Sin is insidious for the image bearers of the Almighty. It separates us from God, and it brings a myriad of consequences that can wreak havoc in our lives. Over and over, God warns us about falling into the snare of sin. Even when Cain fought the battle against anger, God warned him about the consequences of letting sin get the upper hand in his life:
“The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?
If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:6-7 ESV).
Even then, God warned man that sin had a desire contrary to us. Yet Cain did not listen to God and gave in to sin’s desire. Man has been throwing caution to the wind ever since and letting sin’s desires have its way with us. And when his parents sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, God pronounces consequences upon them for their sin.
We often look at sin’s consequences as punishment from God, but when we take an honest look into Scripture, we see God waving His hands in front of us, trying to get us to see that if we walk down the path of sin, we will reap consequences He knows will make our lives miserable. He desperately wants us to avoid those consequences, yet we arrogantly forge our own path through sin with little thought of the warnings our Creator gives to us.
Even Abraham had to deal with the consequences of sin. Yet, a cursory reading of his life may lead us to think God built a hedge around Him that even sin could not penetrate. Do you remember the promise God made to him as He forged this man into a new nation?
“I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3 ESV).
The inhabitants of Canaan knew Abraham was a prince among them and had God's favor upon him, so they treated him accordingly. With little more than 300 men, God gave Abraham victory over five kings. If any man could be said to have the Midas touch, it was Abraham, and everyone knew it.
But this man who believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness, was still a sinner. Just like with his forefather Cain, sin crouched at his door, and its desire was for him. We know his sin. On two occasions, rather than choose to let God protect him, he acted in fear and lied to save his own skin. In a disgraceful act, he was even willing to put his wife at risk to save his own life.
First, it was with Pharaoh.
“When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance,
and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me, but they will let you live.
Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.” (Genesis 12:11-13 ESV).
So Abraham put his evil plan into motion and told the lie. What was his reward?
“And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.” (Genesis 12:16 ESV).
This was the beginning of God making him a rich man. Abraham went into Egypt with a lie and left with riches. Where were the consequences of sin for Abraham? Did God overlook his sins and allow him to act with impunity? No, he still had to deal with the consequences of his sin. Perhaps, in our culture, it’s hard to see, but look at what he had to endure when he sinned in Egypt.
God afflicted the Egyptians because they took Sarah, Abraham’s wife. When Pharaoh found out, he was furious with him and expelled him from the land.
“So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?
Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.”
And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.” (Genesis 12:18-20 ESV).
That’s it? All he had to do was leave with great wealth? Where are the consequences of his sins? It looks like God rewarded his lie. However, we do not take into consideration the honor culture in which Abraham lived. Honor was everything to the people of his day, and when we read Pharaoh’s admonition to Abraham when He called out his deceit, we see that Abraham lost honor. This was no small matter.
God allowed his chosen image bearer to suffer the indignity of disgrace because of his sin. While God promised to honor those who honored him, He allowed Abraham to suffer the shame of his sin. This would have undoubtedly made a miserable ride home for Abraham and Sarah, even with their newfound wealth in tow.
Rather than learning how to rule over his sin, Abraham lets its desire have its way with him again. This time, with Abimelech.
“From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar.
And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.” (Genesis 20:1-2 ESV).
Well, the same thing happened, and God caused an innocent man to suffer because of Abraham’s lie. But Abimelech cries out to God and pleads his innocence.
“But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife.”
Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people?
Did he not himself say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she herself said, 'He is my brother.' In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” (Genesis 20:3-5 ESV).
God knew who was at fault. He knew who had let sin crouch at his door, and so he protected the innocent man by giving him a warning.
“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.
Now then, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.” (Genesis 20:6-7 ESV).
Once again, Abraham had to lose honor and suffer indignity because of his sin. God did not withhold this terrible consequence from him. Listen to the words of Abimelech as he forces Abraham to endure the disgrace of his actions:
“Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.”
And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” (Genesis 20:9-10 ESV).
I submit that we have a tough time grasping the indignity and humiliation Abraham had to endure because of his sins. It was one of the worst things someone in his culture had to go through, and God allowed him to suffer the consequences of his sins. While Abraham left Pharaoh and Abimelech with riches, he lost his reputation as an honorable man. This would undoubtedly be a lingering stain upon him for the rest of his life.
Yes, God protected Abraham and blessed him richly for his belief. He counted Abraham's belief as righteousness, and he is called the father of our faith. But he was a man touched by sin who had to suffer the consequences for letting sin crouch at his door.
We must walk away with the lesson God has been teaching man since the dawn of creation. Sin desires us and wants to rule over us. We must learn to rule over it. With the help of the Savior and the Spirit, we have all we need to rule over sin and keep its consequences away.
But even the best of us give into sin’s deceptive allurement. When that happens, we may have to suffer the consequences it brings, but we don’t have to let it consume us. We have an advocate ready to keep the most heinous consequences of sin at bay.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 ESV).
John goes on to say,
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” (1 John 2:1 ESV).
God never promised to shield us from all consequences of our sins, but He has promised that our sins will not defeat us as long as we walk with our Lord. Before we sin, let’s consider the consequences we may be bringing into our lives and use that as a deterrent as we remember the ancient advice our God once gave,
“If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:7 ESV).
I'm the crazy one.
When I look at the complexity of life and the universe around me, I believe a designer created it.
When I see mathematical formulas and precision in nature, I believe an intelligent Being is responsible for it.
But the vast number of those who are highly educated among us will tell us that everything happened by chance and that life spontaneously came into existence on its own.
Yet, I'm the crazy one.
Lately, I have been working on being the type of person who gives grace like Jesus gives grace.
Jesus offers grace when we don't deserve it. I suppose if we deserved it, it wouldn't be grace.
But it's really hard to give grace to people who don't deserve it. The more I work on that part of my Kingdom living, the more I appreciate just how amazing God's grace is to me.
Sometimes, when I get angry at someone,
Complain about something,
Get ready to return evil for evil,
Lose patience with someone,
Find fault in others,
Or place blame rather than give grace,
I stop and wonder how I would feel if Jesus returned as I was doing any of those things.
It gives me wonderful perspective.
I say I wonder that sometimes.
I wish I wondered that all the time.
I am in the book of 1 Chronicles in my daily Bible reading. We read about the transition of the throne from Saul to David. One verse I love shows how David is after God's heart. He was a man who remembered who he was and who God was:
“And David inquired of God, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” And the LORD said to him, “Go up, and I will give them into your hand.” (1 Chronicles 14:10 ESV).
When David had a crown on his head, loyal subjects ready to die for him, and an army of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, he still asked the Lord to guide his path.
When the Lord blesses us, let's never forget where our blessings come from and grow arrogant in our hearts. Let us always inquire of God as though our life depends on it.
It still does.