Genesis 17
(v.5) God changes Abram's name to Abraham. God inserted the Hebrew letter h which is pronounced like a breath. The Hebrew word for breath is ruach, pronounced "roo-ock" which also means spirit. This is the same word used in Gen 1:2 where the Spirit of God brooded over the waters.
In essence, God inserted His Spirit into Abraham and Sarah...they were His from that point forward. The great news is that once we ask His Spirit into our lives, we are His as well.
(v.12) Why did God instruct Abraham to circumcise a newborn on the eighth day? Well, modern science has discovered that the newborn boy will have the highest levels of vitamin-k and prothrombin which means that on the eighth day of life, the blood will clot the best! Isn't that cool?!? Here is a link that explains it in more detail:
http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2204
(v.19) Don't tell me God doesn't have a sense of humor, and that He doesn't delight in His creation! God has Abraham and Sarah name their son Isaac...which in Hebrew means laughter! Probably a little reminder of their skepticism!
Genesis 18
Abraham encounters three interesting "men" in this chapter...but are they men?
(v.22) The key here is that Abraham stayed with the Lord...the other two "men" were angels, but the third One was not...it was Jesus!
(vv.23-33) Wouldn't you have loved to witness this scene of negotiation? Here is Abraham bartering with the Lord of all creation! One thing I share with my kids, is the incredible patience of our Lord, and the wonderful mercy He is willing to display to us sinners!
Genesis 19
(v.5) This is a tricky chapter, since these men of the town wanted to engage in homosexual activity with these two strangers. I tell my young kids that they wanted to harm them, which in reality, they did.
Homosexuality is a sin...it is a destructive and harmful lifestyle. Not only is it anatomically against the laws of nature, but it is contrary to the Word of God when He told us to be fruitful and to multiply. I'm sure the town had other sins that made it deplorable to the Lord for Him to want to destroy it, but homosexuality was so rampant and tolerated, that it probably was a town where ANYTHING GOES!!! Romans 1 goes into this in further detail.
(v.8) I always have trouble with this verse...I can't imagine offering my daughters in this way that Lot did. Perhaps Lot thought that anything was better than letting God's messengers to be harmed.
(v.22) Lot and his family have been compared to the church by some Bible scholars here...God's wrath upon evil couldn't occur until the righteous have been removed to safety first. First of all, it's hard to say that Lot was righteous after he offered his daughters to the blood-thirsty crowd earlier. But if we think about it, no matter how much we pray and strive to walk with God, we will never be perfect. I think that this typology is actually accurate of the state of believers and the Church before the Tribulation...God will remove His Church before He brings wrath upon the world of evil-doers. We may not be perfect, but our faith in His Son makes us righteous in our Father's eyes!
(v.26) Lot's wife shows us that we are in danger if we try to hold onto things of this world while trying to walk with God. We don't really know the reason she looked back, but she obviously felt some attachment to that place, and her unbelief and disobedience destroyed her.
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