Genesis 21.22-34

When I was a kid, I always found it frustrating to know that I didn't really own anything. My dad would remind me of this fact now and again. If I complained that he wanted to change the channel on the TV while I was watching something, he would point out that the TV wasn't mine. It was his, because he had bought it, and he now had control over what would show on it. In fact, none of the things I thought I had were really mine. My clothes, my toys, my bed...I didn't have true ownership over any of it! And that was a fact that always got on my nerves.

I wonder if Abraham ever felt similarly while he was living in the land of Canaan. God had made some pretty big promises to him. In Genesis 12, he had promised him descendants (an entire nation, in fact!), and he had promised that those descendants would live in the land. But for a long time, it looked like those promises might not happen. Abraham and his wife Sarah were really old (like, eating pudding cups all day at the nursing home old), so it didn't seem like they were going to be having kids. And, even though Abraham had set up camp in Canaan, he really didn't own any of it.

But, as Jeremy showed us last week, we begin to see the fulfillment of these promises in Genesis 21. At the beginning of the chapter, Abraham and Sarah have a son, Isaac. And in our passage today, we see how the promise of land begins to be fulfilled. Now, when yo first read this passage today, it seems like the most obscure thing in the world. But I think it shows us a lot about how God is faithful to keep his promises--both his promises to Abraham and his promises to us.

Here's how the passage starts out:

22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, "God is with you in all that you do. 23 Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where yo have sojourned." And Abraham said, "I will swear."

In these verses, we are reminded that God has made a promise, a covenant, with Abraham. Even Abimelech, a king of the Philistines, recognizes this. Abimelech knows that Abraham is God's man (maybe because God himself had told him! [Gen. 20:7]). And yet, Abimelech knows that Abraham is living in the land as an alien. He's not living in a land that is his own; Abimelech is allowing him to live there.

Like Abraham, we too have receive various promises from God, and in this life, we have yet to receive the fulfillment of those promises. We have receive a promise of place, just as Abraham had. In John 14:1-4, Jesus says that he was going to prepare a place for us, and he promises to come and take us with him to enjoy it. That's where we ultimately belong, and right now, we're living in the world as "sojourners and exiles" (1 Pet. 2:11).

So Abraham had receive a promise of a place. But in spite of his agreement for peace with Abimelech, not everything is fine and dandy. Here's what comes next in verses 25-26:

25 When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized, 26 Abimelech said, "I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today." 

Apparently, Abraham had dug a well, but some of Abimelech's men had taken it over for themselves. This was a threat to Abraham's promised place. Now, we might think, "Eh, so what? What's the big deal? It's just a well." But in that area of the world, and in that day and age, there wasn't much water. A well meant life, and to have a well taken away was a serious problem. So Abraham has received a promise of a place, but now that place is threatened. The question of the passage is: Will God make good on his promise of a place for Abraham, or will he let these Pharisees take his well?

We might face a similar tension in our own lives. We might wonder if God is going to make good on the promises he has made to us. At times, outside forces might shake our trust in God's faithfulness. It could be our own sense of guilt, or it could be the skepticism we receive from friends and family because of our faith, or it could be that we see so many problems in the world (war, natural disasters, sickness, etc.). There are so many things we can experience that hammer away at our trust in God and his promises.

But when we get to the end of the passage in Genesis 21, we see how God confirms his promise to Abraham. Here's verses 27-34:

27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant. 28 Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart. 29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?" 30 He said, "these seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this may be a witness for me that I dug this well." 31 Therefore that place was called Beersheba, because there both of them swore an oath. 32 So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God. 34 And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines.

In the end, Abraham and Abilmelech make a treat that guarantees Abraham's possession of the well he had dug. The threat that was present is turned away. At the end of the passage, Abraham finally has something in the land that he can call "Mine." And at first glance, it might seem like this treaty between Abimelech and Abraham was just a normal human deal, but I think it's more than that. God is at work here. Abimelech is the king of the area, and if he wanted that well for himself, he probably could have taken it. But remember, God had already told Abimelech that Abraham was a prophet and that God was on his side. God had been orchestrating events to ensure that Abraham would have this well--that the promise of a place could be confirmed to him.

So at the beginning of Genesis 21, Abraham has received promises from God but really hasn't seen much of a fulfillment. He's a childless alien with nothing to call his own. But by the end of the chapter, we see the first signs of fulfillment. He might not have a nation yet, but he has a son. And he might not have the entire land, but he has a well.

I find it very interesting that in verse 33, it mentions that Abraham planted a tamarisk tree there in Beersheba. Abraham is living near water (his well) and a tree. In the Bible, water and trees are symbols of security, peace, and establishment. They are signs that God is making good on his promises. We might think of the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve were surrounded by trees, and there was a river running through the Garden. And when we read about our eternal home in Revelation 22, we read about "the river of the water of life" that flows through the city, and how "the tree of life" stands on both sides of the river. We see it again--water and trees--symbols of God's peace and a sign that his promises have been fulfilled.

Abraham trusted God and received the place that he had been promised. We too need to trust God, because he's a God who makes good on promises. Jesus really is preparing a place for us, and he really will come back to take us home.

Genesis 21.8-21

When God Opens Your Eyes

By Lindsey Bell

Have you ever been at a place of complete desperation? Maybe it was after a job loss or during a difficult health situation. Maybe it was after the death of a friend or family member. Or maybe it was after you came home to find your spouse and children gone. Divorce was something you thought would never happen to you, but here you stand. Alone. 

In the text we’re going to look at today, Hagar experienced a similar feeling of desperation. Let’s go ahead and read through Genesis 21:8-21. I can’t wait to share with you what happened when she thought all hope was gone.

Genesis 21:8-21 (NIV):

“The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham, ‘Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.’ 

The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. But God said to him, ‘Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.’ 

Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba. 

When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, ‘I cannot watch the boy die.’ And as she sat there, she began to sob. 

God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, ‘What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.’ 

Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. 

God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.” 

If you’ve been following the previous Eat Your Bible posts, you’re familiar with the history of Abraham and Sarah. But just in case you’re new to this blog, let me provide a short review. 

God promised Abraham and Sarah that they would have a child. Unfortunately, God didn’t rush to fulfill his promise, and Abraham and Sarah grew impatient. They took matters into their own hands. Sarah gave her servant, Hagar, to Abraham to sleep with in hopes that they could have a child through her. This, of course, was never God’s plan for Abraham and Sarah. Later, after Hagar delivered Ishmael, Sarah had Isaac. And here is where our story begins today. 

Abraham and Sarah sent Hagar and Ishmael into the desert to fend for themselves. When all of their food and water were gone, Hagar lost all hope. It’s bad enough to deal with hunger yourself, but it’s quite another thing to watch your child starve to death. Hagar couldn’t stand the idea of watching her son die, so she went off by herself to cry. 

Look at what the text says happened next: “Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water.” I don’t know if the well was there all along or if God miraculously brought one to her. Either way, one thing is certain: Hagar’s life was changed because God opened her eyes. 

As I read this story, I’m reminded of another instance in which God opened someone’s eyes. In 2 Kings 6, enemy armies surrounded the prophet Elisha. Elisha’s servant feared for his life and cried out for help. In that moment, God opened the servant’s eyes to see the armies of the Lord protecting Elisha. You can bet that Elisha’s servant was never the same from that day forward. 

When God opens your eyes, you change. 

I’m not saying God is going to magically fix all of your problems. He didn’t do that for Hagar or for Elisha’s servant, and he might not do it for you either. 

What I am saying is this: keep your eyes open. Don’t focus so much on your problems that you fail to see God in the midst of them. Who knows what God might be trying to show you? And who knows how your life might be changed once He opens your eyes?

Genesis 21.1-7

Have you embraced the “letdown?”  I’m sure you have, because I think the “letdown” is one of the most common of all human experiences.

It happens in many aspects of life.  That high school crush was all you could ever ask for, but quickly let you down when he dumped you for your best friend.   The salesman made that used car sound like the world’s greatest automobile, but a few months later, it was in the shop and you were letdown.  That new dress was perfect in the fitting room, but a letdown in your bedroom mirror.

These are somewhat silly examples, but you know the serious letdowns that have made you hopeless.  Your career isn’t what you pictured, your family is a wreck, or your retirement fund is smaller than you had hoped.

It doesn’t take long to embrace letdowns as part of life, and navigate this word hopelessly.  And this is how a lot of us view God and his promises.  Maybe you’ve thought he is just another letdown that some people foolishly cling to for a little while.  

Today’s passage shows us that God’s promises are not mere band aids for a hopeless world; they are the hope of the world.

Read Genesis 21:1-7

 21 Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. ² Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. ³ Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. ⁴ When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. ⁵ Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 

⁶ Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” ⁷ And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

This whole story of Abraham has had the potential to be a colossal letdown.  We have a 100 year old man with the name “father of multitudes” wandering around with a barren wife and a batch of promises from God who said he would be a great nation that blessed the world (Gen 12:1-3, 13:15-17, 15:4, 17:7).  Even his wife, Sarah, found this idea funny and maybe ridiculous (Gen 18:10-12).  

Knowing this story, you might expect a little more hoopla about this birth, but I think it is short so we don’t miss this point:  God came through on his promises.  He wasn’t about to let them down.  There is no need for more of a story because we should know that this is what God would do.

Look at verses 1-2 again:  Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised.    ² Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.

Sarah knew this too so God turned her laughter of doubt to laughter of joy (vs. 6).  She would never forget it  as she and Abraham named this son from God, Isaac, which means “laughter.”  I like to picture Sarah and Abraham watching Isaac playing with the neighbors from the kitchen window and laughing because they know that God’s faithfulness gave them hope in the midst of a world of letdowns.

This hope is available to us today too.  Through this son, God brought about his son, Jesus.  His faithfulness continues and comes to us in a world of letdowns as a thread of hope, hope that there is more than these letdowns we experience day to day, hope that this journey is heading somewhere or more specifically, to someone.  You might laugh at that thought now, but all it takes is some trust and faith in God to find a chuckle of joy.

This story of the birth of Isaac is a call for us today to follow Jesus and live by the promises God has given us.  It is a call to live faithfully because we know the one who is faithful.  He calls us to big and even impossible things.  But we live by what he says even when it doesn’t always quite make sense because we know that he will never let us down.  Ever.

Jeremy Hyde

Genesis 20.1-18

Today we are coming across an interaction between Abraham and a man named Abimelech that will sound very familiar to you. Try to see if you have heard certain aspects of this story in another story that we have already covered:

¹ Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, ² and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.

 ³ But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”

 ⁴ Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? ⁵ Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”

 ⁶ Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. ⁷ Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all yours will die.”

 ⁸ Early the next morning Abimelech summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. ⁹ Then Abimelech called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done.”¹⁰ And Abimelech asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?”

 ¹¹ Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ ¹² Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife.¹³ And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

 ¹⁴ Then Abimelech brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. ¹⁵ And Abimelech said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.”

 ¹⁶ To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels^[a] of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.”

 ¹⁷ Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his slave girls so they could have children again, ¹⁸ for the LORD had closed up every womb in Abimelech’s household because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.

Sound Familiar?


Well it should, for it is the same kind of thing that occurred to Abraham in Genesis 12.10-20 with Pharaoh. The difference between these two passage is primarily God's interaction with Abimelech and the role that interaction takes in the story.


The narrative can be divided into three groups of speeches. The first speech is between God (Yahweh) and Abimelech (20.1-8); The second speech is between Abimelech and Abraham which seem to be controversies (20.9-13), and the third is also between Abimelech and Abraham and are painted as conciliatory (20.14-18). 


There are two take aways that we need to develop, the first is simply that the choosing of Abraham as the vessel to undo all the evil in the world is not based on his virtue but on God's promise. 


Don't you see that in this passage?


Abraham does not come off as the moral hero of the story. 


He tells half truths in order to save his own skin. 


He doesn't care that his wife could be defiled, let alone the death of Abimelech and the barrenness of his entire people. 


Yet, because God is merciful, he works through those who are broken and confused and sinful. 


God is faithful even when his people are faithless. 


My professor, Mark Scott, used to always say, "God can still hit a straight lick with a crooked stick." 


And that is what is emphasized in this passage. Not the faith of faithfulness of Abraham, but rather the sovereignty and mercy of God. 


Although God does work through us in spite of our shortcomings, this does not give us an excuse to not be faithful and to disobedience. 


The second take away is simply this: disobedience leads to death, while obedience leads to life.


See what happens in the story when Abraham does not trust God to protect him and Sarah. He lies about who his wife is, Abimelech takes her to be his wife, and Abimelech almost dies. Furthermore, all the women in his kingdom could not have kids!!!


Disobedience leads to death, not only in your own life, but also in the lives of the nations and people around you.


But when we obey, God brings about life. 


It is appropriate to see that the very next passage after this is the birth of Isaac.


When Abraham and Sarah trust and obey God, he brings about life. And in this instance, it is the fulfillment of the promise he made to them. 


God is a merciful God, and he wants to use people like us to bless the nations. But we have a role in that blessing, and it is obedience. 


So obey, lives are at stake. 

Genesis 19.30-38

Now we come to a very weird, and kind of sick, passage in the Bible. Honestly, when I first looked at this, I had not idea what to do with it. So let's take a gander shall we:

³⁰ Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. ³¹ One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to lie with us, as is the custom all over the earth. ³² Let’s get our father to drink wine and then lie with him and preserve our family line through our father.”

 ³³ That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and lay with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

 ³⁴ The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I lay with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and lie with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” ³⁵ So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went and lay with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

 ³⁶ So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. ³⁷ The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab^[a]; he is the father of the Moabites of today. ³⁸ The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi^[b]; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.

So what is going on here.

Why in the world is this story told in God's story of redeeming the world back to him?

It all is based on the last two verses:

³⁷ The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab^[a]; he is the father of the Moabites of today. ³⁸ The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.

You see, the book of Genesis was not written just to record the story of God, it was written to a specific community that was experiencing some difficulties. Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament to the nation of Israel, while they were wandering through the wilderness for forty years. These books would help encourage them to be faithful to God and trust that he would be faithful in carrying out the promises he made to them.

And these promises consisted of being blessed, having descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, receiving the promised land, and ultimately that all nations will be blessed through them. 

A few things that happen to the Israelites as they were wandering through the wilderness is that they are mistreated by these two nations called the Moabites and Ammonites. In Numbers 22, the moabites actually hire a man name Balaam to curse the Israelites and in Numbers 25, the Moabite women actually seduced the Israelite men to sleep with them, which led to the men worshipping the Moabite gods. And in Deuteronomy 23.4, Moses says that "(the Moabites and Ammonites) did not come to meet you (the Israelites) with bread and water on your way when you came out of Egypt."

During this wilderness wandering time, the Moabites and Ammonites both mistreated and seduced the Israelites away from God. 

So how were the Israelites supposed to interact with these people?

And this is where this story enters the scene. 

God is slowly but surely revealing through the story of Abraham the beginning of all these promises coming to fruition. 

In the next chapter (20), we see Abraham becoming a great nation that is blessed with all kinds of material blessings. This is the beginning of the promise that God made to Abraham, that he will bless him and make him a great nation. The chapter after that (21), Isaac is born, and the beginning of the promise that Abraham will have descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky is revealed. Then after that, in chapter 21, Abraham will acquire the first piece of real estate in the promised land, and that will be the beginning of the promise being fulfilled that God will give Abraham the promised land. 

The only thing that is missing is the beginning of the fulfillment of Abraham blessing the nations. And that is what we see here in this passage. 

Although the audience that this story was being written to were being mistreated by the Moabites and the Ammonites, this story shows that the only reason these nations exist is because of Abraham.

Abraham prayed that God would spare the righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah which led to Lot being rescued and his daughters sleeping with him to secure their line, the Moabites and Ammonites.

Already, at the birth of these nations, the only reason they exist is because of Abraham.

Abraham is blessing people, one at a time, and the result is that nations are blessed. 

And this is Moses' message to the Israelites. Although these people have mistreated us, we are the reason they even exist. We blessed them through Abraham. 

And that is the message for us. 

When we bless one person at a time, that one person can turn into entire nations and kingdoms being blessed. 

So bless somebody today. Who knows....they might be the birth of entire nation that could be blessed through you.

Technical Difficulties

Dear Eatyourbibleers,

Apparently over the last couple of days we have had some technical difficulties with posting Thursday and Friday's devotions. As you probably know, these devotions are written days in advance and are scheduled to automatically post at 4:00AM for those early risers. As I started to write a devotion this morning, it came to my attention that thursday and fridays devotions were not posted. So what we are going to do is to pick up today where we left off Wednesday. Sorry for the inconvenience. Have a great day.

Sy Huffer

Genesis 19.1-29

Today, we the God's justice at work. But more importantly, I don't want to focus on Sodom and Gomorrah but on Lot. Let's take a look:

¹ The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. ² “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.”

   “No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”

 ³ But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. ⁴ Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. ⁵ They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”

 ⁶ Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him ⁷ and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. ⁸Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”

 ⁹ “Get out of our way,” they replied. And they said, “This fellow came here as an alien, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.

 ¹⁰ But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. ¹¹ Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.

 ¹² The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, ¹³ because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.”

 ¹⁴ So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the LORD is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

 ¹⁵ With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.”

 ¹⁶ When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them. ¹⁷ As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!”

 ¹⁸ But Lot said to them, “No, my lords, please! ¹⁹ Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. ²⁰ Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”

 ²¹ He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. ²² But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar.)

 ²³ By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. ²⁴ Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens. ²⁵ Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. ²⁶ But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

 ²⁷ Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD. ²⁸ He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.

 ²⁹ So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.

There are a number of things we could get distracted by when reading this story. One is we could get focused on homosexuality. When these two men come to the city, what makes them get upset is the men of the city wanting to have sex with them. Although I do believe that homosexuality is a sin, that is not the main point of this passage. 

Others want to focus on exactly what happens to Lot's wife. It says here that she was truanted into a pillar of salt. What does that mean or imply? 

That's not the point though. 

Maybe we should critique the parenting skills of Lot, who offers his daughters to the angry mob to rape and have their way with them.

But the key is Lot. 

Lot has served as a parallel story of Abraham's throughout Abraham's entire life so far. We see Lot choose land from a worldly perspective, getting captured with the people from Sodom and Gomorrah, and finally, almost getting destroyed with these wicked cities. 

How did Lot go from being part of Abraham's family to engulfed in God's wrath?

It all started with this phrase found in Genesis 13.12-13, which says, "¹² Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. ¹³ Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.". 

Lot began this slow decline by just pitching his tent NEAR the wicked cities. Look where we find Lot in this story, sitting in the gateway of the city. If you sat in the gateway of the city, it means that you were part of the community, conducting business and judgment decisions with the other elders of the town. 

Lot went from living on the outskirts of this wicked city to right, smack dab in the middle of it. 

And isn't that how life seems to be for us. 

We try to get as close to sin as possible without crossing the line, but what always inevitably tends to happen is we end up engulfed with sin. 

The questions we ask should not be "how close can I get without sinning", but rather, "how can I be more holy."

When we try to toe the line of sin, we will end up like Lot. 

Genesis 18.16-33

Now we move to see what has been happening to old Lot, living in Sodom and Gomorrah. First, these two strange men with Abraham let him in on a little secret about what is going to happen to Sodom and Gomorrah. Let's take a look at the text:

¹⁶ When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. ¹⁷ Then the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? ¹⁸ Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. ¹⁹ For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”

 ²⁰ Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous ²¹ that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

 ²² The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.^[a] 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare^[b] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? ²⁵ Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge^[c] of all the earth do right?”

 ²⁶ The LORD said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

 ²⁷ Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, ²⁸ what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?”

   “If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”

 ²⁹ Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”

   He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”

 ³⁰ Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”

   He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

 ³¹ Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”

   He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”

 ³² Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?”

   He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”

 ³³ When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

There are two things that we can pull from this passage. 

The first is that God is a just judge. 

Here you see these two cities who are described by God in this way: “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous ²¹ that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

These cities had become very sinful, and God is going to see if their reputation is truly as bad as he heard. But when Abraham hears what God is going to do, Abraham begins to ask God to not destroy the small remnant of righteous people in these cities just because the majority are sinful. 

I heard a saying that goes, "90% of the rules are made because of 10% of the people." This saying implies that most of the rules are made because a small group of people are rebellious. 

The exact opposite is true of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham is asking God to spare destroying this place, even though the majority is sinful. And God agrees!!! 

What we can learn from this is that God is overly merciful, as well as just. 2 Peter 3.9 says: "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

That is why God agrees to not destroy the cities on behalf of FIVE righteous people. God is a very just God. 

The second thing we can learn from this is that God actually will change because of our prayers. 

Seriously?

Look at what happens in this passage.

God has a plan, and because of Abraham's prayers, God changes his plan. 

WOW!!!

Now this does not demean God in any way, or make him any smaller. I think it does the opposite. God wants us to participate in his plan to redeem the world from evil. Because of this, he is able to allow our free will in his plans and use the choices we make to carry out his plan. We are not just robots or computers carrying out prearranged or programmed actions. We choose to do things, we live in relationship with God. And God is able to work out his plan including our choices. 

Because of this, God actually listens to our prayers, and will at times, not every time, grant our requests and change his plans. 

So how does this change your prayer life? 

Today, pray to God with this kind of faith and boldness that Abraham prayed as well. 

Genesis 18.1-15

In Chapter 17, we saw Abraham's doubt about having a baby. Now, in chapter 18, we will see Sarah's. Let's take a look:

¹ The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. ² Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.

 ³ He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord,^[a] do not pass your servant by. ⁴ Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. ⁵ Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”

   “Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”

 ⁶ So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs^[b] of fine flour and knead it and bake some bread.”

 ⁷ Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. ⁸ He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.

 ⁹ “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him.

   “There, in the tent,” he said.

 ¹⁰ Then the LORD^[c] said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”

   Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. ¹¹ Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. ¹² So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my master^[d] is old, will I now have this pleasure?”

 ¹³ Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.”

 ¹⁵ Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.”

   But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”

Ok....Let's just stop and think for a second about what we have been seeing in the story of this man and woman who have "embraced" the call of God. 

God promised Abraham he would make him into a great nation and bless him and all nations will be blessed through him (Gen. 12). The key was that Abraham had to leave his home and go to some unspecified place. Abraham stepped out in faith. Then Abraham doubted God's protection by lying about his wife (Gen. 12). 

Next, God promised Abraham again that he would give him a child, even though Abraham was doubting God (Gen. 15). Then right after that Sarah doubted that this plan would come to fruition, so she told Abraham to sleep with her maidservant Hagar (Gen. 16). 

Then, God promised Abraham, AGAIN, that this promised made to him would come true through a son from Sarah, not from Hagar (Gen. 17). What happens next? These two men come to tell Abraham and Sarah that, FINALLY, this promise will come true. And what happens? Sarah laughs at them in disbelief. 

And guess what? These people, Abraham and Sarah, are our example of what true FAITH looks like. In Genesis 15 it says, "Abram believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness." 

Yet Abraham and Sarah do not seem like the perfect examples of resolved, certain faith in God. They have doubted over and over again. 

Maybe, just maybe, we have a wrong idea about faith, rather than Abraham and Sarah are bad examples of faith. For God says we need to be like Abraham and Sarah, they believed and it was reckoned to them as righteousness. 

We need a new definition of faith.

For us westerners, faith is equated with resolve. It is equated with the idea that we have no doubt at all, that we trust completely in God and what he has and will do for us. 

Yet nowhere in the Bible do we have an example of this kind of absolute certainty. A lot of times we see the opposite of faith is doubt. 

This is just not true. over and over again Abraham and Sarah doubted, yet they believed in spite of their doubt. 

My professor says this over and over again. "The opposite of faith is not doubt, the opposite of faith is certainty."

If we are completely certain about something, then we do not need faith, for faith is believing about something we aren't certain about. It is saying, "I'm not sure about this, but I believe anyway."

See how Abraham and Sarah interacted with God throughout these six chapters. They believed, stepped out in faith, then doubted. It was a progression. But with each progression, they had more faith. 

Why?

Because throughout their lives, God continued to prove himself faithful. 

He blessed them with material possessions, he rescued them from frightful enemies, he led them and guided them day in and day out. The more Abraham believed, the more God showed his faithfulness.

So, dear Christian, believe in the face of doubt. Doubt will always be involved with faith. But when we step out in faith, God will prove himself trustworthy, and some of our doubt will go away. 

If you doubt, step out in faith, and see how God moves. Trust me....rather....trust God.