Daily Devotion for Lent 2018 - Day 16, Saturday

Scripture Reading: Genesis 20 (NRSV)

This passage sounds familiar.  We remember Abraham passing off Sarah as his sister in Egypt in Genesis 12:10-20.

In both accounts, Sarah, the beautiful new wife, remains untouched by her new husband.  Afflictions from God plague each house and each husband feels blindsided by Abraham.

In today's passage, Abraham reveals that Sarah is actually his half-sister.  This doesn't actually assuage the modern ear but adds a new twist to what we think about this father of the faith.  We are reminded how cultural norms change through the ages.  Today, if someone claimed that their marriage to their half-sister was biblical, we would think they were crazy!

If you've ever done a trust walk, it is 

difficult not to peek from time to time!

Today's passage is commonly thought of as a northern tribal story referred to as E source with E standing for Elohist.   This source refers to God as Elohim in our oldest Hebrew manuscripts.  Chapter twelve is J source with J standing for Jehovah (which was a mistaken form of Yahweh which is another name used for God).  Each tribe had their own accounts of the patriarch Abraham and a later redactor or editor combined them into the accounts of Genesis.  

One would think that Abraham would have more faith in God.  He makes the statement in verse 11 that he didn't think there was any fear of God in this place.  This would indicate that other deities may have been worshipped in Gerar and Abraham didn't know if God had any power here.

So he uses his cunning to once again save his own skin.

We see that God does have power here which may have (pleasantly) surprised Abraham.

Jesus understands the presence of God to be more pervasive than many would realize.  His parable of the sower would indicate that God's reach is beyond our understanding.  Our job is to sow faithfully (everywhere) because we believe that God's possibility is ever present.  Of course, this takes a lot of trust.

When does your trust of God waver in your life?  Does it ever cause you to deal deceitfully with people you love?  How might we grow in our trust?


While faith is with me, I am blest;
It turns my darkest night to day;
But, while I clasp it to my breast,
I often feel it slide away.

What shall I do if all my love,
My hopes, my toil, are cast away?
And if there be no God above
To hear and bless me when I pray?

Oh, help me, God!  For thou alone
Canst my distracted soul relieve.
Forsake it not: it is thine own,
Though weak, yet longing to believe.


Prayer by Anne Bronte, English novelist, 19th Century

Photo by Keirsten Marie via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.