Genesis 21: The call and promise fulfilled

In Genesis 21, Sarah, in her old age, gives birth the promised son, Isaac. God brought about the fulfilment of the promise made long ago.

Genesis 21 takes the reader through the time that Isaac was weaned. After this event a feast was thrown and Sarah caught Ishmael mocking Isaac and demanded both he and Hagar were sent away. Abraham was upset by this turn of events because Ishmael was also his son. God gave Abraham security that Ishmael too would be a great nation. So Hagar and Ishmael left. Once again, Hagar is the desert in desperation. Once again God comes to the slave woman and promises her that He is with her and saves their lives. So God is with Ishmael in the desert.

Lasting, Genesis chapter 21 ends with Abraham's political dealings with the local peoples.

Reading and reflecting on these passages today gives me peace. I believe that God bring all things about in His time. Right now, that is enough to survive today.

Further thoughts, in addition to the birth of Isaac, we again see God's love and grace in Hagar's life. He comes to her and is with her son as he grows up. He blesses this family that came from an abused slave. God is a God of mercy and compassion. We also see that God was beginning to establish Abraham as a political leader within the area, further fulfilling His promise.

Genesis 20: Abraham once again lies about Sarah to protect himself

Abraham and Sarah were in the kingdom of Gerar, ruled by Abimelek. Abraham lied and claimed Sarah was his sister, not his wife. So Abimelek took Sarah into his house hold. Soon he became ill and the women in his household stopped conceiving. God came to Abimelek in a dream and told him Sarah was already married. Abimelek returned Sarah to Abraham and asked Abraham why he lied. God healed Abimelek and the women in that household were able to conceive afterwards.

Abraham once again is disobedient to God and disrespectful of his wife, the woman who God plans to use to bring about a great nation. This is why none of the women could conceive while she was in that household. We also see God's grace towards Abimelek and He prevents him from committing a sin against Sarah.

When in wait, we must obey God. Further we must trust that He will bring about exactly what He says He will. God had promised Sarah a son within the year from Abraham.

My prayer: God please bless me and my family as we wait. Help us to be sensitive to Your calling, and Your timing. Please intervene in our lives. Help us to walk in righteousness and do honour You and Your perfect grace. Amen

Genesis 19: Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed Followed by Incest

The Bible is certainly not a boring book. God search Sodom and Gomorrah for 10 righteous people and is unable to find them. He sends his angels to rescue Lot and his family, because of his promise to  Abraham. (Reading this story again, it appears that the rescue of Lot has more to do with God's promise to Abraham and little to do with Lot's deeds.) Lot's family flees, but his wife is disobedient in the process and does not survive the flight.

The next morning Abraham sees the destruction.

This story is followed by Lot daughters making a successful plan to continue the family line through their father.

We see here the power of God and we also see that He is true to His promise. God promised to bless Abraham's family and he spares the life of Lot because of Abraham. Further the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was likely necessary for God bring His people to the promised land. The decedents of Abraham should not be raised near such sin. As modern people, we are sometimes ignorant to the sinful state of man before God started to commune with His creation. First through Israel and then more completely through Jesus. Ancient times where wicked times.

We also see that sometimes a death (figuratively or this case very literally) must preceed a new plan or new life. As I think about my own calling, I am aware that something in my die. In this case, I have feeling that I will watch a dream die completely before God will bring me to fulfilment in His calling on my life.

Genesis 18: God will bring a son to Abraham and Sarah. Sodom is going to fall.

God come to Abraham in the form of three visitors. Abraham prepares a feast for these visitors who ask after Sarah. They inform Abraham and the eaves dropping Sarah that they will have son within the year. Sarah responds with disbelief and laughter. She is old and her natural time of child production has passed. God confronts her laughter and she lies, which God does not allow her to get away with.

After this interaction, God tells Abraham that Sodom and Gomorrah are set for destruction over their sinful ways. Abraham bargains with God to try and spare the city. God agrees that if 10 righteous people are found within the cities, He will spare them. Then the chapter ends.

Once again, we see that God calls families. Sarah's part of the plan is acknowledged. Further, we also see that Sarah's struggle with faith is not going to stop God from bringing His plan to fruition. This is important to note as this runs contrary to the prosperity gospel that is often preached. God bring His plans in His time, even if those involved are still struggling with faith.

So I pray that God bring His plans to fruition in my life. I pray that God rescues me and my family. I pray for godly strength and godly love. And peace, I pray and yearn for peace.

Genesis 17: Finally God reveals His Timing To Abram

Abram is now 99 with a 13 year old son from his wife's slave. God comes to him again and asks Abram to be faithful and blameless in his ways. God makes a covenant with him that he will be the father of many nations. Abram's name will be changed to Abraham. The land that is Canaan will become an everlasting position of the decedents of Abraham. As a sign of that covenant, all males will be circumcised. These males born of this line will be circumcised at 8 days. All men presently living in Abrahams household will be circumcised at that present day.

God tells Abraham that this line will come through Sarai who will now be called Sarah. She will have a son in her old age that will be named Isaac. This will occur within the year. God will still bless Ishmael and nations will come from that line as well.

Then Abraham and all the males in his household fulfilled their end of the covenant.

In this passage we can see fulfilment of God's blessing, promise and call. He finally reveals His timing to Abraham. He does so in a way so that it apparent that it is God who is fulfilling this promise. As Abraham prepares for this promise, he must endure a great physical pain in preparation. As I reflect on my time of waiting, it has been no where near as long as Abraham's. Still God has chosen not to reveal his timing, but I may be asked to undergo pain beforehand. Once again, we see that God involves family in his callings. So I continue to pray for a call for my family.

Genesis 16: Sarai takes things into her own hands

Sarai had still not bore a son to Abram so she decides to go about building a family in another way. In those days, the children of slaves could be claimed by those that owned them. Sarai asked Abram to have sex her Egyptian slave Hagar. He does and Hagar conceives. Hagar, a slave who has essentially become a sex slave, and is now pregnant, hormonal and likely uncomfortable, begins to resent Sarai. This makes Sarai angry who blames Abram for her problems with Hagar. Abrams ignores the issue and Sarai mistreats Hagar who then flees.

Then we get a beautiful glimpse of the depth of God's love. In the desert, God comes to this pregnant, Egyptian female slave. He asks her where she is going and Hagar confesses she is fleeing her mistress. God asks her to return and promises her a great line from this son, who is to be named Ishmael. Hagar responds that God has seen her and she has seen God, so she will return. She gives birth to Ishmael a while later.

This is an interesting chapter in that we see the problem with interfering with God's plan. God had promised a line through Sarai and yet Sarai is impatient and is cruel to a woman in her charge. This causes strife for the whole family. We can see here the importance of family unity to God's call. When I was growing up on the mission field, it was consistently emphasised that when a family went on the field, both spouses had to feel called. If this was not the case, the family was not sent. Right now, I am praying for the call for my whole family.

While not related to waiting on God, the story of Hagar is so moving. God came to her in her pain. God blessed this woman even in her struggles. We see again that God sees everyone. Regardless of nation, gender or class.

Genesis 15: The Covenant

To understand this chapter we need to examine what Abram has been through so far. He has been commanded to leave the land he hailed from to move to Canaan with a promise this would be his land and he would be the head of nation. Since then, he has had to flee from his land because of famine. He allowed his wife to go into the court of another king. The land has been divided between him and his nephew because of a family dispute. Two of the cities of been conquered by neighbouring kingdoms and then reclaimed through war by Abram. Still he has no biological heir and his hold on his land is politically shaky and it has been several years since the first promise.

In chapter 15, God comes to Abram in a vision and promises him safety and that He will be Abram's reward. Abrams answer in a very human way. He reminds God that he has no children and his heir will be one of his servants. God promises him a son and from that son will come great nations. Abram believed God's promise. Abram then presented God with a sacrifice.

After this, Abram had a dark feeling of being unsettled. It was then that God let him know an ominous part of the future, he decedents will be slaves for 400 years. But the nation who would hold them as slaves would be punished. The Lord would bring them out slavery and they would punish the Amorites in this time. However, God assured Abram that he would die well before this time and in his old age, at peace. God then passed between the sacrifice and reaffirmed the promise of the land and kingdom.

This is an intense chapter. We get a glimpse of how human Abram is. I know I can relate the feeling of feeling that promises have not been fulfilled and will never be fulfilled. Yet, we see that God knows our human nature. He does not allow Abram to continue to be in torment. He reaffirms the call He has placed on Abram. Mostly importantly, Abram believes God. We even see that God, in His wisdom, chooses to reveal Abram's long life. He also reveals for future generations that He knows that hardship is coming, but He has already put in motion His plan of redemption. (We also get a look at God grace, given that He gives the Ammorites 400 years to turn to Him before sending in soldiers to drive them out.)

So I am praying that God re-affirms my call, if that is still what He desires for my life. I am praying for peace as I wait. Being a person of action, I struggle with times of inaction. I am praying for calm and wisdom that I will hear God's guidance and go forward at the appropriate time. I have read Genesis many times and in previous readings I have mostly focused on the main characters. This time, I am aware of the role of Abram's family. I am praying not only for my own guidance, but for guidance for my household.

Genesis Ch 14: Abram Rescues Lot

Here we see Abram, still childless and living in the land Canaan. He nephew Lot was residing in the city of Sodom when Sodom and Gomorrah where over thrown by invading kingdoms. Abrams responds by taking swift action to rescue Lot by joining with neighbouring kingdoms. At conclusion, Abram gives some of the bounty to the king of Salem, a God fearing man, but takes nothing from the king of Sodom. The Lord had previously told Abram to take nothing from this kingdom, so that all the glory of Abram's material blessings would go to God.

Here we see that God is further establishing Abram in the promised land. He is warrior to be reckoned with. I would imagine that this event with helped confirm in the mind of Abram the promise, even as he waited for the promised child. Reading gives me hope that God will continue to affirm His calling on my life as I wait for the doors to open.

Genesis Chapter 13: Abram and Lot Separate

When Abram moved to the land of Canaan, he nephew Lot, along with all of his family, had gone with him. Chapter 13 Abram and Lot begin to quarrel. This issue is resolved with Abram shows Lot the land and allows Lot to choose where he and his family will settle. Lot chooses the lusher land, which also happens to be near cities known for sin. After the separation, God shows Abram the extent of the land that is promised to him and the generations that follow.

Previously, when I have read this passage or heard messages on this passage, the focus has been on Abram's response to Lot. This is held as an example of generosity. While this may be true, in light of the focus on why God gives us a call and asks to wait, I would like to focus on something else. Abram have felt disappointed with the whole affair, after all, he received the promise, not Lot. It may have felt as another sign that God's promise was not going to pass in his life. Yet, God used this time as a chance to show in the boundaries of the future kingdom. God affirmed the call on Abram's life.

What I am taking away is to continue to focus on serving God, even in the mundane. To bring peace to my family. I keep praying that one day the pieces will makes sense.

Genesis 12: Abram's Call to Hurry Up and Wait

As I wait for God to lead me into the fulfilment of His call in my life, I am studying the examples He has put in His Word of others who have received a call and then waited for the call to come to pass.

The first clear example comes with the story of Abram, a native of the land of Ur. Abram is married to a great beauty named Sarai, and at this time, they have no children. God call Abram to leave his homeland and travel to a new land. It is there that God will bring about great nations from Abram's line. Abram obeys and his family moves.

After the move, there is a famine and Abram goes to Egypt. While, he is there, the pharaoh takes an interest in Sarai and Abram allows this to happen, to save his own life. This is the first time we see Abram doubting God's promise. The ruse is discovered and Abram and his family are kicked out.

I read this and I see that this is often what happens. We get a call and then we wait and trust to see how God will bring it about. The timing can be uncomfortable. We can question why God gave us a promise when now we must wait for it to come to pass. I believe God wants to teach us in this waiting period. I also believe we can seek solace in the meaning of the knowledge there is a plan upon our lives.

Responding to Mike Pence

A friend of mine, Sue Nicholson wrote the following piece about Mike Pence's statements about the boundaries he has put in place. As this happened about 1632 internet years ago, I will refresh his statement:

• Pence will not go to an event where alcohol is being served unless his wife goes with him.
• Pence will not dine alone with a woman who is not his wife.

When these statements came out, naturally there was significant criticism that boundaries such as these were a detriment to women. Nicholson, in her piece, draws similarities between Pence's boundaries and the Billy Graham rules and how this impacts the ministry. I am going to dissect Pence's rules a little further and discuss whether these boundaries are detrimental to women and argue that it will depend on how they are applied.

Starting with Pence's first rule. This one is good practice regardless of your spiritual beliefs. In my field, physics, which largely secular, I have met a few individuals who make a point of bringing their spouses or partners with them when alcohol is being served. The consumption of alcohol lowers inhibitions and sometimes unprofessional actions are taken and words are said. The presence of a partner gives a measure of accountability, while it can protect from unwanted sexual situations, it can also and perhaps, more importantly, shield from actions that could be taken in harming a career. Further, Pence only impacts himself by having this boundary. If he chooses to abstain from an event where his wife is unable to attend, he loses on the networking opportunity.

In Nicholson's article, she was talking about the implications of the boundaries Pence has put in place in regards to those in pastoral positions. I believe that would be in an agreement that it is a good idea for a pastor to have his/her spouse present with him/her at events where alcohol is served. I myself, try to do the same in my own field and it has served my marriage well.

Now on to Pence's more contentious boundary. He will not dine alone with a woman who is not his wife. This is a softer version of the Billy Graham rules. I will write more on Billy Graham's rules here in a bit. Pence has been criticized that this is gender-based discrimination and that he is disadvantaging women. Now, this could be true, but this depends on how this rule is applied. Firstly, if he frequently taking his male colleagues out from individual lunches and dinners then this is problematic. However, if he is reserving business over food to group interactions, then this boundary only affects his personal life. There is no mention that he was refusing to meet individually with women in a professional context in a non-dining context. Given the media outrage over his boundaries, that would have come to light if that were the case. So, as long he was giving time in his office to mentor and develop the men and women under him, then the dining issues become irrelevant. We do not have sufficient information to truly judge this.

Further, one aspect that must be recognized about both Pence and Graham is the public nature of their job/ministry. This simply requires a greater level of discretion in terms of interactions. There are more eyes watching them and more people to spread rumours. Now this does not apply to all individuals and assessing the popularity of oneself is something one must approach with great humility and likely with another discerning prayer partner in terms of boundaries need to be in place.

I would like to end on something which I fully agree with Nicholson on. Pastors must accommodate ministry despite personal boundaries. Pastoral offices should have large windows and be clearly visible. If a pastor cannot meeting privately with members of a particular sex, then staff should be hired to ensure that these individuals can still be served. I have read of one case where a conservative pastor mentored an unmarried woman and involved his wife in the processes. The mentee benefited by have access to two godly individuals. I would also put forth that pastors must evaluate their boundaries that their motives are in based in God and not simply wanting to appear righteous. Not every pastor needs the same boundaries, though every pastor should always exercise caution. In all cases, we should always approach these issues with love, understanding and compassion.

Waiting on God

I feel a call upon my heart, but yet I feel not push for action. There is no path to reach my call. So I sit and wait. God sometimes gives us a desire in our heart, only to have us wait for fulfilment. Right now I am in a time of waiting. As I wait, I will be exploring the Biblical examples who have waited before me. I will be focusing on those whose promise was fulfilled within their lifetimes. I will be praying for God to grant me patience as I seek His will in my life.