Genesis 19-21

What I Noticed Today (Genesis 19-21)

Genesis 19

In verses 1-29, God’s judgment is poured out on Sodom and Gomorrah:

• The two angels entered Sodom in the evening and came across Lot sitting at the city gate.

• When Lot saw the angels, he got up, met them, bowed down to them, and invited them to refresh themselves, eat, and spend the night at his house.
• At first, the angels declined Lot’s invitation, but he insisted, so they joined him.
• He prepared a feast for them, and they ate.
• Before they went to bed, the men of the city surrounded the house and demanded Lot send the men out so they could have sex with them.
• Lot met the men outside the house and urged them not to do this because the men were under his protection, and this was evil.
• Instead, Lot offered the men his two virgin daughters.
• The men of the city were angered by Lot’s refusal and attempted to push their way inside the house.
• The angels of the Lord pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. Then they blinded the men outside.
• The angels told Lot to gather all his family members and leave because the Lord had sent them to destroy the city.
• So Lot went and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters to leave the city, but they thought he was joking about the Lord’s judgment.

• At daybreak, the angels urged Lot to leave, but he hesitated, so the angels grabbed them by the hands and led them out of the city.
• Once outside the city, the angels told them to run for the lives and not look back because they could not destroy the city until Lot was safe.
• The angels agreed to let Lot run to a nearby city (Zoar). The sun had come up by the time they reached Zoar.
• The Lord rained out, burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah, demolishing the cities and the plains around them.
• But Lot’s wife looked back and became a pillar of salt.
• Early in the morning, Abraham was at the place where he had met the Lord and saw the smoke coming from Sodom and Gomorrah.
• God had remembered Abraham’s request (Genesis 18:23-32) and saved the righteous (Lot and his family) out of the city.

In verses 30-38, is a description of the origin of the tribe of Moab and Ammon:

• Lot departed from Zoar with his two daughters and went to live in a mountain cave.
• Lot’s daughters believed there were no men left they could marry because of the destruction in the valley.
• The older daughter conspired with her younger sister to get pregnant by their father and thus maintain the family line.
• So they got their father drunk on wine, and the older sister slept with him one night. They got him drunk again the second night, and the younger sister slept with him.
• Both daughters became pregnant by their father. The first had a son and named him Moab, who became the father of the Moabites. The second also had a son and named him Ben-Ammi, who became the father of the Ammonites.

Genesis 20

Genesis 20 tells the story of Abraham and Sarah in Gerar and how God rescued Sarah from Abimelech.

In verses, 1-7 Abraham journeys to Gerar, lies about Sarah, and God rescues her again.

• Abraham traveled to the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur in the city of Gerar.

• Abraham lied about his wife Sarah to king Abimelech saying she was his sister.
• So Abimelech had Sarah brought to him.

• But God warned Abimelech in a dream he was about to die because Sarah was a married woman.
• Abimelech said, “Lord, would you destroy a nation even though it is innocent?” Lot had said she is my sister, and she said he is my brother. I have a clear conscience.
• God confirmed he knew this, and that Abimelech was innocent, and that God had kept him from sinning. God instructed Abimelech to return Sarah to Abraham, for he is a prophet. He will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not return her, you and your family will die.

• Abimelech got up the next morning, gathered his household, and told them what had happened.
• Then he had Abraham brought in and accused him, asking why he would do such a thing?
• Abraham said he thought there was no fear of God in this city, so he thought they would kill him in order to take Sarah. So together, Abraham and Sarah had agreed to tell this story of being brother and sister.
• Then Abimelech took sheep and cattle and slaves and gave them to Abraham. And he took Sarah and returned her to Abraham.
• He told Abraham he could settle anywhere he wanted in the land.
• Then Abimelech turned to Sarah and said he was giving Abraham 1,000 pieces of silver as proof of her honor.
• Then Abraham prayed to God. God healed Abimelech’s household, so his wife and female slaves could bear children because God had closed all their wombs because of Sarah.

Genesis 21

Genesis 21 covers the birth of Isaac and Abraham’s covenant with Abimelech.

In verses 1-21, the birth of Isaac is described:

• The Lord came to Sarah, just as He had promised, and Sarah became pregnant and bore a son.
• Abraham named the boy Isaac and circumcised him when he was 8-days old.
• Abraham was 100-years old when Isaac was born.
• Abraham threw a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned.

• But Ishmael mocked Isaac, so Sarah told Abraham to drive Hagar and Ishmael away because she did not want Ishmael to be a co-heir with Isaac.
• Abraham did not want to send Hagar and Ishmael away, but God assured him that his line would be traced through Isaac, and God would make Ishmael into a nation also because he was Abraham’s son.
• Early the next morning Abraham got provisions together and sent Hagar and Ishmael away.
• Hagar wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba, and when the water was gone, she left the boy under a bush and went a short distance away to weep because she could not stand to watch the boy die.

• God heard Hagar’s cries. He reassured her and told her to go back to the boy. He opened Hagar’s eyes, and she saw a well of water where they drank and filled their waterskin.
• God was with the boy as he grew.
• Ishmael became an archer.
• They settled in the wilderness of Paran.
• Hagar got Ishmael, a wife from the land of Egypt.

In verses 22-34, Abraham makes a covenant with King Abimelech:

• Abimelech came with his army commander (Phicol) to speak to Abraham.
• Abimelech acknowledged that God was with Abraham. He asked Abraham to swear loyalty to him, just as he (Abimelech) had been loyal to Abraham.
• Abraham swore an oath in agreement with Abimelech.
• But at the same time, he complained to Abimelech that Abimelech’s servants had taken a water well away from Abraham’s servants.
• Nonetheless, Abraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech and made a covenant.
• Abraham separated seven ewe lambs for Abimelech as a sign that Abraham had legal rights to the water in the well.
• After they made the covenant at Beer-sheba, Abimelech and Phicol returned to the land of the Philistines.

• Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba and called on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God.
• And Abraham lived in the land of the Philistines.

Some additional thoughts for consideration:

• After the whole Sodom and Gomorrah fiasco, Abraham and Sarah hit the road again and travel to Gerar. Once again, he tells Sarah to lie about who she is, claiming to be his sister rather than his wife.
• In this case, instead of speaking to Abraham, God chooses to speak to the pagan king. The pagan king recognizes God and pleads his innocence. The pagan king reprimands Abraham for his deceit. Abraham offers up excuses for his deception.
• Do we do that today? Do we lie and make excuses to non-believers because we think it's expedient rather than holding strong to our faith? When non-believers are more honest than believers, we are indeed a poor witness to our faith!

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Tomorrow: Genesis 22-24