Tuesday, February 2: Genesis 20- Humans, a "mixed' breed.

I had two disconnected thoughts as I read this chapter. First, I pondered the idea of a besetting sin, a sin that lingers and is difficult to gain victory over. This whole ‘Sarah is my sister routine’ got Abe into trouble in Egypt, so why would he try it again? I mean really! His fear of death appears to be pretty strong. Both times he stumbles into this sin.  Abe seems to fear for his life.

Strange that he would follow God across the near east obediently, that he would ride out and save Lot heroically, but he hands his wife over as his sister so easily. We humans are a strange lot… strong and faithful in some situations and weak in others.

Before I moved on, I took a few minutes thinking about my personal life… where I am weak and where I am stronger. I don’t like to get into ‘trouble’. My immediate reaction when I do something wrong or lack good judgment and things come to light is to bend the truth to wriggle out of it. I have to consciously grab hold of myself to own up to what I have done. This is one issue I continue to struggle with… it is a besetting weakness which often leads to sin in my life.

In these types of situations I have to be vigilant or I will ‘naturally’ fall into sin. The Lord is using Abraham to alert me to this weakness.

The second thought I had is, what kind of barbaric people were these ancient folk?  I mean, Sarah was 90 years old! Abimelek, you really want to have her as his wife???

Is there some cultural deal with the taking a wealthy man’s wife as your wife? Does it show mastery or power?  I just can’t believe that it has to do with being attracted to some beautiful woman!!

Even though I am somewhat confused by this situation, it reminds me how depraved we can be. Sin can creep into the recesses of our lives and cause us to exhibit odd, even perverse, behaviors.

We humans are messed up from the inside out. There is no quick fix for our human sin predicament. No self-help program that can change the situation, we need something more than that. Thankfully God knows our situation and sent Jesus to save us from ourselves and our depravities…

Lord, Jesus, thank You for saving me, for rescuing me from my sins and paying the penalty my breaking of the Father’s rules deserve. I love and am thankful for You, Jesus. Praise be to You, Jesus, my Savior. Amen.