Daily Bread for Jan 6, Gen 19-21

Today's readings are Gen 19-21.

As judgment approaches Sodom in Gen 19, we are reminded that Abram’s last plea to God was to spare the city if there were ten righteous living in it (Gen 18:32-33). We see that Lot appears to be the lone righteous man in Sodom (Gen 19:4).

God destroys the city but spares Lot, his wife and his daughters, presumably because of Abraham's intercession (Gen 18:23; 19:15). We learn another valuable lesson in how God deals with His creation. God will spare those who are represented by a righteous advocate or mediator, in Lot's case, Abraham. The unrighteous will be destroyed.

Note: The men of Sodom are so consumed by their lust that, even though struck blind, they continue to try to break into Lot's house (Gen 19:11). They are groping around in the dark. In contrast, at sunrise (Gen 19:15), Lot is led by the hand to safety. We find that those apart from the Lord are blinded by their own desires and lost in the dark. Those who are with Him will be led into the light.

We have a telling contrast between Lot's wife, who disobeys the command not to look upon the destruction of the city and Abraham. She turns back to watch and is transformed into a pillar of salt. Meanwhile, Abraham, who has not been given the same commandment, looks on the destruction (Gen 19:27-28) with a vastly different outcome. In the story of Lot's wife, we see that it is not always the behavior, but the heart behind the action that condemns. There was apparently nothing inherently evil about looking at the city or the destruction. But there was in the disobedience of Lot's wife. Abraham is continuously portrayed as a man who, despite his weaknesses, wants to obey God.

Lot's daughters, with good intentions of perpetuating the bloodline, seduce their father and produce sons (Gen 19:30-38). Regardless of their intentions, good or bad, this remains a sin. This will have a long-term impact on the dynamics of the region. Their offspring, the Moabites and the Ammonites (Gen 19:37-38), will live as enemies of God's people for centuries. As we have seen before and will see again, whenever one of God's people believe they have a better idea than God or want to improve on His plan, it doesn't turn out so well.

Shockingly, Abraham again lies about his relationship to Sarah in Gen 20, calling her his sister instead of his wife and resulting in her being taken into King Abimelech's harem. Abimelech is a Philistine. God, being faithful to His promise to produce offspring for Abraham through Sarah, protects Sarah and prevents Abimelech from touching her (Gen 20:6) leaving no question as to who Isaac's father will be. Abraham receives grace though he stumbles yet again. As flawed as he is, Abraham is being used in a mighty way as a vessel for blessing and curses. God employs imperfect people to do His work!

While the Philistines will remain enemies of God's people as long as they exist, we learn two lessons about God in this incident. (1) He will use people who are not His in whatever manner He chooses. He not only protects Sarah but heals Abimelech, revealing that He has authority over even the Philistines. (2) His healing of Abimelech is an act of "common grace," the grace that is shown to ungodly people while God works His perfect plan out among those that are His.

This is further demonstrated in Gen 21 where God's promise to Abraham is fulfilled in the birth of Isaac. When Isaac is weaned, Abraham and Sarah turn Hagar and Ishmael out, apparently leaving them to starve to death. God promises to preserve Hagar and Ishmael, upholding His previous promise (Gen 16:10; 17:20) that Ishmael will be the father of multitudes. A careful reading of Gen 20:12-13 reveals that many nations will call Abraham their father (Rom 4:17-18), a prophecy borne out by today's current events as Ishmael's descendants consider Abraham their ancestor as do Isaac's. This is the long-term fruit of Abram and Sarai's decision to take things into their own hands.

God is faithful in all He says and does. Abraham and Sarah's sin impacts us today, just as Adam and Eve's does, just as do our own.