Today's Reading:

Genesis 14
Genesis 15
Genesis 16

 

The figure known as “The Angel of the Lord” in the Old Testament is known as a Christophany- a visible person, in temporary appearance as the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ. He is not a created angel but is identified with God Himself and yet being distinct from God the Father. He is the appearance of God the Son (Jesus) before Jesus came in human form. Scripture told that when The Angel appears, people fell to the ground in worship and often feared that they would die because they have “seen God”. They called Him “The Angel” by the name YHWH, yet knew He was sent from the LORD, and that He speaks to the LORD. They are two distinguishable figures, and The Angle is God the Son appearing in the Old Testament. Later, The Angel appeared in the Bible again to Abraham on Mount Moriah, and then to Joshua. The appearance of The Angel of the Lord to Hagar was a pure and undeserved grace moment because Hagar had no claim on God whatsoever. Yet Christ seeked her out personally. He gave her the gift of grace commanding her to return and submit because the desert would have killed her and her child. God personally promised to build a nation around her son Ishmael, who is not in the chosen lineage. What Hagar did next, was amazing- She named God Himself “El Roi” the LORD, giving God a new name based on her personal encounter as she knew The Angel was “The God who sees me”. Hagar met God centuries before we get the 10 Commandments, before the time of prophets and judges, before the Temple was built and before Jesus came to save. Here God pursued, in the same heart of Christ.

 

 

Abram was living in peace in Canaan when the first war in the Bible started. There were 4 powerful kings from the east Mesopotamia area led by King Kedorlaomer of Elam. The 5 vassal kings, smaller nations of Sodom and Gomorrah were “subject” forced to pay tribute (heavy taxes and provide military service) for 12 years. This meant that the vassal kings were allowed to keep their thrones and rule in each city. They had finally had enough being subject, and stopped paying tribute. King Kedorlaomer and his allies attacked the 5 smaller cities in the “Valley of Siddim” and won, then looted the land of food, possession and people- including Abram’s nephew Lot. Of course, Abram wanted to save Lot, he pursued the kings and won it all back. Abram crushed the kings of Mesopotamia and in return the king of Sodom who had been defeated was about to offer Abram all the recovered goods as a reward- but that would make Abram join forces with their wicked nation and Abram did not want to be obligated to him, his only alliance is to the Lord.

In a spirit filled moment, the Bible mentioned, Melchizedek- who was the King of Salem (an ancient name for Jerusalem), who was a real priest of the true God. He brought Abram bread and wine, which was a picture of the future Lords Supper/communion. This timely encounter was a blessing and showed that Abram answered to a higher King and Priest than any earthly power. It established that God already had a priest-king in the land before Levi or Aaron (future priests and readings in Genesis and Exodus) ever existed and gave a living picture of the coming Messiah. Melchizedek protected Abram from compromise, and Abram was aware that Melchizedek was greater than himself. Jesus is our eternal Priest in the order of (in the example of, or according to the likeness of) Melchizedek. Abram paid voluntary tithes of 1/10th to Melchizedek in an act of worship to acknowledge that his winning back of the goods was an act from God. Giving a tenth of war spoils was the cultural norm for the time to the dominant king.

This encounter points to Jesus the true King of Righteous and Prince of Peace. God already had a better plan in the works than the priesthood that came from the line of Aaron and Levi- Jesus, the final eternal King-Priest.

In chapter 15, the Lord told Abram not to be afraid, that He was his shield- his Sovereign King that would bring about so many descendants they would be like the stars in the sky. Abram let doubt sink in with no son as an heir to this point. Doubt is a part of the human journey, but God made an everlasting covenant through an ancient ritual. Abram was told to cut the animals in half and make a path between them like an aisle. The idea behind this was that the two people making a treaty, or promise would walk between the dead animals, symbolically saying, “May I become like these dead animals if I break this covenant”. God put Abram into a deep sleep, (like he had with Adam in Genesis 2) and God himself, as a “smoking firepot with a blazing torch” passed between the pieces. God walked the path alone, in an unconditional covenant- Abram must do nothing, the covenant depended entirely on God’s faithfulness. Abram was declared righteous just by believing God’s promise of giving him a son, having countless descendants, and the promise of the land. This ceremonial walk by God foreshadowed the cross, where Jesus took the curse for our covenant breaking, He alone walked the path.

Abram’s wife, Sarai, was impatiently waiting for God’s timing and decided to take matters into her own hands. It had been 10 years since God first made the covenant with Abram. Sarai offers Abram her maidservant to conceive him a child since she has been barren, but this was not God’s way. The conflict arose when Sarai became jealous and then turned the blame on Abram and she in turn punished Hagar. Hagar fled but the Angel of the Lord found her and showed mercy. The Angel promised Hagar that her child’s offspring would also multiply, and she was to name the child Ishmael. Life gets messy when we try to “help” God along with His plans in our own ways. God sees your hurt and He has compassion, but we must remember that His timing is not our timing. Just as God waited until Abram was 100 and Sarai 90 before giving them Isaac (the child of promise), He often allows our human clocks to run out before moving forward. His delay is not rejection; it is preparation for a greater glory and always worth the wait.

Today's discussion questions: 
After ten years of waiting, it led Sarai to offer Hagar, thinking she was solving the problem—yet it only brought pain and conflict. We’ve all had moments where impatience led us to take shortcuts. Looking back, where have you seen God’s “delay” turn out to be preparing for something far better?

Click here to link to our Facebook group for discussion, questions, and additional content.