“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” — Randall Terry
Have you ever done something embarrassing or dumb, then thought, “Good grief!! Why did I do that?? I should have known better!”
I love studying the patriarchs of our faith. Let me tell you, they were quite the characters and their lives could have been made into soap operas as easily as mine could have! Genesis 20 -21 and Genesis 26 tells of an instance that would fit into these circumstances.
**Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her. But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.” Now Abimelek had not gone near her, and he said, “LORD, will You destroy an innocent nation? Did he not say to me, “She is my sister,” and didn’t she also say, “He is my brother? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.” Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, so I have kept you from sinning against Me. This is why I did not let you touch her. Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.” Genesis 20:1-7
** Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelek said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.” — Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaved so they could have children again, for the LORD had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah. Genesis 20:14-15,17-18
Now fast forward a generation…
**When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.” Genesis 26:7
**So Abimelek gave orders to all the people: “Anyone who harms this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.” Genesis 26:11
Did you catch that? In Genesis 20, Abimelek, the Philistine king, is duped by Abraham (over a woman) and almost dies. In Genesis 26, the one and same Abimelek is deceived AGAIN (over a woman) by Abraham’s son Isaac.
When reading these chapters, I realized they are almost identical. Abraham deceived Abimelek with a lie about his wife, Sarah. Isaac deceived him with a lie about his wife, Rebekah. How thick is this king’s skull?? How many times does it take to get the point??
Looking at Abimelek’s story, it’s easy for me to say, “Well, duh! What did you think would happen?!?” I have access to the story from the beginning to end, but he was living through it.
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” — Albert Einstein
How many times do I do the same thing I’ve always done and expect different results? ALL THE TIME!! I do not need anyone else to interfere and force me to make bad decisions. I do that plenty on my own!
If I eat the way I always have, my body will look the way it always has. If I spend to the end of our paycheck every time we get paid, our savings will never grow. If I continue to expend all of my time and energy, rest will continue to elude me. If I repeatedly put other things before God, these “other things” will continue to take my time and effort, leaving God the leftovers.
With all that has gone on with COVID, I have gotten out of my routines, and my body and soul are telling all!! So, this morning I am deciding to alter one thing…just one. I will take baby steps and try to get my schedule, my body, my house, and my mind back on track little by little.
Abimelek almost died the first time he took another man’s wife. What intrigued me further was the fact that the God of Abraham spoke to this pagan king, and he listened. GOD Himself warned Abimelek, yet one generation later, he forgot his past transgressions and repeated it. If He took the time to speak to a pagan king, He will speak to me, His child, His beloved!
One choice can change everything.
What one tiny choice can I make today to alter my future for the better?
What area do I need to look at more carefully, so I don’t repeat my past mistakes?
If you read on, Abimelek and Phicol, the commander of his army, also ended up making covenants with first Abraham, then his son Isaac. They realized how much God blessed them and did not want to be on the receiving end of this family’s wrath. Even with his terrible decisions, he redeemed some of his stupidity and learned from it (at least for the time being).
I want to benefit from my bad decisions and make life better, even if that means one change per month until each becomes habit.
LORD, thank You for never giving up on us, even after we’ve been duped repeatedly into making bad decisions, whether by others or ourselves. Thank You for sending Your mercies new every morning and forgiving our stupidity. Those decisions aren’t as obvious to us because we cannot read our story start to finish. Today, I ask You to impress one thing upon each of us that is within our ability to change that will alter the events of our future for Your best. Infuse us with desire and perseverance to stay the course until that small change becomes habit. Thank You for writing the Bible as a blueprint to help us on our journeys. Give us the sound mind to listen when You speak, and the wisdom to act when You ask us to. Thank You for giving us other mature Christians who have gone before us and can show us the way. In Your Precious Name, Amen.
**The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8
ON THE PORCH 