Bible Study - Walking in Confidence (5) - Confidence After We Fall - Genesis 16:1-5, 17:1-9 - November 14, 2021

 

Bible Study – Walking in Confidence (5) – Confidence After We Fall – November 14, 2021

This is lesson five (5) in our series entitled, “Walking in Confidence.”

Our focus scripture is Genesis 16:1-5; 17:1-9.

Trust GOD to redeem your failures.

In last week’s study we ended with GOD cutting a covenant with Abram. GOD instructed Abram in Genesis 15:7-13:

⁷ He also said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”

⁸ But he said, “Lord God, how can I know that I will possess it?”

⁹ He said to him, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”

¹⁰ So he brought all these to him, cut them in half, and laid the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut the birds in half. ¹¹ Birds of prey (Could be Satan) came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. ¹² As the sun was setting, a deep sleep came over Abram, and suddenly great terror and darkness descended on him.

¹³ Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know this for certain: Your offspring will be resident aliens for four hundred years in a land that does not belong to them and will be enslaved and ------

We circle back to last week’s scripture to review the promise GOD made to Abram and the eternal covenant GOD made with Abram.

As stated in last week’s study, the three-year old animals could be a foreshadow of the coming of JESUS Who will complete the covenant GOD made with Abram and his descendants, the Jews, and those who will become Jews by proxy, people of faith. That is those who will place their faith in JESUS after HIS passion. The number three carries the idea of the resurrection of JESUS from death and the grave.  In essence, when a person accepts JESUS as his or her Savior, by faith, he or she, comes under the covenant between Abram and GOD. Since the physical birth of JESUS, HIS physical sinless life, HIS physical death, HIS physical resurrection of JESUS from the physically dead by GOD, JESUS completed the covenant GOD cut with Abram. JESUS fulfilled the covenant which began by GOD and permanently defeated Satan by giving new life to that which was dead and without hope.

The animals were cut in half and GOD walked between them. Abram did not because he was asleep. The covenant was not complete. It was a foreshadow of the moment that the covenant would be made complete when the perfect sacrifice would be willingly made by GOD’S only SON, JESUS, Who would reconcile the Old Testament Law with the new covenant of Grace completed by the shed blood of JESUS and confirmed by the resurrection of JESUS. 

GOD built HIS redemptive plan upon the physical nature of salvation by faith and then completed it with the miracle of Spiritual rebirth through faith in JESUS.

GOD chose Abram to build HIS redemptive plan based upon faith as expressed in Genesis 15:6 - ⁶ Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. Faith was a place holder until the perfect sacrifice could be made by the sinless, physical life of JESUS.

JESUS gave HIS sinless life to fulfill the penalty for sin, which is eternal death. By doing so, HE opened the path between GOD and mankind. The way is open but each person, regardless of national orgin, must either accept or reject JESUS as his or her Savior, believing that HE paid the penalty for his or her sin, in full.

The instant a person accepts JESUS as his or her Savior, his or her physical body is cleansed by the shed blood of JESUS and is made righteous. This step is vital because it sanctifies the believer’s human body and renders it pure and Holy to be occupied by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enters the physical body of the person receiving JESUS as his or her Savior and a miracle takes place. The human spirit of the person receiving JESUS as his or her Savior is Spiritually conceived. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit is the Divine Sperm of GOD, thus when the Divine Sperm unites with the human spirit, conception takes place in an instant. That is what Spiritual birth is all about and once a person is Spiritually born into GOD’S Family, he nor she can never be Spiritually unborn.  Now that is Good News.

Let’s continue to look over the shoulder of Abram as he struggles with what GOD has promised him. How often do we get tired of waiting on GOD and take matters into our own hands? When we do, we learn lessons but what it teaches us is magnificent and one that most us do not desire to repeat. It gets our attention.

Let’s explore!

Let’s read Genesis 16:1-5:

16 Abram’s wife, Sarai, had not borne any children for him, but she owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar. ² Sarai said to Abram, “Since the Lord has prevented me from bearing children, go to my slave; perhaps through her I can build a family.” And Abram agreed to what Sarai said. ³ So Abram’s wife, Sarai, took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and gave her to her husband, Abram, as a wife for him. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan ten years. ⁴ He slept with^[a] Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she saw that she was pregnant, her mistress became contemptible to her. ⁵ Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for my suffering!^[b] I put my slave in your arms,^[c] and when she saw that she was pregnant, I became contemptible to her. May the Lord judge between me and you.”

The symbol of trouble in the Japanese language is two women under one roof.

When reading this was Sarai using the gift of her Egyptian slave to Abram her way of testing to determine if she was the problem in not being about to conceive a child or was it Abram that could not produce a child? Oh my, we will never know. But One thing we do know is that when Hagar conceived the claws came out of both Sarai and Hagar. Trouble in the Promised Land.

Apparently, Hagar, went nanny, nanny, boo, boo and rubbed it in that she had conceived a child. Sarai was not a happy camper.

When we take matters into our own hands, it often spells trouble and, in this case, it spelled trouble from the moment of conception and even evident to today. Now that was a long time ago and it is not over yet. Guess what this conception spawned? The birth of Islam.

GOD waited to see what Abram would do. Would he trust GOD to the bitter end or take matters into his own hands. He could have refused the offer from Sarai to take her Egyptian slave but instead he took up her offer. Oh my!

Where did the Egyptian slave come from? If you said she likely was a gift from the Egyptian Pharaoh, when Abram took his people into Egypt looking for food, you would be correct. It was not uncommon for a surrogate to be used to carry on a family line in those days. But again, does one of faith wait upon GOD or take matters into his or her own hands?

Many of us are wired to “don’t just stand there, do something.”

What next?

Much goes on between the conception of Hagar with the birth of Ishmael.

As we read in Genesis 16:6-15:

⁶ Abram replied to Sarai, “Here, your slave is in your power; do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai mistreated her so much that she ran away from her.

⁷ The angel of the Lord found her by a spring in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. ⁸ He said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?”

She replied, “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.”

⁹ The angel of the Lord said to her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her authority.” ¹⁰ The angel of the Lord said to her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too many to count.”

¹¹ The angel of the Lord said to her, “You have conceived and will have a son. You will name him Ishmael,^[d] for the Lord has heard your cry of affliction. ¹² This man will be like a wild donkey. His hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; he will settle near all his relatives.”

¹³ So she named the Lord who spoke to her: “You are El-roi,”^[e] for she said, “In this place, have I actually seen the one who sees me?” ^[f] 14 That is why the well is called Beer-lahai-roi.^[g] It is between Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵ So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, and Abram named his son (whom Hagar bore) Ishmael. ¹⁶ Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.

The Bible tells it like it was and does not sugar coat what happens in the lives of those GOD used. Back to our selected scripture ----

Let’s read Genesis 17:1-2:

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, “I am God Almighty. Live^[a] in my presence and be blameless. ² I will set up my covenant between me and you, and I will multiply you greatly.”

When Abram was how old? He was ninety-nine years old and the LORD appeared to him. GOD had promised Abram that HE would provide an heir that would come from his own body. Well, Hagar produced a child and it was from the seed of Abram. Was GOD proud of Abram and Sarai for taking matters into their own hands? Were they in the will of GOD? Since GOD is all knowing, did HE know what they would do before HE fulfilled the promise HE had made to Abram? Absolutely!

We must keep in mind that Abram could have refused Sarai’s offer but did Abram wonder if he was the problem and not his wife Sarai. We will never know and it really does not matter. The important thing is that GOD knew and GOD is in control.

Yes, Sarai and Abram took matters into their own hands but GOD knew what they would do. It was no surprise to HIM.

The same is true with us today. HE knows how we will choose in the matters we face in life. We see in our next scripture that even though Sarai and Abram took matters into their own hands, GOD’S redemptive plan did not change.

Let’s read Genesis 17:3-9:

³ Then Abram fell facedown and God spoke with him: ⁴ “As for me, here is my covenant with you: You will become the father of many nations. ⁵ Your name will no longer be Abram;^[b] your name will be Abraham,^[c] for I will make you the father of many nations. ⁶ I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you. ⁷ I will confirm my covenant that is between me and you and your future offspring throughout their generations. It is a permanent covenant to be your God and the God of your offspring after you. ⁸ And to you and your future offspring^[d] I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as a permanent possession, and I will be their God.”

⁹ God also said to Abraham, “As for you, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations are to keep my covenant.

Why did GOD wait until Hagar got pregnant by Abram and gave birth to Ishmael before HE came to Abram to confirm that Abram would produce a child with Sarai?

GOD made a covenant with Abram and changed his name from Abram to Abraham.

GOD gave Abram a name change, from “exalted father” to Abraham “father of many or multitudes.”

Sarai also got a name change by GOD from Sarai, carrying the idea of princess but one who strives/quarrelsome to Sarah which means “princess.”

JESUS was a physical descendant of Abraham. And guess what? We who have accepted JESUS as our Savior are also children of Abraham through the miracle of Spiritual birth through faith.

The Apostle Paul reveals in Galatians 3:27-29:

²⁷ For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. ²⁸ There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.

Notice it is “Abraham’s seed and not seeds.” The “seed” is JESUS alone.

Faith in JESUS includes all Spirit-born Christians as children of Abraham. Therefore, as a Spirit-born person you are included in the promise/covenant GOD promised Abram.

Does that mean those of Islam are included? Only, if they place their faith in JESUS. JESUS gave HIS sinless life for all who place their faith in HIM. The same is true of the Jews. Physical birth, as a Jew, does not translate to salvation. A Jew must accept JESUS as his or her Savior the same as any other human being. All people come to GOD through faith in JESUS.

Have you accepted JESUS as your Savior? If not, now is that opportunity. Ask JESUS to forgive you for your sins believing that HE gave HIS sinless life to pay for sin, in full, and for HIM to come into your life and save you from the consequence of sin, which is eternal death. By accepting JESUS as your Savior, you will be Spiritually born into GOD’S Family, never to be Spiritually unborn. You become GOD’S Child and your citizenship is permanently in Heaven. Your name is permanently in the Lambs Book of Life. This is all guaranteed and assured by the indwelling Holy Spirit as recorded in Romans 8:15-17:

¹⁵ For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba,^[i] Father!” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, ¹⁷ and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

Ephesians 1:13 - ¹³ In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed.

Ephesians 4:30 - ³⁰ And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. You were sealed by him^[a] for the day of redemption.

What a joy it is for us to be able to see and know GOD’S redemptive plan through our faith in JESUS.

Blessings!!!