Amazing Grace | Genesis 16:7-16
Sin: Disobedience to God; His rule, His law. It is a Greek verb: to miss the mark, to trespass (and so to not share the prize). Hebrew, Chattah,ah: an offence or habitual offence resulting in punishment or penalty needs sacrifice, needs sacrifice to purify.
- God hates Sin. It grieves Him when we sin.
When Abram slept with Hagar he committed Sin against God. He missed the mark. He offended God and there needs to be consequence for the sin—a penalty needs to be paid. God promised Abram and Sarai a son even though Sarai was incapable of having children they were old.
“Then behold, the word Yahweh came to him, saying, ‘this one will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir…Now look toward the heavens, and number the stars…so shall your seed be.”
--Genesis 15:4-5
God had told Abram directly that He, and Sarai, would have a son—they just needed to trust God’s timing. Trusting God’s timing can be difficult. Moses lived after Abraham, born of the same bloodline, God would call him to face Pharaoh and deliver the Israelites from captivity in Egypt. After the deliverance God gave him. His law, the ten commandments.
“You shall have no other gods before Me. ‘You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.’”
--Exodus 20:3-6
How are God’s people supposed to show love to Him? By confessing their sin, and obeying God’s command.
“Whatever you ask in my Nam, this I will do, so that the father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in my name I will do it. If you love Me, you will keep my commandments.”
--John 14:13-15
The 7th Commandment in God’s Law is:
“You shall not commit adultery.” – Exodus 20:14
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and His mother, and cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the men and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.”
--Genesis 2:24-25
Jesus upholds the importance of marriage. Remember, Jesus didn’t come to abolish or get rid of the law; rather He came to fulfill it (Matt. 5:17-19)
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill... Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
--Matthew 5:17-19
“Have you not read that He who created them form the beginning made them to be Male and Female...So they are no longer two, but one flesh, what therefore God has joined together, let no man separate…whoever divorces His wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
--Matthew 19:4-6,9
The sacrament of marriage was instituted by God and it is very important to God. Abram’s sin grieves God and he broke his marriage covenant with Sarai. God must deal His justice and Abram must face the consequence.
The Consequence:
“And the angel of Yahweh said to her further, ‘Behold, you are with child,
And you will bear a son; And you shall call his name Ishmael, Because Yahweh has heard your affliction. And he will be a wild donkey of a man, His hand will be against everyone, And everyone’s hand will be against him; And he will dwell in the face of all his brothers.’”
--Genesis 16:11-12
Ishmael’s name in Hebrew: “God will hear.” Or “God Hears.” Ishmael is compared to a wild donkey—what does this mean?
“Who sent out the wild donkey free? And who loosed the bonds of the swift donkey, For whom I have set the desert plain as a home And the salt land as his dwelling place? He laughs at the tumult of the city; The shoutings of the driver he does not hear. He explores the mountains for his pasture and searches after every green thing. Will the wild ox consent to serve you, Or will he spend the night at your manger…Will you trust him because his power is great and leave your labor to him?”
--Job 39:5-9, 11
Ishmael is the father of the Arab nations and the true lineage for the ‘one true faith’ Islam. According to Muhammed, who claims to be the father of the false religion Islam, Ishmael is Abraham’s true son, the true holy lineage comes through Ishmael. The Qu’ran and Hadith teaches that Ibrahim (Abraham) took Hagar and Ishmael to Mecca where they built the Kaaba together—this is where Muslims are to pilgrimage at least once in their life called the Hajj. Mecca is where Eve landed after being cast out of the Garden of Eden (which in the Qu’ran is in space or the sky, not a real place on earth). Ishmael was the one to be sacrificed—not Isaac.
This is important because what temple sits on the temple mount in Jerusalem right now? The dome of the rock—a mosque. The temple mount is built on Mt. Moriah which is where Abraham built the altar to sacrifice Isaac. This is why Muslims attacked and conquered Jerusalem which led to the Christian crusades. This is why Yassar Arrafat rejected a two-state solution offered to Palestine by Israel.
“Yasser Arafat rejected significant two-state proposals, notably at the 2000 Camp David Summit, where he turned down an offer from Israeli PM Ehud Barak for a Palestinian state, and later, the Clinton Parameters, which offered substantial land and East Jerusalem, because they didn't meet Palestinian demands for sovereignty over all of East Jerusalem, the right of return for refugees, and full control over holy sites.”
Muslims claim Jerusalem to be theirs because Ishmael was the first-born son of Abraham, and he was the substituted sacrifice on Mt. Moriah—not Isaac. Which nation came out of Isaac? Israel, the Jewish people. The problem with Islam’s claim is their son is a son born out of a wedlock, a son that is born to be wild as a donkey, whom God will bless with many descendants as a consequence of Abraham’s sin.
Why would God allow this? Because His justice is perfect. Abram knew better than to give in to a poor idea given to him by Sarai. God allows sin to be carried out because Adam and Eve chose sin—God is not a liar. God also has a sovereign plan which He executes through the terrible consequences of Sin. God often deals with sin especially with those who know better.
David’s son falls ill and dies as a consequence of David’s affair with Bathsheba – 2 Samuel 12:14-19
Ananias and Sapphira were killed for withholding offering form their land sale – lied to Peter and the Holy Spirit killed them – Acts 5:1-11
God will destroy and judge Sodom and Gomorrah because of their sexual immorality.
“And Yahweh rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Yahweh out of heaven, and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. Then his wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.”
--Genesis 19:24-26
Our sin deserves God’s wrath. Remember, God must and will always deal with sin. We cannot just keep on in our sin and misuse God’s grace—this is cheap grace. God hates our sin, and we should hate our sin, God is grieved when we sin just as He was grieved when He had to flood the world because everyone was lost and rebellious (Gen. 6:6).
“And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever…Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
--Revelation 20:10,14-15
“The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
--John 3:35-26
- God’s plan is to save humanity from our sin; to offer amazing grace.
“Now the angel of Yahweh found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, ‘Hagar, Sarai’s servant-woman, where have you come from and where are you going?’ And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.’ Then the angel of Yahweh said to her, “Return to your mistress and humble yourself under her hands’…Moreover, the angel of Yahweh said to her, “I will greatly multiply your seed so that they will be too many to be counted.”
--Genesis 16:7-10
God’s amazing grace is on display even during this disgraceful sin. Remember, Hagar is not a part of God’s chosen people, she’s an Egyptian servant, this is why God doesn’t meet her, but He send an Angel to meet with her. She is offered comfort and even blessing as her son, Ishmael, will be blessed with many descendants.
This is the first appearance of the Angel of the Lord in the Bible. He didn’t first appear to Noah, Enoch, or Abram. The Angel of the Lord first appeared to a single mother-to-be who had a pride problem and was mistreated by the woman who put her into the whole mess. All this makes the believer amazed at God’s love for the unlikely, and they should never forget that He often delights in doing this. The angel of the lord would later appear to Abraham (Gen. 22), to Moses (Ex. 3), to Balaam (Num. 22), to Israel collectively (Judges 2), to Gideon (Judges 6), to David (2 Samuel 24), to Elijah (1 Kings 19).
Hagar is met with God’s grace and in the presence the angel she submits, trusts in God, and goes back to the camp to submit to Sarai—this will lead to the birth of her son as Abram names him Ishmael—“God who will hear”. Hagar recognizes that God sees her, that God is with her through His amazing grace.
“Then she called the name of Yahweh who spoke to her, ‘You are a God who sees’; for she said, ‘Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?’ Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.”
--Genesis 16:13-14
“This is spoken with allegory, for these women are two covenants: one from Mount Sinai bearing children into slavery; she is Hagar. Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children…And you brothers, in accordance with Isaac, are children of promise. But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh was persecuting him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also. But what does the Scripture say? ‘Cast out the servant-woman and her son, For the son of the servant-woman shall not be an heir with the son of the free woman.’ So then, brothers, we are not children of a servant-woman, but of the free woman.”
--Galatians 4:24-25, 28-31
“However, the Law is not of faith; rather, ‘He who does them shall live by them.’ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’—in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”
--Galatians 3:12-14
Picture of Temple Mount and the crucifixion spot of Jesus. Why was Jesus crucified outside the city gate and not on Mt. Moriah (or Herod’s temple?). According to the Mosaic Law, sin offerings were to be taken outside the camp to be burned, representing the removal of sin from the community (Leviticus 16:27). Hebrews 13:11-12 directly ties this to Jesus’ crucifixion:
“For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.”
--Hebrews 13:11-12
By being crucified outside the city, Jesus fulfilled the role of the sin offering, bearing the sins of humanity. If Jesus had been sacrificed on the Temple Mount, this crucial symbolism would be lost. His sacrifice was not just another offering within the Jewish system—it was something entirely new and greater.
“By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
--Hebrews 10:10
Hebrew: Korban comes from the Root Karav which is translated to “sacrifice.” This means “to bring closer” or “to make close.”
Jesus’ death and resurrection has brought us close to God, it has brought us into God’s Holy Family. This is what we celebrate today as we look at a baptism. We are born again in Christ, made new, made to be like Him. God was with Abram, Sarai and even Hagar. God is still with us today; giving us His amazing grace.
“The earth is the only hell that the saved in Christ will endure, and the only paradise that the unbelievers will enjoy.”
--Jonathan Edwards