READING FOR MAY 8, 2024: GENESIS 26, 2 CORINTHIAN 8, PSALM 39:1-6 GENESIS 26 As is true today, economic and environmental forces prompted Isaac to migrate from one area to another more favorable land. God did not stop this migration but directed Isaac away from Egypt. Today such a movement of peoples is the cause of great political controversy. Throughout the Old Testament, God commanded Israel to be kind to aliens, reminding them they were once aliens as well. Obviously, the overwhelming number of us in Yorktown today are descendants of migrants from distant countries. What might be a biblical stance for treating those coming to American today for safety or opportunity?
Isaac had the benefit of God’s covenant with Abraham and the example of his father’s faithful life. Unfortunately, he did not learn a positive lesson from Abraham’s deception regarding Sarah. Did Abraham tell Isaac about his pretending Sarah was not his wife? Probably most of us do not share the story of our mistakes with our children, perhaps due to pride. William P Smith, a counseling and seminary professor, states: “Our stories serve as a dark backdrop upon which Jesus can shine. By giving our children a cleaned-up version of ourselves, we may inadvertently give them a smaller version of God.”
Isaac, as his father before him, misrepresented his wife as his sister. The king of the Philistines who figured this out is called Abimelech. This is likely not the same person of that name who interacted with Abraham. According to the Jewish site CHABAD.ORG, “[Abimelech is] the generic name of all Philistine kings. Kings by this name appear in the Bible from the times of Abraham through King David.” Even though this king is not part of the covenant line, he is aware that marrying another man’s wife is wrong. This points to the general awareness of moral truth by all people discussed in Romans 1-2.
In the next scene we see Isaac’s work amazingly blessed by God. The envy of the local community was such that they stopped up his wells. This time, the king did not protect him but ordered Isaac to leave. Not fair, but Isaac just moved. In his next location, Isaac’s servants dug a well with flowing water; however, the local herdsmen protested. His next well had the same result. Finally, Isaac moved far enough away that no one complained. At this point, the Lord appeared to Isaac and confirmed His covenant with him, as the son of Abraham. God was in his corner even if the neighbors were hostile. He made a way for Isaac. He still cares for us.
Finally, Abimelech reached out to Isaac to forge a peaceful agreement. Apparently, he noticed that no matter how poorly Isaac was treated, God was intent on blessing him. Isaac’s behavior anticipated Jesus’s teaching: “Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt.5:16).
READING FOR MAY 8, 2024 CONTINUED: 2 CORINTHIANS 8, PSALM 39:1-6 2 CORINTHIANS 8 This is an entire chapter about giving. The church shouldn’t fail to teach biblical principles about giving just because some well-known celebrity preachers appear to have abused this beautiful act of worship. Paul shares with the Corinthians the positive example of the churches in Macedonia. This might be considered by some as poor taste, but it helps Paul convey information about exemplary Christian practices of giving, an often-avoided topic. Instead of Paul begging the Macedonians for an offering, they, in their relative poverty, begged Paul to accept their proportionally generous gifts. Their approach is the template for all Christian giving. They first gave themselves totally to God first and then their resources were given as a tangible expression. Our giving is our response to the Christ who made Himself poor so that we might receive eternal riches.
Paul had long been collecting funds for the poor Christians in Jerusalem. He mentioned this to the Corinthians in his first letter (16:1-3). They had been the first to give to this fund about a year ago. Now after Paul’s experience in Macedonia, he decided to send his trusted associate Titus to Corinth to collect another donation to the fund. Paul stresses the generosity of others, but he does not descend into high-pressure tactics. Giving voluntarily from the heart is stressed, as well as not giving beyond the giver’s capability. Also, Paul points to the integrity of all involved in taking this gift to those in need in Jerusalem. Paul regards this aspect of his ministry with as much care as preaching the Gospel. Integrity in handling gifts is essential!
PSALM 39:1-6 David committed to not sinning by his speech. He particularly mentioned not speaking at all when wicked people were present. It is not clear what the circumstances were, but it is certainly true that we often sin by what we say (James 3:6) and we often create problems by speaking when certain people are present. Remember how Jesus’s words were twisted during his trial. David built up internal stress until he was finally able to speak to God.
His request to God in verses 4-6 was one we all would be wise to make. He asked the Lord to give him an awareness of the brevity of life. Let’s ponder this for a moment. Some people develop bucket lists of what they would like to experience before they die. Consider this: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:16-21).
