Rosesam

Q5. (John 1:33) How does John the Baptist’s baptism differ from the baptism that Jesus brings? Baptism is a word that means “immerse, plunge under water.” What does a “baptism of the Holy Spirit” imply about this event? John’s baptism was unto repentance. It does not result in regeneration and eternal life. It brought their hearts in tune to hear what the Lord was intending to do. But the baptism of Jesus was with the Holy Spirit and fire. When Jesus baptizes us with the Holy Spirit, it brings regeneration within us. We are born again to eternal life. And as evidence of the inner reality of belonging to the Lord, we are baptized in water to symbolize the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is an outward expression of the baptism of the Holy Spirit that has taken place within both to the seen and the unseen world. Jesus baptizes us with the Holy Spirit, that is submerging us with the Holy Spirit into eternal life and the Holy Spirit baptizes us into the Body of Christ, so that we become part and parcel of His body, just like the members of our body belong to us and not separate from us.

Q4. (John 1:29) What does the title “Lamb of God” tell us about Jesus’ ministry? According to 1:29, whose sins did he come to take away? In what ways did Jesus fulfill Isaiah 53? The Jewish community were looking for a Messiah who would be the Lion of Judah, not the Lamb of God. A lamb isn’t an impressive animal. People don’t use a lamb to protect themselves. A lamb doesn’t exude strength. John was the son of a priest and priests sacrificed lambs in the temple. To say “Lamb of God” all the Jewish people would know what it means. He is the One who would be sacrificed for the sins of the whole world. So in saying “ the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” John nails it perfectly. He is first and foremost a Lamb. Israel wanted a king; God gave them what they needed: a Lamb. In Isaiah 53 where the suffering servant is portrayed as a lamb, it says that He will be led as a lamb before the slaughter who did not open its mouth. He was slaughtered for our sins. He was sinless, yet He took it upon Himself all our sins and paid the price that we couldn’t pay, so that we would be treated as Jesus was rightfully entitled to be treated.

Q3. (John 1:19-27) How does John the Baptist show humility? How can a person see himself as the fulfillment of a passage from Isaiah and still be humble about it? How does John see himself in relation to the coming Messiah? How can a person be such a strong revivalist preacher and still remain humble? Can humility and powerful, confident speech co-exist? John acknowledges that he was merely a messenger for the Message, a voice crying out to prepare the way of the Lord. He also says that he was only baptizing in water, but the one coming after him will baptize in the Holy Spirit and fire. He acknowledges that the Messiah is so much superior to him, and that he is not even equal to a lowliest servant before Him, because he says that he is not worthy to untie His shoe laces. Moreover when the ministry of Jesus becomes greater than John, he humbly says that He must increase and I must decrease. He was not competitive and did not want to have a superior ministry than Jesus. Even when his disciples forsook him for Jesus, it did not adversely affect him. He just considered himself to be the friend of the Bridegroom. No wonder Jesus called him to be the greatest man until then. Not Abraham, Moses or Elijah or other stalwarts of the Bible, but John the Baptist was the greatest man to be born till the time of Jesus. He was aware of who he is and who he is not for he says I am not the Messiah, Elijah nor the Prophet. He declares that he is simply a voice. He became a powerful witness for Christ by being vocal of who he is and what his mission is. He was filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb and hence he was bold, which enabled him to preach week on week, month on month at the Jordan River. He was not bothered about what the religious elite thought about him. And all his ministry, he simply pointed to Jesus. He knew the superiority of Jesus and he was pointing all who came to him to the Lord. Because he knew whom he represented and what his mission was he remained humble. But because he was filled with the Holy Spirit, he was bold and bore witness to the light. John is a model for us to show that humility and powerful, confident speech can co-exist in a person. For it is not about us but about Him.

Q2. (John 1:26-27) Why did John baptize? What is the meaning of the baptism he was performing? What do you think baptism represents to those John baptized? When the Lord sent John on his ministry, he was told to baptize the people and in the process of baptism, he would be able to identify the Messiah, who was to save the people from their sins. For he was told that he would see the Holy Spirit descending as a dove on the Messiah. Moreover his mission was to prepare the hearts of the people for the Messiah and the inward repentance was outwardly shown as baptism. Baptism is not a Christian ritual. When a Gentile wanted to adopt Jewish beliefs or proselytize into the Jewish faith they had to do three things. Be instructed by the scribes, be circumcised if male, and be baptized in a ritualistic cleansing which meant that he was leaving the old way and becoming a citizen of the Jewish community. But John was not baptizing Gentiles, but Jews. What John was doing was an outward sign of repentance, preparing the hearts for the Messiah. To those who were getting baptized by John it meant that they were ready to meet their Messiah as their hearts were turned now to the Lord. Since they were baptized in water, they were now prepared to be baptized by the One who is able to baptize them by the Holy Spirit and fire.

Q1. (John 1:19-23) Why do you think John the Baptist was being hassled by the religious leaders from Jerusalem? What were they afraid of? How did John understand his own mission? How much conflict do you think could be expected from John’s mission? The religious leaders were supposed to protect the people from false messiahs so they wanted to figure out who John was. But we see in the process of their investigation they protected the nation from the real Messiah Himself!! Since John was of the priestly line, he was to be performing rituals in the temple like other priests. Instead he had left Jerusalem, was out in the desert preaching, unlike the priests and the Levites who never preached. John had a huge following in spite of being in the outskirts and the religious leaders would have been unsettled by his fan followings. Moreover he was baptizing Jews, which was also unusual. Proselytes, that is those who converted into Judaism, were baptized not Jews. They might have been afraid that their position and prestige in their social circles would be affected because of the popularity of John the Baptist. Since the Messianic expectation of the Jews were at its peak during this time, they would have wondered whether it would damage their social standing as the people were being pulled towards John the Baptist. Therefore they asked him whether he was the Christ, Elijah or the Prophet and John answers negatively to all these before proceeding to tell them who he is. He says that he is the messenger to prepare the way straight for the message or the Word that is going to be soon revealed. His mission was to turn the people’s heart to the Lord in repentance before the Messiah comes. John, for the purpose of giving an unadulterated message from the Lord, separated himself from the religious hub of Jerusalem and moved into the wilderness. He took a Nazarite vow – uncut hair, not touching defiled things, not consuming anything from grapes. He lived an uncontaminated life so that his message would come as living oracles from God, which did impart effectively unto the people. Therefore they came out to John in repentance and with humility they partook of the baptism of John unto repentance. Wherever there is true repentance, there is always oppression from the realm of darkness and this was felt as an intense conflict from the religious leaders of John’s day.

Q4. What lesson is God teaching you out of Hagar's experience? Which situation that God is calling you to is most difficult for you to submit to? God cares for all human beings, whether they be strong in faith or weak in faith, whether they be men or women etc. He does not show any partiality. Even though we may not understand why God directs us the way He does, He has a purpose and He is able to make all things work together for our good. Some situations, it is difficult to comprehend with my understanding, but waiting patiently to see how He will work it together for my good.

Q3. (16:13-14) What is the significance of Hagar's name for God -- El Roi, the God Who Sees? What does it mean to a person who is discouraged and losing hope? What does it mean to you personally? The angel of the Lord, a theophany, first appeared not to the father of Faith, Abraham, but to a slave girl, from Egypt, who was running away from the family of faith. Hagar’s response was that this Angel is God Himself and as evidence of how this has impacted her, we see Hagar returning and submitting to her authority in Abraham’s household. Hagar was aware of God’s presence and His care over her life, in spite of being an Egyptian slave girl. So even if she had to endure harsh treatment from her mistress, she knew God would preserve her and see her through and His promises will come to fulfillment. To a person who is losing hope, this becomes an anchor of hope and a silver lining amongst bleak clouds. The understanding that God sees me and has not forgotten me, gives great hope and encouragement to hold on to Him however difficult the situations around me may be.

Q2. (16:7-9) Why does the angel ask Hagar something that the angel already knows? ("Where have you come from, and where are you going?") Why does she send her back to Sarah? Have you ever reacted and got yourself out of the place God wanted you? The Lord knows her name and her status and what she was doing at this point of time in her life. Yet He asks her “Where have you come from, and where are you going?” Whenever the Lord asks a question, in spite of being omniscient, He wants to trigger a new thinking and understanding. He wanted Hagar to think twice as to what she’s doing. By calling her Sarah’s maid, He’s reminding Hagar at the get go where she belongs. Hagar was committing two mistakes here. She’s fleeing from her mistress and she’s kidnapping her master’s son. God couldn’t approve of this. Moreover the Lord wanted to teach future Israel important lessons from this incident. Hagar and her son will become a picture of human effort whereas the seed promise through Sarah will become a picture of divine accomplishment. Also Abraham will have to bear the consequences of his sin in that these two sons will be at enmity throughout their life and even beyond, which we see even up to now. God uses them as a disciplining rod for the children of Israel when they go away from the Lord. This will be accomplished only when Hagar returns and submits to authority, which is the right thing to do. After telling her to return He then proceeds to show her how her obedience will lead to blessing. Yes I have got myself out of the place God wanted me to be in. But He has always been merciful.

Q1. (16:1-6) Why does Sarah take her anger out on Abraham? Why does she take her anger out on Hagar? Is she trying to get rid of Hagar or the baby? In what sense is Hagar's pride Abraham's fault? In what sense is Hagar's affliction Abraham's fault? What situation in your family does this reminds you of? God had promised that Abraham would have descendants, but hadn’t told as to whether it will be through Sarah. So, after waiting for many years for the fulfillment of God’s promises, Sarah decides to help God out by offering to Abraham her maid, Hagar to become a surrogate mother on her behalf. Rather than asking God for confirmation, Abraham listens to his wife and impregnates Hagar. Up until now they hadn’t figured out who actually had fertility issues, since modern methodology of figuring out was not there back then. Moreover Sarah had passed her child bearing phase in her life. But when Hagar becomes pregnant, the realization that Sarah was actually having an issue must have struck her real hard. Perhaps all the years of having no children would resulted in some gossip that Sarah was to blame. But in the back of her mind Sarah would have thought that Abraham was to blame. But now it was obvious for everyone that it was indeed Sarah’s body that was barren. In those days a barren woman was considered to be a curse. This jealously towards Hagar and frustration of being barren results in lashing out against Abraham by Sarah. Hagar must have been overjoyed having conceived Abraham’s child. This ended up in pride in her own eyes and contempt over Sarah. Probably she would have thought that her slave status is going to change and this would result in her freedom. This made Sarah to take out her anger towards Hagar. Sarah wanted a child to be an heir to Abraham. Moreover the child born to Hagar would have been called as her child, unless a child is born to her. Since her age was not helping her, she would have thought that the chances of bearing a child herself was remote. She didn’t want Hagar to usurp her status as wife. And I think her anger was not to actually get rid of Hagar or the baby, but to make Hagar to realize that she will not take the status of a wife, in spite of bearing Abraham’s child. Abraham didn’t originate the idea of impregnating Hagar, but had merely agreed to Sarah’s proposal. But in a sense he was to blame for both Hagar’s pride and her affliction. As he had the leadership role in the family, he should have anticipated this outcome. Since Hagar had become Abraham’s concubine, she knew that she could never be sold and had a special status in Abraham’s household, which led to her pride. When Sarah afflicted Abraham, rather than taking the leadership role in his house, he just turned a blind eye towards what was happening there. Pride, jealousy, anger, not taking leadership role etc. are still seen in households because of the sin nature of man living in this sinful world.

Q5. (John 1:18) What does it mean that Jesus is the “Only God” or the “Only Begotten God”? Does the Apostle John seem to make a distinction between God the Father and God the Son? What does all this mean for our understanding of the Trinity? Jesus is God come in the flesh in order to make God perfectly clear to the world. No one has seen God in His glorious essence and in the brightness of His purity. It is Jesus who made God clear and knowable to us. In our limitation of being in the space time continuum, how much ever we reach out to God, it is an impossible feat for us. So He brought the supernatural into the natural. In Bible translations, we read the word Son or the Only Begotten Son, but the best manuscripts do not have the word “Son” but rather “God”. In essence, God reached out into our realm in order to make Himself real to us through Jesus. Apostle John does make a distinction between God the Father and God the Son. In the beginning itself John says, the Word was with God, which means the Word was distinct from God. Then he says the Word was God. This implies the divinity of the Word, i.e. Jesus. When he says the Word was “with God”, it actually means “face-to-face”. In Greek, it is pros ton theon. It means both the Father and the Jesus were intimately connected with each other. They were having a continuing intimacy in their relationship. All this means that they are not the same person, but they’re both God or in the Godhead. But they are separate and distinct from each other. Jesus, the living Word, is God in a body. Scripture tells us that God is one. At the same time, God is also three persons: Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. They play different roles, yet they work in complete unity and harmony. They were all active in creation and in redemption of mankind. We may not fully comprehend trinity this side of heaven, for if God could be understood by our puny minds, then He is not transcendent enough to be God.

Q4. (John 1:14) Why is the idea of God “becoming flesh” so important to the basis of the Christian faith? What would Christ’s life, crucifixion, and resurrection mean if he were only pretending to “become flesh”? In what ways have you personally experienced his grace? In what ways has his truth changed your life from what it was? It is important because first of all no human being could pay the price for the sins of mankind. For every man born after Adam inherited the sin nature of Adam and hence couldn’t pay the price for another man’s sin. Only God could do that and He couldn’t do it as God but as Man. Salvation was only possible for a kinsman of mankind. Satan usurped it from Adam by deceiving the woman. If God provided salvation as God then He would be doing what Satan did, i.e. usurping it back from Satan which is against His nature. So He became Man in order to identify with mankind by becoming flesh and blood as men. Because He was born of a virgin, He didn’t inherit the sin nature of Adam, but became the Last Adam to redeem mankind and reconcile them back to God. If Jesus was pretending to be a Man rather than actually becoming a Man, then He wouldn’t have felt what I feel, He wouldn’t have known my temptation etc. But according to Hebrews 4:15 our High Priest felt all our infirmities and was tempted in all points as we were, yet without sin. God of the universe, who is the Lord of all creation became like His creation. He stooped into our level. He became Man and lived as a Man and was crucified as a Man. The fact that the very God became a human being to pay the price for mankind, makes His sacrifice so priceless. I experience grace in every aspect of my life. In fact every human being that has occupied this earth has experienced His grace, which we call as common grace. Air that we breathe, health that we experience, friendships we enjoy etc. are all because of this grace. But as believers we experience His covenant grace. According to 2 Peter 1:3, He has given all things that pertain to life and godliness. Moreover He has given us His Holy Spirit as a treasure in our earthen vessels. This understanding has made me a lump of clay in my Potter’s hands. I am a work in progress, not perfect yet, but being transformed into the image of my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Knowing that He will perfect that which concerns me gives me great comfort.

Q3 (John 1:12-13) What does it mean to “receive” Jesus? What does it imply to “believe in” Jesus? What is the spiritual relationship to God of those who receive and believe in Jesus? Of those who do not? To “receive” Jesus means to take hold of Jesus in the sense of receiving Him by trusting in His authority and ability to become our Savior. To believe in Jesus is put your entire trust and be totally committed to what His name proclaims Him to be, i.e. my Savior and Lord. Those who receive and believe in Jesus become the children of God. In the Bible only a few are called the sons of God. First and foremost is our Lord Jesus Christ who is the only begotten of the Father. Then the angels are called sons of God. Adam was called the son of God in Luke. Apart from that none of the Old Testament saints are called sons of God. Because of the Fall, Adam forfeited being the son of God as he became tainted with sin and his children were begotten with his sin nature. But the Last Adam paid the price for Adam and his descendants and now all those who put their trust in Jesus are reconciled back to God and given the spirit of adoption whereby we become His children and call Him “Abba, Father”. Those who do not receive Him are still at enmity with Him and are not restored with Him nor reconciled in their relationship with Him.

Q4 (15:17-18a) Why did God go through the covenant ritual with Abraham, with the divided carcasses? Why does God bind himself to a solemn promise? How does Abraham respond to God's promises (15:6)? What promises has God made to us that affect our futures? What significance does blood sacrifice have in those promises? When God said that his descendants would be numerous as the stars in the heavens, Abraham believed God and it was accounted for him to righteousness. But God said to Abraham that the land which God promised Abraham would not be inherited in his lifetime, but will be possessed by his descendants. In order to assure Abraham that God will fulfill His end of the promise, He instructs Abraham to bring five animals in order to enter into a covenant with him. He was to butcher the larger animals into halves but not to cut the birds. Butchering the animals was a bloody affair. As they were killed there would be blood spilled. But as they lay there, there would be pools of blood on the ground. This graphic depiction of death is to pronounce curse and death to the one who broke the covenant. The parties to the covenant understood cutting a covenant to be a serious matter. To break a covenant would result in the other party to kill the one who broke the covenant and cut him into pieces as the animals were cut i.e. to inherit death penalty. Usually both the parties of the covenant would walk between the cut animals, but in this case only God walked through the animals that were killed and cut. It was a unilateral, unconditional covenant, so only God was obligated to keep the covenant.

Q3. (15:16) Have you ever been frustrated with God for not fulfilling his promise to you immediately? Why does God sometimes delay the fulfillment of his promises to a future time? Yes I have been frustrated with God for not fulfilling His promises. But God makes all things beautiful in His time. He is never ahead nor behind His schedule. This understanding has helped me to wait patiently for His timing. God is working all things together for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purposes. We don’t understand all things. But in the grand scheme of things, God is in control and He is synergizing all things to work together for the good of all those involved. So He may have to delay the fulfillment of His promises to a future time.

Q2. (15:6) What is so amazing about this verse? On what basis does God declare Abraham a righteous person? What significance does this have to our New Testament understanding of justification by faith? Verse 15: 6 says that Abraham believed in the Lord and the Lord God accounted it to him for righteousness. This is one of the key verses in all the Bible. The word ‘believed’ in Hebrew is Amen. God made a promise and it’s as though Abraham said, “Amen! I believe that promise. I believe it.” And because Abraham believed God’s promise concerning this future event, God credited Abraham’s faith as righteousness. There is a play on words in Hebrew which when translated would be: Because Abraham couldn’t do what God told him to do i.e. count the stars, yet still he trusted God to keep His word, therefore God did the work for him by counting his faith as righteousness. He began to look forward to that future when he will have uncountable descendants as though it was already a present reality. And to that God said, “That’s all I require to make you right with Me, to give a relationship with Me”. It’s justification by faith. This was an amazing statement of Abraham, for God allowed this act of faith to be counted to him for righteousness. This is the first time in Scripture we see faith, justification and righteousness in a single statement. In Romans Chapter 4, in Galatians chapter 3 and in James chapter 2 this verse is highlighted as the pivotal verse to explain the major doctrine of “justification by faith”. We’re not saved by our righteous acts, not our exemplary moral conduct, nor belonging to any Christian organization, but purely by believing God. Like Abraham who just believed in the declared promise of God, we too when we believe and take God at His word, we are saved. All of the world’s religions in relation to salvation can be divided into two categories. One is the religion of human achievement, which is all about what I do, how I work, what I practice, how I pray etc. The second group is divine accomplishment and it’s putting your trust in what Jesus did on the cross. He paid a debt which I couldn’t pay and I trust in His work to accomplish my salvation. There’s no boasting in our achievement in that. If in heaven all we do is boasting of our zeal and our religiosity, what a boring place heaven would be!! When we cannot stand those boastings on earth, imagine it in heaven. Because now, everyone will boast on the Lamb who took away my sins and made me trophy of His grace.

Q1. (15:1) What does it mean to you personally to call God your "Shield"? What does it mean to you that he promises to you (as heir of the promises to Abraham) "an exceedingly great reward"? What does it mean to you to call God your Suzerain or Sovereign? Abraham had just defeated four kings who had been victorious over five kings. Now he fears retaliation from these kings probably with a much larger army. Moreover, he had refused the spoils of war from the king of Sodom, thus refusing a possible future alliance that he could have. It is in this scenario that God told Abraham that He is his shield and exceeding great reward. Shield is used for protection. He had refused the spoils, but God will reward him immensely. Just as to Abraham God said that He would be a shield of protection, for me He becomes my protection and shield in the face of all troubles and the fiery darts of the enemy. Every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights and in Him there is no variableness nor a shadow of turning. He has already given us His priceless gift of His Son, what more will He withhold from us. And as the Sovereign God, He is seated on the throne and is in control of all things. Nothing will happen in my life without His knowledge and without He allowing it to come to pass. Because He loves me, I have the comfort of knowing that He will work all things work together for my good.

Q2. (John 1:7-8) What did it mean that John was sent to “testify” to the light? In what sense are you put here with the purpose of “testifying” to the light? How are you doing in this regard? What happened to John the Baptist? What might happen to you if you testify clearly? What might happen to the people to whom you testify? In the book of Malachi we read that someone would be coming to prepare the way of the Lord. The angel, when he appeared before Zechariah says that his son would come in the spirit and power of Elijah and that he would be heralding the coming of the Messiah. That’s what John the Baptist did. He was preaching that they should repent and turn back to the Lord. John came preparing the way of the Lord. According to Jesus, John the Baptist was the greatest man to have born until that time. God entrusts the greatest task of bearing witness to the light, to the greatest man who lived until then. John existed to point to the light which neither the world could comprehend nor the darkness could extinguish. He was a witness which is a technical term. It means to testify to the truth and tell of what one has seen and heard in the court of law. John came into the world to testify of who Jesus really was. When we testify to the light, we are stepping out of the darkness. The more we draw closer to him, the brighter our reflection of the light will be to the world. Just as John the Baptist was a witness of the light and testified of it, we too are to testify, that is tell the truth of what we have seen and heard and thus magnify the Lord through our lives. I have used the opportunities that came across to magnify the Lord and to testify of His goodness. John the Baptist was beheaded for his witness, even though he testified at a time when the Messianic expectation was at its peak during the time of John. Yet when John preached they rejected the Lord and did not want to step out of darkness and step into the light of the Son. We need His grace to stand strong with courage in spite of whatever comes across. Only the Holy Spirit will give us the boldness to testify boldly of His salvation. The ones to whom we testify may either accept the testimony or reject it.

Q4. (14:21-24) Why does Abraham refuse to take the spoils of war that the King of Sodom offers him? What does this tell us about Abraham's character? What is the lesson here for us to learn? The king of Sodom had become a king without subjects. So he wanted to bribe Abraham to give him back his people. Since Abraham had rescued both the people and their belongings, Abraham had a right to both of them. But he is more worried about his testimony and his witness. He had been blessed by God’s priest-king and now this pretender wanted to assume responsibility for making Abraham rich. If he were to take money for this from these kings, then people would say that he did it for the remuneration or the financial reward. He did not want that to be said. He wanted to stand as a testimony of God’s faithfulness to His promises rather than the world to believe that king of Sodom made Abraham rich. So Abraham tells the king of Sodom to take it all except for the fair wage for the rescue operation. Abraham was a man of integrity and trust in the faithfulness of God. Unlike his nephew Lot, he was not lured by the temptation of the world and he wants to steer clear from it. We also need to be people who would emulate Abraham.

Q3. (14:20) What is the significance of Abraham giving one tenth of the spoils of war to Melchizedek? Does tithing today represent the same kind of worship? Why should we tithe to God first (like Abraham did) before dividing up our paychecks to pay our bills? In this story we see how Abraham responds to two kings differently. Abraham chooses the king of Salem over the king of Sodom. It is to this king of Salem, Melchizedek, to which the priesthood of Jesus is linked to. This priest-king recognizes that God is the source of victory and in response Abraham gives him a tenth of the spoils of war. Since the victory came from God, Abraham sees “to give back this tithe of thanks to the priest of God”. The writer of Hebrew says that Melchizedek is of a higher order than the priesthood of Levi and Aaron because Abraham paid tithes to him. Paying tithes is a symbol of worship, and a symbol of submission and Abraham along with Levi paid tithes to a priesthood of a higher order by giving a tithe of his spoils to Melchizedek. God is the giver of all good things. As we give to God we are acknowledging that He has given us the gifts to enjoy and we worship the Giver.

Q2. (14:13-16) What does Abraham's military expedition to rescue Lot from the Mesopotamian kings tell us about his character? About his abilities? About the way he deals with neighbors? What is here for us to emulate? Lot had caused a fair amount of problems for Abraham. But still he is family. So when a problem arose for Lot, Abraham does not hesitate to go for his rescue. He pursued the four kings who had routed five kings of the south with his small number of 318 trained militia men about 150 miles north. That shows he believed that God would give him the victory even though he was completely outnumbered. Even after he put the kings on the run, he pursued them far north probably till he was able to rescue Lot. He did not leave Lot till he was rescued, even though he had defeated the kings. Abraham was a peace-maker and not a trouble-maker, for he had allowed Lot to choose whatever he wanted. But now we see that he loved peace enough to fight for it, because sometimes peace-makers will have to fight to bring peace. Again in this story we see our heavenly Father’s response to His children, who is in hot pursuit of His own. Even though we are faithless, God remains faithful and He cannot deny Himself. When we are carried away by the world’s temptations or enemy schemes, the love of the Father for His children compels Him to pursue us. In the middle of the night, when things were darkest, the Father appears and defeats the enemy. We need to emulate Abraham in that we need to pursue those who are in the family of God, till they are rescued and belong in the Kingdom. We need to depend on the Lord, for God and we is majority, and trust in Him knowing however bleak our situation may be God is with us and this should build up hope in us.

Q1. (13:2) Does Abraham's material wealth reflect God's blessing on him? Does material wealth always reflect God's blessing? Does physical poverty always reflect God's curse? Old Testament is a portrayal in picture form of the reality of the New Testament principles. When Old Testament portrays men as having enormous wealth, long life etc. it is a reflection of what heavenly blessing is all about in a way that could be understood by us. In other words, Old Testament represents spiritual blessings in a way that can be understood in a natural or physical sense. We follow the Lord we become spiritually wealthy is the New Testament reality, which is shown as physical wealth in the Old Testament. It’s not that our blessing is limited to a spiritual wealth when we follow the Lord, but it’s the Lord’s discretion whether physical wealth also has to be added to our lives while we live here on earth. So material wealth is not a reflection of God being pleased with us. But James says all good gifts come from above the Father of Lights in whom there is no variableness, nor shadow of turning. So any blessing whether material or spiritual comes from God, whether we acknowledge it or not. Many rich people deny God, because they don’t understand it is God who gives the power to get wealth. But in Abraham’s case, material wealth was a reflection of God’s blessing on him, for God had promised him that he would be blessed. Physical poverty does not reflect God’s curse. In the book of Revelation, we read epistles of Jesus to the seven churches in Asia Minor. To the church in Smyrna which was poverty stricken, Jesus says, “You are rich”. But to the rich church of Laodicea, Jesus says you are poor. Jesus Himself was made poor that we might be rich in Him.

Q5. (12:2-3) What relationship does God's promise to Abraham in 12:2-3 have to do with the incident of Sarah's abduction in 20:10-20? In Genesis 12:2-3, we see God promising Abraham that he will become a great nation, his name will become great and that he would be a blessing. All those who bless him God will bless and all those who curse him will be cursed. Even though Abraham was promised to become a great nation, Abraham feared for his life. He cannot become a great nation if he died without an offspring. So in this situation, he forgot that God is in control and His promises will find its fulfillment no matter what the circumstances might be. Yet, we see how God is working this situation for Abraham’s good. God truly made his name great by saying to Abimelech that Abraham is a prophet and God’s chosen vessel to bring healing upon his household. Because He blessed Abraham, Abimelech was blessed with healing, but when he had abducted Sarah, his household was stricken by God. God truly blessed Abraham in this situation with wealth, recognition and security even in the enemy land.

Q4. What do you think about Abraham's and Sarah's ethics and faith? Are they ethically and morally wrong? Does the Scripture intend to show that their actions as a lack of faith? What lessons should we disciples learn from these stories? Even though Abraham is called the Father of Faith, he did not earn this title overnight. There were situations and circumstances in his life that caused him to grow in faith. He has come afar from the then idol worshiper of Ur, but he still had some old habits left over from his days as Abram. He still struggles to trust in the Lord and often reverts to the old patterns of sin. And in the process he drags Sarah also to partner with him in his actions. When Abimelech questions Abraham he resorts to three classic excuses for sin. First, he claims ignorance saying that he did not know whether there was fear of God in that place. Abraham’s point was that he was acting reasonably when he lied and that his lie was justified under the circumstances to save his life. But God was more than capable of handling Abimelech or anyone and so Abraham’s lie was completely unjustified. Secondly, Abraham argues that it was really not a lie at all because Sarah was his sister, a half-sister in truth. But the real truth was that Sarah was his wife. He failed to disclose the obviously important detail that they were married. Abraham is too busy explaining away his guilt rather than embracing it and learning from it. Finally Abraham gives the third classic excuse for his sin, he blames God and circumstances. He says it was God who caused him to leave the protection and security of his home, implying that it was God who forced Abraham to resort to this tactic, by bringing him into such a position. We cannot lie and be sinless, for lying is proof that we don’t trust God. God may allow situations in our live in order to convict us and then we need to be convicted rather than running into pointless excuses. God does not cause us to sin. Whatever be the circumstances or situations that we are placed in He is well able to rescue us from it.

Q3. (20:3-6) What does this story teach us about God's view of adultery? Can God forgive a person who has committed adultery? God views adultery as a criminal offense worthy of death. Bible declares that marriage bed is honorable and every other relationship outside marriage is adultery and an abomination in the sight of God. When the children of Israel ran after other gods, He declares that they were committing spiritual adultery. Adultery grieves the heart of God, both physical and spiritual adultery. There is no sin that cannot be forgiven other than denying the work of Christ as convicted by the Holy Spirit, which I consider to be blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. For, it is the Holy Spirit who convicts men of sin, righteousness and judgement. When a person rebels at His conviction, he is denying the work of the Christ, which blots out every sin committed by every person on the planet earth. But when you accept His work, repent of your sin, whatever those sins may be, including adultery, it will be forgiven by God.

Q2. (12:17-20) Why did Pharaoh and his household get sick? What effect did this have? What was God seeking to accomplish through this affliction? Did it have the desired effect? Pharaoh, even though he was not aware of the deception played upon him by Abraham, is struck in order to defend Sarah. God’s promises to Abraham depended on Sarah remaining as Abraham’s wife, not pharaoh’s wife. God’s promises will always prevail and so He acts on preserving His promises. Also we know God’s initial promise to Abraham was that all those who bless Abraham will be blessed and all those who curse Abraham will be cursed. We see that being proven true in Pharaoh’s case. When pharaoh and his household became sick, probably Sarah didn’t fall sick along with them. This could have led pharaoh into finding out why he and his family became sick in the first place and came to the conclusion that it was because of Abraham and Sarah. He wanted to be free from it and hence blesses Abraham with a huge bounty and restores Sarah back to Abraham as his wife. So we can say that the plague had its desired effect.