This is the final installation of study notes for this week, I hope that you have enjoyed your reading and that you have learned a lot! We will cover Genesis 19-22 here.
1. In 19:1 we read of two angels. These 2 are mentioned as if we have already met them, leading us to assume that they are two of the three visitors from chapter 18. Also note the time that the visitors arrived in 18:1 and the time the two angels arrived in Sodom in 19:1. This was a journey of 40 miles and most commentators agree that these two events occurred on the same day.
2. Earlier in Genesis we read about the people of Sodom. What did we read in 13:13 and 18:20? Now we see how great the sin of the town was. The angels give Lot the waning to get himself and his family out of the city. Unfortunately his sons-in-law did not believe him and were left in the destruction of the city.
3. In 19:30-38 we find another instance of people using the accepted "law of the land" instead of following God's law. Notice the use of the phrase "as is the custom all over the earth" in verse 32. Regardless of how normative society might have viewed this practice, God's law had no place for it. The descendants that came from this union were a trouble to the Israelites from that time forward.
4. In chapter 20 Abraham once again tries to avoid conflict by calling Sarah his sister, unfortunately conflict occurs because of this instead.
5. In chapter 21, the long awaited promise is fulfilled. Sarah names the baby Isaac which means 'he laughs'. Sarah explains her choice of the name in 21:6-7.
6. In 21:8-21 we read more of the conflict that was caused by Sarah and Abraham's unwillingness to wait patiently on the Lord's timing. Because of the conflict Hagar and Ishmael are sent away. It is important to remember when you read verses 15-18 that Ishmael is not a small boy but a young teen at this point.
7. Notice in 25:13-16 that Ishmael had 12 sons, just like the 12 tribes of Israel. This, again, has been a source of conflict for the Israelites ever since.
8. In 22:1 we learn that time has passed. Isaac is likely a young teen at this point. God tells Abraham to go and sacrifice Isaac. Read aloud verse 2 where God says, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love..." The very wording drives home the point that God is calling Abraham to trust Him with the promised son. God has driven home the point to Abraham over and over that Isaac and Isaac alone is the promised son through whom the blessing is to come and now Abraham is asked to offer that son as a sacrifice.
9. Note the faith with which Abraham says that "we" will return in 22:5. While no commentary is given on Abraham's thought process here, the New Testament does give us insight. Read Hebrews 11:17-19.
10. Please remember that Isaac was not a little boy as you read 22:9. Faith an obedience were required on his part as well.
11. In 22:12-14 we see the gospel message presented thousands of years before it occurs. The ram being offered in place of Isaac is a symbol of the substitutionary atonement that was provided for us in Christ. Please read Romans 5:8.
12. In 22:15-18 God blesses Abraham again. We see that through Isaac 'all the nations on earth will be blessed'. Please read Galations 3:8-16.
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