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   Day 18  Genesis 19 – 21

We ended yesterday with Abraham’s interceeding with God to spare the cities of Sodom & Gomorrah for the sake of a bare minimum of 10 righteous people living there.  God agrees, but the cities are doomed by their sin and because there is only ONE righteous man in the whole area.

Chapter 19 is God’s grace at work. The two angels go into Sodom with the purpose of rescuing Abe’s nephew Lot and his family. They are lewdly accosted by the crazed men of the city, but they incapacitate them with blindness. Forceably grabbing Lot, his wife, and two daughters, the angels flee the city just minutes before the LORD rains down sulfer and fire out of heaven and burns up the cities, all the valley, all the inhabitants, and even what grew on the ground.

Talk about narrowly escaping “by the skin of your teeth!”

To show that only Lot is righteous in this family, his wife turns back and hesitates, looking longingly at all her “things.”  And the backflash of sulfer immediately coats her and turns her into a statue of salt. (A mini Hiroshima!)  Then the broken – but righteous man – flees to live in a cave (remember he had been a very important man – a judge – in the city), and is twice made drunk and seduced by his own daughters. They both have sons by him, who later turn out to be enemies of Israel – the Moabites and Ammonites on the east side of the Jordan.

Back to the man of the hour in chapter 20, when Abraham leaves the area (the sight & stench of the burned cities?) and roams into the Negev (south of Gaza).

And then —- can you believe it? —- he tells the local Philistine king that Sarah is his sister!!!  WHAT?  At this point Sarah as about to conceive – or maybe already has conceived – the promised son, Isaac! Abimelech takes her into his household, and God immediately closes the wombs of all the women in his house. (I’m thinking that God maybe causes great impotence among the men of the house, for that would be sooner evident.) If this hadn’t happened, perhaps Abimelech “might” have claimed Isaac as HIS offspring. YIKES!

God appears to the king in a dream with, “YOU ARE A DEAD MAN because the woman you took is a man’s wife.”

Abimelech cries out that he is innocent, a man of integrity of heart. God agrees and tells him that He, Himself, had KEPT HIM FROM SINNING.  Sarah (she must really be tired of this) is returned to Abraham, who prays for the king, and God “opens the wombs of the women.”  But the king DOES indignantly accuse Abe for bringing that trouble on him, although he sends him away with more loot. (and a thousand pieces of silver to prove Sarah’s innocence.)

And FINALLY, after 25 years of waiting, the promised son, “He laughs” is born. Abe is 100, Sarah is 90, and Ishmael is about 14.  A couple years later when Sarah weans Isaac, she notices Ishmael mocking (teasing, tormenting) the toddler.  She says (again) that Hagar and Ishmael MUST GO AWAY.  This time God agrees with her and tells Abe to do just that.

With regret and sorrow (but with God’s promise of blessing) Abraham sends the Egyptian maid and her son away. In the wilderness, the gracious God meets her again, refreshes and encourages her, reminds her of His blessing on her son and “points her to the south-east.”  Later, she takes an EGYPTIAN wife for her son.

At the end of chapter 21, there is a skirmish between Abraham and Abimelech (possibly another king in the line) about some wells that Abe dug.  It’s settled and the king and his men go back to Philistia. The place is named Be’er Sheva (Beersheba) meaning “seven wells.”

And ALL is at peace…..