Dust and Ashes

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

DUST AND ASHES

Gen 18:27-33

27 Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?" "If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it." 29 Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?" He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it." 30 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?" He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there." 31 Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?" He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it." 32 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?" He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it." 33 When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

NIV

First, Abraham considered himself nothing but dust and ashes; then he asked that the LORD not be angry with him, as he asked for if there were only thirty. Then Abraham was bold, asking if only twenty could be found. Then he asked once more that the LORD would not be angry with him, as he asked to speak just once more, asking if only ten were found. Each time the Lord consented to the number Abraham was asking about, all the way from fifty to ten. But the conversation stopped because the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham; he left, and Abraham returned home. The implication is that the LORD left Abraham's presence. The LORD listened to the concerns of Abraham. The Lord did not tell Abraham that I Am the LORD God and I will do whatever I decide, which is to go down and destroy the whole city of Sodom, as well as Gomorrah. The LORD listened to Abraham. Yes, the Lord is Sovereign; his plan is always his plan, and his plan will always be accomplished. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, but the LORD saved Lot and his family, apparently the only righteous, less the ten, in the city. How do we apply this truth to our lives? Although we know the Lord is God, the creator of heaven and earth, the one who gives us life, and that he is the Almighty Sovereign God, he is always willing to listen to our concerns. He is always willing to be with us, to be in our presence; although we should say, allow us to be in his presence, yet the LORD showed up in the presence of Abraham as he sat in front of his tent. When the LORD wants to speak to us, he will; we just need to listen, and whenever we hear his voice, we should bow low before him. Sometimes we think we have become too friendly or too familiar,  too casual with God. Abraham did not speak as if he was friendly with the LORD, but with reverence and fear, realizing he was only dust and ashes, just a man, formed by the hand of God. When God shows us, and he will, let us speak with fear and trembling, but then listen, for we are but dust and ashes and He is the Almighty Lord God. 

The Outcry

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

THE OUTCRY

Gen 18:20-26

20 Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know." 22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.   23 Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing — to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" 26 The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."

NIV

This is just the beginning of the conversation between the LORD and Abraham that we are so familiar with, but there is truth here we need to consider. What is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah? It was that their sin was so grievous, but was that the outcry that reached the LORD? We know what happened when the two angels entered Sodom, but was that so much worse than the sin happening in the world today? We could name so many things going on in our world that must be an outcry against them that reaches the Lord. This culture dedicates and celebrates a month to Pride, the gay, lesbian, transgender, whatever, with parades. It does not matter; do whatever is just fine, but that has to be an outcry to the Lord. So many perversions, it would be impossible to name them all. Who among us is without sin? There is none righteous, not one, and that includes all we believers who think we are not anything like the world. In fact, we tend to close ourselves off from all that sin; we might even be judgmental toward those awful sinners. Abraham knew his nephew Lot lived in Sodom, so he wanted to see whether the LORD would spare Sodom without sweeping away the righteous with the wicked. This is another truth we know about what will happen. The Lord will not sweep away the righteous with the wicked. Of course, none of us can claim we are righteous; however, if someone accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior and is born again, then Jesus becomes our righteousness, and we will not be swept away, but taken up to be with the LORD forever. The wicked, those who continue to live in the perversions of sin, will be swept away into the lake of burning sulfur, the second death. This is what concerned Abraham: the righteous and the wicked being treated the same way. We, believers, should take note that we are not free of sin; in the flesh, we are just the same- maybe not the same acts of sin, but the same, having sin in our lives. Our salvation, our forgiveness, is all in Jesus. But we cannot stand being prideful of our righteousness, looking like we are all holy, perfect people. Lot was not perfect, but he knew the LORD, had lived with Abraham, and understood the righteousness of God, but for whatever reason, lived among such sinful people. We are not perfect either, but have we isolated ourselves so much that we have no effect in this world? Have we lost our saltiness? Are we content with the wicked being swept away? Do we hear their outcry? 

Ears to Hear

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

EARS TO HEAR

Gen 18:16-19

16 When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. 17 Then the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. 19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."

NIV

Two truths that we could focus on. First, the LORD decided not to hide what he was about to do in Sodom and Gomorrah from Abraham. Was this because of the second truth, that Abraham was chosen to direct his children and household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just? We know that God brought about what he had promised Abraham. How do we relate to both those truths? First, the question is whether we have been chosen or whether we chose to follow Jesus. We know the Holy Spirit convicts people of their sin and need for repentance, but the question is whether he does that for everyone, or only for the people God knows will respond in the affirmative. Did Jesus try to convert the Pharisees, or did he just call them a brood of vipers? However, because we are following Jesus, or at least trying to follow him, are we being made privy to what the LORD is going to do? We know he has made it possible for us to know everything he has done and what he will do on that last day, but does he speak to us about what he will do in the next few days, or weeks, as he did with Abraham? We think he does, but we need to be spending time listening rather than just talking to him. It seems we do a lot of talking when we pray, maybe even just babble on and on, telling him how great he is, thanking him, praising him, on and on; we keep talking until we run out of words, then we quit and go on our way. How often do we shut up and just walk with him, listening for his voice? We are not going to hear him with our mouths flowing with words, but if we have ears to hear and eyes to see, we will hear from him. Still, that might depend on whether we are doing what is right and just. But how can we be right and just in our flesh that is weak and wants to do what is not right and just? It comes down to being in Christ and he in us, for he is our righteousness. We need to walk by faith, not by sight, so then, because we have decided to follow Jesus, the LORD reveals his plans for our lives. He might speak directly to us, telling us what he will do, or what we are supposed to do. He might inspire us by putting a desire in our hearts so we follow his leading. It is a wonderful truth that God does not want to hide anything from us; we just need to listen with ears to hear.  

Is Anything Too Hard for God?

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

IS ANYTHING TOO HARD FOR GOD? 

Gen 18:6-15

6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. "Quick," he said, "get three seahs of fine flour and knead it and bake some bread." 7 Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree. 9 "Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked him. "There, in the tent," he said. 10 Then the LORD  said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?" 13 Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?' 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son." 15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh. "But he said, 'Yes, you did laugh."

NIV

This is a famous part of the story of Abraham and Sarah, as the Lord visited them and told them about the son they would have in the future. We are not told how long it took to bake bread, slaughter, cut up the finest portion of a calf, and cook it to perfection so the Lord could eat. That alone is an incredible story for who actually appeared before Abraham. We know it was Yahweh, accompanied by two angels. Yet Yahweh means the self-existing one, so the physical form he appeared in could have been Jesus, or he could have been the Almighty God of Heaven and Earth. That truth is left out for a purpose, so that we do not focus on the form of the LORD, but our focus should be on the LORD. However, our story is about Sarah laughing as she thought about her actually becoming pregnant at her old age, one that was well beyond childbearing; besides, she had been barren her whole life, not once conceiving a child. However, the point is that the LORD knew she laughed, even if she did not laugh out loud, because she laughed to herself. The LORD knew Sarah's thoughts; he knew what was in her heart. This gives us an outstanding truth that should encourage us, but it could also frighten us. Sarah's internal laugh could be seen as doubting the LORD's power, as the LORD responded, “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” This should give us great confidence in God's power. First, he knows our hearts, our thoughts, even our words before we speak them. Even when our thoughts are not pure, that does not disrupt his love for us, as he knows we are flawed; that is why Jesus came to take our place on the cross. Still, we can feel shame and the guilt of impure thoughts. Our minds wander, our hearts can become envious, jealous, bitter, unforgiving, prideful, lustful, greedy, selfish, all of which point to a self-centered heart. We are admonished that if anything is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy, we are to think about such things. Yet our mind still wanders off to those selfish thoughts. Certainly, Sarah’s thoughts were on herself, her weakness, her inability to conceive, the fact that she was worn out, but the LORD answered, “ Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Let us always be confident in God’s power. 

Bowing Low

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

BOWING LOW

Gen 18:1-5

18:1 The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. 3 He said, "If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. 4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. 5 Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way — now that you have come to your servant." "Very well," they answered, "do as you say."

NIV

This is just the beginning of another exciting chapter in Abraham's life. Again, the LORD appeared to him, this time near the great trees of Mamre. It is thought these were great oak trees with twisted trunks and great branches reaching out in different directions. There would have been a large encampment, many tents, for all the men and women servants, and any other people in the household of Abraham. It is thought his tent was under one of those great trees of Mamre when three men came standing nearby. Abraham must have known somehow that one of those three was the Lord, for he ran to them and bowed low to the ground and asked that if he had found favor in the eyes of the Lord, he should not pass his servant by. This shows great humility and respect toward the Lord. Interestingly, we are told Yahweh appeared to Abraham, and he called him Adonia, meaning sovereign Lord. Abraham prepared a meal for the Lord, and the two who accompanied him were most likely angels who later went down to Sodom to save Lot and his family. But this appearance of the Lord to Abraham is our story. We might wonder why the Lord does not come and appear to us as he did to those men of old: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and many more. Yet why are those men, like Abraham, considered righteous because they believed God? Yet we believe by faith, not by sight. We do not need the Lord to physically appear to us to believe him. Of course, Abraham did not have the word of God in written form, as we do. The Holy Spirit had not been poured out upon him, as he has upon us. The great appearance of Jesus had not happened in Abraham's time, as it has in our time. Although Abraham saw the Lord, the Spirit dwells within us. The question before us is how much humility and respect we give the Lord. Do we run to him, bowing low to the ground? Do we even run to him? Surely, Abraham lived his life doing all the daily activities necessary to sustain himself and his household. Still, when the Lord showed up, he ran to him, bowed down, and offered him hospitality. The Lord, as the Holy Spirit has come to us, and we wonder how much hospitality we offer him. Surely, we need to do the daily activities of life, but still, should we not always be reverent, bowing down, if not physically, in our spirit, to the presence of the Lord in our lives? If we are not bowing low in spirit, as Jesus said, blessed are the meek, the poor, the lowly, the humble,  the respectful in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. If we do not bow, we are arrogant and disrespectful to the Lord. Let us always be bowing low. 

I Hear You

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

I HEAR YOU

Gen 17:15-27

15 God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. 16 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her." 17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" 18 And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!" 19 Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year." 22 When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. 23 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, 25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen; 26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that same day. 27 And every male in Abraham's household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.

NIV

Just as the LORD God Almighty, whose name is JHHW, put his middle letter in Abram's name, changing it to Abraham, he now adds a letter to Sarai's name, changing it to Sarah. This change was part of the conversation the LORD had with Abraham as he came down to make a covenant with him: the covenant that included circumcision. The LORD told Abraham that he and Sarah would have a son, and that he should name him Isaac. That is a very specific revelation, including instructions. We do not know whether Abraham laughed out loud, but we can be sure the LORD knew he was laughing at both his age and his wife's age. Certainly, in the natural realm, Sarah, who had been barren all her life, now at ninety would conceive a son, seemed outlandish, almost unbelievable. Abraham seems to have struggled to believe, because he asked God whether Ishmael, his son, could be the one blessed. Interestingly, when Abraham asked about Ishmael, the LORD told him, "I have heard you," and blessed Ishmael so that he would father twelve tribes of people, but they would always struggle against the sons of Israel. Could we say it is all Abraham's fault for the everlasting conflict in the Middle East? However, today's lesson is in those words of the LORD: "I have heard you," and in the fact that when God finished speaking with Abraham, he went up from him. This gives us two wonderful truths. First, God visited Abraham; he came down to be present with him, and second, he spoke with him and listened to what Abraham had to say. God hears us also; he hears what we have to say. He loves us and wants to listen to our concerns,  our pains, our requests, what is on our hearts. But he also wants to visit with us, speak into our ears and hearts, and instruct us in his plan, just as he instructed Abraham that he and Sarah would have a son, and that they were to name him Isaac. God wants to speak to us; he wants to reveal truths to us; he wants to instruct us in the way we should go, what we should do, and how we are to do it. Although God heard Abraham, it was more important that Abraham heard God. We should learn to use our ears more than our mouths; we praise him with our lips, but sometimes we need to be still, be quiet, and listen, because God is speaking. That is when we need to say, "I hear you." 

A Sign

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

A SIGN 

Gen 17:9-14

9 Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner — those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."

NIV

Although this covenant and the sign Abraham was to do were circumcision of himself and every male in his household, family, servants, those born into his household, and those he buys from strangers. In Abraham's time, there was no Israel yet, for that would come through his grandson Jacob. However, Abraham was considered the father of all Israel. In the challenge with Jesus about ideas about the father, the Pharisees proclaimed, "Abraham is our father." The covenant is about the circumcision of the flesh; all Jews should follow that, as it was the covenant between God and their father Abraham. However, is it merely physical, and in our culture it is mostly normal that every male child is circumcised at birth, not when they are eight days old. In this postmodern society, physical circumcision has no spiritual context. Still, in a spiritual sense, it deals only with a sign among males, leaving women to belong to a male family. Yet, we are instructed that circumcision of the flesh is just that, and it defined who Israel was and is, but the true Israel are those who have circumcised their hearts. What does that mean? How can we cut away the cover over our hearts? Considering that circumcision of the flesh is the removal of a covering over the manhood portion of a male, we then would need to remove what covers the tenderest part of our heart, which includes everyone, men and women. That is, we need to expose the fullness of our hearts before the Lord. The question is what would be considered a covering over our hearts that must be circumcised? The other question is, if we do not circumcise our hearts, would we be cut off like those males who never circumcised their flesh? Would self-protection be one of those things that need to be removed? Our Attitudes are a reflection of our hearts, and our words come from what is in our hearts. Jesus made that clear: what goes into our mouths does not defile us, but it is what comes out of our mouths, for that is what is in our hearts. "As a man thinks, so is he." There are many coverings that we are told to rid ourselves of, and that would be the circumcision process of our hearts. Rid our hearts of bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, or arguing, every form of malice, or gossiping, deceit, hypocrisy, unforgiveness, envy, jealousy, and pride, just to name a few. If any of those things cover our hearts, have we actually circumcised our hearts? We are told all of Israel will be saved, but we are also told those who circumcise their hearts are the true Israel. Let us be careful not to allow anything to cover our hearts.  Abraham's circumcision of the flesh was a sign of obedience; the circumcision of our hearts is also a sign.