Our God Is Faithful Even When We Are Not - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 20:9-13,

"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.' 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." Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. 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."'"

Here is something I wrote on this passage in October, 2007:

Abraham resorted to the same deception he used when he went to Egypt in chapter 12. When confronted by Abimelech as to why he hid the fact Sarah was his wife, Abraham admits that he was convinced, "There is surely no fear of God in this place." He thought if it was known he was Sarah's husband he would be killed and Sarah taken.

But from the account it doesn't sound that way. Abimelech, who took Sarah, had a visit from the Lord who told him Sarah was Abraham's wife. When Abimelech told his officials the next morning they "were very much afraid." 

From my perspective it seems like Abraham's fears were not entirely well-founded. Abimelech and his officials seemed to be very responsive to the Lord's warnings. Abraham's perception may have been inaccurate. In any event, the Lord had promised Abraham and Sarah a son. Since Isaac was not born yet, Abraham's fear of his life being taken at this point was at odds with what the Lord had promised him.

In James 2:21-23 we read, "Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,' and he was called God's friend."

Abraham is showcased as the Lord's man of faith, that faith the Lord has decided he will reward with righteousness when we emulate it. And yet we discover that Abraham had his shortcomings as well. To me, it makes Abraham a wonderful example of what a man of faith looks like. Not perfect. Our God reaches out to us even when our actions don't appear to express that faith at times. We all struggle at times in our faith, but our God is faithful nonetheless!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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