No matter what we've done wrong, it could be worse. Sure, we've all succumbed to temptation and sin, but God has graciously spared us from ultimate disaster.
A man once took another man's wife, innocently thinking it was his sister. The man was a king named Abimelech, and Sarah - wife of Abraham - was the woman he innocently took with sexual intention. But, God spared this unknowing king.
"God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, 'You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.'" (Genesis 20:3).
Abimelech declared his innocence (verse 5), and God reveals a fascinating truth: "Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her." (Genesis 20:6).
This verse and truth indicates there is precedent for God intervening to spare people from grievous downfalls because of sin. We might wonder why He didn't spare king David from his sordid affair with Bathsheba. Amidst David's willful sin, God's grace prevented even worse things for this man after God's own heart.
Truth be told, you and I know we've been spared by God from worse things. With very little introspection, we can identify circumstances when temptation to sin was strong, and yet we did not yield. Sure, we painfully recall times when we did yield, but even then His grace spared us from something worse.
We know little about a king named Abimelech; far less than we know about Abraham and Sarah. But, there must have been something in his heart for God that God would spare him from grievous sin. As those whose hearts are set upon God our Father, through Jesus our Lord, we can live with confidence that He is actively at work, sparing us from greater disasters in our conduct.
Jesus' model prayer takes on special significance this day, in light of the lessons of Abimelech: "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil".
Steve
©Steve Taylor, 2012
A man once took another man's wife, innocently thinking it was his sister. The man was a king named Abimelech, and Sarah - wife of Abraham - was the woman he innocently took with sexual intention. But, God spared this unknowing king.
"God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, 'You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.'" (Genesis 20:3).
Abimelech declared his innocence (verse 5), and God reveals a fascinating truth: "Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her." (Genesis 20:6).
This verse and truth indicates there is precedent for God intervening to spare people from grievous downfalls because of sin. We might wonder why He didn't spare king David from his sordid affair with Bathsheba. Amidst David's willful sin, God's grace prevented even worse things for this man after God's own heart.
Truth be told, you and I know we've been spared by God from worse things. With very little introspection, we can identify circumstances when temptation to sin was strong, and yet we did not yield. Sure, we painfully recall times when we did yield, but even then His grace spared us from something worse.
We know little about a king named Abimelech; far less than we know about Abraham and Sarah. But, there must have been something in his heart for God that God would spare him from grievous sin. As those whose hearts are set upon God our Father, through Jesus our Lord, we can live with confidence that He is actively at work, sparing us from greater disasters in our conduct.
Jesus' model prayer takes on special significance this day, in light of the lessons of Abimelech: "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil".
Steve
©Steve Taylor, 2012
posted by steve @ 8:39 AM
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