Chapter 9: The Promise of a Son
Q1 - The Apostle Paul provides a blueprint for Christian living in Romans 12:9–21. Read this passage and list the many instructions he gave us. Are there some that you particularly need to work on? How can you incorporate these principles into your daily living?
A1 - Right before this passage, the Apostle Paul discusses how to use the gifts that God has given us. Then he proceeds to provide us with a primer for how to live our lives as Christians. Here is the passage in Romans 12 (NIV):
(9) Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. (10) Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. (11) Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. (12) Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. (13) Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
(14) Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. (15) Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. (16) Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
(17) Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. (18) If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (19) Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. (20) On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”(21) Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Note that in verse 20, Paul quotes from Proverbs 25:21–22. Many of us can work on almost everything Paul lists in this extensive list of instructions. Answers will vary as to what you personally need to work on and how you can incorporate these principles into your own daily living.
Q2 - Given that these three strangers were spiritual beings and did not need to eat, why would they tell Abraham to go ahead and prepare food and then eat in his presence? (In Judges 13:15–16 the angel of the Lord refused to eat food, yet Jesus after His resurrection ate in the presence of his disciples in Luke 24:40–43.)
A2 - These three strangers were evidently God and two of His angels. As beings of a much higher order, none of them needed anything from humans or from the earthly realm. The physical dwelling places that God allowed His people to build, first in the temporary form of the tabernacle while they were in the wilderness and then in the more permanent form of the temple, were not something God Himself needed. The prophet Isaiah would later explain this concept when he quoted God as saying:
“Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.
Could you build me a temple as good as that?
Could you build me such a resting place?
My hands have made both heaven and earth;
they and everything in them are mine.” (Isaiah 66:1–2, NLT)
In his famous speech to the Athenians meeting on Mars Hill (or the Areopagus), the Apostle Paul repeated this truth: “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else” (Acts 17:24–25, NIV).
Rather, God allowed humans the privilege of drawing closer to His presence while at the tabernacle and temple. And, just as God doesn’t need an earthly dwelling place, neither do He or His angels need earthly food. Yet, in this instance with Abraham and Sarah, He allowed them the privilege of serving Him. In turn, Abraham and Sarah left for all of us who would someday hear their story an example of showing true hospitality. And, as is often the case, the ones who try to help others are themselves greatly blessed in the process.
The passage in Judges 13 concerns the announcement of the birth of Samson. An Angel of the Lord had appeared to Manoah’s barren wife and told her she would have a son. When Manoah asked the Angel to stay for awhile so they could prepare a young goat to feed him, the Angel replied: “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord” (Judges 13:16, NIV). So in this instance, an Angel refused to eat human food. (As an aside, in verse 20 while Manoah and his wife were making their offering to the Lord, the Angel ascended up toward heaven in the flame of their fire.)
Jesus, after his resurrection, actually asked for food and ate it. When He appeared to His disciples in Luke 24, they were startled and frightened. He then tried to convince them it was Him for real and in the flesh and showed them His hands and feet. Luke records these happenings this way: “And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, ‘Do you have anything here to eat?’ They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence” (Luke 24:41–43, NIV). Perhaps Jesus ate because He was back in His physical body. Or perhaps it’s optional for spiritual beings to eat human food or not.
Another point to consider is that perhaps the meal Abraham and Sarah prepared served as a communion between them and God. Often the act of sharing food helps establish the bond of friendship, and Abraham would come to be known as the friend of God. Jesus would later establish the Christian communion as a means for His followers to draw closer to Him and remember His life and sacrifice.
Q3 - Who are some of the other people in the Bible who were told they would have a child? (See Judges 13:2–25; 2 Kings 4:8–37; Luke 1:8–25; Luke 1:26–38.)
A3 - You may know of others. The reference in Judges 13 concerns the birth of Samson to his barren mother, as mentioned in the preceding question. Another interesting aside in this account is that Manoah, Samson’s father, asked the angel his name, to which he replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding” (Judges 13:18, NIV). The NLT states it this way, “It is too wonderful for you to understand.” After their encounter with the angel, Manoah and his wife fell on their faces in fear and reverence. Then Manoah exclaimed they were doomed to die because they had seen God (actually the angel of the Lord), but his wife reasoned that God wouldn’t kill them if He had accepted their offering and also told them they would have a child.
In 2 Kings 4:8–37, the prophet Elisha promised the Shunammite woman that she would have a son. She and her husband showed great hospitality toward Elisha whenever he passed through, and she had no son (we are not told if she had daughters or not). Indeed, she did have a son as Elisha promised, but when he had grown into childhood, he became ill and died. The Shunammite woman went and found Elisha at the mountain of God, whereupon Elisha came back to her house and quite dramatically brought her son back to life.
Like Abraham and Sarah, Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were elderly and childless. Luke 1:8–25 is the account of Zechariah being told by the angel of the Lord of the upcoming birth of their son, who would come to be known as John the Baptist. Because Zechariah questioned how this could happen in their old age, he was made unable to speak until after the birth of his son.
Then of course, Luke 1:26–38 tells of the angel appearing to Mary and telling her she would miraculously have a son. In these examples given here, Mary is the only woman who was a young person, and she is the only one who was a virgin. She is also the only one who would bear the Son of God. Afterwards, she would go on to have other children by her husband, Joseph. In all these cases, God made His power known through these births that would not have occurred without Divine intervention.