day no. 14,206: hello, my name is "I do"

Genesis 24:63-67

And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming. 64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel 65 and said to the servant, “Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. 66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

 

Isaac went out for a walk in the field and ended up attending his own impromptu wedding. A bride and groom are not typically introduced at the altar, but here we see, "Nice to meet you," followed by, "I do." And Isaac loved her. This may seem extreme, and perhaps it is, but that only implies then that our marriages, followed by months of engagement - preceded by months (if not years) of dating, should be all the more set up for long term success, right?

 

Right?

day no. 14,205: devotion is worth as much as it costs to pay it

Genesis 23:13, 16, 19

And (Abraham) said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, “But if you will, hear me: I give the price of the field. Accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there.” Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants. 19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.

Our devotion is worth as much as it costs us to pay it.

day no. 14,204: the wood laid on his son

Genesis 22:6

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together.

 

Isaac carried his own wood up the hill. Jesus carried His own cross up Calvary. Isaac was saved by a substitute. Jesus substituted Himself to save us.

day no. 14,203: when it says, it does

Genesis 21:1

And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken.

 

The Word is living and active. God keeps His Word, because His Word never comes back void. It does what it says because when it says, it does.

day no. 14,202: no fear

Genesis 20:8, 10-11

So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” 11 Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, 'There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.'"

 

Abimelech did the one thing Abraham suspected he would never do: fear the Word of God.

day no. 14,201: but what about that one time?

Genesis 20:6

Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her.

 

God did not let Abimelech sin. God can and does interfere with our wishes and keeps us from doing things we would have otherwise done. So one might reply, "Then why doesn't He always do this?" to which I would reply, "I don't know." But He clearly can. So it is in His wisdom that He chooses to interfere and change minds sometimes, but not any and every time. I don't know why, but that doesn't rob Him of His sovereignty.

day no. 14,200: less than ideal

Genesis 19:30-32, 36-38

Now Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 31 And the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth. 32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” 36 Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. 37 The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38 The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.

 

So this is… less than ideal. I can see where the daughters are coming from only in the sense that most men they knew were piles of ashes in the valley still smoking below them and there were no sons of Lot to be found. So Lot's name and family was likely to die with them in this cave. So to be fair, it's not an unimportant problem that they're trying to resolve. That said, desperate times never call for desperate measures like this. This goes to show that being good requires more than good intentions. You can find yourself sincerely attempting to help, but sincerity can still be sin.