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In Luke 12:16-21, Jesus tells the story of a rich farmer who had a good year and harvested a big crop. The harvest was so big that he didn’t have room for it all so he decided to tear down his old barns and build new bigger barns. He also decided he was going to take it easy and enjoy his wealth and not work so hard.
God condemns him and sends him to his eternal reward. Jesus finishes up by saying, “So is he that lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
You see when I was a kid and read those verses I thought it was a sin to tear down an old barn and build a bigger, better one. That’s what I got out of that.
What the passage is really teaching is that the rich farmer should have given some of his wealth to help the poor and should have kept working to help even more. That’s how you are “rich toward God”… by helping his people. It’s not a sin to tear down an old barn and it’s not a sin to retire. It is a sin not to be “rich towards God (by helping those who are in need)”
I look back at some of my misconceptions about the Bible and shudder. Of course I was just a young man but it illustrates the need for teachers and mentors. It also illustrates God’s patience and about having the attitude of continual Bible study to perfect our understanding.
We should be very humble about what we think we know and always be willing to listen to and evaluate a different view point.
I hope I didn’t condemn anyone for tearing down a barn but knowing me… I wouldn’t be surprised.
Abraham and his wife Sarah moved into the region of Gerar in which Abimilech was king when Abraham was about 100 years old and Sarah was 90 years old.
Abraham judged the people of the area as having no respect for God and worried that they would kill him to possess Sarah. So, worried for his own life, he asked Sarah to present herself as his sister. Sarah was indeed his sister (and wife) as they both had the same father (different mothers).
Abimilech, King of Gerar, sees Sarah and is apparently smitten by her great beauty and takes her. In those days and times Kings had all kinds of power and could take any single woman they wanted.
God prevents King Abimilech from having sex with Sarah because he knows Abimilech has a clear conscious and doesn’t want Abimilech to sin ignorantly. However, as punishment for this sin of ignorance, he prevents Abimilech’s wives and concubines from conceiving. Abimilech is in total ignorance of any of this until God visits him in a dream.
In this dream God tells Abimilech he is “as good as dead” because he had taken a married woman with the intent to have sex with her (commit adultery). God also identifies Abraham as being a Prophet with the ability to pray for Abimilech to keep God from killing him (he has a way out).
The penitent Abimilech, restores Sarah to Abraham. He tells Sarah, I am giving your “brother” 1000 Shekels of silver to cover the offense.
Abraham prays to God for Abimilech and God “heals” him.
Here are a few take aways…
God interacts in the affairs of mankind. He certainly did in this case and I see nothing in the scriptures to show that he has stopped.
You can be punished for sins that you are ignorant of. Be careful with your actions, someone may be manipulating you but you are still responsible to God for them.
The punishment can include a negative affect on the quality of your life and even death. If your life isn’t very good right now it may be due to some sin against God that he is punishing you for.
Abraham’s faith had not fully matured (even though he was a prophet). He was still afraid of what others could do to him. Your faith may not be very strong right now but don’t give up… it can get better.
Abraham was selfish, he was willing to sacrifice Sarah’s honor to protect himself. That’s pride… serving self and not others.
Abraham manipulated Sarah by asking her to do something wrong to demonstrate her love for him. A lot of men manipulate women by prefacing a request with “if you love me”.
Sarah allowed herself to be manipulated and her weakness almost caused an innocent man to be killed.
Abraham mis-judged people, he told half truths and concealed the other half, he manipulated his wife into a deception and he lacked faith in God.
God still loved and cared for him.
I suppose God revealed all of Abraham’s weaknesses as a message to you and me. God isn’t looking to punish his faithful people when we occasionally make bad decisions. It’s not a deal breaker for Him. What is a deal breaker is open rebellion against Him.
When we make mistakes and sin we should recognize it, repent and strive to do better and not despair and give up. Have confidence in God… he is our Father.
Imagine you’re Abraham. You’ve seen all your friends and family members having children but you’ve given up having any of your own. Then God promises you that you are going to have a son.
Sure enough when you turn 86 years old God gives you a son named Ishmael. In the Bible names mean things and Ishmael’s name means “God hears”.
Then when you turn 100 years old God gives you a son from your 90 year old wife Sarah. His name is Isaac which means “laughter” because both Abraham and Sarah laughed when God promised them a son.
When Ishmael turns 14 years old and Isaac turns 3 years old, God tells Abraham he must turn Ishmael and his mother out. Abraham was “greatly distressed” at having to lose his oldest son… greatly distressed. After all this was his son! He rejoiced at his birth and rejoiced at being a Dad (and all that means) and now he had to say goodbye to him. I imagine part of his hurt was seeing how Ishmael was hurt.
I don’t guess that Abraham could predict that when his second son Isaac turned a similar age that God would ask him to kill and sacrifice him but that’s exactly what God did. Of course Abraham was a little prepared for that command. After all, God had already had him cut Ishmael loose but had assured Abraham that Ishmael would be all right and would father a great nation.
So when it came time to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac… Abraham dutifully complied knowing somehow, some way, God would make everything all right. In fact, the author of Hebrews adds this… “Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead (Isaac).”
Abraham had two sons who he loved with all his heart, “God Hears” and “Laughter”, and was asked to give them up.
God also asks us to make some sacrifices. Don’t make the mistake of comparing whatever we have to sacrifice with the sacrifice Abraham had to make because it doesn’t compare. Just remember… do whatever God asks and God will take care of you and maybe, just maybe shower you with great blessings like he did for Abraham.
In Genesis 18, we find Abraham cooling off during the heat of the day at the door of his tent. Three men approached. He ran and out to meet them and bowed before them and implored them to stay and visit. He washed their feet, he had Sarah (his wife) make cakes, he had a servant prepare a freshly killed calf and offered his guests, curds, milk and beef.
In Genesis 19, we find Lot sitting at the gates to the city. He sees two of the same three men. He didn’t run to greet them like Abraham had done but he did bow down before them and invited them into his home. They entered his home and he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread (not cakes) for them.
Further on in Genesis 19 we find the “hospitality” of Sodom. When the men found out the city had visitors they tried to forcibly gang rape them.
What a huge extreme in hospitality between Abraham and the citizens of Sodom.
I suppose if you had to say… even though Lot demonstrated remarkable hospitality, Abraham illustrated the highest level of hospitality. The Sodomites were killed for their inhospitality.
How about today? What if some strangers approached you, what would your level of hospitality be? If you saw them coming from afar off would you run and turn out all the lights and pretend not to be home? If they knocked on the door would you say, this is not the best time? Would you think, my house is a mess and I have a headache come back another day please?
Sometimes we can plan hospitality and sometimes it’s a spontaneous event… you don’t get advanced notice. Have a hospitable heart and prepare for those events that come out of nowhere. God does test his people.
One of the responsibilities Christians have for each other is admonition. That’s a Bible word for correcting improper or sinful behavior. It is really an act of love. Its purpose is to help keep each other on the straight and narrow so we can all go to Heaven.
But it’s a ticklish subject. I mean who likes to be corrected by others… right? Done properly it can have great results but done improperly it can be a disaster. So it needs to be thought out and prayed about.
First of all I think you have to earn the right to admonish someone else. In my opinion that means you have to have some type of positive relationship with the person. They need to know you care about them and have their best interests at heart.
I might need to admonish someone I barely know but its better coming from someone else who has “earned” the right. I have seen folks who needed to be admonished and have identified someone who was close to that person and asked them to do help out. It turned out well.
Admonishment is a bit of an art as well. Consider the case of Nathan and David. David needed to be admonished but he was a King and usually people in power aren’t great at taking advice. Nathan devised a story about a great villain and waited for David’s reaction and then Nathan told David that he was the villain. David had judged himself.
If you could pick anyone in your home congregation to admonish you who would it be? For me it would be an older person who has a humble disposition, someone who is reticent about things like that. Not someone who took joy or smug satisfaction in the process. Someone like my mother maybe.
Failure to admonish others is really selfish and unloving. It’s like first aid for a bleeding wound… it needs to be bandaged. Don’t just watch someone “bleeding out” and fail to act. Step up… you might just save someone and yourself along the way.
