Abraham III - Promises Kept

Genesis 18-21

One of the favorite hymns of St. Luke’s is “Standing on the Promises.” We sing it with lots of enthusiasm, but we know its truth by having difficulties in which God has proven Himself faithful. The laughter over the promise of a child continues when Sarah overhears the three visitors talking with her husband. Abraham and Sarah together show a spiritual gift as they provide the very best of what they have for people they do not know. The gift is #5 of the 20, generosity. I would divide this into at least two gifts: 1) the gift of giving (in which one is blessed with resources and lives to share those with those around them, and 2) the gift of hospitality (in which guests are welcomed and authentically and generously provided for. Abraham and Sarah share hospitality, which Jewish law will later expect of the people. The letter to the Hebrews of the New Testament says in chapter 13, verse 2: “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” I think the author of the letter had Abraham and Sarah in mind. This is a gift that is strong in many people at St. Luke’s and needs to be further developed and deployed. It is a major gateway gift that allows people to come to faith in Christ.

The promise story is then interrupted by Lot’s poor choice to settle in the land of Sodom and Gomorrah. While every community has its share of sin, I have always wondered why we have to exalt places that lift up sinful and destructive behavior: New Orleans (couldn't there be great jazz without immorality and sexual deviance there?), Las Vegas (everybody knows that what happens there never stays there!), and parts of San Francisco. Is it the natural attractiveness of forbidden behavior: bad thoughts, bad boys, bad cities? The justification is that there was a lot of wealth in Sodom and Gomorrah, but there were also four corrupt kings vying for power (drug lords and organized crime a possible parallel?). God decides to bring judgment on the cities for their behavior.

Abraham, because of a spiritual gift he has, mercy (#7), dickers with God trying to spare the city and the people. The whole bargaining process is quite humorous, but in the end there are not even ten righteous people in the city. God judges and rains down burning sulfur. Lot and his family are tragic characters. Abraham does everything for them, but they are corrupt. Lot has a drinking problem and his daughters get him drunk and commit incest with him. Obviously, it is easier to get them out of Sodom and Gomorrah than to get Sodom and Gomorrah out of them. The children they have with their father become continual rivals with the Israelites in the promised land (the Amorites and the Ammonites).

With the tragedy in Haiti, the question of the judgment of God has been raised by some preachers, most notably, Pat Robertson. I will speak to this issue tomorrow in church, so I will only briefly touch on it here. There are indeed, particularly in the Old Testament, examples of God punishing the people for their sins by sending natural disasters – plagues, disease, floods, etc. But it is quite another thing to assume that every natural disaster is due to the sinfulness of people. Both the book of Job and the teachings of Jesus counter that idea strongly. We must be careful that out of arrogance or even bigotry, we fall into “blaming the victim” rather than offering the compassion of Christ.
In chapter 20, Abraham repeats the “this is my sister” ruse. She actually was his half-sister, so he was making good use of a loophole (Genesis 20:5-13). Abraham prays for Abimelech and they are healed, and once again, Abraham emerges all the richer!

Chapter 21 returns to the story of the child. Sarah becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son at the age of 90. She invites everyone to “laugh with her” as she names the child Isaac. It took a long time, 25 years, but God kept his promise. The rest of chapter 21 tells the tragic story of Hagar and Ishmael. God miraculously spares them and in verses 17b-18, “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.” Notice that the call on Abraham has been affirmed in Ishmael. I can’t help but wonder if the common root of God’s call and promise isn’t one place were Jews and Arabs could find common ground.

The final part of Genesis 21 tells of the agreement with Abraham and Abimelech. Abraham makes his first tribute to God calling him “El Olam.” Abraham and God are moving forward in their relationship. There is so much more in these chapters, but as you can see, this article is already a long one. What lessons from these chapters speak most clearly to this time in your life?