Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.gracespringfield.com/sermons/47683/sunday-school-genesis-after-the-flood-09/.

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 12. Now, in those first six verses, God told...

[0:14] Be careful about walking around because I'm going to pull it off. Okay. In those first six verses, maybe if I put it in my pocket, I already pulled it off the belt, that's why it's there.

[0:28] In those first six verses, God told Abraham to go. Abraham? Okay. Now, he's going to be... This obedience is going to be mentioned a few times in Hebrews by faith.

[0:42] Abraham, when he was called, obeyed. He obeyed, not knowing where he was going. He didn't see the end. I don't have to see...

[0:56] I don't have to see how it works out ahead of time. I just need to know that the God who loved me enough to give himself upon the cross for my sin, so that I don't have to go to hell, I can go to heaven.

[1:14] I have a bodily resurrection to look forward to. Our brother, Mike, just went home. I don't have to be lost.

[1:28] That God is the one who gave me certain things. You know, he told me certain things that I ought to be behaving about. I don't have to see how that works out.

[1:42] Now, by the way, we're sponsoring a family conference coming up.

[1:54] Now, let's look at that. The analogy doesn't carry completely through. We aren't going to miss the point here.

[2:07] But does Nathan and Jamie need to explain to Adam why he shouldn't do something?

[2:22] Does Adam need to see why? No. You trust me. And beside, in their case, God gave me the responsibility to make that decision.

[2:40] I answer to the Lord, not to you. Now, that's an, I know that's, the analogy doesn't carry completely through, but the Lord gives me certain instructions and I don't have to say, but, they're not going to, they're not going to behave the way I want them to.

[3:00] Even if I do that. My soft answer didn't turn away their wrath. Now, so God says, well, Roger, yeah, I missed that one.

[3:18] Is that what the Lord says? No, he said, look, trust me. Trust me. It's not all. And by the way, there in Hebrews, all those people of faith, how does that hall of fame, if you will, of faith end?

[3:35] Do you remember? All these had faith, they trusted God, they died without having seen the outcome.

[3:54] Abram, Abram, did not see offspring as numerous as the sands or the stars.

[4:07] What did he see? Isaac. Isaac. That's what he saw. And some of them didn't see any of it.

[4:25] You know someone who has either sat under the teaching or taught, if you do this for God, you're going to be blessed.

[4:46] And what they mean by being blessed is financial, health, I, I thank the Lord that my cataract surgery went very nicely.

[5:02] so I'm, I'm quite happy. Not everybody gets that. I heard a guy actually say, the Lord doesn't want you, the, you're, you're the house of the Holy Spirit.

[5:20] Jesus lives in you. The Lord doesn't want you looking out through dirty windows. You know what he meant? If you trusted Christ, right, that's exactly what he meant.

[5:40] Now, is that true? No. No. He apparently didn't read what God said to the Apostle Paul who said it to the church that these are bodies of death.

[6:01] The body dies because of sin. But the spirit is renewed. Right?

[6:16] So, I did, that, that was a digression I didn't intend. I'm sorry about that. But, having faith in the Lord and obedience does not require my foresight.

[6:36] In fact, you've talked to somebody about the Lord who, who says, I don't believe in that. I don't really understand that.

[6:49] He hadn't given me, who was the famous philosopher, I'll say to the Lord that he didn't give me enough evidence. That's not true.

[7:03] That's not true. The heavens, the glory of God. Right? Day under day, it shouts. You can't walk out of your house and believe that he does not exist.

[7:23] You have to make yourself believe that. That's why in Romans he says, because they knew about God, but they refused to honor him.

[7:40] They purposed in their heart. The fool says in his heart, there is no God.

[7:51] The beginning of wisdom, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the holy is understanding.

[8:05] Those are great verses for me to remember, aren't they? The beginning of wisdom is fearing God, and learning about God is a basis for understanding.

[8:22] Okay. And then in Romans, in Romans chapter 4, we remember, Abram was not justified because he went.

[8:37] He was justified, that is, declared righteous before God. God declared Abraham righteous because Abraham believed him.

[8:49] He said, I believe. And so, therefore, the faith which is believing God, and then my confession is agreeing with him.

[9:09] So, when God looks at me, no longer does he see me, Roger. That is, he doesn't see Roger as Roger was without him.

[9:23] he sees me in Christ, doesn't he? That is wonderful because when he looked at me before, he saw me in my own righteousness, which was pretty pathetic.

[9:39] Oh, I was better than Hitler. But, yeah, no, not in the end result, though. Fallen is fallen, right?

[9:53] for all have sinned and do, that's an active present tense, do fall short of the glories of God.

[10:06] That's why I need a savior. That's why I need a savior. And believing God, by his grace, he says, if you believe what I say, and you agree with me, that you're a sinner and you have no help, except what I did for you on the cross.

[10:28] And I know this one's beautiful, the one he hanged on wasn't. But, if I do that, well, spiritually, spiritually, then, if you do that, he says, you're justified just like Abraham.

[10:52] Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. That's why Paul then later on will say, is it in Philippians, where he says, I've done all these things, but it's a dung heap.

[11:12] You know, it's a compost pile. because all my righteousness isn't good enough. I trust in Jesus Christ.

[11:23] I stand before God in a righteousness not my own, but the righteousness that comes by faith in the Son of God. As do anyone, or as does anyone who stands before God in righteousness, right?

[11:40] So, he's going to be mentioned there, and he's mentioned in Galatians, where it's referred to, the promise to the seed, refers specifically to Jesus Christ.

[12:03] Okay, let's look at verses seven through the end, and let's move on, because we already did that, and I'm not going to rehearse it unless you have something else to add.

[12:20] Let's move. The sacrifice, which one? Oh, on the altar?

[12:33] Okay. So, we talked about where he built the altar between Bethel and I.E. Bethel was called Luz at that time.

[12:47] I.E. is the second city that will be conquered by a lot of history here, isn't there? It's the second city that much later Abraham's descendants are going to be attacking.

[13:04] king. Now, Abraham went to Egypt. He asked Sarah to say, you're my sister because she was pretty, and he didn't want to be killed because of her.

[13:25] her. So, she apparently did. She went into the harem, and I don't know.

[13:42] In that case, she was obedient. But nevertheless, God plagued Pharaoh and all of Pharaoh's household, and Pharaoh sends Abraham out, says, get away from me.

[14:06] You know, move on. So, now he's going back up into Canaan. He, I guess when we stopped last week, he was in the Negev, in the southern Arid part.

[14:22] Okay, so now we start with verse seven of chapter 13. Well, actually, chapter, verse two of chapter 13.

[14:37] Verse two of chapter 13 is where we are right now. Okay, did Abraham stay in the Negev? I'm sorry?

[14:56] Verse two, he's still there, but we can read on at least through verse 13. I don't want to rush it too much, but okay, he moved on.

[15:08] Literally, it says that he went by stages, which would be understandable. He's moving herds. So, he and Lot, Lot has a household too.

[15:26] Lot is with him. Lot also has a household. He has flocks and servants. Abram has flocks and servants.

[15:38] So, they're moving up north, and he goes back to Bethel, or up in that area, to the place of the altar that he had built first, or before.

[15:53] Right? Okay, we're about verse six now, aren't we? So, what do we see in verse six?

[16:10] The land couldn't support both of them. So, we're pretty familiar with this portion, I know.

[16:22] So, what happens about that? What? Well, yeah, that's the quick answer.

[16:34] Who argued? the herdsman. I was here first. Get your animals off.

[16:48] No, I was here first. Get your animals off. So, whatever the argument's about, it's about grazing land and water.

[16:59] We can be sure of that. So, there's an argument, or there is strife. strife. It's not just a small disagreement, apparently, but there is strife between Lot's servants and Abram's servants.

[17:17] So, what comes of that? Okay, how does that happen? You're around verse eight.

[17:29] we're brethren. Let's not struggle with this.

[17:42] Separate, I pray you. Right? Is that how he says it? I forget how I better look at that. Please.

[17:56] Yeah. Let's separate. So, how does he suggest that happen? You go to the right, I'll go to the left. You go to the right.

[18:06] Okay, now, does that strike you as interesting? What strikes you as interesting? Why?

[18:20] Lot should be subservient to Abram. Why? Abram was the one God talked to and he was the elder.

[18:36] This is a pretty magnanimous thing Abram's doing. Abram had every right, every right to tell Lot what to do.

[18:53] But he didn't. now I have a question because this comes into rightly dividing the word of truth because we don't see it so much here, but I'm going to use it as an example of pulling things out of context.

[19:12] You read this verse, Abraham said to Lot. Now, we know that Abram was a superior. He was the elder. Lot is inferior.

[19:24] He's the younger. He's the junior of the two. But Abram gives Lot the choice. Now, that's a pretty magnanimous thing he does.

[19:41] Should I obey that? See, if I want to pull it out of context, or better yet, just read into it something, I'd say, well, that's the way it always ought to be.

[20:00] Is that true? No, it's not exemplary at all. It's how it happened, but it's not exemplary. I need to remember that, don't I?

[20:11] I'd better get the whole context before I start saying, this is what God says to you. because it's not necessarily what always ought to happen.

[20:25] Now, back to the parent conference. Dad should not always say to the son, whatever you want.

[20:40] You choose the chore, and whichever chore you do, I'll do the other one. No, I don't think so. My dad didn't read it that way.

[20:57] In fact, he read it like, I'm trying to think of his name. I think it's Tony Hill. Is that a right name? Tony Evans.

[21:10] He had a radio program. He may still have it. it. Yeah, he still has it. Now, I'm not suggesting that Nathan use individual sons or daughters as pulpit illustration, but Tony did.

[21:31] And he talked about his son, and he said, you know, my son had, this was years ago, so his son's got his own family now, does it differently, doesn't he?

[21:43] Anyway, his son had the responsibility of every day he had to have the garbage out and have the place cleaned up. Well, Tony came home from church and from his office and it wasn't done.

[21:57] And I don't remember his name. He called him by name. He said, why isn't it out? Well, it's supposed to be out already.

[22:08] As soon as you get home, you're supposed to do that. He said, well, I didn't feel like it. And he said, Tony looked at him and he said, I can help you with the way you feel.

[22:20] You know, I can change the way you feel. See, you can't pull it out of context and say that's an example that ought to be. And in fact, in this case, well, we'll get on with that.

[22:36] So, what did Lot choose? Describe it. He looked around and what did he look at?

[22:52] He looked at the plains of the Jordan and he saw that it was, now, here is hyperbolic expression. Because here, God says, it was well watered like the delta of Egypt or like the garden of God.

[23:18] Okay, that's hyperbolic. And we can understand that easily, can't we? We can understand that easily. There is no more garden of Eden because the Lord said, you know, you tilled before, but the land easily yielded.

[23:38] but after the fall, it's going to be by the sweat of your brow that you're going to earn your bread. Because now when you till, the land is going to yield thorns and thistles.

[23:53] You're going to have to fight now. Aren't you, Roger? Aren't you, John? You have to fight it. Yeah, okay.

[24:04] But, Lot looks around and he sees the well-watered plain. So what does he say? I'm going to take that. So, what's the result of that?

[24:18] Did Abraham change his mind? Okay, what did he say? Or what happens? Yeah.

[24:36] So what did Lot do? It says he pitched his tent in the King James it's a beautifully poetic expression.

[24:49] He pitched his tent toward Sodom. Now, how's that going to work out for you, Lot?

[25:03] He doesn't know how many things in my life really look good but I probably shouldn't be doing that.

[25:20] I probably shouldn't be doing that. I wonder how many things would go better if I didn't have this tendency to pitch my tent toward Sodom.

[25:34] He didn't take a vacation and we know about it. Yeah, well, you know, the point of it is that sometimes my decisions are going to have repercussions down the road that I don't necessarily foresee.

[25:55] right? Right? In fact, as you go on in Genesis, you're going to find out that that decision to live in Sodom is going to have a profound effect, not only on Lot, but on his family and on his generations thereafter.

[26:24] In fact, it's going to result ultimately in the formation of two people groups that we're going to see later on, the Ammonites and the Moabites.

[26:38] The Ammonites, well, let's go to the Moabites first. The Moabites, the Moabites will be, one of the kings will be Balak when Israel's coming out of Egypt and Balak will hire a guy to curse him.

[27:06] What's the guy's name? Balaam. God doesn't allow that. But the Moabites will hire Balaam to curse Israel.

[27:17] Well, that didn't, God didn't allow it, so what did Balaam suggest to Balak? Hey, cozy up to them and seduce them into compliance.

[27:37] And it begins to work. It begins to work. the Ammonites, it will be interesting, since we just got through, since Ron just taught us about David, it will be against the Ammonites that they're fighting when David sends Uriah the Hittite to be murdered.

[28:03] It's going to be against the Ammonites. this isn't going to all go well. Sometimes my decisions have repercussions a long way off.

[28:17] Now, it doesn't keep you from moving, and we thank God for His grace, but it does behoove me to pay attention to what I'm doing, doesn't it?

[28:28] Now, we know that God tells us in the church, you can't leave the world as far as completely, but He does caution us about bringing the world into the church, doesn't He?

[28:51] He does tell us about that. That's really why the church gathers, or that's not the only reason, but one of the big reasons why the church gathers is to support one another because it's pretty rough out there.

[29:15] There is no friend of the Christian. There is no friend is this what's the song say? Is this vile world a friend of grace to help me unto God?

[29:31] That's a poetic expression, but it's pretty accurate, isn't it? It's the world, the world, now I'm using it as not the cosmos, but as the age, the world is not God's friend, right?

[29:53] I was in the world, but now I'm not. I'm in it physically, but I am not of it, and God says, then act like it.

[30:13] So, it's just a lesson for me. be careful where I get cozy. I shouldn't be comfortable in Sodom.

[30:29] I shouldn't be comfortable in Sodom. Well, as a matter of fact, in 2nd Peter, you will read, if you want to know where it is, 2nd Peter chapter 2, verses 6 through 8, Lot and his sojourn in Sodom is used as an example of God's ability to save the ungodly and punish the ungodly.

[31:04] That's how Peter words it there. And he says that Lot's righteous soul was vexed with the unrighteousness about him. We do know later on, and I know I'm jumping ahead, but that's okay, you remember it, later on when the two angels come, the men of Sodom are going to try to sodomize them, to put it gently, and Lot's going to say, no, no, no, no, no, don't stay out there, come in here.

[31:39] And, of course, the story's far more involved than sociologically, I do not understand how it went, but, nevertheless, it ends up with the angels striking the people blind, and they're milling about, and they can't do anything about it, and Lot has to flee.

[32:02] Unfortunately, his wife doesn't think she needs to flee, and that's later on. So, let's move on.

[32:25] I don't want to belabor it. Right now, we're about verse 14. Okay? So, look at those next several verses, 14 through 18 at least.

[32:48] So, Lot has gone to the Jordan Plains. What's Abraham do? Abram. Okay? It says that he settles where?

[33:01] In Canaan. Right. Okay. So, now, what does, uh, okay, God talks to him, God says something to him, what does he say?

[33:23] What's he say about that? all this land that you can see I'm going to give you? Now, he, he has already told Abram that he's going to give him this land, but now it's getting more explicit.

[33:43] He's saying, look around. Take it in. Your descendants, you walk around, and everything you can see, I'm going to give to your descendants.

[33:57] All right. So, in fact, God tells him to do what? Get up and tour.

[34:08] Take a tour. Walk around. Don't just stay here. Go through the land. Survey it. I'm going to make your descendants as numerous as what?

[34:19] another hyperbolic statement. We understand that. It's not that difficult to understand the difference between scriptural hyperbole and literacy.

[34:42] Those who have trouble with that never seem to have any trouble with it anywhere but the Bible, right? That seems to be the only place where I can have problems with it.

[35:01] Well, I'm not going to belabor that. It's too far aside. But, look around you. I'm going to give all this to you. What's Abraham do then? Because I'm going to stop here at verse 18.

[35:15] He moves to Hebron. Well, what will later be called Hebron, it's the Oak of Mamre in Hebron, and what does he do there?

[35:33] He builds another one. This, as far as I could see, this is his third altar that he has built in the land.

[35:44] Now, we don't know that he was given any instruction, as were the children of Israel, about how to build their altars. All we know is that he built the altar.

[35:59] So, at this point, we'll take a couple weeks off because next week, we'll have a family conference speaker for the morning.

[36:15] In fact, I think there are two of them in this hour, are there not? Okay, so, okay, okay.

[36:29]  So, have a great couple weeks, come back next week, and join together.