Genesis Chapter 24
has 64 verses in total. That’s a lot of fancy words to basically say that the Lord had chosen Rebekah to be Isaac’s bride. Let me sum up what was going on, so that I can shorten up this lengthy poem. But Beware - don’t just take me at my word. Go and read it for yourself - to see if it truly is from God. Abraham told the oldest servant of his household - who ruled over all that he had, to "promise on God," that he would not take a wife for Isaac from the daughters of the Canaanites, but would go to his hometown and take a wife for him. The servant was worried that the woman he found, would not be willing to go with him to the land of Abraham. So the servant asked if he could take Isaac with him to take a wife on his own. Abraham said, “Beware - that you do not take my son back there.” Abraham did not want Isaac to leave the land that God had promised to his descendants. Abraham told the servant that God would send an angel who would prepare the way for him. He also said, “And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.” Genesis 24:8 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham, and made an oath to go to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor where Abraham’s brother lived. When the servant got just outside the city gates, he stopped by a well of water to give his camels a drink. Then he said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’ - let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.” Suddenly, Rebekah appeared. “Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder and she was “very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her.” I’m sure the servant thought, “This has to be Isaac’s bride.” The servant asked Rebekah for a little drink, and she said, “Drink, my Lord” and offered him, and all of his camels a drink. And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not. How many times, has God given us an answer, and we wonder, “Is this from God or not?” The servant then took out “a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold, and said, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father’s house for us to lodge?” So Rebekah told him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor.” Moreover she said to him, “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge.” Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.” Genesis 24:27 The servant knew that Rebekah was the answer from God. Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and he ran out to see what was going on. We will read more about him soon, after Rebekah gives birth to Jacob. Seeing the jewels, and everyone standing there, Laban said, “Come in, O blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.” Laban invited the servant, his men and his camels back to the house with him - where they washed up and prepared to be fed. The feast was laid before the servant, and the rest of his men, but the servant could not eat. He said, “I will not eat UNTIL I have told about my errand.” Then the servant of Abraham, the servant of the Lord - told the whole household why he had come. He could not stop. He went on and on. He told every detail, of how God was good, and kept every single word! Side note - Now I understand why my poems tend to be so long! It’s because I’m amazed at our eternal God. The servant told them how great Abraham had become, how the Lord had blessed him “with flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys.” He explained that Sarah had a son when she was old; and to Isaac, Abraham had bequeathed everything. The servant told them everything, from Abraham commanding, “You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell; but you shall go to my father’s house and to my family, and take a wife for my son to Rebekah showing up and offering a drink - just as God had told." The servant went on and on, like we all tend to do, when we see the season of God’s Word beginning to bear fruit. The servant said, “So I put the nose ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. And I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the way of truth to take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. Now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. And if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.” Genesis 24:47-49 Then Laban and Bethuel answered with this, “The thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak to you either bad or good. Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be your master’s son’s wife, as the Lord has spoken.” Genesis 24:50-51 "And it came to pass, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, that he worshiped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth. After they offered Rebekah in marriage, the servant brought out jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. And he and the men who were with him ate and drank and stayed all night.” Genesis 24:52-54 Then they arose in the morning, and he said, “Send me away to my master.” But her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman stay with us a few days, at least ten; after that she may go.” The servant responded, “Do not hinder me, since the Lord has prospered my way; send me away so that I may go to my master.” So they said, “We will call the young woman and ask her personally.” That will happen to each of us - everyone God has chosen will be personally asked what life they would like to choose. Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.” They all blessed Rebekah and said to her: “Our sister, may you become The mother of thousands of ten thousands; And may your descendants possess The gates of those who hate.” Genesis 24:60 I beg you to read that verse again! Notice the reversal of Mount Hermon, and what happened at the gates of hell! So the servant took Rebekah and departed. Now Isaac came from the way of Beer Lahai Roi, for he dwelt in the South. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming. Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from her camel; for she had said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took a veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.” Genesis 24:1-67 One day, Jesus will be coming on the clouds, to meet his betrothed bride in the fields. Will you recognize your husband - the Son of Man, the Only promised Son of God, who is ready to marry his betrothal - the Church - the chosen bride of Christ? She walks through the Wilderness, and is led by the Holy Spirit to forsake Satan's attempts - she can not be shaken by the tumultuous winds of God. The Bride will continue to go on and on - eating manna from Heaven and speaking about the blessing of God? If you are reading this, and you totally understand - that means you have been granted wisdom - you have received the truth in love. Be assured - you are like Rebekah - the chosen Bride of Christ. Get ready to receive your husband. You have been adopted into the family of God.
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Sarah, mother of Isaac
and wife of Abraham, lived to be 127 years old. She had Isaac at the age of 91 - that means Isaac was 36 years old when he his mother died. Sarah died in Kirjath, also known as Hebron, which is located about 20 miles south of present-day Jerusalem, in the valley of Judah. Hebron was the place where Sarah and Abraham went after Lot and Abraham chose to go their separate ways. Lot chose Sodom and Abraham went to Hebron. As Abraham was weeping for Sarah, at the time of her death, he went to the city gate to purchase a burial cave for her. It always blows my mind - that in the middle of grieving the dead we have to worry about worldly transactions while in the living. Abraham stood up and spoke to the sons of Heth, who are the descendants of Canaan (the grandson of Noah that was cursed) who inhabited that land. For some reason, which I do not understand, the sons of Heth were called “Hittites” in the land. Although Abraham was a foreigner, he was rich and well-respected. When Abraham asked to pay for a burial cave this is how they responded, “Hear us, my Lord: You are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.” Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself down to them, and said, “If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, then hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he has, which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you.” Ephron, who was there, at the transaction heard him and said, “No, my Lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!” Abraham bowed down again, and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of everyone, “If you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there.” Ephron answered Abraham, “My Lord, listen to me; the land is worth 400 shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead.” Abraham listened to Ephron; and weighed out the silver which he had been decided and heard by the sons of Heth, the inhabitants of the land. “So the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city. And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place.” Genesis 23:1-20 After Sarah died, Abraham remarried, and lived to be 275. “His sons, Isaac and Ishmael, buried him in the cave of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth. There Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife. And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi.” Genesis 25:7-11 And many years later, when Isaac’s son, Jacob, had died, in the land of Egypt -Joseph his son, who was second in command to Pharaoh, commanded the physicians to embalm his father, Israel (The name given by God to Jacob). It took 40 days for the embalming to take place, and 70 days to mourn him. Then, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the hearing of Pharaoh, saying, ‘My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am dying; in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father, and I will come back.’ ” And Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.” So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, as well as all the house of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s house. Only their little ones, their flocks, and their herds they left in the land of Goshen. And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great gathering. Then they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and they mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation. He observed seven days of mourning for his father. And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a deep mourning of the Egyptians.” Therefore its name was called Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan. So his sons did for him just as he had commanded them. For his sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as property for a burial place. And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father.” Genesis 50:1-14 I guess the transaction that took place between Abraham and Ephron, was a very successful one. It was heard and known by everyone, heavens' watchers and earthly humans - Everyone knew that the children of Yahweh, the Eternal God, were buried there. Sometimes I wonder why certain subjects
are shared in the Bible. For instance, at the end of Genesis, Chapter 22, after Abraham is about to sacrifice Isaac, his only begotten son (the only son promised by God) the scripture says, “Some time later Abraham was told, “Milkah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor: Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel.” Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milkah bore these eight sons to Abraham’s brother Nahor. His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maakah.” Genesis 22:20-24 Most would think - why in the world is this information shared, especially at this time, right after Isaac is spared? The answer is... Nothing in scripture should be taken for granted! Everything written is for a reason! Why just need to dig in and find it. For instance, in Genesis Chapter 6, it is written, “the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose; and “There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.” Genesis 6:2,4 Really. We should learn to pay attention, and believe the Holy Spirit gave these words for a reason. I could go on and on about passages that people tend to skim over, but have tons of significance for what was then, what is now, and what our future holds. Like “the mystery revealed” in Ephesians 3:10, “the armor of God” in Ephesians 6-10, the “new earth and new Heaven” in Revelation 22, and the words declared by Jesus, “Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division.” Luke 12:51 This content is there for a reason! We definitely should pay closer attention? But this is not the poem I am writing about today - I am going down a rabbit hole. But wait - since the Lord gave me this thought - let me just finish what I am saying. So many "Christians" (and many pastors and teachers) fail to read, understand and share the truth in love. And when they do, they often twist them. Take for instance what Timothy says about women remaining silent in ALL things. Do you think that is really true? Here I am today, sharing scripture with you. Do you think the Lord has told me to shut my mouth? I am a nobody - a woman, completely unworthy; teaching on the written Word of God - spreading the gospel message for all to behold. Do you believe God wants to shut my mouth just because I am a woman? I think not - because I am only submitting to His call. Perhaps when reading Timothy, we should pay attention to the “female” demonology that had been ruling and reigning in Timothy’s time and Timothy’s kingdom. Ephesus had many female gods to choose from. If we understood what was happening in Timothy's culture and his mind, then we would have wisdom to understand what Timothy meant. Timothy goes on to say that they needed to get rid of old wives tales and ungodliness. Just as an aside, Timothy said, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.” I Timothy 2:12 Notice the “I” that begins that sentence - Timothy is the one making that decision because he has personally experienced the ungodly deception that has contaminated the culture of his time. He has felt the results of ultra feminism through demonic acculturation. Much like we see today - but many lack the wisdom that he had. Anyway, to understand, Genesis 22, verses 22-24, which explain the family of Nahor, we have to go back to Genesis 11, and then move forward to Genesis 24. Genesis 11 says, “This is the account of Terah’s family line. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah. Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there. Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.” Genesis 11:27-32 Nahor was Abraham’s brother, who stayed in the land of Ur, He married Milkah, his niece, Haran’s daughter. Now we have to jump ahead, to understand WHY Genesis 22:22-24 is said. Genesis 24 gives an account of the bride that was chosen for Isaac - after God allowed him to live - after Abraham expressed his grand faith by being willing to sacrifice his only begotten son. Abraham said to his servant, “I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” Genesis 24:3-4 “And the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came from?” Genesis 24:5 “But Abraham said to him, Beware - that you do not take my son back there. The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.” Genesis 24:6-8 You see - God did not want Isaac to go and choose a wife for him. God had already chosen Rebekah. If she responded, then she would be the one he would marry and procreate with. “Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, for all his master’s goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.” Genesis 24:10 Notice - the land was named after him. This is the same way we got the land of Israel. “Then he said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’ - let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac.” Genesis 22:12-14 “And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder.” Genesis 24:14-15 “Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord. And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.” Genesis 24:26-27 “Then Laban (Rebekah’s brother) and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak to you either bad or good. Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be your master’s son’s wife, as the Lord has spoken.” Genesis 24:50-51 “Now Isaac came from the way of Beer Lahai Roi (the place that Hagar had named) for he dwelt in the South. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming. Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from her camel; for she had said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took a veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.” Genesis 24:62-67 The promised son and the chosen virgin would give birth to two sons - twins named Esau and Jacob. Only one son would be fervent for the Lord. Only one son would wrestle with the angel of the Lord. Only one son would give birth to twelve more sons who would sit on the Throne of God. His name was Jacob, before God gave him a new name - the he became the land of Israel. If you had to define love,
what would you say? Would it include the word “sacrifice” or “to trust and obey”? When I first got married, at age 23, I defined love totally different than I do today. Love used to have a selfish motive - it was totally about me. But then I learned about love the hard way - I experienced adultery. I learned about love, by overcoming hate. I learned the power of repentance, the power of forgiveness and how to die to self. I learned love was not easy. It was all I could do to breath. I had to focus on Christ, and wait for him to provide the Way. Eventually, the Lord gave me a new name. Much like Abraham and Sarah, and Jacob - after wrestling with God. Love is messy! Especially when you don’t walk into a relationship knowing what love really is. Love is about endurance even when you want to quit. Love is not about a “dream boat” or a “shining prince;” Love is not about a possession or “scoring a hot chick.” Love is not about lust or romance or buying a house with a picket fence; Love is not about competition, or proving who can be the best. No. That’s not it! That is not love at all. Love is about commitment and the journey between life and death. Love is what Abraham does in Genesis 22. Love is about faith in action, trusting God all the way through! The scripture says, “Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” and Abraham replied, “Here I am.” God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love - Isaac - and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” "Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day - Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. Isaac said, “The fire and wood are here,” but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” 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.” The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.” Genesis 22:1-19 It’s hard to believe that true love is not about self at all - but about suffering, sacrifice and working your way through. Dear friends, love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love, does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John One day, God is going to call our name. He is going to say, “ “Who do you say I am?” He will know if you believe He is the Son of Man. Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” You see, love is about total intimacy. It requires the deepest vulnerabilities. It requires to trust and obey the Great I Am every step of the way! “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” “Love bears ALL things, believes ALL things, hopes ALL things, endures ALL things. Love NEVER ends.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Jesus - He is the purest expression of God’s perfect love. Jesus - the ONLY WAY back to God. I was going to move onto Genesis 22, but the Lord would not let me - the “Treaty at Beersheba” keeps tugging on my heart. In my spirit, I feel like this oath is extremely significant, maybe even having some great significance for today - but I do not know why. Google says, Beersheba was deemed strategically important due to its location with a reliable water supply and at a major crossroads, northwest to Hebron and Jerusalem, east to the Dead Sea and al Karak, south to Aqaba, west to Gaza and southwest to Al-Auja and the border with Egypt. Beersheba is in the Negev - a desert region in southern Israel, so how can a water source run through this land? Google says, The Beersheba Valley has been populated for thousands of years, as it has available water, which flows from the Hebron hills in the winter and is stored underground in vast quantities. The main river in Beersheba is Nahal Beersheva, a wadi that floods in the winter. So it appears most of the water runs underground, but on the surface it may not look like much is around. The Desert of Beersheba - is place that Hagar went when she and Ishmael were sent out. It is the place that God opened Hagar eyes, and suddenly she saw a well. Beersheba, in Genesis 21, is also the place where Abraham and Abimelek made an oath of protection. Do you remember Abimelek, the King of Gerar who took Sarai with an intent to lie down until God came to him, in a dream and told him she was a married to Abraham, and that he should not touch her at all! Abimelech was mad. He wondered why Abraham had lied - and put him and his kingdom in a position that went against Abraham’s Most High God. Now in Genesis 21, we see Abraham and Abimelech having a conversation that sounds like this - “Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his forces, said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.” Now swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants. Show to me and the country where you now reside as a foreigner the same kindness I have shown to you.” Abraham said, “I swear it.” Then Abraham complained to Abimelek about a well of water that Abimelek’s servants had seized. But Abimelek said, “I don’t know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I heard about it only today.” So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelek, and the two men made a treaty. Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock, and Abimelek asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set apart by themselves?” He replied, “Accept these seven lambs from my hand as a witness that I dug this well.” So that place was called Beersheba, because the two men swore an oath there. After the treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelek and Phicol, the commander of his forces returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord, the Eternal God. And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.” Genesis 21:22-34 Everything in scripture bleeds into today. The River of Life runs through the Valley of the Shadow of Death even to this day. An oath was made between a man of God, and a king who feared him. Abraham promised to remain kind and not to falsely accuse Abimelech or his kingdom; and in turn, Abimelech recognized Abraham as the owner of the well - which would prevent anyone else from trying to make it their own. Seven ewe lambs were set apart to make the oath good. Seven - the number of perfection and the completion of God. “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.” Revelation 5:6 Jesus - one Lamb with 7 horns and 7 eyes, which are the 7 spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Jesus - the well that was dug by God himself that leads to the River of Life. Jesus - the oath that is made between us and God. If we believe that Jesus is Lord, and recognize that his blood covers our sin from the east to the west - then we can be assured that God is just and has prepared a place for us. “Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water.” May He do the same for us. Genesis 21:19 Has anyone else ever felt
that the family dynamics in the book of Genesis are a bit dysfunctional? I mean, really, sometimes when I read the Bible, I feel like I am instantly teleported into a Jerry Springer show. Between the tasteless talk between babies mommas, and the secrets lives of incest and adultery, and all the DNA tests to find out who is the real daddy - it’s all kind of fricken crazy! Do you know what I mean? I can’t even watch that show - because it all about "this girl and that guy" going to and fro! But I have to be in the Bible. I have to know every detail - so that I can better understand who I am and who is My creator is. So - you may be wondering why. Why is Cherie comparing Bible stories to a tasteless talk show? Well, the answer is because I am currently reading about the relationship between Sarah and Hagar; or put in another way - the mother of God’s promised son and the mother of Islam - who gave birth to Isaac and Ishmael. In a nutshell - this is how it goes - It started with one man going on a journey. God called Abram out of his hometown, Babylon, and brought him into the land of Canaan, the land of the giants. Along the Way, the Lord came to him and made many promises through a covenant. The promise included a son, who would go on to father many nations. But when Sarai was remained barren she offered her servant, Hagar, to Abram - to have sex with him so that Hagar could give him the child he desperately wanted. But when Hagar was pregnant, Sarai said to Abram (by the way, these were the names they had before God transformed them) - “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.” Genesis 16:5 Well, Abram brushed aside the responsibility, and said, “Your slave is in your hands, do with her what you want.” Genesis 16:6 So Sarai mistreated Hagar, and then Hagar fled from her, and ran into the desert. But the angel of the Lord found Hagar there, and said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” And Hagar said, “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.” Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” Genesis 16:8-9 Then the angel of the Lord said, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.” You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael (meaning God Listens) for the Lord has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” Genesis 16:10-12 Hagar gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: Beer Lahai Roi, “You are the God who SEES me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” Genesis 16:13 Isn't that interesting. The mother of "God Listens" is the one who named the Lord, "You are the One who Sees Me" The mother of Islam saw God, and spoke to Him, and she submitted herself to His will. Why doesn’t Ishmael listen, like his name says? Perhaps it's because Ishmael was hurt? Perhaps it's because he felt abandoned? Perhaps it's because he was mistreated? He probably felt like Cain - and wondered why God did not choose him. In the story, Hagar listened. She returned to Sarai to pledge her allegiance and endure the rest of her submission. Then, when Abram was 99 years old, and Ishmael was age 13 - the Lord appeared to Abram again and gave him and Sarai new names. Sarah was 89. The Lord said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.” Genesis 17:1-2 Then the Lord told Abraham to circumcise the flesh of every male child who is 8 days old. He said this act would happen for all the generations to come, including those born in his household and those purchased, and in his possession. Genesis 17 The Lord also reminded Abraham that he would have a son - the son that He promised him before he slept Sarah's servant. When the Lord spoke these words “Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man 100 years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of 90?” And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac (Isaac means the one who rejoices). I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year. And when the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.” Genesis 17:17-22 Now, in Genesis Chapter 21, after Isaac was weaned, Abraham threw a feast for him. But Sarah saw Ishmael mocking. So Sarah 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.” I can only imagine that Abraham was thinking, “What the hell have I done?” Abraham took matters into his own hands when he took Sarah's servant into his bed. Abraham and Sarah were both impatient, and did not put their full trust in God. So they endured the consequences of their man-made choices. And that is why it sounds like the Jerry Springer show. But Abraham had come to love Ishmael. If he didn’t, he would not have asked the Lord to bless him. God reassured him. He said to Abraham, “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.” Genesis 21:12 LOL! First Sarai gave bad advice, and told Abram to sleep with her servant. Now God tells Abraham to listen to Sarah, and do whatever she says. Abraham now trusted God, so he lined up his will with what God said - "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.” Genesis 21:8-21 Obviously, Hagar and Ishmael made their way down from the Desert of Beersheba (the Negev in Southern Israel) to the Desert of Paran (from the Gulf of Aqaba to the southern shore of the Dead Sea). Perhaps Hagar was trying to return to the land from where she was taken? The scripture says she was an Egyptian, and she got Ishmael a wife from Egypt. I do not know. So you may be wondering why? Why did God send His promise through Isaac and not Ishmael? The answer is “I do not know.” Why did God prefer the gift from Abel, instead of his brother Cain? Perhaps it has nothing to do with the gift at all, but the heart of the person that beats inside? But who am I to question God the author and finisher of creation? All I can say is this - anyone who believes in Jesus, as the only begotten Son of God, is grafted into the tree of life that grows on the Mountain of Zion. The Bible says so. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” You see, there is an order and a lineage to Jesus. You can read all about it in Matthew, Chapter One - or you can start at the beginning in Genesis One. The physical seed starts with Adam and goes from Seth to Noah and Shem to Abram - upon which he was given a new name. Abraham sent the seed through Isaac, the promised son given by God, and Abraham was willing to sacrifice him, just like he did with his first son, Ishmael. The seed moved onto Jacob, who took the birthright from his older twin. Then deceptive Jacob wrestled with the Angel of the Lord, and won (Israel means Triumphant with God). Isreal had 12 sons (just like parallel Ishmael did) and one was named Judah. From the tribe of Judah, King David was born, and from his line Joseph came. Joseph was scheduled to marry Mary, the virgin woman who conceived God's Son by the Holy Spirit, without intercourse. You see, Jesus is the only begotten Son, fully God and fully human. The Word of God was implanted into a virgin woman, betrothed to Joseph, by God's Holy Spirit. At first, Joseph did not believe. He probably responded much like you and me! “But after Joseph had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:20-21 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet Isaiah, “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.” Matthew 1:21-25 Can't you see? It’s always been about the gene of faith. We are saved by God’s grace. We are saved by the blood of Christ. God’s Word has always been good - just like in the days of Abraham. My prayer is that the Jewish people would hear this message and know that their Messiah has come. If you are Jewish, please read Romans 11 - and read what Paul said to the remnant of Israel. “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” Romans 11:25-27 And to the descendants of Ishmael - I am genuinely sorry for your suffering. I am sorry that you felt unwanted. It had to be hard to wander aimlessly through the desert. It's truly something we have all had to do. But the Lord can be your refuge. He has offered a blessing just for you. The written Word of God says that “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13 Anyone reading this poem - Jew or Gentile, Man or Woman, Slave or Free - All you have to do is believe - call out to God and repent for your sin. Now go. Get off you mat and spread the good news. Jesus is coming back soon. I have heard the Lord whisper in my ear, “I am wringing out My remnant for one drop of My blood covers a multitude of sin.” None of us are righteous. Not one person! It is only by the blood of Jesus, that we are healed. I love you. Man or woman-
if your ears are perked to the Spirit of God, and you hear this message for what it is - do not scoff it off because it is delivered by a woman of God. I pray the Lord will use this poem to touch anyone that He wants! It is time for the church to grow into maturity and keep Jesus as the main thing. There is something to say about God’s perfect timing. It’s totally grand and mesmerizing - and it’s all about keeping Jesus as the main thing! God sets the stage and creates the conditions to unfold ALL of His plans on earth and in Heaven. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul explained the great mystery of God. He said, “God’s intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” Ephesians 3:10-12 You see - God is sovereign. Paul understood that God created both the earth and the heavens. Paul did not operate under deception by believing that God only cared about humans. He has many sons in physical and the spiritual realms. God has many sons - some are angels and some are humans (men and women) Some rebel and go against Him, and some bow down and desire to obey him. It’s totally a heart condition. But there Is only One Son who fully reflects Him - and that is Jesus. Jesus is God’s beloved Son - the impregnation of God's conception placed into a virgin woman by God’s Holy Spirit. The only Son - fully God and fully human. The only Son - fully Lamb and fully Lion. And through this Son - who is God’s fullest expression - the Word of God expresses God's character - God's love and compassion and his wrath and his anger. You see - God is sovereign. Some things are accepted and some are rejected, but all things are possible through Him - because He holds ALL wisdom. And we must have faith to believe that God has perfect timing, and a perfect plan - even if we can't comprehend. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters (men and women) And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” Romans 8:28-30 God carried out his plan through Abram and Sarai. He predestined Abram and Sarai to be man and wife, then He moved them out of Chaldea, and brought them into Syria. Then God called to Abram and told him to go to the promised land, the land of Canaan - where they would give birth to a son promised to them. And that is where they were justified and given a new name: Abraham and Sarah. Why Canaan? Could this have been the land of where the giants lived? The place where the rebellious sons of God inhabited - the Valley of the Rephaim? All things have a reason - even when we can’t explain it. And this is where Abraham landed - when he then met the Angel of the Lord and Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High. Listen in - “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.” God always keeps His Word when He gives it. “Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him.” Do you remember what God told Abram when He renamed him Abraham? In Genesis 17:18-21, God said, “Your wife Sarah will indeed bear you a son, and you are to name him Isaac. I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. As for Ishmael, I have heard you, and I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He will become the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But I will establish My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.” And then, one year later, when Abraham was 100 years old, Sarah bore a son - the expression of God’s promise, and named him Isaac. Isaac means laughter. Even when we are shocked - God always fulfills His promise. Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” 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.” Genesis 21:6-7 “When Isaac was 8 days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him.” Genesis 21:4 One year prior, God said to Abraham “You must keep My covenant - you and your descendants in the generations after you. This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which you are to keep: Every male among you must be circumcised. You are to circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. Generation after generation, every male must be circumcised when he is eight days old, including those born in your household and those purchased from a foreigner even those who are not your offspring. Whether they are born in your household or purchased, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh will be an everlasting covenant. But if any male is not circumcised, he will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.” Genesis 17:9-14 “The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast.” Genesis 21:8 Sisters and brothers in Christ - this is the message to the church - the sacrificial body of Christ. It’s time to grow up! God is patiently waiting for our maturity. He is waiting for us to forsake man-made traditions and doctrines of the wind. He is waiting for us to keep Jesus as the main thing. When will we move on from what we already know about the essential doctrines of grace and not go backwards into man made rules and regulations such as those contained in the Mosaic Laws? When will we stop arguing amongst ourselves about who is good and who is not? None of us are just! Not one of us is right. When will we stop debating over who can teach and who can not? When will we stop squabbling over who can preach and who can not? When will we stop making excuses about why we can not share the Word of God with anyone that we want? Do you think in Heaven the angels stop for one minute debating over who can worship God and who can not? My God - how far from the truth of God have we come? Why do people operate in such foolishness? I believe God is eager for us to identify apostate teachings when we encounter them. For there are many wolves among sheep trying to distract us. “For though by this time we ought to be teachers, we need someone to teach us again - the basic principles of the oracles of God. We need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil." Hebrews 5:12-14 “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Ephesians 4:14-16 Jesus said, “This is how we should pray: “Our Father in heaven (The father of all creation currently abides on His throne in the heavenly realm), hallowed be your name (God is omnipresent, omnipotent and purely set apart as Ultimate Holiness), your kingdom come (Bring Heaven down into the earth realm - not the other way around), your will be done (God’s will not ours - we must suppress the flesh through our love for Him) on earth as it is in heaven (while we walk through this valley of the shadow of death). Give us today our daily bread (Jesus is the bread of life) And forgive us our debts (Through the blood of Christ) as we also have forgiven our debtors (Because He first loved us) And lead us not into temptation (Desires of our flesh) but deliver us from the evil one (Because that is how Satan tempts us). Matthew 6:9-13 “The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast.” The seed of the women that God promised to us shall crush the head of the serpent. Genesis 3:15 Through grace alone by faith alone in Christ alone - the body of Christ will grow into maturity that reflects the will of God. And someday, when we are fully weaned, our Father in Heaven will throw a great feast! Man or woman- if your ears are perked to the Spirit of God, and you hear this message for what it is - do not scoff it off because it is delivered by a woman of God. I pray the Lord will use this poem to touch anyone that He wants! “Blessed is EVERYONE who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” Luke 14:15 just Did your know that Sarah, Abraham’s wife,
was Abraham’s half-sister? I didn’t! I missed it! But I should have guessed it! It seems that most humans, back in the day, intermarried and had lots of children. I think the DNA of humans had to be more resilient than it is today! Anyway, in chapter 20 of Genesis, it is recorded that Abraham said, “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.” ’ Abraham said this Abimelek, the king of Gerar. in response to the king’s question, “Why did you lie?” You see, after God displayed his wrath, in Sodom and Gomorrah, “Abraham moved into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur.” Kadesh was an ancient city on the Orontes River in western Syria. The site is located about 15 miles southwest of modern-day Homs. Shur was the location given to wilderness area East of Egypt and the Red Sea - on the Arabian peninsula - what we know today as Saudi Arabia. Gerar was a Philistine town in what is today south central Israel, and Abimelech was it's king. We have to remember how it was back then. Kings had the power to take whatever they wanted - including women! Scripture says, “For a while he stayed in Gerar, and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.” “But God came to Abimelek 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.” As we saw in Genesis 2, God defines marriage as one man and one woman becoming one. God apparently does not approve of another man taking a married woman as his own. “Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation?” Let’s break that down! Since the king ruled a nation, he knew the individual choices he made had an effect on everything and everyone that extended from him. Abimelech said to God, “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.” 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. 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 who belong to you will die.” Dang! God really is sovereign! God took responsibility for being the reason why the king had not yet touched Sarah! “Early the next morning Abimelek summoned ALL of his officials, and when he told them ALL that had happened, they were very much afraid.” God is so good! He uses every opportunity to show himself as sovereign! Everyone knew that the God of Abraham was omnipotent! Then Abimelek 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 never be done.” Then Abimelek 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.’ You see, Abraham knew that Sarah’s beauty was irresistible to most men, and he knew that she would draw the attention of kings who had eyes to see the desires of their lands. He knew without fear of the Lord, they would just take what they wanted. Apparently Sarah was like Bathsheba, the woman whose beauty triggered David to sin. This is when Abraham responded “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.” ’ Abraham wanted the king to understand that he told a half lie because he knew the king did not have a relationship with the Most High God. The half lie could be seen as a moral failure - or it could be seen as a reason to live. What do you think? Do you think any of God's people were moral? “Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelek said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.” To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.” Abimelech recognized Abraham not only as Sarah’s husband, but he also said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver to cover the offense I have committed against you.” He acknowledged both the divine and the human sin. “Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, for the Lord had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.” Genesis 20:1-18 God is so good! He gave all them grace - for the wrongs they had done. And in the end, a Babylonian man who God turned into a prophet, and his half-sister, who was an extension of him, and a Philistine king who came to his knees to repent and pray unto God - we’re all saved by grace through their faith that God was the sovereign king. Are you ready
to hear another twisted story about sex and manipulation? It does not come from Vogue Magazine or Entertainment Today, it comes straight from the Bible, the written Word of God. It’s about two young girls who grew up in Sodom - a place so evil that God heard the outcry of the people and finally sent His fire down - to destroy the town, and the towns extending from it. This is true account. However, it’s based on a nugget of truth, because God’s Way had been watered down by wicked social customs created by men who had gone bad. This story is about two young virgin daughters who were chosen by their father to marry two wicked men from the town they were raised in. But as was their custom - their socially accepted norms - the men from Sodom preferred to have sex with men and the role of women was to have children. To me, it sounds much like the world when the sons of God took human women - Pre-Flood. But it only got worse! Here’s a summary of the account… Two angels of the Lord, appearing as men, entered the gates of Sodom, to bring Abraham and his extended family out before the wrath of God showed up. When Lot saw them, he immediately recognized them as lords. He urged them not to sleep in the city square, but to stay the night with him, at his house. But it was too late. The men of city saw them. “And before they had gone to bed, ALL the men from EVERY part of the city of Sodom - both young and old - surrounded the house and called out to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.” Genesis 19:4-5 So Lot went out to the wicked men, and offered his daughters as a substitute to them. Lot said, “No, my friends." "Don’t do this wicked thing. Look, 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.” Genesis 19:7-8 Can you believe - Lot offered his daughters, not only in marriage, to two wicked men - But he offered them up, like pieces of meat to be raped by ALL of the men of Sodom! Now granted - he was trying to save the men, who were actually angels of the Lord, But the truth is - dark cannot touch light without it being destroyed; so the angels would have destroyed those men if they had tried to touch them. But Lot had lost his common sense. He called those wicked men “friends” probably because he had lived - participating in their customs, for far too long. But the Lord showed mercy to Abraham, And chose to graft Lot in, by saving him and his family from the wrath of God. The angels of the Lord were even going to save the wicked men who were betrothed to Lot’s daughters, but the men refused to listen and thought Lot was making it all up. Sounds like the people I know today. When you share the truth in love - they scoff it off as nonsense - and continue to believe that since God is love they don’t have to follow in His ways. Since they say “God is good” - there is no fear of the Lord. Now Lot had a wife, who probably came from Sodom, because when she was running with Lot and her girls, for Bela, otherwise known as small town of Zoar, she defied the angel of the Lord and looked back at Sodom. When she saw the wrath of God, she became a pillar of salt. But Lot and his daughters were saved that day, and after taking refuge in Zoar, they went to live in a cave. And this is where the story gets even more twisted - keep on listening. The scripture says they went to live in the mountains, “for he was afraid to stay in Zoar.” Perhaps Lot saw in Zoar a people who were wicked? And after being saved, and seeing his home destroyed, maybe he had gained a healthy fear for the Lord? Maybe that is why Lot was afraid to stay in the town of Zoar? Perhaps Lot thought, “if I take my girls away, to the mountains - to live in a cave, away from wicked men - then I can save them from experiencing further destruction?” But Lot did not consider the social dilemma - the twisted thinking that had been implanted in his daughters by a wicked and corrupt culture that they lived in, in Sodom and Gomorrah. Listen to what they did. Genesis 19:32-33 says, “One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children - as is the custom all over the earth. Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.” The girls believed that since their role was to have children, then they would have to have sex with their father, the only male, to preserve the family line. And yet, she knew it was wrong. She said they would need to get their father drunk so that he would not know what was happening to him. Scripture says, “That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up. The next day, the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.” “So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites today. The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites today.” Genesis 19:30-38 I have to say, many years ago, when I first read this story, I thought those girls were totally crazy! But now, after growing up in a culture, where "wicked is good and good is wicked," I see how easy it is for social norms seep in - like the serpent did in the Garden with Adam and Eve. I see how the Word of God has been twisted to fit into the wicked minds of men, and how it gets even more insidious with the passing of generations. These girls were a product of their society. Their identity was wrapped up in motherhood. Women had no worth - the men of Sodom didn’t even want to have sex with them. They were not even protected by their future husbands. They were nothing more than pieces of meat to be thrown out and abused. Imagine what they had learned. In the girls twisted little minds, they thought they were doing something good - they thought they were preserving the family line. And that is what they did! They gave birth to two sons, two nations who would cause much irritation to the chosen people of God. Moab, the emerald in the sand, would comprise a people who would live just beyond the Jordan - just short of the promised land. Moab would be a source of war. Ammon lived just north of Moab, and they also made war with Israel. Deuteronomy 23:3 says, “No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, not even in the tenth generation.” This is what happens when people sin, and take matters into their own hands. We just saw this with the decision of Abraham and Sarah, and the birth of Ishmael, and now - we see it again - with Lot’s daughters taking matters into their own hands and giving birth to Moab and Ammon. Lord help us learn a lesson from this. Help us teach our children the truth. Help us to show your love and teach our children that fear of the Lord is for our own good. Help us not take matters into our own hands. Give us the endurance to wait patiently on the Lord. Protect our eyes and ears from wickedness, and send an angel of the Lord to grab our hands and lead us into safe passages. Thank you for your Holy Spirit who continues to guide us into your righteousness. We love you. In Genesis 18
the Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre. Abraham was sitting by his tent when he looked up and saw three men standing nearby, He hurried over to meet them and bowed low to the ground. Later we learn that two of them were angels, and one of them was the Lord. Scripture says two of the men left for Sodom, and one stayed behind to talk to Abraham. Scripture says, “The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot (Abraham’s nephew) 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. “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.” But Lot insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. Lot prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom - both young and old - surrounded the house. 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.” If you didn’t know where the name sodomy came from, now you do! These men acted like dogs - wanting to hump every single one. Scripture says, “Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him and said, “No, my friends. don’t do this wicked thing. Look, 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.” Can your imagine offering your own children, Your daughters who are still virgins, to be raped by sick and demented men? The thought of this just makes me cringe! “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” The men of Sodom were super angry - Highly emotionally dysregulated! They did not want to be told what do by Lot - a foreigner who had entered their land and would not bend to their social customs. All of the men of Sodom were wicked! The whole lot of them hard hearts towards God. Not one of them were righteous in God's eyes. “They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door. But the men (angels) inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door.” I wonder if this is what God does with us, when we are being approached, attacked and influenced by demons? “Then the angels struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.” Man - these angels had great power! They were able to confuse the wicked by making them blind! Thank you Father for your great love! The two men (angels) 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, 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.” Once again we see the power of God's covering through mercy and grace! The same thing happened to Noah, when his wife, his sons and their wives were allowed to live. It’s seems back then, if a man was found guilty of sin, his whole household was destroyed, and if a man found favor in the eyes of God, then everyone in his household was allowed to live. “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.” The Lord was going to allow the wicked men to live, all because they were betrothed to Lot's daughters. The wicked men who did not put up a fight to protect the young girls they were betrothed to marry. Sounds much like the wicked today - who read these poems and think it's all in my head. They don't believe the Lord is coming back - as the Lion of Judah with scepter in hand. They don't believe the Lord is going to destroy every living being that he granted breath. They don't believe that God has a divine plan to restore Eden by making a new earth and a new heaven. Some believe if they say they believe in Christ, they will be saved from experiencing eternal death. But what they don't realize is that Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Matthew 7:21-23 “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. 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.” Did you hear that? Lot hesitated - so the angels of the Lord grabbed all of their hands and led them to a safer land. Lot was not seen as good by God. He did many things that were morally wrong. Nor was his wife or his daughters good, and the men they were betrothed to were very wicked! They lived (and had the chance to live) because the Lord showed grace and was merciful to them! “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!” But Lot said to them, “No, my Lords, please! 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.” “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.” One of the angels said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar.)” Zoar in Hebrew means insignificant. The actual name of the city was called Bela - and my guess is the Lord was planning to destroy it. The insignificant city was an extension of Sodom and Gomorrah, my guess - along with Admah and Zeboiim. Do you remember Genesis Chapter 14 when the five kings of the Jordan plains formed an alliance and joined forces in the Siddim Valley, known as the Dead Sea, to fight against the four kings of Babylonia, Ellasar, Elam, and Goiim - the kings of Mesopotamia? The angel said, "I will not overthrow the town you speak of. But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” To me, this means Bela was going to be destroyed, but because favor was extended to Lot once again, Bela would become a land of refuge instead. However, the blessing was attached to Lot, which meant that Lot would have to beat the fire's path. Lot bent. Lot hesitated. Lot complained. Lot was a lot like us! God's wrath is coming to earth? Will we beat the fire's path? “By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah - from the Lord out of the heavens." “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all tribes on earth “will mourn because of him.” Revelation 1:7 "Thus He overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” Imagine that! Dust of the earth that has breath, seeing the wrath of the Lord’s godliness- turned back into the salt of the land. In my opinion, this is evidence of the truth that we currently live in the valley of the shadow of death! “Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 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. 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.” Genesis 19:1-29 And there you have it. Lot got to live because he was connected to Abraham. And all because the Lord chose Abram and brought him out of Babylon to Canaan; to take back possession of the promised land and to give him a son so that he could father many nations. This was all part of God’s divine plan. To offer redemption to the people he favored, the morally just and the wicked - and this is how our faith is won - understanding that God is good and we are not. Amen. |
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