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Hello <<First Name>> <<Last Name>>,
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Often times we think only of today and ignore the reality that our actions have consequences. Some of those consequences are so distant in the future we cannot predict them, nor may we ever see them but that makes them no less real. This is what we see in Genesis 26:1-11. In Genesis 12 when Abraham first came through Canaan and went to Egypt due to a famine he told the Egyptians Sarah was his sister rather than his wife. He again did this in Genesis 24 with the people of Gerar. Interestingly enough, when Isaac finds himself in Gerar years later, after Abraham’s death, Isaac responds to his fear of a king in exactly the same way as his father.
Abraham wasn’t there to council his son in this matter, but Abraham’s character had reflected his fear of men to his son so that when Isaac found himself in the same situation as his father, rather than trusting God, he responded as his father had. Isaac inherited his father’s character by watching how Abraham lived out his life. Abraham’s actions had consequences for his offspring long after Abraham was gone. He trusted God when God told him to stay in Canaan. We see in this passage that Isaac learned that character trait well from his father. But Abraham also feared people and circumstances, a character trait that Isaac learned from his father also. Abraham’s actions had both good and bad consequences for his son’s understanding of God and God’s protection. It enabled Isaac to stay when God said say, but also enabled him to respond to fear by lying, rather than trusting God.
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But in addition to that, Abraham and Isaac’s actions had consequences on the people they lied to. In all three circumstances the king found out and was angry saying “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us. (v.10)” Their actions could have easily caused another to sin. In their fear they put their wives in dangerous situations and they tempted others to sin as well.
What are your actions and character telling others about what you believe about Christ? Are you living your life in a way that will draw people to Christ or one that has the potential to trip them up and push them away from Christ? In a culture where we are encouraged to think of ourselves first, are you being a champion for the people around you by putting their needs: spiritual, personal, relational, economical, etc., before your own? Are you living out a character that shows them the truth about Christ?
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Text By: Kristen Davis
Photo from:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z_eQPejiRso/TWJ6x8ipjGI/AAAAAAAAALo/opDotMPnp70/s1600/zdominoes2.png
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