What Jack Bauer and Abraham have in common. Also, incest!

Last chapter, we heard about Abram and his family. The next thing we know, God is talking to him and telling him to move away from his home. We don’t know if this is the first time they’ve talked or if God is just all, “Hey, man. Nice to meet you. MOVE.” Either way, it was asking a lot and it was weird for the time. In that culture, there were many gods, not one who told you to leave everything you knew behind. Abram came from a family of idol worshippers, so he had one mean cycle to break. This was a guy who turned his back on his whole culture, family, and much of his value system to follow God, even if he went through some rough patches in his faith later.

Most of us don’t really give up anything for God. Possibly premarital sex, but hey, lots of Christians do that too. I think it’s a shame that for plenty of believers, God doesn’t affect their day-to-day lives. This is gonna sound Buddhist, but we have too many attachments in this life that just aren’t eternal. But Abram was hardcore. That’s why we know his name now. Following God like that is the only way you can make a permanent mark and do something that matters and lasts. Abram/Abraham didn’t start out a hall-of-faith-er. He was called. God brought him into that destiny. God tells Abram that if he goes to “the land I will show you,” God will make him into a great nation (done, the Jews), he will make Abram’s name great (done, three major religions honor and remember him for his faith), and he will be a blessing.

God says he will bless those who bless Abram and curse those who curse him. You know how people always say, “Oh, if Obama/Bush/Palin/Whoever is elected, I will move to Canada/Switzerland/ /Wherever?” I always roll my eyes like, “No you won’t, you drama king. America will always be awesome.” Well there is one thing that would make me move: If America seriously betrayed Israel or the Jewish people. It would be time to duck and run. Too many countries who have broken faith with Israel have seen their last days as the superpowers they once were. It’s probably my one superstition, and this passage is where it comes from. America has been pretty good to the Jewish people, and I think it’s a big part of why we are so blessed.

 God says all peoples on earth will be blessed through Abram (Jesus). Abram thought that sounded like a cool deal and went. Abram’s nephew Lot and Abram’s wife Sarai came too, and they took all their stuff and “people they had acquired” and went to Canaan. There’s some debate over whether Abram only partially obeyed God, since he took Lot with him after God told him to leave his kindred. At Canaan, the Lord appeared to Abram after Abram built an altar. Sadly, we don’t get to know in what form God appeared to Abram.

Famine came to the land, so Abram went to Egypt. Even the casual, first-time reader should raise his eyebrows at this. Abram did not trust God to provide and keep him alive in the land he had been sent to. He left. I don’t blame him. It’s all well-and-good to trust God for things like heaven, which is (in our minds) a long way away. But when needs and wants are immediate, we scramble for control and shortcuts. I have a discussion with my dad based off the show 24 from time-to-time. We both loved the show and Jack Bauer, but I’m not pro-torture. 

On the show it’s fine/pretend, but lots of people say that, in real life, they would torture terrorists themselves and that we get good information that way. I always wonder if, in that situation, a Christian should choose to respect the image of God and trust that God will provide the needed information some other way instead. I wonder if we just hold onto the honorable thing and wait for him, rather than grasp for a way to fix the situation ourselves, God will come through in the eleventh hour? I don’t know what I would do in that actual situation, if there were lives on the line and I really thought torture could help save them or uncover terrorist cells. But it’s interesting to think about, and you have to admit that it's a matter of doing something horrific because you think that YOU have to save the day. What should a Christian do in that situation?

Abram told his wife, who was a hottie, to say she was his sister so that people wouldn’t get jealous and try to kill Abram. This sounds like a solid (if paranoid) plan, but it was actually one of Abram’s life failings. Sarai was about 60, so this either means that this was a culture that valued older beauty or Sarai aged really well. Or she invented the first line of Maybelline. Gross Bible fact of the week: Sarai and Abram told the Egyptians a half-truth. Yep, she was his half-sister. GROSS. Rather than smite Abram for, you know, incest, God was more concerned with Abram trusting in a lie over trusting in God. God lays the smackdown on incest later. It still happens though (but at least then, it's a sin). 

Pharoah took Sarai to his palace and Pharoah rewarded Sarai’s “brother” with cattle and sheep and stuff. Then, the Lord gave Pharoah a disease. Pharoah was ticked at Abram for lying and getting God mad at him. Pharoah found out that Sarai was Abram’s wife, gave her back, and told them to go. My immediate question is: In that time, did Pharoah sleep with Abram’s wife? Whether that happened or not, God was concerned about this situation. If the Messiah was going to come from her line, God didn’t want that womb touched by this Egyptian guy. He already had to wipe out the whole world in the flood to protect wombs. God is serious about this issue. Pharoah seemed like an alright guy. He would have respected the marriage and seems upset that Abram caused him to sin and be punished. I hope God cured him, but the Bible doesn’t say.

So what can we take from all this? Probably more than I can pick out (especially during exam time). But here’s what I get: Not trusting God just brings more trouble in the long run. You can try to have your own hand on every area of your life, or you can let God protect you and take you when your time is up. I love love love how in the Old Testament, most of the giants of faith have their bad patches. It just goes to show how much God can use people who doubt, start off rough, or have periods of rebellion. Never count anyone out.