Genesis 18-21
We are back in The World stream in the story of Abraham and Sarah. We start a new translation today – The Message – which is a thought-for-thought translation. Despite bad decisions and major issues, Abraham and Sarah receive the promise that God has given them.
Remember the blessings and promises that God has pronounced upon Abraham. Count them. From Genesis 12 to our reading today how many times has Abraham been blessed in a live manifestation by God Himself?! Good heavens, what would experiences like that do to any of us? So count them – in Abraham’s life and your own. The hymn comes to mind, “Count Your Blessings, [name them one by one]”. If we live like this, there is little time to complain. Correction: there is no time to complain. And in the counting of our blessings we line our lives up with the blessings of Abraham. That being said we come to another mind-boggling visitation from the Lord in –
Genesis 18
chapter 18 when three “visitors” elect to enjoin Abraham. In the Hebrew text, it is clear that Abraham is addressing ‘the Lord’ when he greets him/them saying, “my lord.” Some translations say, “O Lord.” The other two are not spoken to by Abraham, neither do they speak. For what it’s worth, this is not a pre-Vision of the Trinity, yet some argue that this is an appearance of Christ over 2000 years before Bethlehem. Search all you want, read up on this all that it interests you but may I lovingly admonish that the topic isn’t an invitation to ugly arguments with others. These three came to bless Abraham and we should be blessed by this visit as well. In this incident Abraham has tasks to do. Sarah has tasks to do. Then the blessing they have waited decades for is delineated for certain: Abraham and Sarah are assured that they will have a baby in less than a year. Try to empathize with the barren Sarah as she laughs, is likely feeling defeated (at 90!), gets embarrassed, denies her laughter and gets rebuffed by God Himself. It’s quite the tale that has a touch of humor in it. From this skit we go straight into discussing the wretched Sodom/Gomorrah condition and its imminent catastrophe. The LORD has completely run out of patience with Sodom/Gomorrah even though verses 20-21 are in there to allow for our human perspective. Abraham begins to bargain from the angle that it isn’t proper to destroy the righteous along with the wicked. The forlorn hope (wherein God offers the bargain) that 50 righteous souls in Sodom would sway the Almighty, eventually finds Abraham resigned and realizing that there aren’t even 10 good people in this whole region. Yet it was Abraham’s concern for Lot that spurred him to plead that the area be spared. Barring Lot (whose virtue is obviously compromised), the place is completely entrenched in lurid bisexual culture that God would reduce to an ash-heap, i.e. fireworks are coming, people, and the wise need to run.
Genesis 19
19 – The angels arrive at Sodom to extract Lot and family and to decimate the place. The ordeal of Lot’s residence being surrounded by marauding homosexuals merely asserts that the city must be obliterated with its inhabitants. All, not some, not most of, all the males are involved. Lot’s offering of his daughters as a bargain displays his complete lack of heart, soul, and character. It’s a clear contrast to Abraham’s bargaining for this city in the prior chapter. It’s overwith come dawn. Doom approaches. Lot cannot even redeem his extended family as he himself is yet reticent to depart. The mercy of God, in having the angels physcially force Lot’s family to safety, needs to pierce our hearts as we read of His care for Lot’s immediate family (v. 16). Notice Lot will leave Sodom but he doesn’t want to go far. His wife would leave too but very much wants to go back. Thus she ends up going nowhere. Her body that turned to a salt-pillar still testifies west of the Dead Sea… today. For the geologically curious, there are lava tubes surrounding this Sodom region. They are angled just so that when God gave the signal, red-hot-lava showered down on Sodom/Gomorrah, and it came from numerous directions. There was no way to escape for all who stayed too long. And all but Lot’s family did. On an equally unfortunate note, Lot’s daughters also show their short-sightedness as they conjure for their own family planning. This serves not only to teach us to avoid mangled thinking, but to also avoid the results of it. The Ammonites and Moabites became very cultic and sadistic peoples. Israelites were to avoid them in perpetuity. Interestingly enough, Ruth comes from Moab. And she becomes a great grandparent to King David; which merges her into the lineage of our Savior. Memo: while we avoid evil, remember God’s aim is to redeem lives.
Genesis 20
20 – Three lessons from this episode in Abraham’s life: 1) Things don’t happen as we plan. 2) We just might succumb to fear even though we are divinely guided. 3) God intends to bless us despite our weaknesses and shortcomings and can do so. It’s about Him: God’s sovereignty and character are the issue, not us. Abraham and Abimelech interact in a realm that makes Bible students cringe to this day. In these distant centuries B.C. polygamous Kings seized any woman they wanted for a wife. If the surrendering family fussed, fumed, or petitioned, they were killed. Abraham knows this and essentially pawns off his wife preemptively thinking he is saving his own. He’s wrong, this is wrong, and he is wrong about Abimelech here in Genesis 20. [For what it’s worth, a mirror-image occurrence of this event repeats about 90 years later with Abraham’s son; Isaac in Genesis 26.] Be careful about criticizing Patriarchs who are so far removed from our culture. If anyone feels dismissive or disgruntled with Abraham’s decisions in this chapter, be at peace. It’s a flaw of his that is built in. Perhaps we can leave this matter with God who teaches us to revere Abraham without our transgressing into worshipping him. Chapter 20 advises us toward this keen understanding if we will simply let it. What do we make of Abimelech and his interaction with the God of Abraham? It is impressive to say the least. And it is an initial hint to us Believers that God seeks to relate to all souls who will yield to him. The hospitality and gifts Abraham receives from Abimelech as a conciliatory apology comprise quite a load of cargo. The healing of Abimelech’s wife and slave girls is an historical landmark in theology; it is the first healing in the Bible. Are you catching that it happens among people who are not in the Covenant; non-believers? And it happens when Abraham prays for them. In summary, we are to be praying for those who do not know God. We are to be praying for nonbelievers, praying with them, and praying that they be healed and saved. We can also let this chapter remind us that we must not mess with those that God has called, and chosen, and those whom he blesses others through.
Genesis 21
21 – The promised son finally arrives for Abraham and Sarah as Isaac is born. The LORD did what He said He would do. Sarah and Abraham had to be thinking – and with at least mild chagrin – “why did we doubt? Why did we try to “help” God along and involve Hagar? Why Ishmael?” Yes, Abraham was a man of faith, promise, and belief but as was mentioned prior, he was not the Christ; nor a Savior for us. (The Savior would arrive about 2060 years later.) With Isaac’s arrival, Sarah comes to resent Hagar and Ishmael. It is not uncommon for a nesting mother to critically scrutinize life when her child arrives, especially her first. Any hobby/pet/collection/adverse habit that may not be in keeping with what is perceived as best for the atmosphere surrounding this new arrival is usually dealt with in a swift manner. New mothers are often surprised as their definition of love gets redefined. What was once cherished (perhaps for the wrong reasons, albeit subconsciously) can become despised. Sarah wants Hagar and Ishmael gone, now. This distresses them and… Abraham; the father. Things take a dismal turn for the ousted Hagar. Soon she is in utter despair. Yet our gracious God sends help. Though God is present for Ishmael, he marries an Egyptian and his blood line is thereby grafted out and away from the genealogy that would thread through to be the branch that leads to Christ Jesus. The issue at the end of chapter 21 is that Abraham is growing into prominence. Also it’s a hint of the future wherein there is interaction with other peoples, an ethic of respect and honor in the future being the Hebrew nation they would become. God would put them here in the virtual intersection of the Eastern Hemisphere. Never forget, they were to be a testimony -as are we. And Israel’s future is to be a nation of forthright, prominent, and stand-up men.