First and foremost, let’s take a moment to celebrate 20 days together in God’s Word! Woohoo! I’ve heard that if you do one thing every day for three weeks, it becomes a habit. Well, friends, tomorrow is our three week mark together. And, whether you were already spending daily time with God, or if this is just an addition to your routine, I’m excited that we are going through this journey together. Let’s jump in to today’s Word.
Today’s scripture reading: Genesis, chapters 25-27
God told Abraham back in chapter 21 that "it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned" (21:12, NIV), so even though he had other children from his concubines, Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac (25:5, NIV). I wonder if familial hierarchy was such then that Abraham’s other children didn’t feel slighted, or if it was much like now where being cut out of the inheritance would really hurt. There’s no further mention of it, and what it does mention is pretty matter-of-fact, so I guess it’s more of the latter???
Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years (25:8, NIV). I imagine that Abraham had a real peace about him, particularly in his final years on earth. He and God had a true relationship, and I would even venture to say that I imagine Abraham knew when he was going. I bet he was among the "lucky ones" with no pain, he just faded into a peaceful sleep, never to wake. Wouldn’t that be the way to go? To die at a good old age…full of years, and memories, and love, and contentment, and secure knowledge of exactly what heavenly place he was going to next.
Now, Abraham and Isaac interest me in one particular way. Both had beautiful wives; apparently the kind of Miss America wives that every man drools over. The father and son, when travelling, told their wives to say that they were siblings so as to spare the lives of the husbands. And, both said these things to a ruler named Abimelech. Now, I would love for someone to clarify this point for me. In Abraham’s case, in chapter 20, Abimelech is king of Gerar (20:2). Later, in Isaac’s life, in our current day’s reading, Abimelech is king of the Phillistines (26:8). I have never had a mind of geography or history, so this matter is a double-edged sword for me. Is this the same Abimelech? Gerar is mentioned later in chapter 26, so I questionably assume this is the same king, just another generation older.
This is one of those times when I may just be obsessing over something that really makes no real difference, but these similarities strike me as so odd. There is no mention of God instructing either Abraham or Isaac to lie in order to save their lives. So, why would these protected, God-fearing, God-abiding men feel the need to do anything manipulative? Don’t they know by now that God is going to protect them no matter what? I suppose this is proof that even Abraham and Isaac were only human. That’s kind of a comforting thought for me, as I tend to think I have to do this and that in my own human way, when it’s something God can easily handle and He really doesn’t need my help. In fact, like with Abraham and Isaac, our human ways usually end up throwing added wrenches into the gears of God’s plan.
Further, if Abimelech, king of Gerar is the same as Abimelech, king of the Phillistines, is the same man…just how dumb was this guy? At what point would he learn his lesson? And, as much as oral history was critical in the times before computers, styluses, and notebooks, wouldn’t Isaac have heard the story of the time he lied to a king and said he was his wife’s brother? Don’t our parents tell us of the stupidity of their youth so we won’t repeat the same mistakes? In both cases, God had to keep the king from consummating things between Abimelech and each of the wives. Like I said before, so often He has to fix the messes that our human errors make.
My pastor often says how much easier it is for us, as Christians, to forgive a "sinner" for doing something wrong than for us to forgive the "saved." It’s the "he didn’t know any better’s" vs. the "he should have known better’s." But the truth is that we are all sinners, we all make human errors. At some time in our lives, we all make errors that make the Lord sad, but no matter what His mighty grace saves us. Just as Isaac returned to the land of Abraham and began working to re-dig the wells that his father had dug, you and I must return to the safety and direction of our heavenly Father’s care. Maybe you were raised in the church like I was, maybe you’ve never really had a time when you didn’t know of God, and didn’t know the stories; but that doesn’t mean that, just like me, you didn’t stray. Friends, I fell off the path of righteousness with God, but I am here to tell you that I crawled back onto the path and I don’t ever want to fall away from Him again. Maybe you have never known God until recently, maybe you were raised under a different set of guidelines or maybe you were never raised with training in any religion at all; if this is the case in your life, this is where your path begins. As the munchkins said to Dorothy, "Just follow the yellow brick road." No matter what your past experiences are, today is a new day in God’s house and today can be the day that you make Him priority over even your earth-bound world. We are building our foundation, and this is a great opportunity for us all to start fresh and leave all of the mistakes of our sinful past behind us. Are you with me?
Tomorrow’s scripture passage: Genesis, chapters 27-29
Make it a great day,
Marilyn
Dear God, I praise You! I think back on the countless, awful, sinful, cruel things I have done, thought, and believed in my past and I wonder how You can even still call me Yours. But You do! You forgive and truly forget, and now, please, help me to do the same. Help me to brush off the dust of the old road and start fresh on the road leading straight to You. Lord, I thank you for having mercy on me. I praise You forever. Amen.
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