Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.gracespringfield.com/sermons/57488/20240609_ishmailtosarahdeath/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] Genesis chapter 17, we will pick up, if you will, at, oh, verse 15, we'll start with verse 15. [0:20] And I'll ask Ron, would you please ask God's blessing on our time together this morning? Okay, so, God is speaking to Abraham, this is still in that conversation, and he has reiterated the promise, and this time he has given him the sign, remember? [1:11] What was the sign? Circumcision. He doesn't add to the promise, he just says, you and your descendants after you are going to always keep this sign. [1:31] Now, let's remember, without getting too picky, this promise to Abraham is not the same thing as will be given at Mount Sinai many 400 years after this, will it? [1:54] It's not the same thing. Because what will be delivered at Mount Sinai? Well, the Ten Commandments, but more than the Ten Commandments, about 630 of them, yeah, the Mosaic Law. [2:12] That will be the covenant. And usually when we talk about the Old Covenant versus the New Covenant, we're talking about the Mosaic Covenant. [2:22] Which is going to be a two-way street, right? If you do this, then this. [2:34] So, the Abrahamic covenant, God went through by himself. He went through alone. So, we'll remember that. Now, let's go to verses 15 through 17 especially. [2:50] God has changed Abram's name from Abram to... He has also changed Sarai's name from Sarai to Sarah. [3:07] Okay, so they have a name change. Now, what does God prompt... I don't know. [3:22] Except that here, he adds to it. And I don't know enough Hebrew to even come... I mean, I know only what I can read in the commentary or in the lexicon. [3:35] So, apparently, Sarah is going to be mother of nations. So, that's the significance. [3:49] As far as the significance in the name, the name is given... Usually... Usually... I shouldn't say always because I can't verify that. [3:59] But the name is usually given with a special meaning to remind them of something. For instance, and we'll get to... [4:09] We will speak of this in just a little bit yet. Hopefully, this morning. But Hagar... The first time... [4:20] Remember, she's pregnant from Abraham. Sarah gets angry. Says, throw her out. So, they throw her out. [4:31] Well, actually, the first time, Hagar runs. She runs from him. She's sitting by the well. And God appears to Hagar, remember? [4:46] And Hagar says... Or God says... That you're going to bear a son. And you're going to call his name Ishmael. Which means... [4:58] God hears. Okay? So, they do give names that are... They did give names with significance. [5:12] Now, just like we do, they also... Later on, people are going to take names like Joshua. Which is God saves. [5:26] They're going to take names. But they're not going to be the first one called Joshua, are they? They're going to take names that had gone before. Now, that doesn't answer the question. [5:36] I don't know the significance here. But... God did it. So, he says, your name's going to be different now because I'm going to make of you... [5:47] Your name's going to be Mother of Nations. Abraham, the father of peoples. So, back to here. [5:58] What does God promise about Sarah? Okay. What else? [6:09] There it is. There it is. He said, I'm going to bless her. [6:20] She's going to be the Mother of Nations. And in that word, that is goyim. Which we usually hear in reference to Gentiles. [6:34] But it means the people groups. We've gone through that, right? And then, peoples. Am. Which is part of the name of, back to your significance. [6:47] Adam. Right? Man. So, he says, and kings will come out of her. [6:58] That is, she's going to be the mother of peoples. She's going to be... Well, there's going to be more significance to this as we roll on. [7:13] We'll stay going. What's... But right now, what is Abraham's response? To what God has just said. Okay. [7:27] Remember that. Because we're going to see that again, aren't we? In just a few verses. So, Abraham laughs. Why? [7:39] Or what does he say in his heart? He doesn't say it aloud. Now, I'm pretty sure God hears his heart, right? Right? So... But what does Abraham say? [7:55] Shall a man a hundred years old father a child? And shall Sarah, who's ninety, bear a son? It... Now... [8:05] If you go back to Genesis 5, you don't have to right now, but if you do, you will go back to the antediluvian ancestries. [8:18] Because... Time span, lifespan, and procreation span has drastically changed now, hasn't it? [8:31] See, Abraham's saying, nobody's ever... You know, this doesn't happen. Now, remember, Abraham was... When Abraham was born, Noah had just died. [8:46] Wow. Noah lived a long time. So, they were living 900 years. [8:58] And they were having children. And sometimes they started children at 100 years. Or at least the ones that are recorded. So, the times have... [9:09] God has altered the lifespan and the procreation span to make Abraham laugh. And he says, we're too old for this business. [9:21] You know? Now, maybe he's thinking about chasing a toddler around the house when he's 103. 103. [9:34] But, anyway. Look at verses 18 through 22. Verses 18 through 22. [9:45] He laughed. Okay. [9:56] So, what does he ask God? Cannot Ishmael live before you? Or... [10:08] Actually, it's a rhetorical question. Oh, that Ishmael may live before you. Be the one that encounters this promise. [10:30] He's saying, may... Oh, that Ishmael might be the one... Live before you. Be the one that encounters this promise. [10:43] Now... What does God respond? What does he say about Sarah? [11:03] I think... What is that? Verse 19. Verse 19. What does he say? Sarah's going to have the child. [11:15] And what else then? Call him Isaac. What does Isaac mean? Here's your significance part. Laughter. [11:28] He laughs. Okay, Abram. You laughed at this. You're going to name him Isaac. [11:39] Okay. Okay. And... What's going to happen here? Okay. [11:53] Now... That's verse what? That's verse 19. That verse is going to be very important when we come to chapter 22. [12:06] And... You can read ahead at chapter... You can get in the time machine and go up to chapter 22 later on this afternoon. [12:19] But right now, we're going to stay here. But remember that verse. Say it once again. I will establish my covenant with Isaac. [12:30] And what? For an everlasting covenant. And... And for his... Descendants. Now, remember that part. [12:42] Especially when we come to chapter 22. And I'm going to take a break here and say congratulations. All right. [13:02] Genesis chapter 17, by the way. Now... Verse 20. God begins verse 20 with a play on words. [13:13] A play on a name, actually. What's the play on the word? Right. [13:26] What does Ishmael's name mean? God hears. And what does he say to Abraham? I've heard you. [13:39] So... He begins it with a little play on the word there or on the name. But... Verse 21. I'm going to bless Ishmael. [13:52] Don't worry about that. Now, remember. What did he say to Hagar, though? Now, he's blessing Ishmael. That means Ishmael's going to prosper. [14:05] But he told Hagar that Ishmael was going to be a wild ass. That's what he said. [14:17] And he said his hand's going to be against everybody. And everybody's is going to be against him. He's not going to get along well. [14:31] Yeah. It still doesn't. Okay. So... I've heard you. That... That struck me for some reason. [14:42] And I blessed him. And I'm going to make him exceeding great. Twelve princes are going to come from him. But... Abraham... However... Verse 21. [14:53] What's he say? The covenant's going to be through Isaac. So... [15:04] My covenant I'm going to establish with Isaac. And then he tells him even more. What is it? [15:16] Next year. Next year. Okay, Abraham. Next year. I'm going to be back. So... [15:28] Verse 22. Then God... What? He left off talking with him and he left. Okay? [15:39] So... So... Abraham, the conversation's over. This time... Or... At the set time... Next year... You're going to have a son. [15:52] Okay. Let's go to verses 23 through 27 there. And get a read on those. And then we'll start... Yeah. [16:10] Now... I'm not going to dwell on this a long time. We've already gone over the sign and... And... And the difference between... The Abrahamic covenant and the Mosaic covenant and... [16:24] And the... Mystery of the church. And... That there's no... Sign... There. But... [16:36] It did strike me. Who's getting circumcised here? By every male, what do you mean? [16:50] Okay. Now... You remember when... You remember when the kings... Chedolam... Chedolam... Chedolam... [17:00] And the... And his four cohorts... Attacked Sodom and the plains... Of the Jordan... And took off with people... What did Abraham do? [17:14] Alone? 320... 320... Armed men... Born in his house. This is quite a circumcision party. [17:29] And now think about this. Very few of these men... All... Maybe... Well... None of them, apparently... Were descendants of Eber... [17:40] Who is... Abraham's forebear... That's why he was called Abraham the Hebrew... So... These are all... [17:52] From different pagan... Areas... Who was... Who was... Abraham thinking was going to be his heir? Where? No... [18:03] Before Ishmael... Yeah... The head of his household... His main servant... Who... Who was... [18:14] He was of Damascus... Remember? Eleazar of Damascus... So... I don't know... [18:26] I'm going to suspect that Abraham may have been... Abraham may have been a vigorous and formidable man even at a hundred... But... He commanded a lot of respect if three hundred and some armed men are going to submit to this. [18:46] So... Anyway... That has nothing to do... With our salvation... I know that... But... It just struck me that... That's... [18:57] That's no... That's a big... Item... Now... How old is Ishmael when this is going to happen? We know how old Abraham is... [19:07] He's thirteen... So when this is happening... When... When this sign is given... Ishmael is thirteen years old... Okay... [19:19] How's that? Not at the circumcision... Okay... [19:38] So... Yes... He was... [19:49] Everybody in the household had to be... Okay... And what does twenty-three say? Right... [20:02] If you go... When you go back... You'll... You... And read it all in its context... [20:12] You get a little... Little more of the time frame picture... Now... God says... Every one... Every male... Purchased with money... [20:24] This is the first time... It's translated money... It's not the first time this word appears... Um... And this is just a... [20:36] A small matter really... But... It will appear again later... Coinage apparently wasn't in... In use... At this time of history... [20:49] Apparently... I say... That... But... This same word... That is here translated money... Is in... [21:01] Let's see... Chapter... Thirteen... Back in chapter thirteen... It was translated as silver... [21:13] So... It's the same word... So... Apparently... Coinage wasn't used... At that time... [21:25] I say apparently... Because I don't know that for a fact... But... It seems that standard weights... For weighing out the silver... Were used... [21:37] And that will also... Become apparent... A little later on... Where... Abraham will... Weigh out the silver... So... [21:49] But that's... That's at the end of this... This... Study... Not... At this time... Now... Regarding this... [22:00] And I'm going to take a side trip here... A little quick side trip... Regarding the money... And it has nothing to do... With the use of money... [22:11] It has more to do... With... The teaching of Jesus... When he was... Walking on the earth... With his disciples... Um... [22:23] Matthew chapter 17... And... Someone grab... Exodus chapter 30... Please... Raise your hand... If you'll take Exodus 30... It's not the whole chapter... [22:35] It's just... 13... Chapter 30... Verses 13 through 16... Thank you... Marvis has Exodus... [22:47] Who will go to Matthew? Thank you, Kay... Matthew chapter 17... [22:59] Verse 24... Uh... Well... It begins with... With verse 24... I just did that to bait you... Verse 24 through 27... [23:13] Go ahead... Would you please? If you could... Anything to confirm... Those who collected... The two drachma tax... They... To... The two drachma tax... The two drachma tax... [23:24] Okay... Hang on... Just a moment... So what was the two drachma tax? Okay... [23:35] Now we go to Exodus... 13 to 16... Please... Okay... [23:47] Who's talking here? God... And he's talking to Moses... And he's giving the law... This is what... And he says... You number the men in Israel... [23:59] And this is what each one will give... Go ahead, please... The所以呢... To the разрैons... And there... To them that but the Juniors... [24:10] Like... God... It's next... Go ahead... Say... tough Jeez... [24:22] If... And... Throughout the aud07.. We Kunνη controls the on... [24:33] Okay. [24:47] That's the basis of the two drachma tax. It was a tax for the temple. So every Israelite male was supposed to give in this. [24:58] See, when Jesus walked, it was a drachma. Back in the Mosaic era, it was a shekel. [25:10] It was a weight or a half shekel. But it amounted to a head tax. A head tax for every person. [25:22] And it was for the support of what? The temple or the tabernacle in Exodus, the temple in Matthew. [25:32] Okay, that's the basis. Now, I've interrupted you. Okay, pick us up. Why does your master, why does Jesus not pay the temple tax? [25:45] Go ahead. What? Now, let that sink in a moment. [26:07] Jesus is teaching Peter a lesson here. And what is he asking? Who collects the tax? Do they collect it from the children? [26:19] Or do they collect it from the rest of the people? That's a rhetorical question. Go ahead, please. Go ahead, please. Alright. [26:49] Okay. okay here's a big lesson did Jesus owe the temple tax even though he was a Jew no he's the son of God he's exempt but he said nevertheless even though I shouldn't pay the temple tax or don't have to pay it yet you go take this fish and he does it miraculously he doesn't say take it from the treasury you notice that don't take it from the money bag he's going to show him a sign that's that's a little aside so that we get a picture for those who say Jesus really never talked about his deity he showed plenty of signs about his deity and plenty of lessons [27:54] I just didn't catch them right but they're there Exodus chapter 30 verses 13 through 16 is that from which she read Matthew pardon me Matthew chapter 17 verses 24 through 27 it's where they come to him it's not clear that it's for the temple but the two drachma tax everything I've read is it was the temple tax and why doesn't Jesus pay it he doesn't pay it because he's the son but nevertheless so that we don't give offense we read that a little bit about what the way I'm supposed to behave myself now I don't like to read it very often because you know [28:57] I might not want to listen to it but what the apostle Paul say am I bound by someone else's conscience no nevertheless I will live in such a manner says Paul so that I try not to give offense to any man right now we're not to live in bondage don't misunderstand it nor am I to try to put you under bondage for what I think but sometimes it might behoove me to give up something I have liberty to do in order not to offend someone who doesn't feel they have that liberty we read that especially in the eating of meats you know he said when you go to eat at the guy's house don't ask him whether that came from the shambles from the marketplace because most of the meat was offered was sacrificially slaughtered for pagan idols [30:13] Paul said don't ask don't ask but if they tell you then he says you might refrain because their conscience might be offended so back to the point back to the point we're we're now at the end of chapter 17 let's go to 18 verses 1 through 8 give that a quick read and we go back now and we're going to take a bit of a a parenthetical break if you will from what God just told Abraham and we're going to go back and pick up something about I about Lot rather right so this is the third time that Jehovah has appeared to Abraham so describe the opening scene what's Abraham doing okay he's sitting in the doorway of his tent okay and he looks up and what's he see well does he know who they are somehow it seems like he's recognizing he goes over and bows down and falls on my Lord and says apparently he has no kind of representation as they are or as I my my thinking is that this was kind of a social approach that is he's running out and inviting them in because at this point he doesn't really he doesn't really know well and he's not even going to know then until a little bit later who he's really talking to but he sees now they're they're called men this is a Christophany who are the other two okay angelic beings but they all look like they all look like men [32:59] I don't know I don't know we're not told one way or another nevertheless Abraham approaches him what's he to he bows down what else okay so he ran to meet him and he said he said come to my house take a little rest let me get some you know let some water be fetched to wash you and refresh yourself and then what yes he does seem to address one of them keep it we we aren't going to be able to get the whole context right here but but keep that in mind keep that in mind so here's the question would Abraham not have invited these people to his house had he known who they were okay now this isn't like you have a hotel on every corner is it yeah the [34:56] Airbnb you you you go a long way before you're going to come to another house and they're not driving they're walking so yes it was customary in fact let's get in our time machine and scoot up just a little bit two of them are going to go to Lot and what's Lot going to do and he doesn't know who they are so yeah this was a custom so backing up Abraham says come let a little water be fetched and what yeah let me let me get you a morsel of bread so he kills a calf that's kind of a yeah that's a that's a that's a quite a morsel of bread isn't it so they prepare a meal and what is [36:10] God's answer to Abraham well yeah yeah go ahead let's let it be done like you say go ahead and do that we'll we'll stay what's Abraham do he hustled off he grabbed Sarah he said hey let's get these let's get let's get some bread made let's kill a calf let's take butter and milk now when he says they took milk it's probably yogurt but it doesn't matter because milk's not going to last real long there but and the calf he had it dressed and he stood by them and what did they do now they actually had physical bodies at this point didn't they they ate they ate the food now what does [37:30] Abraham do and what do the three visitors then do starting in verse six there oh I I I skipped back I jumped back I'm sorry we are ready for verse nine it does not say that he did it does to me but inviting three strangers into your house to come in and take a bath and you going and slaughtering a calf and doing all this now I know he was a man of wealth but that all seems different to me the whole culture is quite different from our culture okay um verses nine through 15 is where I'm reading right now but either during or soon after the meal [38:33] God reiterates something to Abraham what is it okay he reiterates to him that Sarah is going to give birth when is it to be at the appointed time so Abraham get ready because next year you have a son and with that I think I'd better cease and we'll pick this up he's going to return he says right yep so have a great day hope you can stay for the fellowship meal help he's he's a god to eben toump him and