Genesis 20
Genesis 20
Today we read of a CRITICAL MOMENT in Abraham’s life. Have you ever come upon those critical moments in your life?
Abraham is known as a man of faith - the father of a nation. We remember him for so many things… for being willing to move when God told Him to… for being willing to offer up his son Isaac to God in obedience. He is one of the big spiritual giants. You can go read about him in the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11. He is someone that many of us hope to be able to sit down with at some point in Heaven.
However, today we read about a different side of this giant of the faith. We see him lie and deceive because of fear. This is the second time he has done this (see Genesis 12). Let's be clear, just because Abraham is a great man of God, that does not make lying okay. It is still wrong.
Everything the Bible DESCRIBES is not everything the Bible PRESCRIBES. Just because it is in the story does not mean that it is condoned.
This is a story we can relate to and see many principles we can take hold of for us and our own lives…
1) DO NOT LIE
God is very clear about this in Scripture (Leviticus 19:11, Proverbs 12:22) but also in this passage. What causes us to lie? Fear, desire to impress others, guilt, etc. but it is always wrong. There is no such thing as a little white lie. All lies are wrong - even half truths (See Ahraham in Genesis 20).
2) TRUST GOD WITH EVERYTHING
Trusting God is difficult. What if God’s idea of what is best and my idea of what is best don’t match up? It is scary! But this is exactly what got Abraham in this situation… He feared because He was not trusting God. Yet as you can see, God was worthy of his trust and proved it anyways. Fight to trust God! Take steps to lay things at His feet!
3) LEADERS ARE NOT PERFECT
Sometimes we expect leaders to be perfect and then cancel them when they aren’t. I am not saying there is never a season for a leader to step away and heal, however, leaders are not perfect… but they should be real. Leaders should not be judged by perfection but how they own it when they are not perfect. We see this with Abraham.
4) LEARN FROM PAST MISTAKES
If we don’t learn from our past mistakes, we are destined to repeat them. This is exactly what happened with Abraham. He did not learn from Genesis 12 and look where it landed him in Genesis 20! What do you need to learn from today?
Discussion:
Why is it easy to think that “this lie won’t matter”?
What point sticks out to you the most? Why?
By: Nick Parsons
Today we read of a CRITICAL MOMENT in Abraham’s life. Have you ever come upon those critical moments in your life?
Abraham is known as a man of faith - the father of a nation. We remember him for so many things… for being willing to move when God told Him to… for being willing to offer up his son Isaac to God in obedience. He is one of the big spiritual giants. You can go read about him in the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11. He is someone that many of us hope to be able to sit down with at some point in Heaven.
However, today we read about a different side of this giant of the faith. We see him lie and deceive because of fear. This is the second time he has done this (see Genesis 12). Let's be clear, just because Abraham is a great man of God, that does not make lying okay. It is still wrong.
Everything the Bible DESCRIBES is not everything the Bible PRESCRIBES. Just because it is in the story does not mean that it is condoned.
This is a story we can relate to and see many principles we can take hold of for us and our own lives…
1) DO NOT LIE
God is very clear about this in Scripture (Leviticus 19:11, Proverbs 12:22) but also in this passage. What causes us to lie? Fear, desire to impress others, guilt, etc. but it is always wrong. There is no such thing as a little white lie. All lies are wrong - even half truths (See Ahraham in Genesis 20).
2) TRUST GOD WITH EVERYTHING
Trusting God is difficult. What if God’s idea of what is best and my idea of what is best don’t match up? It is scary! But this is exactly what got Abraham in this situation… He feared because He was not trusting God. Yet as you can see, God was worthy of his trust and proved it anyways. Fight to trust God! Take steps to lay things at His feet!
3) LEADERS ARE NOT PERFECT
Sometimes we expect leaders to be perfect and then cancel them when they aren’t. I am not saying there is never a season for a leader to step away and heal, however, leaders are not perfect… but they should be real. Leaders should not be judged by perfection but how they own it when they are not perfect. We see this with Abraham.
4) LEARN FROM PAST MISTAKES
If we don’t learn from our past mistakes, we are destined to repeat them. This is exactly what happened with Abraham. He did not learn from Genesis 12 and look where it landed him in Genesis 20! What do you need to learn from today?
Discussion:
Why is it easy to think that “this lie won’t matter”?
What point sticks out to you the most? Why?
By: Nick Parsons
1 Comment
So, there's kind of an elephant in the room that I need to ask about. Why was Abraham rewarded with livestock, servants and silver both times he told a lie about Sarah?