As I’ve been reading through the Old Testament, I’ve noticed a few trends. I’ve noticed the flaws of the players. I’ve noticed that the Old Testament is a great picture of God’s grace. This, along with reading Preston Sprinkle’s book Charis, has made me more in awe of what God has in store for us.
The story of Abraham is a great one, so why not start at the beginning? In Genesis 12, the Lord promises Abram land, a nation, and to bless and protect his family. What a great promise! In our lives, how encouraging and motivating is it for someone to believe in us? God… GOD… believed in Abram. How motivating! It makes you want to run through that wall. In response, after God tells Abram land will be his, he enters Egypt. Upon entering Egypt, he feared Pharaoh would kill him to take his wife. So what did he do? Trusted God, right? NO! Of course not! He and Sarai hatched a plan to pass her off as his sister. This is great, until Pharaoh finds out. Spoiler: 25 years later, Abraham and Sarah hatched the same plan again, not learning their lesson the first time: God was watching out for them.