Genesis 18:17-19–Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation

Posted by Seth on Jan 29, 2010 in Bible Study, Daily Devotions |

Genesis 18:17-19–Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation

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Welcome to today’s Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation covering Genesis 18:17-19 wherein we see that truth spoken and lived are an inseparable duo in God’s eyes.

The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.”

God was about to pay a painful visit to an area that cared little for Him and Abraham was aware of this. But what Abraham also knew was that he had some family that resided there, family that he had invested a great deal in and even come to the rescue of. Remember nephew Lot? Well, it would have been a hard thing for Abraham to deal with, knowing that God would very likely destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, but the righteousness and justice of the Lord that Abraham was to explain to his descendants included acts of judgment. God therefore chose to reveal more of this aspect of His character to Abraham.

Take a moment to notice some of the specifics of what was to come through this patriarch. His family was to become great and be a blessing to the world, something that has been noted already on different occasions. But a new thing to recognize, although it had been implied through the story of Abraham’s life thus far, was God’s choosing of Abraham: For I have chosen him is what is here declared. This is significant if we consider this man’s past. He did not come from a God-fearing home and yet God spoke into his life and changed everything! The Lord had a plan and Abraham was to be one of His favored instruments. The details of this plan are then outlined. There was to be more to the blessing of Abraham than simply Abraham’s receiving of it. No, he had a job to do and it was a job that was all about evangelism. He was to command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice. This is the “why” of God’s choosing him and he would do such so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has promised him. Do you see what is happening here? God made a covenant with Abraham that would affect the world long beyond his life. And so, the blessing that would come to the nations would ride on the message of truth that Abraham’s family would live out and share among themselves and bring to others!

This informs us about a couple of huge things, if we will only accept them. First, we who share the faith of Abraham have a responsibility to perpetuate the truth that this faith is coupled with. Truth has been further revealed through the coming of Christ our (and Abraham’s) Savior. Blessing is still to come to the peoples of the earth as they hear and accept God’s truth. Second, the doing of justice and righteous that is mentioned here means that our lives must fall in accord with the truth we profess to adhere to. Truth declared and truth lived–this is to be the life of the faithful Christian. How are we doing at this? In what areas are we compromising or where is there a great disconnect between the two? Are both strong in us? Let us evaluate and humble ourselves before the God of Abraham today.

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