READINGS FOR APRIL 18, 2024: GENESIS 12, 1 CORINTHIANS 10, PSALM 32:6-11

GENESIS 12

            We now travel back to the book of Genesis. We pick up the story in the call of Abram (Abraham) to go where God leads him. Abram’s relationship with God will be the main story line until his death in Genesis 25. This is the beginning of God developing a special relationship with the descendants of Abraham who will end up being God’s Chosen People.

            Verses 1 – 9 - When God calls Abram, he is living with his father’s clan in the area or Harran. This is along the fertile crescent of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in modern day Iraq. God is calling Abram to follow him to the land that God will show him. This is a journey of about four-hundred miles (think about walking or riding a horse and buggy from Yorktown, IN to Mackinaw, MI (North); Huntsville, AL (South); Buffalo, NY (East); and St. Louis, MO (West).

God’s promise to Abram in verse 2 has a sevenfold structure:

1. God will make Abram into a great nation.
2. God will bless Abram.
3. God will makes Abram’s name great.
4. Abram will be a blessing.
5. God will bless those who bless Abram.
6. God will curse those who curse Abram.
7. All people on Earth will be blessed through Abram.

Abram agrees to follow God. He takes his wife, Sarai, his nephew, Lot, and all his possessions and travels to the area around Shechem (near Tell Balata in modern Palestine’s West Bank). God tells Abram that his descendants will inherit this land. Abram settles for a time in the area of Bethel (modern day Beitin in the West Bank).

            Verses 10 – 20 – Due to a famine, Abram and his entourage move to Egypt. While there, Abram convinces his wife to tell the Pharoah that she is Abram’s brother and not his wife. Abram is afraid that he will be killed so that the Pharoah can bring the beautiful Sarai into his household.

Sarai is brought into Pharoah’s home and Abram is rewarded because of her.  However, God inflicts illnesses upon Pharoah’s household because of Sarai. Pharoah sends Abram and his household away.

Even though Abram had been promised that God was with him, the first episode we see is where Abram does not trust God’s protection. Following God does not require us to be perfect. It requires our obedience. It requires us to be willing to learn. It requires us to repent when we have sinned. It is a learning process.

            Abram’s experience here foreshadows Israel’s later experience in Egypt leading to the time of Moses. There are parallels:

1. A famine led to their entering Egypt.
2. God’s punishment of the Egyptians.
3. Egyptians sending the people away with all their possessions.
4. Return to the Promised Land by stages through the wilderness.

1 CORINTHIANS 10

Verses 1 – 13 – Paul calls the faithful to learn from the History of God’s people. He lists several Biblical stories where people perished due to their lack of faith. Paul warns that these stories were preserved so that we can learn from them and not fall into sin. Paul also tells us that through God’s strength, the faithful can overcome every temptation. Satan may ne powerful. But, God is more powerful if we allow our faith to pull us through.

Verses 14 – 33 – Paul now begins teaching about idolatry. He cautions the Corinthian church not to participate in the feasts offered to pagan gods. His reasoning is that participating in the actual feast constitutes condoning the worship of idols.  

To support this teaching, Paul begins with a short discussion about the Lord’s Supper. He will go into more depth about it later in his letter. For now, he uses the practice of the Lord Supper to underscore its significance. The people undertake the ritual to enter a time of fellowship with the resurrected Christ. Taking of the cup and the bread is a form of worship.

Paul further emphasizes the ritual sacrifices that the people of Israel undertake at the Temple are a way of worship. If we believe that these are acts of worship, than we must accept that eating at a pagan feast is off limits.

Paul then gives some suggestions for the way to live:

1. Eating food from the market is acceptable (even if it was from a pagan temple – see early discussion in Chapter 8).
2. If you go to a pagan’s home, eat what is served to you with one exception.
3. The exception is if the host tells you that the meal is part of a pagan feast. Then you should not eat the meat sacrificed.

Paul ends the chapter by saying that whatever you do, do it in a manner that honors God. Even what we eat, how we eat it, and where we eat it can be a way of honoring God. The way we live should not cause anyone to stumble as we are living our lives.

PSALM 32:6-11

            This is the second half of a psalm giving praise to God for God’s forgiveness. It begins with a call for all who have faith to pray to God. It is God alone who will protest us from the trouble. It is God who delivers us from our sin.

            The psalm then turns to give instruction to the worshippers. The writer (David) instructs us to not be stubborn like the horse or mule. We must be open to God’s leading.

            The psalm ends by a call to the righteous to worship God. God’s love will surround us as we live faithfully. We are to sing praise to the God who loves.