Genesis 20-21

Notes compiled with my BSF group

ABRAHAM LIED ABOUT HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH SARAH (Genesis 20)

Abraham lied because he was afraid but did not trust God
Abraham was afraid that the kings would not find favor in him or that the kings would be jealous of him because of the beauty of his wife and so Abraham lied about his relationship with Sarah.

However, instead of taking his fears to God, Abraham made false assumptions, manipulated, lied, and cheated. And as we have seen before (Genesis 20; Genesis 12:10-20; Genesis 21:22-34), whenever Abraham takes matters into his own hands, disaster results.

God judges ALL sinners
Abraham sinned, and God disciplined him accordingly. However, we see in the examples below, just because we have been sinned against, that does not give us a free pass to take advantage of the situation.

Abraham lied to both the Pharaoh and King Abimelek about Sarah. Yet, instead of keeping a righteous heart like King Abimelek exemplified (Genesis 20:3-9), the Pharaoh had a sinful heart with Sarah and was judged. King Abimelek, on the other hand, remained righteous, and God rewarded him by preventing him from accidentally sinning.

We all have things that we are afraid of or are worried about. Instead of taking these worries to God and just talk to God about it and seek God’s help, we take care of these situations using our own methods.

We can become a curse rather than a blessing when we stop trusting God
Because of Abraham's sin, all females in the kingdom of Abimelek could not bear any children.

When we do not trust God, we will not follow His Will. When we do not follow His Will, we will walk to wrong places that lead us into danger. Worse, we may lead others into danger as well.

To those who follow God, God is merciful and gracious
Instead of just judging Abraham, God guided Abraham to righteousness because He knew Abraham had God in his heart.

And through God, Abraham gave blessings to King Abimelech, and the two formed a treaty (Genesis 21:22-34). God thus also healed the people (Genesis 20:17-18).


WE CAN TRUST THE LORD (Genesis 21:1–7)

God's promises to Sarah were all fulfilled (Genesis 21:1-2)
1. The LORD did for Sarah what he had promised (Genesis 21:1). 
2. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him (Genesis 21:2).

Abraham's faith led to the birth of a great nation
Because of Abraham’s faith, Abraham had a son, Isaac. And through Isaac, the great nation of Israel was born (Romans 4:18-21).

Isaac was born because Abraham did not weaken his faith. Even though he faced the fact that his body was old and that Sarah’s womb was dead, he knew God had the power to fulfill His promise. God accredited the faith of Abraham as righteousness. This was not just to praise Abraham but also to encourage us as well. That if we show the faith of Abraham, we, too, will have our faith be accredited as righteousness. And when we have the faith of Abraham, we will be born through Jesus, who has delivered us from death, whose resurrection justified our sins.

Ishmael was born according to the flesh; Issac was born as the result of a divine promise (Galatians 4:22-23)
Ishmael was born according to the flesh. Isaac was born because of Abraham’s faith in God’s promise. When we are born into this world, we are born in the flesh – Like Ishmael, we are not born into a promise of a divine promise. However, when we are born again in the spirit by receiving Jesus, we are born like Isaac and will inherit the promise of God through Jesus.


SIN NEEDS TO BE REMOVED (Genesis 21:8–21)

Ishmael sinned in the same ways as his mother, Hagar, had sinned
When Hagar became pregnant with Abraham’s son, Ishmael, she started to despise Sarah (Genesis 16:4). And like his mother, Ishmael mocked Isaac, Abraham’s first-born son through Sarah (Genesis 21:9-10).

Hagar and Ishmael symbolize sin

Through Hagar and Ishmael, God is setting a pattern. He is showing the world that His inheritance is given to only His people. We may take things into our hands and try to make things happen according to our will, but God will only bless those who belong to Him.

Through Hagar and Ishmael, God is sending us a message: We need to remove sin from our home.

How could Isaac grow up in an encouraging environment if Ishmael was always around to beat him down? Similarly, how can we expect to mature as Christians, when we continue to expose ourselves to the same sins day after day? In order to move forward, we must remove the things that we know are unrighteous in the eyes of the Lord.


God continued to care for Hagar and Ishmael
Even though God deemed Hagar and Ishmael to be bad influences around Isaac and therefore should be separated, God continued to take care of Hagar and Ishmael. God continued to be with Ishmael, making Ishmael also into the father of many nations.

Our new nature is in constant battle against our sinful flesh
We are born in the flesh, which has inherited sin from Adam and Eve. Our body is of sinful nature, susceptible to temptation and the continuation of sin. When we receive Jesus, we are born again in the Spirit and receive our new nature. The Holy Spirit will guide us in our fight against sin – This is a process called sanctification. Even though we are born again in the Spirit, but because we are still in our sinful flesh, we need to actively rely on the Holy Spirit to help strengthen us as we fight against sin and temptations every day.

Romans 6:11
Galatians 5:24
Our walk with God is a continual walk. When we accept Jesus, that is our first step. We are born again, and we are spiritual babies. Like real babies who grow and mature, Christians need to continue to grow and mature as well. We start to learn the difference between right and wrong, and in order for us to become better, we need to fix our bad habits. 

Removal of Ishmael from Abraham’s home is a symbol of what we need to do with sin. Ishmael was born because of Abraham and Sarah’s lack of faith in God’s promise. Ishmael was born because of Abraham and Sarah’s sin. God told Abraham to remove Ishmael from his household. God is not being heartless and inconsiderate. In fact, we see that God continues to take care of Ishmael, even after Ishmael left Abraham’s household. Why did God told Abraham to remove Ishmael? Because Ishmael was persecuting Isaac and has become a great obstacle to Isaac’s growth.

Isaac was the first-born who would receive God’s promise, and God will protect Isaac to ensure that His promise is fulfilled. But because even the smallest bit of sin can ruin the greatest of plans, Ishmael had to be removed.

Similarly, in a Christian’s life, we cannot tolerate sin. Once we have learned right from wrong, we need to make sure we remove the wrong in our lives, the sins in our lives. If we tolerate sin, then we will slip right back into living a sinful life. That would not be walking with Jesus. That would not be us becoming more mature in the ways of God.

Let God control our heart
Romans 8:14
Galatians 5:16-25
Just like Paul encouraged us, we need to die each day in our sin, so that we can stop ourselves from sinning. We die in our sins to receive life through Jesus. And like what Paul said, our lives do not belong to us. Our lives belong to Jesus. Therefore, surrender our will to God, and allow Jesus to accomplish God’s Will through us.

Live for God. Do not live for ourselves. Jesus died for us so that we can have eternal life. To conquer sin in our lives, we cannot rely on ourselves, because we are still in our sinful flesh. To conquer sin in our lives, we therefore must rely on God through the Holy Spirit. 

Salvation is a three-step process
The first step is justification. This is COMPLETELY done by Jesus. When Jesus died on the Cross, He cleansed us of our sins. That is, He justified us. 

The second step is sanctification. This is done through the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot battle against our sinful flesh. However, with the Holy Spirit, we can receive guidance to steer away from sin. This is called sanctification. 

The last step is glorification. When we receive our resurrected bodies, we will be glorified. Our resurrected bodies will no longer be the sinful flesh that our spirit resides in today. Our resurrected bodies will be PERFECT. This is why once we receive our resurrected bodies, we will again be able to eat from the Tree of Life. 

In this life, we are reborn in the Spirit – Our spirit, through Jesus, has become PERFECT. When we die and receive our resurrected bodies, our bodies will then also become PERFECT. With our spirit and flesh completely cleanse of sin, we can once again be in the presence of God and eat from the Tree of Life.


LIVE GOD'S WAYS (Genesis 21:22–34)

The best way to prove to people that we are Christians is through our actions. I believe that is what Abraham did. People knew God’s presence with Abraham because Abraham LIVED as a man who was completely devoted to God.

1. Abimelek recognized God was with Abraham and trusted that as long as they formed a treaty with God as their witness, the treaty will be recognized (Genesis 21:22-24).

2. When Abraham had troubles with Abimelek’s people, they were able to work together to develop a treaty that worked for both of them (Genesis 21:25-31)