Transcript

Podcast Introduction

Today is The Law Monday. We’ll read Genesis 16-19.

We’ll find out what can happen when we decide to “help” God, what cause Abraham’s wife to laugh, Abraham’s bargaining with God, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. I’m calling today’s episode “God Sees Me.”

Comments on Genesis 16

Years earlier, God had promised to Abram that he would have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky. But now, Sarai has begun to doubt God’s promise. She does what comes so easily to human beings. She rationalizes. She decides that God must need some help, so she tells Abram to have a child with her servant, Hagar.

Of course, Abram, being a great man of faith, says to her, “No Sarai. God knows what He is doing. You are my wife, and it would be wrong of me to do this with Hagar. Let’s wait on the Lord.”

Except that is not what he did, is it? Once again, Abram also doubts God. He too is weary of waiting on God. 

So Abram does what Sarai suggests, and Hagar becomes pregnant with Abram’s child. 

Now Hagar becomes prideful because she considers herself to be greater than Sarai, who had been unable to conceive. Being childless was considered to be a shameful thing in their culture. So since Hagar had conceived, she thought that she was “all that”. And she began to rub it in. She mistreated Sarai.

And Sarai did what so many of us do. She shifted the blame. She blamed Abram. “This is all your fault!”

Of course, Abram, being a man of great character said, “No Sarai. This was your idea, but I’ll tell her to shape up.”

Except that is not what he did, is it? No, he washed his hands of the whole thing and told Sarai to do as she saw fit. And of course Sarai mistreated Hagar so badly that Hagar ran away.

We don’t know how far Hagar got, but she stopped by a spring of water, and The Angel of the Lord appeared and said, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

Let’s stop here for a moment. This is the first time we read of “The Angel of the Lord”, but it will not be the last. He’ll appear to Abraham in Genesis 22. He’ll appear to Moses in Exodus 2. He’ll appear to Balaam in Numbers 22, to the nation of Israel in Judges 2, to Gideon in Judges 6, to Samson’s parents in Judges 13, to David in 2 Samuel 24, and to Elijah in 1 Kings 19. 

Who is The Angel of the Lord? In these contexts, where The Angel of the Lord appears to someone in physical form, it is the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ. Later in the chapter Hagar says, “You are the God who sees me.” So she understood that this was God. And since John 1:18 says, in speaking of God the Father, “No one has ever seen God. But the unique One (speaking of Jesus), who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.” 1 Timothy 1:16 also tells us that no human has ever seen God the Father. So, when God physically appeared to a person in the Old Testament, we believe that it was Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, before his incarnation in Bethlehem.

Let’s continue, “…The Angel of the Lord appeared and said, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

Notice that in saying this to her, the angel of the Lord let Hagar know that He knew who she was by addressing her by name. So when He asked where she was coming from and where she was going, He probably knew those answers, too.

When she told The Angel of the Lord that she was running from her mistress, Sarai, He told her to go back, submit to Sarai, and He would give her more descendants than she could count. He told her to change her direction. She was running *from* Sarai, but He told her to *go back* to Sarai. To change one’s direction is to repent. And with this instruction came the implied promise of His protection, because of the promise He made that she would have all those descendants. 

The Angel of the Lord told Hagar to name the son she was pregnant with Ishmael, which means God Hears. This is the first time in the Bible that a child is given a name before they are born. What does that tell us? It tells us that God had a plan for him. Ishmael was to become the father of the Arab people.

Now, the conflict between the Arabic people and the Jewish people has been going on since the birth of Isaac (which will happen in chapter 21). So was the birth of Ishmael a fly in the ointment of God’s plan? Consider this: God could have allowed Hagar and her unborn child to die in the wilderness. But He showed up to her by the spring here in chapter 16. He could have told Hagar to run for the hills, and never be seen by Abram and Sarai again. But He told her to go back to them. No, God had a plan for Ishmael.

And then Hagar said, “You are the God who sees me.” The God who sees me. And Ishmael means God Hears.

Beloved, I’m so glad that our God sees us, and hears us. He sees our troubles and He hears our cries. And as He did with Hagar, He responds. And as He did with Hagar, He has a plan for each of us, and He will accomplish that plan. It would be good if each of us allowed Him to work out that plan in His time. We just need to  follow His direction.

Hallelujah!

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 16-18 NLT; Ch. 19 GW

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Genesis 16-19: The God Who Sees Me (LSFAB S13E30)

[TEASER – 0:00]
She decides that God must need some help.

[INTRO S13E030 – 0:10]
This is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California. Podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily podcast where we’ll read through the entire Bible in a year. I’m so glad you’re with me today. Are you having a good one? I hope so. I had to do some maintenance around the house today that really just wiped me out, so this will be a short show today. We’ll do some reading. And I’ll have some comments for you. And that’s all. Hope you don’t mind. Today is The Law Monday. We’ll read Genesis 16 through 19. We’ll find out what can happen when we decide to help God and what caused Abraham’s wife to laugh, the bargaining that Abraham did with God, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. I’m calling today’s episode, “The God Who Sees Me.”

But before we read, let’s pray.

[OPENING PRAYER – 1:03]
Our loving heavenly Father, as we read your Word today, we pray that the Holy Spirit would teach us. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

All right, let’s begin.

[GENESIS 16 (NLT) – 1:15]
Genesis, chapter 16.

(1) Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. (2) So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal. (3) So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. (This happened ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.)

(4) So Abram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with contempt. (5) Then Sarai said to Abram, “This is all your fault! I put my servant into your arms, but now that she’s pregnant she treats me with contempt. The Lord will show who’s wrong—you or me!”

(6) Abram replied, “Look, she is your servant, so deal with her as you see fit.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away.u

(7) The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur. (8) The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

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

(9) The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.” (10) Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count.”

(11) And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress. (12) This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives.”

(13) Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” (14) So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means “well of the Living One who sees me”). It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered.

(15) So Hagar gave Abram a son, and Abram named him Ishmael. (16) Abram was eighty-six years old when Ishmael was born.

[GENESIS 17 (NLT) – 3:41]
Genesis, chapter 17.

(1) When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. (2) I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”

(3) At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, (4) “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! (5) What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. (6) I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!

(7) “I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. (8) And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”

(9) Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. (10) This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. (11) You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you. (12) From generation to generation, every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not only to members of your family but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased. (13) All must be circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant. (14) Any male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for breaking the covenant.”

(15) Then God said to Abraham, “Regarding Sarai, your wife—her name will no longer be Sarai. From now on her name will be Sarah. (16) And I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.”

(17) Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How could I become a father at the age of 100?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?” (18) So Abraham said to God, “May Ishmael live under your special blessing!”

(19) But God replied, “No—Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant. (20) As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will make him extremely fruitful and multiply his descendants. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. (21) But my covenant will be confirmed with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year.” (22) When God had finished speaking, he left Abraham.

(23) On that very day Abraham took his son, Ishmael, and every male in his household, including those born there and those he had bought. Then he circumcised them, cutting off their foreskins, just as God had told him. (24) Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, (25) and Ishmael, his son, was thirteen. (26) Both Abraham and his son, Ishmael, were circumcised on that same day, (27) along with all the other men and boys of the household, whether they were born there or bought as servants. All were circumcised with him.

[GENESIS 18 (NLT) – 7:35]
Genesis 18.

(1) The Lord appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day. (2) He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground.

(3) “My lord,” he said, “if it pleases you, stop here for a while. (4) Rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your feet. (5) And since you’ve honored your servant with this visit, let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey.”

“All right,” they said. “Do as you have said.”

(6) So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, “Hurry! Get three large measures of your best flour, knead it into dough, and bake some bread.” (7) Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a tender calf and gave it to his servant, who quickly prepared it. (8) When the food was ready, Abraham took some yogurt and milk and roasted the meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them in the shade of the trees.

(9) “Where is Sarah, your wife?” the visitors asked.

“She’s inside the tent,” Abraham replied.

(10) Then one of them said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!”

Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent. (11) Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children. (120 So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?”

(13) Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ (14) Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

(15) Sarah was afraid, so she denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh.”

But the Lord said, “No, you did laugh.”

(16) Then the men got up from their meal and looked out toward Sodom. As they left, Abraham went with them to send them on their way.

(17) “Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” the Lord asked. (18) “For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. (19) I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised.”

(20) So the Lord told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. (21) I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.”

(22) The other men turned and headed toward Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham. (23) Abraham approached him and said, “Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked? (24) Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city—will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes? (25) Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”

(26) And the Lord replied, “If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake.”

(27) Then Abraham spoke again. “Since I have begun, let me speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes. (28) Suppose there are only forty-five righteous people rather than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?”

And the Lord said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five righteous people there.”

(29) Then Abraham pressed his request further. “Suppose there are only forty?”

And the Lord replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the forty.”

(30) “Please don’t be angry, my Lord,” Abraham pleaded. “Let me speak—suppose only thirty righteous people are found?”

And the Lord replied, “I will not destroy it if I find thirty.”

(31) Then Abraham said, “Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue—suppose there are only twenty?”

And the Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”

(32) Finally, Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only ten are found there?”

And the Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

(33) When the Lord had finished his conversation with Abraham, he went on his way, and Abraham returned to his tent.

[GENESIS 19 (GW) – 12:20]
Genesis 19.

(1) The two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gateway. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed with his face touching the ground. (2) He said, “Please, gentlemen, why don’t you come to my home and spend the night? You can wash your feet there. Then early tomorrow morning you can continue your journey.”

“No,” they answered, “we’d rather spend the night in the city square.”

(3) But he insisted so strongly that they came with him and went into his home. He prepared a special dinner for them, baked some unleavened bread, and they ate. (4) Before they had gone to bed, all the young and old male citizens of Sodom surrounded the house. (5) They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to stay with you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”

(6) Then Lot went outside and shut the door behind him. (7) “Please, my friends, don’t be so wicked,” he said. (8) “Look, I have two daughters who have never had sex. Why don’t you let me bring them out to you? Do whatever you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, since I’m responsible for them.”

(9) But the men yelled, “Get out of the way! This man came here to stay awhile. Now he wants to be our judge! We’re going to treat you worse than those men.” They pushed hard against Lot and lunged forward to break down the door. (10) The men inside reached out, pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. (11) Then they struck all the men who were in the doorway of the house, young and old alike, with blindness so that they gave up trying to find the door.

(12) Then the men asked Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—any in-laws, sons, daughters, or any other relatives in the city? Get them out of here (13) because we’re going to destroy this place. The complaints to the Lord against its people are so loud that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”

(14) So Lot went out and spoke to the men engaged to his daughters. He said, “Hurry! Get out of this place, because the Lord is going to destroy the city.” But they thought he was joking.

(15) As soon as it was dawn, the angels urged Lot by saying, “Quick! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you’ll be swept away when the city is punished.” (16) When he hesitated, the men grabbed him, his wife, and his two daughters by their hands, because the Lord wanted to spare Lot. They brought them safely outside the city. (17) As soon as they were outside, one of the angels said, “Run for your lives! Don’t look behind you, and don’t stop on the plain. Run for the hills, or you’ll be swept away!”

(18) Lot answered, “Oh no! (19) Even though you’ve been so good to me and though you’ve been very kind to me by saving my life, I can’t run as far as the hills. This disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. (20) Look, there’s a city near enough to flee to, and it’s small. Why don’t you let me run there? Isn’t it small? Then my life will be saved.”

(21) The angel said to him, “Alright, I will grant you this request too. I will not destroy the city you’re talking about. (22) Run there quickly, because I can’t do anything until you get there.” (The city is named Zoar [or Small].)

(23) The sun had just risen over the land as Lot came to Zoar. (24) Then the Lord made burning sulfur and fire rain out of heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah. (25) He destroyed those cities, the whole plain, all who lived in the cities, and whatever grew on the ground. (26) Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a column of salt.

(27) Early the next morning Abraham came to the place where he had stood in front of the Lord. (28) When he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land in the plain, he saw smoke rising from the land like the thick smoke of a furnace.

(29) When God destroyed the cities on the plain, he remembered Abraham. Lot was allowed to escape from the destruction that came to the cities where he was living.

(30) Lot left Zoar because he was afraid to stay there. He and his two daughters settled in the mountains where they lived in a cave. (31) The older daughter said to the younger one, “Our father is old. No men are here. We can’t get married as other people do. (32) Let’s give our father wine to drink. Then we’ll go to bed with him so that we’ll be able to preserve our family line through our father.” (33) That night they gave their father wine to drink. Then the older one went to bed with her father. He didn’t know when she came to bed or when she got up. (34) The next day the older daughter said to the younger one, “I did it! Last night I went to bed with my father. Let’s give him wine to drink again tonight. Then you go to bed with him so that we’ll be able to preserve our family line through our father.” (35) That night they gave their father wine to drink again. Then the younger one went to bed with him. He didn’t know when she came to bed or when she got up. (36) So Lot’s two daughters became pregnant by their father. (37j The older one gave birth to a son and named him Moab. He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today. (38) The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben Ammi. He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.

[COMMENTARY – 17:10]
Thoughts on Genesis 16. Years earlier, God had promised to Abraham that he would have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky. But now Sarah has begun to doubt God’s promise, and she does what comes so easily to human beings: she rationalizes. She decides that God must need some help. So she tells Abram to have a child with her servant Hagar.

Well, of course, Abraham, being a great man of faith says to her, “No, Sarai, God knows what he’s doing. You’re my wife. And it would be wrong of me to do this with Hagar, let’s wait on the Lord.”

Except that’s not what he did is it? Once again, Abram also doubts God. He, too, is weary of waiting on God.

So Abram does what Sarai suggests, and Hagar becomes pregnant with Abraham’s child.

And Hagar becomes prideful because she considers herself now to be greater than Sarai, who of course, had been unable to conceive. And being childless was considered to be a shameful thing in their culture. So since Hagar had conceived, she thought that she was just “all that” and she began to rub it in. She mistreated Sarai.

And Sarah did what so many of us do, she shifted the blame. She blamed Abram, “This is all your fault!” she said.

Well, of course, Abram, being a man of great character said, “No, Sarai. This was your idea, but I’ll tell her to shape up.”

Except that is not what he did, is it? No, he washed his hands of the whole thing and told Sarah to do as she saw fit. And of course, Sarai mistreated Hagar so badly that Hagar ran away.

Well, we don’t know how far Hagar got, but she stopped by a spring of water. And the Angel of the Lord appeared and said, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

Well, let’s stop here for a moment. This is the first time in the Bible that we read of “the Angel of the Lord”, but it will not be the last. He’ll appear to Abraham in Genesis 22. He’ll appear to Moses in Exodus 2. He’ll appear to Balaam in Numbers 22, to the nation of Israel in Judges 2, to Gideon in Judges 6, to Samson’s parents in Judges 13, to David in 2 Samuel 24, and to Elijah in 1 Kings 19.

Well, who is the Angel of the Lord? In these contexts where the Angel of the Lord appears to someone in physical form, we understand Him to be the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ. Later in the chapter, Hagar says, “You are the God who sees me.” So she understood that this was God. And since John 1:18 says, speaking of God the Father, that “No one has ever seen God but the Unique One” (speaking of Jesus), “who is Himself God is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.” And 1 Timothy 1:16 also tells us that no human has ever seen God the Father. So when God physically appeared to a person in the Old Testament, we believe that it was Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, before his incarnation in Bethlehem.

Okay, so let’s continue. “…The Angel of the Lord appeared and said, ‘Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

Notice that in saying this to her, the Angel of the Lord let Hagar know that he knew who she was by addressing her by name. So when he asked where she was coming from and where she was going, he probably knew those answers, too.

When she told the Angel of the Lord that she was running from her mistress Sarai. He told her to go back and submit to Sarah, and he would give her more descendents than she could count. So he told her to change her direction. She was running from Sarai, but he told her to go back to Sarai. To change one’s direction is to repent. And with this instruction came the implied promise of His protection, because of the promise he made that she would have all those descendants.

And then the Angel of the Lord told Hagar to name the son she was pregnant with Ishmael, which means “God hears”. This is the first time by the way, in the Bible that a child is given a name before they’re born. What does that tell us? Well, it tells us that God had a plan for Ishmael. Ishmael was to become the father of the Arab people.

Now, the conflict between the Arabic people and the Jewish people has been going on since the birth of Isaac (which will happen in chapter 21). So was the birth of Ishmael a fly in the ointment of God’s plan? Consider this. God could have allowed Hagar and her unborn child to die in the wilderness. But he showed up to her by the spring here in chapter 16. And he could have told Hagar to run for the hills and never be seen by Abram and Sarai again. But he told her to go back to them. No, God had a plan for Ishmael.

And then wrapping things up. Hagar said, “You are the God who sees me”. So she called him, the God who sees me. And Ishmael means “God hears”.

Beloved, I am so glad that God sees us and hears us. He sees our troubles, and he hears our cries. And as he did with Hagar, he responds. And as he did with Hagar, he has a plan for each of us, and He will accomplish that plan. It would be good if each of us allowed him to work out that plan in his time. We just need to follow his direction.

Hallelujah!

[LIFESPRING FAMILY HOTLINE – 23:09]
Are you glad that God sees you? Let me know. Call the Lifespring Family Hotline at 951-732-8511. If you’re outside the US put a +1 at the beginning of that number. And you can also comment on the show notes page for this episode at lifespringmedia.com/s13e030. Go to comment.lifespringmedia.com, or email me at st***@*************ia.com.

Tomorrow is History Tuesday. We’ll finish Joshua and the book that bears his name by reading chapters 21 through 24.

My thanks to the team: Sister Kirsty, Brother Sean of San Pedro and Denise and thank you for being here today. If you’re glad the Lifespring Family Audio Bible is here, please support it in proportion to the value you receive. Just go to lifespringmedia.com/support.

And until tomorrow, when I hope I’m rested, may God bless you richly. Thanks for inviting me into your day. My name is Steve Webb. Bye

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Transcript corrected by Denise