A Pilgrim's Journal

Enjoy!

This is the dilemma that Abraham faced many times in his life. There are two recorded instances of his dealings with such men, one in Genesis 12 with Pharaoh in Egypt, and again in Genesis 20 with Abimelech. I won't quote them here, since they are long, but you can read them easily in the version of your choice with the above links.

It is interesting that I often hear people looking down on Abraham, claiming that his deception indicated a lack of faith or trust in the Lord. In fact, even the footnotes in my KJV study Bible seem quick to point out the deception and basically call Abraham a liar.

But I cannot escape the fact that one Person seems silent on the matter. The same God that had no trouble cross-examining Job, who in God's own words was "a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil," (Job 1:8) does not say a thing to Abraham about this craftiness. God has a lot to say to Abraham. He blesses him, establishes a covenant with him, tests him, but doesn't seem to rebuke him. Abraham seems to pass God's tests each time.

When I ponder the story of Abraham and Abimelech, I start to see both a great show of faith, and a practical lesson for myself, from each man respectively.

Let's start with Sarah. This was a beautiful woman. So beautiful that men would kill for her. And she was not just beautiful to look at, but she had an inner beauty that came from trusting God. She was strong, willing to travel with her husband to who-knows-where. She was submissive, willing to do anything her husband commanded her, even to the point of calling him "master" or "lord". (1 Peter 3:6, depending on the translation)

And all this in a woman who was over 90 years old at the time! (Genesis 17:17)

So here comes Abraham, rich with flocks of animals and many servants, with this beautiful wife on his arm, marching into Abimelech's country. And Abraham can tell right way: there is no fear of God in this place. (Genesis 20:11) He can see that look in men's eyes, and knows that in their hearts, they are secretly sharpening their knives.

What would be the prudent thing to do? Get out of Dodge! But here's the problem: apparently there are many places just like this (Genesis 20:13), and Abraham has no choice. God has commanded him to be on the move. There is no going back to his father's household.

So plan A is out. What's plan B? Guards! He could hire lots of armed guards, and provide his wife with 24 hour protection. These guards would be highly trained, and they would all be female, since he couldn't really trust the guys with such a delicate task. The chuckwagon would be heavily armoured, and his wife's location would be known at all times.

That takes care of Sarah's security. But wait! The real threat is to Abraham! He is the one they want to kill, in order to take all his possessions, and his wife! So more guards are in order. This time the biggest, strongest Hebrew lads around, highly trained in martial arts, with sword, spear, and arrow. Abraham would go nowhere without his armed guard. He'd even send some ahead to make sure there were no booby traps.

Is this what Abraham does? No.

Instead, he uses crafty wisdom. Both practical wisdom and Godly wisdom.

He, and his wife, behave like brother and sister, and tell everyone that fact. (Genesis 20:12, Proverbs 22:3)

I see three reasons why this shows great faith and wisdom on Abraham's part.

First, by proclaiming Sarah as his sister, he turned all his enemies into his friends. Now, these "friends" were not any better men than when they were his enemies, except with one difference: they weren't looking to kill him anymore. Instead, they were trying to get into his good graces, and giving him gifts to get on his good side, hoping they would be the one to win the fair hand of Sarah. This is what happened in Egypt.

It may look like Abraham was too afraid to take a stand here, but remember that this is a rich man. He is not a pushover. He can easily round up 318 men of his own and go to war at the drop of a hat, which is what he did when his nephew Lot was kidnapped in Genesis 14. If the need was for war, Abraham would have been ready.

But this happens at all cities, and even though God told him to wander, and even though God promised him the land of Israel to his descendents, this was not the time to put God to the test and run into a hasty conquest. In fact, in so many ways, Abraham was a meek and humble man. (Genesis 23:7, and Genesis 12:4)

So this crisis called for a more subtle solution. Not just a practical and risky solution, but Godly solution. So...

Secondly, by proclaiming Sarah as his sister, he was placing huge and secret faith in God.

His best defence is no defence. This boggles the mind, for he opens his wife to the risk of another marriage!

When Abimelech hears of this newcomer, his eyebrows shoot up. He's the king, and no lesser man will have this woman as his wife! Sure, she's 90 years old, but have you seen her? She's a knockout.

He sends for her, and takes her:

	And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and
	Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
	   Genesis 20:2

The word "took" is the same word used between Isaac and Rebekah:

	And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took
	Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac
	was comforted after his mother's death.
	   Genesis 24:67

The Hebrew word, according to Strong's numbers, is Laqach, and can mean marriage. It doesn't always mean that, but in the context, I think the implication is strong. I don't know about you, but if I were Abraham, I'd want some different word used right about now...

But what does Abraham do?

He lets her go! What kind of man would do this? What kind of woman would? This is not the natural reaction for a man who has the means to defend his house and home.

It doesn't say if Abraham was present when Abimelech's men show up, but this was the logical conclusion of his original plan, so he couldn't be that shocked when it happened. And Sarah goes along, because that is what Abraham asked her to do.

It doesn't say what Abraham was doing while Sarah was gone, but God does call Abraham a prophet (Genesis 20:7), so it would make sense if Abraham prayed to God for help.

And what are the results?

Thirdly, by quietly trusting in God, Abraham puts the whole situation in God's hands, not man's hands, and God is glorified.

In the same country where there was no fear of God, suddenly Abimelech and his men are scared of Abraham, and terrified of God. The same men what would have thought nothing of killing Abraham to take what he had are now fearfully giving him gifts of recompense, giving Sarah gifts to clear her name, and either telling him to leave, like Pharaoh did, or pleading for a truce, like Abimelech did (Genesis 21).

All this without fighting, without bloodshed, and without the stress of trying to defend what's yours. This looks like wisdom in rough circumstances to me. The big question is: do I have that kind of faith? (Matthew 5:39-42, Romans 13:1-2)

There's one more lesson that I see in this chapter, and this is from Abimelech. He pleaded with God, saying that he had taken Sarah with integrity in his heart. He did not know she was married, so how could he be held to blame? God agreed with this analysis, but only to a certain extent. His integrity was enough to prevent his death, and enough to receive a direct warning from God, but it was not enough to keep him out of hot water. He still had to pay Abraham and Sarah for what he had done, even though by all human accounts, he couldn't have done things any better.

What's the lesson? I think the lesson is in the words of Job.

	5 If I have walked in falsehood
	  or my foot has hurried after deceit
	6 let God weigh me in honest scales
	  and he will know that I am blameless
	7 if my steps have turned from the path,
	  if my heart has been led by my eyes,
	  or if my hands have been defiled,
	8 then may others eat what I have sown,
	  and may my crops be uprooted.
	     Job 31 (NIV 1984)

I was nearly blown away when I stumbled on verse 7 the other day, because it describes me, and this world, so well. We let the desires of our heart be inspired with what we see. And this opens us up to all kinds of risk, and even manipulation by external forces. Advertising, temptation, even innocent looking things may have danger underneath, as Abimelech discovered the hard way.

What would you do if your eyes were closed? Doesn't that change your perspective? What would you do with your eyes closed, your ears plugged, your mouth shut, and your sex drive gone? Would your life suddenly be calmer? More peaceful? Would there be a different focus? Perhaps a better focus?

	39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world,
	that they which see not might see; and that they which see
	might be made blind.
	40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these
	words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
	41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin:
	but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
	   John 9:39-41
 
	Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that
	I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the
	Lord's servant?
	   Isaiah 42:19

Jesus was the ultimate blind man, seeing God and not letting His heart be led by His eyes. He is perfect: blind and deaf to the temptations of the world.

Is there a way to avoid Abimelech's error? Even in the face of a crafty defence?

	5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto
	thine own understanding.
  
	6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
	   Proverbs 3

Oh Lord, let me be similarly blind and deaf, so that I may see You!

Edit: It occurs to me that, in light of Romans 13, it could be argued that God did rebuke Abraham through the king, Abimelech, in Genesis 20:9: "thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done." How much of this message was God speaking to Abraham, and how much was just Abimelech's fear and injured pride, I'm not sure. Abimelech was the one who assumed Sarah was not married. A woman can be a sister and still be married; she might not wear a ring, and still be married.

It still seems odd to me that God, Who often talked directly to Abraham, would not have told him to stop this practice before now if it was indeed wrong. But perhaps this was the final time for Abraham's ruse, for after this came the convenant between Abraham and Abimelech, and they lived peacefully together for some time.

It's a bit long, but it's worth a read. When we hear people question the Charter in vague terms, we should be asking the same pointed questions that Bob Rae is asking here.

The text of his speech, from December 9, 2010, can be found on his blog.

No permission is needed to copy, distribute, or modify any original content of this blog. Credit is appreciated but not required.

Quoted material is, of course, still copyrighted by its original author.

This uncopyrighted status is inspired by the following article by Leo Babauta, which is also uncopyrighted, and which I copy here in explanation.

As some might know, I'm not a fan of copyright. In fact, I've uncopyrighted this blog and my other blog, Zen Habits.

And while uncopyright and minimalism might seem at first glance to be unrelated, I believe they both stem from the same mindset.

Here's how.

Copyright stems from a protective mindset, one that believes the creator owns his work, and must protect that ownership in order to profit from said work. The creator will share his work with others, but only at a price, and anyone who takes without paying, or uses it as a basis for further creations, is stealing.

That's the copyright mindset.

The uncopyright mindset is that of someone who gives without any guarantee of profit, who lets go of ownership and believes the world owns his creation. He hopes to contribute to the world in a small way, and if others benefit from this contribution, that's a good thing. And if others use his contribution to create something new and beautiful, that's a wonderful thing.

The uncopyright creator lets go of ownership, because to hold on to ownership hurts the world, and to try to protect that ownership leads to unnecessary stress.

The minimalist also eschews ownership, at least to some degree, and believes owning things doesn't make him happy. Doing things makes him happy. Helping others makes him happy. Creating makes him happy.

It is from this place that the minimalist embraces uncopyright, and in doing so gives to the world and hopes that the world will be better for it, at least in a tiny measure.

I have a few points to add:

1. I don't believe that the world owns my creation. I believe that God owns my creation, because He is the source of every possibility of creating anything. Without God, nothing would exist.
2. I have experienced much internal stress, to varying degrees over the years, over copyright. The headache that the world adds to the average person is unnecessary. In the software world, it is even worse. The mass of busywork added just to manage software licenses is enormous. Now, there's not much software on this blog. This blog is about ideas and discoveries. And I generally use the GPL or explicit public domain for software, and I intend to continue to do so. But if anyone reads this blog (there's not too many at the moment), I want to lift the weight of adhering to copyright law from his shoulders. I do not want to inflict on others what has been a burden to me.
3. Jesus says in Matthew 10:8, "freely ye have received, freely give." That's a great attitude and policy to have. "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." (1 Tim. 6:7)
4. This is a small opportunity to put my beliefs into action. Instead of fearfully hanging onto my creation in the hopes of material benefit, I give it away freely, and look to God to meet my needs. I think that the world has proven the faithfulness of God, unwittingly, more than many Christians have. I should try to at least join such ranks in promoting freedom and love.

Louis Nizer, Between You and Me, Beechurst Press, 1948.

There is an aphorism about a farmer who before sunrise on a cold and misty morning, saw a huge beast on a distant hill. He seized his rifle and walked cautiously toward the ogre to head off an attack on his family. When he got nearer, he was relieved to find that the beast was only a small bear. He approached more confidently and when he was within a few hundred yards the distorting haze had lifted sufficiently so that he could recognize the figure as only that of a man. Lowering his rifle, he walked toward the stranger and discovered he was his brother.

Louis Nizer, My Life in Court (1961), p. 443.

Both found on WikiQuote.

Now, if you read the news these days, you might be raising your eyebrows at the idea of getting sex advice from Catholics, but in my view, ideas are ideas, regardless of where they come from. It is best to test all the ideas, to make sure they are good; but you might find good ideas in the strangest of places, and bad ideas in the most trusted of mouths.

So I've been slowly reading through the book... and instead of trying to summarize what I've read so far, I'll just quote a few sections from chapter 2, which compares Holy Sex (a term stressed in this book) vs. Eroticism.

	In Love and Responsibility, Karol Wojtyla argued that
	shame, in the healthiest sense of the word, is a virtue that
	protects us from being used.  Just as fear causes us to run from
	physical harm, and guilt causes us to run from moral harm, shame
	-- in the healthiest sense of the word -- is a feeling given
	to us by God that protects us from offences against our dignity
	as human persons.  Shame is the feeling that lets us know when
	other people are trying to use us as things rather than love
	us as people.  In this sense, shame is actually a positive,
	protective emotion."
		- page 20

This quote is in the context of explaining that Holy Sex takes away shame, while eroticism adds it. Both are pleasurable, but when the focus is on actually loving the other person in a giving way, instead of giving just enough to get what you need for yourself, shame is removed, and you stop using your parter, and rather give. The author points out that only after sin did Adam and Eve feel "ashamed," and he argues that it was only then that they realized that "besides loving and respecting each other... they could use each other as well."

I also like to think of it as being clothed in righteousness. When Adam and Eve were created, they were clothed in righteousness, but after they sinned, they were naked, spiritually, and tried to make up for that by covering their flesh.

I like to contrast the story in Genesis with the message of Jesus to the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3:

"You say, I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see." - Revelation 3:17-18 NIV

Anyway, on to the next quote, which gets better.

	As ... in our discussion of shame, eroticism is primarily
	concerned with what it can get out of the other person without
	having to give too much in return. [...] Wives, in particular,
	complain to me all the time about otherwise loving men who pout
	and become angry if their wives ask to take the night off from
	love-making.  And husbands complain to me about wives who never
	want to be intimate until their wives are trying to "soften them
	up" to get something else out of them.	Both are examples of
	how we treat sex as a right and our lover as a vending machine
	designed for our gratification rather than a person deserving of
	love and respect.  ... when this happens, sex ceases to really
	be about love and becomes a means to an end..."
		- page 22

Compare this with 1 Corinthians 7:

	The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and
	likewise the wife to her husband.  The wife's body does not
	belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way,
	the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his
	wife.  Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and
	for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then
	come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of
	your lack of self-control.  I say this as a concession, not as
	a command.  I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has
	his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.
		1 Corinthians 7:3-7 (NIV)

So while the wife does have a right to her husband's body, and the husband to his wife's body, it is not loving to demand it selfishly. Rather, it is better to work hard to make sure your partner's rights are fulfilled, before your own.

And one more quote, on total intimacy:

	Even in marriage, couples can hold back from each other.
	For instance, I'm often shocked by couples who think that praying
	together is "too intimate."  What do they think sex is?  Unless
	they learn to share their souls, such a couple will never be able
	to experience Holy Sex, because Holy Sex is a kind of prayer.
	If you don't challenge yourselves to share your souls outside
	the bedroom, you won't be able to share your souls in
	the bedroom, and your lovemaking will suffer because less than
	all of you will be showing up for the experience.
		- page 25

I hope the author doesn't mind these block quotes, but I found them insightful enough that I wanted to share.

May God bless your godly intimate relationships with fullness and joy.

This was written back in April, in my work-in-progress queue, but in re-reading it, it seems complete as-is. Time to post it.

Every now and then, I pick a month and try to read through the book of Proverbs at the pace of one chapter a day. This is very convenient, since there are 31 chapters in Proverbs, and often 31 days in a month.

This practice has, over the years, caused many Biblical Proverbs to pop into my mind at random times when the situation warranted it. Despite this amazing and beneficial result, there are many parts of Proverbs that have just not sunk in yet. The benefit of reading Proverbs regularly is that you remember what it says. The danger is that you start to gloss over the parts that are poetically familiar to you.

Chapter 5 is one of those parts for me. I can almost quote the chapter in the NIV translation, it is so familiar to me. Yet there are new things to find in it when I take the time to study it with an open mind, instead of speeding past the flowing lines.

So this blog post is primarily for myself, to remind my feeble brain of the things I've discovered, so I don't forget them later.

Word #1: Ponder

The first word to consider is found in verse 5:6.

	Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life,
	her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
	   Proverbs 5:6

	She gives no thought to the way of life;
	her paths are crooked, but she knows it not.
	   Proverbs 5:6 (NIV)

It is unclear whether this verse is talking to the reader (i.e. the man that could potentially fall into adultery) or whether it is talking about the adulteress. I think both are useful (and both might be accurate), but I'll focus on the first translation.

The word "ponder," according to Strong's concordance, is from the Hebrew word "palac" which means: properly, to roll flat, i.e. prepare (a road); also to revolve, i.e. weigh (mentally):--make, ponder, weigh.

The same word is used in the two other verses close by. Here they are in different translations, as well as a cross reference:

	Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
	   Proverbs 4:26

	Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.
	   Proverbs 4:26 (NIV)

	And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame
	be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
	   Hebrews 12:13

	For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord,
	and he pondereth all his goings.
	   Proverbs 5:21

So the wise man will:

1. ponder the path of his feet
2. remember that the Lord sees all his paths, whether good or evil
3. remember that the Lord also ponders the man's paths, whether the man does or not (in fact, other verses in Proverbs indicate that the alternate translation of "ponder" is also accurate, in the sense that the Lord directs, limits, or blesses men's paths as well: see Proverbs 16:9; 20:24 and Lamentations 3:37)
4. realize that one of the main dangers of the adulteress is how hard it is to ponder his own path, let alone finding the path of life, when the woman he is joined to is not firm, stable, nor established

Word #2: Captivate

Okay, on to the fun word. But there's a life and death choice in these passages as well.

The word, translated "captivated" in the NIV, or "ravished" in the KJV, is from the Hebrew word (again, from Strong's concordance) shagah. This word means:

	to stray (causatively, mislead), usually
	(figuratively) to mistake, especially (morally) to transgress;
	by extension (through the idea of intoxication) to reel,
	(figuratively) be enraptured:--(cause to) go astray, deceive,
	err, be ravished, sin through ignorance, (let, make to)
	wander.

Now, I'll quote Proverbs 5:15-23, and insert a marker every place that the word shagah is used, in verses 19, 20, and 23:

	15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters
	   out of thine own well.
	16 Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters
	   in the streets.
	17 Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee.
	18 Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
	19 Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts
	   satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished [shagah] always
	   with her love.
	20 And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished [shagah] with a strange
	   woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
	21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord,
	   and he pondereth all his goings.
	22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall
	   be holden with the cords of his sins.
	23 He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his
	   folly he shall go astray. [shagah]

Here, God is telling us that he knows perfectly well that a man can and will be captivated by a loving woman. This was the way He designed it.

But the choice put before us is this: do we allow ourselves to be captivated by the path of life, or by the path of death?

The path of life is to be captivated by your own wife: create your own home, your own family, and receive your own blessings from the Lord.

The path of death is to be captivated by sin, by the very same bond of marital love, but with the wrong woman. The wrong woman can be another man's wife, or an unbelieving woman. The word used for "adulteress" or "strange woman" is also translated "stranger" or "alien." If your potential wife is a stranger from God, by whom are you being captivated?

And just as the cords of marital bliss are a powerful force of captivity for good, the cords of sin will hold the sinner and the wicked man, with a powerful force for evil. His own folly will captivate him with the same kind of strength and power that is meant to hold a godly couple together in marriage.