Genesis 11-20

So, day two. Here we go:

• Gen 12.1-3—God asks Abraham to leave everything he knows—it is in the unknown and unfamiliar where God’s blessings are poured out. I think there is a lot of truth in this. How is God calling us away from comfort and familiarity into radical trust?
• Gen 12.10-16—Abram lies to gain entry to Egypt. I find this fascinating—our beloved father Abraham was an illegal alien. Hmm.
• Gen 15.1—God says to Abram, “I am your shield.” As we take possession of all that God has for us, I think this is true for us as well. God is our shield; our job is to trust and to follow, not to fight.
• Gen 17.5, 15—God renames Abram and Sarai; they are now Abraham and Sarah. After learning in Intro to OT about the significance of names in the ancient Near East, these details stuck out to me. God says that Abraham and Sarah are new people—who does God say that we are?
• Gen 17.17; 18.12—Abraham and Sarah laugh at God’s promise. I think sometimes God’s will is just plain hilarious—but we must always remember that there is nothing too wonderful for God (18.14).
• Gen 18.17-19—I think these are interesting verses to think about in terms of God’s will. God says, “should I hide my promise from Abraham? Absolutely not—I have chosen him!”  God is not some celestial secret-keeper, hiding God’s plan for our lives. We can trust God to guide us by God’s Spirit and through our community as we seek to walk in God’s ways.
• Gen 18.19—the way of the LORD= doing righteousness and justice. Yes.
• Gen 18.22-33— Abraham bargains with God. I love this example of prayer—raw, honest, and formative for all parties involved, including God. This seems to be an example of the kind of dialogue for which prayer calls.

“The LORD said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? No, for I have chosen him, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice; so that the LORD may bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.’” –Gen 18.17-19 NRSV