Study 11 of
"Search The Scriptures” Is:
1. Gn. 16:1-6. In what ways did Abraham act
wrongly in having a son by Hagar? How
was he misled? Was Sarah right to blame Abram for the wrong done to her? What ought
Abram to have thought, said and done in the face of such a situation?
2. Gn. 17. Note the characteristics of covenant-making
which are mentioned here. What were the blessings of which Abraham was thereby
assured? What did Abraham have to do to embrace the assurance which the covenant
afforded?
3. Gn. 16:7-15; 17:18-21. What do we learn
here of God’s character and purposes from His dealings with Hagar and Ishmael?
What Christian truths are here prefigured?
Notes
1. 16:13. Hagar not only realized that God
is One by whose all-seeing eye none are unseen or overlooked; but also that He
had personally manifested Himself to her, and that she had seen God without
dying. Mention of ‘the angel of the Lord’ (verse 7) occurs here for the first
time in the Bible. In verse 13 he is described as ‘the Lord who spoke to her’.
This suggests an anticipation of the incarnation, an appearance in person of
God the Son.
2. Chapter 17. The covenant was pledged by
God in His Name. In witness of the benefits which they were to receive under
it, Abraham and Sarai were both given significant new names. Abraham and every
male of his house were circumcised as ‘a sign of the covenant’ between God and
him.
3. 17:18-21. Note that Abraham’s suggestion
that Ishmael might be accepted by God, as the don concerning whom God’s special
covenant promises were made, was not accepted by God.
