Genesis 25: Ishmael's Family Records

¹² These are the family records of Abraham's son Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's slave, bore to Abraham. ¹³ These are the names of Ishmael's sons; their names according to the family records are: Nebaioth, Ishmael's firstborn, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ¹⁴ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, ¹⁵ Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. ¹⁶ These are Ishmael's sons, and these are their names by their villages and encampments: 12 leaders of their clans. ¹⁷ This is the length of Ishmael's life: 137 years. He took his last breath and died, and was gathered to his people. ¹⁸ And they settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt as you go toward Asshur. He lived in opposition to all his brothers.

 Verse 12 to verse 16 talks of Ishmael's sons. Verse 13 lists his twelve sons, in order of their villages and encampments. Ismael lived to be 137 years old, and was gathered to his people. The last sentence says that he lived in opposition to all his brothers, just as the Lord said he would in Genesis 16:

¹² This man will be [like] a wild ass.
    His hand will be against everyone,
    and everyone's hand will be against him;
    he will live at odds with all his brothers.

Genesis 25: Abraham's Death

⁷ This is the length of Abraham's life: 175 years. ⁸ He took his last breath and died at a ripe old age, old and contented, and he was gathered to his people. ⁹ His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. ¹⁰ This was the field that Abraham bought from the Hittites. Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah. ¹¹ After Abraham's death, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near Beer-lahai-roi.

 Abraham lived until the ripe age of 175 years old. He is one of the most important people in the Bible, and is the second most mentioned person in the Bible. Abraham's sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave located on the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. He was buried here with his wife Sarah. After Abraham died, Isaac was blessed by the Lord.

Genesis 25: Abraham's Other Wife and Sons

¹ Now Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah, ² and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. ³ Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. Dedan's sons were the Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. ⁴ And Midian's sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were sons of Keturah. ⁵ Abraham gave everything he owned to Isaac. ⁶ And Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines, but while he was still alive he sent them eastward, away from his son Isaac, to the land of the East.

 Verse 1 through verse 4 explain how Abraham took another wife, named Keturah, and had six sons by her. Although Abraham was in his old age, he was still fertile, because of the Lord's promise to Abraham. Verse 5 and 6 explain that Abraham set Isaac apart from his other children, for Isaac is the son of promise. Abraham gives Isaac everything, and only gives gifts to the sons of his concubines. And before Abraham died, he made sure to send them away from the land God had promised him, so that Isaac may have it. This shows us that Isaac is a very important person and we will be learning more about him in the Bible.

Genesis 24: A Wife for Isaac

¹ Abraham was now old, getting on in years, and the LORD had blessed him in everything. ² Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his household who managed all he owned, "Place your hand under my thigh,³ and I will have you swear by the LORD, God of heaven and God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live, ⁴ but will go to my land and my family to take a wife for my son Isaac."

 Abraham really did not want his son to marry a Canaanite, the people he was living among at the time. Abraham knew his time was almost up, so he made his eldest and most loyal servant swear an oath that he would find for Isaac a wife that wasn't a Canaanite. Abraham made his instructions very clear, because he knew his time was coming, and that he might not live to see the servant return with Isaac's new wife. 


The servant set out on his journey and brought with him 10 camels. He brought the camels near a well outside the town of Nahor, Aram-naharaim, and had his camels kneel there. It was around evening, when the women came to draw water from the well. Before they came out, the servant said a prayer to the Lord, asking for guidance and success in fulfilling the oath he made to Abraham. He asked the Lord for a sign, so that he could be sure that he had chosen the right woman. He immediately saw Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel and son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor, carrying a jug over her shoulder. She was extraordinarily beautiful, and no man had known her intimately, so she was still pure. The servant ran up to her and asked for a drink of water. She said yes and quickly lowered her jug for the servant, and then drew water for the camels. This was the sign that the servant had asked from the Lord, and the Lord answered.


The servant, seeing that this is the woman the Lord had chosen, gives her a golden ring and two bracelets. He asks if he can stay at her father's place and she replies that there is plenty of food and a place to sleep. The servant immediately bows down to worship, praise, and give thanks to the Lord. 


So they went to Rebekah's father's house. Her brother Laban, came out to see them, and sees the gold ring and bracelets on Rebekah. They offer the servant food, but he refuses to eat, only wanting to tell them his story. The servant tells the entire story of how Abraham wanted him to find a wife for Isaac, a woman that wasn't a Canaanite. Then he tells them of his prayer to the Lord, and how the Lord answered and gave him guidance. 

⁵⁰ Laban and Bethuel answered, "This is from the LORD; we have no choice in the matter. ⁵¹ Rebekah is here in front of you. Take [her] and go, and let her be a wife for your master's son, just as the LORD has spoken."

Because they agreed, the servant gave highly valuable gifts to Rebekah, clothes and jewelery, and he also gives them to her mother and brother. It was customary for the bridegroom or the bridegroom's representative to give gifts of value to show that they are able to provide for the bride.


The family wants Rebekah to stay with them for 10 more days, so that they can say their goodbyes. But, the servant says that they should leave immediately, because the Lord had given the servant success in his journey. They let Rebekah decide, and she agrees to leave immediately as well.

 ⁶⁰ They blessed Rebekah, saying to her:
    Our sister, may you become
    thousands upon ten thousands.
    May your offspring possess
    the gates of their enemies.

Then Rebekah left with the servant, and with her she took her slaves. The got back early evening, and when Rebekah saw Isaac in the distance, she asked the servant who he was, and the servant told her. Upon hearing that it was her future husband, she covered herself with a veil, a sign of her modesty, and chastity. 

  ⁶⁷ And Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah and took Rebekah to be his wife. Isaac loved her, and he was comforted after his mother's [death].

Genesis 23: Sarah's Burial

¹ Now Sarah lived 127 years; [these were all] the years of her life. ² Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

The first thing I noticed was that we are told how old Sarah was when she died. Before this, the only ones whose deaths were recorded were men. I did a little research on this I found out that Sarah is the only woman in the Bible whose age was documented when she died. This really shows how great and important a woman she truly is. After Sarah died, Abraham came to her side to mourn and weep for her. 


Then, he gets up and goes off to handle the business of burying her body. He asked the Hittites for a place that he could bury his deceased wife. Ephron, speaking for the Hittites, offered Abraham the land for free, saying in verse 6, "Listen to us, lord. You are God's chosen one among us. Bury your dead in our finest burial place. None of us will withhold from you his burial place for burying your dead." This seemed awfully kind of the Hittites to offer free land to Abraham so that he may bury his wife, but I learned that this was a customary way of bargaining during those times. The seller would offer the land for free, and the buyer would have to reject it. Then, the seller offers it for a price, and the haggling begins. 


So Abraham bows to the Hittites, showing his humbleness and respect. He tells them that he wants the land, and he wants to pay the full price for it. Ephron said that the money meant nothing, and although Abraham agreed with him, he still paid the entire amount. 

 ¹⁷ So Ephron's field at Machpelah near Mamre—the field with its cave and all the trees anywhere within the boundaries of the field—became ¹⁸ Abraham's possession in the presence of all the Hittites who came to the gate of his city. ¹⁹ After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field at Machpelah near Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. ²⁰ The field with its cave passed from the Hittites to Abraham as a burial place.

Here we see in verse 18 that this land became Abraham's possesion, a piece of land that was not granted to him by God. And so Abraham buried his wife Sarah in a cave that was part of the land he bought, and this became a burial place in which Abraham would be buried when his time comes.

Genesis 22: Rebekah's Family

²⁰ Now after these things Abraham was told, "Milcah also has borne sons to your brother Nahor: ²¹ Uz his firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel the father of Aram, ²² Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel." ²³ And Bethuel fathered Rebekah. Milcah bore these eight to Nahor, Abraham's brother. ²⁴ His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

 This few verses show the lineage of Abraham's family. More importantly, verse 23 introduces Rebekah.

Genesis 22: The Sacrifice of Isaac

² "Take your son," He said, "your only [son] Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

Here, God is telling Abraham to give his son, Isaac, as an offering to the Lord. Isaac is referred to as Abraham's 'only son', but we know that Abraham also had another son, Ishmael. From this, we can infer that God only considers Isaac as Abraham's son. Now, this is a difficult situation. Abraham is told to sacrifice the son that the Lord gave him, the son that he waited so long for. But, anything the Lord commands should be done immediately, and it would be sinful to be so attached to the world that one defies the Lord.


Abraham, loyal to the Lord, wakes up early the next morning in order to fulfill God's wishes. In verse 3, Abraham prepares for what lies ahead. He brings with him a donkey, two servants, wood for burning the offering, and his son Isaac. Then they all head out to the land of Moriah, where God commanded him to go. In verse 4-5, we learn that on the third day, the land of Moriah was in view. Abraham told his servants to stay behind in verse 4, saying "The boy and I will go over there to worship; then we'll come back to you." He says 'we' instead of 'I', implying that both he and Isaac will return, because he had faith in the Lord. For the rest of the journey, Abraham brought only the fire and the sacrificial knife. 


Isaac, seeing that there was no animal for the burnt offering, asks his father where it is. Abraham replies in verse 8, "God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." When they got there, Abraham made all the preparations, then in verse 10, "reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son." At that moment, an angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, causing him to stop immediately. Abraham showed his great love and faith in the Lord by willingly offering his only son. This is just as later on, the Lord shows his great love for us and offers his one and only son, Jesus. So the Lord provided a ram for Abraham to offer, and he offered the ram instead of his son Isaac.


Once more the angel calls down from heaven, "By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD: Because you have done this thing and have not withheld your only son, ¹⁷I will indeed bless you and make your offspring as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the gates of their enemies. ¹⁸ And all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring because you have obeyed My command."

Genesis 21: Abraham's Covenant with Abimelech

²² At that time Abimelech, with Phicol the commander of his army, said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do. ²³ Now swear to me here by God that you will not break an agreement with me or with my children and descendants. As I have kept faith with you, so you will keep faith with me and with the country where you are a resident alien."

 It seems a bit strange that Abimelech is so willing to make a peace treaty with Abraham, especially after Abraham almost ruined Abimelech's nation by telling him that Sarah was his sister. After looking at various sources, I found out that Abimelech wasn't the name of one specific king, but the title of the ruler of Gerar, similar to how 'Pharaoh' is the title of the ruler of Egypt. Abimelech says to Abraham in verse 22 that "God is with you in everything you do," because it is obvious to Abimelech that the Lord is working through Abraham.


 Abraham swore to uphold the treaty, then brought up the subject of a water well that Abimelech's servants took. Abimelech helps clear up this dispute, and Abraham gave Abimelech sheep and cattle, as proof of their peace. Abraham had set aside seven ewe lambs, and Abimelech didn't understand why. Abraham says that they will serve as witnesses that he dug that well. And after all this was settled, Abraham planted a tamarish tree there and worshiped the Lord.

³³ Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and there he worshiped the LORD, the Everlasting God. ³⁴ And Abraham lived as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines for many days.

Genesis 21: Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away

⁸ The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned.

 Abraham held a big celebration on the day that Isaac stopped drinking his mother's milk. During the feast, Sarah saw that Ishmael, the son born to Abraham by Hagar, was mocking her son, Isaac. She told Abraham in verse 10, "Drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave will not be a co-heir with my son Isaac!" This may seem a little harsh, but the whole time Sarah was barren, she probably grew bitter as she saw Hagar's son, Ishmael, grow up. So, when she saw Ishmael mocking her son, this fueled her bitterness and anger even more, and told her husband to drive out Hagar and Ishmael. 


Of course, this is hard for Abraham to do, because Ishmael was his son. To help him, God told him to do whatever Sarah told him to do. God tells Abraham in verse 12 that his "offspring will be traced through Isaac." But, God will not forget about Abraham's slave son, and will also make a nation of Hagar.


In this situation, Ishmael is the son of flesh, because Abraham and Sarah took the situation into their own hands in order to give Abraham a son. Isaac, on the other hand, is the son of faith, because they had faith that the Lord would provide Abraham a son. God is telling Abraham to chose the son of faith over the son of flesh, and Abraham obeys. Early the next morning, he gives Hagar and Ishmael bread and a waterskin, and they leave. They wandered until they reached the Wilderness of Beer-sheba, and at this point, they had run out of water. Ishmael, thinking that they would die soon, hid her son under a bush, and sat "about a bow shot away." In verse 16, she says "I can't [bear to] watch the boy die!" 


God, hearing what was going on, sent an angel. In verse 17-18, the angel of God said to Hagar "¹⁷What's wrong, Hagar? Don't be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy from the place where he is. ¹⁸Get up, help the boy up, and sustain him, for I will make him a great nation." God showed favor to Ishmael, probably because he is a descendant of Abraham. He opened Hagar's eyes and she saw a well of water. Verse 20-21 says "²⁰ God was with the boy, and he grew; he settled in the wilderness and became an archer. ²¹ He settled in the Wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt."

Genesis 21: The Birth of Isaac

¹ The LORD came to Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what He had promised. ² Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time God had told him.

 God did just as He had promised, on the exact day He promised. Sarah gave birth to Abraham's son, and the child was named Isaac. Abraham circumcised Isaac when he was eight days old, just as the Lord commanded. Verse 5 says that Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born.

Genesis 20: Sarah Rescued from Abimelech

Verse 1 explains that Abraham is now living in Gerar, and just as he did in Egypt, he told his wife to tell everyone that they were just brother and sister, instead of husband and wife. Obviously, Abraham has not learned from his mistake in Genesis 12:10-13. Because they said this, in verse 2, "Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him". 


Soon after, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him in verse 3, "You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman." If I were Abimelech, I would be extremely fearful for my life, because the Lord himself came to Abimelech and said that he was about to die. God came to Abimelech before he was able to do anything with Sarah, so she was untouched by him. He begs the Lord not to destroy him or his nation, because he took Sarah with a clear conscience, believe she was merely Abraham's sister, and she was handed over to him without any protest from Abraham. 


Our God is a very understanding and forgiving God, and Abimelech is forgiven. In verse 6-7, God tells Abimelech "⁶ Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience. I have also kept you from sinning against Me. Therefore I have not let you touch her. ⁷ Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, know that you will certainly die, you and all who are yours."


The very next morning, Abimelech wakes up very early and tells all of his servants everything. Just as the Pharaoh rebuked Abraham in Egypt, Abimelech rebukes Abraham in verse 9, "⁹What have you done to us? How did I sin against you that you have brought such enormous guilt on me and on my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done." Abraham tries to explain himself, saying that he saw Gerar as a sinful nation, and thought that he would be killed so that Abimelech may take his wife. Then, he makes another excuse, saying that Sarah actually is his sister, they share the same father but have different mothers. Although telling Abimelech that he and Sarah are siblings is partially true, this does not justify Abraham's sinful actions. Then, Abraham tries to put some of the blame on the Lord, because the Lord was the one that called him to this place. Abraham should have asked for the forgiveness of Abimelech and the Lord, but instead makes up some weak excuses, trying to justify what he did. 


What Abraham did to Abimelech was very wrong, and Abimelech had every right to just kick Abraham out; but instead, Abimelech returned Abraham's wife, gave him sheep, cattle, and male and female slaves. Then, Abimelech tells Abraham that he may settle anywhere he wants on him land. Then, he gives Abraham a lot of silver. In verse 16, Abimelech says to Sarah, "You are fully vindicated." I think he means that she is vindicated because she is now returned back to her rightful husband. Afterwards, Abraham prays to God. Verse 17-18, "¹⁷ God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female slaves so that they could bear children, ¹⁸ for the LORD had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech's household on account of Sarah, Abraham's wife."

Genesis 19: The Origin of Moab and Ammon

Finally, Lot does what the Lord had previously told him to do, and moves to the mountains with his two daughters. Verse 30 says that Lot was afraid to live in Zoar, so he was probably afraid that the Lord would destroy Zoar just as He had done with Sodom and Gomorrah, and so Lot took his two daughters with him, where they currently live in a cave. 


Being just the three of them, the older daughter said to her sister, "³¹ Our father is old, and there is no man in the land to sleep with us [as is] the custom of all the land. ³² Come, let's get our father to drink wine so that we can sleep with him and preserve our father's line." So that night, they got their father, Lot, drunk off the wine and the older sister slept with him, but he was not aware of this, because he was drunk. Then the next day, the older sister tells the younger sister to do the same.


Soon, both girls were pregnant and had sons by Lot.The older sister had a son named Moab, who is the father of the Moabites today. The younger sister had a son named Ben-ammi, who is the father of the Ammonites today.


What these girls did was wrong. They said in verse 31 that "there is no man in the land to sleep with them, but that is a lie. When they lived in Zoar, they much have seen that although the Lord wiped out Sodom and Gomorrah, he hadn't wiped out the rest of the world. Also, they took the situation into their own hands, instead of having faith in the Lord and leaving it all up to Him. 

Genesis 19: The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

The first verse tells us that two angels entered Sodom. These were the two men that were with the Lord when they visited Abraham in Genesis 18. So these angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting there at the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he went to meet them, bowed down at their feet, and said in verse 2 "My lords, turn aside to your servant's house, wash your feet, and spend the night. Then you can get up early and go on your way". The angels rejected Lot's offer, because they would rather spend the night in the square. Verse 3, Lot "urged them so strongly that they followed him and went into his house. He prepared a feast and baked unleavened bread for them, and they ate".


So these angels were at Lot's house, and before they went to bed, the entire male population of Sodom surrounded the house. Verse 5 that men call out to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have sex with them!" You can see how outright sinful and evil these people are, they are telling Lot to give them these men so that they could rape and abuse them homosexually. Lot shuts the door on them and says to them in verse 7 " "Don't do [this] evil, my brothers. ⁸ Look, I've got two daughters who haven't had sexual relations with a man. I'll bring them out to you, and you can do whatever you want to them". Lot attempts to protect these men by offering his virgin daughters to do with as they pleased. Although he made this offer in order to protect his guests, it is still an extremely horrible thing to even suggest. Lot tried to reach a compromise with these evil men, but they have no respect for Lot, saying in verse 9 "This one came here as a foreigner, but he's acting like a judge! Now we'll do more harm to you than to them".


The evil men come to break down the door, and the angels decide it was time to step in. Verse 10-11 "¹⁰ the angels reached out, brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. ¹¹ They struck the men who were at the door of the house, both young and old, with a blinding light so that they were unable to find the door. The physical blindness only compliments their spiritual blindness.

Then the angels asked Lot anyone who belonged to him, sons, daughters, etc., and to leave this place because they said in verse 13 "the outcry against its people is great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it". Then Lot goes to tell his son-in-laws to leave the city because the Lord was going to destroy is. Even though Lot told them this in all seriousness, the son-in-laws thought he was merely joking. It is obvious that they do not fear the Lord, and probably don't even believe in Him. I'm surprised that Lot lets these men marry his daughters, but he probably turned away from the Lord too, when he moved to the city of Sodom. Unlike Abraham, Lot took his time to do what the he was commanded, instead of leaving at that moment, he stayed there, unsure what to do. Early the next morning, the angels again told him in verse 15 "Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city". Still, he hesitated, but the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and daughters and dragged them away from the city. Lot doesn't fear the Lord, and the is reason to believe that he doesn't have faith in the Lord, yet the Lord still loves Lot and continues to protect him.


The angels finally got Lot and his family out of the city, and tell him to run for their lives and to not stop running until they reach the mountains. But, Lot is too attached to this city. He begs the Lord to let him go to a nearby town, rather than the mountains which are much to far away from his beloved city. The Lord being infinitely patient and merciful, allows this, but tells him to hurry and run, for He will not strike down the city of Sodom until Lot reaches the little town. Lot reaches the small town of Zoar around noon. Then, in verse 24-25, "the LORD rained burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah from the LORD out of the sky. ²⁵ He overthrew these cities, the entire plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and whatever grew on the ground". In verse 26, Lot's wife makes the mistake of turning back, and became a pillar of salt. The Lord wanted Lot to run to the mountains, somewhere far away so that they could forget the city of Sodom and leave it behind. But, they chose to go to a town nearby instead, and his wife disobeys the Lord's order to not look back on their former city of Sodom, so she is punished.


The Lord loved Abraham so much that He did as Abraham prayed for in his heart. He knew that Abraham prayed that Lot would not be taken down with the city, so He delivered Lot from it before He destroyed it.

Genesis 18: Abraham's Plea for Sodom

In verse 16, "The men got up from there and looked out over Sodom, and Abraham was walking with them to see them off". For a while, the Lord pondered whether or not He should tell Abraham what He was about to do. He realized that Abraham would one day be a great leader, and He wants Abraham to learn how to do what is right and just. So He decides to tell Abraham in verse 20 "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin is extremely serious. ²¹ I will go down to see if what they have done justifies the cry that has come up to Me. If not, I will find out". The Lord was going to judge these two cities, and the sins committed in these cities were great.


So the men went towards Sodom, but Abraham stood there before the Lord. Abraham showed the Lord he was able to think righteously and justly. Although there were many sinners in these cities, Abraham thought it was wrong to wipe out the entire city if there were some righteous people in the city as well. In verse 24-25, Abraham says to the Lord  "²⁴ What if there are 50 righteous people in the city? Will You really sweep it away instead of sparing the place for the sake of the 50 righteous people who are in it? ²⁵ You could not possibly do such a thing: to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. You could not possibly do that! Won't the Judge of all the earth do what is just?"


The Lord, seeing reason in what Abraham says, tells him that if he finds 50 righteous people in the city of Sodom, then he will spare the entire city for the sake of the righteous people. He continues to negotiate with the Lord. He's afraid the Lord may get offended by his negotiations, so he says "Let the Lord not be angry, and I will speak further". Finally, Abraham was able to negotiate until they reached the number 10. The Lord agreed that if there were 10 righteous people in the city, He would spare the entire city, because verse 25 "You could not possibly do such a thing: to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike". Abraham was afraid to negotiate any further, so the Lord went on his way and Abraham returned to his tent. 

Genesis 18: Sarah Laughs

In verse 9 the men ask Abraham where his wife Sarah is. He told them that she was in the tent. Then in verse 10, "the LORD said, "I will certainly come back to you in about a year's time, and your wife Sarah will have a son!" Sarah was in the tent listening, and heard what the Lord said. Sarah laughed to herself, because she was old and pass the childbearing age. The Lord knew that Sarah laughed and knew what she said to herself, so he asks Abraham in verse 13 "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Can I really have a baby when I'm old?' ¹⁴Is anything impossible for the LORD? At the appointed time I will come back to you, and in about a year she will have a son". Sarah thought that no one had heard her laugh, but He, being the Lord, heard everything and this scared her. She denied that she laughed, lying to the Lord, but He knew that she laughed and said in verse 15 "No, you laughed".


The Lord could have punished Sarah for not believing in Him by taking away the son he promised them, but but He is a patient and kind God. So instead, he deals with her unbelief, but doesn't take away the child he promised them.

Genesis 18: Abraham's Three Visitors

¹ Then the LORD appeared to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre while he was sitting in the entrance of his tent during the heat of the day. ² He looked up, and he saw three men standing near him.

The Lord appeared before Abraham in his physical form. I'm not sure why it says there were three men, it's not too clear about that. When he sees the Lord, he asks Him not to leave. Abraham asks the Lord to wait for him to fetch water so the Lord can wash his feet and rest, and bread to eat. He tells them after this, they may continue on to wherever they were going. Verse 5 they said "Yes, do as you have said". 


Then Abraham ran to his tent and told his wife to quickly cook up some bread. Then he picks a choice calf and tells one of his men to prepare it. Verse 8 "Then Abraham took curds and milk, and the calf that he had prepared, and set [them] before the men. He served them as they ate under the tree". Abraham was very hospitable to his guests, and one of them was the Lord.

Genesis 17: Covenant Circumcision

¹ When Abram was 99 years old, the LORD appeared to him, saying, "I am God Almighty. Live in My presence and be devout. ²I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you greatly."

 The Lord not only spoke to Abram, He appeared before him and tells him He is the God Almighty. He tells Abram to live in His presence and be devout, which I think means that Abram must follow God and have complete faith in Him. He again reminds Abram that He has not forgotten the covenant between them, to reassure Abram's doubts that God might have forgotten about their covenant.


Verse 5, God tells Abram that his name will no longer be Abram, but it will now be Abraham, and the Lord says "I will make you the father of many nations". He continues to promise great things to Abraham in verse 6-8, "⁶ I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you. ⁷ I will keep My covenant between Me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, as an everlasting covenant to be your God and the [God] of your offspring after you. ⁸ And to you and your offspring after you I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession, and I will be their God".


Then God tells Abraham that to serve as a sign of the covenant, all his male offsprings and slaves must be circumcised physically. One thing that came to mind was this was for cleanliness. In those days, these people most likely didn't shower daily, or use as much caution as we do nowadays when it comes to personal hygiene. So, by cutting away the foreskin, bacteria forming can be prevented in this area. Just like how God watched out for us when it came to eating meat, and making sure we cooked it fully to kill bacteria. I'm not sure why God wanted this circumcision to happen on the eighth day, but it's probably the best time to perform the circumcision, the baby isn't too young and has had time to mature a bit and be exposed to the world. If any man of Abraham is uncircumcised, that is a sign that he has broken the covenant and will be cut off from his people.


Then in verse 15, God renames Abraham's wife. She is no longer Sarai, she is now Sarah. Verse 16 God says "I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will produce nations; kings of peoples will come from her". To remove confusion on Abraham's part, God tells him that his children will come from Sarah, not from other surrogate mothers. In his heart, Abraham doubted God, verse 17 "Can a child be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, give birth?" Abraham fell to the ground laughing, because God had the power to make what seemed impossible possible. 


God reassures Abraham once again that Sarah will bear his son, and he will be names Isaac. Then, in verse 20, God says he has heard Abraham, and will bless his son Ishmael. God says although in verse 20 " I will make him fruitful and will multiply him greatly. He will father 12 tribal leaders, and I will make him into a great nation", verse 21 "but I will confirm My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year." So although Ishmael recieves the Lord's blessing, He will confirm His covenant with Isaac. And to further reassure Abraham, he gives him the specific date that Sarah will bear Isaac. When the Lord finished telling this to Abraham, he left.


After the Lord left, Abraham took all the men that he owned, whether they were born in his house or he purchased them, and they were all circumcised. Abraham and Ishmael were also circumcised. They were all circumcised that very day that the God told Abraham that they must be circumcised. This shows his faith and obedience to the Lord. He knew what the Lord had asked of him to show sign of their covenant, so he did it immediately. 

Genesis 16: Hagar and Ishmael

At this point, Abram's wife Sarai still hasn't given him a child yet. She knows how much Abram wants children and how important it is to him, so she tells Abram in verse 2 "Since the LORD has prevented me from bearing children, go to my slave; perhaps I can have children by her". The slave Sarai was talking about was her Egyptian slave, Hagar. Verse 3 says that "[This happened] after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan 10 years". That means this was 10 years after the Lord had called Abram to this land and promised him numerous offspring. Having waited 10 years, Abram agreed to make Hagar the surrogate mother, and succeeded in impregnating the slave. 


Sarai, seeing that Hagar was able to become pregnant but she was not, became jealous and angry, telling Abram in verse 5 "You are responsible for my suffering! I put my slave in your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has looked down on me. May the LORD judge between me and you". When the slave Hagar saw that she was able to become pregnant with Abram but Sarai was not, she began to look down upon Sarai. Sarai blames Abram from all of that happened because he should have rejected her offer and leave it all up to God. Instead, they decided to take matters into their own hands and of course, they now have a problem on their hands. Abram tries to make it up to Sarai by telling her in verse 6 "Here, your slave is in your hands; do whatever you want with her." Instead of taking care of Hagar, who was with the son he would father, he puts his relationship with his wife, Sarai, first. But, Sarai mistreated the slave so badly that she ran away.


Verse 7 says "The Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur". The Angel asks her who she is and where she is going, and Hagar tells the Anger that she has run away from Sarai. But, the Angel tells her she must return to Sarai and submit to her, even though she mistreats her. In verse 10, the Angel promises Hagar "I will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too many to count". Not only that, but the Angel tells her she will have a son and she is to name him Ishmael. But, Ishmael's life won't be easy, as seen in verse 12. he will be a wild man, he will be against everyone and everyone will be against him, and he will live at odds with his brothers.


In verse 13, we learn that not only did the Angel speak to her, He appeared before her, and so she names him 'The God who Sees', and then names the well 'The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me'.


Hagar returns as the Angel commanded, and gave birth to Abram's son, and the son was named Ishmael. In verse 16, we learn that Abram was 86 years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him, Abram's first son.

Genesis 15: The Abrahamic Covenant

Because Abram had just defeated the five kings and rejected the king of Sodom's offer, Abram has reason to worry about the kings coming back to attack him, or not having money because he rejected the spoils from defeating the five kings. But in verse 1, the Lord says "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield; your reward will be very great". The Lord will protect him and give him a reward greater than any reward man could offer him.


But, Abram still had not fathered a son. He was childless, so his heir was someone else that was not his own son. He expresses his concerns honestly to the Lord, and the Lord tells him in verse 5 "Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them." Then He said to him, "Your offspring will be that [numerous]". God is reassuring Abram that He has not forgotten the promise he had made to Abram in 12:2 and 13:15-16. Also, God promises Abram that his offspring will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Then verse 6 "Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness".


In verse 7, the Lord says "I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess." Then, Abram expresses another of his concerns to the Lord in verse 8, and asks Him how can he know if he if he owns the land? Then the Lord replies in verse 9 "Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon". These are very specific instructions from the Lord, and Abram brings them to the Lord. Then, in verse 11, he cuts each of them down the middle and lay the pieces opposite each other. I didn't understand why Abram did this, but upon further research, I learned that in those days, this was the sacrificial why of signing a contract with someone. After Abram lays out this contract, he waits for the Lord. Smelling the dead meat set out, bird of prey swooped down on the dead carcasses, but Abram drove them away as he waited. Finally, in verse 12 "As the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell on Abram, and suddenly a terror and great darkness descended on him". The Lord puts Abram under a deep sleep, then comes to speak to him. The Lord brought good news and bad news. He said that Abram's offspring will be enslaved and oppressed for 400 years, but afterwards will be judged by the Lord, given many possessions, and return to the Promise Land.

¹⁷ When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the divided [animals].

 This was sign that, as it says in verse 18-20, God made a covenant with Abram promising "I give this land to your offspring, from the brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River: ¹⁹ [the land of] the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, ²⁰ Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim, ²¹ Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites". The Lord was very specific when he told Abram which lands he will give to Abram, thus making Abram feel more reassured.

Genesis 14: Melchizedek's Blessing

After Abram and his men defeated those kings, verse 17 "the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley)". The king of Sodom most likely went to pay his respects or thank Abram. Verse 18 " Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was a priest to God Most High". Melchizedek was not only the king of Salem, but also a priest of God. Mechizedek blesses Abram in verse 19 "Abram is blessed by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth", then gives praises to the Lord in verse 20 "and give praise to God Most High who has handed over your enemies to you". Mechizedek gives Abram blessings, food, and wine. Abram gives back, by giving Mechizedek one tenth of all his things.


In verse 21 "the king of Sodom said to Abram, 'Give me the people, but take the possessions for yourself' ". He wanted his people back, the prisoners that Abram and his men rescued. He even offers Abram all of the money and goods to keep as his reward. But, Abram refuses the to take the king's possessions. If Abram took the possessions for himself, then the credit for Abram's wealth would go to the king of Sodom. By not except anything, all the credit would go to the Lord. Just because Abram isn't accepting his reward, he tells the king of Sodom that the other men can take their share. 

Genesis 14: Abram Rescues Lot

Verse 1-11 speak of a great war involving many kings. The king of Sodom, the city in which Abram's nephew, Lot, was currently living in, was also a part of this war. But the king of Sodom was defeated, and the four kings that defeated them "took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food and went on". And since Lot was living in the land of Sodom, "they also took Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions, for he was living in Sodom, and they went on". Not only did these people take all of Lot's possessions, they took him prisoner as well.


Verse 13, "One of the survivors came and told Abram the Hebrew" what had happened to Lot. Abram heard this bad news and verse 14, "he assembles his 318 trained men, who were born in his household". This shows how wealthy Abram was, these were his men, and they were trained to fight. It costs money to train men, and provide them the proper equipment. Abram sent his men to attack during the night, so that he could catch these kings off guard, and it works. In verse 16, Abram and his men win all of the kings goods, and bring back Lot and his possessions. Also, they bring back the other captives.

Genesis 13: Abram and Lot Separate

After being sent away from Egypt, Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold. He journeyed from Egypt back to his original tent, on the land that the Lord had called him to. When Abram left his tent to go to Egypt, he left his place of worship, which essentially led to sin. When Abram got back to his tent and the alter he had built, he did what he should have been doing instead of committing sin in Egypt; Verse 4 "Abram worshiped the Lord there".


Abram's nephew, Lot, who was also traveling with Abram, and according to verse 5, he also "had flocks, herds, and tents". Verse 6-7 says "⁶But the land was unable to support them as long as they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they could not stay together, ⁷and there was quarreling between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock." The land the Lord had called Abram to was not big enough support both Abram and Lot. In Genesis 12:1, the Lord told Abram to leave his relatives behind. But, Abram had disobeyed the Lord and had taken his nephew, Lot, with him. Now, they have too many things and the land can only support so much stuff. Also, verse 7 "there was quarreling between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock". I believe this was Abram's punishment for disobeying. Verse 7 also says that "at that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land". Seeing Abram and Lot arguing over this land will only give a bad image to the Canaanites and Perizzites of how Christians are. 


Now, this land was given to Abram by the Lord, but Abram made a very generous offer to Lot. Abram doesn't want to fight with Lot over a piece of land, so he says to Lot in verse 8, "Please, let's not have quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, since we are relatives". Abram trusted the Lord and knew that wherever he went, the Lord would be with him and protect him. Before, Abram tried to take his fate into his own hands, which was evident during the famine. Abram goes to Egypt to get enough things for his family, but has learned his lesson, that he must let fate fall into the hands of God. So Abram lets Lot choose which part of the land he wants to occupy.


Verse 10-13 tells us of the land that Lot had chosen. In verse 10, Lot see that the entire Jordan Valley "was well-watered everywhere like the LORD's garden and the land of Egypt". And so Lot sets his tent near Sodom. But, verse 13, "the men of Sodom were evil, sinning greatly against the LORD". So Lot chose the land that was physically great, but spiritually evil. 

¹⁴After Lot had separated from him, the LORD said to Abram, "Look from the place where you are. Look north and south, east and west, ¹⁵for I will give you and your offspring forever all the land that you see.¹⁶I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if one could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted. ¹⁷Get up and walk from one end of the land to the other, for I will give it to you."

As seen in verse 14-17, God reaffirms his promise to Abram. Also, God wanted Abram to know that even though Abram let Lot chose which land he wanted to live on, the land still ultimately belongs to Abram, because the God had given it to him. At this point, Abram still hadn't fathered a son, because his wife Sarai was barren. But, the Lord tells him that he will have many descendants. In verse 17, the Lord tells Abram to walk all over his land, explore it, because it will be his.


Then after exploring his land, Abram in verse 18, "Abram moved his tent and went to live beside the oaks of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the Lord". Abram worshiped the Lord and knew it was important for him to build alters to the Lord.

Genesis 12: Abram in Egypt

¹⁰ There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine in the land was severe.

Abram went to Egypt because the famine was so severe, and he wanted to be able to feed his family. But, by going to Egypt, he left the land that the Lord called him to. Abram left the land the Lord called him to because he didn't have enough faith in the Lord.


When they get near to Egypt, Abram told his wife Sarai to pretend to be his sister so that Abram would not be killed because of her beauty. We can see from this passage that Sarai was not an ordinary woman, but one of exceptional beauty. Abram was afraid the Egyptians would envy him and kill him so that they may keep his wife. Sarai, being a good, obedient wife, did as Abram told her. When they entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw how extraordinarily beautiful she was. Believing that she was only Abram's sister, she was taken to Pharaoh's house. Abram was treated well because Pharaoh was pleased with his beautiful 'sister'. In verse 16, Abram was given "flocks and herds, male and female donkeys, male and female slaves, and camels".


This was a great sin that Abram committed. He didn't have faith that the Lord would provide for him, he and his wife lie to the Egyptians, and he hands his wife over to the Pharaoh in exchange for material things. God had every right to kill Abram, but Pharaoh gets punished instead. Verse 17 "the Lord struck Pharaoh and his house with severe plagues because of Abram's wife Sarai". The Pharaoh was angry and confused. He asked Abram why he didn't tell him that Sarai was his wife, and why he lied. Pharaoh then ordered his men to send Abram and his wife away.


In Genesis 12:2-3, the Lord says that Abram will be a great man of faith. Because of this promise, when Abram was in Egypt, he was blessed by God because the Egyptians provided him so many things. Even when  Abram lied to the Egyptians, God did not punish him. God still had a promise to fulfill with Abram. If Abram had just trusted and had faith in the Lord, and told the Lord that his family was suffering from the famine, He would have provided.