To Read: Genesis 18

“Then the lord said, ‘The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 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.’  Then Abraham approached him and said: ‘Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked. What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the righteous people in the city? Will your really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?’” (Gen.18:20, 23,24) 

When Jesus opened the book of Genesis he saw himself on page after page. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…” (1 Tim. 1:15) Abraham was a forgiven sinner. He did what forgiven sinners do: seek forgiveness for other sinners. Abraham did for other sinners what every sinner should desire to do. Before serving communion, the pastor under whom I did my practice work in seminary days reminded us that we were a “fellowship of failures.” Abraham failed both the Lord and his wife when he lied about who Sarah was for fear of Abimeleck. Being forgiven for his betrayal, he had good reason to pity the sinners in Sodom. The Sodomites faced the wrath of God and were in desperate need of divine forgiveness.  God’s wrath is against all sin and Abraham’s sin was no less hateful to a holy God than was the sin of Sodom. 

 “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” That was Abraham’s question. Jesus saw himself as the final solution to Abraham’s query. Abraham stopped asking for mercy for Sodom when he reached ten righteous, but Jesus was willing to ask his Father to spare a great multitude of lost sinners for the sake of one. He himself is that one. We who believe in Jesus Christ need to take seriously that our presence in the world is sustaining the world while the Lord continues his saving work. The Apostle Paul was on a ship that should have sunk. “He said to those on board, “Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.”

(Acts 27:23,24) You may be only one but you make a difference in the world.

To Read: Genesis 19

“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.” (Gen. 19:14)

 The last day for Sodom and Gomorrah was the last day on earth for Lot’s sons-in-law. They treated the word of God as a joke. Increasing numbers among us treat the Bible as a joke. Those who are more highly educated tend to be those more convinced that Holy Scripture is laughable. They laugh at the very idea that the Bible is holy. The Bible was no laughing matter for Jesus. He lived by its every word. Jesus saw himself in the account of Lot’s escape from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

 After his resurrection, Christ sought out two despondent disciples trudging back to Emmaus with their hearts bowed as low as their heads. On that walk Jesus, who they were kept from recognizing, showed that he was the subject of all the scriptures beginning with Moses. (see Lk. 24:27) Did the Lord tell the two on the Emmaus road that Lot doing in his time for his family what Jesus did on the cross? Is the cross the greatest warning ever given to the world that unforgiven sinners face eventual destruction? 

To Read: Genesis 20

“And Abimelech asked Abraham, ‘What was your reason for doing this?’ 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.’” (Gen. 20:10,11) 

The story is told of a visitor to New York who strayed into a dangerous neighborhood. He soon realized the crisis he created for himself. Matters worsened when a gang of young men turned the corner and headed straight for this lost soul. The man’s heart began to race as the distance between himself and gang closed. He contemplated the wisdom of following his heart and racing from the scene. He thought, would my running provoke the men to attack me in response. His mind was racing too because all this was happening in a matter of seconds. Suddenly he saw his salvation. The gang leader offered him hope by what he held in his hand. It was a Bible. The Bible was a signal that the gang members feared the Lord and he trusted that those that fear the Lord would have no reason to harm him. They nodded to each other as he safely passed on by.  

The fear of the Lord is our greatest weapon against the terrorists. If we doubt the power resident in a heart that fears the Lord, ponder what the terrorists tell us motivated them. Nineteen men believed our destruction was their salvation and demolished our twin Trade Towers. These men sought acceptance with God by destroying infidels. If, as we believe, the Holy Spirit can melt hearts and make a man or woman Christ like; then our greatest weapon against terrorism is the truth of Christ. The fear of the Lord is indeed the beginning of wisdom. It is the fool who says in his heart, “there is no God.” (Ps. 14:1)  

Fear of God is double edged. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Since “no man hates his own flesh but nourishes it and cherishes it,” this aspect of the fear of God is a powerful force against unbridled evil. Even more powerful is the fear of offending the God who loved us at the cost of his Son’s blood. That was the fear of God in the hearts of that New York gang.

To Read: Genesis 21

“Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him” (Gen. 21:1-6) 

Isaac means laughter. Humanly speaking, it is laughable that a 100-year-old man and his 90-year-old wife could have a son. When Jesus opened the Scriptures to the two walking back home to Emmaus, did he show them that ultimately Isaac was about him? Isaac was a source of laughter to those who laughed at the idea that there is a God who overrules nature. The proclamation that by dying on a cross Jesus saved sinners for all eternity to come, is foolishness to unbelievers.  

Jesus is the son or seed of Abraham. So too are all those who are ‘in Christ.’ Christians, being Abraham’s seed, are God’s sons and heirs. Writing to the Galatians Paul said, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (3:26-29) To those who do not belong to Jesus Christ this towering truth is only a laughing matter. 

One of the finest minds ever granted to a human being was given to Saul of Tarsus who became the Apostle Paul. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, Paul admitted that, “…the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.’” (1 Cor. 1:18,19) It is important to realize that by giving his son the name ‘laughter’ (Isaac), Abraham warned his spiritual family that the world would laugh at their faith.

To Read: Genesis 22

“Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place ‘The Lord will provide.’ And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.’” (Gen. 22:13,14) 

Jesus was crucified on the same mountain where God provided a ram to substitute for Isaac. When Abraham called the place, “The Lord will provide,” the will of God was revealed. The church of Jesus Christ is commissioned to reveal the will of God. The church is to be a sign to the world that God is willing and able to provide. During the year before being called to Byfield Parish, my wife and I were shown by events that God provides. In the spring of 1968 we gave our savings to a family left homeless by a night fire. Somehow that we cannot explain to this day, the money was back in our savings account by mid-year. That Christmas, we bought Christmas gifts for children whose parents were struggling financially. The church where I did part of my training invited us forward in the evening on Christmas Sunday to receive a gift. The money given to us was exactly the amount we spent on the gifts. It is not without significance that financial provision was the first issue I faced at Byfield. The lord had prepared me to answer the concern that the church would fail to meet its budget by promising that if we would do what God called us to do that he would provide.  

Just as God provided a ram in the place of Isaac, so Jesus, the lamb of God, is God’s provision for sin and therefore the heart and soul of the gospel message. 

Saturday:  Genesis 23 

Sunday:  Genesis 24

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