In today's reading what stood out to me was how imperfect Abram and Sarai (later Abraham and Sarah) were, yet they are looked upon today as Bible heroes. They made some foolish decisions, but God didn't give up on them.
Abraham became the father of the Israelite people, and yet at the beginning of our reading in chapter 16 we first see how Sarai was willing that her husband would sleep with another woman, in order to produce an heir, and then Abram was more than willing to go along with this. Even in today's sinful world this seems outrageous. Yet God didn't give up on them.
God even told both Abraham and Sarah ahead of time that He would give them a son one day, and God would establish His covenant with this son and his offspring forever. The reaction from both Abraham and Sarah was laughter, they laughed at God for promising what they thought was impossible.
17:17 "Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety ?”
And Sarah too laughed,
18:12" So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
Even though both Abraham and Sarah reacted poorly to what God had promised, God didn't give up on them and followed through with His promise to establish His covenant through this child that was to be born.
God didn't give up on them and He won't give up on us, as long as we're still living. I'm just as bad of a sinner as anyone, yet there's still hope for me, because of Jesus and what He did for me. If God won't give up on me and you, He also won't give up on those around us that we find hopeless. When I think of hopeless people, I think of those in my life that seem far away from having a relationship with Jesus, these are the ones I need to not give up thinking of and praying for.
5 comments:
Good point about not giving up on praying for others to one day knowing Christ.
What stood out for me was that Abraham spoke to God and made requests to spare Sodom. God wants us to communicate with Him and to bring our concerns to Him. In this case it was Abraham's concern for others, and God heard Abraham.
Even though we are sinful, God still loves us, and He still keeps His promises He made for us. We are so undeserving, but He does this for us anyways.
A couple things stood out to me this time around that I hadn't noticed before....
First, Abraham actually thought that Ishmael was the answer to God's promise. Sin is so blinding! Not trusting God, taking matters into their own hands, and committing adultery - it's like they somehow felt that the ends justified the means. Or felt that the blessing of Ishmael proved the means were ok. There can be fruit that seems good from bad choices, but that doesn't make the choices ok. An example I can think of - a church that condones homosexuality. That church may still end up showing some fruit - maybe some genuine conversions, maybe showing God's love to those around them - but that doesn't mean that our sin is right. It means God's mercy is great! Sin blinds us so much that we can presume upon God's mercy in order to justify our sin. May we pray for eyes open to sin and a conscience sensitive to bring us back when we go off path.
I also noticed this verse when God was referring to His plan to destroy Sodom....
“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do...?"
Why did God reveal His plan to Abraham? Probably for a few reasons. First, so that his faith would grow through interceding for the people of Sodom. Second, so that God's mercy would be revealed to Abraham. Third, that eventually evil will be judged. There are probably many more things Abraham learned through this experience, but those were the first ones that came to mind.
I like that you said "God didn't give up on them and He won't give up on us, as long as we're still living." It reminded me about Sunday's message at church about the sinner beside Jesus on the cross was told that he would be with Jesus in paradise that day. As long as we're still living, God can use us.
In Gen 18:16-33 we see Abraham pleading to God for the righteous people of Sodom. If God was willing to spare Sodom for 50, then 45, then 40, 30, then 20 & down to 10, why did he not just start by telling Abraham that the city was so corrupt but for even just 10 he would spare it?
I think that God waits for us to come to him. He knows full well what he is willing to give us but is holding back, waiting for us. He gives us an opportunity for relationship. We, also, open ourselves up to really seeing God answer prayer. If we didn't have ask, we might take it for granted or not even give it a second thought. But, by praying, we get to see God actively a part of our lives.
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