Genesis 15:15

In Genesis chapter 15 God is explaining to Abram what will happen to Abram and to his descendants. Yes, the descendants of Abram would inherit the land of Canaan and would become a great nation, but some other things would happen first. The Bible says in Genesis 15:15-21, “And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.” It is interesting to note one of the reasons that the children of Israel had to go into Egypt for four hundred years: “the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full.” God was giving the Amorites time to repent. Eventually God took the land of Canaan and gave it to the descendants of Abram because of the sinfulness of the people in the land. This shows us that God is involved in the nations of the earth, and that God’s involvement includes His judgment against sin. “Sin is a reproach to any people” because God sees all and judges all things and all peoples.

It is also interesting to note the boundaries of the land that God gave to the descendants of Abram. God said, “Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.” This is a much larger area than the nation of Israel occupies today. The eastern border of Israel is the Euphrates river, which means that a large portion of modern-day Iraq has been promised to Israel. The western border of Israel is called “the river of Egypt.” We may not know the exact location of this boundary, but it seems clear that it is the ancient boundary between Egypt and the land of Canaan. This western boundary is no doubt farther west than the current boundary between Israel and Egypt. This great promise that God made to Abram about the land of Canaan has still not yet been fully fulfilled. The promise will be completely fulfilled some day in the future when Jesus the Messiah returns to the earth and establishes all things the way they should be.

The Bible says in Genesis 16:1-4, “Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.” Sarai had the same problem that Abram had. She believed, but she grew tired of waiting for God’s timing. Sarai said, “the LORD hath restrained me from bearing.” She tried to come up with her own plan to give Abram an heir instead of waiting for God to fulfill His promise. Many believers will be tempted to do the same thing: to try to take matters into their own hands instead of waiting upon God to do something about a particular situation. Man’s self-will cannot fulfill the righteousness of God. When we pray to Jesus, “Not my will, but thine be done,” that includes waiting for His time.

Having the child by the Egyptian maid was a very bad idea. The extreme jealousy between Sarai and Hagar could be easily predicted. Their jealousy and resulting sufferings are a good example of why marriage between one man and one woman should be faithfully practiced just as it was first given to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Concerning the bad blood between Sarai and Hagar the Bible says in Genesis 16:5-12, “And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee. But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face. And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”

Sometimes you will hear Bible expositors speak against Hagar and her son and their descendants, but this passage of scripture shows God seeking them out, taking care of them, and blessing them. The angel of the Lord said to Hagar, “I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.” Because of the Lord’s blessing, a great multitude of people descended from the lineage of Hagar. The angel of the Lord also said to Hagar, “the LORD hath heard thy affliction.“ Never forget that the Lord loves every person on this earth. The Lord knows what they are suffering, and the Lord Jesus Christ reaches out to everyone to make Himself known to them. It is up to man to receive or reject Him. The angel of the Lord brought this great truth to Hagar.

There is something to notice about the “angel of the LORD” who appeared to Hagar the Egyptian maid. The entire context of this passage makes it sound like it is actually the Lord Himself who appeared to Hagar. He said to her in Genesis 16:10, “I will multiply thy seed exceedingly.” That is an act of God. Only God can do that. Also Hagar said, “Thou God seest me,” in Genesis 16:13. The word angel means “messenger.” Jesus is God the Son, who was sent from God the Father. Jesus is the Word of God. Jesus is the manifestation of God in all of His forms. We can safely say that when the Lord appeared in the Old Testament, it was the Son of God making that appearance.

Notice Hagar’s reaction to the Lord who appeared to her. The Bible says in Genesis 15:13-14, “And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me? Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.” The word “Beerlahairoi” means the well “of him that liveth and seeth me.” If you have been born again through faith in Jesus Christ, then you had a similar experience when you came to know Jesus. Jesus is alive, and He reveals Himself to people.

The Bible says in Genesis 16:15 through Genesis 17:2, “And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram. And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.” Abram was now eighty-six years old. Ishmael had been born, and promises were made concerning Ishmael’s descendants. Yet, the primary promise that God had made to Abram still had not yet been fulfilled. What does God do? He reaffirms His promise to Abram. That is what everyone needs who is living by faith: a reminder of God’s promises. God gives us those reminders in His Word. Therefore, study His word. God always keeps His promises. Just think about the promises, and then you can live by faith no matter what is going on around you. God said to Abram, “I am the Almighty God.” God can do anything. That is what we rely on. He can end the war. He can silence the critics. He can heal the disease. He can supply the need, no matter what the need is. But even though God can do anything, He still gives us responsibilities. God told Abram, “walk before me, and be thou perfect.” To walk with Jesus means to stay in fellowship with Him through the daily confession of sins. To walk before God means to live one’s life knowing that God sees everything that we do. That is one of the problems with human behavior: there is not enough of a God-consciousness. If we were more concerned about what the Lord thinks about us, we would be more careful to do the things that please Him.

The Bible says in Genesis 17:3-5, “And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.” God is encouraging Abram by reminding him, “my covenant is with thee.” When you have a covenant, you have someone who has made a promise. That covenant is as good as the word of the one who made the covenant. Of course, God’s Word is always good and can always be counted on.

Another way that God encouraged Abram was by changing Abram’s name. His new name is the one that we all know: Abraham. The name Abraham means “father of many nations.” Therefore, every time Abraham’s name was spoken, he was reminded of God’s promise of what would happen. Once again it shows us the importance of being reminded of God’s promises to each of us. Jesus has promised to be with us. He has promised to love us, and to take care of us. He has promised to guide us through this world, to protect us, to forgive us our sins, and to eventually take us to heaven. Remember the promises every day. We cannot live by faith without them.

The Bible says in Genesis 17:6-8, “And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” One of the important things to notice about these verses is the fact that these promises to Abraham were also extended to all of his descendants. Of course, the spiritual application of this promise is the thing to emphasize. God said to Abraham that the great covenant that was made to Abraham was both for Abraham and for “thy seed after thee.” Those who are the seed of Abraham are those who have the same faith that Abraham had. Faith is rewarded. Faith brings righteousness. “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”

The Bible says in Romans 4:13, “For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” And it says in Romans 4:16, “Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all.” Those who are related to Abraham through the flesh are of the law, and that is where they are lacking. The promise that was made to Abraham was all about faith. Abraham’s faith in the promise made the difference. Those who have the same faith that Abraham had are the spiritual seed of Abraham. The Bible says in Romans 9:7-8, “Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.”

Of course, the promises made to Abraham still have a fulfillment for the physical seed: the Jewish people. It says in Romans 11:1, “I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.” God will fulfill his promises both to the physical seed and to the spiritual seed of Abraham. Only Jesus will fulfill the promises that were made to Abraham. The efforts of man will not fulfill them. We need the land to be restored. We need the sins to be forgotten. We need the curse to be taken away. Jesus will do these things for the “seed” of Abraham: for all who believe in Jesus.

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