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■ 창세기 12장
1. 여호와께서 아브람에게 이르시되 너는 너의 본토 친척 아비 집을 떠나 내가 네게 지시할 땅으로 가라
Now the Lord had said unto Abram , Get thee out of thy country , and from thy kindred , and from thy father’s house , unto a land that I will shew thee:
2. 내가 너로 큰 민족을 이루고 네게 복을 주어 네 이름을 창대케 하리니 너는 복의 근원이 될지라
And I will make of thee a great nation , and I will bless thee, and make thy name great ; and thou shalt be a blessing :
3. 너를 축복하는 자에게는 내가 복을 내리고 너를 저주하는 자에게는 내가 저주하리니 땅의 모든 족속이 너를 인하여 복을 얻을 것이니라 하신지라
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed .
4. 이에 아브람이 여호와의 말씀을 좇아 갔고 롯도 그와 함께 갔으며 아브람이 하란을 떠날 때에 그 나이 칠십오 세였더라
So Abram departed , as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran .
5. 아브람이 그 아내 사래와 조카 롯과 하란에서 모은 모든 소유와 얻은 사람들을 이끌고 가나안 땅으로 가려고 떠나서 마침내 가나안 땅에 들어갔더라
And Abram took Sarai his wife , and Lot his brother’s son , and all their substance that they had gathered , and the souls that they had gotten in Haran ; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan ; and into the land of Canaan they came .
6. 아브람이 그 땅을 통과하여 세겜 땅 모레 상수리나무에 이르니 그 때에 가나안 사람이 그 땅에 거하였더라
And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem , unto the plain of Moreh . And the Canaanite was then in the land .
7. 여호와께서 아브람에게 나타나 가라사대 내가 이 땅을 네 자손에게 주리라 하신지라 그가 자기에게 나타나신 여호와를 위하여 그 곳에 단을 쌓고
And the Lord appeared unto Abram , and said , Unto thy seed will I give this land : and there builded he an altar unto the Lord , who appeared unto him.
8. 거기서 벧엘 동편 산으로 옮겨 장막을 치니 서는 벧엘이요 동은 아이라 그가 그곳에서 여호와를 위하여 단을 쌓고 여호와의 이름을 부르더니
And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth–el , and pitched his tent , having Beth–el on the west , and Hai on the east : and there he builded an altar unto the Lord , and called upon the name of the Lord .
9. 점점 남방으로 옮겨갔더라
And Abram journeyed , going on still toward the south .
10. 그 땅에 기근이 있으므로 아브람이 애굽에 우거하려 하여 그리로 내려갔으니 이는 그 땅에 기근이 심하였음이라
And there was a famine in the land : and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land .
11. 그가 애굽에 가까이 이를 때에 그 아내 사래더러 말하되 나 알기에 그대는 아리따운 여인이라
And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt , that he said unto Sarai his wife , Behold now , I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon :
12. 애굽 사람이 그대를 볼 때에 이르기를 이는 그의 아내라 하고 나는 죽이고 그대는 살리리니
Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say , This is his wife : and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive .
13. 원컨대 그대는 나의 누이라 하라 그리하면 내가 그대로 인하여 안전하고 내 목숨이 그대로 인하여 보존하겠노라 하니라
Say , I pray thee , thou art my sister : that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee .
14. 아브람이 애굽에 이르렀을 때에 애굽 사람들이 그 여인의 심히 아리따움을 보았고
And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt , the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair .
15. 바로의 대신들도 그를 보고 바로 앞에 칭찬하므로 그 여인을 바로의 궁으로 취하여 들인지라
The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh : and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house .
16. 이에 바로가 그를 인하여 아브람을 후대하므로 아브람이 양과 소와 노비와 암수 나귀와 약대를 얻었더라
And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep , and oxen , and he asses , and menservants , and maidservants , and she asses , and camels .
17. 여호와께서 아브람의 아내 사래의 연고로 바로와 그 집에 큰 재앙을 내리신지라
And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife .
18. 바로가 아브람을 불러서 이르되 네가 어찌하여 나를 이렇게 대접하였느냐 네가 어찌하여 그를 네 아내라고 내게 고하지 아니하였느냐
And Pharaoh called Abram , and said , What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife ?
19. 네가 어찌 그를 누이라 하여 나로 그를 취하여 아내를 삼게 하였느냐 네 아내가 여기 있으니 이제 데려가라 하고
Why saidst thou , She is my sister ? so I might have taken her to me to wife : now therefore behold thy wife , take her, and go thy way .
20. 바로가 사람들에게 그의 일을 명하매 그들이 그 아내와 그 모든 소유를 보내었더라
And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away , and his wife , and all that he had.
■ 주석 보기
【창12:1 JFB】창12:1-20. Call to Abram.
1. Now the Lord had said unto Abram—It pleased God, who has often been found of them who sought Him not, to reveal Himself to Abraham perhaps by a miracle; and the conversion of Abraham is one of the most remarkable in Bible history.
Get thee out of thy country—His being brought to the knowledge and worship of the true God had probably been a considerable time before. This call included two promises: the first, showing the land of his future posterity; and the second, that in his posterity all the earth was to be blessed (창12:2). Abraham obeyed, and it is frequently mentioned in the New Testament as a striking instance of his faith (히11:8).
【창12:1 CWC】[THE ORIGIN OF ISRAEL]
1. The Divine Purpose.
We have reached a fourth experiment in God's dealings with the apostate race, only this shall not ultimately be the failure the others proved. It should be understood, however, that in speaking of failure the reference is to man's part and not God's. Before the flood the sin of the race was atheism, outright denial of divine authority with the indulgence of sinful lusts it produced and the dissolution of moral and social bonds. But after the flood idolatry took its place -- just how, or why, it is difficult to say -- and long before Abram's time polytheism prevailed both in Chaldea and Egypt.
But God's purpose from the beginning was the redemption of the race according to the promise of 창3:15, and as incident thereto He will now call out a single individual from the corrupt mass, and make of him a nation. Special training and care shall be given to this individual and this nation that there may be in the earth (1) a repository for His truth to keep alive His name; (2) a channel through which "the Seed of the woman," the world's Redeemer, may come among men; and (3) a pedestal on which He Himself may be displayed in His character before the other nations of the world to the sanctifying of His name among them and their ultimate return to His sovereignty. Steady contemplation of this three-fold purpose in the call of Abram and the origin of Israel will prevent any charge of partiality against God for dealing with them differently from other peoples, and will help us to see that all His blessing of them has been for our sake, thus quickening our interest in all that is revealed concerning them.
Israel has thus far fulfilled only part of her original mission. She has retained the name and truth of God in the earth, and given birth to the Redeemer (though she crucified Him), but she has not sanctified God among the peoples by her behavior. For this she has been punished in the past, and is now scattered among the peoples in whose sight she denied Him; but the prophets are a unit that some day she shall be restored to her land again in a national capacity, and after passing through great tribulation, be found penitent and believing, clothed in her right mind and sitting at the feet of Jesus. Then she will take up the broken threads again, and begin anew to carry out the original plan of sanctifying God among the nations. She will witness for Jesus as her Messiah in the millennial age for the conversion of those nations and their obedience to His law. All this will be brought out gradually but plainly as we proceed through the prophets.
2. The Generations of Shem and Terah, 11:10-32.
"The generations of Shem and Terah" are the children who sprang from them, and furnished the descent of Abram and the Israelites. Which one of the sons of Shem was divinely chosen for this honor? (Compare v. 10 with 10:21.) What seven facts are stated of Haran (vv. 27-29)? Iscah, one of his daughters, not otherwise mentioned, is thought by some identical with her whom Abram married and whose name was changed to Sarai (my princess) after that event. Others, however, base on Abram's words (20:13) that Sarai was a daughter of Terah by a second wife, and thus his half-sister. Still others conjecture that of the supposed two wives of Terah, one was Haran's mother and the other Abram's, so that in marrying his niece, he was at liberty to speak of her as his sister, as in Egypt (12:19), in the same sense in which he could call Lot his brother though he was also his nephew (14:14).
"Haran," which is the name of a locality, called "Charran," in 행7:2-4, must not be confounded with the other word which is the name of Terah's son, since they are quite distinct. Notice the location of these places on the map, and observe that because of the desert of Arabia they had to travel first towards the northwest (about 650 miles) to the fords of the Euphrates, and then southwest (say 500 miles) to Hebron or Beersheba, which later on became Abram's favorite abode.
Ur must have been a city of great wealth and influence, so that Abram was brought up under circumstances of the highest civilization. Documents written in his day have recently been brought to light, in which his name is mentioned as borne by men of that land. And as a further mark of historicity, the name of the city itself, Ur of the Chaldees, or Ur-Kasdim, as the Hebrew puts it, was the peculiar form of its name in Abram's time, though subsequently it had another form. One more feature of interest is that it was the ancient seat of the worship of the Moon, and that Abram and all his family were undoubtedly idolaters, so that this call of God to him, like His call to us in Christ, was entirely of grace. In examining this point consult chapter 31:53; 수24:2, 3, 14, 15.
3. Abram's Call and His Response, 12:1-9.
How does the King James Version indicate an earlier date for the call of Abram than that which chapter 12 narrates? How is this corroborated by 행7:2? Stephen, speaking of this call, indicates that God "was seen to Abraham," as if some visible manifestation was vouchsafed to him at the beginning. In what form this may have been we do not know, but sufficiently clear to have shown the patriarch the distinction between gods of wood and stone and the only true God.
What seven promises are given Abram to encourage his faith (vv. 2, 3)? God's authority could find fit expression only in a nation bound together under institutions of His own appointment, since many scattered family altars could not bear an adequate witness for His unity. Notice again that for Abram to become great and his offspring to develop into a great nation co-operation would be required on the part of his and their neighbors, hence to secure this God lays this curse and blessing upon their enemies and friends.
Have you located Shechem? How is Abram comforted at this place (v. 7)? What additional promise is now given him? This gift to his seed of the land should be strongly emphasized. It was, and is, Jehovah's land. Ezekiel speaks of it as "the middle, or navel, of the earth" (38:12, R. V.), and it is peculiarly situated geographically, commercially and politically, but especially historically and prophetically. It has been given to Israel as her possession forever, but not her ownership, as we shall learn by and by (레25:23). Moreover, so closely is Jehovah's purpose of redemption associated with the land as well as the people of Israel that when they are separated from it, as we shall see, they are separated from Him, and the lapse of time in their history is not considered until they are returned to their land again. In a word, they can never dwell elsewhere and be His people or fulfill their calling.
【창12:1 MHCC】God made choice of Abram, and singled him out from among his fellow-idolaters, that he might reserve a people for himself, among whom his true worship might be maintained till the coming of Christ. From henceforward Abram and his seed are almost the only subject of the history in the Bible. Abram was tried whether he loved God better than all, and whether he could willingly leave all to go with God. His kindred and his father's house were a constant temptation to him, he could not continue among them without danger of being infected by them. Those who leave their sins, and turn to God, will be unspeakable gainers by the change. The command God gave to Abram, is much the same with the gospel call, for natural affection must give way to Divine grace. Sin, and all the occasions of it, must be forsaken; particularly bad company. Here are many great and precious promises. All God's precepts are attended with promises to the obedient. 1. I will make of thee a great nation. When God took Abram from his own people, he promised to make him the head of another people. 2. I will bless thee. Obedient believers shall be sure to inherit the blessing. 3. I will make thy name great. The name of obedient believers shall certainly be made great. 4. Thou shalt be a blessing. Good men are the blessings of their country. 5. I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee. God will take care that none are losers, by any service done for his people. 6. In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Jesus Christ is the great blessing of the world, the greatest that ever the world possessed. All the true blessedness the world is now, or ever shall be possessed of, is owing to Abram and his posterity. Through them we have a Bible, a Saviour, and a gospel. They are the stock on which the Christian church is grafted.
【창12:4 MHCC】Abram believed that the blessing of the Almighty would make up for all he could lose or leave behind, supply all his wants, and answer and exceed all his desires; and he knew that nothing but misery would follow disobedience. Such believers, being justified by faith in Christ, have peace with God. They hold on their way to Canaan. They are not discouraged by the difficulties in their way, nor drawn aside by the delights they meet with. Those who set out for heaven must persevere to the end. What we undertake, in obedience to God's command, and in humble attendance on his providence, will certainly succeed, and end with comfort at last. Canaan was not, as other lands, a mere outward possession, but a type of heaven, and in this respect the patriarchs so earnestly prized it.
【창12:5 JFB】5. into the land of Canaan … they came—with his wife and an orphan nephew. Abram reached his destination in safety, and thus the first promise was made good.
【창12:6 JFB】6. the place of Sichem—or Shechem, a pastoral valley then unoccupied (compare 창33:18).
plain of Moreh—rather, the "terebinth tree" of Moreh, very common in Palestine, remarkable for its wide-spreading branches and its dark green foliage. It is probable that in Moreh there was a grove of these trees, whose inviting shade led Abram to choose it for an encampment.
【창12:6 MHCC】Abram found the country peopled by Canaanites, who were bad neighbours. He journeyed, going on still. Sometimes it is the lot of good men to be unsettled, and often to remove into various states. Believers must look on themselves as strangers and sojourners in this world, 히11:8, 13, 14. But observe how much comfort Abram had in God. When he could have little satisfaction in converse with the Canaanites whom he found there, he had abundance of pleasure in communion with that God, who brought him thither, and did not leave him. Communion with God is kept up by the word and by prayer. God reveals himself and his favours to his people by degrees; before, he had promised to show Abram this land, now, to give it to him: as grace is growing, so is comfort. It should seem, Abram understood it also as a grant of a better land, of which this was a type; for he looked for a heavenly country, 히11:16. As soon as Abram was got to Canaan, though he was but a stranger and sojourner there, yet he set up, and kept up, the worship of God in his family. He not only minded the ceremonial part of religion, the offering of sacrifice; but he made conscience of seeking his God, and calling on his name; that spiritual sacrifice with which God is well pleased. He preached concerning the name of the Lord; he taught his family and neighbours the knowledge of the true God, and his holy religion. The way of family worship is a good old way, no new thing, but the ancient usage of the saints. Abram was rich, and had a numerous family, was now unsettled, and in the midst of enemies; yet, wherever he pitched his tent, he built an altar: wherever we go, let us not fail to take our religion along with us.
【창12:7 JFB】7. Unto thy seed will I give this land—God was dealing with Abram not in his private and personal capacity merely, but with a view to high and important interests in future ages. That land his posterity was for centuries to inhabit as a peculiar people; the seeds of divine knowledge were to be sown there for the benefit of all mankind; and considered in its geographical situation, it was chosen in divine wisdom as the fittest of all lands to serve as the cradle of a divine revelation designed for the whole world.
and there builded he an altar unto the Lord—By this solemn act of devotion Abram made an open profession of his religion, established the worship of the true God, and declared his faith in the promise.
【창12:10 JFB】10. there was a famine … and Abram went down into Egypt—He did not go back to the place of his nativity, as regretting his pilgrimage and despising the promised land (히11:15), but withdrew for a while into a neighboring country.
【창12:10 CWC】[THE PROMISE RENEWED TO ABRAM]
1. Abram in Egypt, 12:10-20.
It is felt that Abram acted unadvisedly in taking this journey to Egypt, for which three reasons are assigned: (1) God could have provided for him in Canaan, notwithstanding the famine; (2) there was no command for him to leave Canaan, to which place God had definitely called him; (3) he fell into difficulty by going, and was obliged to employ subterfuge to escape it. Still these arguments are not convincing, and in the absence of direct rebuke from God we should withhold judgment.
Concerning the trial which Abram encountered, how did the last lesson justify in part, his subterfuge? What shows the unwisdom of it even on the natural plane of things (vv. 18-19)? How does his character suffer in comparison with that of Pharaoh? Who interposed on his behalf, and how (v. 17)? How does this circumstance demonstrate that the true God has ways of making Himself known even to heathen peoples? How does it further demonstrate that the record itself is true?
2. Separation from Lot, 13:1-13.
If Abram has been out of fellowship with God during his Egyptian sojourn, how is that fellowship now restored (vv. 3, 4)? Have we any lesson here concerning our own backsliding? (Compare 1 요1:9.) What shows the unselfishness and breadth of Abram's character in dealing with Lot (vv. 8, 9)? How does this show that Canaan at this time must have been largely depopulated? What principle governed Lot in his choice (vv. 10, 11)? How does the Revised Version render verse 12? Have you identified these localities on the map? What shows the unwisdom of Lot's choice (v. 13)? Read on this point 고후6:14 to 7:1.
3. The Promise Renewed to Abram, 13:14-18.
Does Abram suffer for his unselfishness? What advance does this renewal of the promise record so far as the land is concerned (v. 15)? So far as Abram's posterity is concerned? What two references to Abram's seed do verses 15 and 16 record? In what way may he be said to have taken possession of the land in advance (v. 17)? Have you identified Hebron? Abram by the Egyptian episode may have well felt he had forfeited the promise, if it had rested on his faithfulness, but instead it rested upon the faithfulness of God. How kind, therefore, for God to have reassured His servant, unworthy as he was, and even to have given him a larger vision of what the promise meant!
Questions.
1.are rendered unnecessary in this case because of the number and nature of those in the text itself. Hereafter when omitted at the close of the lesson, it will be for this reason.
THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT
Chapters 14, 15
1. The Confederated Kings, 14:1-12.
How does the Revised Version translate "nations" in verse 1? In what valley was the battle joined (3)? How is that valley now identified? Against what six peoples did Chedorlaomer and his confederates campaign in the fourteenth year (5-7)? You will find these peoples located on the east and south of the Dead Sea.
Who were victors in this case (10)? How did they reward themselves (11)? What gives us a special interest in this story (12)? Objectors have denied the historicity of it, but the monuments of Assyria, Babylonia and Egypt, with their inscriptions and paintings, confirm it. The names of some of these kings are given, and it would appear that Chedorlaomer was the general name of a line of Elamite kings corresponding to the several Pharaohs and Caesars of later times.
2. Abram's Exploit of Arms, 14:13-24.
By what name was Abram distinguished among these heathen peoples (13)? What hint have we of his princely power (14)? What was the manner of his attack (15)? The motive for it (16)?
We are not surprised at Abram's meeting with the king of Sodom on his return, but what other king is named (18)? What office did he hold beside that of king? Was he a heathen like the others (19)? Who gave the tithes, Abram or he? (Compare 히7:6.)
Melchizedek seems to have been a king of Salem, later called Jerusalem, who like Job had not only retained the knowledge of the true God but also like him was in his own person a prince and a priest. (Compare 욥1:5-8; 29; 25.) Recent discoveries of correspondence of the Egyptian kings written at about the time of the Exodus refute the theory once held that Melchizedek was an imaginary character and that this incident never occurred. This correspondence includes letters of the king of Jerusalem, Ebed-Tob by name, which means "the servant of the Good One," who speaks of himself in the very phrases used by his predecessor Melchizedek (Heb. 7). The probability is that Melchizedek, like Chedorlaomer, was the common name of a race or dynasty of priest-kings ruling over that city. He is employed as a type of Christ in the 110th Psalm and in Hebrews 7.
How does the king of Sodom probably the successor to him who had been slain (10), express his gratitude to Abram (21)? What is Abram's response (22-24)? How does this response show that Melchizedek worshipped the same God? What elements of character does it show in Abram?
3. The Second Test and Reward of Faith, 15:1-6.
"After these things" Abram might have feared that the defeated warriors would return in force and overwhelm him, nor is it improbable that misgivings arose as to relinquishing the spoil he was entitled to as the conqueror. But God could deliver him from fear in the one case and make up to him the loss in the other. How does He express both ideas in verse 1?
But what burdens Abram heavier than either of these things (2)? God promised him a seed to inherit Canaan, which should be multiplied as the dust of the earth, yet he was going hence childless. He who should be possessor of his house under these circumstances would be Dammesek Eliezer (R. V.). Just how to explain this is difficult, but Eliezer was his steward, and oriental custom may have entailed the possessions of his master on such an one where no natural heir existed. We cannot explain this but would call attention to the reply of Jehovah, that it is not an adopted son he shall have but a supernatural one (4). And now what does Jehovah do to Abram (5)? And what does He ask Abram to do? And what does He then promise him? Was Abram's faith able to measure up to this stupendous declaration (6)? And in what did this faith of Abram result to him (v. 6, last clause)? These words, "counted it to him for righteousness," reveal a fact more important to Abram personally than the promise of a seed, except that the seed, considered as the forerunner and type of Christ, was the only ground at length on which Abram might be counted righteous. To understand these words is vital to an understanding of our own redemption, and an apprehension of the Gospel.
Abram was a sinner, born into a state of wrongness, but God now puts him by an act of grace into a state of Tightness, not because of Abram's righteous character but on the ground of his belief in God's word. Nor does this righteous state into which he is brought make it true that thereafter he is without a flaw in his character, for he is guilty of much. But he has a right standing before God, and because of it God can deal with him in time and eternity as He cannot deal with other men who do not have this standing. The significance of this to us is seen in 롬4:23-25, which you are urged to read prayerfully.
The question is sometimes asked whether Abram - and for that matter, any Old Testament saint - was justified or made righteous just as we are in these days. The answer is yes, and no. They were made righteous just as we are in that Christ took away their guilt on the cross and wrought out a righteousness for them, but they were not made righteous just as we are in that they knew Christ as we do. Christ indeed said that Abram rejoiced to see His day, and he saw it and was glad (요8:56), but this does not mean that he saw and understood what we now do of the Person and finished work of Christ.
The fact is this: God set a certain promise before Abram. He believed God's testimony concerning it and was counted righteous in consequence. God sets a certain promise before us, and if we believe God's testimony concerning it we are counted righteous in consequence. The promise to Abram was that of a natural seed; the promise to us in that of salvation through Jesus Christ, the anti-type of that seed. We have but to believe His testimony concerning Jesus Christ, as Abram believed it concerning the seed, to obtain the same standing before God forever. It is not our character that gives it to us, nor does our change of standing immediately produce a change of character, but this does not affect the standing, which is the important thing because the character grows out of it. The reward of the first test of faith brought Abram a country (Gen. 12), but that of the second brought him a better country, that is, a heavenly (히11:8-16).
4. The Covenant of God, 15:7-12, 17-21.
In what words does God now identify Himself and renew the promise of the land (7)? Is Abram altogether satisfied about the land (8)? What does God tell him to do (9)? What now happens to Abram (12)? What next takes place with reference to the sacrifice (17)? And in connection with this what does God do with Abram? How does He define the boundaries of His gift? We ought to say that "the river of Egypt," can hardly mean the Nile, although some so regard it. Others think it is that wady or brook of Egypt lying at the southern limit of the land of Israel, referred to in 민34:5; 수15:4, and 사27:12.
The strange incident recorded here is of symbolic importance. Men entered into covenant with one another in this way, that is, they would slay an animal, divide it into parts, walk up and down between them and thus solemnly seal the bond they had made. Afterward part of the victim would be offered in sacrifice to their gods, while the remainder would be eaten by the parties to the covenant. It was the highest form of an oath. God thus condescended to assure Abram, since the smoking furnace and burning lamp, passing between the pieces and doubtless consuming them, typified His presence and acceptance of the bond. Among men it takes two to make a covenant, but not so here. God is alone in this case, and asks of Abram nothing in return but the repose of confidence in His faithfulness. It is thus that God covenants with us in Christ. He gives, and we take. He promises, and we believe.
But dwelling on what Abram saw we passed over what he heard, and this is an essential part of God's covenant with him (13-16). What did He say would be true of Abram's seed for a while? It is a matter of dispute how these four hundred years are computed, but Anstey's Romance of Chronology says that Abraham's seed here means Isaac and his descendants from the time of the weaning of the former when he became his father's heir, to the date of the Exodus, which was precisely 400 years. What two-fold promise is given Abram personally (15)? What particular reason does God give for the delay in possessing Canaan (16)? "The Amorite" here is the name used doubtless for all the inhabitants of Canaan, of which they were a chief nation and a very wicked one. The long-suffering of God will wait while they go on filling up the measure of their iniquity, but at last the sword of divine justice must fall. The same thing happens with sinners in general, and as another says, it ought to embitter the cup of their pleasures.
Questions.
1. What corroborative evidence of the historicity of Chapter 14 can you name?
2. Recall in detail what has been taught or suggested about Melchizedek.
3. How would you explain 창15:6?
4. Can you repeat from memory 롬4:23-25?
5. In a word, what is the significance of the transaction in 15:7-21?
THE TOKEN OF THE COVENANT
Chapters 16, 17
Our lessons are grouping themselves around the great facts of Scripture as we proceed, and while we are omitting nothing essential, emphasis is laid on the strategic points. In this lesson the point is the token of the covenant God made with Abram, but there are other thoughts leading up to and giving occasion for it.
1. Sarah and Hagar, 16:1-6.
The incident we now approach is not creditable to Abram or his wife, but there is an explanation of it. At least ten years had elapsed since God promised a seed to Abram (compa계12:12 with 16:16), and yet the promise had not been realized. Abram had been a monogamist until now, but concubinage was the custom, and the idea impressed Sarai that the delay in the promise might mean a fulfillment of it in another way. Might it be that they should help God to fulfill it? A wise teacher has said that human expediency to give effect to divine promises continues still one of the most dangerous reefs on which the lives of God's people are wrecked. The result might have been foreseen so far as Hagar's treatment of Sarai is concerned (4), but the latter's unfairness towards her husband does nothing to redeem her previous improper conduct. Abram's action (6) will be differently judged by different people, but seems consistent with the original purpose to accept of Hagar not as on equality of wifehood with Sarai, or even as his concubine, but as Lange puts it, "a supplementary concubine of his wife."
2. The Angel of the Lord, 16:7-14.
It is not "an angel" of the Lord here brought before us, but "The Angel," an expression always referring to the second Person of the Trinity. He assumes the divine prerogative at verse 10, and is identified as God at verse 13. It is no objection to say that it is only Hagar who thus identifies Him, not only because she must have had evidence of His identity, but because the inspired record in no way contradicts her. While this Angel is Jehovah, it is remarkable that in the name "Angel," which means "messenger" or "one sent," there is implied a distinction in the Godhead. There must be one who sends if there is one sent, and since the Father is never sent but always sends, the conclusion is that "The Angel of the Lord" must be God the Son.
Identify on the map "the way to Shur" (7), and observe that Hagar was departing in the direction of her own land. Ishmael means "God heareth." Why was he to be thus called (11)? What character and experience are prophesied of him (see R. V.)? Where was he to dwell? "In the presence of his brethren" seems to mean "over against" or "to the east of" his brethren.
3. The Covenant Renewed, 17:1-8.
Abram's disobedience or unbelief as illustrated in the matter of Hagar kept him out of fellowship with God for fourteen years or more. (Compare first verse of this chapter with the last of the preceding one.) What takes place after so long a time? With what new name does God introduce Himself?
The Hebrew here is "El Shaddai." "El" means might or power, and "Shaddai" means a shedder forth of bounty. The name represents God as the all-bountiful One, and comes as His revelation of Himself to Abram just when the latter needed to learn that the strength of God is made perfect in human weakness. Abram sought to obtain by his own energy what God only could give him, and having learned his lesson and being ready to give himself to God, God is ready to give Himself to Abram and make him fruitful. To quote Jukes here: "He puts something into Abram which at once changes him from Abram to Abraham - something of His own nature."
But what is required of Abram, however, before this (1)? He must be "perfect," not in the sense of sinlessness, impossible to mortal, but in that of doing the whole will of God as it is known to him. And on that condition what promise is renewed (2)? It is not as though the covenant of chapter 15 had been abrogated for "the gifts and calling of God are without repentance" (롬11:29), but that now the first step is to be taken in its fulfillment. What new attitude, physically considered, is now assumed by Abram in his intercourse with God (3)? What new name is given him, and its meaning (5)? How does the promise of verse 5 read in the Revised Version?
Compare the promise as more fully outlined in verses 6 to 8 for features additional to those previously revealed. What does God say He will make of him? And what shall come out of him? Have either of these things been said before? What did God say He would establish, and with whom, and for how long? What is new here? A father of many nations indeed has God made Abraham, if we consider his offspring not only in the line of Isaac, but of Ishmael, to say nothing of the children born to him by Keturah, subsequently to come before us.
These nations include the Jews, Arabians, Turks, Egyptians, Afghans, Moroccans, Algerians, and we know not how many more. But we are not to understand the covenant as established with all of these but only with the Jews of Israel, as descendants of Isaac. Isaac is the seed of Abraham in mind here, and of course his anti-type, Jesus Christ, is the seed ultimately in mind. Keeping this latter point in view, therefore, the seed includes more than Israel after the flesh, since it takes in all who believe on Jesus Christ, whether Jews or Gentiles (갈3:29). Peculiar privileges belong to each, but their origin is the same.
4. The Covenant Token, 17:9-14.
It is in dispute whether circumcision was original with Abraham and his descendants, or had been a custom in other nations, though of course for other reasons in their case. Nevertheless, as Murphy reminds us, "the rainbow was chosen to be the sign of the covenant with Noah though it may have existed before, so the prior existence of circumcision does not render it less fit to be the sign of the covenant with Abraham, or less significant." And he adds: "It was the fit symbol of that removal of the old man and that renewal of nature which qualified Abraham to be the parent of the holy seed." To what extent was it to be carried out among the males? What was the penalty for its omission (14)? This cutting off of the people from the covenant did not mean physical death, but exclusion from all their blessings and salvation, an even more serious judgment, since in the end it denoted the endless destruction and total ruin of the man who despised God's covenant. To despise or reject the sign was to despise and reject the covenant itself (see verse 5, last clause). A serious thought for the professing Christian who neglects to observe both parts of the obligation in 롬10:9, 10.
5. The Promise Concerning Sarah, 17:15-27.
How is the name of Sarai changed at this point (15)? God had never promised she should be a mother, and Ishmael, now thirteen years old, had doubtless been recognized through the whole encampment as his father's heir. But now what distinct promise does God give concerning her (16)? How is it received by Abraham (17)? This laughter of Abraham was the exultation of joy and not the smile of unbelief. In this connection note that Isaac means "laughter," and also that it is with him, and not Ishmael, that the covenant is to be established everlastingly.
Are you not pleased that Abraham should have thought of Ishmael as he did (18)? "Ishmael as an Arab of the desert, with his descendants, does not make much of a figure among the nations of the earth until we consider him as the ancestor of Mohammed. It is estimated that he holds one hundred and fifty millions of the inhabitants of the world subject to his spiritual sway, which indicates that Ishmael still lifts his head aloft among the great founders of empires, and in the moral sphere greater than them all."
Questions.
1. How do God's people sometimes wreck their lives, as illustrated in this lesson?
2. How does this lesson afford another foreshadowing of the doctrine of the Trinity?
3. Give the meaning of the name "Almighty God."
4. Name some of the nations proceeding from Abraham.
5. Whom does "the seed" of Abraham include?
6. How does this lesson impress us with the importance of confessing Christ?
7. Where in this lesson have we a kind of parallel to 눅24:41?
8. What distinguished descendant of Ishmael can you name?
LOT'S AFTERMATH
Chapters 18, 19
We have almost forgotten Lot, but he is not having a happy time in the land of his choice. The Sodomites have learned nothing by experience, and are increasing in iniquity and ripening for judgment. The facts in chapter 18 introduce the story of the climax in their case.
1. A Second Theophany, 18:1-15.
The word "Lord" in verse 1 is in capitals, another manifestation of the second Person of the Godhead as in the case of "the Angel of the Lord" in the last lesson. Compare al아13:18, and notice that Abraham is still at Hebron, about twenty miles south of Jerusalem, where he had settled perhaps twenty-five years prior to this time. We may judge this by the fact that when he had become separated from Lot the latter was unmarried, but now, as chapter 19 indicates, had a family including married daughters. Keep giving attention to the map in these historical studies, as it will be found increasingly beneficial as we proceed.
In what form does Jehovah seem to have appeared to Abraham (2)? How are the other two "men" identified? (19:1, R. V.) Abraham's action in running to meet and show hospitality to these travelers shows that he did not know their true nature, but yet there was something about them which he recognized as unusual. Notice, for example, his address in verse 3.
How does the speaker in verse 10 identify himself with Jehovah? What do you think of Sarah's laughter in verse 13 as compared with that of Abraham in the last lesson? In the light of the context does it express confidence or doubt (13-15)?
2. A Great Prayer, 18:16-33.
Abraham's prayer is the first prolonged supplication recorded in the Bible, and suggests several thoughts upon the subject. (1) The duty and privilege of intercessory prayer, for Abraham was now asking for others, not himself. (2) The source and inspiration of prayer, which in this case is the revealed purpose of God concerning Sodom. He who knows God's purposes prays in harmony with them and thus finds abundant food for prayer; but to learn His purpose one must listen to His voice in His Word. (3) The value of argument in prayer. See how Abraham pleads the holy and just dealings of God! But to be possessed of arguments one needs to be familiar with what God is and what He says - another reason for searching His revealed Word. (4) The right of importunity in prayer. God is not displeased to have us press our cause, but expects us to do so, and frequently answers according to our earnestness. (5) The efficacy of prayer, for Abraham received his real desire, the deliverance of Lot, even though Sodom itself was not saved.
How is Jehovah discriminated from the two "men" at verses 16 and 17? What reason is given for His readiness to reveal His purpose to Abraham (18)? Read verse 19 in the Revised Version and observe that Abraham's faithfulness to God, resulting in the fulfillment of God's promise to him, was itself of grace. Jehovah says: "I have known him to that end," which is the same as saying: "The purpose I have in calling and blessing Abraham is to keep him faithful that I may bring upon him that which I have promised." Here is food for prayer surely, that God might know us as He knew Abraham; and perhaps one reason He revealed this dealing of His with Abraham is to stimulate us thus to plead.
How strangely verse 21 sounds, bringing to mind 창11:5, the note on which please again read. Perhaps in this case the words were spoken by Jehovah in Abraham's hearing. They suggest His fairness in dealing with the wicked, for (speaking after the manner of men) He will not act on hearsay evidence, but learn the facts for Himself. He will send special messengers to report to Him, who, alas! obtain all the evidence they need. Does Jehovah Himself visit Sodom? What, in a sense, prevented Him?
3. The Sodom Mob, 19:1-11.
What leads to the belief that Lot did not recognize the nature of his visitors (2, 3)? (Compare 히13:2.) The following verses show that the Sodomites sought acquaintance with these supposed men for those vile purposes which have ever been associated with the name of their city. It was for this that Lot, at the risk of his life, came to their defense, for the duty of protecting a guest has always been accounted among orientals as the most sacred obligation. Lot's offer concerning his daughters is inexplicable, and yet it shows what Sodom had done for him. How does verse 9 show Lot's unpopularity with his neighbors? What suggests that he had testified against them? (Read here 벧후2:6-9.) Who rescued Lot, and how (10)? What physical judgment was visited upon his antagonists (11)?
4. Lot's Escape, 19:12-26.
How does verse 12 illustrate our responsibility for the salvation of our relatives? And verse 14 the indifference with which they often hear our testimony? How does verse 16 illustrate the preventing grace of God to lost sinners? What elements of Lot's character are illustrated in verses 18-20? How does verse 30 show his folly a second time in selecting an abiding place? How do verses 21 and 22 show God's regard for the people of His choice, notwithstanding their unworthiness? The prophets of the Old and New Testaments speak of tribulation coming upon the earth at the close of this age such as was never seen before, but they speak also of the deliverance of the saints out of it and a removal of them by translation (살전4:13-18) before the judgments fall (계3:10 to 7:14, etc.), and this dealing with Lot illustrates it in certain ways. By what means were Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed? "Overthrew," verse 25, indicating upheavals and submersions of the ground, perhaps the result of natural causes, but under divine control. The explosion of gas might account for it when the soil, soaked with bitumen, would easily convey the fire until all the cities were destroyed. It used to be thought that the Dead Sea covered the site of these cities, but this opinion is now contradicted.
What judgment befell Lot's wife, and why? Her motives for looking back are not hard to conceive and we need not dwell upon them now, but observe how Jesus applies this circumstance to the end of the age (눅17:31-33), and note that He thus not only warns us concerning that period but guarantees the authenticity of this whole story.
5. Origin of the Moabites and the Ammonites, 19:30-38.
It must not be supposed that the conduct of Lot's daughters recorded here is endorsed by God because of that fact. Its record is an incidental evidence of the truth of the Bible, for an imposter palming off a so-called revelation would have omitted such a circumstance reflecting upon them whom God in His mercy had separated unto Himself. The purpose of the record is doubtless to give us the origin of the Moabites and the Ammonites, who figure so largely at a later time as the implacable enemies of Israel, whose vile character is here foreshadowed. They ultimately met the fate at God's hands which their history deserved.
ABRAHAM AT GERAR
Chapters 20, 21
Why Abraham took the journey in verse 1 is not stated, but perhaps to better his pasturage, for he remained in the vicinity for some time (21:34). Why he employed the same subterfuge about Sarah as before also is not stated except in a general way (12), but it resulted as it did then (2). The chapter illustrates certain principles of God's dealings with different men:
(1) Imputed righteousness, while instantaneously giving man a right standing before God, does not make that man instantaneously righteous in his own character. If it did, Abraham would not have been guilty of this falsehood, if it were such.
(2) God can reveal Himself to the heathen as clearly as to one of His own people. Abimelech had no doubt that he had received a revelation from the God of Abraham.
(3) The sin of a heathen is against God, no matter what religion he professes or what gods he worships - "I withheld thee from sinning against Me."
(4) God is the conservator of His own truth, and man cannot be trusted with it. Twice has He interposed against Abraham himself for the protection of his wife, in whom were deposited the hopes of the whole human race. These hopes would have been disappointed if Abraham had controlled them (시105:13-15).
(5) Natural graces of disposition are not a ground of acceptance with God. Abimelech commends himself to us by his expostulation with Abraham (9-10), his restoration of Sarah and his generous treatment of both (14-16), and yet it is Abraham (whose conduct suffers by comparison) and not Abimelech who has the privilege and power of intercession -- "He is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live" (7).
(6) God deals with His own people, those to whom His righteousness is imputed, on a different principle from that on which He deals with others. Abraham suffers no punishment for this repeated offense, although in the course of his life he had his share of chastisements and corrections, but God is dealing with him not as a criminal before a judge, but as a child before a loving father.
Abraham and Abimelech in Covenant, 21:22-34.
The circumstance in this section belongs to that of the previous one, although it seems to have taken place at a later time and subsequent to the birth of Isaac. Notice how God blessed Abraham in such a way as to glorify Himself (22), and recall the teaching in an earlier lesson that this was His purpose in the whole history of Israel, which their disobedience at the present time has defeated. Abraham must have had much influence and power for Abimelech to have found it worth while to make a covenant with him (23), but his "kingdom" was very likely limited to the city of Gerar and the surrounding territory. Abraham takes advantage of the occasion to present a claim for damages, as we would say (25), and serious damages, too, when we reflect on the value of wells in an oriental country to the possessor of sheep and cattle. In verses 27-30 we have a repetition of the transaction in chapter 15. "Beer-sheba" means "the well of the oath." This now becomes the dwelling place of Abraham for some time (34). What new name is ascribed to God in this verse?
【창12:10 MHCC】There is no state on earth free from trials, nor any character free from blemishes. There was famine in Canaan, the glory of all lands, and unbelief, with the evils it ever brings, in Abram the father of the faithful. Perfect happiness and perfect purity dwell only in heaven. Abram, when he must for a time quit Canaan, goes to Egypt, that he might not seem to look back, and meaning to tarry there no longer than needful. There Abram dissembled his relation to Sarai, equivocated, and taught his wife and his attendants to do so too. He concealed a truth, so as in effect to deny it, and exposed thereby both his wife and the Egyptians to sin. The grace Abram was most noted for, was faith; yet he thus fell through unbelief and distrust of the Divine providence, even after God had appeared to him twice. Alas, what will become of weak faith, when strong faith is thus shaken! If God did not deliver us, many a time, out of straits and distresses which we bring ourselves into, by our own sin and folly, we should be ruined. He deals not with us according to our deserts. Those are happy chastisements that hinder us in a sinful way, and bring us to our duty, particularly to the duty of restoring what we have wrongfully taken or kept. Pharaoh's reproof of Abram was very just: What is this that thou hast done? How unbecoming a wise and good man! If those who profess religion, do that which is unfair and deceptive, especially if they say that which borders upon a lie, they must expect to hear of it; and they have reason to thank those who will tell them of it. The sending away was kind. Pharaoh was so far from any design to kill Abram, as he feared, that he took particular care of him. We often perplex ourselves with fears which are altogether groundless. Many a time we fear where no fear is. Pharaoh charged his men not to hurt Abram in any thing. It is not enough for those in authority, that they do not hurt themselves; they must keep their servants and those about them from doing hurt.
【창12:11 JFB】11-13. Sarai's complexion, coming from a mountainous country, would be fresh and fair compared with the faces of Egyptian women which were sallow. The counsel of Abram to her was true in words, but it was a deception, intended to give an impression that she was no more than his sister. His conduct was culpable and inconsistent with his character as a servant of God: it showed a reliance on worldly policy more than a trust in the promise; and he not only sinned himself, but tempted Sarai to sin also.
【창12:14 JFB】14. when Abram was come into Egypt—It appears from the monuments of that country that at the time of Abram's visit a monarchy had existed for several centuries. The seat of government was in the Delta, the most northern part of the country, the very quarter in which Abram must have arrived. They were a race of shepherd-kings, in close alliance with the people of Canaan.
【창12:15 JFB】15. the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house—Eastern kings have for ages claimed the privilege of taking to their harem an unmarried woman whom they like. The father or brother may deplore the removal as a calamity, but the royal right is never resisted nor questioned.
【창12:16 JFB】16. he entreated Abram well for her sake—The presents are just what one pastoral chief would give to another.
【창12:18 JFB】18-20. Here is a most humiliating rebuke, and Abram deserved it. Had not God interfered, he might have been tempted to stay in Egypt and forget the promise (시105:13, 15). Often still does God rebuke His people and remind them through enemies that this world is not their rest.
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