Our Genesis Part One Scripture study class finished up this week. I have been taking Bible study classes at St. Lawrence since 2010 and like many other parishioners, I am hooked. It was fascinating to learn that Genesis was written while the Jews were in exile.
Consider that the descendants of Abraham and Isaac were the Chosen People. God had rescued them from slavery in Egypt, led them into a land of milk and honey, where, after a few generations, much of their community disregarded God and began following the pagan gods of their neighbors. God loved them too much to allow his people to keep living that way, so He “rebooted” their story. He allowed the Babylonians and Assyrians to conquer and force them into exile. In that time of great distress, the faithful Jews reflected back and chronicled the early years of their history in Genesis.
Our study began with the Creation Story and finished with the death of Abraham. What impacted me the most was the way God uses time to teach us patience and trust. God recognized Abraham to be righteous and at age seventy-five with a sixty-five year-old wife, God promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation. That would appear to be impossible, but Abraham trusted. Omitting some messy details in the years that followed, the key point is that Abraham and Sarah remained faithful in the waiting. Twenty-five years passed before God fulfilled his promise, but ultimately the Jewish nation was built upon Abraham and Sarah’s trust.
During the seventy years of exile, the Jews needed to be patient too. By recounting the story of their great patriarch, they were reminded that God always remains faithful to his promises – they just had to do their part. This is an important message for us today too. God made a covenant with us through Jesus. He doesn’t promise to follow our timeline. He promises us eternal life that exceeds any possible expectations if we stay faithful to Him as our one true God. Let us remember Abraham and accept that God is using time and patience to reveal our stories too.
Scripture: Read Genesis 21:5-8. What stands out?
Call to Action: Maybe God made Abraham wait specifically to model faithful patience to future generations. Who in your life has taught you faithful patience? Are you modeling it to others?
