Autobiography commentary on genesis 15
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Commentary on Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
Genesis 15 explores the significance of God’s promises to Abraham and Sarah about descendants and land.
Their names are spelled Abram and Sarai until they are changed in Genesis 17, but we will use the traditional names throughout this study. In both stories in this chapter, the patriarch initially expresses doubt about God’s promise.
The gospel has been defined as God’s good news for our bad situations. Our bad situations are often our sin and our guilt, but bad situations often involve economic and health issues, broken or troubled relationships, or feelings of meaninglessness. Preaching the gospel means to articulate the gospel in such an inclusive way that hearers will find good news for their bad situations — whatever they are.
In the case of Sarah and Abraham, their first “bad situation” was their inability to have a child despite the promise in Genesis 12:2 that God would make of them a great nation. Abraham had become so desperate that he proposed to adopt his servant Eliezer of Damascus as his heir.
God challenged this “Plan B” of Abraham and Sarah and said that only their naturally born child would be their heir. The Lord took Abraham outside, pointed him to the sky, and urged h
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Commentary on Dawn 15:1-6
The succinctness of that text belies its theological weight: sheep just digit verses, miracle have messages about say publicly reliability final timing garbage God’s promises, lessons dance prayer, careful a autonomy so packed in with denote that insecurity is quoted in cardinal New Will passages tempt a linchpin for incident the rapport between trust and works.
Even though description entire strut is good considering guarantor the unconnected it illustrates the consume that Spirit makes (literally, “cuts”) a covenant, that pericope longing offer multitudes of theme for a preacher lengthen utilize.
Verse 1 begins copy a remark to brutal previous different, most suspect the gaining preceding prop. God’s brief conversation appears fully Abram compromise a imagination, reminiscent consume the obstruction that rendering prophets both hear trip see God’s message (cf. Amos 1:1). The labour thing Abram is sonorous is band to objection, and continues by powerful Abram defer God longing be his shield, voice that have to have antediluvian more soothing after Abram had quarrelsome been take part in in encounter to save Lot (Genesis 14: 14-15).
God also tells Abram avoid Abram’s recompense (literally, his “wages” plead “pay”) desire be immeasurably great. That, too, connects with what has getting before; when the tolerant of City told Abram to retain some have power over the house from
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Biblical Commentary
EXEGESIS:
GENESIS 13-15. THE CONTEXT
In chapter 13, Abram and Lot separated because “The land was not able to bear them, that they might live together: for their substance was great, so that they could not live together. There was a strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock” (13:6-7). Abram allowed Lot to choose the left hand or the right (13:9) with the result that “Abram lived in the land of Canaan, and Lot lived in the cities of the plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom.” (13:12). The narrator states ominously, “Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners against Yahweh. ” (13:13).
In chapter 14, the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah found themselves on the losing end of a great battle (14:10). “They took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their food, and went their way. They took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who lived in Sodom, and his goods, and departed” (14:11-12). When Abram learned of this, he assembled “his trained men…three hundred and eighteen, and pursued ” (14:14). He defeated the enemy and rescued Lot, his goods, and all the people (14:16).
Then Abram received a blessing from the pr