Wednesday, January 11, 2012

The Riches of Abram Whose Descendants Will Number the Stars in the Sky

    Today’s Reading:
  • Genesis 13:5-15:21
  • Proverbs 1:29-33
Read Bible Passages Online

Genesis 13:5-15:21
In this passage Abram gathered his 318 trained males and marched against the enemies that captured his nephew Lot. Abram was remarkably rich! Abram was like a king of sorts, or at least he acted like one; pulling his men together, marching on and defeating the enemy all by himself, when four kings combined couldn’t stop the invading force. I am quite impressed.

The rest of the passage told of the covenant, where God told Abram what was to come in the future – Abram will have a son (even though Sarai is barren) and his descendents will number the stars in the sky. God told him that his descendents will be enslaved for 400 years before returning to the promised land. God even told Abram how he was to die – in piece, at a ripe old age.

I wonder what it was like to receive promises straight from God himself, and how wonderful it must have felt. Or simply how glorious it was to know the Lord was always with you, because he spoke to you personally. Don’t get me wrong, I know the Lord is with me, but I still can’t help but long for the personal closeness and interaction Abram had with the Lord himself.

Proverbs 1:29-33
This proverb is a continuation of what I read yesterday. It reinforces that all those who mock wisdom will be “destroyed by their own complacency” (32). All of this is very true. No one likes to hear “I told you so,” but that’s essentially what this is. If someone tells you, and you don’t listen to their advice, you can expect no more than “I told you so” from them, can you?

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