Gênesis 18

Gênesis 18

Morris - This is the first specific reference in the Bible to the teaching of children, indicating that such instruction is the primary responsibility of the father and should take the form of commandments, (Pr 6:20) centering first on the ways of the Lord, then on justice and judgment to fellow-men. Skip Heitzig on teaching his children - If your children go to school and most children do go to school, 16% of their time is spent at school. That's not very much. You say that's a lot of time at school. 16% if you just go by hours. If your kids go to school and go to Sunday school, add 1%. Sunday school is about 1% of your child's time. 83% of the time they're at home with you--parents. So you can see the fallacy of a parent saying, I send my kids to Christian school and to Sunday school and I expect them to teach them what they need to know. Well both of those systems only have your kids 17% of the time. 83% of the time they're in your house. So by pure mathematics, you exert a greater influence on your child than school and Sunday school....Trickle down righteousness. Trickle down evangelism. Watch how I live, son, watch how I live, daughter. In the tent, in the household. The percentage of the time that I have you, watch my life so that in watching my life, you can learn what it is to follow the Lord....Mark Twain gave his advice. He said, 'Everything runs smoothly until your kid reaches age thirteen. That's the time to put him in a barrel, snugly hammer the lid down, and feed him through the knothole. Then when he turns sixteen, close up the knothole.' That was his advice in classic Mark Twain way of writing. You can't do that. I mean, first of all it would be highly illegal to put your kid in a barrel and hammer it shut. But that aside, we can't afford to disengage. We can't afford it to give it to somebody else to influence them. We have those years; we have that time. And we have that influence--that power. Engage them as much as you can, as much as the Lord will give you insight, and ask the Lord for insight to do that. So that the LORD (Jehovah = Yahweh; Lxx = kurios) may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him - This speaks of Abraham's responsibility in the covenant. Yes, it was unconditional in that the LORD would fulfill it, but those who would benefit from it had a responsibility. Jon Courson on that he may command his children - The Lord would give Abraham information and revelation based not upon the accumulation of his knowledge, but upon the communication to his family. “I will give Abraham understanding of what I’m about to do,” said the Lord, “because I know he is a man who will teach his children.” The same is true today. The revelation God wants to give us concerning what He’s doing, how He’s moving, where He’s going is based not upon our journal entries or our Bible Study notes. It’s based upon whether or not we will share what He tells us with our children. People often say to me, “If I could go back and do it all over again, I would not go into the profession I’m in presently. I would go into the ministry.” And I understand that, for I have found the ministry to be absolutely delightful. It’s a fabulous calling. But here’s the fact: If you have children or grandchildren, you are in the ministry. No clerical collar or pulpit compares to gathering your family around you, giving a simple Bible lesson, singing songs, sharing with each other, and praying together. That is the ministry. And anyone who takes seriously this call will, like Abraham, receive fresh revelation. I know this to be so, for the most wonderful insights and sweetest revelations of God to my heart have not come as I have prepared sermons, but as I have simply shared in worship with my family. .(See Courson's Application Commentary page 78) Streams in the Desert - page 328 (free online) “I know him, that he will command his children.” (Gen. 18:19.) GOD wants people that He can depend upon. He could say of Abraham, “I know him, that he will command his children … that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken.” God can be depended upon; He wants us to be just as decided, as reliable, as stable. This is just what faith means. God is looking for men on whom He can put the weight of all His love and power and faithful promises. God’s engines are strong enough to draw any weight we attach to them. Unfortunately the cable which we fasten to the engine is often too weak to hold the weight of our prayer; therefore God is drilling us, disciplining us to stability and certainty in the life of faith. Let us learn our lessons and stand fast. —A. B. Simpson. God knows that you can stand that trial; He would not give it to you if you could not. It is His trust in you that explains the trials of life, however bitter they may be. God knows our strength, and He measures it to the last inch; and a trial was never given to any man that was greater than that man’s strength, through God, to bear it. Walter Kaiser - Hard Sayings in the Bible page 100 - Covenant Blessings Conditional or Unconditional? (See comment on GENESIS 26:3–5) Obedience the Way to Blessing? Did God grant his gracious gifts to Abraham on the basis of works? Are we to surmise that Old Testament men and women got salvation the old-fashioned Smith-Barney way: “They earned it”? It is the word because in Genesis 26:3–5 that causes us to raise our eyebrows and see this as a hard saying. There does appear to be a tension here between the free and unconditional offer of the promise to Abraham and the promise conditioned on Abraham’s keeping all God’s commands, decrees and laws. Surely law and grace are on a theological collision course. There are five key passages that are cited as demonstrating that the patriarch Abraham performed the requirements of God and in return God offered to him the everlasting covenant as a gift for his obedience: Genesis 12:1; 17:1, 9–14; 22:16; 26:3–5. Some have added additional commands to this list, but generally these are not as directly related to the promise-plan as the five already cited. The difficulty of this argument for conditionality and earning the promise is the stress the text makes on God’s actively conferring this covenant on Abraham. In one of the most dramatic scenes in the patriarch’s life, Genesis 15:12–21 depicts Abraham as being only a passive party to the formalization of the covenant, while the Lord, appearing as a “smoking firepot with a blazing torch,” passes between the pieces of the animals in the act of making a covenant with Abraham. It is well worth noting that only God passed between the pieces and therefore obligated himself. Had this been a bilateral covenant in which the covenant depended equally on both parties fulfilling their sides of the bargain, then both God and Abraham would have had to move between the pieces of the animals divided in half and thus say in effect, “May it happen to me what has happened to these animals if I do not uphold my side of the covenant.” So how shall we explain the disparity that now seems to intrude, requiring obedience from Abraham if the covenant is to be maintained? The answer will be this: promise and blessing still precede the command to obey and to keep the commands of God. Obedience is no more a condition for Abraham than it is for the church living under the command “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love” (Jn 15:10) or “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (Jn 14:15). The promise does not oppose God’s law, either in Abraham’s gift of the promise or in our gift of eternal life. The promise-giver who initiated the covenant with the patriarchs is the same one who gave the commandments, laws and statutes. Obedience, then, was not a condition for receiving the promise-blessing of God but was instead the evidence of real participation in that same promise. Because God was faithful, it was possible for these patriarchs to receive the promised blessings even if they themselves did not participate in them through their own belief. Even those who were not personal participants in the benefits of the covenant still had to pass on these benefits to those who followed in the line of the seed of the patriarchs. That belief was most easily demonstrated by the way in which individuals obeyed God—just as John puts it in his Gospel for the believing community of the New Testament. Therefore, the alleged conditional elements in the Abrahamic (and Davidic) covenant never threatened the constituent elements of the promise, nor did they add any stipulations to them. The matter of duty or obedience, which indeed is intimately bound up with the promise, is a matter of outcome and sequel rather than a prior condition to being a participant in its benefits by faith. The most remarkable text expressing the unconditional nature of the promise is Leviticus 26:44–45—“Yet in spite of this [the sins of disobedience], … I will not reject them or abhor them so as to destroy them completely, breaking my covenant with them. But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors.” Surely that sounds as if it is indeed an unconditional covenant! See also comments on LEVITICUS 18:5 The One Who Obeys My Laws Will Live? on page 133; MICAH 6:6–8 Salvation Through Righteousness? on page 302; JAMES 2:24 Justified by What You Do? on page 653. Genesis 18:20 And the LORD said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. The outcry: Ge 4:10 Ge 19:13 Isa 3:9 5:7 Jer 14:7 Jas 5:4 Jude 1:7 Sodom - 38v - Ge 10:19; Ge 13:10, 12,:13; Ge 14:2; Gen. 14, 10, 11, 12, 17, 21, 22; Ge 18:16; Ge 18:20; Ge 18:22; Ge 18:26; Ge 19:1; Ge 19:4; Ge 19:24; Gen. 19:28; Dt. 29:23; Dt. 32:32; Isa. 1:9; Isa. 1:10; Isa. 3:9; Isa. 13:19; Jer. 23:14; Jer. 49:18; Jer. 50:40; Lam. 4:6; Ezek. 16:46, 48, 49, 53,55, 56; Amos 4:11; Zeph. 2:9 NT = Mt 10:15, 11:23,24; Lk. 10:12,17:29; Ro 9:29; 2Pe 2:6; Jude 7; Rev 11:8 sin: Ge 13:13 Genesis 18 Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries Related Passage: Genesis 4:10+ He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground. Genesis 19:13+ for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the LORD that the LORD has sent us to destroy it.” Jude 1:7+ just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. Genesis 13:13+ Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the LORD. OUTCRY GREAT SIN GRAVE And the LORD (Jehovah = Yahweh; Lxx = kurios) said, “The outcry (zeaqah) of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave - Now the LORD is speaking in the presence of the other two men with Him. It is interesting that the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full (Ge 15:16+), but the iniquity in these 2 cities was full and had reached God's limit in view of their gross wickedness. Since outcry usually refers to a plaintive crying out for aid or help by those oppressed, presumably this refers to those who are oppressed in Sodom and Gomorrah, and only righteous Lot was "oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men." (2Pe 2:7+). Alternatively, the verb outcry could be used of the cities and/or the sin in the cities personified as crying out (cf Ge 4:10) because of the evil within. In either case, the Lord hears the outcry. THOUGHT - America is devolving (that is almost a euphemism!) quickly as ethics and morals and righteousness become attributes of a past generation. And yet there is a righteous remnant remaining who are oppressed and appalled by what is transpiring even at the highest levels of government where God is mocked and maligned. And so we who remain true to the LORD should be crying out to heaven (Mt 5:13+, Mt 5:14,15, 16+, Php 2:15+). "And this do, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand." (Ro 13:11,12+) In mercy, our outcry should be -- Revive us O LORD according to Thy Word (Ps 119:25) and by sending the fire of Thy Spirit, before America's cup of iniquity is full (Ge 15:16+) and exceedingly grave. Maranatha! Hosanna! In Jesus' Name. Amen. Bob Utley on outcry...great - Their sins "shouted" at YHWH for judgment! It is possible that Lot and his family were the ones praying (cf. Gen. 18:23) or watcher angels, or even a metaphor for the sins themselves. Steven Cole links Ge 18:19 with this passage on the sin of Sodom - God’s plan of righteousness and justice (v19) means that no sin escapes His notice and judgment. The Lord tells Abraham, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave” (Ge 18:20). When Cain killed Abel, the Lord said, “The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground” (Gen. 4:10). Sin cries out to God. Just as right now there are many sounds surrounding us which we can’t hear without a radio to tune them in, so we are not aware of all the sins around us; but God is. It cries out to Him for His righteous judgment (ED: IF MURDERED ABEL'S BLOOD CRIED OUT TO GOD, IMAGINE THE CRY OF THE MILLIONS OF UNBORN WHO HAVE BEEN MURDERED IN AMERICA! EVEN SODOM'S OUTCRY MIGHT BE DEAFENED BY THE CRIES THAT GO UP TO GOD BECAUSE OF ABORTION!). In speaking to Abraham, God adopts human language in reference to Himself (Ge 18:21), but He’s making a point: Whenever He inflicts judgment, He does it on the basis of His perfect knowledge and justice. (Prevailing With God - Genesis 18:16-33) Sodom had been warned by God - Recall the context. Sodom and Gomorrah had been defeated by 4 kings (Ge 14:10, 11) and taken into captivity and Abraham had defeated their enemy and "brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the people." (Ge 14:16) In addition Sodom had seen the revelation of Melchizedek (Ge 14:17-24). Finally, they had the testimony of righteous Lot (albeit it must have been weak as no one was impacted, not even his two son-in-laws!), who, although tormented, was still a faint light of God's righteousness shining in the darkness of Sodom (2Pe 2:7+). The upshot is that Sodom and Gomorrah were accountable for the spiritual light to which they had been exposed. In that sense, they were even more accountable than the world destroyed by the flood, for the pre-flood world did not have a similar degree of spiritual light. The message of Sodom and Gomorrah is woe to the one who hears God's truth and willfully rejects it. God has a limit! Rod Mattoon - The Cry of Sodom and Gomorrah Ge 18:20, 21 Just as the Lord went down to see what was taking place at the tower of Babel, He now comes down to investigate the wickedness of Sodom. The cry of Sodom’s sin was great and grievous to the Lord. The word “cry” means to shriek. The sin of Sodom was shrieking to God. God hates our sin. The sin of Sodom was “grievous”, a word that comes from the Hebrew word kabad which means “to be heavy”. Our sins are weighty before the Lord. Sin slows us down spiritually. The writer of Hebrews admonishes us to lay aside every weight and the sin which easily besets us and run the race before us (Hebrews 12:1). What is crying to God in your life? It is your prayer and praise that cries, or your sin? May God help us to live for Him everyday. The Cries of Genesis - Several cries are found in this book. ⬧ The Cry of Baseness & Blasphemy—The cry of Sodom’s sin came up to God. 18:20; 19:13 ⬧ The Cry of Blood—Abel’s blood crieth from the ground. 4:10 ⬧ The Cry of Brokenness—Esau cries out in brokenness after being deceived. 27:34 ⬧ The Cry for Bread—The Egyptians cried out to Pharaoh for food. 41:55 Outcry (02201)(zeaqah) has the basic meaning of to cry for help in time of distress. Thus it means cry, outcry, a cry of distress or sorrow. It is usually not a cry to God, but an expression of lamentation in the midst of trouble. Zeaqah is a cry of distress because of war, destruction, pestilence (Isa. 15:5; Jer. 18:22; 20:16). It speaks of a sorrowful cry heard by God (Neh. 9:9), the cry of sin in the presence of God (Gen. 18:20), the cry of humans against humans (Neh. 5:6), the lamenting cry for the people of God in distress (Est. 4:1; 9:31), the lamentation of a man in sorrow and suffering (Job 16:18), the cry of the poor (Pr 21:13), the ineffective and hopeless cry of the one who leads fools who will not learn (Ecc. 9:17), the cry resulting from the destruction and judgment of a nation (Isa. 15:5), and the cessation of lamentation over the sorrow of Jerusalem (Isa. 65:19). Zeaqah is used of the shouting or wailing by captains or pilots of merchant ships because of economic calamity (Ezek. 27:28). The Hebrew word for “outcry” is used in Scripture to describe the cries of the oppressed and brutalized. It is used for the cry of the oppressed widow or orphan (cf. Ex 22:22, 23), the cry of the oppressed servant (cf. Dt. 24:15), and the cries of the Israelites in Egypt (cf. Ex 2:23; 3:7, 9). Jeremiah uses it to refer to the scream of terror by an individual or city when it is attacked (cf. Jer. 18:22; 20:16; 25:36; 48:3-5, 34; 49:21; 50:46; 51:54). Such an outcry is the miserable wail of the oppressed ad brutalized. Zeaqah - 16x/16v - cry(5), cry of distress(2), crying(1), lamentations(1), outcry(7). Gen. 18:20; Neh. 5:6; Neh. 9:9; Est. 9:31; Job 16:18; Prov. 21:13; Isa. 15:5; Isa. 15:8; Isa. 65:19; Jer. 18:22; Jer. 20:16; Jer. 48:4; Jer. 48:34; Jer. 50:46; Jer. 51:54; Ezek. 27:28 Genesis 18:21 “I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.” I will go down: Ge 11:5,7 Ex 3:8 33:5 Mic 1:3 Joh 6:38 1Th 4:16 see: Job 34:22 Ps 90:8 Jer 17:1,10 Zep 1:12 Heb 4:13 I will know: Ex 33:5 De 8:2 13:3 Jos 22:22 Ps 139:1-24 Lu 16:15 2Co 11:11 Genesis 18 Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries JEHOVAH JUDGES THE OUTCRY I will go down now and see - Jehovah is speaking anthropomorphically, describing what a man would do. As the narrative unfolds, it is the other two men, the angels, who go toward Sodom. Clearly God could "go down" (so to speak) without literally walking down, because He is omniscient and omnipresent. At the Tower of Babel Moses recorded similar anthropomorphic language writing that "The LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built." (Ge 11:5+) The point is that Jehovah would not arbitrarily destroy the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, but as a fair and just Judge, He would examine the evidence and then "reward" according to their deeds (cf the final judgment is "according to their deeds" in Rev 20:12-13+). Bob