Day 18- Genesis 23+24

Sarah dies at the age of 120.  Abraham asks for a burial place for his wife, and the response is quite remarkable. 

"Sir, listen to us, you are a mighty prince among us.  bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead." vs. 5,6

Why are they so willing to have Abraham take their burial grounds that they have for their own families? My guess would be that they had witnessed Abraham's success and the fact that God was with him, so they desired to be on his good side.  In those days, quite similar to nowadays, people wanted to be buried in the land of their fathers, with their families. Abraham was acting in faith- declaring this to be the land of his descendants. 

After Sarah's death, Abraham is starting to feel his age and calls on his chief servant.  He asks the guy to stick his hand under his thigh, close to his- you-know-what, and has him swear that he will bring back a wife for Isaac from Abraham's own family.  Abraham does not want Isaac to return to the land where Abraham's family was because God had led them out of Mesopotamia into the land that had been promised to Abraham's descendants. 

Because Abraham did not want Isaac to return, the woman had to be willing to go without even seeing her future husband.  Through this, not only is Abraham ensuring that his son would remain where God had brought them, but he was also ensuring that Isaac would have a God-fearing, faith-filled woman.  She would trust God with her life enough to head into a foreign land to marry a man she had never met. 

I love how the servant prays for such a concrete, literal sign.  If a woman comes out and offers him something to drink, and then offers water for his camels- he knows that it is a sign from God that this is the woman that God has chosen.

Rebekah comes out and offers water to the servant and to pull up water for his camels.  When he discovers that she is Abraham's brother's granddaughter, he is ecstatic! 

Her father and grandfather hear the entire story relayed through the servant, and at the end, 

"This is from the LORD, we can say nothing to you one way or the other.  Here is Rebekah.." 

Vs. 50,51

Her brother and mother don't seem too keen on letting her go so quickly, so they ask for more time with her.  The servant is pressed for time, because he wants to return to Abraham with Rebekah before Abraham's death. 

So they call for Rebekah, and let her decide.  

"I will go."

No questions, no compromises, just, "I will go." I really respect Rebekah for her bravery and active faith. What a step! Going with a strange man to travel to a foreign and pagan land to marry a stranger, trusting that God was taking care of her and providing for her.  

Before she leaves, Rebekah`s family blesses her saying,

"Our sister, may you increase to thousands upon thousands.

May your offspring possess the gates of their enemies." vs 60

Without realizing it, they blessed her in accordance to what God would be fulfilling through her in God's promises to Abraham. (22:17)

Rebekah had a strong faith in God, and was willing to act in her faith and go to the land where she had been called to go.  It was so clear through the signs that God had given through the servant.  She is an example to me of the faithful life I should live.  

May we be challenged through Rebekah's life to be willing, faithful followers when God calls us to go. 

Day 17- Genesis 22

Testing, testing, 1..2..3...

When I was in school, tests sent me into panic/stress/freak out mode.  I would often feel sick to my stomach at the thought of a test.   What I dreaded was discovering whether I passed or not. (I must admit that lower than a 70 in my mind was a fail.)  I also dreaded the "blank-out."
Everyone's had at least one experience with the "blank-out" You know you know it, but there is the question- right in front of you and nothing is coming to mind.
So, the thought that God would test us does not bring me much comfort.
Here in chapter 22 of Genesis, that is what God does to Abraham.
  "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love and go to the region of Moriah.  Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." vs 2

Just as we saw in chapter 21 with Ishmael and Hagar, Abraham immediately obeyed God's command, despite the sadness it brought him.  He packs up his son, and heads off towards the mountains with a heavy, heavy heart.

It is in those moments, the journey towards the challenge where I begin to question God.
I have been learning a lot about active faith in the past few months.  It is easy to believe in God, but to trust and obey him? Easier said than done.
This upcoming fall, I will be attending Bible school.  After calculating costs.. I am starting to feel the stress.  However, when this journey first began, I felt God pushing me towards this and I trust that he will provide.  I am also slightly confused, because I am leaving a place where I felt God placed me.  It was a wonderful, challenging time full of love, growth and God's grace. Now, I feel like I am being led away from a place which brings me peace, happiness and I felt like I was serving God's kingdom.
However, I feel a little like what I imagine Abraham might have been feeling. God promised him a son, blessed him with a beautiful son- and then suddenly He asks Abraham to give up his son.  What is God doing?
Well He's testing Abraham's faith.

  "faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." James 2: 17b

You know what the great thing about this story is? God provides :) Today, this chapter is God's word of encouragement to me.  God is giving me a chance to put my faith into action, trust him... He will not lead me up a mountain without providing. He can't provide if I don't begin the trek upwards, and allow myself to have a need. 

Abraham had bound Isaac on the altar and had gotten out his knife to kill his son, but an angel of the LORD stopped him.  At that moment, he looks and he sees a ram to be sacrificed. 

He then names the place "The LORD will provide." 

That's a good reminder for me today. 

The Lord will provide.

AMEN.

Day 16- Genesis 21

God is faithful to his promises.
A year after God appeared to Abram and changed his and Sarai's names to Abraham and Sarah, Sarah becomes pregnant. Abraham is 100 and Sarah is 90.

At this point, Ishmael, the boy born to Sarah's slave girl when Sarah and Abraham tried to take the matter into their own hands, is 14 years old.   Since he is the firstborn, he seems like a threat beside Sarah's vulnerable newborn baby.  So Sarah demands that Abraham sends Hagar and Ishmael away.
Sarah's name really seems to suit her.  She acts so selfishly throughout Genesis.  First, she forces Abraham to have sex with Hagar.  (Hagar was a princess of Egypt, so what a lifestyle change! To become a slave who is treated like that?)
Then, when Hagar accomplishes what Sarah wanted, Sarah hates her.  Hagar runs away, God told her to return, and now here she is, being sent away into the desert with her son. Basically to their death.
At least Abraham cared.  God told him to send her off, but that he would "Make the son of the maidservant into a nation also because he (was his) offspring." vs 13

It relieves me to see that God is just. (I should know this already, right?)
 When I look at Hagar's life, it seems unfair. She was a princess in a strong and powerful nation.  Her father gave her to a foreign woman as a slave. She was treated pretty fairly until Sarah got that notion of getting Hagar pregnant.  Culturally, because Hagar was her property, it would be as if Abraham had gotten Sarah pregnant.  But how weird is that?! Hagar was definitely not on board, because when she finds out she is pregnant, she despises Sarah.  Now after all of that, Sarah decides to dispose of them.  Seemingly, God is on board with that. However, we know that when he says he will take care of Hagar and Ishmael, that it will be done.
Ishmael's descendants do become a nation. His descendants today make up the Arab nations which struggle with the Israelites over control of Abraham's tomb.  They both claim to be descendants of Abraham, and they both are.

This is a reminder to me that I need to trust that God knows what he is doing.  If he promises that he will do something, he will.  Not in our time, or in our ways, but in his time and in his ways. "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.'declares the LORD." Isaiah 55:8
It is really easy to get a mindset that we can do things on our own.  Culturally, that is what is exalted- independence and self-gain. We can only accomplish so much on our own, but "nothing is impossible with God." Luke 1:37

May we be independently dependent on God.

Day 15- Genesis 20

Abraham moves again, and lives in a place called Gerar.

Now, remember chapter 12? Abraham is in Eqypt and lies about Sarah because he is worried for his life.

Fast forward, and here we are again.  It would seem that Abraham has forgotten that God provided for him in chapter 12.

Abimelech, the king of Gerar sends for Sarah because Abraham tells people that she is his sister. (vs 2) It is interesting to know that Abraham and Sarah did not lie.  They truly are brother and sister, sharing a father but not a mother.  However, they were definitely intentionally deceitful.

It's cool to read about how God was protecting Sarah and to watch his just nature in this chapter.  "I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me.  That is why I did not let you touch her.  Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live.  But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all yours will die."

This is interesting to me because it seems like this is a story where God intervened.  We always say that he gives us freedom of choice, and freedom in our actions.. and yet this seems to speak of his intervention in preventing Abimelech from sinning.
Does he intervene today? Do people who have clear consciences prevented from acting in sin unwittingly? Do people have clear consciences? How did God keep Abimelech from sinning?

Abraham had to pray on Abimelech's behalf because God had closed up every womb in his household because of Sarah. Even though Abimelech was not aware that he was doing something wrong, it was still wrong.

What was going through everyone's minds?
Abraham: "If I just tell them she's my sister, they won't kill me"
Sarah: "If I tell them he's my brother, I'll be taken to the king.  He'll want me to be his wife."
Abimelech: "What a hot 70+ year old babe, I gotta have her!"

Seriously? Doesn't that just seem weird to you? Everything is so blase to them.. Somedays, I just don't understand people at all.

What a challenge to us in our daily lives to remember the lessons of our pasts, and to trust that God truly is faithful and that he is just to ALL people.. not just his own people.. but all people.

May our lives be active examples of trusting that God provides, protects and prevails.

i +blog= epic fail

Sorry.. I am trying to keep it updated, but failing miserably.

Thanks for being patient

Day 14- Genesis 19

I have to be honest.

Reading Genesis Chapter 19 makes me so incredibly sad and angry!  Just in 38 verses, there is so much evil, faithlessness, doubt and immorality. It seems like no one knows how to make the right choice.

The two angels from chapter 18 arrive at Lot's house, and all the men from all over the city- young and old surround Lot's house and demand to have the "men" brought out so that they can have sex with them!

Wait, WHAT?

ALL of the men from EVER part of the city.. that means married men, fathers and sons, leaders in the city, and I assume that includes supposed religious leaders as well- EVERY man.  They surround Lot's home because they heard of the arrival of strangers, and the men in the city intend to rape these newcomers? This story has always baffled me. Hospitality is a huge thing in these days.. and the men are acting this way towards men.  Not that it would be better if it were towards women.. or would it be?

When the men demand to have Lot's two visitors, Lot offers his virgin daughters.

"No my friends, don't do this wicked thing.  Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man.   Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them." vs 7-8

WHAT?

I don't think Lot wins the Father of the year award there.  I understand that women were not necessarily considered very important.. that still seems like a terrible thing to say.  It definitely emphasizes Lot's sense that these two visitors were extremely important.

Then, Lot's wife turns around and turns into a pillar of salt- even when she has been told NOT to turn around.  

Lastly, Lot escapes with his two daughters and they lived in a cave.  Then, the older of the two daughters comes up with a brilliant plan,  Hey, "Let's get our father to drink wine and then lie with him and preserve our family line through our father." vs 32

They believe that it is so crucial to continue the family line (Which really was a big deal, but did not overrule the fact that they were doing something very, very wrong.) and so they decide that getting their father drunk and taking advantage of him while he is drunk is the best way to do so.

The sons born to each daughter become the ancestors of the Moabites and the Ammonites- the two nations that become bitter enemies of Abraham's descendants.

WHAT?!

Seriously, I feel very dirty after having read this chapter.  And yet, I feel challenged to remember that I am no better of a person than they were.. I simply have been redeemed from my mistakes and I have a chance to learn from their mistakes.  I pray that I will remember this chapter and will make the right choice in the moment.