today's meditation (Gn.20) Sin is Sin

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and help me understand as I read Your word...)

(Genesis 20:1-18)  Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar. 2 Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 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.” 4 Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a nation, even though blameless? 5 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 I have done this.” 6 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. 7 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.”

8 So Abimelech arose early in the morning and called all his servants and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were greatly frightened. 9 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.” 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you encountered, that you have done this thing?” 11 Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. 12 Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife; 13 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.”’” 14 Abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored his wife Sarah to him. 15 Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; settle wherever you please.” 16 To Sarah he said, “Behold, 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.” 17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, so that they bore children. 18 For the Lord had closed fast all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Ugh!  It would seem that Abraham had not asked God what to do in these situations, and still did not trust that God would protect him from being killed because of his wife... and so... he lied AGAIN about Sarah being his sister.  Although in this scenario, we see him try to justify his lie by explaining that she was indeed a half-sister.  So that part was true-ISH. 

The point is, Abraham had lied by omission about Sarah being his wife.  And apparently, they were both in on this plan right from the very beginning of their relationship.  What they didn't do was, once God was in their lives, they didn't bring God into their relationship issues to figure out a new plan and a new way.  If only they had done this, they would not have had to live apart for any amount of time. and they would not have upset yet another king.  Maybe after this incident, they learned their lesson???

As for king Abimelech, it was a sin for him to take another man's wife, whether he was aware of the fact or not, but God still considered the integrity of his heart.  Therefore the (earthly) consequences were not as severe.  God had protected Abimelech from himself - by (somehow) not allowing him to touch Sarah.  God had also closed the wombs of all the women in Abimelech's household as a consequence of him taking Sarah from Abraham.  This could have included Sarah's womb, which then protected God's promise for her to (only) have a baby with Abraham.

Sin is sin, whether we are aware of it or not.  But God is fair.  And better yet, when we become children of God, He forgives all our sin - past, present and future.  God delivers us from it all!  Then, as we grow in our faith, God brings things to light about what we need to be confessing and changing in our lives.  We just need to remember to go to Him for guidance, and to be open to hearing His wisdom and understanding His will!!!...

today's meditation (Gn.19:30-38) We Need a Deliverer

(Dear Lord Jesus, please guide me in Your wisdom and insight...)

(Genesis 19:30-38)  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. 31 Then the firstborn 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. 32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him that we may preserve our family through our father.” 33 So they made their father drink wine that night, and the firstborn went in and lay with her father; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 34 On the following day, the firstborn 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.” 35 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. 36 Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. 37 The firstborn bore a son, and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38 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.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

We can see what is in the scripture passage below.  But what is also obvious is that God is not mentioned at all, even though two of the Lord's angels protected Lot and his two daughters and brought them safely out of Sodom before its destruction.  Instead of turning to God to worship, they chose to remain blind to God and His ability to deliver, and continued on in their sinful lifestyle.

We don't know why Lot was afraid to stay in Zoar, even though he requested that he be allowed to escape to that town.  Some speculate that maybe he felt people might believe he was the cause of Sodom's destruction.  Or maybe he was afraid that Zoar would also eventually be destroyed.  No matter what, Lot became a recluse, which caused his daughters to think that there were no men anywhere in the world for them.

Lot's son from his oldest daughter was named Moab, and became the father of the Moabites.  And the son from his youngest daughter became the Ammonites.  The Moabites, and perhaps the Ammonites, worshiped the god Chemosh (Judges 11:24)... historians figure that this meant "destroyer", "subduer" or "fish god".   One can easily imagine how they created this god, by taking and twisting the actual events of Sodom and Gomorrah, and then believing that they had to make sacrifices to appease "Chemosh" so no further destruction would befall them.

A good question to ask is, "Why is this story in the Bible?"  We see in the genealogy of Jesus from Joseph's side (in Matthew 1:5) that Ruth is included in the list.  Ruth was a Moabite who became a believer and married Boaz.  This really demonstrates God's grace!

Maybe if God would have chosen to be born out of a very pious and religious lineage, people would have said that Jesus was "good" because of that.  But Jesus came out of a lineage which had some very questionable people.  Coming to earth as 100 % man, while still being 100 % God - living a completely perfect life without any sin - got the attention of many people!!!  And still does!!!


In His word, God does not avoid or dilute the facts - we are sinners - and we need Jesus to deliver us!!!...

today's meditation (Gn.18:16-19:29) Trust God

(Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for Your words of wisdom and Your insight...)

(Genesis 18:16-33)  Then the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off. 17 The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed? 19 For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.” 20 And the Lord said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. 21 I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”

22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the Lord. 23 Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from You 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 You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” 26 So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.” 27 And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 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.” 30 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.” 31 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.” 32 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.” 33 As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the Lord departed, and Abraham returned to his place.

(Genesis 19:1-29)  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. 2 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.” They said however, “No, but we shall spend the night in the square.” 3 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. 4 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; 5 and they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.” 6 But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, 7 and said, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. 8 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.” 9 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. 10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11 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.

12 Then the two 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; 13 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.” 14 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 sons-in-law to be jesting.

15 When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the Lord was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city. 17 When they had brought them outside, one said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away.” 18 But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lords! 19 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, for the disaster will overtake me and I will die; 20 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.” 21 He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken. 22 Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the town was called Zoar.

23 The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven, 25 and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But his wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

27 Now Abraham arose early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before the Lord; 28 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.

29 Thus it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

In this passage, we see Abraham still acting as a gracious host with a servant-like attitude.  Interesting, this last Sunday, our pastor was talking about the customs of those times.  A host would not just say "Thank you for coming" and close the door - instead - the host would walk part way with their guests to see them safely off.  Obviously, the Lord (and the two angels) knew where they were going and didn't need any directions, or any protection, for that matter.  But here was a chance for Abraham to be with the Lord just a little longer.

Just as the Church is called, the Israelites were chosen by the Lord to be the "missionaries" to the nations... to live righteously and act justly.  And just as the Lord has given us information about what will happen to sinners when they pass away, as well as what will happen to sinners who go through the Tribulation, the Lord gave Abraham information about what was going to happen to the sinners in Sodom.

God is so patient with all of us, and He is just.  It's not that Abraham was able to negotiate God down to ten people and then He would spare the entire city of Sodom... the Lord knew that there weren't ANY righteous people in the entire city!!!  And maybe Abraham wasn't so concerned about all the souls in that city, but he would have been thinking of his nephew and family.  So for Abraham's sake, before destroying the cities, God had the angels physically remove Lot, and Lot's wife and daughters.

Lot was no saint.  He had offered up his virgin daughters to be raped in exchange for the guests' protection.  THAT plan backfired.  Fortunately the guests were angels and could protect the family, despite their stupidity.  And even though the angels got the four of them out of the city, the wife still really didn't want to leave that life of corruption - so she perished along with her city.

God is love!  And God is also just!!!  And God hears our prayers!!!  We can ask Him for anything, and He will answer those prayers as He sees fit - all the while keeping us in mind.  So we also need to remember that God is all-knowing!!!  Knowing all of this should really help us trust in God more...

today's meditation (Gn.18:9-15) Grow Our Faith

(Dear Lord Jesus, let Your words impact my life...)

(Genesis 18:9-15)  Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10 He said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. 12 Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” 13 And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’ 14 Is anything too difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” 15 Sarah denied it however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Well... this is meditation is short and sweet!  It wasn't wrong of Sarah to laugh, but she denied doing so.  We have to understand - God sees and hears everything - even the stuff that goes on in our heads!!!  I need to remember to confess my sinful thoughts, and any thoughts of doubt and denial... I know that would certainly help my faith to grow in the Lord!

And here God said it - - - "Is anything too difficult for the Lord?"  No!

Remember when Mary was told that she would give birth to the Savior, even though she was still a virgin.  Being human and fallible, I'm sure she was initially terrified at the news... so the angel Gabriel added that (her relative) Elizabeth was also pregnant even though she was well beyond childbearing years, ending with the phrase "For nothing will be impossible with God" (Luke 1:37). 

So when Mary went to visit Elizabeth, I'm quite sure this story about Abraham and Sarah would have come up in conversation, a story which had been passed along throughout the generations.  Not only seeing Elizabeth pregnant, but remembering this story and its outcome would have helped Mary's faith in God.

It helps us to hear that other people have gone through similar things.  And it especially helps to hear how God answered their prayers and got them through their challenges.  This is one reason why it is so important to get together with other believers - to share our experiences - and to encourage and build each other up in our faith in the Lord...

today's meditation (Gn.18:1-8) Respect

(Dear Lord Jesus, let my eyes be opened to Your message for me today...)

(Genesis 18:1-8)  Now the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth, 3 and said, “My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not pass Your servant by. 4 Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree; 5 and I will bring a piece of bread, that you may refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have visited your servant.” And they said, “So do, as you have said.” 6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly, prepare three measures of fine flour, knead it and make bread cakes.” 7 Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. 8 He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

The Lord (the pre-incarnate of Jesus) and two angels appeared to Abraham in the form of men.  Abraham recognized the Lord at once!  Remember, Abraham had already become a believer, and had held conversations with Him in the past, so Abraham KNEW his Lord God.

People who are unbelievers will sometimes say to Christians, "There's something different about you!"  Well, just imagine how "different" Jesus would seem - especially to someone who already knows Him.

Now, here is respect... Abraham did not assume that the Lord would stay with him there.  Abraham asked the Lord - IF he had found favor in His sight...!!!  IF- meaning - have I been behaving properly or have I done anything wrong which needs addressing?  Even with loved ones, do we treat them horribly and then expect them to get over it and be nice to us and visit with us like nothing has happened?

Not only did Abraham want the Lord to stay with him there - Abraham wanted Him to stay so that he could serve Him!  When they said they would stay, Abraham immediately set about preparing a feast, which was more than he promised them.  Notice he chose a choice calf to prepare... like the first fruits of a tithe.  Nothing but the best.

Also notice that Abraham did not eat with them.  He was probably acting as a servant would, attentive and standing ready to serve in any way required.

While I was a missionary in Puerto Rico, my family and I were invited to a neighbor's house for dinner.  We were humbled!  The matron of the house sat us at the only table in their very tiny home, and sat her family in the living room (which was also someone's bedroom).  She served us first, then her family.  IF she even ate, she ate in the kitchen, otherwise, she was standing aside, attentive, ready to serve.  If anyone wanted to ask us a question, they would politely stand and say, "May I ask a question?"

Wow!  In north America, we are so very casual.  We don't typically treat our neighbors that way.  We are also probably way more casual towards God than other culture.  So the big question to ponder is - considering everything the Lord has done for us, and considering WHO He is - how much respect do we show God?  Do we take Him for granted, and do as we please - then expect God to bless, please and serve US as we desire?  Or do we humble ourselves, get right with Him, and serve, and stand by ready to serve as required, desiring to please our Lord and Savior???...