Hi ya'll,
Sorry I'm a week behind on my reading. I have some catching up to do. Unfortunately, AF came with a vengeance last week and knocked me outta the loop. Sorry about that. But thanks to all those who continued with the study.
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My thoughts: Genesis Chapter Seventeen: The name change happens in this chapter obviously.
Quote:
from The MacArthur Student Bible KJV
17:5 your name shall be Abraham. The name meant "father of many nations" and reflected Abraham's new relationship to God as well as his new identity based on God's promise of seed. See Rom. 4:17
17:15 Sarai, Sarah. Fittingly, since Sarai ("my princess") would be the ancestress of the promised nations and kings, God changed her name to Sarah ("princess") to take away the limiting personal pronoun "my".
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I found it rather remarkable that Abraham was 99 years old when he was promised a child, and that Sarah was 90! I can understand why Abraham would openly laugh at loud as it seems pretty preposterous, but I don't know that I could've openly laughed at a promise from God! I think this shows too that God does have a sense of humor, as he directed Abraham to name his child by Sarah, Isaac, which means "he laughs".
And so circumcision happens as a sign of Abraham's covenant with God. I had always heard that circumcision was performed for hygienic reasons, but that doesn't seem to be the case from what I've read...
Quote:
from Halley's Bible Handbook
God also instituted circumcision as the symbol of the covenant with Abraham and his descendants, a physical marking of Abraham's male descendants as belonging to God's nation.
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Genesis Chapter Eighteen: It is always such an awesome thought to me when the Bible says God was on the earth. God visited Abraham on his way to Sodom. I'm a bit confused as to when Abraham truly knew it was God. Different versions tend to read differently, but personally I don't think Abraham truly knew until God asked why Sarah had laughed at the thought of having a child at her age, with her old husband. What do ya'll think?
Abraham seems to be standing up to God in the second part of this chapter. I don't think Abraham meant to be disrespectful, and I don't think God saw it that way, but it was pretty brave of Abraham to stand before God and question whether if there were innocence in Sodom, would the whole town be destroyed. I know Abraham was concerned because of the innocence that could exist in such an evil place, but also because his nephew Lot was residing there, and he feared for his safety, I'm sure.
Genesis Chapter Nineteen: It seems Lot and his family were the only decent folk worth saving. The description of the men of Sodom coming to Lot's door, demanding the two angels, and how Lot offered up his two virgin daughters, to me only reinforces the vile nature of these evil people. No wonder God wiped them off the face of the planet. But I can't believe that Lot would offer up his daughters to these men! I know it was a different time but I couldn't imagine offering my children up to truly evil people, who only wished to defile them.
The mercy God shown on Lot and his family was truly a blessing. The images that flashed thru my mind when reading this were indescribable. I can't imagine a "river of lava from God out of the sky" flowing down on the earth! I believe that God is a truly loving God who only wants to love us and have us love him, but there's no doubt in my mind the wrath of God.
I really don't understand the people of these times, I have to admit. Lot's daughter's sleeping with their father for children? They knew what they were doing was wrong as they had to get their father drunk to do it. And there mother wasn't there to stop it, because she was turned to a pillar of salt for turning back and looking at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Sheesh!
Quote:
from Halley's Bible Handbook
The sons born to Lot's daughters (vv. 37 ? 38) began the lineage of the Moabites and Ammonites, who became bitter enemies of Abraham's descendants (1 Samuel 14:47; 2 Chronicles 20:1).
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Genesis Chapter Twenty: So yet again Abraham lies by omission about his wife Sarah, and she is yet again taken by another. And once again God has to fix the situation...
Genesis Chapter Twenty-one: So Sarah finally has a son, as promised by God, in her old age. Abraham was 100! This still astounds me. And, as the covenant demanded, Isaac was circumcised at 8 days old.
Sarah seems a bit angry at the prospect of her maid's son (Abraham's son) Ishmael being an heir as well, and demands that Abraham send Hagar and Ishmael away. Obviously this hurt Abraham, as this was his first son, but God told him to obey his wife, and send the two away.
Quote:
from The MacArthur Student Bible KJV
21:17 God heard the voice of the lad. Desperation turned Ishmael's former scoffing (v. 9) into a cry of anguish, as he feared probable death from thirst (vv. 15,16). God heard his cries, just as He had heard Hagar's cries years before, reminding Hagar of the child's given name ("God hears" see 16:11) and of God's promise made to Abraham about her son (17:20).
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Do any of you understand the relevance of the covenant made between Abraham and Abimelech? Seems to me that Abimelech understands that God is protecting Abraham, and perhaps thinks if he makes a covenant with Abraham, he'll sorta be under that same protection? TIA on that one.
Genesis Chapter Twenty-two: I have often questioned things in the Bible, and this was one chapter that made me question. It ran thru my mind that perhaps it wasn't an angel or God talking to Abraham, demanding he sacrifice his son Isaac, but perhaps it was Satan commanding him to do evil. Then I read the following, which helped me to grasp it better:
Quote:
from Halley's Bible Handbook
Gen 22 : Abraham Offers Isaac It was a test of Abraham's faith. Note that God did not "tempt" him. God does not tempt (James 1:13), but rather tests us to confirm our faith (Exodus 20:20) or prove our commitment to Him (Deuteronomy 8:2). Satan, on the other hand, tempts us (1 Corinthians 7:5) in an attempt to make us fall and to pull us away from the will of God in our lives.
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Genesis Chapter Twenty-three: I found this an interesting note:
Quote:
from The MacAurther Student Bible KJV
23:1,2 Sarah's age - the only woman's age at death recorded in Scripture - suggests both her importance in God's plan and serves as an important reminder that she bore her only son well beyond childbearing age (at 90 years of age, see 17:17), to fulfill God's promise to her and Abraham.
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Genesis Chapter Twenty-four: So, Abraham practically on his deathbed wanted a wife for Isaac. He asked his oldest servant to aid him. My biggest question is why did he have to put his hand under Abraham's thigh??? What is the significance in that gesture?
I found this of interest as well:
Quote:
from Hally?s Bible Handbook
Gen 24 - Betrothal of Isaac and Rebekah Rebekah was Isaac's second cousin. Abraham's purpose in sending his chief servant (probably Eliezer of Damascus; see 15:2) back to his own people for a wife for Isaac was to keep his descendants free from idolatry. If Isaac had married a Canaanite girl, how different the whole history of Israel might have been. What a lesson for young people in the matter of choosing a mate!
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Has anyone else noticed that there are never any wedding ceremonies described? Its simply, he took her into the tent and she became his wife. To me that just reinforces my beliefs about sex and how it should be withheld until you're with the one that you love and are meant to be with, and that is why sex is special to me personally. Sorry if TMI. I wonder when actual wedding ceremonies started taking place...
Genesis Chapter Twenty-five: And so Abraham remarries and has more children! Wow! Finally he passes away and is buried next to his first wife. Everything is given to Isaac, which must've been a source of contention with Ishmael.
Quote:
from Halley's Bible Handbook
8. The Account of Ishmael, Genesis 25:12 ? 18
The eighth document of Genesis. Ishmael was Abraham's son by Hagar, Sarah's Egyptian servant (chap 16). The Ishmaelites made Arabia their home and became known generally as Arabians. Thus Abraham was the father of the present Arab world. Rivalry between Isaac and Ishmael has persisted through the centuries in the antagonism between Jews and Arabs.
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From other things I've read, it seems that even before Esau and Jacob were born, God knew who he intended to pass along the heritage to.
Quote:
from Halley's Bible Handbook
Jacob's deal with Esau secured him the birthright that God all along intended him to have. Esau's transfer of his birthright for a meal demonstrated that he was "godless" (Hebrews 12:16), since at the heart of the birthright were the covenant promises that Isaac had inherited from Abraham. The owner of the birthright, generally the firstborn, also received at least a double portion of the father's wealth at the time of the father's death.
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Sorry for the length of this week! I think most of my ramblings are more for my own benefit then anything else, trying to help me to understand.
SCBSG Week 4 : Genesis 17 - 25 - Destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah - Death of Abraham 
