Further Thought:

Read Ellen G. White, “The Law and the Covenants,” Pages 370-373, in Patriarchs and Prophets.

Abraham’s patient and tenacious plea with God on behalf of the people of Sodom (Genesis 18:22-33) should encourage us to pray for the wicked, even though they appear to be in a hopeless condition of sin.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

Furthermore, God’s attentive response to Abraham’s insistence, and His willingness to forgive for the sake of only “ten” righteous men is a “revolutionary” concept, as pointed out by Gerhard Hasel:

“In an extremely revolutionary manner the old collective thinking, which brought the guiltless member of the guilty association under punishment, has been transposed into something new: the presence of a remnant of righteous people could have a preserving function for the whole … For the sake of the righteous remnant Yahweh would in his righteousness [tsedaqah] forgive the wicked city. This notion is widely expanded in the prophetic utterance of the Servant of Yahweh who works salvation ‘for many.’” — Gerhard F. Hasel, The Remnant: The History and Theology of the Remnant Idea From Genesis to Isaiah, 3rd edition (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 1980), Pages 150, 151.

“All around us are souls going down to ruin as hopeless, as terrible, as that which befell Sodom. Every day the probation of some is closing. Every hour some are passing beyond the reach of mercy. And where are the voices of warning and entreaty to bid the sinner flee from this fearful doom? Where are the hands stretched out to draw him back from death? Where are those who with humility and persevering faith are pleading with God for him? The spirit of Abraham was the spirit of Christ. The Son of God is Himself the great Intercessor in the sinner’s behalf. He who has paid the price for its redemption knows the worth of the human soul.” — Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 140.

Discussion Questions:

<–Thursday

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/friday-further-thought-covenant-with-abraham/

The book of Genesis offers us so many and vast topics from which to choose a theme hymn. As we are starting at the very beginning, I would like to give praise to our Creator of heaven and earth in singing Hymn 320 – Lord of Creation and Hymn 2 – All Creatures of Our God and King. The stories that follow creation will lean back towards our amazing God and what He has done for each of us in creation .

Just as Abraham had a covenant made to him by God, we also have a covenant with God: Hymn 522 – My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less (verse 3) and Hymn 347 – Built On the Rock (verse 4). We can then say in song The God of Abraham Praise – Hymn 11.

Just as Abraham had a wondrous faith, so too may we:
Hymn 304 – Faith of Our Fathers,
Hymn 523 – My Faith Has Found a Resting Place,
Hymn 517 – My Faith Looks Up to Thee, and
Hymn 608 – Faith Is the Victory.

God took Abram outside in Genesis 15:5 and asked if the stars could be counted, so we may also do this in Hymn 98 – Can You Count the Stars? 
Sunday’s study continues with Abram “reassured and ‘believed in the Lord’ (Genesis 15:6)” Hymn 511 – I Know Whom I Have Believed, and that “Humans are saved by grace”: Hymn 108 – Amazing Grace and Hymn 109 – Marvelous Grace.

In many ways today, we have the Lord speak to us just as He spoke to Abram (Monday and Tuesday) Hymn 541 – Lord, Speak to Me. Tuesday closes with the thought that “Abraham still struggled with living it out in faith and trust”. Having learned from Abraham’s life, are we able to sing with wholeheartedness I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus – Hymn 535?

Ellen G White in Patriarchs and Prophets page 140 asks if we are pleading with God in prayer for the souls around us as the world falls to pieces as in the days of Sodom: Hymn 284 – For You I Am Praying.

God’s abundant blessings this quarter as we study through the first book of the Bible which our gracious God has given. May we be faithful and all say “Come, Lord Jesus, come – very soon” so we are able to go to our new home in Heaven, as We Have This Hope – Hymn 214.

To learn unknown hymns, you will find the accompaniment music for each one at: https://sdahymnals.com/Hymnal/

Another great resource is for when there is a hymn you wish to sing, but can’t find it in your hymnal. Go to https://www.sdahymnal.org and in the search bar type a special word in that is in the hymn. I am sure you will be amazed at the help you will be given.

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

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I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. Genesis 17:7 NLT

When God made His covenant with Abraham He was making it with all of us. All of the promises that were given to Abraham were given to us.

A member of a church in which I had recently spoken asked me to come to her home. She was very upset because a neighbor claimed to be a witch and put a curse on her home and family. The lady church member believed in God but was afraid of what this curse might mean. When I got to her home I shared this passage with her. It is a promise God made to Abraham.

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 2:1-3 NLT

The Lord promised to bless those who blessed Abraham and to treat those who cursed him with contempt. I actually think the KJV is a little more powerful on this point when it says, “I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee.” Right after this promise was given, Abraham went into Egypt, and instead of trusting God to care for him, he trusted a lie he invented that Sara was only his sister, not his wife. Not only are lies deceitful, they show we are not trusting God. When we trust God we have no reason to make up lies. Pharaoh took Sara to himself, not knowing she was married. Even though Abraham was less than perfect in this situation the Lord still kept his promise like He always does.

But the Lord sent terrible plagues upon Pharaoh and his household because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. Genesis 12:17 NLT

Even when Abraham was less than perfect and even had trust issues, the Lord kept His promise to curse those who cursed him. I reminded the lady that Balaam tried to curse Israel but could only bless them! See Numbers 23:11-12. The Lord’s blessing continued for the great nation of Israel the Lord had promised to Abraham. The lady  thought that was all wonderful for Abraham, but what did that have to do with her and the curse that was placed upon her? I asked her if she belonged to Christ and, of course, she said she did. I told her I had good news for her.

And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you. Galatians 3:29 NLT

The promise to bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you belonged to her just as much it did to Abraham. She claimed this promise, and  many months later, the neighbor was gone and there were no signs of any curses.

Once an elder in my area was being slandered by some of the other church leaders. Thank God the church body could see through the other leaders’ lies and stood up for him. When the truth came out, and the elder was exonerated, one of his enemies, who was also a leader, was too proud to recant his lies and accusations. Not long after, the leader who made the false accusations retired to a new area. Soon he had to move far away from the area in which he retired, because of accusations made against him which were much more serious than the one he made against the local elder. Some called it karma, some called it “what goes around comes around.” But I can’t help but think of God’s promise, “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.” I hope, too, that this situation led the slandering leader to repentance and salvation.

Now before we start acting all high and mighty when God works in our favor, it’s important to remember that God blessed Abraham because of His own faithfulness, not the faithfulness of Abraham. Even though God cursed Pharaoh,  Abraham still had his own lesson to learn about honesty and trusting God instead of lies. I would imagine even when God curses those who curse us, we  still need to humbly learn some lessons as well. The promise in Genesis 12:3 goes on to say that all families of the earth will be blessed, as God wants to bless and save all of us – friends and foes, just as he saved faulty Abraham.

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Support for the mission activities of the Seventh-day Adventist church has always been part of the Sabbath School program. This video is Mission Spotlight for this week.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK7nj9hUDYM&w=560&h=315]

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Read Genesis 18:16-19, Genesis 18:29. How does Abraham’s prophetic ministry affect his responsibility toward Lot?

Abraham has just been reconfirmed in God’s promise of a son. Yet, instead of enjoying the good news, he engages God in a passionate discussion about the fate of Lot in Sodom. Abraham is not only a prophet to whom God reveals His will; he is also a prophet who intercedes on behalf of the wicked. The Hebrew phrase “stood before the LORD” (Genesis 18:22, NKJV) is an idiom for praying.

Image © Steve Creitz at Goodsalt.com

In fact, Abraham challenges God and bargains with Him to save Sodom, where his nephew resides. Moving from 50 down to 10, God would have saved the people of Sodom if only 10 Sodomites had been righteous.

Of course, when one reads the story of what happened when the two angels came to Lot to warn him of what was coming (Genesis 19:1-10), we can see just how sick and evil the people had become. It truly was a wicked place, as were many of the nations around them; one reason why, eventually, they were driven from the land (see Genesis 15:16).

“And now the last night of Sodom was approaching. Already the clouds of vengeance cast their shadows over the devoted city. But men perceived it not. While angels drew near on their mission of destruction, men were dreaming of prosperity and pleasure. The last day was like every other that had come and gone. Evening fell upon a scene of loveliness and security. A landscape of unrivaled beauty was bathed in the rays of the declining sun. The coolness of eventide had called forth the inhabitants of the city, and the pleasure-seeking throngs were passing to and fro, intent upon the enjoyment of the hour.” — Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, Pages 157, 158.

In the end, God saved only Lot, his wife, and his two daughters (Genesis 19:15), almost half the minimum of 10. The sons-in-law, who did not take Lot’s warning seriously, remained in the city (Genesis 19:14).

That beautiful country was, then, destroyed. The Hebrew verb hafakh, “overthrew,” occurs several times in this passage (Genesis 19:21, Genesis 19:25, Genesis 19:29) and characterizes the destruction of Sodom (Deuteronomy 29:23, Amos 4:11). The idea is that the country has been “reversed.” Just as the Flood “reversed” the original creation (Genesis 6:7), the destruction of Sodom is a “reversal” of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 13:10). In the destruction of Sodom, we are given a precursor of end-time destruction, as well (see Jude 7).

<–Wednesday Friday–>

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