We
do dumb things, don't we? I mean, let's be honest. Sometimes we just do dumb,
dumb things. An elderly friend of my sister told her a story once. His name was
Bob and he said that all his life long he always did dumb things—things he
didn't think through. He would just jump in without a thought to what the
consequences would be.
Bob
had traveled quite a bit. On one of his
journeys he came across a rather large monkey in a cage at the home of one of
his friends. He was intrigued by this, so he drew closer to the monkey and was
just fascinated to see a monkey up so close. Then for some strange
reason—unbeknownst to Bob or anyone else—Bob stuck his hand through the bars
and inside the cage, wanting to touch the creature. Within seconds Bob knew he
had done something really dumb. That big old ape took a hold of Bob's arm. This
wasn't any kind of light touch or hold. This was a firm, strong, frightening
grip on Bob's arm. And that monkey would not let go.
Bob
knew that he was stuck and had no way of knowing how to get out of this pickle.
He began to pull back but the monkey would not let go. The longer the monkey
held on the more frightened Bob became. He got so desperate that he put his
foot up against the cage and try to pry his arm out through sheer force. It was
only the will of the monkey that gave Bob his resolution. After what seemed an
eternity in sheer panic the monkey simply let go.
We
all do dumb things. And we do dumb things for a variety of reasons. Sometimes
we do dumb stuff that has the funniest consequences—once they are over. And
sometimes we do really dumb stuff that takes years or maybe a lifetime to
recover from. Sometimes that dumb stuff is just plain sinful. But we did it
anyway.
Abram
and Sarai did some pretty dumb stuff.
Do you want to see some of the dumb stuff they did? Look with me at
Genesis 12. If we remember from our last Scripture we discovered the incredible
lop-sided love and covenant promise God made to Abram. That promise included
land that would belong to him, a family and generations that would prosper
despite great trouble and hardship, and eventually they would grow so big that
they would be numbered like the stars in the sky. On top of that Abram and his
family/nation would the conduit through which the whole world could be blessed.
These are pretty amazing promises!
In
order for Abram and Sarai to receive the blessings of this covenant promise
they had to take a trip. They ended up
in what we know today as Israel. But things didn't go so well there. A famine happened in the land. Everyone was
hungry, the crops had all died out, the animals were all perishing. There was
only one alternative. They had to move to a place that could sustain them. So
they went to Egypt. And on their way to
Egypt they did a dumb thing.
Read
Genesis 12:10-20
To
be completely truthful, Abram did not really tell Sarai to lie. She was his half
sister (See Genesis 20:12). In those days, marrying your half sister was not considered
wrong because "it was a way of insuring that female children from second
marriages were cared for by a household.”[1] But, what is a lie? '"A lie is an
attempt to deceive," according to one definition, and by that standard Abram
was lying when he claimed Sarai was his sister. Abram wanted to save his neck.
At
first glance this seems really selfish. And admittedly it is. But, remember Abram
had a promise from God to have many descendents with this woman. So, he really
needed to protect her by lying, right? What a dumb thing!
Didn't
Abraham know that when God promises something he will see that it gets done?!
In our ignorance and frustration, we do dumb things, because we really don't
know God's character. But rest assured, God's will is to make sure that we know
who he is and that he can be trusted with the promises he makes. Just so that
Abram and Sarai got the message (she didn't resist too much, did she?) God let
the door of consequences open and great trouble ensued.
Read
Genesis 12:17-19
We
don't know if Pharaoh knew the God of Abram or not, but we do know he had a
healthy respect for the will and the power of gods. When no logical reason was
found for the disease running rampant through his home, he went to the most
recent addition to his community. Upon the discovery of the truth he was
appalled, as he should have been.
Sometimes
we don't see the consequences of the really dumb, sinful things we do, and then
sometimes we do—and it is just frightening. The ripples seem to go for miles
after we've thrown that stone in the lake.
I can only imagine the fear that then ran through Abraham's veins. "Oh
man, that was a dumb thing to do!” But that
wasn't the last time Abram and Sarai did something dumb. They were humans just
like you and me.
Read
Genesis 16:1-16
One
of the dumbest things we can do is to be impatient. Don't you agree? How many
times have we gotten into trouble because we just couldn't wait long enough?
How many people have people been hurt and their lives overshadowed by our
mistakes and selfishness? Didn't Sarai
and Abram know by then that when God promises something he would see that it
gets done?! In our impatience and need to be gratified, we do really dumb,
sinful things. We determine to make things happen because we really don't
comprehend God's character or his will. But rest assured God's will is to make
certain that we know who he is and that he can be trusted with the promises He
makes.
Do
you think that after those two big snafus that Abram and Sarai wouldn't do dumb
things anymore? Well, we could only hope. Our next Scripture is twelve long
years since God first made his covenant with Abram. In the between these times God confirmed his
promise to this couple again and changed their names to Abraham (“father of
many”) and Sarah (“princess”). (See
Genesis 17)
Read
Genesis 18:1-15.
The
dumb things we do! By the time the three visitors sat down for a meal it was
clear to Abraham that they were very special visitors. Who else would assure
Abraham that inside of year the promised child would be sitting on his knee?
But
there was Sarah, listening in on the conversation. Sometimes the dumb things we
do are not so obvious to others. We scoff, or give way to depression or just
simply laugh in mockery to ourselves. "As if..." we might say. What
was Sarah thinking?! Twelve years she had waited. She was old. She knew she
couldn't have children. It just seemed ridiculous.
One
of the dumbest things we do is to hold unbelief in our hearts. Don't you agree?
How many times have we gotten into trouble because we just didn't believe? How
many people around us have encouraged us and we just would not accept the hope
or the possibility? And how many times have we seen promises beautifully
fulfilled, prayers answered, relief has come, help has arrived?! Unbelief can block the reality of answered
prayers.
Didn't
Sarah know by then that her husband's faith was legitimate and deep? Didn't she
know that when God promises something he will see that it gets done? In our
inward despair and hopelessness, or in our cynicism and skepticism, we do dumb
things. We decide to let go of God’s promise because we really don't comprehend
God's character. But rest assured God's
will is to make sure that we know who he is and that he can be trusted with the
promises he makes.
After
all the times that Abraham and Sarah lied, laughed, and did not believe you
would imagine that God might walk away. But we are trying to learn about God's here,
aren't we? What is God's response to those who lie, lack faith and laugh?
Read
Genesis 21:1-7. 21
It
is God's will that we stay truthful enough and open enough that we cling to
that tiny bit of faith we have. God
longs for us to see that he wants good and right and pure and lovely things for
us, even if in the past we have lied, lacked faith and laughed at him. God loves us enough to see us through every
really dumb and sinful thing we've ever done, just so that we can enjoy the
fulfillment of his promises. As long as we keep following him, looking to him
and renewing our belief in him, we can know the God of the dumb things we
do.
Perhaps
there is something that you have lied about.
Maybe there is something God has said that you have not believed or something
that you have laughed at. Or maybe there
is something that needs to be surrendered to the God who loves us enough to
send his only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for all the really dumb sinful things
we have done. Perhaps we need to repent
and rise again with Jesus Christ, the God whose character of compassion, love
and patience overrides all the dumb things we do.
Copyright
M.R. Hyde 2012
March 31, 2015
The remainder of this series in Hebrews can be found in book form at most e-book retailers and www.Smashwords.com. Paperbacks available at www.Lulu.com.
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