ABRAHAM, THE FRIEND OF GOD
WE NEED TO BE WEANED
Message Preached 5/2/98
Genesis 21:1 And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD
did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
Genesis 21:2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set
time of which God had spoken to him.
1. at the set time
Matthew Henry says,
“Few under the Old Testament were brought into the world with such
expectations as Isaac. He was in this a type of Christ, that Seed which the holy God so
long promised, and holy men so long expected. He was born according to the promise, at the
set time of which God had spoken.”1
When studying the ways of God we find that He
moves in three dimensions concerning promises. First there is what I call the
“conjunction promise.” The conjunction promise is the most used. It always comes
with a conjunction such as “if” or “and” or “but.” It simply
is a promise that the Lord will do something “if” we do something. For example,
much of the Mosaic covenant was conjunctional promises. God would bless them in every way
“if....”
Deuteronomy 28:1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt
hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his
commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high
above all nations of the earth:
Deuteronomy 28:2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou
shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. (emphasis added)
We find this also in the New Covenant. Basic
salvation is conjunctional.
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord
Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved. (emphasis added)
The Lord Jesus used “if” many times.
John 8:51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my
saying, he shall never see death.
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my
words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with
him.
The second type of promise I call the
“correct time” promise. This is when the Lord makes a promise, but will do it
when He decides the time is correct. Many times these are included within the
conjunctional. For example, the Lord promised the nation of Israel that He would bring
them out of Egypt to take them into a land of milk and honey. He did take them in, but He
took them in when He decided the time was correct. These promises come when we continue
walking with the Lord. Many prophetic promises are of this nature. I have many unfulfilled
prophetic promises over my life. They are continually being fulfilled. It seems every year
another promise comes to pass. There is no “if” or “but” or
conjunction attached to them. They happen at the “correct time.” All I need to
do is continue walking with the Lord.
The third type of promise is the “set
time” promise. When this promise is given nothing can stop it. The Lord told Noah
that man had 120 years. 120 years later the flood came. It did not matter if Noah prayed
or not. The flood came and it came at the set time--120 years later. Daniel was told there
was 70 weeks determined for his people and for the coming of the Messiah. It did not
matter if anyone prayed or believed. The Messiah came at the set time--70 weeks later.
Following are some “set time”
promises.
Exodus 9:5 And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, To morrow
the LORD shall do this thing in the land.
Job 7:1 Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth....
Habakkuk 2:3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall
speak, and not lie....
Genesis 17:21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto
thee at this set time in the next year.
Genesis 21:2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set
time of which God had spoken to him. (emphasis added)
People can become frustrated because they do
not understand the ways of God’s promises. First ask, “Is my promise
conjunctional? Do I need to do something, or stop doing something, first?” Next never
give up. Continue walking with the Lord. Most will fall in the wilderness, but Joshua and
Caleb continued and went in to the promise. At the “correct time” the promise
will fulfill. Lastly if it is a “set time” it will happen no matter what you do.
A specific day and date is set. You cannot hurry it or lengthen it. It will come at the
set time.
Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90.
Their journey and walk with the Lord had begun no less than 25 years prior. The blessings,
protection, and hand of God had always been with them. The presence of God had visited on
many occasions. Yet it was 25 years later that the desire of Abraham’s heart was
given him. Isaac, the name sake, the lineage, the carrier of the seed was born.
Also it was 25 years before Sarah experienced
the high point of her life. She had laughed at the possibilities of her and Abraham having
a child just one year prior. Yet, here he was. Nothing is too difficult for the Lord. The
Lord had promised an appointed time.
Genesis 18:14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed
I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
Genesis 21:3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto
him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
Genesis 21:4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had
commanded him.
Wycliffe says,
“The father had the joy of naming the lad, and then the privilege of
circumcising him when he was eight days old.”2
2. Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old
This baby was named Isaac. Isaac means
“laughter”. We would not say Isaac. We would say Laughter. Both Abraham and
Sarah laughed. It was when Abraham laughed that the Lord told Abraham to name the child
Laughter (Gen 17:17-19). Abraham did as he was instructed.
Abraham was also quick to administer the
circumcision the eighth day. Isaac became the first child in the lineage of Christ to
receive the mark of circumcision the eighth day. Circumcision was the seal of the
covenant. Isaac was marked with the covenant before he had an opportunity to make the
decision for himself. That truth is interesting.
Circumcision is a type of water baptism (Col
2:11-12). We could enter into all sorts of debates and discussion about children being
baptized before some age of accountability. Some people have problems with children
receiving communion at the Lord’s table before some age of accountability. Yet
neither were optional in their type form. The child was circumcised as an infant. No one
asked the child if he wanted to be circumcised. The child was not asked if he or she
wanted to eat the Passover meal. They were told to sit down and eat as the parent told
them of the Passover meaning.
No child in the Old Testament had to come to
the age of accountability before circumcision. In fact, if they waited until the age of
accountability the parents were in trouble with the Lord. They had broken His commandment
of the eighth day circumcision. After circumcision the individual must develop a personal
relationship with the Lord. This was much easier when the parents did their part. The Lord
Himself gave specific instructions to the parents to bring the child into covenant marking
at the age of eight days--not at the age of accountability. It was not optional. We must
wonder how some children today would be had they been baptized at eight days. How would
some of them be had they had communion all their lives. My son was marked by the waters of
baptism as an infant. He was older than eight days, but still an infant. Today he preaches
the gospel. He has always been different and always loved the Lord and things of God.
Abraham circumcised Isaac the eighth day.
Genesis 21:5 And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac
was born unto him.
Genesis 21:6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will
laugh with me.
Genesis 21:7 And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have
given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.
Well past the age when both Sarah and Abraham
should bear children they did. The time of life had been restored to Abraham. Sarah had
conceived and gave birth to a son. This was the desire of her heart. The lesson we learn
is that the promises of God will come at “the set time.” They do not come at
“our time.” There is a set time.
3. Who would have said.... that Sarah should have given children suck?
Not only had Sarah gave birth to Isaac at an
old age. She was also physically able to give the child suck. The Lord had given this aged
woman strength to bear and strength to nurse. The Lord does not only give us the promise.
He also must give us strength to birth the promise. Then He must give us strength and
ability to nurse the promise. Before the promise can bless us we must give suck to the
promise. Too often preachers expect to have a church that blesses before they understand
that they must first birth and nourish the people that make the church. Then ten, fifteen,
twenty years later the church is capable of blessing those that gave it birth. Is this not
true in the natural? A child of ten can begin helping and blessing the parents. First the
natural and then the spiritual (1Co 15:46).
4. God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.
Sarah said “God hath made me to
laugh....” Once Sarah laughed at herself and Abraham (Gen 18:11-13). Here she laughed
for joy! “Who would have said....”. Sarah shouted. In our vernacular,
“Who would have thought it!” Laughter (Isaac) came from her womb. Laughter came
into her life. Laughter came into Abraham's life, and into the neighbor’s lives.
People were happy for Sarah.
It is reminiscent of Mary the mother of Jesus.
At Elizabeth’s house Mary said,
Luke 1:46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
Luke 1:47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
Luke 1:48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from
henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
It is not only that Sarah gave birth to a son.
It was not only that Mary carried Jesus, though both of these are wonderful events for the
sake of humanity. Their joy came in the truth that the Lord God almighty had selected them
and loved them. When we receive the long awaited promises we are excited that we have the
promise. Yet a greater joy exists knowing that we are called and chosen by the creator of
the universe to do something special for Him. The wonderful aspect is that the blessing
and promise go hand-in-hand with the plan of God and we are selected to participate in
that plan.
Sarah said, “....all that hear will
laugh with me.” All of Sarah’s neighbors and friends would rejoice with
Sarah. It is wonderful to have friends at times of great joy and blessings. We should all
be able to remember a time when we were excited and needed to share the event with a
friend. Mary shared her joyful event with Elizabeth and Elizabeth got happy with Mary. So
much so that she was filled with the Holy Ghost (Luk 1:41). Elizabeth’s neighbors
rejoiced with Elizabeth and Zacharias at the birth of John. We need friends to laugh with
us at unforgettable moments.
Genesis 21:8 And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham
made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
5. the child grew, and was weaned
The child grew. We see this in all the seed of
God. Jesus grew (Luk 1:80; 2:40). The seed of God is also wean. We learn truths for the
spiritual from the natural (1Co 15:46). The natural process of life is birth, growth,
weaning, maturity. There is a birthing into the spiritual. We are born again. First we
must be on suck. Not long after that we should wean. The natural time is around one year.
After the weaning the baby begins to eat solid food which then causes accelerated growth.
This is dealt with from a spiritual perspective in the book of Hebrews. Linking these
thoughts may make the following Hebrews passage clearer than ever before.
Hebrews 5:11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be
uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
Hebrews 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach
you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have
need of milk, and not of strong meat. (emphasis added)
The writer of Hebrews says he has some
“meaty” things to say to these Hebrew believers, but they are dull of hearing.
They are still infants and cannot yet understand what is being said. They would simply
look and “goooo.” They couldn’t understand what he would be saying. This
does happen to preachers. Preachers often attempt to get a little deeper in a teaching.
Some people look, smile, nod (gooo), but don’t have a clue to what is meant. The
writer of Hebrews likens this to a person who should be grown enough to eat hard food but
actually remains on the breast.
Hebrews 5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of
righteousness: for he is a babe.
Hebrews 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who
by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto
perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith
toward God,
The Lord expects us to grow. He wants us to be
loved and nurtured and nursed, but a time comes when we must wean. The word
“perfection” in Hebrews 6:1 is teleiotes (tel-i-o-tace', Strong’s
#5051 ). It is associated with the Greek word teleios (tel'-i-os, Strong’s #5046).
Which means “full grown, adult, of full age, mature.
5046 teleios {tel'-i-os}
from 5056
brought to its end, finished
of men; full grown, adult, of full age, mature
The thought is to mature in the word of
righteousness. Wean from always needing correction by the word to a place where we can
instruct others by the word.
Genesis 21:8 And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great
feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
6. great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned
Abraham made a great feast. This feast was not
made on the day that Isaac was born. Nor was it made on the day that Isaac was
circumcised. The father made the “great feast” on the day that Isaac was weaned.
There was joy on the day Isaac was born. There was rejoicing on the day Isaac was
circumcised. But a great feast was given on the day that Isaac was weaned!
When we come to the Lord as a new born there is
rejoicing and laughter. There is great rejoicing when we are baptized. But when we wean
and mature and become able to eat and digest the meat of the Word of God there is a party!
7. What can we learn from this lesson that we can apply to our lives?
A. Our lives have promises from God. Some are conjunctional. They have an “if”
or a “but” connected to them. Those promises are fulfilled when we respond.
Another type of promise is the “correct time” or convenient time promise. The
Lord will do that at the correct time or at His convenience. There is also the “set
time” promises. These have a day and date when they will automatically happen.
Understanding this will help us understand our unfulfilled promises from God.
B. Where does the scripture instruct us to wait until some age of accountability before
having our children baptized or partake of communion? It does not that I am aware. The
types of baptism and communion that we are given, i.e. circumcision and Passover, were
experienced at infancy. By waiting for some age of accountability we are allowing the
devil years of free passage to mark our children with his mark.
C. The Lord gave Sarah the strength to birth and the strength to nurse the promise. We
want the promises of God, but we must birth them. Then we must nurse them.
D. The promises of God come as blessings to us. The truth of the promise is not the
blessing to us. Actually it fulfills the plan and purpose of God. We are blessed showing
that God has chosen us to do something special for Him and for the kingdom.
E. It is wonderful to have friends at times of great joy that share that joy with us. All
that heard Sarah laughed and celebrated with her.
F. A time comes when the believer should wean from the base things and move to deeper
things. After a year the believer should begin to digest “meaty” truths.
1 Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary, Bible Research Systems
2 Wycliffe Commentary, Bible Research Systems
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