Wednesday Bible Study: Abraham Plank by Plank part X

 

I closed last time with "Shake and bake in Sodom", so you might be expecting one of my dissertations on the myths surrounding the cities destroyed by God due to their evil.  But there's a different shake and bake God wants us to see- a theme that Paul often brought up in the New Testament: finishing well, or not.  You see, surrounding the story of the fiery fall of Sodom and Gomorrah are two men who give us examples of both, through their prayers.

In my morning studies today, I was in Daniel 9, reading the prayer he offered when he found out Jeremiah's timeline for the restoring of Jerusalem ( a story that would easily make this post longer than last time!), and I noted in my mind the similarities between it and another prayer we studied a while back- Nehemiah's prayer before facing the Persian king.  And the prayer that Abraham offers to God for the sparing of Sodom follows the exact same pattern.  These are three men who finished well, and it will help us all to look at this prayer, er, plank by plank.

Plank one: the glory of God

Gen 18:23  Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 

Gen 18:24  Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 

Gen 18:25  Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” 

Abraham focuses on the glory of God in the first plea- God is Holy, and would never do wrong.  He puts God on the high pedestal.  And God grants the petition- for 50, Sodom would be spared.

Plank two: My humble position before God

Gen 18:27  Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 

Gen 18:28  Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

He acknowledges his lowly position before God- "but dust and ashes".  In the prayers of Daniel and Nehemiah, this spot is filled by recognizing their sin, and the sin of their people.  In this case, it isn't Abraham's sin at issue.  Still, he humbles himself before the Lord, and this petition is also granted.

Plank three: just ask

Gen 18:29  Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” 

At this point, it's just straight to the petition.  Ask, and you shall receive; and again, the plea is heard.  But if you know your Bible, you might know that phrase I lifted from Jesus above truly translates to "Ask, and keep asking...", and thus...

Plank four: keep asking

Gen 18:30  Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 

Gen 18:31  He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” 

Gen 18:32  Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” 

So he asks three more times- sandwiching in between two "Let not the Lord be angry"s one "as long as I've gotten this deep".  There is no need to be shy about asking the Lord over and over.  The stories of heaven are filled with prayers that were prayed over a whole lifetime, only to be answered after the petitioner has passed on.  However, there comes a point...

Plank five: be sensitive to when God's answer is no

Gen 18:33  And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place. 

Before Abraham could whittle it down to five (which would have gotten him down to Lot, his wife, and his daughters, and a plus one), God WENT HIS WAY.  You have to know that there is a point in some cases where God flat says NO.  And then you should just let it go.

Now on the other hand, let's look at Lot's prayer.  Lot prayed?  Sure, look here:

2Pe 2:6  if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 

2Pe 2:7  and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 

2Pe 2:8  (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 

So yeah, Lot had been praying for the salvation of the people of Sodom.  But see, the problems are many here.  First of all, Lot wasn't willing to just get away from the problem- which he could have done- he apparently kept praying for the sinful around him to 'get better'.  He was praying for his comfort and convenience, but not seeking God's glory.

Secondly, he should have seen where his good intentions were getting him:

Gen 19:9  But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. 

All his good deeds, all his prayers, were getting him was, "Look at this guy judging us!  He's not one of us!"

Third, his desire to "make things right" led him to some horrible compromises with the world of Sodom:

Gen 19:7  and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 

Gen 19:8  Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 

Fourthly, those compromises shattered his family:  His sons-in-law laughed at him (v14), his wife turned from him to her destruction (v26), his surviving neighbors didn't want him around (v30), and his own daughters played him for a fool (vv31-38).

I've often made comments about "soap opera prayers":  Only praying when you're in deep enough, and then trying to make a deal (which, by the way, Lot also tried in vv19-21).  But just being 'sincere' isn't enough either.  Your prayers need to focus on the glory of God, and how your petition might increase it.  And if not, the results shouldn't be a surprise...

Gen 19:27  And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 

Gen 19:28  And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. 

And just one more thing:  Recognizing what prayer was answered.  Of all Lot's prayers, he got nothing.  On the other hand...

Gen 19:29  So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived. 

Catching up pictures

 As you might have guessed, "the Muse hasn't been around lately", and I guess I'm getting tired of dead grass, snow, and ice.  But I did manage to take some pics in the last couple of weeks, so...

February 21- two Fridays ago...

Dashing thru the snow... ho-hum...

You'd think it might be halfway warm- not so

But enough to start the ice-melting process

"Frozen over?  Don't want nothin' to do with it."

Big animal crossing on South canal...

...but Misty was interested in this one-tracker... probably it was a raccoon

Why does my shadow look like the Michelin Man?

Sunday the 23rd,  we took the north loop...

...I just couldn't shake the blues long enough to take pics... even when we found a nice pair of pants with a nice belt, along with a new-looking checkered shirt, buried in the snow.

Monday the 24th it got warm enough to eliminate most of the snow...

Laurie going to work

Mud-DY!

Misty getting mad there's no snow to eat...

...Oh, wait

Took this just to figure out what it was.  Still don't know.

Now we leap to this past Friday...

Warm, but windy in the extreme

That's a plastic bag, clocked at 25 MPH

That? No idea

That's new

Still not windy enough to discourage the discers

That will give you an idea of the wind, even in the woods

The one patch of snow left in Allen County

Her ears pinned back by the wind

Doggie ahead

Time to go off roading

Blowing so hard I almost missed the shot

SOMEone had to jump in before we got to the landing

...as well as at the landing

And that brings us to today- last chance for a walk without rain for the next couple of days

Though the clouds might make you wonder about today...

We took the North loop again, just to see if anything new was happening- apparently not

Windy again though, in spots

First time we've been through most of a winter without this lightpole being clobbered twice

However, for the second straight year, they did clobber the fence up by the road

They took the bushhog to the Woodbridge side all the way up

Another new bench.  That outfit was gone, though.

Surprised to hear the Redwings letting loose already

Misty explores the latest section of bank sliding into the river

Me and Scrappy used to cross here all the time- this is Misty's first, though

And yet again...

 This week, it was yet another back attack, coupled with OT tomorrow to reclaim part of the 2 days I lost, that will scuttle another M10 show.  Sorry!

Wednesday Bible Study: Abraham plank by plank part IX

 

If you thought I had confused you before, pull up a chair!  Often, God teaches me what I need to know through the connectivity of the Bible, and you are about to see how that works for me.  You see, I have a morning routine of Bible reading- A chapter starting from the beginning of the Bible, a chapter in Psalms, and a chapter in the prophets.  With God there are no coincidences, and I knew something was up when I simultaneously reached the back halves of both Exodus (where God takes several chapters discussing the building of the Tabernacle) and Ezekiel (where He spends several chapters describing Ezekiel watching an angel "measuring" the Temple to come when Jesus rules on Earth.  This stuff- unless you are a detail nerd- is heartbreakingly boring, but I knew there was a point.  And that there was a point was virtually shouted to me when I hit the end of each the same morning.  I don't want to exhaust your good will by describing what happened in detail, but let me show you just one verse each from the two chapters:

Actually, one chapter shy of the end in Exodus: Exo 39:30  And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing, like to the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. 

And Ezekiel: Eze 48:35  It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there. 

So I found myself having to parse through these stories to see what He was telling me.  The first thing was, "Ezekiel is your attention-getter.  The meat is in Exodus"

Second, He had me take apart the whole story of the making of the Tabernacle, and it comes down to this:

-God had the plan from the beginning.  You get that concept because He showed the layout to Moses- just like He showed (in measured detail) the Heavenly Temple to Ezekiel.

- God anointed a messenger, Moses, to bring God's Word to the people, as he would Ezekiel later.

- God placed the idea in Moses' brain so vividly, he forgot not one detail, and his explanation was carried out as if the workers had seen it, too.

- God gave them the materials to build the Tabernacle, when He had them "plunder" Egypt when they left.

- God put the generosity in their hearts to give the resources- much more than enough- to build it.

- God gifted the craftsmen the ability to make the intricate details.

- God made sure the name of each tribe was inscribed on the gems of the Ephod, placed in His order.  Thus not only including everyone, but making sure they knew it was by HIS arrangement, so there would be no fighting over 'pecking order'.

-And finally, God through Moses blessed the outcome.

And the Ezekiel connection?  Not once is it said anything about any hand of man working on this Temple.  Like all the abilities it took to build the Tabernacle, God GAVE IT.

So what, pray tell, does this have to do with Abraham- or us?  Here we go.

The 13 years are up and God makes two visits to Abram.  The first was just God's voice.  It was a renewing of all the promises God had made previously.  But this time, Abram had grown deep enough in faith to be able to question God- plus, while having a kid at 86 was a stretch, having one at 99 seemed impossible.  But God not only assured him, He added a sign- every male was to be circumsized. Then, a second sign- He changed their names.

To me, I believe this first was God's way of showing Abram, "Do not be afraid to cast off flesh- I AM not flesh, and My Word is more than flesh.  The second symbolized a change in their positions.  Abram meant "High father", a term that gave glory to Abram. He became Abraham- "Father of a Multitude"- a feat that would take a miracle of God.  Likewise Sarai, which meant basically, "dominant", was switched to Sarah- a "noble lady".  

Less than a month later (according to the Book of Jubilees), they were visited by "three men"- who as the story goes, were actually Christ Himself in bodily form, with two angels.  This is where we had that little happening with Sarah we talked about a few weeks ago:

Gen 18:12  So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” 

Gen 18:13  The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 

Gen 18:14  Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 

Gen 18:15  But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.” 

One can only suppose Abraham chuckled to himself here, as God had already told him the child's name would be Isaac- which means "laughter".

But there is something else here.  Sarah basically said in v12, "To have a child, you have to have sex.  And look at us!  We're about dead, why would we have sex?"  Note that the LORD did not say, the power of the Holy Spirit will overshadow you, like He had the angel tell Mary.  He just said, "You're gonna have a kid."  But there's a way this makes sense.  Consider, Two things happen before the story of Isaac's birth- and one of them is Abraham repeating his deception of Pharaoh with King Abimelech.

Gen 20:1  From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. 

Gen 20:2  And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 

Why would Abimelech take Sarah, a 90-year old lady too "worn out to have pleasure"?  Because she was HOT again- at least as much as she was back in Egypt.  I believe God turned back the aging process for these two- something I never considered before, and I apologize for earlier speculations.  Think about it- she's going to need her breasts to nurse Isaac ( I kinda doubt she'd pass the job off to Hagar), not to mention energy enough to raise him.  Annnd... we have the evidence of Abimelech hitting on her to confirm.

Just one more little item to add to this story before I tie everything together.  As the "three men" started to leave, and Abraham, being the good host, saw them off, the Lord muses about whether He should tell Abraham the REST of the reason for their visit- the destruction of the evil cities of the Plain.

Gen 18:17  The LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 

Gen 18:18  seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 

Gen 18:19  For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” 

What do I hope to tie in here?  That God is inclusive to those who love Him.  That's why He has us pray, even though "He knows what we need before we ask".

Okay, so let's go back to what we learned in Exodus.

- God had the plan from the beginning; it grew in detail as Abraham gained in faith, but it never changed.

-God had called the man who was to set the plan in motion- Abraham.

- God took the time to build this plan into Abraham SO completely, he never even blinked later on when God asked him to sacrifice Isaac.

- God provided everything Abraham and Sarah needed to complete the plan- including, I believe, restored youth.

- God had, just as David described in Psalm 139, knew and patterned Isaac all along, "written in your book and planned before a single one of them began".  God gave their bodies the ability and the gifts to "make" Isaac, and I think this is important.  Like the goldsmith Bezalel and his learned crafts, the happy couple were born with the ABILITY to have children- but it was the GIFTS- skill to Bezalel, youth to Abraham and Sarah- that made it happen.

-God had it planned from the start that EVERYONE would be included in His plan- and in HIS order.  Thus, Abraham is the Father of MANY nations- not just Jews.  Remember what John the Baptist said to the self-righteous Jews:

Mat 3:9  And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 

- And finally, God blessed Abraham for his faith, by sharing a confidence about what was about to happen to Sodom and Co.

And what does Chris and his readers pull out from all this?  Two big things.  One, God has our lives in His hands- planned out to the most intricate detail.  If you don't believe me, I dare you, go ahead and wade through the ends of Exodus and Ezekiel.  Or, you might just read this:

Jer 29:11  For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 

And two:  It's all GIFTS FROM GOD!  Oh, we might have to do our part here and there- like Abraham and Sarah apparently did ;)- but any skill we did it with, any material we used in it, and any plan we devised- it came as a gift from the God that loves us.

Next up: Shake and bake in Sodom...