City Life Starter

Written by Nate Warren

The Word

15 And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.

20 Now after these things it was told to Abraham, “Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23 (Bethuel fathered Rebekah.) These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24 Moreover, his concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

Genesis 22:15-24

¹³ For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself.

Hebrews 6:13

Reflection

There are a lot of themes in this text that we have already covered. The scriptures use repetition to reinforce these important themes, and also to amplify new and important information that is slightly changed from the repetitive script. Here, I want to focus on this new information.

By myself I have sworn – Yahweh has made all of his promises and covenants based on Himself, for there is no greater or more reliable being to swear by (See Hebrews 6:13).

because you have not withheld your son – The plot thickens. Many years after Yahweh cut a covenant with Abraham and even longer since first calling Abraham away from his family, He reveals that it was because of this moment that Abraham was chosen. Precisely because Abraham was able to believe what Yahweh said, even at the apparent expense of his beloved son, he was singled out as the carrier of Yahweh’s redemption of the world. In the opening chapters of the book of Job, Yahweh boasts of Job’s faithfulness to the point of allowing Job to be tested in order to validate these boasts. Isaac’s sacrifice serves the same narrative pattern, proving and demonstrating Abraham’s faithfulness. Yahweh already knew, but the passed test serves as a witness to everyone else, even Abraham himself. 

Your only son – Isaac is definitely not Abraham’s only biological son. What about Ishmael? Ultimately, this points to the reality that Ishmael is disinherited from the promise as Abraham’s heir, but the text is intent on letting this sting in the eyes of the reader. It’s clear here that Ishmael, in the eyes of his father, is to be forgotten. Abraham must be willing to sacrifice both of his sons. Right after this speech, though, Beersheba is mentioned twice in a manner that does not seem to propel the prevailing narrative. This is the well where God miraculously rescued Ishmael, reminding us that God has not forgotten him.

Your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies – In an ancient fortified city, the gate was the only reliable defensive barrier, as well as the location of the most important politics and business of the city. The one who possesses the gate has implied control of the entire city and its occupants. However, the promise is not that they will control the occupants or the city, only the gate. Only the willful restraint of someone who controls the gate will not also forcefully take control of what happens behind it. 

Uz and Buz – In the book of Job, we learn that he is a descendant of Uz, Abraham’s nephew. Job’s most humble friend, Elihu, is a descendant of Buz and apparently related as well to a Hebrew.

Bethuel fathered Rebekah – The apparent footnote about Rebekah is the main point of this section. The news Abraham receives about his family is a providential point which leads to Isaac’s marriage to a faithful partner, protecting the family from the idolatry of a possible Canaanite spouse.

Application

By now, I’m sure you’ve noticed that so far, I have been bending over backwards to fail mentioning the amazing ways some of these pieces point again to Abraham’s chosen seed. That seed, Jesus, is the only Son of God, sacrificed to fulfill all of the covenants with Israel and humanity. By His sacrifice and resurrection, Jesus now has complete authority over every power – He possesses the gates of all of his enemies. Through our faith in Jesus, we now are Abraham’s offspring (Galations: 3:29), so this promise is passed to us! The gates of hell shall not prevail against the rock of Jesus’ Church! (Matthew 16:18)

Possessing the enemy gate, for Jesus, does not necessarily mean burning the city down. Rather, He calls from His position of power towards the occupants to repent; to learn to trust Him. It is not for us to take control of enemy territory by coercive force, but we are to make Jesus’ appeal to the world in His way, through self-sacrificing love. Empires use manipulation and coercion, not Jesus. 

Prayer

Father

May Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in the heavens. May Your loving appeal come through us to a desperate world.

Amen