Genesis 21 Our Enemies Will Fear Us

The Faithful God Who Keeps His Promises

John, would you open us in a word of prayer?

Lord, we come to you desiring to know you. We come because you are the God of all. We know that in the history in Genesis, there are times where man has obeyed you, times where man has gone his own way, but you are the faithful, consistent God.

We're looking at Genesis 21. We know, Lord, that your promises are yea and amen and our goal, our perception is to follow after you and find our truth in you. In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen. So this evening, we intend to go to the Mount Laurel Library and challenge some of the books that they have been putting on their young adult shelf for 13-year-olds. One of them is entitled Flamer and it has just graphic, disgusting images and wording that no child should ever be exposed to.

Page 131.

Yeah, of the large print edition, it's page 131. And that's just an example of many within that book. It is obscene.

And they complain about the Kilimawking bird.

Right. Well, what the library will do is paint us as being enemies of the classics, enemies of learning. Oh, you're trying to ban to Kilimawking bird or 1984 or some other book. But what we're really concerned about is exposing children to indecency.

I thought that we were supposed to protect children from child pornography. Isn't that the case anymore? But evidently not. And here's the thing. When we go into the library or into a situation like this, our desire is for peace.

We're not a threat to a peaceful person. Right. We only want what's best for children and for people in general. But we will be regarded as enemies and a threat to the people that we're confronting. Now, this is the way it has to be.

Although the ethos of our country is to say, peace, peace. We're all the same. All roads lead to the same place. Everybody is actually trying to get to the same destination. We're just taking different roads when, in fact, that is not the case.

Remember what Jeremiah said about the prophets in chapter six? Jeremiah said they healed the wound lightly. Say peace, peace where there is no peace. There is something fundamentally broken that has to be healed.

And you can't just dress it lightly. You have to cut out the gangrene and sew it up and bandage it up. If you want to heal this thing, it is a painful process. Another example is in the book of first Corinthians, where you had some who were taking communion so lightly, they were actually disregarding and dishonoring the table of the Lord.

And Paul is very aggressive against that. And then he says in chapter 11, verse 19, no doubt there must be differences among you to show who among you is approved by the Lord. What he's saying there is that, granted, we don't want divisions.

Isn't division in the church one of the worst things? Don't we hate it? It would be very easy to just smooth over differences when these things arise and pretend that all is well, kind of like burying your head in the sand, you know, like an ostrich and pretending that there's no danger.

But Paul says these divisions are actually necessary.

To show who is approved by the Lord.

So is there actually a place for division? Yeah, it's not our desire. We want peace and ultimately we have to sometimes divide and confront in order to get to peace, but you can't just heal the wound lightly.

That's a major problem in churches and in society, healing the wound lightly. Can Israel simply retreat from Hamas, call a ceasefire, heal the wound lightly, and imagine that everything will be fine a couple years from now?

It's over. Yeah, it doesn't work.

How many times have they tried that?

Yeah.

Well, today we're going to see the origin of a developing rift between the Philistines, whose first head prior to the Israelites coming onto the scene was Abimelech, and you see conflict already arising, an attempt to make peace, which is good, but ultimately that there will be a rift and these divisions are necessary.

The title of my sermon is, Our Enemies Will Fear Us. This is not something in which we delight. We must not fear our enemies. But by obedience, teach them to fear God. So recognizing that the conflicts that we encounter in this world, as painful as they are, are purposeful in the plan of God.

Conflict is not avoidable.

Yes?

My note says, suffering is God's governing way of drawing us to himself.

Wow, that's perfect. Yes, very good, Rick.

Thank you.

And would you mind reading for us, actually, why don't we start here, and you'll be up in a minute, but we'll start, go around the table. Genesis 21, 1, John.

The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised.

As he had said, as he had promised. Here is something that we can stand upon, a sure foundation that cannot be moved, and that is the promises of God. This is the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian.

The world in which a non-Christian lives is fundamentally shaky, right? There's nothing solid upon which they can base their hope. They don't have the promises of God if they don't take from the word of God, which is why life is so scary to the world.

I mean, can you imagine growing up in a world where you're sure to die, that's the end, 10 out of 10 people die, and where any manner of disease or war or relational conflict or anything could come upon you at any time?

How would you feel growing up in a world like that? Fearful, that's exactly the word I'm looking for. And rightly so. But church, we have the promises of God. 2 Corinthians 1 .20 says, For all the promises of God find their yes in Him.

That is why it is through Him that we utter our amen to God for His glory. We who stand on the promises are standing on sure footing, and we say yes and amen to every promise He makes. In fact, when it says all the promises of God find their yes in Him, that means in Christ Jesus, we being united with Christ in Him in us, we can stand secure knowing that He will do everything He ever promised to do.

Every promise of God's word is true. Every one of them will come true in time. Isn't that sure footing on which to stand? When Jeremiah was called to be a prophet, in that first chapter he's told that you're gonna be like a fortified wall with bronze gates.

And all the enemies that come against you will not be able to overwhelm you. You will stand strong. But the very first vision that Jeremiah got when he was called, remember how he said, I'm just a youth and I can't speak.

And God said, don't say that you're only a youth because I'll put my word in your mouth and give you the words to say so it's not up to you. The first vision he saw was of an almond tree. And what does this almond tree have to do with anything?

Well, the picture there is just a couple of verses in Jeremiah one is an almond tree where the person who receives an almond is receiving this beautiful thing that the almond kind of flowers with bursts of red and white, the tree when it's ready to give forth this almond.

But the person who receives it stands under the branch and pulls the almond off the almond tree, receives that from the tree. Now here's the point. In Hebrew, the word for almond, John, you love these Hebrew things, don't you?

The word for almond sounds very similar to the word for watching.

Watching. Seeing.

The idea is as the almond is being given to the prophet, God is over the prophet like that branch and he is going to watch over to perform everything that he said. That's the idea of a prophet. You take from God, but God is still over it all and he is going to perform everything he ever promised.

This is what we need to be reminded of. Every promise of God is yes and amen. We are sure to be blessed, to be cared for, and ultimately to go to heaven. All of the promises of heaven are as sure as the breath of air you're taking right now.

It's here.

God has promised to do what he has said he would do. Okay, so Sandy, would you then read verses two to seven because this gives us how we as Christians ought to live in this scary world.

So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham was born to him whom Sarah bore to him. Now Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

Sarah said, God has made laughter for me. Everyone who hears will laugh at me. And she said, with nursed children, yet I have born him a son in his old age.

Okay, do you recall what both Abraham and Sarah did when they first heard this promise? And why would it be funny? How old was Abraham? Yeah, going on 100, 99 when he got the promise. And how old was Sarah?

Yeah, 89, she'd be 90 when the child was born. So that was funny to them because it seemed so impossible, but God promised it and it was sure to happen. So this is such a beautiful thing because what did they name the child?

Laughter.

Isaac means he laughs.

Laughter.

So here, if you notice, when verse six, Sarah said, God has made laughter for me. Everyone who hears will laugh over me. The idea there is not laughing at her. Oh, you're too old to be a mom, but rejoicing in the ridiculousness of the goodness of God's promise.

Which he was able to fulfill.

God gave her a child at such a late hour in life and they laugh with joy, that's the idea. Those who trust and obey will laugh through life. I love Bob's jokes. Bob, you're a jokester. But it shows that you have the joy of the Lord in you because you laugh your way through life.

Everything that we endure in this life, it's a trial that we go through, but the promise being sure, we know it's only a stop on the road. So we're able to laugh our way through life and be joyful through life because of the promises of God.

If God could do for Sarah what he promised to do, how much more will he give us everything we need for life of godliness?

No children.

Yeah, no children. He could if he wanted there, Bob.

No, don't go there.

Well, the thing is he promised that to her as a unique blessing, but consider the promises, great and precious promises he has given unto us. Never to leave us nor forsake us, to give us his Holy Spirit, to give us the fruit of the Spirit, and ultimately the inheritance, the deposit of the Holy Spirit, and finally eternal life.

These promises. And a godly woman would be marked by this, right? Proverbs 31, 25. Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. Now Sarah has become this woman of laughter because she's standing on the promises, she's seen it with her own eyes, and she delights in the goodness of God.

And men as well should laugh our way through life. It doesn't mean we don't take seriously the things we're called to do. It means we keep this perspective that God is just overwhelmingly good to us. How can we help but laugh and sing and rejoice in the world?

Now, remember that word laugh because to get to the story of Ishmael, we have to understand that word.

And what was so offensive.

About Ishmael's form of laughter. Verses 8 to 14.

When the child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great... But Sarah saw the son of Hagar, the Egyptian, cast out the son of this slave woman, and the thing was very... Be not displeased because of the boy, and because of...

Do as she tells... And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring. So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and sent her away.

This was the first time Abraham had to give up or in a sense sacrifice a son.

Ishmael.

Can you imagine what that was like for Ishmael? Can you imagine what it was like for Abraham? As a baby, the child knew nothing, but can you imagine what it was like for Hagar? Why would Abraham agree to do this?

Because God told him to. So when you hear it from Sarah's mouth, you think, whoa, Sarah, that's horrible. How could you say that? But when God affirms it, we recognize that there's something right in this.

Now, we recently studied the book of Galatians, so you recall the imagery of what happened with Hagar. She represents slavery, and her son is not a child of promise, but Ishmael represents a slave. Isn't he Islam?

Yeah, yeah.

Arabs will descend from Ishmael, yeah. But the son of promise is Isaac, and Sarah represents Jerusalem, the free woman. So there's an imagery there that we understand looking back on it. The separation here makes more sense to us in hindsight as we look back on what had happened.

But we face a similar challenge in this life, and that is to separate from what mocks and holds God to scorn. Bad company corrupts good character. We're told that wine is a mocker. Mocking the things of God, making light of the Lord's table or baptism, the preaching of the word, this kind of poison in the church needs to be removed.

That kind of cancer in the church needs to be cut out. And it's very painful when someone has become a mocker, but notice what kind of laughter. Look at verse 9. Now, the response of Sarah in verse 10 is cast out that slave woman.

What do you suppose that a mother of a child, now Isaac would be born, she has the safeguarding of this child in mind. If this young man, he's probably an early teenager, maybe 12 years old, is such a mocker and scornfully laughing at, not laughing with in her joy, but mockingly laughing at the son.

Why do you think this was such an affront to Sarah? Her motherly instinct and her godly instinct knows if Isaac grows up with this young man as his older brother, this will be destructive to his life.

He will be mocked all his life. He'll be tormented by this older brother. Worse than that, listen, he will be corrupted by that influence, by the older influence. And the answer that she gives is to send them away.

It seems too harsh, doesn't it? And yet God affirms it. In the church and in our lives, when we must make a certain level of separation from certain people in our lives, it will feel harsh. We never want to do that.

Peace, peace, when there is no peace. Remember Jeremiah? You have bandaged the wounds of my people lightly. We'll want to smooth everything over, but there are times and places where certain kinds of sin needs to be addressed in a certain kind of way.

Paul will say about some that you need to snatch from the fire, rebuking some harshly, others more gently. Different circumstances require different responses. But evidently what happened here was a big deal.

This kind of mocking attitude towards the godly things, the promise fulfilled in this woman. God did not take this lightly, and neither did Sarah. So it's a very interesting story, but I think what it teaches us is that we have to be willing to remove ourselves.

And separate.

The word holy means separate, doesn't it? You have to at times come out from among people and be separate. If you recognize that the people in your life are making you less like Christ, you might need to create some separation, or in a situation like this, a complete removal.

This is what God does. Now this then becomes the beginning of a conflict. I don't remember who mentioned it, but the Arab people will descend from Ishmael. And Ishmael will become a wild donkey of a man, as prophesied.

And his descendants will too, as enemies against Israel. Let's keep reading verses 15 to 21.

And again, the metaphor of Egypt there.

Is not of God, but of the pagan gods of Egypt. And the wife will have more of a corrupting influence there. The trajectory of Ishmael is toward evil. And we'll see that in history unfold. However, here's the notable thing.

This baby, destined to be an enemy of the people of God, is not discarded and forgotten about by God. This is what is called common grace. Common grace. What is special saving grace? What is saving grace?

Yes, that is salvation. That is, those who are elect from before the foundation of the world, he will rescue from our sins and grant us eternal life. John will talk about this next week in Genesis 22.

Verse 14, on the mountain of the Lord it will be provided. The lamb will be sacrificed. It won't be the son Isaac, it will be the son of God, who will be the lamb. And he will die for the sins of his people.

But what about this other boy? Is he left to die in the wilderness? The story tells us, so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven, Matthew 5, 45 says, for he makes his son rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Here in our story in verses 15 to 21, the boy was dying of thirst and the skin had run out of water. And she was deep now in the wilderness, no hope of finding water. So what did she do? She laid the baby down under a bush and went a hundred or so yards away and sat down and wept, expecting the child to die.

She couldn't watch it, couldn't bear to watch it. But God has a common grace towards people. The Muslim Arab who hates the name of Jesus still drinks water. And that water comes from God. The rain falls and provides all that he needs to drink.

There is a common grace in the world, a general kindness in God. He so loved the world. He cares for Christians and non-Christians. Now there's a special saving grace that only belongs to those who will believe.

In the son of God.

Yeah.

I think this was more of a child.

Yes.

Actually, yeah. I don't know why I said a baby because he was old enough to mock.

Yeah.

So yeah.

She made some kind of separation from him when he got so weak and frail. I guess just, hey, lay down here. And then she just goes off thinking he's going to die and she can't do anything about it. But you're right.

It wouldn't have been a baby.

Yeah.

He had been mocking.

Yeah.

So then in verses 22 through 24, Sue. So here, what is the point of Abimelech coming with his commander? So in that you sense, there's a little bit of sense of fear. He's not sure the army commander's with him.

So he's not sure how Abraham is going to be towards him. But here is what Abimelech has noticed. God's hand of favor is on Abraham. He's got the Midas touch. Everything he touches turns to gold. And he has become fearful of Abraham.

Now for Abraham's part, he's dealing justly with Abimelech in every way, shape and form. And that's all that we have to worry about. That we act justly by others. What does the Lord require of us? That we do justly, that we love mercy and we walk humbly with our God.

Micah 6, 8.

But here, Abraham has done nothing wrong. And yet there's already a fear descending on Abimelech. You could call it irrational. But what he's noticing is the strength of his neighbor. Abraham is growing.

His tribe is increasing. His cattle seem to be multiplying more quickly than any other people. His land is territory. Everything is just blessed. Church, do you think that Iran fears America because God has been with this country?

America.

I think so too. I think when they see that this people, this Christian people, who have become the most powerful country in the history of the world, have continued to gain strength, they have lived in fear and in dread of America.

Do you think that the librarian that we'll encounter today will fear us? I think she will. She'll think we're out for her job. She'll think that we're this movement that's coming to get her. When in truth, we love her and we want to love.

Even if she were an enemy to us, what are we commanded to do to our enemy? Love our enemies. We're not a threat. Was Abraham a threat to Abimelech in the story here? How did he respond in verse 24?

Well, Abraham.

Sure.

I swear I'm not here to hurt you. I'm with you. I'm for you. I'm not against you. He's not against Abimelech, but the spirit of fear is already descending. When we're not frightened in any way.

By those who oppose us,.

What does Paul say happens? Philippians 1 .28, not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. In the context of Philippians.

It's a scripture to carry today.

Yeah.

Paul is reminding us we have nothing to fear. And when we are fearless in how we carry ourselves, what does that do to the enemies of God?

Considering.

Yeah.

Listen to the first part of this verse, though. Not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction.

I'm sorry.

Where was that?

Philippians 1 .28. When they see us fearless, standing for truth, that will not only confuse them, Bob, but it will actually scare them. Because if we're standing on the word of God, saying there's one way to be saved, Jesus Christ, and His word is truth, and they're not believing in Christ, now you have a division.

There is a division there. And the fear inside of them is, what if these people are right? What if I am destined for destruction? In other words, your fearlessness strengthens your testimony, and hopefully gives more reason and more impetus to them to repent.

Can you help me with this? Philippians 1 .28. Who is not frightened by anything?

That's us.

We're not frightened in any way. When we make that strong stand together, and we're united, and not frightened in any way.

By those who oppose us,.

This is a clear sign to them, those who are opposing us, of their destruction. And that by God.

Yes, Rick.

What an irony that...

Yes. Oh, Rick, I'm so glad you brought that. That was the point I was wanting to make. Iran really believes that America is the great Satan in the world. That's not just empty rhetoric to them. Those who do not have Jesus Christ actually believe that Christians are the enemy, and enemies of what is good and right.

When we stand up and say, these books need to be taken off the shelf, they think we're harming children in their development. Because there could be a little kid in the story Flamer. It's a little boy who has body image issues.

He's chubby, and he's not athletic like the football players. And the book is coaching him to say, well, this is because he's a homosexual. And what they think we're doing is telling him he's a sinner, and therefore going to hell, and we're keeping him from embracing his true identity, and oppressing and repressing his desires.

I love that point, because we have to understand this. The people who oppose us actually believe we are the enemies of what's true and right. Isaiah says in chapter five, verse 20, up is down, down is up.

Sweet is bitter, bitter is sweet. They exchange light for darkness, darkness for light. They actually believe that we're the ones who would be harming this child by keeping them from a book that would quote unquote help them.

Make sense? And so Iran, when they say that, it's because they are deceived and deceiving. Paul talks about false prophets who go about deceiving others.

And are themselves deceived.

What has deceived Iran? Satan, and ideologically. I just had a question.

Yes, Islam. Sorry, yeah. How could they be afraid,.

And some do this, some do that?

So in Romans chapter one, the person who is suppressing the knowledge of God is then given over to that suppression, to their own deceit. So a person who is self-deceived has always known the truth because that's written in them by the law of nature and conscience.

They know there's a God, they know their standards, but they've so suppressed God and his standard, even in their own conscience, being seared, that that testimony is as if it's hardly even there. And they're convinced in their own mind, but yes, there's still always that gnawing voice of conscience.

Even somebody who has become a murderer and maybe murdered lots of people, there's still something left in them of the image of God, the humanity, the conscience, even though they've suppressed it. So that's what gets pricked, the conscience.

And so there's something there, and it's not all the time. So when they're going about their day at the library, they're filing the books, they might kiss that book and put it on the shelf and hope a kid gets it.

But tonight when they see us saying that's pornographic and damaging of children, there will be some pricking of conscience, some fear that comes over them that wait a minute, I might be on my way to destruction.

And then it would only be the grace of God that could take that and lead them to repentance. It's his kindness that leads him to repentance. But I think I see it right here in verses 22 to 24. He, Abimelech, is coming with his commander of his army, and he's just saying, swear to me you're not gonna hurt me.

Swear to me. What does that mean? Where does this come from?

He's afraid.

He's afraid. Okay, lastly, in verses 25 to 35. Candy, would you read that for us?

The land of the Philistines.

Where is Hamas operating presently? The land of the Philistines. Gaza. So picture south of Jerusalem and to the Mediterranean Sea. That swath of land that is supposedly Palestine, which whole other conversation whether that ever existed as a term until the diaspora and such.

This is Israel's territory, but the Philistines are living there at this time. Now move inland halfway to the Dead Sea, still far south towards the Philistine territory. In the middle there where the two major highways intersect is a place called Beersheba.

It was here that the Philistines had drifted from the Mediterranean Sea inland towards Abraham, and Abraham's people going from the north heading south, there was some overlap there. Who dug that well?

Abraham or Abimelech? Abraham's people or Abimelech's people?

Abraham.

But see,.

Those who don't know their God, they don't know the God, are prone to sinful behavior and more so. So what do they start doing? Encroaching, warring,.

Taking,.

Stealing what wasn't theirs, and now Abraham has to come and deal with it. Remember, Abimelech's already scared of Abraham. So Abraham comes down south. They meet at that midpoint where the highways cross right there between Gaza.

And the Dead Sea.

South of Jerusalem, here at the intersection, and Abraham confronts Abimelech. Look at verse 25. What does that word reprove mean? Correct.

Yeah.

Called him to account. It is a confrontational word. He's not going to just allow his people and his possessions to be trampled upon. He will defend. Is it okay to do that?

Yes.

It absolutely is. The people who know their God will stand firm and take action. Daniel 11, 32b. It's good what Abraham does here. Now, how does he deal with repentant Abimelech? Does he crush him? Not at all.

He actually says, all right, watch. We're going to institute an oath here. I'm going to give you seven ewe lambs. Why would he do that? Right?

Yes.

So it's actually a blessing. He's blessing his enemy, not cursing him. He gives a peace offering, in essence.

This is, look,.

I'm not here to crush you. I'm saying you can't take our well. Don't need to be afraid. I'm setting a covenant with you. They name it Beersheba, which has to do with the seven ewe lambs. Beersheba means well of seven or well of the oath.

He gives an oath. He's promising, look, I'm not here to hurt you. I want to bless you. I want good for you. But there are boundaries. You can't just take our well anymore. And whenever you see this well and you remember this oath, it testifies that this well was dug by Abraham, not Abimelech.

So they made a covenant, verse 32, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army. Notice who was with him once again. Do you see the seeds of war? They haven't broken out in war yet, but he's always got his commander of his army by his side.

And in time, when you get to the book of Judges and beyond, really beyond the book of Judges, what do you have with the Philistines? Constant war.

Yep.

And even in Judges you have, remember where Samson was taken. When he was captured, he was taken to Gaza, to the Philistine territory. So the seeds of it are already, the suspicion is rising already. But for Abraham's part, did he provoke this war?

No, he didn't provoke it. He was gracious in all of his interactions. He didn't provoke it. But did he confront misbehavior and what was harming his people?

He did.

He was strong. He stood firm. And I think that's a perfect model for us. Remember, God prepares a table for us.

Where?

In the presence of our enemies. We don't fear because we have the good shepherd. Psalm 23. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. So what does the Lord require of us? To do justly.

This is Micah 6 .8.

Do justly means we have to do what's right. We're not gonna steal anybody's wealth. We're not gonna harm anybody's private property or attack them. We're living at peace in the land. That's how Christians are to be.

And that's how Christians have always been throughout church history. What they say about the Crusades is another subject. You can listen to a number of scholars have done more research on that recently.

There were reasons for the war and the advancement of Islam which had taken over three quarters of Christendom after the first 400 years before the first Crusade began in 1095. But the Christian approach has always been to be peaceful in the kingdom.

What did Jesus say about taxes? Should we pay them?

Yep.

Render to Caesar. What is Caesar's. What did Jesus say or what did Paul say about how we are to go about our lives?

As much as is within you, live peaceably among all.

Yep, live peacefully among all. And you're to mind your own business, he says. Work hard with your hands. That's what Abraham was doing in his story. It was Abimelech who became suspicious and then it was Abimelech's people who stole the well of Abraham.