SERMON NOTES

Genesis 16:1 18:15

Is Anything Too Hard for the LORD?
Intro:
Whats in a name?
NYU professor Adam Alter has observed the power names have to shape
destiny. The technical name is "nominative determinism,"
Alter points to the following examples: The current Lord Chief Justice of
England and Wales is Justice Igor Judge. His colleague, Lord Justice Laws, is a
judge in the Court of Appeals.
In the realm of athletic pursuits, Anna Smashnova is a professional Israeli tennis
player. Layne Beachley is a seven-time world champion surfer. Derek Kickett
was an Australian footballer. Stephen Rowbotham was an Olympic rower for
Britain. Usain Bolt currently reigns as the fastest man in the world over the 100
meter and 200 meter distances.
Other examples include Daniel Snowman, the author of a book about the Arctic
and Antarctica;
Are all of these examples just coincidences? For instance, would Usain Bolt run
just as fast if his name was Usain Plod?
Alter concludes, "Researchers have shown that our names take root deep within
our mental worlds, drawing us magnetically towards the concepts they embody."

Other examples of names matching occupations are:

Dr. Hurt, Dr. Payne, Dr. EZ Filler all dentists
Brad Slaughter butcher
Soo Yoo attorney
Scott Free defense attorney
Steven I. Ball optometrist
Dr. Looney psychiatrist

Names are important

We were prepared to name our second daughter Natalie which has a
secondary meaning of peaceful one
But she came out of the womb screaming for 45 minutes with such force
and volume and persistence the doctor had never heard before
Not exactly peaceful

 So we named her Jill instead youthful one in the sense of strong and
vigorous
Susan Boatright: At church one morning, my friend Gwen was about to start her
4-year-olds' Sunday school class when a little boy showed up without any
identification. Gwen managed to get his first name, but couldn't find out his last
name.
"Brian, what's your daddy's name?" she asked. "Daddy," he replied.
She tried again, "Brian, what's your mommy's name?" "Mommy," he answered.
Suddenly she realized exactly how she could get the answer she needed.
"Brian, what does your daddy call your mommy?" His face lit up. With a grin and
a deep voice, he replied, "Hey, Babe."
In biblical times even more than today names were bound up with the
very essence of personality and even destiny
Todays passage in Genesis includes the only instance in the OT of a
human naming God as well as the renaming of Abram and Sarai, as well
as the naming of Ishmael and Isaac

I.

SARAI, HAGAR AND THE GOD WHO SEES

God had promised Abram to give him offspring and descendants as

numerous as the stars visible in the heavens
Yet 10 years after the promise was first made, Abram and Sarai were still
childless Abram was now 85 and Sarah was about 75 and barren and
past the age of menopause
Failure to produce a son was a social problem and financial problem as
well as a personal and emotional problem
Therefore, if a wife did not bear a husband a son, it was expected that the
husband would be given permission to obtain children and heirs through
the wifes servant or through a concubine
Though this was not Gods design for marriage and family culturally, this
was not regarded as adultery or immoral in any way it was the customary
means of dealing with childlessness
And sons born to a father in this way were regarded as full legal heirs
even taking priority over a previously adopted son
You may recall that 4 of the 12 sons of Jacob were obtained by means of
Leahs and Rachels maidservants and they all became tribal leaders

 Abram had been given a promise of an heir and many descendants that
had not yet been fulfilled
God had made it clear that the heir of promise would be a son coming from
his own body
But still no mention of Sarah being the mother and still no child
Growing understandable impatient and perhaps bitter Sarai took
matters into her own hands:
Genesis 16:1-2 Now Sarai, Abrams wife, had borne him no children. She had a
female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram,
Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my
servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her. And Abram listened to the
voice of Sarai.
Note: the LORD has prevented me therefore, Sarai took matters into her
own hands
But this plan was born of human will and not of faith in Gods miraculous
power
And Abram should have known better for He had heard the voice of God
But instead he listened to the voice of his wife not in the sense of a wise
husband respecting his wifes input but rather in the sense that Adam
listened to the voice of Eve in the Garden
Well, human nature is human nature
And as in the case of Leah and Rachel, and as in the case of Hannah and
Peninnah, envy and rivalry and contempt erupted between the woman
bearing children and the infertile wife
Hagar the Egyptian slave-girl began to assume an air of superiority over
her mistress Sarai because she was now pregnant an attitude that
naturally hurt and infuriated Sarah
We can just imagine the slave-girl flaunting her pregnant condition in front
of her barren mistress in order to needle her and maybe enjoy a little
retaliation for any prior inconsiderate or harsh treatment
Sarah quickly grew tired of that game and complained to her husband
No sane man would envy Abram his predicament here

 Failing to man-up and protect Hagar and be a strong peace-maker, Abram

washed his hands of the strife-filled situation and gave Sarah permission to
do whatever she thought best with her servant Hagar
Sarahs solution was to mistreat Hagar
Being a slave-girl, Hagar had no legal recourse
Like many women suffering domestic abuse, she had only two options:
put up with the abuse to keep a roof over her head or strike out on her
own and become financially vulnerable and maybe homeless
Hagar chose to flee from her abusive mistress and take her chances in the
desert
So Hagar heads west toward her homeland of Egypt
Abused, alone, pregnant, unwanted, homeless, no husband with her, no
one to take care of her, walking on foot on a long journey through a harsh
desert
The man who had sex with her and was the father of her child would not or
could not protect her or provide for her
So far as we know no one on earth knew where Hagar was no one was
looking for her no one cared what happened to her though Abram
probably cared what would happen to her son
But El-Roi -- The God Who Sees -- had His eye on her when no one else
did
Genesis 16:7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the
wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.
Who is the angel of the LORD who found Hagar in the desert?
There are about 10 instances of the angel of the LORD appearing to and/
or speaking to someone in the OT including twice to Hagar (here in
chapter 16 and again with Ishmael in chapter 21) and also to Abraham at
the sacrifice of Isaac, and to Jacob, and to Moses at the burning bush, and
to Balaam, and to Gideon, and to Samsons parents
Some Christian interpreters since Justin Martyr in the 2nd century AD have
equated the angel of the LORD with the pre-incarnate Christ though this
is nowhere taught in the NT
Other Christian interpreters hold that the angel of the LORD is just that a
special angel who represented Yahweh and bore His credentials and was
authorized to speak on His behalf and be virtually identified with Deity

 The reason there is divided opinion on this issue is that sometimes the
angel of the LORD speaks as if he is God and sometimes the angel of
the LORD speaks as if he is representing God
One thing that is clear when the angel of the LORD speaks it is as
though God Himself were speaking to that person
The angel of the LORD spoke to Hagar with a command and a promise

Genesis 16:8-12 And he said, Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come
from and where are you going? She said, I am fleeing from my mistress
Sarai. The angel of the Lord said to her, Return to your mistress and submit to
her. The angel of the Lord also said to her, I will surely multiply your offspring
so that they cannot be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the Lord said
to her,
Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael,
because the Lord has listened to your affliction.

He shall be a wild donkey of a man,

his hand against everyone and everyones hand against him,
and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.
The God Who Sees saw Hagars desolation and misery and sought her
out and found her and spoke to her words of comfort and hope
And then He commanded Hagar to return to her mistress Sarai and submit
to her authority
In our way of thinking, we assume that if God sees our misery and our
predicament, He will surely rescue us or provide a way of escape or
change our circumstances
That is not always how He works
He saw Hagars misery and then sent her right back into a difficult
situation where she and her son would be cared for better than wandering
around in the desert alone
But He did so with this promise: Not only would Hagar give birth to a son
but that son would have descendants too numerous to count
And the promise also contained this rather bad news: her son and his
descendants would be at enmity with the rest of his brothers in particular
the descendants of Isaac and Jacob
Hagar named the LORD who spoke to her El-Roi (the God Who Sees)

 Interestingly this Egyptian slave-girl the mother of the Arab nations is

the only person in the OT to confer a name on God
Genesis 16:13-14 Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her,
You are a God who sees (El-Roi); for she said, Have I even remained alive
here after seeing Him? Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi;
Whether the angel of the Lord is a special representative of Yahweh or
the pre-incarnate Christ Hagar knows that she has just had an encounter
with Deity and has lived to tell about it
And the angel of the LORD who appeared to Hagar in the desert also told
her to name her son, Ishmael, because God had heard of her misery
Ishmael means God hears
Arab Muslims and the prophet Mohammed himself claim Ishmael as their
ancestor
The present-day conflicts between Jews and Arabs trace their roots all the
way back to Sarah and Hagar and Isaac and Ishmael
And the physical and spiritual descendants of Ishmael continue to
persecute those who are children of Abraham and Isaac through faith in
Jesus the Messiah
Yet God loves Arab Muslims who persecute Christians today just as surely
as he loved Saul of Tarsus when he was persecuting Christians in
Jerusalem and Damascus
And Jesus the Messiah died for the sins of Arab Muslims and Palestinians
and Muslims in Indonesia and Malaysia just as surely as He died for Jews
and for Americans and Europeans and other Gentiles
And there will be multitudes of Arabs worshiping the Lamb in heaven just
as surely as there will be multitudes of Americans
El-Roi is the same yesterday, today and forever
The God Who Saw Hagar and Ishmael in their distress, Sees us today
He sees us when we are feeling alone, rejected or hopeless
There are thousands of Hagars in the world today
Women who have been used, mistreated and discarded by men
And the woman ends up pregnant and the man walks away

 The woman is alone and pregnant feeling unloved, unwanted, rejected,

scared, hopeless
Many women in that predicament today do not flee into the desert they
go to an abortion clinic
In many cases, they seek an abortion NOT because they do not know that
the life within them is a real, human baby NOT because they do not feel
any love or concern for their baby but simply because they feel alone,
unloved, rejected, scared and hopeless and totally inadequate and illequipped to provide all that a baby needs
The Hagars of our world need El-Roi the God who sees the God who
sees the lonely, the unloved, the unwanted, the desperate, the frightened
whom no one else sees
El-Roi sees us when we are vulnerable, mistreated or abused

Hagar was a victim of domestic violence

There are thousands of Hagars in our world today
Some flee from the abuse and some stay in the abusive situation
But almost all feel vulnerable // powerless // hopeless // forgotten

The Hagars and Ishmaels and vulnerable women and children of our world
need El-Roi The God Who Sees the vulnerable and abused and invisible
the God Who Is Present with us even in the darkest places
El-Roi sees all the evil that is done in the darkness
El-Roi sees your pain and all the wounded places of your heart and His
grace and love are sufficient to bring healing of any trauma and freedom
from any bondage
When He sees, sometimes He delivers and sometimes He strengthens
and heals
Some of you have already figured out that this name of God brings up a
significant problem: Why does El-Roi the God Who Sees Me why does
He see me and yet do nothing to rescue me from my misery? Why does
He hear my cry and yet not answer my prayer?

 It is comforting to believe that God sees me that He sees my misery and

my distress that I am never truly alone that His eye is always upon me
and His ear is always attentive to my cry
But it begs this question: How can God watch and then do nothing to
rescue an innocent little girl who is being abused horribly by her father?
What would we think of a group of bystanders who stood by and watched a
woman being assaulted or raped by a man without lifting a finger to help
her?
What do we think of a God who stands by and watches woman after
woman being raped, and child after child being abused -- without lifting
even one finger of His all-powerful hand to help?
A whole series of sermons could be devoted to that question that has no
fully satisfying answer for those who are hurting deeply
But for now just this:
God has made us in His image as free moral creatures and He does not
take away someones free will every time theyre about to do something
sinful or evil or harmful
In a fallen world where people are free to do good or evil some will do
evil and people will get hurt
Sometimes God protects or delivers us from evil and harm and
sometimes He sends us back into a difficult situation as He did with Hagar
and when He does so His Presence and His strength and His grace
are sufficient to sustain us
And when we are hurt sometimes deeply He heals He heals the
broken-hearted and sets captives free
He acts in each situation as the One Who sees the end from the beginning
El-Roi is the same God as Yahweh the Eternal I AM the Alpha and the
Omega the First and the Last
He is present in our past trauma He is present in our current pain and
He is present in our future glory
When He sees us being abused or sinned-against He sees the entire
picture from beginning to end
He sees the pain drawing us closer to Jesus as our Savior and Healer and
Friend
He sees our ministry of extending grace and comfort to other victims of
abuse

 He sees the entire healing process all the way to end when we see Jesus
and become whole and become just like Him

II.

EL SHADDAI MAKES A COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM

Chapter 17 takes place 13 years after chapter 16 and Ishmael is now 13

years old
Sarai is still barren
We have no record of any communication from God to Abram since the
birth of Ishmael
There is every reason to believe that Abram and Sarai assume that
Ishmael son of Hagar the only son of 99-year-old Abram is the one
through whom God will fulfill the promise of innumerable descendants
There is no reason to think that Abram is expecting any more children
and certainly not with 89-year-old Sarai
And then God speaks to Abram:
Genesis 17:1-2 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to
Abram and said to him, I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,
that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you
greatly.
Yahweh here reveals Himself to Abram as El Shaddai God Almighty
El Shaddai signifies Gods power and sovereignty the God who makes
the impossible happen by His majestic power and might
R. Kent Hughes: I am able to fulfill the awesome hopes that I have set
before you of a people and a land. There is no need to let go of the
promise because of your old age. There is no need to succumb to passive
desperation. There is no need to scale down the promise to your puny
thoughts no need to resort to fleshly expedience no need of trying to
fulfill the promise in any second-rate way. Everything all your life, all
your future lies in this: I am God Almighty!
Then God expands the covenant promise and gives Abram a new name:
Genesis 17:3-6 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, Behold, my
covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No

longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I
have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly
fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.
No longer Abram exalted father but now his name shall be Abraham
= father of a multitude - Not just the head of one nation but the father of a multitude of nations
and kings shall come forth from his offspring ultimately fulfilled by David
and then by Jesus the Messiah Himself
And through Jesus the Messiah spiritual descendants by faith from all
nations and tribes and people groups of the earth
Annelle Maurer: One evening, my 5-year-old daughter and I read a Bible story
together. When we finished, I quizzed her about it. "What was Abraham's name
before God changed it?" I asked.
--She looked puzzled, then offered, "Lincoln?"
Whereas the covenant of chapter 15 was unilateral this covenant
contains not only divine promises but also stipulations that Abraham and
his descendants and all others entering this covenant relationship with
God must keep forever
In general terms (vs. 1): Walk before me and be blameless
And then the specific sign of the covenant:
Genesis 17:9-11 And God said to Abraham, As for you, you shall keep my
covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is
my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring
after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be
circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant
between me and you.
Circumcision was a known practice among other peoples at this time but
now it becomes the sign of the covenant with Abraham and his offspring
Circumcision is a permanent and irrevocable sign that cannot be removed
or eradicated more permanent than a wedding ring, for example
Circumcision involves the male as the spiritual head of his family and it
involves the organ of his procreative powers fitting for a covenant
promising innumerable descendants

 And there is no plan B no alternative means of coming into covenant

relationship with God
Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin
shall be cut off from his people
God is God and we are not
We come to God on His terms not ours
That has not changed under the new covenant
Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life no one comes to God the Father
except through Jesus His Son
Furthermore, the command of circumcision applied to servants, foreigners
and Gentiles as well as Abrahams biological descendants
Genesis 17:12-14 Every male throughout your generations, whether born in
your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your
offspring, both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your
money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an
everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the
flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my
covenant.
Not a lot of wiggle room for excuses or exceptions, is there?
An everlasting covenant for all males to become part of Gods People
applying to Jews and Gentiles alike
Can you see now why circumcision was such a controversial issue in the
early church and why some Jewish believers were convinced from
Scripture that Gentile believers in Jesus should be circumcised in addition
to confessing Jesus as Lord and Messiah -- and why this would have been
such a radical declaration?:
Galatians 5:2-6 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ
will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts
circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from
Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.
For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of
righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision
counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

III. GODS PROMISE THAT SARAH WILL GIVE BIRTH TO ISAAC

Remember, up to this point the promise only specifies that Abram will
have a son and many descendants
Nothing has been said yet about Sarais role in the fulfillment of the
promise
Until God speaks to Abraham again:
Genesis 17:15-16 And God said to Abraham, As for Sarai your wife, you shall
not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and
moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become
nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.
Sarai was given a new name and a promise to go with it
Sarah is a variation of Sarai both meaning princess
And this 89-year-old princess was going to bear a son who would have
offspring who would become kings
But note: this promise is given to Abraham, not Sarah
And what was Abrahams response?
Genesis 17:17-18 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to
himself, Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall
Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child? And Abraham said to God, Oh
that Ishmael might live before you!
This seems to be the laughter of incredulity not unbelief for God does
not rebuke or correct Abraham here
The idea of another son triggers concern for his son, Ishmael as Abram
now wonders what will become of him and of the promises God made to
Hagar concerning Ishmael?
Genesis 17:19-21 God said, No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and
you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an
everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. As for Ishmael, I have heard
you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him
greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation.
But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at
this time next year.

 Yes, God would bless Ishmael and make him into a great nation also but
the covenant with Abraham would be established and fulfilled through
Isaac and his descendants not thru Ishmael

IV. IS ANYTHING TOO HARD FOR THE LORD?

Abraham was just getting ready for an afternoon siesta, when he lifted up
his eyes and behold suddenly 3 men were standing in front of him
Or were they men?
Abrahams behavior could be explained by outstanding Middle Eastern
hospitality or perhaps he sensed something supernatural about these
visitors
As the story unfolds, we learn that these men were two angels and the
Lord Himself!
Genesis 18:6-8 And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said,
Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes. And Abraham ran
to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who
prepared it quickly. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had
prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while
they ate.
Now, of course, we need to put the words quick and quickly into cultural
context
This is not quick in the sense of McDonalds drive-thru fast food
This is quick in the sense of preparing a feast as quickly as it is possible
to make a bunch of pita bread from scratch and butcher a calf and prepare
it this is quick in the sense of several hours, no doubt
And then during the meal, the visitors asked Abraham: Where is your
wife?
Perhaps they were wondering why she was not serving them
She was in the tent
And then the LORD spoke to Abraham in the hearing of Sarah
Note: The LORD spoke one of the 3 visitors was the Lord
Genesis 18:10-12 The Lord said, I will surely return to you about this time next
year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son. And Sarah was listening at the tent

door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The
way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself,
saying, After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?
Abraham had heard this promise before from El Shaddai -- now specified
with a timetable
But Sarah had not heard the voice of the Lord before this
Sarah responded much as Abraham had she laughed to herself but
with unbelief, not mere incredulity
Was this the first Sarah had heard that she would bear a son in her old
age?
Had Abraham not told her of the promise that God Almighty had given
him?
Or had she heard the promise from Abraham but persisted in unbelief?
Her silent laugh her unbelieving laugh was heard by the Lord who is
a God who sees inside the heart and hears our every thought
Genesis 18:13-15 The Lord said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh and say,
Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old? Is anything too hard for the
Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and
Sarah shall have a son. But Sarah denied it, saying, I did not laugh, for she
was afraid. He said, No, but you did laugh.
This kind of triangulation goes against our church Communication
Guidelines but I guess we can allow for God to deal with Sarah as He
sees fit
Confronted with her unbelieving laugh and afraid of being reprimanded
by the Lord like any good politician Sarah denies it
Lying to the God who sees and hears and knows everything is rather futile
I didnt laugh Oh, but you did
Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?
Is anything too hard for the Lord?
(Conclusion):
God built up the faith of Abraham and then Sarah over a 25-yearperiod

 First the promise of making Abraham into a great nation with innumerable
descendants
Then the clarification that the promised heir would be his own biological
son
Then the promise of land confirmed by a covenant ceremony
Then the name change and covenant of circumcision
Then after Hagar and the birth of Ishmael the clarification that the
promised heir would be Sarahs biological son
And finally, the Lords promise heard by Sarah next year Sarah shall
have a son
And the Lords statement: Is anything too hard for the Lord?
How about you? Where are you on your faith journey?
Are you facing a situation where you need to hear: Is anything too hard for
the Lord El Shaddai God Almighty?
Andrew Murray: Beware in your prayer, above everything, of limiting God,
not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what he can do.
This is not make a wish genie in the bottle wish for anything you want
and God will do it
The context in this story is that God is the one taking the initiative with
the promises with the covenants with the conditions with the
assignments
This is not even like Hannah crying out to God for a baby
Isaac was Gods idea not Abrahams or Sarahs prayer
They are simply being asked to believe Gods promise however humanly
impossible on the basis of: Is anything too hard for the Lord?
What is God asking you to believe or do that can be done only by His
power that requires you to believe and act on the truth that Nothing
is too hard for the Lord?
What is God asking our church body to believe or do that can be done
only by His power that requires us to believe and act on the truth that
Nothing is too hard for the Lord?
Prayer // Step by Step * Great I Am