God gave Abram a new name Abraham and land for a perpetual possession.
But we can’t take anything with us when we die?
So what good is a perpetual possession?
God tells Abram to look up to the heavens and number the stars if you can and then promises Abram that his offspring will not be able to be numbered because of their multitude.
Perpetual possession by limitless descendants… of what?
What is it that we are passing along to our children and their children and the children of the children of our children?
What stories of our being, if any, will be told by future generations?
When in our lives have we eaten humble pie?
How far has denial, justification, and rationalization of our not-so-good thoughts, words, and behavior taken us from God’s Will for us and removed His Power to do that will?
Maybe we don’t have to eat the pie but just be humble. Take some time and make it a timeout to pray and meditate with God, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit. To be inspired in our life’s journey is a good and decent way to live.
I remember leaving the paradise of Southern California, where you can wake up and decide what you want to do that day without ever checking the weather report.
I was drawn to move back home to western New York State so that my children could have an opportunity to know their grandparents and vice versa. At the time I thought it was just about being with family but now I realize it was as much about me not growing up with grandparents and wanting my children to have an experience that I did not have.
When I was born my mother was holding me in her hospital bed crying. Her doctor came in and asked her why she was crying since she had such a beautiful baby in her arms? My Mom’s response was that her mother had just died and would not be there waiting at our home to carry me into the house. This was a Slovak custom practiced for all five of my older siblings. Soon afterwards her father died too and before I was 4 years old, both of my father’s parents would pass too.
I could have stayed and eaten paradise pie for a long time in Southern California and at the time I did not look at moving back East as a sacrifice, only a fulfillment of our family’s destiny.
Maybe all that God has promised anyone of us, through His Written Word, the Bible, is to guide us and to change us from the inside-out. To change our hearts and renew our minds. To make our journey through life easier, less burdensome. To make us clear and present with an “attitude of the Beatitudes” to fully enjoy the present day and another one after that if that is His Will.
Today could be the genesis of a whole new life for the rest of our lives and beyond!
Day 5: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; Eat Humble Pie or Wander further away from the Lord?
Read and inspired by the Old Testament, The Book of Genesis Chapters 14-19
Bible Notes:
Genesis, the genesis or origin of the world, the history of Creation.
Noe and the Deluge, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph
Closes with the deaths of Jacob and of Joseph in Egypt, whither Joseph had called his father and brothers.
Genesis Chapter 14: Invasion by the four kings; Abram rescues Lot; Sacrafice of Melchisedech; Abram refuses to accept payment.
And they took… Lot also, the son of Abram’s brother, who dwelt in Sodom, and his substance.
Abram the Hebrew
Genesis Chapter 15: God promises posterity to Abram; God promises land to Abram; Abram’s vision; God’s covenant with Abram.
Genesis Chapter 16: Abram marries Agar; Agar flees from Sarai; An angel tells Agar to return to Sarai; Birth of Ismael.
Return to thy mistress, and humble thyself under her hand.
Eat Humble Pie or Wander further away from the Lord?
Genesis Chapter 17: Abram becomes Abraham; Covenant of circumcision; Sarai becomes Sara; Isaac is promised by God; All males of Abraham’s house are circumsized.
Land for a perpetual possession
Circumcision, old law versus new law/New Testament/new covenant
Abraham 100 years old; Sara is 90 years old bear a son Isaac.
And as for Ismael I have also heard thee. Behold, I will bless him, and increase, and multiply him exceedingly: he shall beget twelve chiefs, and I will make him a great nation.
Ishmael (Arabic: إسماعيل, Ismā‘īl) is the figure known in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as Abraham’s (Ibrahim) son, born to Hagar (Hajar). In Islam, Ishmael is regarded as a prophet (nabi) and an ancestor to Muhammad. He also became associated with Mecca and the construction of the Kaaba, as well as equated with the term “Arab” by some. (Wiki).
Genesis Chapter 18: Three strangers visit Abraham; A son is promised to Sara; Wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrha; Abraham intercedes for the people of Sodom.
For I know that he (Abraham) will command his children, and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord.
Wilt thou destroy the just with the wicked? I will not destroy it for the sake of 50, 45, 40, 30, 20, 10…
Genesis Chapter 19: Lot entertains two angels; The angels blind the men of Sodom; Destruction of Sodom foretold; The angels urge Lot to leave the city; Lot is sent to the mountain; Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha; Lot’s wife becomes a statue of salt; Abraham sees the destruction; The sin of Lot’s daughters.
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