Genesis 18:1-16

In the last chapter we see Abram and God sealing the unconditional covenant that was made between them. Sarai was still barren despite God’s promise of a son. But God never said by which woman Abram would father a child. Perhaps Sarai thought that he would father a son by his second wife. Sarai had a handmaid, a servant, one that they acquired in Egypt. Are you ready for another Jewish tradition? Tradition has it that Hagar was the daughter of the Pharaoh. Her name was Hagar, which means, “to be a fugitive,” or “to flee,” and is a Hebrew name. So, it was probably given to her by Abram. New ownership, new name. This is like being in the Witness Protection Program, they gave her a new identity, new driver’s license, college diploma, etc. I made up that last part. It seems strange, but it was Sarai’s idea for Abram to go and sleep with Hagar. How do you think he responded to that suggestion? As strange as this seems to us, it was a common practice that if a wife proved to be barren, she was obligated to provide to her husband a handmaid through whom he could have children so that his seed does not die. And, as is so often the case, it is always the woman who is to blame for infertility. Certainly, it couldn’t be the man’s fault. Yet in this case, it seems like a lapse in faith by Sarai, just like with Abram. She goes on to say in verse 2, “that I shall obtain children by her.” Just like in the days of slavery in the U.S., when a slave gives birth, the child belongs to the master. The child, born of Hagar, would legally belong to Sarai. “And Abram obeyed the voice of Sarai.” Sounds very much like Adam obeying Eve in the Garden, another lapse of faith from Abram. All this took place about ten years since their arrival into the land of Canaan and Abram was now 85 years old. Verse 3, “Sarai took Hagar . . . . and gave her to Abram her husband to be his wife.” Did Hagar have any say in this? I doubt it. She was little more than a piece of property. This was a legal marriage, she became a wife, not a concubine for sexual pleasure, but a legal wife. Sometimes a woman could be both a wife and a concubine.

And they all lived happily ever after . . . NOT! As soon as she conceived, the relationship between the two women soured. In Biblical times, a woman who was barren was despised, Hagar displayed this attitude to Sarai. Sarai then went to Abram and said, “Let God judge between us.” Abram said, in effect, “She is your handmade, (legally she is Sarai’s possession), do what you want with her. But Hagar could not be sold, since she was pregnant, but she could be returned to slave status. This is so sad. Abram got his kid, and poor Hagar gets a demotion back to being a slave. Sarai, “dealt harshly with her.” This is the same term that was used of the Egyptians dealing harshly with the Jews prior to the Exodus. Hagar couldn’t handle any more of this drama and flees. An angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert and asked, “Where are coming from?”  I think he already knew, don’t you? He then asks, “Where are you going?” Notice that she answers only the first question, suggesting that she didn’t really know where she was going, she just knew she wanted to get away from Sarai. The angel says, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” Then he adds this promise: I will increase your descendants (she is promised nationhood) and added, you will have a son, Ishmael. He will be like a wild donkey; his hand will be against everyone and he will live in hostility to his neighbors. Hagar may have thought, “Oh, great. I’m going to have a hyperactive, strong willed, difficult to raise kid who is going to be in trouble with others all his life. Thanks a lot. The least you could do is promise me a compliant, easy to raise child, especially after the way I’ve been treated.”

The traditional interpretation of this passage would suggest that this angel was a preincarnate manifestation of Christ as God’s Messenger-Servant. He is referred to as an angel and God in the same context, where she says, “You are the God who sees me, I have now seen the One who sees me.” Also, he says, in verse 10, “I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count.” This refers to the Arab peoples. This had to be God speaking, not an angel since an angel can’t make such a promise.

God names this unborn child Ishmael, meaning, “God hears.” This is the first unborn to be named by God in the biblical text. Can you think of others? Times up. They were Isaac, Jesus, and John the Baptist.

This kid would become a wild donkey, in other words, living a nomadic life. As he roams the deserts, he will have the tendency to attack others. Hagar is promised descendants, but did you notice, they would be roamers, they were not promised any land. Hagar returned to Sarai and gave birth to her son. Hagar was the biological mother while Sarai was the legal mother.

Before we get into chapter 17, let me say that we have seen some very strange things and will see even stranger things in the chapters to come. Imagine this scenario, you are a grandparent, sitting on the back patio by the barbeque grill. Your little five-year old granddaughter approaches you carrying a cuddly little puppy. A beautiful little cocker spaniel. You lean forward and say to the little girl, “You know what we should do with the little puppy? We should slit its’ throat, drain its blood, pull its guts out and burn them on the grill. Then, we can take the blood and run through the house and splash the blood over all the walls.” With that, the little girls’ eyes get large as saucers, she hugs the puppy closer to her chest, and runs screaming to her mother.

You hear the heavy footsteps of your daughter in law (who never liked you) come stomping towards you. She asks, “What kind of crazy nonsense are you telling my daughter? You sound like a psychopath like Geoffrey Dahmer, a crazy serial killer. Keep this up and I will have you committed to an asylum.”

As we read the Old Testament we find people cutting up animals and walking between the pieces, we find people bought and sold, there is polygamy, concubines, temples are built with animal sacrifices with priests all dressed up and blood and guts everywhere. The temple looks more like a slaughterhouse than a place of worship. But it was all part of the culture back then. Nothing here surprised Abram or later-on, Moses. I’m saying this to introduce chapter 17, with another strange practice.

In chapter 17 we find what one commentary called a “token” of the Abrahamic Covenant. If you recall, Noah was given the token of a rainbow. Guess what Abram gets for a token . . . . Abram gets circumcision. Yikes!

Verse 1 finds Abram 99 years old and God says, “And I will make a covenant between me and you; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you.” Again, he is reassuring Abram of the covenant, this is the fourth time. He tells Abram to be “blameless” not as a condition of the covenant, but an expectation. It’s as if God is saying, “You are now representing me, so don’t embarrass me by wicked behavior, ok?” Abram bows down and God gives him a name change, now he will be called Abraham. Perhaps this is where British royalty changed their names when they get elevated to king.

Then God gets a bit more specific with regards to this covenant, he shows Abraham the fine print. In verse 6-8, it says, “I will make you very fruitful; I will make MANY nations of you and KINGS will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and YOUR DESCENDANTS after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an EVERLASTING possession to you and YOUR DESCENDANTS after you and I will be their God.”

Let’s look at these details more closely. God saying that not only would he have many descendants, many nations, but some would become kings. Isn’t that nice? Of course, He didn’t also tell them that some of them will probably be camel thieves, con artists and drunkards, also. And this covenant doesn’t end with one or two generations, it is an everlasting one, down through the ages.

As God speaks of descendants, as far as Abraham was concerned, Ishmael was the promised son, and these descendants would all come from Ishmael. But that is about to change.

Earlier God said that he would become the father of one nation, now he is going to be the father of MANY nations. What were these nations? These would be Israel, Judah and many Arab nations. This is when God gives Abram a new name, from Abram (exalted father) to Abraham (the father of a multitude). Then God says that this covenant will not be between Abraham and Him, but “your seed after you, throughout their generations.” Notice, that it is going to be with “your seed” not “seeds.” In other words, the covenant is between only one of his children, not all of them. God will make MANY nations of Abraham, but the covenant is going to be sustained through only ONE nation.

I wonder if Abraham was taking good notes. About now I would be a bit confused. Only after this visit would I come up with half a dozen questions I should have asked. “Did He say “seed” or “seeds”? “How can there be MANY nations from me if I only have one child?” If I knew nothing more than what we read here, I would be confused.

Back to the land promise. God says that it is an everlasting possession. In other words, the title deed to the land is always in the name of Abraham and his descendants. But, if you read the fine print on the bottom of the page, you might read something like, “See Deut. 28:63-64, if you disobey God “You will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess. Then the Lord will scatter you among all nations.”

The descendants of Abraham will always OWN the land because this is an unconditional covenant. But, if they turn away from God, the privilege of living in the land can be taken away. Imagine your teenage son saves for his first car. The car is his, it is in his name. But you say to him, “If your grades go down or you get a speeding ticket, I will take away your keys for a month.” The car is still the son’s, but the right to drive it is taken away for a time. The Promised Land, Israel always belongs to the descendants of Abraham, but the right to live there could and has been taken away, as in the Babylonian captivity.

So far there is nothing but good news for Abraham. An enlarged promise, a new name. What a great day. But then comes the command to be circumcised. I’m not going to dwell on this, but you will notice that Abraham didn’t argue with Him. He didn’t try to negotiate down to having his ear pierced like the Maasai tribesmen do. He accepted it. Why? Probably for the same reason he didn’t question the cutting up of animals and walking between the pieces and Moses didn’t question the idea of a temple, priests and animal sacrifices. This was a common practice in his day. In verse 12 it says that all males were to be circumcised at the age of 8 days. I had read that the blood clotting chemicals hit a peak on the eighth day, so this diminishes the risk of infection and bleeding.

Why did he do this? It’s a sign, much like the rainbow in the time of Noah. It’s a reminder. So, every time Abraham goes to the bathroom, he is he reminded. Moses was told to wear tassels as a reminder. Noah got a rainbow. And Abraham got surgery. NOT fair.

Not only did Abraham get a new name, but in verse 15 Sarai got one too. Yes, she had to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles and get a new license and change her checking account name, etc. Then the big surprise, verse 16, “I will bless HER and will surely give you a son by her.” WOW, will the surprises ever end? She will be the mother of nations, not Hagar. Wait until she tells Hagar. Can you imagine the hair pulling, eye scratching and screaming that might go on?

Verse 20, as for Ishmael, he will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac.” So just as there would be twelve tribes of Israel, there will be twelve Arab tribes descending from Ishmael. With that, “God went up from him”, this is the end of the theophany.

The chapter ends with Abraham, who was now 99 years old, bringing together all the males of his household, including Ishmael, who was now a teenager, 13 years old. There he announced, “Guess what, guys? You are all going to have a little surgical procedure. Perhaps, with armed guards at each exit, they were all circumcised. And that’s the end of chapter 17.