Day 5 – September 8, 2023: Genesis 12-16, John 8-8

We have to cover both the Old and the New Testament Scriptures because they both contain some of the most important stories of the Bible. Abraham is called in chapter 12 to leave his land and to follow God’s promise that he will make of him a great nation. He does, he leaves, he calls his wife his sister when they are in Egypt, he gets rich off of that scheme, and then they settle in Canaan where they way to have a child. But no child comes but God repeats the promise to Abraham, which is called the Abrahamic covenant that he will have a child through him this covenant will be realized.

Abram and Sarai decide they have waited long enough so it is time to take matters into their own hands and they have Abram sleep with a slave. Along comes Ishmael after Hagar runs away from Sarai and then returns. The historical importance of all of this is that all three of the modern people of the book, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim, see Abraham as “father” Abraham. We even have a song about it. It is from Abraham through whom the people of God come for the Jew. It is through Ishmael that the people of faith come, according to the Muslim, and it is through Abraham that Jesus comes as the Savior of the world. Abraham is absolutely a pivotal and central figure in our salvation story. It bears saying it clearly.

On to the New Testament where Abraham is discussed and where the enemies of Jesus say that they have Abraham as a father so why would they need a Savior. It is in the midst of that context that truth is bandied about. In that setting my favorite Bible verse is spoken by Jesus. Look at John 8:36 and you can mark it in your Bible as Pastor Bob’s favorite Bible verse. But the truth matters, people. And we are not at liberty to make up the truth as we would like it simply because the actual truth doesn’t meet our needs or our desires. The fact that Jesus calls himself the way, the truth, and the life should remind us of how important it is not to try to make the truth after our own image. There is nothing more dangerous than that.