A Journey Through the Bible, Part Eight

Old Testament

Genesis 16

Genesis 16—This is a remarkable chapter, so rather than simply examine one or two verses, I’m going to consider a few thoughts within it which I believe to be of extreme import.

First of all the basic facts. Some ten years after God’s promise to Abram (Abraham) and Sarah that they would have a child, they still did not have one. So Sarah gives her handmaid, Hagar, to Abraham. This was not an uncommon custom at that time; a woman who was barren would frequently allow a servant or concubine to lay with her husband so that he might have an heir. The child would effectively become the wife’s, though that’s not the case in Genesis 16. Hagar bears a child, whom Abraham names Ishmael. There is other matter in the chapter but this is sufficient detail for this short article.

Let me suggest a few lessons here.

1. Abraham committed adultery. It doesn’t matter what the “custom” of the age was, no human custom can overrule God’s law. Genesis 2 establishes husband and wife, and any extra-marital sexual relations by either party is adulterous. We see here a failing of a great man of God. If you have not already done so, I encourage you to read the article “David and Bathsheba” on my Bible blog. Godly people stumble, too. There’s no excuse for it, but there is a bit of consolation in knowing that a “friend of God” like Abraham, or a “man after God’s own heart” like David were guilty of transgression, just as we are.

2. Abraham shows no faith in God. This wonderfully righteous man does not come off well in this chapter. God had made him a promise, but He hadn’t fulfilled it yet. So, instead of waiting patiently for Jehovah—Who will act in His own time, thank you—Abraham and Sarah decide to help God out by joining husband and handmaid. The result, for mankind, has been unmitigated, unparalleled disaster. And it didn’t accomplish what God intended anyway. A great lesson we need to learn: “I waited patiently for Jehovah; And he inclined unto me, and heard my cry” (Psalm 40:1). “Rest in Jehovah, and wait patiently for him” (Psalm 37:1). Patience in not a virtue many humans can exercise when they want something very badly. But, beloved, you aren’t going to rush God. He’s going to do what is right, and He’s going to do it when He’s ready, not at our demand.

3. What is the “unmitigated, unparalleled disaster” for mankind that I mentioned in point 2 above? The Arab peoples, most of whom are Muslim of course, trace their lineage back to Ishmael. Islam claims the law of primogeniture, that is, since Ishmael was Abraham’s first born, the inheritance comes through him! Thus, Ishmael is the chosen of God. The Arab peoples are His people. And Islam is His true religion. The whole problem in the Middle East today between Jew and Muslim was initiated by Abraham committing adultery! You talk about a sin with long term consequences….Historians today question whether the Arab peoples are truly the descendents of Ishmael; but that’s irrelevant. Islam claims that they are and that’s all that matters. Abraham, great, godly Abraham, because he didn’t have enough faith to wait on the Lord, committed adultery and thereby let loose upon mankind a torrent of destruction, sorrow, and wickedness that will almost surely last until the Lord returns.

Few chapters in the Bible have sadder consequences than Genesis 16. Perhaps only Genesis 3, the sin of Adam and Eve, is more melancholy.

New Testament

Matthew 10

Matthew 10:32-33—“Every one therefore who shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father who is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who is in heaven.” Gospel preachers often quote these verses, labeling them the “good confession,” as something a person must do prior to baptism. That’s not the context, though verbal confession of faith before baptism is authorized in Acts 8:37 and Romans 10:9-10. In Matthew 10, Jesus is talking to His apostles about what they would face when He sent them forth to preach. “Beware of men: for they will deliver you up to councils, and in their synagogues they will scourge you” (v. 17); “brother shall deliver up brother to death, and the father his child: and children shall rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death” (v. 21); “ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake” (v. 22); and so forth. In that context, Jesus tells His apostles, “Stay faithful and confess me and I will confess you before My Father; deny Me, and I will deny you” (vs. 32-33). He follows up v. 33 with “think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law: and a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that doth not take his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (vs. 34-39). To the apostles—and to us as well—there is a whole lot more to the “good confession” that speaking a few words of belief before baptism.