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[0:00] especially for the church and for my hope. The Apostle Paul used the Ishmael, Isaac, Hagar, Sarah as an allegory or as a metaphor for what?

[0:22] The difference between law and grace. And what's the result of that?

[0:34] See, these things are written for my instruction, but they're not my marching orders, are they? They're not my marching orders, but I do need to learn from them.

[0:47] And the Apostle Paul writes directly to the church about the church and about my position now.

[1:00] And what's the conclusion? The conclusion is the son of the slave woman will not be an heir with the son of the free woman.

[1:19] Now, who's the slave woman? Hagar, which is a reference to, the way Paul used it, he used Hagar as a reference to the law.

[1:38] He said, she represents Jerusalem as it now is, the law. He said, throw out the bond woman.

[1:52] The result is, the church is not to operate according to the law. We are to operate according to, say it out, grace.

[2:04] Paul several times is going to say, if you have come since you have been saved by grace, therefore, walk in grace.

[2:19] Now, he will say that doesn't mean a profligate lifestyle. That's not what that means. But it means that I don't seek to be justified by works, neither do I seek to grow in Christ by works.

[2:39] It's all by faith, and it's all who's doing. God's doing. Now, why did God say that you didn't have to work for salvation?

[2:58] He already purchased it, but there is a reason why he did it. That he might be both just and the justifier.

[3:10] He was just in that Jesus Christ became what? He became sin for me, and he did what? He took my place on that cross.

[3:27] Now, that's pretty important, because he says, therefore, it is by grace you have been saved, not by works.

[3:41] It is the gift of God, lest any man should boast. I know I mixed them up, but why?

[3:53] There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. We can walk in freedom if we are in Christ.

[4:10] If I'm not in Christ, I walk in bondage even though I think I'm free, don't I? But it's not bondage to God. It's not even bondage to the law.

[4:21] It's under condemnation of the law. So, I didn't mean to digress that far from chapter 21, verse 20. However, the setting is important for me to remember that in the church, in this dispensation, we are saved by grace, not by...

[4:45] That's pretty important. You know somebody right now who is sitting with a congregation, and they're talking about what you have to do to...

[5:02] Usually, they're stuck in the three synoptic gospels, at least in my tiny little experience. They're stuck in the three synoptics, and they're saying, this is what Jesus taught you to do.

[5:22] Yeah. See, but they didn't listen to all that Jesus said, did they? Because he kept talking. They just quit listening.

[5:33] And so, they're saying, if you really want to be on God's side, you're going to get on board with this. Have you ever heard something along the line, look to see what God is doing and go with that?

[5:51] That's pretty shaky ground, isn't it? Because God never told me to jump on every wagon. He did not even tell me to just look in the synoptic gospels and read the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount and follow that.

[6:14] Usually, by the way, when I follow that, it means that I just make up my own interpretation of what that means. That was for the kingdom.

[6:24] That's not for the church. And I haven't noticed anyone. There may be someone, but I haven't noticed very many who take no thought for their life.

[6:38] Take no thought for what you're going to wear. Now, Sherry thinks I don't. But... But...

[6:48] It must be a Roger thing. Susan thinks the same thing. Anyhow... But the point is, they don't...

[7:00] You know, not many of them are giving away everything they have because they expect to be... that God's going to care for them.

[7:12] Now, that is a promise for the kingdom, but it's not a promise for the church. In fact, the Apostle Paul will tell the church, he who doesn't...

[7:23] work... No work, no eat. Work with your hands. I want everybody to get their own job, work quietly, basically mind your business, means take care of your job, so that you will have something for your family and for those who are genuinely in need.

[7:51] So, the person who doesn't work, God said, shouldn't be eating, and Paul will reiterate that to Timothy and to the Thessalonian church.

[8:06] Okay, let's get on track, Roger. Genesis chapter 20, 1, 21, verses 20 and 21 especially, we're looking at right now.

[8:20] Now, I have not been in the habit of reading them, but I'll go ahead. And God was with the lad. Which lad was that? Ishmael.

[8:31] Okay. God was with the lad, and he grew and lived in the wilderness and became an archer. Now, that word also is used, became great.

[8:46] So, I tend to think that probably became great. That is, yeah, became wealthy, prospered.

[9:02] Okay. And became great, or became an archer. verse 21, and he lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

[9:14] Why? Well, the easiest answer is God, you know, God ordained it. But, Hagar was Egyptian.

[9:28] The first time she left, where was she headed? Remember when she ran from Sarah? What, chapter 17 was that?

[9:42] She ran from Sarah. Where was she headed? Egypt. God told her, nope, go back, submit yourself to Sarah. I have other plans.

[9:55] Now, he didn't say that part. I, but he meant to say it. Anyway, so, Paran is in the east, central Sinai Peninsula.

[10:15] It's in that area. Hagar is Egyptian, so Ishmael is half Egyptian. Well, half Hebrew.

[10:29] Abraham's called a Hebrew. There are no Jews yet. Those are going to come after he renames a descendant.

[10:42] So, Ishmael is half Egyptian. His wife's going to be Egyptian.

[10:54] So, Ishmael's descendants are going to be at least three-quarter Egyptian. They're going to be mostly Egyptian. Now, Ishmaelites, what do you know about them?

[11:11] While you're thinking about that, or what do you remember about them? While you're thinking about that, Genesis chapter 25 will record Ishmael's immediate descendants, his sons.

[11:29] But, thereafter, we won't hear about Ishmael's descendants until much later, about Genesis 37.

[11:44] So, you can sneak a peek at Genesis 37 if you want a memory. Those of you who have peaked at 37, what are, what did you read about the Ishmaelites?

[12:06] This calls for a time machine. You have to go forward of where we are. Anybody find it?

[12:22] What's going on in that chapter? There you go. the sons, 11 of them grabbed Joseph, the dreamer.

[12:42] Most of them wanted to do what? They wanted to kill him. One of the sons intervened, Judah, said, hey, let's not kill him.

[12:59] Let's sell him. Now, his plan was, his plan was to get him out of the pit and send him, hey, kid, go back home.

[13:15] But that didn't work out. A caravan came along and those caravanners were what? Ishmaelites.

[13:26] Okay, they're descendants of Ishmael. And specifically, they are Midianite.

[13:38] Now, we're going, the reason that's going to come along is that Midian is going to be a later son of someone we're talking about.

[13:55] No, he's going to be a son of Abraham by another wife. But, anyway, back to the point though. So, Ishmaelites, these are Ishmaelite traders that are going to take Joseph where?

[14:15] Now, back in chapter 15, when God made the covenant that he and Abraham walked through, nobody's doing what you're supposed to do.

[14:31] You're supposed to say, wait a minute, God went through by himself. So, in chapter 15, when God made the covenant with Abraham, Abraham, he said, but know this for sure, your descendants are going to be, they're going to be servants or slaves in a land after which, they're going to be there for 400 years, after which they are going to come out with great wealth.

[15:10] God's setting it all up. God's setting it all up. Now, it hasn't happened for Abraham.

[15:22] In fact, when that promise was made, how many children did Abraham have? None. So, it hasn't happened yet in chapter 15, but God told him it was going to happen.

[15:39] I find great comfort in that. Now, I don't always like the way God works it out. What do we know if we are in Christ?

[15:53] What do I know about my future? What do I know certainly about my future? I'm going to spend eternity with him.

[16:07] What else do I know? the failing body is going to be resurrected incorruptible, isn't it? The failing, this corruptible body is going to be sown like a seed and raised incorruptible.

[16:32] So I know that my spirit will not be unclothed. That's why in Corinthians the apostle Paul says, look, in that whole chapter where he's talking about the resurrection, he said, look, the spirit longs to be clothed.

[16:55] life. That is, the spirit wants a body. That's why, by the way, we fight so hard to stay alive, isn't it?

[17:09] Because the spirit doesn't want to leave the body. But this I know if I'm in Christ. I know certainly about the resurrection, and by the way, in Thessalonians, what am I supposed to do with my brothers and sisters?

[17:30] Therefore, comfort one another with these words. I know about the resurrection, and I know about absent from the body, present with the Lord.

[17:49] I know that. I don't like the way God carries it out sometimes. Now, let's look at this business. He knew, God said, they're going to come out of that with great wealth.

[18:06] I'm going to lead them out with a mighty hand. But, he did not tell him how it was going to work out. That's going to cost Joseph slavery.

[18:19] It's going to cost Joseph prison. It's going to cost the people of Israel initial prosperity, and then famine, and then slavery.

[18:36] It's going to cost us, isn't it? It's going to cost us, because the body's failing. God is weak.

[18:48] But, we know this for certain. And when God told Abraham that back in chapter 15, he's going to bring it to pass.

[18:59] I find great comfort in that. If God says it, what's going to happen? It's going to happen. He said, God is not a man.

[19:10] This is what God says about himself. Is God a man that he should lie? Or that he should repent? And the answer is, it's a rhetorical question, isn't it?

[19:24] No. No. If I say it, I'm going to do it. So, I'm thankful for that. These are the lessons I need to learn. Okay.

[19:34] Back to Ishmael's descendants. Judah convinced them not to kill Joseph and to they sold them.

[19:49] They sold Reuben convinced them. Reuben convinced them and they sold them to the Ishmaelites.

[20:04] Okay. Now, in Judges chapter 8, by the way, Midianites are called Ishmaelites again.

[20:17] And in Judges chapter 8, verse 22, this has to do with Gideon. And Gideon wanted to make an ephod after the great success.

[20:33] And because they were Ishmaelites, they had gold earrings. And so he said, I want you to give me the earrings from your prey, that is, the people you defeated.

[20:45] You know, they took plunder. And by the way, by the way, that, here's another lesson for me.

[20:57] I need to be careful of even the things that I set up as remembrances, that they don't become idols, because later the people of Israel start to worship the ephod.

[21:15] That was a reminder of God's great deliverance, but became a stumbling block to the people who were supposed to be remembering what God did, but instead they started worshiping the ephod itself.

[21:33] So, in Psalm 98, in Psalm 98, or not 98, I'm sorry, 83, Psalm 83, verses 1 through 8, the Ishmaelites are imprecated as being among those who wish to destroy Israel.

[22:06] And they have said, is the quote, come, let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.

[22:17] So, those are the Ishmaelites as they have been mentioned. Back to Genesis chapter 21. Let's look at verses 22 through 24.

[22:33] Now, it came about that at that time that Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham saying, God is with you in all that you do.

[22:48] Now, therefore, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity, but according to the kindness I have shown to you.

[23:03] You shall show to me and to the land in which you have sojourned. And Abraham said, I swear it, I agree.

[23:19] Okay, first of all, Abimelech is probably a throne name, but this may well still be the Abimelech that Abraham had just dealt with because they have seemingly a pretty close relationship.

[23:42] So Abimelech and the leader of his army come to Abraham and why do they come to Abraham? Well, what do they say?

[23:57] they want to come and make a pact, don't they? They want a treaty. They want to make a covenant between Abraham and Abimelech and Abimelech's people.

[24:15] He's acting as an envoy for his old people. He's the king of this area. Okay, that's good.

[24:26] why did he think he needed to do that? Abraham was great, that's true.

[24:41] And it's possible that he had heard what Abraham did to the five kings. That's possible. But he said something specific here because I know that God is with you and I think he's saying you know no matter what happens here God's on whose side if you will.

[25:10] I know I'm stretching that one. But God's going to stand with Abraham. So if we get into a conflict who's going to win?

[25:22] Who's going to win? God is. He said Abraham is going to win so I'm going to go make a pact. So what's the result of that?

[25:36] What does Abraham say? He said I'll swear it. Yeah I'll do that. I'll do that. So if we read along then in verses 25 and 26 especially what does Abraham do?

[26:08] But Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the well of water which the servants of Abimelech had seized.

[26:23] And Abimelech said I don't know who's done this nor did you tell me nor did I hear about it until today.

[26:37] So Abraham takes this time of treaty to voice a grievance to Abimelech. What had happened? They took one of his wells.

[26:52] He had dug this well. By the way when we read on we're going to see the name of it and we're going to realize it's already been named before. So he had dug this well but Abimelech servants had seized it by force and Abraham said look I'll make the pact with you but by the way Abimelech your people did this they did a wrong thing Abimelech didn't know about it or certainly says he didn't know about it and I I assume that's true so let's keep going then verse 27 Abimelech took what oh yeah okay

[27:57] Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech and the two of them made a covenant verse 28 then Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves and Abimelech asked him a question what was it what's this why are these over here and what was Abraham's response it's a testimony it's a testimony of what I dug the well this is my guarantee that I dug the well remember what Abimelech had done for Sarah when he returned Sarah he gave gifts to Abraham saying this is a testimony this is her clear deed that I didn't touch her that was that was

[29:05] Abimelech's testimony this is Abraham's testimony I dug the well so what's the final outcome of this treaty Abraham guarantees what we just read it what did what did Abimelech ask him you will not deal falsely with me or my progeny so you you'll you'll be upright with us what does Abraham get he gets his well back what's the name of the well Beersheba this was where hmm this was the area in which Hagar had wandered and this was the well that

[30:08] God opened her eyes and she saw it and she he saved her life this is Beersheba and when you see the name beer it means well and Sheba means the well of covenant of the covenant or the well of the so let's yes John you you you you were right it's Judah Reuben went to the pit and he wasn't there that's what I was thinking okay Reuben was going to release him and Judah yeah okay back back to verse 31 or 32 they made a covenant at

[31:13] Beersheba and Abimelech and Phicol the commander of the army arose and returned to the land of the Philistines and Abraham planted a tamarisk tree or possibly a grove and called on the name of the Lord the everlasting God and Abraham sojourned in the land of Philistines for many days now this is called the land of the Philistines there are a couple of things to note some some I hesitate to call them theologians or biblical scholars because I don't think they really believe the Bible is the word of God but some who called themselves at least that but attend to what this is by the way where critical theory originally got its seed start if you will in that well their position was the

[32:29] Bible is not really the word of God and so they some of them said well we know historically that there were no Philistines in the Mideast in the signing eye at this time they came later well I don't believe them because they don't know that they assume that or at least they state that whether they believe it or not nevertheless God calls it right now who wrote this by the way who penned it Moses penned it who spoke it right the Holy Spirit God spoke it that's why we call it the word of

[33:33] God and so God calls it the land of the Philistines although back in the covenant again the promise the land didn't really belong to the Philistines they were inhabiting it the land was promised to Abraham and his descendants and where did that stop it stopped at the Nile it stopped at the Nile and if you went north it stopped at the Euphrates didn't it so it's much bigger than they've ever inhabited but it will be Israel in the millennium won't it in the kingdom that's what it's going to be so although it's called the land of the

[34:45] Philistines it's going to be Abraham's land it's going to be it's part of the promise it will be part of what they inhabit when they enter Canaan it's part of what they will conquer so that will 32 and 34 I want to make sure that we see that that he sojourned there many days and that will complete his sojourn in this land of the Philistines we'll pick up if Lord willing we'll pick up with chapter 22 which is full of symbol it's full of practical stuff but it's full of what will be symbolism for us won't it as far as a picture of what

[35:54]  Christ has done and God bless you then and have a great week with to