God Intervened!

Genesis 20

• This chapter sort of feels like a deja vu of Genesis 12:10-20. 
• It starts with Abraham journeying through several regions, ending up in Gerar (v. 1). 
• It is here where Abraham says that Sarah is his sister and she is taken by King Abimelech (v. 2) – you would have thought that he would have learned his lesson! 
• This is a crisis of HUGE proportions! 
• The woman who is to bear the seed of the nation of Israel CAN NOT lie with another man! 
• So, God intervened! 
• God comes to Abimelech in a dream to ensure that Sarah did not have sexual relations with the king (v. 3).
• God intervened! 
• He prevented Abimelech from sinning (v. 7) by not letting him touch Sarah. 
• Part of God’s intervention was to cause a great distress on the king’s entire household (v. 18). 
• Sometimes God’s interventions don’t make sense to us, in fact, sometimes we may think that He is being mean or unfair or even attribute His interventions to the enemy. 
• Isn’t it great that God intervenes! 
• What does this tell us about Him? 

Genesis 21

• In this chapter we find that Sarah gets pregnant with the promised son
• What joy!  At least for her and Abraham, as they received the son of the promise, the heir!
• But what about Hagar and Ishmael?
• Ishmael mocks Isaac and Sarah wishes to have Hagar and Ishmael expelled from the household
• Sarah knew that God had planned for the promise to be fulfilled through Isaac so she wished to have this other son removed from all claim on the inheritance
• This greatly troubled Abraham (v. 11), but God intervened by reassuring Abraham that this was for the best (v. 12). 
• God then renews the promise that He gave to Ishmael (v. 13). 
• So Abraham did something that would have been very difficult. 
• He sent Hagar and his first born son away and they departed (v. 14). 
• Ishmael would have been around 16-17 years old at this time.  In the wilderness, Hagar and Ishmael ran out of water so she cried out to the Lord (v. 15-16). 
• God heard her cry and called to her, God intervened! 
• He promised to make a great nation out of Ishmael and opened her eyes to see a well with water so they could drink and be refreshed (v. 18-19). 
• God intervenes again! 
• Abraham’s sin left Ishmael without a father and left Hagar without a husband. 
• His sin affected these innocent people. 
• Yet God intervened for Hagar and Ishmael, He protected them and kept them alive. 
• Isn’t it great that God intervenes! 
• What does this tell us about Him? 

Genesis 22

• In this chapter we find God putting Abraham to the ultimate test (v. 1). 
• The conditional promise which was given in Genesis 12:1-3 would be guaranteed if Abraham passed the test. 
• The death of Isaac would contradict everything that God had promised Abraham. 
• Would Abraham obey? 
• Does he fully believe in the promise that God gave him? 
• He had failed before therefore Ishmael was born and now was lost to him. 
• Now God commands Abraham to take the son of the promise, his beloved son and offer him as a burnt offering (v. 2). 
• Abraham promptly obeys, gathers his supplies and begins on the journey
• Abraham and Isaac then leave the servants behind as they go to worship the Lord. 
• Isaac carries the wood for the offering and Abraham carries the knife and fire (v. 6). 
• Abraham went fully prepared to offer his son
• But God intervenes! 
• Abraham knew He would! 
• He had experienced God’s intervention for the purpose of fulfilling His promise to him so many time that Abraham just knew that even death was not barrier for God!
• Abraham finally got it! 
• Abraham finally sees that God does what He says He will do
• He now knows that God can and will intervene supernaturally
• Abraham is now trusting God
• Abraham is not doubting anymore, He isn’t’ lying, He isn’t fixing the problem himself anymore
• Abraham is OBEYING! 
• Abraham’s action confirms his faith and obedience to God.  
• His faith is now active, it is complete. 
• God provides a ram to be sacrificed as a burnt offering instead of Isaac (v. 13) and Abraham offers it up as a burnt offering. 
• The place was called Jehovah-Jireh (v. 14), the Lord will provide! 
• Hebrews 11:17-19 gives us further insight into this incident: 17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. 
• Isn’t it great that God intervenes! 
• What does this tell us about Him? 

Genesis 23

• BUT, in this chapter we find that God does not intervene, instead, He lets Sarah die
• WHY? 
• Sarah died at 127 years old, Abraham died at 175 years old
• This couple could have had many more years together
• What is God doing here? 
• To find out we must look a little deeper
• God had not just promised to make a great nation out of Abraham, God had also promised to give Abraham the land (Gen. 15:18-21)
• But how would God do this?
• It was through the death of Sarah
• Abraham needed a place to bury Sarah and being a man of honor, He didn’t want to rent a spot, He wanted to own the spot where He laid his wife to rest
• It was important for Abraham to buy the property because that would be the only way to ensure that the land legally belonged to him. 
• Abraham then buried Sarah in the cave, in the land of Canaan (v. 19). 
• Verse 20 concludes by repeating that Abraham owned the field and cave. 
• We’ll see later in the book of Genesis that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Rebekah and Leah will all be buried in this cave. 
• This is significant for the children of Israel as it marks the ownership and future rights to the land of Canaan. 
• In this story we can see the sovereignty of God in Sarah’s death. 
• It was God’s plan to give Abraham’s descendants the land. 

  

What is going on here?

Chapter 20 – God intervenes

Why? To protect His promise to Abraham

Chapter 21 – God intervenes

Why? To protect His promise to Hagar

Chapter 22 – God intervenes

To protect His promise to Abraham

Chapter 23 – God does NOT intervene,

To protect His promise to give Abraham’s descendants the land

CONCLUSION

• KEY POINT:  It’s not about us, it’s about God’s plans, purposes and His will! 
• So, the issue becomes how to figure out God’s plans and will!!!!
• God has specific plans and purposes that He has predetermined for you and your life
• Are you on track with these things?
• We have a choice to get on board with those plans or live in disobedience to God
• Esther 4:14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
• We are all Esther’s. 
• We have been placed on this earth at exactly this time in human history for a reason
• God has a purpose for your life
• He has expectations of your life
• If you don’t complete the plan He has for your life then you will lose many rewards in eternity
• 1 Cor. 3:10-15 10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
• You have tasks to complete here on earth
• God has a vision for your life? 
• Do you know what that vision is?
• You have a part to play in His plan in bringing back His Son to rule and reign on earth for ALL ETERNITY
• Jesus is coming back soon! 
• Do you know your part to play in preparing the world for His return?
• Are you participating in His plan for your life?