Brothers of Christ (Gen.14)

“And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.”

~Genesis 14:14

(Photo Credit)

Abraham’s nephew, Lot, was captured in the battle of the kings. Now, Abraham and Lot had lived together for a while until both their households got to big, but by Abraham’s frequent use of the word ‘brother’ to describe Lot, we can infer that theirs was a close relationship.

And so when Abraham heard that Lot was captured he immediately went to save him. Abram went to battle and won back his brother.

We all live in Sodom. We all have been captured by the kings of this world who will use us and abuse us. But, Jesus has gotten word. And like the patriarch, He will come with an army to save us, His brothers. If you have not already been rescued, then have comfort that He will fight His way through soon.

And, we aren’t only saved once. But Christ knew that, He knew that He would rescue us again and again, to deliver us from our enemies, even if that enemy is ourselves. We are His brothers and sisters, and He will save us.

Biblical Women are Beautiful & Prophets are Perfect (Gen.12)

“the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair”

~Genesis 12:14

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Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel–they are all described as being beautiful. But, as the Roger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella asks, “do I love you because you’re wonderful, or are you wonderful because I love you.” Whether or not the matriarchs were as gorgeous as their husbands described them, or just greatly loved, is not an insignificant question.

In Genesis 12, we are to believe that Sarai (Sarah) was desired of Pharaoh because of how beautiful she was, which is probably true. But, perhaps we are being too shallow-thinking about the Egyptian king, maybe Sarai also had a supplementary, wonderful personality.

Abram (Abraham) lies about her being his wife, saying that she is his sister. There has been much contention over this action. Some wonder is if this was just Abram being a fallible human being, or if he was following God’s instructions. Either way, Abram is a fallible human being.

If the Bible teaches us nothing else, it is that humans are wonderfully fallible, that is why we need the Atonement. Otherwise, there would be no need for Jesus, no need for forgiveness and repentance and grace.

We are not perfect, but through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we can become perfect. We are not beautiful (our souls are heavy with care and stained with sin), but through the glory of God’s Son, we can become the most beautiful of all the Father’s creations.