Genesis Chapter 25 - Count the Cost

Abraham, a friend of God’s, a faithful steward, a good father, and a loving husband, died at the age of 175. His sons, Isaac and Ishmael buried him with Sarah, his first wife and the mother of the son of promise. Abraham had concubines, a second wife, and several other children, but it was Isaac and Ishmael, both leaders in their own rights, who took care of Abraham’s body. (Picture of the Cave of the Patriarchs).

History is marked by the separation of these two sons and the differences between them. Perhaps the burial of Abraham was their last unified act. It was an act of honor, love, and respect---an act Abraham was well-deserving of. He made his mistakes, but it was his acts of obedience that made him the father of faith. We would do well to remember and follow after his role model as an obedient servant of God’s.

The final statement of this chapter is not a good reflection on the life of Ishmael: His descendants lived in hostility toward all their brothers. No honor, love, and respect shown here. No role model of obedience and faithfulness to follow after. When bitterness settles deep in one’s heart, it affects how that person lives and what kind of heritage is passed on. It is much better to live in peace with all men, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).

Isaac’s wife Rebekah, like Sarah, was unable to have children until God intervened. Did God want to make sure He had their attention first? After all, Isaac was the son of a promise, and he was the recipient of Abraham’s blessings and promise of a multitude of descendants. We don’t always understand God’s timing, but I do think it includes giving us time to become totally focused on Him---to know His will, and to acknowledge God as sovereign. As long as we are self-sufficient, God will let us struggle on our own efforts. When we totally surrender to Him, then He can weave His pattern and will into our lives.

God answered Isaac’s prayer, and twin boys, Esau and Jacob, were born. It appears that Isaac and Rebekah played favorites with their sons. In so doing they set the stage for animosity between their two sons. While Esau was an outdoors man, Jacob liked staying close to home. He was somewhat cunning, planning ahead, while Esau lived for the moment. In Esau’s moment of hunger, he sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew. He gave up the rights of the first born for one simple meal. Meanwhile Jacob seized the opportunity to make a profit for himself.

We can learn a lesson from this episode out of their lives. Esau acted on impulse, seeking instant gratification---food for his stomach. He gave no thought to the long term consequences of his "here and now" satisfaction. In the face of temptation there are pressured filled moments that scream out for all of our attention. Our perspective becomes distorted, and if we act on impulse we will no doubt regret the choices we make. It is better to wait, analyze the situation, count the cost, and proceed with caution in the face of any temptation that seeks instant gratification.

"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:31)

Teach me, Lord, to wait. Amen.

Genesis Chapter 24 - Intimate Details

When Isaac came of age to marry, Abraham did not want his son to marry a Canaanite woman. Rather, he wanted Isaac to marry a woman from his father’s family. Before Abraham died he gave instructions to his chief servant, Eliezer, on how and where to obtain a wife for Isaac. In obedience to his master, the chief servant made a trip back to the land of Abraham’s ancestors. Upon arrival he prayed a prayer for wisdom and success in finding a wife for Isaac.

When Rebekah came to the well where the chief servant rested and prayed, she was an immediate and direct answer to his prayer. Her offer to draw water from the well for Eliezer’s camels was unusual, and this act of kindness displayed Rebekah’s servant heart. Abraham’s chief servant was more concerned about choosing a woman with a right attitude and disposition than concern with physical beauty or social status. It would be good for us to follow his example and focus more on the inner beauty of others, as well as improving our own.

Eliezer went with Rebecca to her home to ask permission for her to go with him back to the land of Canaan for the purpose of becoming Isaac’s wife. After he related his story to her brother, Laben, Rebecca was freely given to become Isaac’s wife. Rebecca was also given a choice in the matter, and she chose to return with Eliezer to the land of Canaan. She must have known that it was part of God’s plan for her life to be willing to leave her family and loved ones to join a stranger in a distant land. She was walking into the unknown, trusting God with her future.

The customs were different back then, but there are some elements in this story that would be beneficial in the courting ritual today:

1. The future mate should be sought for from within the family…the Family of God. Compatibility is much more likely when the backgrounds and beliefs are similar.

2. There should be much prayer for guidance in the right selection. Sometimes laying out fleeces is a good way to know for sure the wisdom of God. We should pray in specifics, as the chief servant did, for God delights in answering in specifics. When choosing a life-long partner, God is very concerned that we seek His guidance and choose carefully. He alone knows our future path and who can best accompany us on our journey through life.

3. No one should marry against his or her own will. Adults are given the freedom of choice in our culture, and both partners before the marriage should be able to freely choose whom they intend to share life with. However, once the choice is made and consummated, a new principle goes into effect…one of total commitment until death they both part. Without that commitment, when the road gets bumpy someone may decide to jump off the tandem bicycle. Commitment, on the other hand, will keep both partners working together to complete the journey.

God truly does honor very specific and sincere prayers. His beautiful provision to Eliezer’s prayer left no doubt that God was also answering one of Abraham’s last prayers for the future of his son. If you have not tried praying in the specific state, next time you pray give God some details to work with. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at His response. Intimate details are God’s specialty. Get intimate with God, go ahead….He’s waiting for you!

Genesis Chapter 23 - Nothing But The Best

Abraham’s beautiful and beloved wife, Sarah, died when Isaac was 37 years old. God had granted her a son in her old age (90), and had given her time to raise him and enjoy the privilege of seeing him grow into a man of God, like his father. God is so good, His timing so perfect.

In this passage we note a custom of those times…that of purchasing land in a public setting with witnesses. Even though Abraham was promised the land and a multitude of descendants, at the time of Sarah’s death he was without a place to bury her. In the "bargaining process" of selling and purchasing property, Abraham was offered the land as a gift, but he wanted to pay the value of the property. Both sides were gracious to one another as they bargained, so different from the greedy attitudes we find today. The final price was determined to be 400 shekels. Sarah was buried in Hebron, part of the promised land of Canaan. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would also be buried in this place with Sarah, when they reached the end of their lives.

When we trust God with out lives, He works out every detail…nothing is forgotten, overlooked, or left out. Because we know God is in control we do not have to argue or fight to defend our cause. We can live in peace and act graciously toward others, for "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)

This passage brings to mind a scripture found in 2 Samuel 24. King David is wanting to build an altar and make a sacrifice to God to stop a plague. He offered to purchase the threshing floor of Araunah, but Araunah wanted to give him the threshing floor, as well as the animals and wood needed for the sacrifice. Then king David responds to him, "No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." Here again is that same attitude that Abraham displayed in purchasing a burial plot for his wife. The reasons for which these men of God wanted to purchase the respective properties were just too precious, too valuable, for them to accept a freebie or a cheap deal. The object of their affection deserved the best they had to give.

Whether the object of my love and devotion is God, or a family member, or a dear friend, am I desirous of giving my best, paying the full price, sacrificing whatever it takes to offer the best I can to the one I love? I like bargains, I shop under the clearance signs as much as possible. But when I face God, my Maker, and Jesus, my Savior, I do not want to be guilty of having given them the remnants of my life, the leftovers, the worn outs.

When I pay my tithe, may I never be guilty of seeing what I have left to give to the "church" (God’s storehouse, the Bride of Jesus).

When I offer my talents, may I never be guilty of seeing how I can fit God into my schedule, if it’s convenient or not.

When I have opportunity to testify of His faithfulness to me, may I never be guilty of shrinking back and feeling embarrassed, afraid of what others might think of me.

I want to be able to stand before the throne of God and look Him straight in the eyes, and say to Him, "Though nothing I could do for you would ever repay what was done for me at Calvary and all the times you interceded in my life, I have tried to live a life that put you first in all that I did and gave." My ultimate goal is to hear my heavenly Father say to me, "Well done, my child, enter into my eternal kingdom. Welcome home!"

Genesis Chapter 22 - Passing the Test

As God promised, a bouncing baby boy was born to Abraham and Sarah, and they named him Isaac. While Isaac was still a lad God put Abraham to the test by asking him to sacrifice his son up on Mount Moriah. I wonder what Isaac must have felt when his own father bound him up and placed him on the altar to be slaughtered and set on fire. As his dad raised the knife to complete the act, was Isaac quiet and submissive, trusting his father Abraham? Or was he screaming bloody murder, thinking ol’ dad had finally lost his mind?

Somehow I believe Isaac had experienced his father’s deep love and affection for him, and had observed Abraham’s steadfast faith in God. Therefore he could trust his father completely. Whatever was going to happen, it was part of God’s plan for his life. If God wanted to use him as a sacrifice, so be it.

In today’s world it is hard to fathom that kind of belief and trust. Must be Abraham had faith that God had another way of fulfilling His promise of many descendents if Isaac was taken from him. He had seen God’s faithfulness deliver him out of other impossible situations where his own life was at stake. He had also witnessed the deliverance of Lot and Lot’s daughters out of Sodom and Gomorra before the cities were destroyed. If God had a mind to do something, Abraham figured he might as well go along with it because it was going to happen regardless. It was safer to follow God’s instructions than to devise his own plan.....What? Wait a minute…you mean Abraham finally learned to completely trust God---no more little white lies to protect himself?

When God puts one to the test, and the test is failed, rest assured that person will have to take the test again. Abraham failed the test in Egypt when he lied about Sarah’s relationship to him. Years later in another location he had the opportunity to take the test again, but he lied to Abimelech also.

This time the test came in a different form…it involved not his beautiful wife, but his only son. This time he did not have to answer to a king, he answered God Himself. From his first response to the angel of the Lord, "Here I am" (vs. 1) to the second response of "Here I am" (vs. 11), Abraham was sincere…he was doing what God asked of him. Can’t you just see a wide grin spread across God’s face as He looks down on Abraham’s willingness to be radically obedient---"Oh, Abraham, my friend, I can trust you. You have shown your love to me by your act of obedience. You will surely be blessed with descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky." (vs. 17) WOW. Abraham finally passed the test, and what a reward he received!

Theologian Dennis Kinlaw said there was a conversation going on between another Father and Son on Mount Moriah that day. As they looked on at Abraham and Isaac, the Son said to the Father, "This isn’t the last time we will come to this place, is it Father?" "No," said the Father. The Son continued his questioning, "And the next time we come to this hill, it will be me that is sacrificed, right?" "Yes, Son," replied the Father. After a silent pause the Son speaks once more, "And Father, the next time we come to this mount, and I am the one who is placed on some crude pieces of wood formed into a cross, you will not say, "Stop! Do not lay a hand on him!" will you, Father?" The Father looked with deep compassion on His Son and said, "No, Son, there will be no stopping of the sacrifice when we come to Mount Calvary. For you see, Son, we cannot ask them to go to a place where we have not been."

The Father and the Son go before us to pave the way, to pay the price, to make the ultimate sacrifice---once for all. Am I willing to pass the test by my obedience to God’s leading in my life?

"I’ll say, Yes, Lord, Yes!

To your will and to your way.

Yes, Lord, Yes! I will trust you and obey.
When your Spirit speaks to me,

With my whole heart I’ll agree,

and my answer will be Yes, Lord, Yes!"

(Lynn Keesecker, Copyright 1983 Manna Music, Inc.)

Genesis Chapter 21 - Place Markers

Sarah gave birth to Isaac exactly as promised and foretold by God. She said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." (vs. 6) This was a time of great joy for Sarah and those who had been praying over her sorrow of not having a son. In chapter 18, verse 12, Sarah had laughed when she first heard the news that she would have a son within the year.

Here is food for thought: Could her laughter in that moment have stemmed from her inward acceptance that God was going to bless her? Was it the beginning of exuberant joy, that overwhelming feeling of elation that one has after waiting on God for a long time, and finally receiving the answer hoped for?
Have you ever prayed for something fervently and unceasingly, and then the answer came you had long waited for? In your heart you knew it seemed impossible, but God thrives in things thought impossible, and it is hard to contain the fountain of bubbling joy that answered prayer brings.

Even though Sarah was past childbearing age, and it may have sounded funny to her that she would conceive a child, I believe in her heart she knew that God was able to do anything He said. And He said He was going to give her the gift of joy and laughter through a child of her own.

Just as God delights in sharing our joys, He also watches over the broken hearted. Hagar and Ishmael were sent away from Abraham’s family because Ishmael tormented Isaac. However, God heard their cries and provided water in the desert for them, and promised them a future.

Ishmael was to become a leader of a great nation also. Rather than gratefulness for God’s intervention in Hagar and Ishmael’s lives, the descendants of Ishmael became a nation who were hostile to Israel and to God (Psalm 83:1-6). In Jeremiah 29:11 we read: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Are we grateful for what God has done and is doing in our lives?

Abraham made it a practice to show his gratitude for God’s intervention by building wells or altars, and worshipping God at those markers. One of the wells built by Abraham had been seized by Abimelech’s servants. When Abraham complained to Abimelech, the two of them formed a treaty that kindness would be shown between the two nations. Abraham gave Abimelech a gift of seven lambs as a witness to the treaty, and the place was named Beersheba. This location was at the southern tip of the land given to Abraham, the land we know as Israel today.

Beersheba stands for "two men swore an oath". Since there was already a well there, Abraham planted a tree and called upon the name of the Lord, once again showing worship and gratitude for God’s protection and goodness.

It would be beneficial for us to have place markers where battles have been won in our lives so that we might remember God’s infinite goodness and intervention on our behalf. We should reflect on what He has done for us because it speaks of His constant presence in our lives, and His plan which is continually being worked out. In dark moments, times of doubt and confusion, we can look back to the "well" or "altar" that we built, our markers. Just recalling how God saw us through those times encourages us in the present. It is a handrail to grab hold of when we think we are slipping.

Thank you, Father God, for your ever present help in times of trouble, and for times of great joy. You are always faithful.

Ganesis Chapter 20 - A God Who Cleans Up Messes

Well, they did it again! Abe and Sarah "lied" to assure Abe would not be killed by yet another king. Sarah must have been some beauty to be so desirable that Abraham thought they would kill him if they knew he was her husband.

Did this couple not learn their lesson the first time? They were playing a dangerous game of telling lies every time they got into a tight spot. If this pattern persisted, it would soon lead them away from trusting God at all. However, God intervened and protected everyone involved. He cleaned up Abraham’s mess once again. When would Abraham get it right and trust God by speaking the truth? God’s grace and constant protection are very evident in Abraham’s moments of weakness. How many times does God have to clean up our messes because we are not patient enough to wait on Him, or trusting enough to follow Him?

We may question why Abimelech and his kingdom were being punished since he did not realize Sarah was married to Abraham when Abimelech took her for his wife. The NIV Life Application Bible gives a good illustration regarding this. "A person who eats a poisonous toadstool, thinking it’s a harmless mushroom, no doubt has perfectly good intentions---but will still suffer. Sin is a poison that damages us and those around us, whatever our intentions."

God had closed up the wombs of the women in Abimelech’s kingdom until such time as Sarah was returned, untouched, to her rightful husband. We do not know, but perhaps this incident caused the king to gain a new respect, a reverent fear of God Almighty.

God is faithfully using our "ugly moments" for His glory. He can turn blemishes into beauty marks. Are we ever in danger of using up God’s grace? I would not want to play games of chance with God. However, there is a gospel song which brings me encouragement when it seems like giving up would be the best thing to do:

You may be down and feel like God has somehow forgotten
That you are faced with circumstances you can’t get through;
Right now it seems that there’s no way out and you’re going under,
But God’s proven time and time again, He’ll take care of you.

And He’ll do it again, He’ll do it again,
If you’ll just take one look at where you are now and where you’ve been;
Well, hasn’t He always come through for you; He’s the same now as then,
You may not know how, You may not know when, But He’ll do it again.

God knows the things you’re going through and He knows how you’re hurting;
You see, He knows just how your heart has been broken in two;
He’s the God of the stars, of the sun and the sea, And He is your Father;
He can calm the storm and He’ll find some way to fix this for you.

And He’ll do it again, He’ll do it again.
If you’ll just take one look at where you are now and where you’ve been;
Well, hasn’t He always come through for you; He’s the same now as then,
You may not know how, You may not know when, But He’ll do it again.

(Dawn Thomas, Copyright 1987 Do Dat Music ASCAP)

Genesis Chapter 19 - The Consequence of Choices

Two of the angels that had visited Abraham arrived in Sodom to check the city out. Lot insisted that they come to his home rather than stay in the city square. He knew what would happen to them there. How very, very vile Sodom was---all the men of the city, young and old, came to Lot’s house to rape the two guests.

In order to protect his guests, Lot went so far as to offer his daughters to the men to do with as they pleased. It is unbelievable that anyone could do that to his own children. I wonder why a righteous man would continue to live in such a wicked and evil place. Evidently Lot had allowed himself to grow accustomed to his environment rather than being God’s change agent.

This raises a question for us. How much do we influence our environment, our work world, school, neighborhood, wherever we exist? Do we dare to be different and take a stand against those things that are not pleasing to God and are harmful to our society? If we do not stand against what is wrong, we ourselves will become shaped by the world in which we live. Things that once bothered us may no longer have an effect on us.

We turn our televisions on and allow garbage to fill the atmosphere of our homes, the same atmosphere we want God’s presence to dwell in. God cannot abide sin, and He will not reside where it exists. When we compromise with the world, we lose our witness and usability for God.

Sodom was the epitome of a sick society. Our society today is headed that way. The "rights" of gays and lesbians are more protected than the rights of Christians. We are becoming a wicked and perverse generation of people, and I wonder how much longer God will put up with "Christian America"?

The angels persuaded Lot to take his family and flee to the mountains because God was going to destroy the cities and plains of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot was very much blessed by God’s grace in delivering him and his family from the wicked cities, for he and his family must have been close to depravity also.

Lot still wanted to choose his own place, and requested that they be allowed to go to the city of Zoar instead of the mountains. How full of mercy and patience God is, for He granted Lot’s request. After Lot and his family were safely out of the city, the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with brimstone and fire, including the plains and the inhabitants and all that grew on the ground----GONE!

During their deliverance Lot’s wife looked back, even though she was told not to, and she, too, ceased to exist, except as a pillar of salt. What did she miss about the place? Why could she not let go of a lifestyle that was destroying her family?

Contradict God’s commands? I don’t think so. He says what He means, and He means what He says. Keeping my eyes on Jesus, being radically obedient to God’s commands, is the only way for me to live and have peace of mind. However, I must go beyond obedience. It was for Abraham’s sake that Lot was saved (see verse 20). My prayers for others are also essential. God hears our prayers, and He honors our faith and our perseverance, just as He honored Abraham’s request and trust.

Lot wasn’t happy with his choice of Zoar as a place to live, and went to dwell in the mountains, as God had told him to do in the first place. His daughters were with him, and to preserve their father’s lineage they got him drunk and then slept with him. What a messed up family---what a price Lot paid for earlier choices he had made.

We must remember each decision we make brings about results that affects others beyond ourselves. Therefore we must make our choices carefully and with wisdom, not based on emotions and feelings. Our tomorrows are determined by our choices today.