8,9 Mar -- Fear and Lies Instead of Faith

The readings for Thurs 8 and Fri 9 March are -- Gen 24:55-26:11; Ps 9:1-6; Prov 2:1-5; Mt 9:18-38.

Gen 26:1-11 tells the story of Isaac and Rebekah settling in Philistine territory during a famine. Isaac tells the locals she is his sister, fearing they might kill him if they know she's his wife. But Abimelech, the King, spots Isaac fondling Rebekah and realises Isaac had lied.

Do you get the feeling that something similar has happened before? Twice in fact. In Gen 12:10-20, Abraham and Sarah moved to Egypt during a famine. Because Sarah was so beautiful (at around 65!), Abraham passes her off as his sister. Pharaoh takes her into his household as a wife but uncovers the lie after God sends plagues on him and his household.

Then in Gen 20:1-18, Abraham repeats his mistake, but this time with Abimelech, the Philistine. (Poor Abimelech!) God speaks to him and stops him from touching Sarah. He is rightly upset with Abraham, saying to him: "You have done things to me that should never be done." (20:9) Abraham's excuse that he was afraid and that she was in a sense a sister (his father's daughter, but not his mother's) misses the point. A decided lack of faith for the "Father of Faith".

After what happened to Abraham twice, it is almost unbelievable to see it happening again in the next generation with Isaac. The sins of the fathers...! As D.J. Wiseman (Tyndale Commentary on Genesis) points out, "The repeated lapses emphasize (like Peter's three denials) the chronic weakness of God's chosen material." Yet God's plan will not be thwarted (Gen 26:2-5).