Brief Summary:
- Genesis 19: God rescues Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah
- Genesis 20: Abraham and Abimelech
- Genesis 21: Birth of the promised child, Isaac
In the World, But Not of the World
• We see Lot living in the sin-filled city of Sodom, but he has kept himself away from the practices of the Sodomites. How can we be in the sinful world but not take part in the sinful practices of this world? That’s a great learning from Lot.
• Another thing I learned from Lot is his hospitality. In Hebrews 13:2, we read, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers.” How do I entertain strangers? Are my dinner gatherings and my social networks just a group of close-knit friends? Or am I open and hospitable to strangers? Newcomers to the country, Students, People living by themselves? People who really need someone. That’s a hard reality check.
He Lingered…
• I’m focusing on verse 16. And I compare it to my life situation. When God, in His abundant grace, is making a way for my life to be spared, for my situation to be changed, to protect me from a coming danger. How is my response? How many times have I lingered? Many times, I have procrastinated and said, “Maybe next time, Lord. Maybe next week, Lord.”
• God relentlessly pursues me, just like how the angels brought him out of the city. Verse 16 reads, “The men seized him and his wife and his daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and brought him out.” I think my life is like that. If God had let me go in my own way, I would have just lingered and procrastinated God’s plan in my life. But many times, God intervened. I thank God for His mercy.
The God Who Remembers
• I’m focusing on verse 29. It is crucial for a believer to follow Abraham’s example by sincerely interceding for his brothers, fellow believers, and non-believers, because God remembers our prayers. “God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out.” This is similar to Genesis 8:1 – “God remembered Noah.”
• God is such a great God that He never forgets. He remembers us and our prayers. Not a single supplication made to God goes unheard.
The Integrity of the Heart and the Innocence of the Hands
• I’m learning this from Abimelech, King of Gerar. Abraham dropped the ball. The faith giant was afraid again and told the people that Sarah was his sister. God warned Abimelech in a dream and told him not to approach Sarah because she’s someone else’s wife.
• Abimelech has the boldness to tell God that he has integrity in his heart and his hands are innocent. I want to be someone like that, to have integrity in my heart and innocence in my hand, but the beautiful thing is that God kept Abimelech from sinning.
• God has a way of bringing about a miracle in a man’s life. This king of Gerar needed to take someone else’s wife, and God had to intervene through dreams. The one who lied ended up praying. Then God healed the womb of his wife and all his female slaves. God definitely works in strange ways.
The Promise Keeper
• I am meditating on chapter 21, where it says, “The Lord visited Sarah, and the Lord did to Sarah as He promised.”
• How many times do I wait on a promise? And He did it at the time that He found it right. At the time that He promised, not when Isaac wanted, not when Sarah needed it. When God found it was the right time.
How to Obey When I Don’t Feel Like
• This is an observation from Abraham. Sarah wanted to send Hagar and Ishmael away. It seemed unfair, and Abraham was not in favor of this request, but God told Abraham to listen to her. How can I obey when it appears unjust and I disagree? How can I obey when I cannot see the bigger picture?
Open my eyes, Lord!
Loneliness and the fatherless son are Hagar’s only companions. The supplies are empty. As a single mother, she gave up all hope and decided to leave her son to die and move away, because she does not have it in her to see him die.
At the wit’s end, God showed up, opened her eyes to a well of water, and reignited the Hope she had lost.
Applications:
How can I be like Lot? How can I minister to and welcome strangers?
Am I taking God’s warning too lightly?
How clean are my heart and hands? My thoughts and actions?
God, keep me from sinning as you did for Abimelech, and open my eyes as you opened the eyes of Hagar.
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