Genesis 14
We have war recorded for the first time in the Bible. Abraham has a care for Lot and seeks to deliver him from his captors.
Verse 14. Though Lot was Abram’s nephew, he is called “his brother.” How humbled Lot must have been when he thought of the love of his uncle. Lot still had Sodom in his heart, for when he was rescued, he went right back and lived there!
Verses 18-24. Melchizedek is a beautiful type of Christ as Priest and King. Read of him in Hebrews 6:2020Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. (Hebrews 6:20) and chapter 7:20-24. In the millennium, Christ will be both Priest and King.
Genesis 15
Verse 1. “After these things.” After Abram had won a victory over those kings, he might have feared a return attack. So God comforted him with this wonderful promise: “I am thy shield.” Also, since Abram was satisfied to not take any reward from the king (Gen. 14:2323That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich: (Genesis 14:23)), God now says to him, “I am... thy exceeding great reward.”
Verses 2-16. Abram wanted a son and heir. Was he going too far in speaking to God in this way? Verse 6 shows us how close he was to the Lord. God loves to hear us ask Him for things which are for His glory and our good.
Genesis 16
Abram fails again. Israel today, with all its troubles, bloodshed and wars with the Arabs, is the result of Abram’s use of Hagar. The Muslim nations today consider that the Arabs are descendants of Ishmael (Gen. 37:2727Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. (Genesis 37:27)). Hagar had been brought from Egypt! Friendship with the world will bring us into much sorrow.
Verses 4-6. Into Abram’s family came misery, pride, jealousy, quarreling and injustice.
Verses 7-16. Yet how merciful God was to poor Hagar!
Verse 14. She comes to the well “Beer-lahai-roi,” which means, “The well of the living One who sees me.” When we sin, there is One to whom we confess—God (1 John 1:99If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)). But we carry the results of our sin to the day when we leave this world!
Genesis 17
Verses 1-4. This is the sixth time that God has appeared or given a promise to Abram. There has been a lapse of time in the story of Abram of several years. He is now 99! When we get away from the Lord, we waste our years too.
This further promise and revelation bring in the subject of circumcision. This pictures death to the flesh, separation and purity complete surrender to God. To enjoy our Christian blessings, we must learn the meaning of surrender to the Lord.
Verse 21. The covenant (agreement) of blessing was going to be through Isaac, not Ishmael. Abraham was impatient. He could not wait for God to give him a son by Sarah his wife. So he had taken the matter into his own hands, and sorrow was the result. But God is now going to act in grace.
Genesis 18
Here we see Abraham at his best kind, hospitable, thoughtful and generous. He knew it was the Lord to whom he was speaking.
Verse 2. He ran towards the men in confidence, but He bows before the Lord in reverence.
Verses 9-15. Sarah gets her first direct news of the son (Isaac) whom she was to bear at almost 100 years of age!
Verses 16-33. God would not hide from Abraham what He was going to do to Sodom, for He knew that Abraham would faithfully command and guide his own home. God delights to show us what He intends to do, but we are so often careless and out of communion with Him that we miss out. We first lose our confidence and then our discernment.
Verses 23-33. Abraham speaks to God and pleads for the city of Sodom. He knew his unfaithful nephew Lot lived there. What love Abraham had! What confidence in the Lord! When we walk with the Lord, we can speak to Him in complete confidence.
N. Berry
Editor’s Note: We trust that our readers have been helped by the brief study guide outlines of the early chapters of Genesis, presented the past five months. The complete outline for the Bible is available in booklet form. Those who wish to use this helpful guide may obtain copies at bookstores, both in Canada and the United States. Please contact the editor of the Christian Shepherd for the addresses of these sources.