I don't know how many in our church have started reading through the entire Bible this year, but I've already found this a very rewarding task in my personal life. We've made it through about half of Genesis and it's amazing to go back and read again all that happened in that book of beginnings. I've been especially blessed to refresh myself through the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To see God's faithfulness even amongst our unfaithfulness is unreal! And I caught something that I've never caught before. (Those of you who are reading through the Bible probably caught this too.) What's up with Abraham calling Sarah his sister a couple of times, to keep himself from trouble? (Genesis 12:10-20 & Genesis 20) Then Isaac turns around and does the same thing with Rebekah! (Genesis 26:1-11) (Did you catch that?) I'm reading that and I'm thinking, "Trust God, you idiots!" He will protect you! Abimelech must have been wondering, what's wrong with these guys?!
I also chuckled when Abraham was sending out the chief servant of his household to find Isaac a wife and made him promise he wouldn't find a woman from the Canaanites and he sealed the deal by grabbing his thigh. That's got to be awkward! (Read it in Genesis 24:1-9 esp. verse 2 & 9) Anyway, it's sure interesting to read these stories of the patriarchs again and be blessed by all God is and by all He promises! I'm reminded what a mighty and gracious God we serve!
2 comments:
I feel that way too when reading about Abraham. To say that your wife was your sister, just to avoid some fear about the guy in front of you? Sounds silly to me. What WERE they thinking? What was going through Sarah’s and Rebekah's minds at the time too?
It’s pretty easy to shout "don’t be an idiot" when your not in the situation yourself. I sometimes try and put myself in the same situation and ask how would I feel if I was wandering the countryside and ended up standing in front of some ruler with my super-hot wife? Odds are I’d be tempted to act the same way he did. Just a thought.
True, true. Sometimes it's easier to look back at these guys and think, "doh!", I would never do that. In all things, it comes down to a matter of truly trusting God or not.
Sometimes I also think that if I had the "hands on" experiences with God that some of these men had, if I witnessed what they had witnessed first hand, how could I doubt His protection? How could you doubt His soveriegnty & provision for safety when you'd seen Him come through over and over and over again? We are such a fickle people sometimes. Good thoughts!
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