January 10

Abraham Arranges a Wife for Isaac - Genesis 24:1-67

Love is born of trust.

Isaac's marriage to Rebekah.  What a beautiful story of faith and trust.  Abraham trusts his God, his faithful servant and the family he left some 60 years ago.  The servant also trusts God.  Laban and Bethuel trust the servant and the story he tells, God and their distant family.  Rebekah trusts the servant, God and the man who she has never met as well as his family.  Such incredible trust on all accounts.  

These were people and so their were certainly uncertainty and doubts.  The servant felt the weight of responsibility as he traveled to do his master's bidding.  He had the future of the Israel nation in his hands.  What would have happened had he found another, found someone on his own without asking for God's divine assistance?   Rebekah could have remained longer in her home to sort things out but she trusts and so travels with this stranger to a strange land.  What joy, what comfort, what praise must she have felt as she met the man in the field who would be her husband.  How wonderful is this bit of understatement:

"Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah.  So she became his wife, and he loved her...." [Genesis 24:67]

I love this simple, pure unsullied story.  It is 67 verses of faith and love.  And in that 67th and last verse there is so much love.  Sin and Satan it seems have taken a holiday.  Isn't it the story that we wish for ourselves and our children?  But how fearful we would have been in the middle of this story with all the unknown and uncertainty.  All we could do is have faith...faith, hope and love.

It is a love that began with so much trust.  I will not speak of the future for this couple.  Only reveal in this moment and this marriage.  Ah, what proud papa Abraham must have felt.

My post from last year on this date.

January 9

Abraham's Ultimate Test of Faith - Genesis 22:1-19; News Regarding Nahor's Family - Genesis 22:20-24; Sarah's Death and Burial - Genesis 23:1-20

Then God said, "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." [Genesis 22:2]

A good deal is made over Abraham's faith and this test.  But it is not a test to the Lord who already knows the outcome.  He has no need to test Abraham.  What He does is ask Abraham to make the sacrifice that He, God, will one day make of His own only Son.  

We marvel at Abraham's faith.  How much more faithful is God who does not halt His own hand but allows the sacrifice of His only Son to be made.

On a side note:  Uz and Buz are nephews of Abraham.  Uz and Buz.  I had no idea that Buzz Lightyear was a biblical allusion.  It gives new meaning to the phrase -- To Infinity and Beyond.

My post from last year on this date.

January 8

Abraham Deceives Abimelech - Genesis 20:1-18; The Birth of Isaac - Genesis 21:1-7; Abraham and Abimelech Settle Dispute - Genesis 21:22-34; Expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael - Genesis 21:8-21

Again Abraham passes off his wife as his sister.  (I don't care if she is his half-sister.  It's a partial truth meant to deceive.)  Again God punishes the deceived rather than the deceiver.  Again God steps in to make sure Abraham doesn't suffer the result of his sin.  Again Abraham ends up more prosperous than he was prior to the deception.  And, again, I don't know what to make of it.  

This time it's King Abimelech who takes in and is taken by Abraham's sister.  The only positive I can think of is that King Abimelech is treated to a visitation -- albeit a fearful one -- by the living God.  

Thankfully, a story more noble and beautiful and worthy of remembrance is also included in this reading.  Sarah admits her laughter.  Remember, back in chapter 18, when Abraham graciously entertains three heavenly visitors?  One of those visitors -- the Lord -- announces that she will give birth to a child.  Sarah laughs.  When questioned by the Lord about her laughter:

     Sarah was afraid, so she lied [apparently deception is something this couple has in common] and said, "I did not laugh."

     But He said, "Yes, you did laugh." [Genesis 18:15]

Now Sarah gives birth to this child of promise and now she glories in the laughter she once denied.  Love changes everything.  The laughter that was once tinged with doubt and perhaps a bit of sarcasm is now joyous laughter.  I love laughter -- bold, unabashed, honest laughter.  I've found when a person laughs at him or herself, there's nothing so disarming, so ingratiating and gracious to others.  I regularly watch The Tonight Show on Monday nights because that's the night Jay Leno reads actual headlines that have an accidental, humorous twist...and it never fails to make me laugh.  And having laughed I feel good and clean and renewed.

Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me."  [Genesis 21:6]

And so the child was named Isaac -- he laughs.  Imagine naming your son laugh or chuckle, giggle, guffaw, titter, hoot, snort, snicker, cackle, chortle.  Made you smile, didn't I? 

And this child -- and another he foreshadows and his mother's hymn foreshadows -- will give all of the world a reason to laugh.

My post from last year on this date.

January 7

Appearance of Heavenly Visitors - Genesis 18:1-15; Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah - Genesis 18:16-33, 19:1-38

Ah, not to be insensitive here...but this is what came up when I Google-Imaged the words: "God visits Abraham."  Make of it what  you will.

Then the Lord said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me.  If not, I will know." [Genesis 18:20-21]

Do you think God really has to go down and see to know?  I don't.  Lord knows that He knows.  So, question one is -- why does He go?  For us.  We need Him to see.  I mean, did His Son really have to come down to know what we experience? No. But we needed Him to come and see and be here.  So then the next question obviously is God lying about why He's really there?  No.  Nor is He telling a half truth or stretching the truth or spinning it.  He needs to go down and see to know but not for Him to know.  It's for us to know.  For us to know and believe, God did this knowingly.  Abraham sees God before Sodom and Gomorrah see destruction.  

I mean, something terrible is about to happen.  Two communities are going to be wiped out.  It's horrific.  Equalled only by the horrific things that were going on in that place.  So God shows up at Abraham's on the way.  So that there is no doubt about who or why this horrible thing happens.  

The Lord shows up to give Abraham and Sarah a birth announcement and Sodom and Gomorrah a death pronouncement.  I don't take any of this lightly.  I mourn for the loss of Sodom and Gomorrah just as I mourn for the loss during the Flood and the loss at Jericho.  My sorrow and horror are only assuaged by trust in God and my personal belief that punishment on this earth does not constitute punishment for eternity.  

My post from last year on this date.

January 6

God's Covenant with Abram - Genesis 15:1-21; Birth of Ishmael through Hagar - Genesis 16:1-16; Names and Circumcision as Signs of Covenant - Genesis 17:1-27

Abram laughs in this reading (well, actually he's Abraham when he laughs).  So do I.  But I wonder whether God does?  I suspect foreknowledge messes with the joke a little.

Now here's a funny subject:  Men and women.  God made us so different (I apologize for pointing out the obvious.) Not just physically but also our point of views and what each of us thinks is important.  Why did He do this?  I can only surmise: For our betterment...and His entertainment....

Sarai does this really great and sacrificial thing for Abram -- She gives him another woman to have children with.  Men, I can see you collectively rolling your eyes.  Right, like that's going to work.  Guess what?  It doesn't.  It ends up in an argument.  Could you see this one coming, even without foreknowledge?  

Once Hagar gets pregnant the fireworks really begin.  Sarai says to Abram, "You're responsible for the wrong I am suffering." [Genesis 16:5]  To his eternal credit, Abram doesn't reply, "Wait a minute.  I thought the Hagar deal was your idea?" He does what every self-respecting man in charge does...he walks away from the situation as fast as he can.  He says, "Your servant is in your hands." [Genesis 16:6]

I laughed out loud.  Sarai and Abram the sitcom.  Available in a Bible near you.  I suspect that they welcomed the name change just to distance themselves from their past.  "Noooo, you must be mistaken.  We're Sarah and Abraham."

My post from last year on this date.

January 5

Period of the Patriarchs [Ca. 2100-1525 B.C.] - The Call of Abram - Genesis 12:1-9; Abram Dishonors Himself in Egypt - Genesis 12:10-20; Separation of Abram and Lot - Genesis 13:1-18; Defeat of the Kings - Genesis 14:1-20

If you know me, you know that I think God is exceptional. That is, He is in the exception, not the rule. He says everyone is going to die, but then Enoch doesn't. He sets the sun in motion. Then stops it. He doesn't do what we expect. He's the exception. God being in the exception is a major motif for me. It's probably my bias. So be forewarned. 

So I really, really like Melchizedek.  Because he's an exception, too, an outsider with an odd name who the religious establishment of his day (Abram) pays tribute to (literally). Mel is a priest before there's even any recorded organized religion.

Mel's name - Melchizedek - I'm told literally means King of Righteousness and since Salem means Peace, he's also the King of Peace.  Who does that sound like? Hmmm? Yep, some have suggested that Mel isn't just a model of the Christ but that he really is Jesus. He does come out with "bread and wine" [Genesis 14:18] before Abram offers him a tithe.  And what does that sound like? Three songs and a prayer and we'd have a regular service!

It's interesting to think that perhaps Jesus made several cameo appearances here on Earth prior to the official one. We'll come across some other times in the OT that He might have made an appearance. I'd like to think He still does...make appearances.  He did say He'd be with us and that when we gather in His name He's there. Would Jesus showing up on Earth again downplay the official return? I don't think so.  It'd just make all of these other appearances...the exception.

One question.  In today's reading, when Abram passes off Sarai as his sister to Pharaoh, why is it Pharaoh is inflicted with the serious disease and Abram gets the cash prizes? Doesn't seem quite just, does it? Especially since Abram does it out of fear and a lack of faith? 

My post from last year on this date.

January 4

Dispersion of the Human Family - Genesis 11:1-9; Beginning of Nations - Genesis 10:1-32; Descendants from Shem to Abram - Genesis 11:10-32; Job, the Righteous Sufferer

Before Babel, we all spoke the same language.  Imagine that!

Before Babel, there were no language requirements in high school.  Nobody saying in a haughty voice, "You haven't really read it until you've read it in the original language."  Before Babel, you knew exactly what you were getting at a restaurant.  Before Babel, what was written or said couldn't be mistranslated and so mankind was deprived of a rich source of laughter.  For example, this sign at a Norwegian cocktail lounge:  "Ladies are requested not to have children in the bar."  Or this Hong Kong dentist's ad:  "Teeth extracted by the latest Methodists."

God isn't the author of confusion?  I beg to differ and submit to you as proof:  language and the relationship between men and women.  For some reason, God wants us to work at understanding one another and getting along.  In the process, we learn something about ourselves.  We gain something in the effort of being one, as a church, as a couple, as countries.

One other observation:  Prior to Arphaxad, it looks like the youngest anyone had children was 65 and most men were in their hundreds.  I wonder what everyone thought when Arphaxad comes along and has a kid at 35.  "He's too young to be a father, barely out of diapers himself.  He'll be a grandfather before he's 250!  This  younger generation -- they're in such a rush to have a family, get the big house.  Children under 100 are to be seen and not heard."

My post from last year on this date.