Luke 9:60

Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

If you’re following our Daily Readings sequentially, you’ll see that we are back in Luke’s gospel for the second half. After a few weeks away, I had forgotten just how punchy Luke was. He shows Jesus to be a true radical, a real counter-cultural teacher. If we sometimes think of Jesus in collages and applique, today’s reading brings us back down to earth with a gritty reminder that following Jesus is a shocking pursuit. Jesus’ three responses in verses 57-62 show just how distinctive the Christian life is.

Firstly, it is a restless way of life. As Christians we can never be settled or complacent. We may not undertake an itinerant preaching ministry like Jesus, but we keep moving in our own ways. We keep looking out for our neighbours; keep praying for our enemies; keep building up the church; keep growing in our knowledge of God; keep witnessing to the world.

Secondly, it is a living faith. The gospel is not about death, but life. The Christian life is focussed on the resurrection of Jesus and the hope of eternal glory. As we fix our eyes on the new creation, we know that the death and destruction of this world will not amount to any eternal significance. What counts for eternity is the gospel of Jesus Christ who rose from the grave to save us from our spiritual death.

Thirdly, it is ruthless towards those things which might keep us from worshipping God. The weeds of this life can come and tangle us, distracting us from God and his mission. We can easily become slowed down and preoccupied by the cares of this world. Let’s keep a radical focus on the gospel today, the living hope of glory.

Genesis 26:9-10

So Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.” Then Abimelek said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”

History repeats itself, so the saying goes. There is little evidence to back up the theory in geo-political terms because history keeps marching on. Times change, decisive events occur, and the world changes as a result. On a smaller scale, though, patterns of behaviour seem to cycle almost ad infinitum. Destructive lifestyles and other patterns of sin are plain to see all around us. But while Isaac gives us an example of history repeating itself in a negative way, he gives us hope because of the ongoing mission of God in history.

In today’s reading, Isaac finds himself following in his father’s footsteps. He fears for his own safety so risks inviting improper relations between his wife and the Philistines. Back in chapter 20, Abraham had pulled the same trick in order to protect himself, and his son had clearly not learned the lessons of history. How often do we let history repeat itself in a destructive way when we do not learn from times past? The Bible contains plenty of examples of the mistakes of fallen men, like Isaac today, which can act as lessons for our personal ethics.

There is great hope in today’s passage, though. Despite Isaac repeating the mistakes of his father’s generation, God is hard at work across the generations to bring Abraham and Isaac’s family to him. He speaks to Isaac to reaffirm the promise he had made: “Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham”. God’s mission is not stunted by Isaac’s deception just as it was not by Abraham’s. Rather, God is working without ceasing to fulfil his promise to Abraham. So we can take great comfort today in the knowledge that God is not limited by our sin, but is able to overcome it in order to bring us to a right and loving relationship with him.

Genesis 25:21

Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.

Isaac had been a miracle child. His parents were a century old at the time of his birth, which is a staggering age to start a family. In our terms, it would be like a couple at an ante-natal class making small talk with “where were you when Franz Ferdinand was shot?” God intervened in their lives to give them a son. In today’s reading, God again intervenes in the same family tree to usher in a new generation.

When reading the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob it is easy to forget God’s hand in their affairs. Their family relations break down. They trick, cheat and lie. It can feel as though they stumble through the generations with a careless disregard for God’s word or his plan. But God is never far from this story.

God intervenes to usher in each new generation. He is utterly committed to this family; from the moment he calls Abraham to the present day he has cared for every one of Abraham’s sons. He has brought about miracles to bring them into the world, and has worked through them to bring countless people to salvation and an eternal relationship with him.

Often, God intervenes despite their behaviour to bring about his purposes. In today’s reading, God intervenes because of Isaac’s behaviour. He prayed for children and God answered his prayer. How often do we try to do in our own power what only God can do? Let us turn to God in prayer and commit our affairs to him, trusting in him complete every work he has begun in us.

Genesis 24:12

Then he prayed, “LORD, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.

How do you fare when you are set a difficult task? I don’t mean an “Ooh, make me a cuppa, would you?” sort of request – more a “find my son a wife” kind of challenge. I struggle with diplomacy at the best of times, so I suspect I would have tried to pass the job off to someone more suitable, whoever that might be. Abraham’s senior servant was set an unenviable task in today’s reading, but he rose admirably to the challenge. He did three things which act as excellent guides to how we ought to conduct ourselves with the tasks we have to conduct today.

Firstly, he prayed. The servant knew that his task was spiritually significant, so he brought it before God before he undertook to finding Isaac a wife. If we were asked to do such significant things today, I suspect we would turn to God in prayer. But what of the more mundane tasks which we have to deal with each day? What of that project at work which has been a nightmare? Or the tricky essay? Or the awkward conversation you know you need to have with your boss? God hears all our prayers and loves for us to meet him in prayer. As the hymn has it: O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Secondly, he asked for success. The servant was not seeking promotion or attempting to curry favour. He did not want success in order to make himself look good. Instead, he wanted to honour God in what he had been asked to do. Are you trying to do a good job because of the career prospects, or are you trying to worship God as you act with integrity in every aspect of your life?

Finally, he prayed for his master. The servant did not see his master as a means to an end. Abraham was not just the source of his income and his social security – rather, he held a deep affection for him. He sought to honour God by respecting Abraham’s authority and seeking to please him by fulfilling the task lovingly. We can often absorb society’s views of hierarchy and class struggle unquestioningly, but this servant reminds us that we need not be so antagonistic. Let us respect those in authority over us, seeking to honour God as we honour them. Then we shall be successful today.

Genesis 23:14-16

Ephron answered Abraham, “Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.” Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants.

In some ways, what today’s reading describes is a typical business transaction. Abraham is the model customer. He is in need of a cave and he wants to pay a fair price to the owner for it. The sale goes through successfully; money changes hands and Abraham is able to bury his wife.

The two main characters are quite unusual, however, meaning that this transaction was far from typical. Firstly, Ephron’s spirit of generosity is instantly noticeable. Even the most kind-hearted of my acquaintances, who might not think twice about giving away their last Rolo, would not offer to give away a slice of land worth 4.6 kilograms of silver. Ephron was happy to lose out financially in order to help Abraham in his difficult circumstances, asking, “What is that between you and me?” How often do we exhibit this kind of generosity? How often do we harbour grudges which set us at odds with people? How often do we seek our own gain instead of attempting to aid others?

Secondly, Abraham acted with integrity. He could have sought a grand burial plot, but he opted for a modest cave in a field. He could have abused his position or pulled strings to acquire the cave without paying, but he made sure to pay a fair price for it. I am reminded of a fantastic scene in the West Wing, where the President’s secretary, Mrs Landingham, causes consternation by paying the full advertised price for a car. Even though most customers would expect to receive some sort of discount from the dealership, for her it was a matter of integrity to pay the advertised price. Abraham’s issue was much more important. He had been promised the land which he was buying, and he trusted that one day his descendants would inherit it. But until that day, he knew that it was not his to own unless fairly purchased.

Let’s take up the example of these two men today. Let’s follow Ephron in his generosity of spirit, and also Abraham in his principled integrity.

Genesis 22:7-8

Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

What do you think of when you read this story of Abraham and Isaac? Our responses tend to fall into one of two categories. Some see Abraham’s behaviour as barbaric. After all, he was knowingly leading his son to his death, intending to kill him as a sacrifice. Others see it as a poignant act of faith. Having been promised a child by God, having fathered him at a miraculous age, having been promised that a nation would descend from him, and knowing that God had not yet failed him, Abraham naturally trusted God that he would act rightly.

If you read this story as one of faith, you are in good company. The writer to the Hebrews explicitly calls Abraham out for his faith:

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. (Hebrews 11:17-19)

Abraham trusted in God’s word to him. He knew that Isaac would be OK because God is a promise-keeper. Things looked bleak, certainly, and I suspect tensions were high after the perceptive Isaac commented that the lamb was conspicuous by its absence. But the incident teaches us about the nature of true sacrifice. It usually looks as if all is lost, and it is certainly painful. But it is always a good thing.

This sacrifice of a lamb in place of an only child also points us brilliantly forward to the sacrifice of God’s only son in the place of the world. His disciples tried to resist his arrest; they exhorted him not to fall into the hands of his enemies. He went to his death, however, in the knowledge that his sacrifice would be sufficient for the sins of the world and that he would rise victorious over the grave. Praise God for Jesus the Lamb of God today!

Genesis 20:9

Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.”

Some people are quick to think the worst of other people. An attitude of instant judgmentalism is seriously unpleasant because it suggests that the person is actively trying to seek fault in others. When you last walked past someone begging in the street, did you just assume that he or she would spend any money on alcohol? When you last walked past a group of young people wearing hoods with their jeans hovering somewhere south of their buttocks, did you just assume that they were hoping to mug you? When you last walked past a traffic warden, did you just assume that they had a personal vendetta against the motor car and anyone who drives one? We’re thinking the worst of people all the time, often without realising it.

In today’s reading, Abraham thought the worst of Abimelek. He assumed that this foreign king would have loose morals and would take Sarah, Abraham’s wife, for his own, disposing of Abraham in order to gain access to her. He hoped to keep safe by saying that Sarah was his sister but neglecting to mention their marriage. As predicted, Abimelek took a shine to Sarah – but against Abraham’s expectations he wanted their relationship to be above-board. He was shocked to discover Abraham’s lie and confronted him about it.

Abraham, the great father of God’s promised nation, acted in an underhand and immoral way because he expected the foreign king to behave immorally. In fact, Abimelek conducted himself with integrity but Abraham was shamed by his own conduct. What a challenge to our knee-jerk judgmentalism: in this case, it risked leading an innocent man into sin. Let us be wise, careful and discerning, yes, but fair towards people.

Genesis 18:25

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?

The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.

So writes Richard Dawkins at the start of the second chapter of his bestselling book The God Delusion. He describes God as he is commonly conceived, as a despotic and passionately destructive being who seeks to exert his authority at the expense of all else. The names of Sodom and Gomorrah are buzzwords for God’s perceived brutality, pointing to his utter destruction of those places in this story in Genesis as evidence. Today’s passage is thoroughly encouraging for the puzzled reader, then, because it paints quite the opposite picture of God.

Knowing God’s intention to destroy Sodom, Abraham interceded for the people of that city. He was concerned that God’s anger at Sodom’s sin was clouding his judgment. Several times he made his request, each more specific than the last, that God would stay his judgment. Each time God gave his assurance that the city would be saved for the sake of the righteous, however few they were in number.

Abraham’s expectation was simply wrong. He thought that God was acting rashly by bringing destruction on Sodom, however in reality it was rash of him not to. “Will not the judge of all the earth do right?” Of course, always and for ever. But for a just God acting rightly means destroying evil. This passage is not about malevolence, then, but grace. It is about God longing for people to repent. It is about him relenting from destroying those who do wrong. He acts with undeserved mercy towards us just as he did in Abraham’s day. Take comfort! Will not the judge of all the earth do right?

Genesis 17:7

I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

In today’s reading Abraham’s God established a covenant promising to be Abraham’s God. To the cynical reader, this covenant might seem a little thin – a statement of the obvious. By definition, one might argue, if God is God then God is God. Ostensibly, God’s promise does not change anything, aside from Abram gaining a longer name. God certainly did not change, of that much we can be absolutely certain. So what on earth is the point of this covenant?

A covenant is a binding agreement of promise between two parties. It has parallels in marriage – two people promise to commit themselves to one another in a binding way. Faithfulness between the two parties is essential, as each honours their commitment to the other. Whereas spouses often wear rings to signify their marriage, this covenant was to be marked by circumcision (sorry, boys).

God’s covenant with Abraham, then, was designed to give him and his descendants assurance of his promise to bless them. Circumcision stood as a lasting reminder of the commitment made by Abraham to honour the covenant, while God rooted his promise in the fact that he would be Abraham’s God. That is no cheap statement of the obvious: it goes back to the very fundamental character of God. God does not, will not and cannot change, so by promising to establish his covenant on his very identity, God is essentially saying “take my word for it, because that’s as sure as you can be”.

In Exodus, God reveals his name to Moses as “I am that I am”. His point is that his very definition, his basic characteristic, is consistency. If he promises to do something, it is as good as done. In Abraham’s day that meant trusting in a promise that in hundreds of years this childless nonagenarian’s descendants would inherit the land of Canaan. In our day it may mean trusting in a promise about our lives (God will lead me through a difficult time) or about our salvation (God will forgive me because of the death and resurrection of Jesus). We can have absolute confidence in the promises God makes because he will be our God. In other words, he is as reliable now as he has ever been and he has never even begun to bread his word. Take comfort in this assurance today!

Genesis 15:13-14

Then the LORD said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions."

God’s covenant with Abraham is one of the key points in Israel’s history. In today’s reading God promises to establish a nation from Abram’s descendants, and the rest of the Old Testament tells the rollercoaster story of that promise coming to its fulfilment in Jesus. From the vantage point of the 21st Century, the promise God makes in this chapter is fantastic news. It means that the Hebrews would take the land of Canaan and establish a kingdom there. It means that a descendant of David, Jesus, would be born as God made man in order to establish a new kingdom of every tribe and tongue and nation.

In Abram’s day, however, the promise had little to commend it. There was long-term gain for the great-great-great-great-great grandchildren, perhaps, but nothing but trouble in the intervening years. The family was to face several hundred years of strife and slavery. Abram himself would not see the nation, nor see it dwell in the promised land – yet he still had faith in God’s word. He knew that hard times were ahead, but he also trusted that they would gain a rich inheritance. “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” (Verse 6)

How often is our view of God’s promises the same? The outlook can sometimes seem bleak. Some Christians are actively persecuted for their faith. Others live lives made difficult in other ways, perhaps due to personal suffering or social and economic circumstances. The short-term trials are very real, as they were for Abram’s descendants. But the hope of future glory is just as glorious as Abram’s – a rich inheritance in the kingdom of God! Abram’s faith was credited to him as righteousness, trusting in God’s future deliverance. We have that same hope: Let us make it our goal and focus today, in the full knowledge of God’s faithfulness.