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6 January. Genesis chapters 19-21
At the end of the last chapter of yesterday’s reading, the story turned suddenly to that of the destruction of Sodom and its neighbouring towns. Here is Abraham the trader, using haggling skills that he has no doubt used many times in his life to buy or sell animals or other goods. But this time he is haggling to save lives – not quite disinterestedly, for his nephew Lot lives in Sodom. He stops the bargaining at ten – possibly the size of Lot’s family? And God agrees not to destroy the town if only ten people are righteous. God’s mercy is great, but it has its limits – it turns out that not even that number are available to save their community.
Even allowing for the passage of time and different cultures, as I hinted yesterday, I still find the attitudes to women in these chapters astonishing. Is Lot really saying that he will let his betrothed-but-still-virgin daughters be raped rather than his guests? Or is this irony – “you know I couldn’t possibly give my daughters, still less would I give up my guests”?
In the next chapter (20) we see the “my sister not my wife” deception played out again, just as with a previous ruler. Has Abraham not learnt his lesson yet, that trust in God must overrule any earthly fears? Fortunately this time the king does nothing to Sarah – perhaps not surprisingly as she is now an old woman! Another storyline repeats itself with the second banishment of Hagar and her son. One can hardly imagine the desperation of someone faced with starvation – surely she would have given her son any last bits of food and water that they had – yet so many people in the world today face just such a situation. May the Lord meet their needs as he did Hagar’s.