Genesis 18:1
Joy’s Notes:
Gen 18
Who are you God?
What are you like?
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Gen. 18:1 “The LORD (YHWH- I AM) appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove of Mamre.”
1. LORD = “YHWH”
(Moses wrote Genesis— since God you’d Him His name (YHWH) Moses called God YHWY in Genesis! “I-AM”
2. “Appeared” A theophany (thee AH' fuh nee) is a physical appearance of God (https://www.learnreligions.com/god-the-father-701152) to a human being.
⁃ we now have the HOLY SPIRIT DWELLING in us! (Emmanuel- “God WITH me!!!”) (ROMANS- “God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit!”)
3. Oak Tree near Mamre
STORY- sat next to women who lived down the street from B45 (shared story how this property once was used for evil)
Placed CROSS on a B45 OAK TREE— declaring this is Gods territory NOW
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OAK TREE:
1. Gen 13 -Abram built an altar at the oak tree of Mamre JUST after being in Egypt. (Disobedient season)
2. Gen 23- abram purchased the field to bury Sarah under the oak trees of Mamre
3. Gen 25- Isaac & Ishmael, Buried Abraham under the oak trees of Mamre
4. Gen 35- Isaac buried under the oak trees of Mamre
OAKTREES SYMBOLIZED:
1. Gods Rest
2. Gods Retreat
3. Gods Rescue
4. Gods protection
5. Gods provision
6. Gods presence
7. Gods people
Paul tells us in NT:
👇
• Rom 4:17 “ Abraham BELIEVED in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing”
• Rom 4:9 “ Abraham is counted as RIGHTEOUS by God, because of his faith!”
Righteousness= is “having a right view of God & myself!”— AND believing it!
~ Brad Tate
Gen 15:6
Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as RIGHTEOUS because of his faith.
The TREE that God repeatedly brought Abraham back to,
was a SYMBOL of Abraham’s righteousness
👉(because of his mustered seed of faith!)
Abraham woke up to VISUAL of Oak tree in Mamre!
👉(A CLEAR/ACCURATE/ TRUE depiction of how He sees God & how God sees him!!
🌳Psalm 1:3 ….they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. They are like TREES planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.”
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MAMRE
⁃ AFTER Abram went to Egypt to avoid Gods RIGHT path (which also led to a FAMINE) (ch 12)…..
God sent him to pitch his teNT under an OAK TREE in Mamre (Gen 13) — to remind Abra-H-am :
The RIGHT path often leads to darkest valleys
Psalm 23:3&4
“He guides me along the (RIGHT) paths of RIGHTEOUSNESS for his name sake,
even though I walk through the darkest valley…”
⁃ Jesus was led into the wilderness by God after being baptized!!!
⁃ Jesus had to first go through the wilderness in order to be on the path of righteousness
⁃ Disciples, prophets, ancestors ….
⁃ “👉Count it all joy when you meet trials!” (James)
“MAMRE” def:
Rebellious, bitter; set with trees.
• in a world of rebellion & bitterness— God sets us up as an OAK TREE in a MAMRE WORLD!
• the MAMRE atmosphere you’re in may be filled with:
⁃ trouble
⁃ Heartache
⁃ Rejection
⁃ Confusion
⁃ Disappointment
⁃ Grief /loss
⁃ Darkness
BUT— a RIGHTEOUS person sees themselves RIGHT how God sees them— like an OAK TREE
Jer 17:7-7
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him (& not the MAMRE world.) They will be like a TREE planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has
no worries in a year of drought and NEVER fails to bear fruit.”
(Even IN the Mamre)
James 5:16
“The earnest prayer of a RIGHTEOUS person has great power and produces wonderful results.”
👇
The GREEK for power is = a FORCE.
James= was known as “camel knees”
OUR PRAYERS when we see ourselves & God RIGHTLY🌳 have force & effect!
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2Tim 4:8
“Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness...”
🌳🌳🌳
INTERESTING:
The leaves/branches of tree is called the CROWN.
DEEP ROOTS of faith= produce a CROWN of righteousness.
• Isaiah 61:3
“ you’ll be like great Oaks, that the Lord has planted for his own glory.”
—>YOU are an OAK!
• Oak trees have over 600 species. -God chose an oak tree to represent the diversity of his people, no matter the age, color, gender, social, and economic status— no one is excluded!
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TAPROOTS
• Oak trees have TAPROOTS
• Which make them STRONG!
⁃ tap roots are the deepest of roots
Eph 4:16-17 “ I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources, he will empower you with the inner strength, through his spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your heart as you trust in him. Your roots will go down in the gods love and
keep you STRONG!
⁃ taproot serve as an anchor (wrap around a ROCK)
⁃ Heb 6:19–“ we have this hope, as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure- leading us behind the curtain!”
⁃ And when the root encounters an obstacle, they grow and fork around it, encompassing the rock in a tight grasp, actually helping to ANCHOR the oak tree, even deeper in the soil.
👇
⁃ Gen 50:20 “ you intended to hurt me, but God intended it for a good.”
👇
the very ROCK the enemy tried using to destroy you, is the very thing God uses to give you His inner strength!
⁃ Taproots store water for lean times
⁃ NO LONGER FEAR FAMINE!!
👇
No matter the DROUGHTS (or FAMINES- ch.12 ) in your life, you’ll be like a: “Tree planted by streams of water, which yields it’s fruits are in season, and whose leaves never with her, and whatever you do, will prosper.” (Psalm 1:3)
• Taproots can be twice as long as the height of an oak tree!
• ROOT BALLS so big we had rent special tractor to get root ball out!!!)
• What’s happening in the dark that others can’t see, is where true transformation is taking place!
👇
Therefore— Be patient with yourself & others!
👇
• REMEMBER: “seeds first grow roots, before they grow shoots!
A RADICAL CHRISTIAN
👇
Radical = latin word Meaning ROOT
• “Radical” is NOT: BEHAVIOR.
• “Radical” IS being : ROOTED.
Rooted is the INVISIBLE part OF tree we don’t see
A true “radical” Christian is one that is ROOTED (the invisible part that no one sees—
👇
Matt 6:6 “But when you pray:
1. go away by yourself,
2. shut the door behind you,
3. pray to your Father in private.
4. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
There’s NO FRUIT if there’s no ROOT!!!
👇
Gal 5:22 “ but the FRUIT (singular) of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
👇
It’s been said: “love isn’t a feeling- but a CHOICE.”
👇
But LOVE (agape) is a FRUIT!
👇
Can a FRUIT choose to grow from a DEAD-TREE?
👉 we don’t CHOOSE agape love—
INSTEAD— we CHOOSE to ABIDE in the vine…
which then naturally produces FRUIT of LOVE!
John 15:5
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever ABIDE in me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
⁃ The “choosing” is to ABIDE.
(The invisible)
👇
“work on yourself quietly. You never hear a tree grow, it just grows without telling anybody.” 🌳
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FIRE
🌳🔥OAK TREES DONT BURN easily : (root ball story at B45)
👇
⁃ “Oaks have very thick bark that’s resistant to heat and safeguards the vital cell layer that girdles a tree right under the bark.”
⁃ “Evidence suggests that FIRE SCARS help protect the trees from future invasive fungus.”
🔥 your former FIRE SCARS are Gods protection from Satan’s invasive fungus’s!
DANGERS OF TREE FUNGUS:
“The funguses (Satan’s crafty tactics of distraction, temptation, lies, shame, decoys, regrets, should-of’s mirages, etc) can break down a tree's structural integrity leading IT to literally fall apart. A fungus may also attack the leaves (healing) hurting a tree's ability to make food through photosynthesis. In the long run, a sick tree can become dangerous when its strength is broken down by a fungus.”
👉FIRE SCARS help protect the trees from future invasive fungus.”
Isaiah 48:10
“I have REFINED you, but not as silver;
I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
• POLISHED ARROW (Isiah) put in fire to STRAIGHTEN stick!!!
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🔥The FIRE:
⁃ even the harshest of fire in our life— we won’t BURN (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendigo)
👇
⁃ “Occasionally an oak tree is burned completely to the ground, but with the extensive root system still intact = The next year multiple shoots WILL emerge!”
🔥Daniel 3:16-18:
👉 “We do NOT DEFEND OURSELVES before you in this matter.
(A person who KNOWS they’re RIGHTEOUSNESS IN GOD, won’t need to defend themselves—God is my defender!)
“If we’re thrown into the blazing furnace , the God we serve IS ABLE to deliver us from it & He WILL deliver us from your hand…..
BUT EVEN IF HE DOESNT…. We want you to know— we WONT serve your god!”
(They knew it was impossible to burn their “INVISIBLE ROOT SYSTEM” 🙌)
👉but EVEN-IF He doesn’t… FAITH language
👉 WHAT-IF He doesn’t… fear language
FAITH=RIGHTEOUSNES
(Rom 1:17 “This Good News tells us how God makes us righteous in his sight— This is accomplished from start to finish by FAITH!”)
• The 3 were bound with ropes (BY STRONGEST MEN) & thrown into fire-7x hotter
• the only ELEMENT BURNED were their “ROPES!”
Ropes around trees strangle & kill the TREE!
🪢Prov 5:22
“An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ROPES that entangle, catch and hold him. (B45 trees)
👉Sometimes the fire God allows us to walk through— is to unbind us from the ropes that want to strangle us!
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ACORNS
• acorns are the fruits of an oak tree
🌳sometimes our fruits don’t look as pretty as “her” fruits
🌳Never underestimate the power of a TINY acorn fruit!
• Acorn “fruits” take 3-10 years to produce. Some take as long as 30-40 years!
• Acorn fruits don’t look like much— but are not to be under estimated.
• Acorns PRODUCE LIFE-(MORE OAK TREES)🙌
STATS of an acorn:
• One large oak tree, made from a SINGLE a
corn can supply a day supply of oxygen for four people.