Genesis 15 starts off with another account of God's promise to Abram of many descendants and Abram points out that he and Sarai are childless and thus his belongings will pass to a slave. In verse 7, the promise or covenant is cemented through a ceremony and sacrifice.
v12-16: God speaks to Abram in a dream, and foretells of a long time that his descendants will be slaves in a foreign land, but ultimately will be delivered and with many possessions while judgment will be visited upon their oppressors, ie the story of Moses.
Chapter 16: As noted in my last post, a running theme of the Bible is the relationships of women and their roles in society as well as God's will and plans. In this case, Sarai decides to help God along with his covenant and has her Egyptian slave-girl Hagar sleep with Abram to bear him a son. However, this does not solve things as the relationship between Hagar and Sarai become tense. The Bible is not specific as to the offense Hagar commits against Sarai but it's not hard to imagine. Hagar has provided to Abram something Sarai has not but Hagar is still a slave to Sarai. Abram tells Sarai that Hagar is her slave and to do what she wishes. Again the Bible is not specific beyond that Sarai treated her harshly and Hagar runs away. There in the desert, the angel of the Lord appears to Hagar, comforts her and tells her to return to Sarai. He makes a similar promise to Hagar that he did to Abram, that through her son Ishmael (for "God Hears") will have many descendants, though it's an odd promise as he says "with his hand against everyone, and everyone's hand against him; and he shall live at odds with all his kin".
An interesting story in several regards. Like the story of Adam, the patriarch listens to his wife over God and with little complaint. He also defers to his wife in the treatment of the slave. Unlike the Eden story, God does not punish them for this. It's a lesson for our times as we often try to seek to impose our will over God's, possibly even justifying to ourselves that we are in truth working God's will. God's timetable is not necessarily the same as ours. And, it does not work well. How often do we make decisions that seem right in the moment, have unforeseen consequences later? What's also striking is that the angel of God appears to a FOREIGN woman, not the woman that is matriarch of the Hebrew people, and makes a similar promise to her as he did to Abram.
Chapter 17: Another version of the covenant between Abram and God. The study Bible I use talks about how the previous version is the Yahwist account, this one is the Priestly account. Two important additions, this is where Abram's name is changed to Abraham and Sarai's name to Sarah and the practice of circumcision is introduced. A interesting aspect, here Abram laughs at the idea that Sarai, an old woman, will give birth to a child. In the next chapter as the promise is again reiterated, Sarah is the one who laughs.
Chapter 18: This is a separate but connected story. Three men stop by Abraham's tent and Abraham meets them and invites them in. Their identities are ambiguous but they make the pronouncement that when they pass that way again, Abraham and Sarah will have had a son and this is where she laughs.
The three men are only passing through, though as it turns out. For the Lord (implying he to be one of the three) are on their way to Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities that are so wicked that the Lord has heard the outcry against them and is investigating the situation and will bring about judgment and destruction.
Abraham then approaches God and challenges him, will he wash away the righteous with the wicked? God accedes if fifty can be found, the city will be spared. Abraham continues to argue, slowly whittling the number down to ten. This illustrates Abraham as being compassionate for his neighbors and kin, but also sets him up in a way as a high priest for the people as he strives to be an intercessory for them with God. It also illustrates the dual nature of God, one who judges but also one who shows compassion. And, in the end, for those of us who struggle and doubt, it also shows us a God who listens to us, and does not punish us for merely questioning or challenging him when the world seems capricious and cruel.
Chapter 19: Sodom and Gamorrah are not spared their fate, alas, but Lot and his family are as they receive the two angels who come in the night (again appearing as men). He receives them as guests into his home as per ancient tradition of hospitality and as Abraham had likewise done. However, when word gets out, the people of Sodom surround his house and demand the two visitors be handed over to them. Jarringly to us in modern day, Lot offers his virginal daughters instead for them to have their way with them. Lot is less concerned with the homosexuality aspect of their intentions as he is with violating the rules of hospitality, that these men were now under his tent. It also says a lot for the status of women in the time.
Of course we know what happens next. The angels strike blind those attempting to violate Lot's hospitality and arrange for him to flee with his wife, two daughters and their prospective sons-in-law. However, he lingers and the angels seize him, his wife and two daughters and tell them to flee to the hills. However, Lot pleads for the sake of Zoar, a small nearby town as they'd never make it to the hills in time. The angels listen and agree with the provision they don't look back. Of course, Lot's wife does and is turned into a pillar of salt.
The story ends with the origins of the Moabite and Ammonite people. Lot fears to enter the city and so lives with his two daughters in a cave. With zero prospects, the daughters arrange to get him drunk and sleep with him in turn, and bear him sons Moab and Benammi. This story thus gives a dual and conflicted nature of the Moabite and Ammonite people with the Israelites. On one hand, they are close kin, directly descended from Lot, kin of Abraham. However, their beginnings are dubious, from incestuous relations. Thus, a shorthand for illustrating both the bonds and conflicts between neighboring groups of people in ancient times.
