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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Sunday, September 4, 2022
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :The Story of Abraham [28] - Abimelech Bible Verse:Genesis 20:1-7 (ESV) "From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”" Message:
We cannot fully understand why Abraham was so reluctant to admit that Sarah was his wife. When he first went to Egypt, remember, he did this, and the Pharaoh took her for his concubine. It would seem, by inference, that having a sister was safer for one or both of them than having a wife. Apparently, in the lawless dawn of history, whoever had power in a locale might simply kill a stranger if he wanted his wife, whereas a sister could be bought or taken with less fear of reprisal.
Abraham — and again, we are not told why, exactly — leaves the area west of Jerusalem and travels to the largely wild and untamed Negev. He alights in an area dominated by Abimelech, whose name would be lost to history except for Genesis, for he was of no importance. He is called a “king” but was probably more like what we, today, would call a local warlord or tribal chieftain. (There are several other, more prominent people in the Bible named “Abimelech”, including a great king of the Philistines and a high priest at the time of David.)
But Abimelech is not a savage and, when God informs him that he will die because he has taken someone else’s wife, he pleads innocence on grounds of having been misled by the injured husband. (Luckily, it seems that he had not consummated the union.)
God has, at this point, fully entered into His first covenant with Abraham, and He protects him. But since Abimelech is innocent for lack of knowledge, God gives him a warning: return Sarah, or face extinction.
Meditation : Prayer : Now, oh heavenly Father, I ask to be called as a witness to your love by the love I extend to others; a precursor of your justice by my unfailing commitment to what is right and good; a lamp set on a hill, reflecting the light of Christ in my forgiveness, mercy and compassion; and a harvester of souls through my humble and dedicated servanthood. In Jesus’ name, I pray,.......Amen |
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