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Gen. 16
I’m thinking about Hagar this morning. Though God’s chosen line was as yet undeveloped, Hagar, as an Egyptian woman, clearly did not belong to it. Yet God sought her out, cared for her, and brought her back to where He was. I would say that God called her to repentance. I say that because her way was to despise and no doubt contend with Sarai, who had authority over her, and to flee from God’s presence, which was with Abram. Like all humanity, she chose the path that led to destruction. God, however, told her to turn from her way. He didn’t simply send her back to Abram and Sarai, but He also told her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority.” (Gen. 16:9b).
Submitting to those in authority over us is the counterpoint to serving those under our authority. It is through these two attitudes that we demonstrate God’s love at work in us; that let others know we belong to Him. They are foundational to His upside-down kingdom. And we can only live them out through our submission to God and the power of His promise in us. We achieve them only through total repentance. So God essentially told Hagar to go and sin no more.
I see this as yet another expression of the truth that Gentiles were part of God’s plan from the very beginning. It might even demonstrate what Paul discussed in Romans – that the Jews’ rejection of God’s promise, i.e. Sarai taking matters into her own hands, led to salvation for the Gentiles, which in turn led to jealousy in the Jews, which God then used to bring them back to His promise. The story also makes me curious as to if and how Sarai and Hagar’s relationship might have changed on Hagar’s return.
Matt. 15
As far as I can tell, Jesus was in Gennesaret when the Pharisees came to Him from Jerusalem. From what I read, Gennesaret was roughly 70-80 miles north of Jerusalem. Which means those Pharisees and scribes traveled at least four days to ask Jesus why His disciples didn’t keep the tradition of the elders. That’s dedication to a cause!! Unfortunately, it was the wrong cause. It seems that not everybody pursues Jesus for the right reasons. God says that if you seek, you will find. However, I think you find what you are looking for. If you are truly seeking truth, God will reveal Himself to you. If, however, you are seeking to justify and bolster your own position, as these religious leaders were, I suspect you will find what you want to find and will ignore the rest. The blind will stay blind until they really desire to see.
Neh. 5
The opposing behavior of Nehemiah and the other Jewish nobles and rulers is an example for today’s Church. The nobles and rulers ruled according to the ways of man. What they took from their subjects may well have been rightfully theirs. However, they took it for their own advantage to the detriment of those subject to them. Nehemiah’s actions, however, are in line with what we read in the New Testament from Jesus and the writers of the various epistles.
Jesus told His disciples, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave” (Matt. 20:25b-27). Then we read of the early Church in Acts. “For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.” (Acts 4:34-35).
As Christians, we are supposed to love one another. That means that we help each other out as needed. And what we don’t do is take advantage of each other for our own personal gain, even when it is within our rights to do so. Paul wrote a lot about that in his letters. Like Nehemiah, he did not impose himself on the people he was there to serve. I wonder how different today’s Church would look if Christ’s followers freely supported each other according to God’s ways.