see: 25:29ff) Moses wants the readers to understand just how bad Esau really is. The last verses in chapter 26 describe how he intermarried with local Hittite women, making life “bitter” for Isaac and Rebekah. Intermarriage rears its ugly head and we are meant to see it as evidence of Esau’s complete disregard for the covenant promises of God.

Prayer:  Almighty God, thank you for your Word. Thank you for preserving it so that we can know your heart and mind and follow your ways. Help me to live this day for you, trusting your truth, and walking in your love, for Jesus sake, Amen.