Genesis 21:8-11 Sarah Demands Abraham Banish Ishmael and Hagar

Genesis 21:8-11: The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking. Therefore she said to Abraham, "Drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son Isaac." The matter distressed Abraham greatly because of his son.

Scripture tells us that Isaac grew and was weaned from nursing. Not being a woman, I do not know how a mother feels when her child is weaned. I am sure that a sense of loss is experienced as a child moves, ever so slightly, towards less dependence on his/her mother. On the other hand, there could be great joy in seeing the child reach that age not unlike how a parent feels when his/her child takes their first steps.

It may have been this joy that caused Abraham to have a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. And perhaps everyone in the household was invited plus the neighbors. It is also possible that this is where Sarah ran into Hagar’s son, Ishmael, again. As an added indication of Sarah’s disdain for Hagar, the text points out that she was an Egyptian and thus really an outsider in Sarah’s eyes. It must have angered her even more to see before her eyes a son borne to Abraham because of her own lack of faith and impatience.

It is not clear from the text who exactly was doing the ‘mocking’. Was it Sarah or was it Ishmael? Most translations indicate that it was indeed Ishmael that was mocking the young Isaac – perhaps intentionally, perhaps jokingly as a young boy might. Whatever the cause, it was enough for Sarah and she asked Abraham to get rid of both Ishmael and Hagar from their household. She gave as her reason that “no son of Hagar will share in Abraham’s or her estate as heir along with her own son Isaac.” Was this said because Ishmael was mocking Isaac or was this said because Sarah had a great fear that as first-born Ishmael may not only be co-heir with ‘her’ son, but may come out ahead in the game? We can only assume that because of Sarah’s past feelings about Hagar and because of her strong possession of Isaac as ‘her’ son, she was indeed concerned more about Ishmael’s present acceptance and future rights. When we pursue our own plans contrary to what we know is right by God’s standards, we are likely to end up in a more unpleasant and sometimes most dreadful circumstance. Sarah and Abraham were now reaping the fruits of their own efforts when they chose not to trust God and be patient, awaiting His timing to fulfill His promise to them.

All of this of course distressed Abraham to a great extent. Like a true father, he loved both his sons, even if differently. The situation is no different than what many parents, fathers and mothers, often experience today following divorce and remarriage where there are children from the first marriage. Not all new spouses accept the children of one’s first spouse. Not all children of the first marriage accept the second spouse. Not all first spouses go away in peace; some stick around to cause considerable challenges. All of this is a result of someone’s greed, sin, and pursuit of his/her own selfish desires and thinking. May God keep us from such circumstances and should we by chance find ourselves in them, may we have the wisdom to seek His daily help and guidance to do the right things from that point forward.

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Genesis 21:6-7 Who, But God

Genesis 21:6-7: And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

The text now presents us with the new Sarah. Here is a rejoicing woman for God has provided her with laughter. He has caused her to laugh and her friends to laugh with her. Here is a woman who has been sad for a very long time because she could not bear children and God now gives her son and brings laughter to her life.

Those of us who have gone through long periods of despair and have experienced the hand of God interfering positively in our lives, can understand the joy that Sarah must have felt giving birth to Isaac. Sarah is filled with awe as she asks, “Who, but God, would have ever imagined saying to Abraham that I would be able to nurse children and bear him a son in my old age?” We do not know for sure to whom Sarah actually said this but we do know she expects everyone to hear of it. What a testimony Sarah had for her circle of relatives and friends. What a story to share.

The amazing part of Sarah’s story goes beyond her giving birth at an old age. Sarah considered it a miracle that she was able to nurse her baby boy. Once again, God not only performs the miracle, but He equips us to deal with the outcome of His involvement. Sarah’s God is our God today. He can turn our depression into joy and He wants to, in His time, and in His way. Are we listening? Can we trust Him? Will we wait patiently with hope?

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Genesis 21:3-5 Isaac Arrives -- Happy 100th Abraham!

Genesis 21:3-5: And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

I find the first sentence of this passage most interesting. It’s loaded with information that the author wants us to remember. First, that it was Abraham who was naming this child and no one else and he named his son, Isaac as God had told him to back in Genesis 17:19. Second, this was indeed his son. Third, it was a son born to him and no one else. And forth, the son came through Sarah, his wife, and no one else. Everything that God had promised had indeed come to pass.

The meaning of Isaac, you will remember was simply “he laughs”. More precisely, lexicographers tell us that the Hebrew meaning of the name Isaac is “one who laughs, mocks, sports, or toys with”. God had told Abraham that Isaac would be a continual reminder to him that he first laughed at what God had promised him.

Abraham circumcised his son Isaac at the appointed time. We first encountered the requirement of circumcision back in Genesis 17 where God promised Abraham that He would make him a father of many nations; his people would be given all the land of Canaan forever; and He would be their God. In return Abraham and those that came after him would keep the covenant of circumcision – that is each male child would be circumcised on his eighth day of life. And so Abraham keeps the covenant and circumcises Isaac on his eighth day of life.

That is one important way that faith lives on in a family, in a people – by practicing covenants made with God and keeping God’s commandments. It is important to realize that when we act righteously, not only are we doing the best thing under the circumstances, but also we are in essence keeping the faith alive. As we model God-ordained behavior, especially to the generation that comes after us, we are helping to preserve faith in our God.

Finally we note that Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born. What a birthday present for a centenarian. But again, nothing is impossible for our God who always keeps His promises.

We last looked at our timeline study (moving forwards from Genesis 1) when we were studying Genesis 17. Here is where we left off:

• 3257 Abraham was 86 when Hagar bore Ishmael to him (Gen. 16:16)
• 3270 Abraham was 99 when God appears to him (Gen. 17:1)

Now we can add one more date:

• 3271 Abraham was 100 when Sarah bore Isaac to him (Gen. 21:5)

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Genesis 21:1-2 God Acts On Schedule

Genesis 21:1-2: Then the Lord took note of Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had promised. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him.

It is not certain whether the word “Then” at the beginning of verse 1 is actually the use of an adverb that depicts a meaning of ‘after everything in chapter 20 occurred, then what follows here occurred’. It may simply be that this “Then” is not a sequential adverb at all, but rather one that just takes the reader’s attention back to what God had promised to do for Sarah. For all we know, Sarah may have been pregnant at the time that Abimelech took her and the beauty in her that attracted him may have stemmed from the radiance that pregnancy often bestows upon an expectant mother. On the other hand, the very definitive phrase “So Sarah conceived” that starts off the second sentence in our passage seems to support the sequential interpretation – that is, that Sarah did not get pregnant until after the incident with Abimelech.

The important thing is that the Lord considered Sarah and did for her as He had promised. Sarah conceives and bares the aged Abraham a son. And here’s the bonus – the text says it all happened “at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him” about. Not only did God do what He said He would do. Not only was it a big surprise and out of the ordinary given both Abraham’s and Sarah’s ages. Not only were they forgiven for their wrongdoings. Not only did everything happen in God’s appointed time. But, it all took place just as God had said it would.

Here are the implications for us from these two short verses: God cares. God makes us promises (either directly or through His word). God keeps His promises. He can do the supernatural. He forgives our sins. He does things on His time. And if we listen, He often tells us what He will do. Abraham’s and Sarah’s God is your God and mine.

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Genesis 20:14-18 Abraham Prays for Abimelech

Genesis 20:14-18: Abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored his wife Sarah to him. And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; settle wherever you please.” And to Sarah he said, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; behold, it is your vindication before all who are with you, and before all men you are cleared.” And Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, so that they bore children. For the Lord had closed fast all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

This passage seems very familiar and it is. We came across similar action in Genesis 12:14-16 when Abraham (then called Abram) and Sarah (then called Sarai) traveled to Egypt and Pharaoh took Sarai into his house. For taking her, he gave Abram sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels. In the verses that preceded that account we learn that Abram asked Sarai to lie the same lie they utter in this current chapter. In the verses that followed the first account, God strikes Pharoah and his household with plagues and finally Abram and his family get escorted out of the area. You would have thought he had learned his lesson. Is it possible that the gifts that were bestowed upon him one way or another were so enticing that he didn’t mind lying again?

Abimelech acted even more generously than Pharoah did in the first account. He told Abraham he could live anywhere he wanted to in Abimelech’s kingdom. And then he went one step further and actually told Sarah that he gave Abraham (calling him her brother) a thousand pieces of silver. Undoubtedly, this was a very handsome sum for the day. Abimelech called this money “Sarah’s vindication”. Doing this, he was indicating that she was being cleared of any blame for what happened. Abimelech’s wisdom probably helped him to understand that as a wife, she had no real alternative in that culture to disobey her husband when Abraham asked her to lie for, and with, him.

By referring to Abraham as Sarah’s brother to her, he was either emphasizing the fact that whatever he did, he did so because he understood Abraham to be that, or he was simply trying to make Sarah feel less guilty about the fact that Abraham was also her husband, sticking with the half-brother explanation which was also true.

It is difficult to know exactly why Abimelech was showing such great kindness to Abraham and Sarah. It is possible it had to do with the fact that he wanted to somehow rid himself of any guilt associated with his actions or he wanted to make sure Abraham would pray for his healing and that of his household. There is no actual record of Abimelech asking Abraham to pray for him. In fact, in verse 7 of this chapter where God predicts what would happen, there is no instruction for Abimelech to ask for prayer. Abraham just did it.

Recently, I met with a friend of mine from my teen years. He now has a ministry in the Republic of South Africa providing training for non-government agencies as well as national church leaders. Chuck was visiting his children and grandchildren in the Toronto area and I was invited for lunch. During our visit, I shared that I had been diagnosed with colon cancer and that I was seeking God’s wisdom as to what type of treatment approach to pursue. When our visit was over, he asked if he could walk me to my car and I agreed. When we got there, he simply said, “Ken, let me pray for you as I sense my brother is struggling and wants God’s peace about his health.” We prayed together and said good-bye. Chuck is not an overly religious man by his own account, but he is a man of faith. Nobody asked him to pray for me that day except the Holy Spirit. That’s how God worked in Abraham to pray for Abimelech. And Abraham the liar, but still a man of God, obeyed God and showed Abimelech that kindness. And God answered that prayer. Abimelech and his wife and his maids all got healed and the women bore children.

This is the amazing story – Abraham sins, he gets showered with gifts and kindness, God uses him tremendously, and non-believers are blessed because of him. Abimelech was not free of the consequences of his sin simply because he righted the wrong. That was only step one. It took the prayers of a righteous man (regardless of his lie) to have God heal him and his household. What an amazing God we have. Do not let anyone tell you that you or anyone else is beyond the grace of God either to be saved by Him or to be used in His service once we have become His son or daughter.

Finally, we cannot ignore the last sentence in this passage. God had made Abimelech’s women barren “because of Sarah”. What are we to make of this? I believe the correct interpretation is that God had done this because of what Abimelech had planned to do with Sarah when he took her from Abraham. I prefer that interpretation to the one that may explain the reason for God’s actions being “for the sake of Sarah”. One thing we do know for sure is this – God did it. And He still has the ability to change circumstances beyond the possibilities we can think of in order to accomplish His plan for each of us. Do not dismay, God loves you and has a plan for your life that just may involve thwarting the plans of others.

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Genesis 20:8-13 Misleading Half Truths Still Lies!

Genesis 20:8-13: Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you encountered, that you have done this thing?” And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place; and they will kill me because of my wife. Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife; and it came about, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is the kindness which you will show to me: everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

Abimelech gets the word from God as to what he has to do and he acts. He summons Abraham and asks, “What have you done to me and my kingdom? How could you let me sin against you? How could you allow such a sin to be brought on me and my people through your lying?”

Now here’s the next line that I really like: “You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” What did Abimelech mean? Did he mean Abraham should not have lied to him? Did he mean Abraham should not have lied in such a way that allowed Abimelech to take Sarah not knowing she was Abraham’s wife? Did he mean he should not be sleeping with another man’s wife? We don’t know but we do know that all of the questions could be answered as follows. Abimelech should not have slept with Sarah and thankfully God did not allow it. That would have stemmed from the fact that Abraham should not have deceived Abimelech. And in turn that would not have happened if Abraham had not lied. We can always work backwards from our troubles to the basic sin causing them. In this case, it was the lie of Abraham.

But Abimelech probes a little further. As a king, it appears he was wise enough to know that Abraham must have had a reason for lying. He asks him, “What have you encountered that caused you to lie to me?” What are you afraid of Abraham? Did we treat you unfairly? Did we threaten you? Why did you lie?

And then Abraham’s response is rather lame. He tells Abimelech that he thought because Abimelech and his people were not worshippers of the true God, they would likely kill him in order to get his wife for themselves. Abraham does two things here worthy of note. First, he makes assumptions perhaps with some valid reasons, but no real proof. We need to be careful not to make such assumptions whether it be about circumstances or about people. We need to do our homework well and try to ascertain truth in all matters. That principle should be applied to all aspects of our life, including church life and how we deal with other believers.

The second thing that Abraham does here is that his primary concern is himself. He didn’t want to be killed. This wasn’t about Sarah or her protection. When we become selfish in our thoughts and actions, we always tend to make a mess of things especially for the number one person we care about most – ourself.

Then Abraham embarks on his own defense and justification that perhaps he had not really lied, for after all, Sarah he said, “actually is my sister.” Nice try Abraham, but she’s still you’re wife and the issue was not about whether Abimelech could have your sister, but that he could not have someone’s wife. And you knew that, Abraham.

And if that isn’t enough, Abraham tells Abimelech that he had planned this lie with Sarah so that she would support him in saying, “He is my brother.” Abraham was not only prepared to lie, but he got his wife to lie as well. It’s one thing for us to sin, it is somehow a graver offense I believe to cause someone else to sin. We need to be careful that we not cause others to sin because of our own selfishness or any other reason.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Genesis 20:4-7 Two-time liar called a prophet.

Genesis 20:4-7: Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, wilt Thou slay a nation, even though blameless? Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister?’ And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands have I done this.” Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. Now therefore restore the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”

God was with Sarah and Abimelech fortunately had not yet touched her. Still, he questioned God’s rationale in destroying a nation even though he was, in his opinion, blameless. What is interesting is that while God had said, “you’re a dead man” to Abimelech, as king he interpreted that to equate to the fact that God would destroy his entrie nation. It’s possible that he still remembered what God did to Sodom and Gomorrah. It’s also possible that kings equated themselves with their country and vice-versa way back then, just as they seemed to have done in the more later centuries.

In his defense, Abimelech attempts to prove his innocence by blaming Abraham for telling him that Sarah was his sister, not his wife. He also implicates Sarah by indicating she had said Abraham was her brother. There is no reason not to believe him as we’ll see soon below. Once again Sarah participated in a lie in order to save herself and Abraham, and ended up in more trouble. We humans have an incredible way of making things worse for ourselves when we do not pursue God’s way.

God then continues His conversation with Abimelech and here the text says “in the dream”. Because of the specific article ‘the’ as compared to using ‘a’, we can assume that Abimelech’s defense was also part of that same dream. Now the next two phrases are most interesting. As far as we know, Abimelech was not a worshipper of the true God. It is most likely that he and his nation were idol worshippers. Yet God said, “I know you were operating with integrity when you did this wrong. That’s why I kept you from sinning against Me.” These phrases may well give us a glimpse as to how God may treat those that have not clearly heard the Gospel. Whether He is dealing with believers or unbelievers, God seems to be most interested in our intentions and the condition of our hearts. If the heart is pure, God may well keep a person from sinning against Him and thus keeping him from destruction. At least, He did in Abimelech’s case.

The text is written to indicate that it was because of Abimelech’s heart that God didn’t allow him to sin against Him, and because He wouldn’t allow that, God kept him from touching Sarah. Once again, we see a God who not only cares enough to keep us from sinning, but also makes it possible for us not to in specific difficult or overwhelming circumstances.

However, there’s still a part for us to play. God told Abimelech to restore Abraham’s wife. In other words, correct the wrong, repair the damage to the extent possible. Sometimes, the milk is spilled and there’s no getting it back into the pitcher. But there is much to be done to clean up the mess – including apologies, asking for forgiveness, and sincere regretting, not to mention taking action not to repeat the sin. God was saying, “Look, I’m giving you another chance to make this right because of your heart. But you can’t keep on doing what you’re doing. If you do, you will surely die [we heard similar words uttered by God to Adam and Eve and in the garden of Eden], you and all who are yours.” The choice is clear. There is no alternative. The impact can be on far more individuals than just us.

Finally, and it’s so easy to miss this, God tells Abimelech something about Abraham that we would not expect Him to say about a two-time liar. He tells Abimelech that Abraham is a prophet who will pray for him and he will live as a result. How weird is that? I find this most amazing but once again it proves that God’s ways are not our ways. Did God miss the lie? I don’t think so. Does God still use and have a mission for people who sin? I think so. God will deal with the sin of the person directly, but it does not mean that all will be lost. Lastly, let is not miss the point that although God implies that if Abimelech does not return Sarah to Abraham he will die, He also says that by allowing Abraham to pray for him, he will live. Isn’t that how God works even today? What He does for someone is between that person and God Himself. But He uses the prayers of others towards that end. That’s why we pray for others. That’s why we pray for healing.

The day after I wrote this section, the elders of our church prayed for me and anointed me with oil in keeping with what the New Testament tells us to do if we are sick. Whether or not I will be healed is up to God. But we are told to invite and solicit the prayers of others on our behalf. I believe this account here is the first such instruction in scripture. And the honor goes to Abraham, with all his faults, because God had chosen him. This is also the first time that the word ‘pray’ is used in the sense of a prayer as compared to “I beseech you” (or ‘I pray you’). Somehow, prayer was introduced to the way we worshipped or spoke to God, perhaps modeled after what the heathens did to their idols.

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Genesis 20:1-3 "You're a dead man, Abimelech!"

Genesis 20:1-3: Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.”

Our Genesis story now shifts back to the main character. We read that Abraham and at least Sarah his wife travel toward the land of the Negev, settling somewhere between Kadesh and Shur. We had heard of Negev twice before up to this point. In both chapters 12 and 13, when Abraham was first called to leave his country, we read that he traveled toward Negev and then from there to Bethel.

Kadesh was also referred to in Genesis 14 in reference to the battles of the various kings that are recorded and in Genesis 16 helping us locate the vicinity of the well where Hagar had a visit from the angel of the Lord. Shur likewise was referred to in chapter 16, again in reference to that same well.

From there the Bible says Abraham and his family ‘sojourned’ to Gerar. Sojourning when used in this case refers to a person who is a stranger deciding to stay awhile or tarry or abide in a particular place. Gerar was first introduced to us in Genesis 10 as part of the description of the land belonging to the Canaanites. It is translated as a “lodging place” and was actually a Philistine town south of Gaza and more modernly referred to as ‘Umm’.

What we do not know exactly is why Abraham left the area of Mamre where he had lived for some time and where God had promised that very soon his wife would have a child. In fact, Sarah’s pregnancy was probably quite evident at this point. Did he leave because he was terrified by what had happened to Sodom? Or was it that he was being persecuted and ridiculed himself as a result of Lot’s sin of incest? After all, they both had the same religion. We do not know why Abraham moved on at this time and the accounts we are about to read are not the greatest ones for our main man.

For some reason when Abraham arrived in Gerar, he felt he had to lie and state that his wife Sarah was his sister. But why? Was he trying to protect Sarah or was he trying to protect himself? And if so, how exactly? Is it also possible that he knew exactly what he was doing (since he had a similar experience in Genesis 12:13) and he had hoped to gain from it? And if that were the case, why didn’t he learn his lesson the last time? It appears that man is prone to repeat his sins especially when thrown unexpectedly into a very tempting circumstance because of the weakness of the flesh. While we need to be very cautious of such an occurrence and be prepared to stem it off, we can also realize that all is not lost and God still has a job for us to accomplish as part of His plan for mankind.

Yet Abraham’s twice repeated sin now put Sarah in grave danger as King Abimelech decides to take Abraham’s wife as part of his household with the ability to sleep with her as he wished. Why Abimelech took Sarah we do not know. Was it because he just made a habit of taking the wife of any stranger that came by? Or, was it because Sarah, even at the advanced age she was in, was indeed still a very strikingly beautiful woman? Whatever the reason, Abraham’s wife is now part of a foreign king’s harem and about to be forced to sleep with him.

And then once again that incredible, most hope bringing phrase in the entire Bible appears – “But God”! God Himself takes part in an unbeliever’s dream and speaks to him. And what He has to say is not gentle talk. When God warns or chastises, He does it in a way that make His feelings clearly known and void of any misunderstanding. “Abimelech, your’re a dead man if you sleep with this married woman!” And somehow, I believe I could hear the immediacy of the undesirable threat in God’s voice.

Abimelech’s actions warranted a visit by God in his dreams not because heathen kings had a practice of taking many wives to their bed but because God hates adultery, especially when His own people are involved. And even if they cannot prevent themselves from falling prey to it, He will often take necessary action working through others to stop the sin continuing or recurring. I am aware of one adulterous situation where I believe God stepped in and worked through the unbelieving party to prevent the Christian involved from ruining a family and taking irreparable action with respect to marriage and divorce. God worked in the conscious of the unbeliever causing them to admit their sin to their own spouse and expose the relationship. That individual’s marriage ended in divorce but God saved the marriage of the believer just in time. Somehow God got into the mind of the unbeliever and said, “you’re dead if you continue with this – you’re dealing with a married person and I hate adultery.”

This is the first time in the text that the word ‘dream’ is used. We should be aware that God can and does come to us in dreams and not only to His own people, but to unbelievers as we will see later in our story. The difficulty of course is that we cannot always discern whether or not a dream we believed came from God was indeed so. In this case, we have accepted the word of Scripture that God went to Abimelech in a “dream of the night”. But what about us? Was our dream really a dream from God? And what about all those charlatans out there who claim to have had dreams from God and somehow they manage to make millions of dollars off those dreams? The tragedy is that oftentimes our cynicism may dismiss the very means God chooses to communicate with us. Thankfully, there are ways to help us discern whether or not it is God speaking, most important of which is the fact that God would never contradict Himself or what He has told us in Scripture. Secondly, He will provide us with several sources of “confirming” information – either in our own life’s experiences or in the confidence of trusted Christian men and women who pour themselves into our lives. When God wants to speak to us, He will be clear and unequivocal. He is not a God of confusion and enigmas.

Our difficulty is not understanding what God wants to say to us. It is more often that we don’t readily accept what He wants to say or what He wants us to do.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Genesis 19:30-38 What a Difference A Night Makes

Genesis 19:30-38: And Lot went up from Zoar, and stayed in the mountains, and his two daughters with him; for he was afraid to stay in Zoar; and he stayed in a cave, he and his two daughters. Then the first-born said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of the earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him, that we may preserve our family through our father.” So they made their father drink wine that night, and the first-born went in and lay with her father; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. And it came about on the morrow, that the first-born said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father; let us make him drink wine tonight also; then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve our family through our father.” So they made their father drink wine that night also, and the younger arose and lay with him; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. And the first-born bore a son, and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. And as for the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the sons of Ammon to this day.

Here we have an interesting scenario. God tells lot to flee to the mountains and he requested special permission to go to Zoar. On his way there, his wife turns to a pillar of salt because of her disobedience and the next thing we know is that Lot leaves Zoar and heads to the mountains. God’s way is best after all. The text indicates that Lot left Zoar because he was afraid to stay there. It is possible that the locals might have started putting everything together and figured out that he had a part to play in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, albeit perhaps indirect, and they weren’t going to take any chances having him around alive. Little did they know that it was because of him that they were spared in the first place. Men, both believers and unbelievers, often miss the real reasons why God has blessed them. So Lot with his two daughters ends up living in a cave in the mountains. Perhaps not unlike what Osama Bin Laden has been doing since September 11, 2001 after the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington that killed almost 3,000 individuals that infamous day.

So what do two daughters of age living alone with their father in the mountains do to make life more interesting? They plot to have a child through their father Lot by getting him drunk and sleeping with him.

I struggle with this considerably. It would not be acceptable behavior in our society today and most likely frowned upon even then. However, and without appearing to be in support of Lot’s daughters in any way, we need to notice that this was not a spur of the moment “let’s get drunk and have a wild incestual orgy with our father” type of rationale that led them to take the action. The daughters realized that they lived near no other man, their father was getting on in age and soon would likely not be able to impregnate a woman any longer, and they needed a family and a purpose to continue their own life after that. The text says they said they did this in order to “preserve our family”. They also realized that what they wanted to do was an unnatural thing and thus something that could only be brought about while their father was under the influence of alcohol.

Here was Lot thinking he was having just a great old father-daughters evening after dinner drinking wine reminiscing perhaps about the good old days when mom was alive and all the while his daughters were getting him drunk in order to sleep with him. The text says, perhaps in Lot’s defense, “he did not know when (either of them) lay down or arose”. Perhaps then we can only fault him for allowing himself to get drunk. In any case, both daughters get pregnant in just one attempt each and they both ultimately bore sons. That, based on probability, is a spectacular occurrence in itself. The name of the eldest daughter’s son was Moab and the name of the younger daughter’s son was Ben-ammi. Moab was the father of the Moabites and Ben-ammi the father of the sons of Ammon. Hebrew lexicographers tell us that Moab is interpreted “of the father” given that the daughter bore her father a son. Ben-ammi is interpreted as “son of my people” as again this daughter bore him through ‘her own people’ and in this case, her father Lot.

We need to wait to see what became of these two sons and how at least one of them played a role in a lineage that was the most significant in the history of mankind. But for now let’s focus our attention on Lot. This is the last time we hear about him. No one knows how he really felt as the first recorded combined “father-grandfather” of two baby boys and later young men. Did he realize his sin? Did he even know the boys were his? I would think so as he and his daughters lived in constant hiding and fear and likely no one else every came near them.

As I think of Lot I think of the myriads of men and women whose lives are impacted so dramatically by one mere moment or night of sin; one mere relaxing of morals or standards; one mere giving in to the senses rather than to following the mind God gave us to do right and the soul that longs for Him.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Genesis 19:27-29 God Makes Good

Genesis 19:27-29: Now Abraham arose early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before the Lord; and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the valley, and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a furnace. Thus it came about, when God destroyed the cities of he valley, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.

We leave Lot abruptly in verse 26. His wife had just turned into a pillar of salt. And the scene shifts quickly back to our current main character, Abraham. The first thing we notice is that he arose early in the morning. Perhaps this was a habit of Abraham’s. There was nothing slothful about him. He was probably one of the first recorded “early to bed, early to rise” men in civilization. But he did not just get up early – he got up early with a purpose. Although we do not know if this was a habit of his, we know that this day he went to the place where he had stood before the Lord. Does it not make sense that when one knows God he/she wants to keep going back to the place where he/she last saw God or where they had the greatest interchange or experience with God? Oh, that it would be our desire each day to go where we have best experienced God and meet Him there.

Abraham looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and the rest of the cities in the valley that God had overthrown the day before. And the smoke was still rising as if the fire was still burning. What a sign for Abraham. God had said He was going to do something and once again He did it. Although the text says that “God remembered Abraham” in all of this by seeing to it that He saved Lot, Abraham’s nephew, and his family before He destroyed the valley, I think that Abraham also remembered God in a different way that day.

As I write these words, I can share with you that today was a particularly difficult day for me on two counts – one personal and one family-related. But I take great strength in the fact that God does what He says He will do. And I delight in meeting with Him alone daily. No matter what I am or will go through, I know He is there. Today as I listened to my medical specialist he reported that in my particular situation there were three things that determined whether a doctor recommends option A or B, and two of those indicated I should follow option B. When I got home my wife and I reviewed the mathematics a little differently. We calculated that one factor plus God indicates option A. That is what faith is all about. And Abraham was all about faith.

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Genesis 19:23-26 Finishing Well

Genesis 19:23-26: The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven, and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But his wife, from behind him, looked back; and she became a pillar of salt.

The day’s activities began back in verse 15 when the morning had dawn. It took Lot until about noon to plea his case for not escaping to the mountains and then to get to Zoar. It was only after he and his family safely arrived there that God commenced His destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The text says He rained down brimstone and fire from heaven. Those two cities along with all the others in the valley and their inhabitants and vegetation were completely destroyed save and except those in the city of Zoar including Lot, his two daughters, and his wife. God took them to safety.

And then man’s “But” comes once again into the picture. Though safety was hers to enjoy, Lot’s wife decided to give in to her human curiosity or desire or stubbornness and she disobeyed the command of God’s angels. She looked back, unbeknown to Lot, and she was swept away becoming a pillar of salt. Lot’s wife obeyed her husband, left Sodom, took refuge as allowed by God, but she did not finish well. She had the future she needed within her reach, but she did not hold on.

Many fail in the same way. We often hear of people who “had it all, but blew it”. As I face my seventh decade of life, my greatest fear is, that because of all the possibilities that are beyond my control – health, loss of a loved one, financial difficulty, relationship breakdown, etc. (all either my own or that of those I love), – I will lose it. I will turn to my own way just when I am so close to finishing with Him. Throughout modern history, the true Christian’s desire is to finish well. Lot’s wife has always served as a vivid reminder of our need to stay focused on Him who delivers us to the safety and life we need.

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Genesis 19:18-22 Partial Obedience

Genesis 19:18-22: But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lords! Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness, which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest the disaster overtake me and I die; now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) that my life may be saved.” And he said to him, “Behold, I grant you this request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken. Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the town was called Zoar.

The angels had just ushered Lot and his family out of his house and urged them to “escape for their lives to the mountains” and Lot has the audacity to say, “No, I can’t escape to the mountains.” It seems he felt that the trip to the mountains might have finished him off. Or perhaps he felt he could not survive sufficiently in the mountainous environment. Instead, he begged the angels to let him escape to a nearby little town. Lot even suggested that this town “was small” with the implication possibly being that “it can’t be as bad as Sodom, could it?” There he would have more of the comforts of life.

I am reminded of the young man who desperately wanted to obey and serve God, perhaps as a missionary if that’s what God wanted. His only request, however, was “please don’t send me to Africa.” Sometimes we feel like that, don’t we? Sometimes we want so much to do what God wants. We know it is best for us. But we allow our human limitations to define the options. We say, “God I’ll do this, but please don’t make me do that. Surely, I’ll still be obeying if I do this?” I would like to say “no, you would not be obeying if you didn’t do exactly what God said,” but I am not sure it is that black and white an issue. This passage gives us an insight into how God works with men and women, and it is not always the way we would predict or expect.
Through His angels, God allowed Lot his request. He agreed not to overthrow that town to which Lot wanted to go. The plan apparently was that He in fact do so, as it was all part and parcel of the ‘Greater Sodom Area’. Although ten righteous ones could not be found in Sodom, God was willing to save this town for the sake of one righteous man and his family. While we as Christians are to flee and escape places of iniquity, our presence often influences God to save or keep back His punishment of a particular place. Christians have an incredible opportunity to impact a town’s, city’s, or country’s future.

Lastly we note the angels indicate that “until Lot moved out of Sodom and arrived safely in the new town”, they could not implement the destruction they needed to undertake. Clearly, God protects and keeps us in time of trouble and disaster in accordance with His plan. The passage ends with the naming of the town Lot’s family would be staying as being Zoar. It was located at the southeast end of the Dead Sea. We first heard of Zoar back in Genesis 13:10 when Abraham was telling Lot to select the land he wanted so that they would separate from each other. Lot looked over the valley of Jordan and scripture says he noticed that it was “well watered . . . like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar.” While it too was to be destroyed, it seems God saved it, allowing Lot to dwell in a place he had once felt very desirous. In Genesis 14:2 and 14:8 we also learn that Zoar was known as Bela and its king had joined the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim in the war against Ellasar, Elam, and Goiim. (For more details on this, see comments under Genesis 14.) Because of this grouping, it is possible that the destruction might have been intended to impact all five of these areas, although now we see that Zoar (because of Lot) was saved.

So not only can God sometimes grant us our desire, but He also saves others in the process. However, we must be most careful to ensure that it is truly God and not us that has brought about this change in plans. In Lot’s case, the angelic visitors verbally granted him his request. We need similar assurance before we try to second-guess God’s best for us.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Genesis 19:15-17 When God says, "Get out of Dodge now!"

Genesis 19:15-17: And when the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two daughters, who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his daughters, for the compassion of the Lord was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city. And it came about that when they had brought them outside, that one said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, lest you be swept away.”

In the previous passage, Lot is told what he must do to save his family and he goes about doing it, even though they think he’s joking. He returns home most likely as a disappointed man unable to convince his relatives of what is about to happen to the city and to them if they don’t flee. Everyone in his house either goes to bed or stays up all night planning their flight out of the city. We don’t know, but the scripture tells us that when the morning dawned, the angels basically said, “It’s time. Let’s go. Take your wife and your two daughters and go, lest you be swept away in the punishment God is about to release on the city.” Great advice and one would think Lot would act on it without question, especially since he had seen their power exhibited the night before on the men from the city right outside his house.

Then, once again the text adds that famous word that changes so much -- “But” only this time with respect to Lot’s reaction to what God was saying. “But he hesitated.” It is not clear exactly why he did that. Perhaps it was because all of a sudden he just did not want to let go of what was familiar to him. How many times do we hesitate when God says, “Up. Move out. Now.” And how many times does God have to do with us what the angels did with Lot – they seized his hand and that of his wife and daughters and brought them “outside the city.” When God arranges for us to “move out” of a situation He does not want us in, even against our hesitation or perhaps against our will, it is because “the compassion of the Lord” is upon us as it was upon Lot that day. God knows what is coming and we may know too – but only God knows the real impact or consequences on us. He wants us out of that place wherever it may be or that sin whatever it be, because He loves us unconditionally and He has great compassion for us. Yet we often pay Him less heed than men and women pay their commanding officers in the armed forces when they issue similar orders. Still His love won’t leave us there – He forcibly moves us.

But here’s the condition. It’s very similar to the condition that one of the angels placed on Lot and his immediate family. “Escape for your life! But don’t look back. Don’t stay or go anywhere nearby but flee to the mountains because the impact of what I’m going to do to what you left behind may still reach you if you’re anywhere nearby.” What’s He saying to us as we read these verses?

I believe it is this: If we’re involved in sin, He wants us out for our sake. And if we resist, He may forcibly take us out, but once He does, He does not want us wishing we could be back there, longing for the good old sinful times. He wants us removed from the scene so far that there is no way we could re-associate ourselves with it again through the lure of the Enemy. He hates the sin so much He will destroy those involved with it. Let me give you a couple of examples of what God wants may look like in real life. If you are reading or watching pornography and you want to stop, you do not just put the magazines or the books or films away on a shelf or even in a box and store them in your basement. No, you burn them or destroy and make sure they’re gone from the house. If you are involved in a sinful relationship, you do not keep the person’s telephone number in your wallet, just in case. You throw it away along with everything else that belongs to or came from that person. God wants you as far away from the scene of the sin – whatever it be – as possible. You can do nothing less.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Genesis 19:12-14 Our Part in Winning Our Family for God

Genesis 19:12-14: Then the men said to Lot, “Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place; for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” And Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, “Up, get out of this place, for the Lord will destroy the city.” But he appeared to his son-in-law to be jesting.

The two angels understood the gravity of the situation. This recent act of the men of Sodom (see comments on previous verses) was what we would refer to as the last straw as far as God was concerned. God’s messengers had to take immediate action, evacuating those that were righteous and their family. It turns out only Lot was the righteous one. So they asked a question to which they already knew the answer. “Who else is here with you, Lot? You need to take them out of this place.” The list they rhyme off as possible kin is simply provided to indicate that all in the family were to be included. It turns out Lot had more than one son-in-law to be, but we have no other reference to Lot having sons. What is important here is that Lot was allowed to take his family out of danger with him because of his righteousness. However, there is no evidence we can transfer this concept of “familial salvation” to the case of salvation of the believer for eternity.

We know that Lot understood his responsibility to advise his family of the situation and encourage them to escape with him. He was in essence to do all he could to bring them out with him. That’s our role as well when it comes to the salvation of our children and relatives. We can only share the Gospel and then allow God to work in their hearts.

In this short passage, there are three references to the destruction of Sodom: first, the angels say they are about to destroy it; then, they say the Lord sent them to destroy it; and finally, they say the Lord will destroy it. Sometimes we miss the fact that God uses angels, often disguised as men, to do His work. Sometimes He uses fellow believers. But let us not miss the fact that it must be God’s work that needs to be done, not that of the angels, not that of others, not even our own. When we know what God wants to do as Lot did in this case, then we can believe and expect to see it done through whatever means or whomever God chooses. We just need to be ready for it.

So Lot heads out of the house and looks up his sons-in-law who were to marry his daughters. He tells them to get up from whatever they’re doing and get out of Sodom because the Lord will destroy it. That’s the simple message we’re asked to pass on to our relatives, friends, and anyone that God puts in our path today – “repent, change your way, be saved, for God hates evil and will destroy it, punishing those that remain in its grasp.” It is a simple message. Yet, as in the days of Lot, so today – people just don’t readily believe it. Scripture says Lot’s sons-in-law thought he was kidding. As we’ll see in the verses that follow, the fact that people do not believe us does not change what God has said He will do. The difficulty for us is how we deal with that very fact.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Genesis 19:10-11 First recorded physical blindness!

Genesis 19:10-11: But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway.

Just in time, my favorite sentence-starting word in the Bible appears – “But”. This time the text does not say “But God” but the reference to “the men” is indeed to the two angels which were referred to in verse one of chapter nineteen. Clearly these were men completely under the control of God, bidding his business and doing his works. They were focused on Him in such a way that they saw things the way God sees them and thus were totally inclined to do as He said.

Attending Beach Church, Myrtle Beach, while visiting my daughter and family, I heard Pastor Dan Grider speak on being “totally engaged to the point of being fully captivated by God”. He said, when that happens we end up “seeing things the way God sees them and thus are inclined to do as He says.” What a goal for a believer! In my opinion, these men, God’s angels, already exhibited that incredible asset.

They reached out their hands (and we assume while the door was still open so all in the house could have heard the conversation Lot was having with the men of Sodom) and brought Lot back into the house with them, and they shut the door. I love that verse. It paints a picture that I believe is akin to how God standing beside us, hears and understands all that is happening to us, and if we let Him, He can and will “pull us back out” of whatever trouble, concern, worry, or mire of sin we may be in. And then He shuts the door on it. Whatever it is that is going on cannot have a permanent negative impact on us. It’s a done deal. The door is shut.

Scripture tells us that God’s men then went on to strike “the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness”. Given the order of the two sentences, I have to assume that this was done from inside the house with the door closed. This was indeed a God thing. Can you imagine what the men outside felt as all of a sudden they were unable to see? Here was recorded the first case of physical blindness in the Scripture. All of them were struck, both small and great, and they became unable to find the doorway. The text implies that they kept trying, even in their blindness, to achieve their own evil intention of harming Lot and the immorality they wished to take part in with those they thought were mere men.

I believe God is prepared to do the same for each and every one of us, if we let Him. When we’ve wandered out into the night, He’ll come and stand with you, then pull you back into His safety at just the right moment. Then He’ll do whatever is necessary to protect you from the situation you were in. Don’t you just love it when God inserts the word “But” in your life. Oh, that we would allow Him to do so more often.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Genesis 19:4-9 "Worst father of the Bible" award?

Genesis 19:4-9: Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; and they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them to us that we may have relations with them.” But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, and said, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof.” But they said, “Stand aside.” Furthermore, they said, “This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them.” So they pressed hard against Lot and came near to break the door.

This is probably one of the most futuristic scenes in all of scripture, or so it seems when we consider the immorality of today’s society. Lot, his family, and the angel visitors that he convinced to stay the night are just getting ready for bed when young and old men from every part of the city surround the house and start calling out loud to Lot. Certainly somebody had been hunting for “new men sightings” in the city and knew exactly that Lot had just received two male visitors. The news got passed on quickly.

The question arises as to whether this mob represented all the men of the city or just some. Clearly the text reads “the men” as compared to “some men”. When you consider this in light of the fact that both God and Abraham believed fewer than ten people in Sodom were righteous and you divide that by half for the purpose of gender and then half again for the purpose of dividing the ‘of age’ males from young boys, then you are left with very few, if any, righteous men – an explanation which supports the idea that this was indeed all “the men” of the city. So here they all are, wanting to have homosexual relations with Lot’s two visitors.

If indeed these men were all of the men in the city, then we could safely assume that Lot in his day to day dealings knew some or all of them. As a minimum, we note that he calls them brothers because that was the custom of the day as neighbors were more closely associated in those days, or because he in fact was a member of their group when it came to certain business or social activities. So he begged them not to insist on violating his guests. His words certainly indicate that he knew what they wanted to do was wicked.

It’s the next part that really puzzles me. Does Lot deserve the “worse father in the Bible” award? Today we would ask, “How can he offer his virgin daughters to the men for sex in order to protect his guests’ honor?” Was hospitality so important that it trumped the sexual purity of one’s children? Was he just as warped in his thinking as the men that banged on his door? Scripture does not tell us. It is possible he thought homosexuality was a worse sin than heterosexual abuse and that falsity continues to this day for many. Did he have an idea that these guests were not just men? Perhaps.

Whatever his thinking and rationale for trying to negotiate with the men of the city the way he did, it was to no avail. Given his opposition to their idea, the men turned against him and jeered him with remarks to one another referring to Lot himself being a stranger among them and now judging them. Their anger intensified and they prepared to treat Lot even worse then they were going to treat his guests. With this intention, they came up to the door of his house.

The whole sight would make a great movie scene – late at night, everyone about ready to go to bed, and the mobs pounding on the door with an unreasonable demand. The landlord goes out and pleads with them, offering an alternative of which they’ll have no part in. Instead, they get more violent and the landlord is now about to be assaulted.

There are at least four lessons here we should not miss. First, we cannot be effective in our own ministry as strangers. Aliens do not sway people permanently. This is something that those working with indigenous peoples around the world are finally realizing. The best type of lasting influence comes from a person’s own kind. That is why missions are turning their efforts more and more towards raising up native Christians to minister to their own people. At the very least, one has to have earned the respect and trust of the locals, before he or she can minister to them.

Second, judging does not go over too well. We so often forget that. We need to get our message across without being perceived as judgmental to the best of our ability. It is important to demonstrate care for the individual without supporting their behavior. Even the best arguments do not work if they appear to be judgmental.

Third, timing is everything. One wonders what impact Lot had on these men prior to this evening. What stand did he take when similar issues arose in day-to-day life? To leave the appeal to one’s sense of morality in a heated moment in the middle of the night may be too late. We must not miss the opportunities we have to make wise inputs into the lives of others as we watch them embarking on a road which leads to destruction.

Finally, let us not forget just who is standing nearby. God’s angels had not yet gone to bed.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Genesis 19:1-3 Being Available for Service

Genesis 19:1-3: Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. And he said, “Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” The said however, “No, but we shall spend the night in the square.” Yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.


The King James Version does not specify who these two angels were but the New American Standard refers to them as the same ones that visited Abraham (two out of the three referred to in Genesis 18:2). They approach Sodom and Lot is sitting at the gate of the city. This is reminiscent of Abraham sitting at the door of his tent in the previous chapter. When Lot saw them and realized they were strangers, he rose to meet them as was the custom. But he also must have determined that there was something more to them than just travelers for he bowed down with his faced to the ground. He called them “my lords” not unlike Abraham called them and he, like Abraham, invited them to stay at his house to refresh, eat, and spend the night before going on their way.

The first thing to note is that this time there were only two angels, not all of the three that had visited Abraham. Since Genesis 18 talks about the Lord being among them, we can assume that the Lord was not present in this case.

Interesting also is the fact that they initially declined his offer indicating they would spend the night in the city square. There is no reason given for that and anything we say is purely conjecture. It is possible that they had a lot on their minds as they may have known God’s intention with respect to Sodom and they wanted to pray for the city. It is also possible that they did not want to spend the night in Lot’s house because of his daughters and propriety. We can only assume, but not know. What we do know is that Lot, again like a good host, urged them strongly to accept his offer. They did so on his strong insistence and he prepared a feast for them to enjoy.

When we consider what happened next, the decision to stay with Lot was indeed a good one. The point here is that if we do our part, even if it is simply to be hospitable, God will do His. As we become available to Him, He works on our behalf directly and/or through others.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Genesis 18:26-33 Negotiating with God

Genesis 18:26-33: So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.” And Abraham answered and said, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes. Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, wilt Thou detroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.” Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” And he said, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.” Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once: suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.” And as soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the Lord departed; and Abraham returned to his place.

Perhaps the notion that many of us carry that Jewish people are great negotiators able to squeeze the best deal from any transaction originated with this story from the life of Abraham. God somehow conveys to Abraham that He will be destroying Sodom and Abraham commences to negotiate how the city might be saved.

He asks for God to refrain from taking His planned action if fifty righteous people could be found in Sodom. God agrees. Seeing how easy that was, Abraham takes his chances, admitting that he is nothing before God but dust and ashes, and asks the Almighty to spare the city for the sake of five fewer righteous people. God agrees to not destroying Sodom for the sake of forty-five righteous ones.

Well, that five was easy, so let’s try another five thinks Abraham and goes for it. And God, once more agrees. Well, thinks Abraham, if we can get two fives, we can get a ten all in one shot. But he knows by now he is really testing God’s patience and so he said, “Please don’t get angry, but would you save the city for the sake of thirty righteous people?”

Now being who He was, God knew the end result. He knew there were not sufficient righteous people in Sodom to save the city. So what was going on here? Was He playing with Abraham? I do not think so. He agrees to save Sodom for the sake of thirty, and later for the sake of twenty, righteous people because He wants Abraham to realize the situation the city is in. Sometimes we have to come to grips with the depravity of our society ourselves before we can watch God work through us. Sometimes we have to realize that God has to do it His way and not our way. That is also true for our own lives as well as the lives of our loved ones. As a natural father, I would not allow my children to go through some of the trials they are facing, but then I realize that our Heavenly Father has attributes I lack – like ultimate wisdom and the ability to see the end and not just the present. Yet He allows me to implore Him for the sake of my children, but importantly to establish and strengthen my own faith and trust in Him. I do not think God was angry with Abraham or He would have said so.

Still, Abraham asks Him not to be angry and dares to speak to Him again, although this time, he said it would be his last. Abraham asks God to save the city for the sake of just ten righteous people thinking “surely, there must be ten like that there.” God agrees once more, takes Abraham at his word that he would not ask again, and immediately departs once He finished saying He would agree. And the scripture says, “Abraham returned to his place.”

We can do all the bargaining we want with God. But in the end, we realize that God’s plan was the right one, and often the only one. Yet, in the process of our negotiating, we are able to talk it out with Him. We are able to grow in our relationship with Him. We are able to learn more about Him. When we’re done, He’s done and then He holds us to that agreement. He goes about carrying out His part. All we can do is “return to our rightful place”, wait for Him to work it out, and come to the realization that we are safe in His care.

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Genesis 18:22-25 On Challenging God

Genesis 18:22-25: Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the Lord. And Abraham came near and said, “Wilt Thou indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; wilt Thou indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from Thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from Thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”

The Lord agrees to go down to Sodom to check out the outcry He has heard and Abraham quickly steps in to capitalize on that. As the men turn away, eager to move on to their destination, Abraham remains in his spot before the Lord. He approaches Him and asks whether God really intends to destroy the righteous with the wicked.

Interestingly, the text in this or the previous verses gives no indication whatsoever as to what God intended to do when He got to Sodom. All we know is that He was not happy with what He had heard in their outcry. So, one of three things happened which led to this question. First, perhaps Abraham knew God well enough to know what He would do when He called someone’s sin ‘exceedingly grave’ as He did in verse twenty. Secondly, Abraham may simply have assumed what God would do. Thirdly, there was more conversation between them than what the text indicates.

If the third possibility was indeed the case and there was more conversation than what we are provided with, then clearly this can also be true of the rest of scripture. That is, we may only have the highlights and critical aspects of any conversation in scripture and indeed there may be more in the account we have of any given incidence. That is a real and most probable possibility. Those of us who to try to understand scripture and interpret it for our own use must be careful to base our interpretation on what we have in scripture and to clearly indicate when we are extrapolating our interpretation based on what else we ‘assume’ was taking place or may have been said.

For whatever reason, Abraham asks God to consider sparing the city if there were fifty righteous people He could find. What I find most strange is that here is Abraham speaking to the all mighty God and saying, “Surely it is not like you to destroy the righteous with the wicked. Surely, you are not going to treat them the same. That’s not you at all, God. You are the Supreme Judge and you must deal with justice.”

Wow. That reminds me of getting sass from my children when they were young and would find some inconsistency in my life or thinking. How dare they? It reminded me of accusing my father of lying in front of my uncle. Boy, was I sore for days after that. How dared I? Yet Abraham was somehow able to question or challenge God in this manner. Perhaps it was due to his friendship with God. Perhaps he felt that as the Lord’s recent host, he could be so bold. Perhaps because of the covenant God had made with Abraham, this mortal felt he could appeal to God in the way that he did.

How would you have reacted to such a challenge if you were in God’s shoes? I would be taken aback and probably react negatively as I did when my young children challenged me or as did my dad when I challenged him in public. The next few verses reveal God’s reaction.

The point here though is the thinking behind Abraham’s challenge. When studied more closely, we see that very question indicates Abraham had an understanding about God’s character. God was a fair and just Judge who loved the righteous and would punish the unrighteous. Abraham also felt that God would deal with those that approached Him on behalf of others. Because he both asked a question and also made observations about what God would not do, it is not clear whether Abraham was hoping to point out to God that He made an error in His approach to this matter, or whether Abraham was actually hoping to change God’s mind. In any case, Abraham felt he could approach God.

We may not always have a case to present before God, but how wonderful it is to know that we can have a relationship with Him like Abraham did. We can approach our God as freely as Abraham did. I know people that feel they cannot, that God has no time for them because of their past. When they need Him most and when He is most willing to listen and care, they themselves make that impossible. That is indeed tragic.

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Who's Faith Is It Anyway OR How the Press Impacts Evangelicals

Who’s Faith Is It Anyway or How the Press Impacts Evangelicals

I recently realized that many of us Christians are indeed “sheep”. And I don’t necessarily mean the kind that Christ calls His own (although He calls us that). I mean the kind that are dumb, willing to be led around by anyone and everyone that wants to ‘shepherd’ us. The latest example is how the media and some politicians, rather than we ourselves, are defining the role that evangelicals and others have played in the past and will be playing in the next American election. Here are a few examples I’ve picked up from both the media and partisans on this very point:

• “Jesus Christ would not vote for Barack Obama.” – Alan Keyes, Republican Senate candidate in 2004.
• “Obama is emerging as the candidate with the greatest chance in decades to coax at least some Christian evangelicals and other churchgoing voters away from the Republican fold.” – MacLean’s magazine, July 7, 2008.
• “If this election turns out to be as close (as the one in 2004), religious groups could make a big difference.” – John Green, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
• “There are signs of a potentially historic shift.” – MacLean’s magazine, July 7, 2008.
• “Evangelicals are waking up to the idea that abortion is not the only moral issue.” – Stephen Mansfield, author, The Faith of George W. Bush.

With Jerry Falwell and D. James Kennedy dead, and Pat Robertson awfully quiet at age 78, the press (again not us) points to popular preachers of today and tells us Joel Osteen simply urges people to vote, T. D. Jakes has not endorsed any candidate, and Rick Warren is not openly partisan and seems to be embracing broader social concerns than what evangelicals have traditionally worried about. It tells us that more and more Christians feel that neither political party made a difference on abortion, but the Bush administration was immoral on the issue of war and terror. It tells us that evangelical organizations like Sojourners out of Washington are devoted to fighting poverty and ending the war in Iraq. It (not us) tells us younger evangelicals care more about the environment than their elders. The implication is clearly, “What’s the matter with the rest of us?”

The Pew Forum tells us that the greatest loss of support for George Bush between 2001 and 2007 came from white evangelicals aged 18 to 29. A recent Pew poll says that only 57 per cent of white evangelical Protestants support the Republicans, down from 62 per cent in 2004. The press says this is an opportunity for the Democrats and Obama to gain votes – enough to win the election.

Why is this happening? Well, for starters all of the above are true. Bush has lost many Americans over the war. Current popular preachers are staying silent. Christians are giving up on winning certain issues, and focusing on those for which the Democratic Party seems to have a stronger platform. The ‘moral majority’ is dead and the Christian left is starting to take charge once more. But there’s another reason.

Barack Obama is speaking more openly about his ‘faith’ and feeling at ease doing so. John McCain considers it a personal matter. In addition, he has alienated many Christians on his stance on certain traditional Christian issues. With nothing to gain in those areas by sticking with McCain, many are investigating the move to the left.

Here’s what the press wants us to think and believe and they say it through the words of Douglas Kmiec, a pro-life conservative Roman Catholic: “You should not have blinders on about the rest of your obligations to your fellow neighbors: addressing the needs of health care, to provide a family wage for a working person, and it certainly requires that you pay attention to the use of warfare, and whether it has been justifiably applied in a limited circumstance.”

However, they clearly seem to also be telling us, by their silence, that Christians, especially evangelicals, can have blinders on about the very “faith” of the candidates in the upcoming election. Take a closer look.

I believe there’s enough evidence that Barack Obama is not a Muslim. But he also takes a postmodern, theologically liberal approach to scripture putting less weight on some of Paul’s instructions on lifestyle and more on the Sermon on the Mount. While the press admits this approach is not for everyone, it points out that it is gaining popularity. It then suggests that Obama’s type of faith may be just the ticket at this time when the face of evangelicalism is changing.

Okay, so how does all this relate to church leadership? I believe as leaders we have a responsibility to encourage our congregants to think for themselves and not be led like sheep by anyone else, including the press. I believe we also have a responsibility to help them ask some questions, in fact some of the same questions the press asks. For example, “Regardless of a candidate’s own faith, what is his attitude towards Islam?” Some of Bush’s troubles with evangelicals started when he spoke of the Muslim and the Christian God as one. Or “What is the value of a candidate’s faith when he totally misunderstands the difference between O.T. law and N.T. grace?” as Obama did in his famous June 2006 speech in which he said it is difficult to translate the Bible into secular law. He spoke as follows: “Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is okay and that eating shellfish is an abomination? How about Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith?” I, for one, place no value on any man’s comments about his own faith when he talks like that. His very questions indicate he has very little of any true understanding of Scripture and God’s plan for man. He wants us to allow our faith to inspire, but not to dictate, public policy.

Hopefully, we don’t want just an inspiring faith that cannot be applied to life and reflected in public policy in a nation that is predominantly Judeo-Christian. And besides, tell the Muslims that their faith should only inspire, and not dictate. Tell them that Sharia law is no good. In Obama’s thinking, being against abortion because God is against it is not good enough; he wants us to explain to everybody’s satisfaction, including an atheist’s, why abortion violates moral principle. As for John McCain we may well ask, “Why is he so silent about his faith? Could it be he really does not have anything substantial to offer in that department?”

I also believe we have a responsibility to get together and speak with one mind on this topic authoritatively for ourselves. If not, we should at least get together and say, “what’s going on in American politics today, or at least the abuse and misuse of true faith in American politics today, really does not concern us because it does not change the Truth!”

But then again, that’s my take. What’s yours? Are we really in a “damned if we do and damned if we don’t” situation? What are you telling your congregation as the election nears? Although I do not for a minute believe any of us have an in on what our Lord would say or do in any situation, the famous adage “WWJD?” seems to fit well here. And most importantly why has there not been a definitive voice for Christian church? Is it because we’re to not bother with all this? Help me out.

Until next time,

Ken Godevenos

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.