The truth behind deception

Jordin noted in the comments on Deception that it is quite possible that Sarai was his half sister and so he was not technically lying when he told Pharoah that. But as he was not really giving Pharoah the whole picture, his sin may not have been technically 'lying' but a sin of omission. And then in Genesis 20, Abram repeats the same scenario, this time replacing Pharoah with Abimelech and God has to let Abimelech know the truth in a dream. As I said to Jordin today "Did he not learn the first time?", to which she said "And how many times do we not learn the first time?". I'd say my fair sister has a point. (to provide full disclosure in keeping with the post: Jordin is not my biological sister, but my sister in Christ:)

Deception

I found this interesting (from Genesis 12):

10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you."

14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman. 15 And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.

17 But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!" 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

Abram is deceptive and says his wife is his sister. I wonder what Sarai thought of that! But he was right - they did treat him well- for a while. But then the Lord afflicted the house of Pharoah. And somehow Pharoah figures out why and then gives Abram the boot for this deception. After this, God still goes on to make a covenant with Abram and perform a miracle of giving him a child when he is very old. Even though Abram lied. Even though Abram probably made God look pretty bad to Pharoah.

Thank God for grace!

Unity

I had an email with Al and it remined me that I was going to write about Genesis 11. The tower of babel. Here was a project where you saw people united. And you would think that was a good thing! It is very difficult to keep people united on a project. Even of they are enthousiastic at first a few tend to go off willy-nilly and a few just get tired, etc. But I guess God was against the project because they were united for their own glory.

Last night I read Gen 13 and 14. Abram and Lot's entourages get too big and start snipping at each other. So, they separate. Was it God's will that they separate. We aren't told. Sure it looks like the most logical decision. What else could they do? But shortly thereafter Lot gets kidnapped by some guys. Is it better to make a decision to keep the peace or stay and work through the difficulty? Was there another solution that Abram and Lot missed?

God's heart

The story about Noah is one familiar to most with the rain and the animals, etc. This time when I read the story I saw that it really is about God's heart.

Genesis 6:5 The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.

There are 2 parts to verse 5. The first was my understanding of the story previously that there was so much sin in the world that it causes God to bring the flood. And it makes sense in that you can quantify sin into actions. But the second part surprised me that even the thought of our hearts can cause pain. That is much harder to quantify!

But I think a lot of the time this story is seen as God being an angry God, but in light of verse 6, the story really needs to be read in light of a pained and hurt God. And that not only our actions can hurt him, but our thoughts as well.

Doing right

This quote comes after God rejects Cain's offering:

6Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."Genesis 4

I understand Cain's reaction at this point. It can be hard to hear we're not doing something right. My students sometimes they don't understand their grades when they put so much work into it. But you can put a lot of work into something and yet still not be doing it right!
It is not clear what Cain did to make the offering unacceptable, but I would guess there were directions that God had given him that were not followed. But God seems to be saying -do what is right next time.
I thought the bolded description of sin was interesting. The Lord seems to refer to sin as an active thing.
The Lord also still seems to be speaking to humanity directly here. But immediately after God says this to him, it seems he goes and kills his brother. And this one incident affects his lineage. His line is soiled. His great-great-great-grandson (or so) also kills a man (Genesis 4:23) and claims to be much worse than Cain (Gen 4:24). The sins of the father rest on the children and help shape their destiny. It is not Cain's lineage that brings forth Christ, but another son of Adam and Eve - Seth.

Today's society lives in the 'now' and often does not consider that the choices they make affect future generations for bad or for good.

Tree of life

I decided to start reading the Bible from the beginning, about a chapter or so a day because it's been quite a while since I read the whole shebang from start to end.
anyway, after reading the first 3 chapters of Genesis, what stuck in my head was the tree of life.

In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:9

The second tree gets a lot of air time because that's the one that they weren't allowed to eat from. But they were allowed to eat from the tree of life.

22 And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side [a] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis 3

This is where I paused last night - could Adam have eaten the tree of life and did not???? I guess Adam and Eve missed it! Ack. Or was it that God did not want Adam to live forever in his fallen state? (that he had eaten of the tree of life when all was good, but the living forever was revoked when he disobeyed and entered a fallen state)

And then he puts a guard up so that Adam and Eve can't get back to that tree of life. But Adam and Eve didn't seem all that savvy to necessitate a 'flaming sword'. You would think a stick across the entrance would work just as well!

In proverbs the writer talks about the tree of life as wisdom, fruit of the righteous and a healing toungue. But the tree doesn't get mentioned again until Revelation

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.(Rev 2:7)

Well, at least we know the tree hasn't moved, but God has- now he's willing to let people eat from the tree of life (because of the redemption that Jesus got for us?) But then in Rev 22 it has a glorious but puzzling picture:

1Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

I'm not sure about the math in this. If it is 'the' tree of life how can it be on each side of the river. A bit puzzling, but maybe it is just the translation of participles. In any event the tree of life seems to figure prominently in the vision. Is it of heaven? It certainly is a beautiful healing picture. I think there are a lot of nations and peoples that need the leaves of the tree of life!