Ancient Customs

06
Dec
2021

Was Hagar Exploited And Abused?

Exploited?
Image from www.LumoProject.com, hosted by freebibleimages.org.

In certain Christian circles it is presently fashionable to opine that Hagar was sexually exploited and abused by Abraham and Sarah. Is this true? Was Hagar mistreated when Sarah gave her to Abraham as a concubine? What were the circumstances which gave rise to this situation? 

God promised Abraham a child when He called him out of Ur. Since Sarah and Abraham were a married couple, it was perfectly reasonable for them to conclude that Sarah would be the mother of Abraham’s children. However, after ten years of waiting (Gen 16:3) it seems they began to question that conclusion.

Can we blame them for questioning? After a decade of waiting they still didn’t have the child God promised. Sarah may have thought that her previous conclusion about being the mother of the promised child was in reality only an assumption. After all, God promised Abraham offspring, not Sarah (Gen 12:2, 7). Maybe Sarah decided she would not be the conduit of this blessing to her husband.

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Ancient Customs, Genesis
15
Nov
2021

The Bizarre Story Of Abraham Cutting Animals In Half

In Genesis 15 we find Abram (later renamed Abraham) performing a really strange ritual involving cutting animals in half. This incident was in response to God reiterating His promise that Abram would become the father of offspring as numerous as the stars (Gen 15:5). God had made this promise years earlier, but so far had not made good on it. Abram is beginning to despair and is resigning himself to the possibility that his heir might end up being his servant Eliezer (Gen 15:2).

After being reassured, Abram took God at His word and believed the promise (Gen 15:6). This promise was not only about offspring, but also about a place where Abram’s descendants could call  home. God said that place would be the land where he now dwelt; the land of Canaan. Abram wanted to formalize this promise. He wanted it to be “official.” Therefore, God told Abram:

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Ancient Customs, Covenants, Genesis
23
Aug
2021

Baptism: Where Did It Come From?

There are any number of things God could have commanded to mark our entrance into a new life in Christ. He chose baptism. What is the significance of immersion in water? I would like to suggest that God chose immersion because it was something that the Jews were already doing.

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Ancient Customs, Baptism