God Provided The Offspring

REVIEW

God told Abraham that his offspring would first be strangers in a land that does not belong to them (Genesis 15:13). How many of us as believers feel as though we’re strangers? Hebrews 11:9–10 says that by faith Abram lived as a foreigner in the land of promise. In 1 Peter 2:11, believers are described as strangers and temporary residents who are called to abstain from pleasures that tempt. There’s a constant temptation to go back to the things of the flesh. God told Abram that his reward was coming. But Abraham was confronted with the option to make it happen on his own.

TEACHING

Genesis 16:2: Sarai told Abram to have a child by her servant, Hagar. Abram swayed to the seed of the serpent and decided they should try to make happen what God had promised.

Genesis 16:7-10: Appearing to Hagar, “Then the Angel of the Lord said to her…”Many people believe this Angel of the Lord could be the pre-incarnate Christ again.Remember, we know Christ was present physically before He was born in Bethlehem. In Genesis 1, Jesus was the Creator. He was a part of creation (John 1:1, 10).

Genesis 16:11–12: Again, to Hager in verses 11-12: “Then the Angel of the Lord said to her: You have conceived and will have a son. You will name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard your cry of affliction. This man will be like a wild donkey. His hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; he will live at odds with all his brothers.” This is what happens when you don’t wait on God. Ishmael would be like a wild donkey. While Abram and Sarai’s intent was right—they just wanted to see this promise from God come to fruition—they shouldn’t have tried to make it happen in their own timing. You can’t make things happen in your own timing. You have to wait on the Lord. So, all because of Sarai’s insecurity and Abram’s impatience and doubt, we have a serious problem in society still today with the Ishmaels—the wild donkeys who fight against everyone. All because Abram didn’t wait.

Genesis 16:16: When you force the hand of God, major problems happen. Remember what God told Abram in Genesis 15:1. Just when we begin to question God’s hand, He speaks into us: “Don’t be afraid. Your reward will be great. Just wait on My timing.”

Genesis 17:1: “When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, ‘I am God Almighty. Live in My presence and be blameless.’” We know Ishmael was born, and then Genesis 17 takes place some 12 to 13 years later. Abram was 99. The phrase, “I am God Almighty,” is the translation for El Shaddai, which meant “(1) The Powerful, Strong One . . . and (2) The One Who Suffices."¹Waltke quoted Wenham: “Shaddai evokes the idea that God is able to make the barren fertile and to fulfill His promises.”²God can do whatever He needs to do. God told Abram, “Live in My presence and be blameless” (1 Kings 9:4–5; 2 Kings 20:3).

Genesis 17:2: “I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you greatly.” In Genesis 12, 13, 15, 17 and even into 18, God reminded Abram over and over, “I’m going to do what I told you I would do; I just need you to hang in there.” When you walk by faith, you need these gentle reminders constantly. God promised to establish His covenant and multiply Abraham, which sounded much like promises God made to Abram in Genesis 12:1–3.

Genesis 17:3: “Then Abram fell facedown and God spoke with him.” Abram fell facedown in humility. Leviticus 9 and Joshua 5 recorded other times when people fell facedown in the presence of the Lord. Robert E. Coleman was a man who mentored me and every time I was around that man, he would fall on his face when he prayed. Genesis 17 contains five divine speeches where God spoke into Abraham in five different situations. Verses 1–2 described one, and then verses 4–8 described another.

Genesis 17:4: “You will become the father of many nations.” This was the same promise from God recorded in Genesis 12:1–3.

Genesis 17:5: “Your name will no longer be Abram, but your name will be Abraham.” God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, which meant “father of many.” In Genesis 12, God’s promise to Abram was general. In Genesis 15, it was specific, and now in Genesis 17, it became personal. As it continued to grow and build, it pointed to the Messiah. The father of many nations implied the Seed, Christ, would come through Abraham. In Galatians 3:16–19, Paul wrote, “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say ‘and to seeds,’ as though referring to many but referring to one, and to your seed, who is Christ . . . God granted it to

Abraham through the promise.” When Abram became Abraham, he knew he was getting closer to what God was calling him to do.

Genesis 17:6: In verse 6, God tells Abraham, “I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you” (Genesis 1:29; Genesis 9). The word “everlasting” described an everlasting covenant that was established through a man whose father worshipped the moon god. He carried the seed that points to the Messiah. The Messiah would come through Abraham all because he was chosen by God and he walked by faith (v. 7). God promised Abraham the land of Canaan as an “eternal possession.” God’s everlasting covenant will never stop. It will be forever. That’s a pretty crazy prophecy that the seed of Abraham pointed to the Messiah (v. 8). God launched into another divine speech here. He kept going and continued to hammer in all He wanted to take place through Abraham and his offspring (v. 9).

Genesis 17:10–13: In Genesis 12, 15, and 17, over and over again God said Abraham was the man who would carry the Seed, Christ, who would lead us to an everlasting covenant—the Seed being the Messiah. At this time, God instituted circumcision as the sign of this covenant. “Every one of your males must be circumcised” (v. 10). Anyone who was connected to Abraham was commanded to be circumcised. Abraham was old, verse 1 said he was 99. Circumcision was not normal, especially at this age. God instituted something new. Today, Christians are not commanded to be circumcised (under the new covenant), but many do. According to Constable, God had a purpose for this: First, it was a frequent reminder to every male of God’s promises involving the seed. Second, it was a symbol—cutting off the flesh. Do I want to function in the flesh or in the Seed being Christ? Third, it resulted in a greater cleanliness of life. It resulted in freedom from the effects of sin.³At that time, every adult male was circumcised, and then from that point forward, every male born into the family of Abraham was circumcised.

Genesis 17:14: Any man who was not circumcised was cut off from God’s covenant.

Genesis 17:15: This was the beginning of another of God’s divine speeches. God changed Abraham’s wife’s name from Sarai to Sarah, a change from “my princess” to “the royal princess” (v. 15). “I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will produce nations; kings and peoples will come from her” (v. 16). This was the same woman who gave Hagar to her husband. God gave her a second chance. Kings of people would come from her, His name is Jesus! Christ came from Sarah.

Genesis 17:17–18: Abraham fell facedown. This time it probably wasn’t in humility. It was probably to cover up his laughter. Abraham laughed and questioned God (like God couldn’t see him laughing). “If only Ishmael were acceptable to You!” Can you believe Abraham said that to God? How long had he been waiting for the heir?

Genesis 17:19–22: Verse 19-21 was God’s fifth and final divine speech in Genesis 17. He didn’t say, “I’m done with you Abraham!” Instead, God confirmed His promise. Scripture then transitions from the seed of Abraham to the seed of Isaac. And it will happen next year.

CLOSING

The Seed, first mentioned in Genesis 3:15, the Seed that was going to crush Satan, the Seed that came into Abel and went into Noah, and then to his son Shem, and from Shem to Abraham, was now promised to go to Isaac. It’s all building, and it was never easy. This whole process is never ever easy. It’s called walking by faith.

And I don’t want to miss this: Ishmael was the chosen son of the Islamic faith. Isaac was the chosen son of Judaism and Christianity. Hence the wild donkey, Ishmael (Islam) constantly fights against Jews and Christians. The seed of the serpent and the Seed of the woman . . . the enmity continues, even in Genesis 17.