Perfect Ten, Really?

Genesis 24:1-20


Abraham's servant, Eliezer, is tasked with finding Isaac a bride.  She cannot only be pleasant to look at, but must also possess a good heart.  Society puts a lot of emphasis in beauty.  It is the reason why businesses dealing with beauty enhancement, fashion, physical fitness and weight loss management are lucrative.  They all contribute to making one look beautiful --- on the outside.  However, Eliezer is looking for a woman who is also beautiful --- on the inside.  So he devices a test.  Whoever offers him a drink and also volunteers to provide water for his camels, is a good contender.  Rebekah does just that.  She offers him a drink and does not hesitate to also take care of his camels.  Biblical scholars point out that water jugs in those days are quite big and heavy.  Moreover, when camels travel long distances for more than a week, they can easily consume 25 gallons of water.  Eliezer has ten camels.  You do the Math.  No wonder, he is quite impressed with her!  She is not only kind and considerate, but also hardworking.  In other words, her beauty emanates from a genuinely good heart.  So, here is the question for us to ponder:  How much time and effort do we honestly spend in developing our inner beauty?  Patience, kindness, industriousness, and joy are the beauty treatments that help us become truly lovely --- on the inside.  Maybe, it is high time for us to check into the Spa of Proverbs 31 and soak deeply in the mud of the Virtuous Woman.

Who Is Responsible?

Then Sarai said to Abram, "You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me." - Genesis 16:5

It's easy to go through life with lots of complaints about the circumstances in my life. Almost out of habit, I routinely point finger at God, that guy/gal, my church, my family, my coworkers, the media, the Internet...the list goes on. It's easy to say it's so and so's fault I'm in this mess. After I'm done with the list, it makes me wonder what I have left to own up.  

In God's book, doggedly bearing the burden of guilt and shame--regardless of whose it is--never goes unnoticed, even if the rest of the world just thinks we are getting what we deserved. Next time we don't get a chance to share the blame with someone else but are in a position to shoulder it all, let's remember how Jesus carried that cross up the Calvary to save us. He bore responsibility for sins that weren't His, and we will never have to do something that horrible. As regrettable as a decision may be, if we are suffering as a result, that's nobody's fault but ours because we made that choice. Remembering the Cross will help us to respond with less self-pity and blame--unlike Sarai who became upset with Abram when it was her idea to have him sleep with Haggai.
Being a follower of Christ may be one of life's painful choices that we now think twice about. But we chose to be Christians, and being a Christian involves dutifully and painfully obeying ALL of God's Word. No one forced us to be Christians. Nobody can say, "Well, God guilt tripped me through the story of the Gospel, and now look at all my struggles. Boo hoo." I pray that God's mercy at the cross will provide us with the strength to be painfully honest with ourselves, that we may bear responsibility for all the outcomes of our decisions with maturity and grace.   

Sinful Man vs Benevolent God

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Welcome to the UPC Bible Reading Blog.  Hope you had a fun-filled summer and you are ready to tackle the new school year with renewed vigor and passion.  For those of you who are not in school, and are currently suffering from the sweltering summer heat, which we have been experiencing lately, hopefully, the promise of cooler temperature fans our hope for a better tomorrow.  :)

As a church, we have started our Bible reading plan of going through the entire Bible from cover to cover, from Genesis to Revelations.  Early in the week, there will be a blog posted for that week's prescribed reading.  Actually, our reading plan started on August 9.  In reality, we are a week late in starting the blog.   So please notice that there was nothing posted for the previous week's reading.  We are picking things up from this week forward.

This is my first attempt at writing a blog.  Please be patient with me.   I pray that the message you are meant to receive, you will humbly accept.  And that, whatever is not of God, you will quickly forget.  We invite you to post and share your comments, thoughts and reflections on the weekly readings, as well.  Doing so will definitely help all of us edify and encourage one another.  Let us all grow together in our Faith Journey in Christ and then have fun doing it in the process.

This week’s reading takes us through Genesis 8-14, from the Great Flood to life after the Flood.  The reading chronicles God’s never failing love and unfathomable mercy as He responds to man’s sinful nature.  We read about man’s propensity to sin.  Noah turns into an alcoholic, his descendants become idol worshipers and Abram easily loses his faith in God when confronted with a life and death situation.  Through it all, God never gives up on man.  Tirelessly, He forgives and never stops loving man.  Let’s look at four scenarios wherein man takes away his eyes from God and puts all of his attention on himself and how God generously offers to rescue him from his rebellious nature and a life of sinful living.

In the first scenario, God determines that the earth is totally steeped in sin.  None except for Noah shows any inkling of a desire to maintain a relationship with Him.  So, he sets out to purify the earth with water, well, actually a deluge, and be rid of its evil, once and for all.  Besides Noah and his family, who are secured inside the ark, all others perish.    However, as we read through the subsequent chapters after the Flood, sin, disappointingly, still manages to sneak in the newly cleansed earth.  

Noah inevitably forgets the goodness and mercy, which God has recently shown to him and his family. It is not that long ago that God saves him from a certain death, by drowning, and gives him a second chance at life.  But what does Noah do? He becomes an alcoholic and consequently fails to be a good role model to his sons.  His lapse in judgement signals the reentry of sin into the "new" world.  His seemingly innocuous act of getting drunk leads into an irreparable relationship with one of his sons, who openly shows his disdain and disrespect for his elder.  At the height of his anger and, maybe even, humiliation, Noah irreparably curses this son.  On the other hand, he rewards the other two, who still managed to show him love and respect, despite his failings.  Prior to this event, all three are probably treated equally by their father.  After this event, one of them is doomed to a life of subservience to another brother.  Overnight, this brother’s plight drastically changes.  The privileged lifestyle he used to enjoy under his father’s household has been taken away.  Now, he has to work for everything he has.  Additionally, his father has permanently turned his back from him.  He has become an outcast.  He has just been disowned. 

What lesson can we glean from this story?  For the son, he must not forget Exodus 20:12 to “Honor your father and your mother.”  But, it does not stop there.  It goes on to say, “Then, you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you.”  This is also echoed in Matthew 15:4, which states, “For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.'”  So, essentially, the Bible teaches us how to treat our elders and what kind of reward we will receive in return.  Hence, the judgement that the son received from his father, in this story, is par for the course.  He disrespected his father, so he is rightfully cursed, for life!

On the other hand, the father should also be mindful of everything he does.  It is Dad’s responsibility, after all, to raise his child to be God-fearing, morally upright and become a productive member of society.  Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”  This is a sober reminder to us all that “Little eyes are always watching.”  What these innocent eyes see, they inevitably copy.

The second scenario involves the Tower of Babel.  This story illustrates man’s drive for power, fame and fortune.  Unfortunately, it is in man’s human nature to crave recognition.  His drive for ambition can easily consume him and causes him to lose his focus on God.  In this story, I imagine someone gathers a group of like-minded individuals and pitches his idea of constructing a tower that will make them all famous.  Of course, this appeals to the heart of most of them and they go about the business of constructing the tower.

How does this apply to us?  Maybe, the question that needs to be asked is, what “tower” are we busy constructing in our lives today, so much so, that we barely have time to pray, read the Bible, or go to a worship service?  Have our career and our ambition to be recognized among our peers taken center stage in our lives, forsaking all else?  Of course, there is nothing wrong with being focused and driven to succeed.  But, we must also be careful not to fail to acknowledge, praise and thank God for his presence in our lives and the blessings He generously heaps upon us.  We will do well to remember: keep everything in balance and in the proper perspective. 

I am reminded of a movie that I saw a long time ago.  It involves an Olympic runner, who is immortalized in the superb true-life movie “Chariots of Fire.” His heart for God is legendary.  And he literally ran after Him, giving up the chance to win a 1924 gold medal in his best race, the 100-meter, because it meant racing on a Sunday.  That young man was Eric Liddel.  He is definitely a man worthy of emulation.

The third scenario shows Abram lacking in his faith.  He panics and fears that he will lose his life when pharaoh will learn that beautiful Sarai is his wife.  So, he tells her to lie.  Well, actually, to stretch the truth.  He asks her to say that she is her sister.  Half true.  She is his half-sister.  But, the fact remains,  she is also his wife.  Well, okay, she saves him from an untimely death.  But the poor woman had to temporarily become part of the pharaoh’s harem, while he enjoys a frivolous lifestyle, courtesy of the pharaoh.

This story shows Abram’s weakness.  He lacks faith in God.  He does not trust that God can and will deliver him from a precarious situation with pharaoh when he tells the latter the truth about his relationship with Sarai.  Abram does not give God a chance to show just how faithful and trustworthy He really is.  Unlike Abram, when we are weak, we should immediately look up and draw strength from our God. 2 Corinthians 12:9 states, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore, let us gladly acknowledge our weaknesses so that Christ's power can be magnified in us.

In the fourth and final scenario, Abram rescues Lot.  Although Uncle Abram has been nothing but kind, loving and generous to his Nephew Lot, the latter fails to honor his elder.  Lot fails to discipline his men, who quarrel with his Uncle’s men regarding livestock and rights to grazing lands.  If Lot possessed half a brain, he should have laid the law of the land to his servants.  He should have told them to be respectful of the “old man and his household”. But he does no such thing.  Abram has to remedy the situation.  To avoid conflict and create peace between them, Abram suggests to Lot that they split up.  They each are to take their respective households, servants and livestock and move to their own parcel of the Middle East.  Abram generously allows Lot to choose which way to go.  Their are two options.  Go to an area where there is water or go to an arid dessert.  Of course, Lot, who we quickly learn from his choice, is not only inconsiderate, but also selfish.  Without hesitation, he quickly picks the better parcel.  Forget that his Uncle is responsible for his current comfortable lifestyle and has been instrumental in helping him build his wealth.  At the end of the day, he only thinks about himself.

This story portrays how benevolent our God truly is.  He lavishes His love upon us and blesses us to our heart’s desire.  But like Lot, we take Him for granted.  We treat Him like an ATM machine or a Butler.  Somehow, we cultivate a sense of entitlement in our hearts, which puts God into a box wherein He is relegated to the 24/7 duty of body guard and banker, our source of protection and provision.  God does not complain.  But we forget that we have a relationship with Him.  And like any relationship, the communication is a two-way street; there is a give and take.  He cannot be expected to totally, freely, constantly and generously give, all the time.  It is only right for us to also acknowledge, appreciate and be grateful for His many, most of which are undeserved, blessings.  Let us never take Him for granted and become ingrates.

To sum up, this week’s readings in Genesis 8-14, records how man, time and time again, turns his back on God and, how God, time and time again, willingly shows him mercy, His faithfulness and His undying love.  In short, God does not easily give up on us.  It also bodes well for us to remember to offer Him the praise He is due, the honor He rightfully deserves, and shower Him with thanksgiving for all He has done, and continually do, for us.  Finally, let us not take our eyes off of Him.  For it is at occasions when we are not focused on Him, do we find ourselves lost in our way.

 

That is it, y'all.  Whew!  I made it through to the bottom of the page!  Now, I am no longer a neophyte in this forum.  Yaaay!

God bless your week, everyone!                                               

                                                                                                                                           Yours in Christ,

                                                                                                                                           Jan  *.*