Day 9
Genesis 19:1-20:18
(19 | 20)
Genesis 19 is really not a very nice chapter. Two of God's angels turn up in Sodom and are taken in by Lot. The men of Sodom all turn up wanting to have rape the two newcomers. It doesn't say whether the men know Lot's guests are angels, but I think it's doubtful, and probably irrelevant anyway. Lot offers up his virgin daughters to the gang of men, but they want the two angels. The gang of men is struck down by blindness, and the angels warn Lot to take his wife, daughters and their fiancés away from Sodom, as the angels intend to destroy it. Only Lot, his wife and their daughters make it out before the city is destroyed. I find the story disturbing because I'm used to reading about the God who is love; the God who so loved the world that he sent his only son to die on a cross for my sins and yours. I find it difficult to reconcile the God of this story with that God.
The chapter is finished off with the disturbing story of Lot's daughters essentially getting Lot drunk and raping him so they won't die childless. They both become pregnant by him. It may well be that contextually this isn't as unacceptable as it is to modern thought. Indeed, Genesis 20 reveals that Abraham is in fact Sarah's half brother as they share a father. Still, the incest is quite uncomfortable. I'm not really sure what else to make of it.
In Genesis 20, we see Abraham and Sarah continuing to tell foreign forces that they are only brother and sister in an attempt to stop them killing Abraham and taking Sarah by force. Again, it backfires as the foreign king, this time Abimelech, takes Sarah, presumably intending to take her as a wife. Luckily, God confronts Abimelech on the issue in a dream. Abimelech, entirely truthfully, tells God that he had no idea Sarah and Abraham were married. Upon waking up, Abimelech returns Sarah to Abraham, and also demands an explanation for why Abraham lied to them. Not unreasonable in my mind. Abimelech then gives Abraham and Sarah land, money, cattle and slaves as compensation. Again, I'm not really sure what to make of this chapter.
Matthew 7:24-8:22
(7:24-29 | 8:1-22)
The passage here from chapter 8 contains multiple examples of people being healed. First, there's the leper who knows Jesus can heal him, and asks him to do so. Second, there's the centurion whose servant is healed over a distance; the centurion feels he doesn't deserve to have Jesus enter his home. As someone accustomed to authority and having his orders obeyed, he recognises that Jesus doesn't have to be present for the illness to obey him and leave his servant. Jesus is stunned by the man's faith, and does exactly as the centurion asked. Third, Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law of a fever. Finally, Jesus heals the multitude of people brought to him later that evening. Jesus' willingness to heal people is amazing. The number of people brought to him throughout an average day must have been huge, yet he still did it.
The end of the passage is a challenge to us, as it challenges anyone wanting to follow Jesus to just drop their old lives and go for it. It also promises us an uncomfortable time if we follow Jesus (if "the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head", then surely anyone who follows him won't either). The dynamic might not quite be the same following Jesus now as it was back then, but I think this Jesus' statements here are as valid for us today as they were back then.
Psalm 7:1-9
(7:1-9)
This passage is quite a risk for David; he continues to ask for deliverance from and victory over his enemies. But he also asks God to judge him. He says if God finds that he has ever committed sin against others, that if he is not righteous, then God should allow David's enemies victory over him. David must have been quite certain of his own righteousness. But he must have been equally certain of the fact that God is the only one who can really judge us.
Genesis 19:1-20:18
(19 | 20)
Genesis 19 is really not a very nice chapter. Two of God's angels turn up in Sodom and are taken in by Lot. The men of Sodom all turn up wanting to have rape the two newcomers. It doesn't say whether the men know Lot's guests are angels, but I think it's doubtful, and probably irrelevant anyway. Lot offers up his virgin daughters to the gang of men, but they want the two angels. The gang of men is struck down by blindness, and the angels warn Lot to take his wife, daughters and their fiancés away from Sodom, as the angels intend to destroy it. Only Lot, his wife and their daughters make it out before the city is destroyed. I find the story disturbing because I'm used to reading about the God who is love; the God who so loved the world that he sent his only son to die on a cross for my sins and yours. I find it difficult to reconcile the God of this story with that God.
The chapter is finished off with the disturbing story of Lot's daughters essentially getting Lot drunk and raping him so they won't die childless. They both become pregnant by him. It may well be that contextually this isn't as unacceptable as it is to modern thought. Indeed, Genesis 20 reveals that Abraham is in fact Sarah's half brother as they share a father. Still, the incest is quite uncomfortable. I'm not really sure what else to make of it.
In Genesis 20, we see Abraham and Sarah continuing to tell foreign forces that they are only brother and sister in an attempt to stop them killing Abraham and taking Sarah by force. Again, it backfires as the foreign king, this time Abimelech, takes Sarah, presumably intending to take her as a wife. Luckily, God confronts Abimelech on the issue in a dream. Abimelech, entirely truthfully, tells God that he had no idea Sarah and Abraham were married. Upon waking up, Abimelech returns Sarah to Abraham, and also demands an explanation for why Abraham lied to them. Not unreasonable in my mind. Abimelech then gives Abraham and Sarah land, money, cattle and slaves as compensation. Again, I'm not really sure what to make of this chapter.
Matthew 7:24-8:22
(7:24-29 | 8:1-22)
The passage here from chapter 8 contains multiple examples of people being healed. First, there's the leper who knows Jesus can heal him, and asks him to do so. Second, there's the centurion whose servant is healed over a distance; the centurion feels he doesn't deserve to have Jesus enter his home. As someone accustomed to authority and having his orders obeyed, he recognises that Jesus doesn't have to be present for the illness to obey him and leave his servant. Jesus is stunned by the man's faith, and does exactly as the centurion asked. Third, Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law of a fever. Finally, Jesus heals the multitude of people brought to him later that evening. Jesus' willingness to heal people is amazing. The number of people brought to him throughout an average day must have been huge, yet he still did it.
The end of the passage is a challenge to us, as it challenges anyone wanting to follow Jesus to just drop their old lives and go for it. It also promises us an uncomfortable time if we follow Jesus (if "the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head", then surely anyone who follows him won't either). The dynamic might not quite be the same following Jesus now as it was back then, but I think this Jesus' statements here are as valid for us today as they were back then.
Psalm 7:1-9
(7:1-9)
This passage is quite a risk for David; he continues to ask for deliverance from and victory over his enemies. But he also asks God to judge him. He says if God finds that he has ever committed sin against others, that if he is not righteous, then God should allow David's enemies victory over him. David must have been quite certain of his own righteousness. But he must have been equally certain of the fact that God is the only one who can really judge us.
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