Hi, All.
May the mumbling commence!
There are such wonderful and flawed people in the book of Genesis! Abram first showed great faith in leaving behind the place he was living to go to “the land I will show you.” Abram was 75-years-old, and probably was set in his ways. Yet, at the call of the Lord, he left the place he called home along with the gods of that place to follow the Lord.
What faith! How can I live up to a hero of the faith like Abram? I might think that, and then read about how later a famine struck the land. Then Abram flees the land the Lord promised to give to his offspring (which by the way, he had none at the time at 75 + years-old). He flees to Egypt. Why doesn’t Abram trust in the provision of God? Was it the Lord’s promise to his non-existent offspring? Did Abram not trust God to provide for him because of this promise for a distant future that may never occur?
Then, comes the lame and fearful excuse. Abram looks over to his wife Sarai and notes she is beautiful. Good problem to have - I know. Abram fears for his life – someone may kill him to take away Sarai. So he asks Sarai to tell people that she is his sister, which does have a grain of truth because she is his half-sister. He did not trust God to protect him.
Where did Abram’s faith go? Perhaps, I can live the life of Abram after all. Perhaps, God can work through me despite my flawed nature. For this, I give thanks. Perhaps God can work through us…
Well, Abram would suffer the consequences of his actions, right? Abram becomes the recipient of many and great gifts from Pharaoh. He becomes a wealthy man! Well, that doesn’t seem like much of a punishment.
As time goes on, the truth did come out. It always does. To lie well, we must be perfect. And let’s admit it: we are far from perfect. Pharaoh and his household began suffering from serious diseases. Somehow, Pharaoh found out the true nature of the relationship between Abram and Sarai. And Pharaoh confronted Abram with his lie.
So, Abram loses all those gifts, right? No. Pharaoh does send Abram and his family packing, but they are sent away with their vast accumulated wealth. Perhaps, God thought it enough for Abram, who was supposed to be following God, to be corrected by an Egyptian.
And wealth is a blessing, right? Well, maybe not always. In this case, Abram and his nephew Lot were too wealthy to remain together. Their wealth split them apart. The land could not support both of them and their wealth. Their servants were fighting amongst one another.
Yes, we see it today, too. The pursuit of wealth does drive relationships into the ground…
Then, Lot and his family are some of the plunder of war. Being wealthy does have its inherent dangers. And Abram and his friends pursue the war party. They divide and conquer an army many times their size. They rescue Lot’s family. They rescue Lot’s possessions and the possessions of many others. They turn back to bring the plunder to its rightful owners.
And a mysterious man appears King Melchizedek of Salem (which means peace, in Hebrew, and was probably what became Jerusalem). He is noted also as priest of the God Most High. Hmm… King and Priest. And he prophesies about Abram being blessed by the Most High God, who delivered his enemies into his hands. Prophet and priest and king. Jesus is compared to him. The man who appears here, never to be mentioned again except in Psalms and the letter to the Hebrews.
So, perhaps Abram has learned a little from his mistakes. He goes to help his nephew Lot, with whom he has parted ways. He refuses to accept any of the plunder of war – but tithes a tenth of it to Melchizedek (which by the way means “king of righteousness” in Hebrew).
And it is no coincidence that the Lord speaks to Abram after this event, telling him, “Do not be afraid. I am your shield, your very great reward.” God will protect and reward Abram and those who follow God like Abram (his descendants). That’s all who seek the way of Christ.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out.
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