Archive for January, 2011
No Faith: Genesis 16
1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.
~NKJV
Sarah had no patience and her faith in God was running low. When God and the angels visited Abraham and told them Sarah would have a child, she laughed. She didn’t believe and gave Hagar to Abraham to sleep with. Thus, the Ishmaelites were born.
Sodom, Gomorrah, and Lot(s)
In Genesis 19, we read about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and about what happens to Lot. In the verses 4-5, we find that the men of the city are homosexuals,
4 Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.”
~New King James Version
Carnally means: Relating to the physical and especially sexual appetites – The Free Dictionary
Then Lot got rescued by the guests and tried to alert his son-in-laws,
14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city!” But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.
~NKJV
Yet earlier he told the homosexual men,
8 “See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.”
Could Lot have lied to those men? Maybe. But the sin continues!
Lot and his family were then told to go to the mountains to be safe from the destruction but he said,
18 Then Lot said to them, “Please, no, my lords! 19 Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. 20 See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.”
~NKJV
Thus Zoar was not destroyed. Along the way to Zoar, Lot’s wife looked back at Sodom and was turned into a pillar of salt. God wanted to destroy all the sinful people of Sodom and Gomorrah right? So, Lot’s wife, looking back showed that she loved the city, or proved she would rather live with those people. Okay, moving on, we see Lot and his daughters moving on to Zoar but moving out because Lot felt uncomfortable there. So, he goes to live in a mountain cave. In the mountain cave, Lot’s daughters decide to have sex with him to preserve the family line. So the sin in Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed, yet the sin continued in Lot’s daughters. Lot’s daughters get him drunk and sleep with him and both get pregnant, bearing the two sinful enemies of the Israelites:
- The Moabites
- The Ammonites
And the two tribes continued the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah.
You see, Lot and his family weren’t exactly righteous, but at least better than the Sodomites. Lot was rescued because of God’s favor on Abraham. God will do anything for a righteous man, won’t he?
Job 2
Observations:
The book of Job talks a lot about mankind and God. The book compares God and man.
The book also is about trials and when God’s people suffer.
Of all of Job’s friends, Elihu rebuked him the most. He used a lot of sarcasm in his speeches.
The book talks a lot about God’s creation and his greatness.
Conclusion:
Who are we to question God? God has his reasons to give us trials. We can pray that God will help us get through it or end it.
Romans 8:28
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
New King James Version
Job
I’m reading the book of Job now.
My observations:
He blessed the name of God when he had trials and was tested, something not many will do.
He questioned God though he didn’t curse him.
His friends were the worst comforters I’ve ever heard of. They criticized Job even though they didn’t know the whole picture.
Conclusion:
Job went through the trial, coming out even more blessed than before and with an even greater understanding of God. That’s what sometimes happens to us. Through trials, God takes out our bad habits, bad traits, and put’s in wisdom, better attitude and things like that. We’re kinda like God’s gold, he let’s us have trials to purify and make us more beautiful.
