MOMENTS AND THOSE IN BETWEEN

By Jill Roberts and Michael Canalé

 

As we approach the close of our study of Abraham, Michael, as only Michael can, has made some observations that are profound and which contemplate the whole sweep of Scripture as well as the first half of Genesis, where we have been camped for almost six months.

 

Michael both makes a point and asks a question. He states,

 

“In the Bible, the action is carried out in moments where some events, and some players in those events, receive Scriptural attention while others do not. When you think of the moments which are showcased, you cannot help WONDERING about the other moments which are not.”

 

He goes on to say,

 

“Moses, in writing Genesis, and, later, in the New Testament, authors like Luke and John, all wrote about MOMENTS in the lives of primary players in Scripture. In doing this, they necessarily LEFT OUT ALL THE IN-BETWEENS OF THESE MOMENTS.  So, the question is, what is the reason for including or excluding one story or another?”

 

The brilliance of Michael’s point is that it philosophically transports us on a detour out of the four corners of the Book itself and into the area of what I believe are God-ordained inferences that we are Scripturally allowed to make. It is what any person who undertakes to interpret Scripture does. It is the stuff of sermons and Bible commentaries, common in all of our experiences.

 

What is uncommon about what Michael is stating, is the subject itself. During my decades in the commentaries and in listening to Bible interpretation from the pulpit, he raises a subject that I have not heard addressed until now. This is, once again, in Michael’s words,

 

“What did these moments spawn; what did these moments give birth to? What spiritual skills have we gotten from reading and thinking about these moments? Some, we can see clearly. Others, the in between parts, leave us wondering.”

 

This week, Michael and I want to focus on two such moments that made the cut, that made it into the Holy Bible, unlike the “in-betweens,” that did not. Predictably, one involves Abraham. Less predictably, the other centers on Lot.

 

Abraham, who lamented to God that he had “no children,” (Genesis 15:2-3) NIV, became the father of nations with offspring like the stars, too numerous to count. At the time he complained to God, in this regard, he already, had long since, mostly adopted Lot, his nephew. Interestedly, this dialogue between then-Abram and God is included in the Bible because it is a metaphor for mankind and God’s dynamic –

 

1) A man or a woman has a life dream

2) God comes alongside and fulfills that dream

3) Like a rock skipped down a river, the effects

      of this fulfilled dream ripple out infinitely

4) Why? Because the dream was God

      ordained in the first place

5) The story of this makes it into Scripture

 

How many people lived in the periphery of all this – endless numbers, all with dreams of their own. Some of these dreams are ALSO INCLUDED in the Bible, but in a very different way. They cannot be described as rippling down the generations in any good sense. In fact, they are spiritual dead ends. There is a legacy, but it is a negative one.

 

Lot is a case in point. His aspirations were material. He accumulated vast amounts of goods and then took them to Sodom where he established his residency. At the end of the day, they were destroyed when God annihilated Sodom. How did his progeny fare down the generations? Not well. In a quest to obtain more, they were defeated by God, Himself, as our recent blog on Jehoshaphat chronicled.

 

Lot ‘s dream was ill-fated right out of the gate. Why? Unlike Abram’s, it did not align with God’s. It was a petty life pursuit; Abram’s was god-sized.

 

As Michael says, there are moments which are recorded in Scripture. As Michael so often reminds us, Scripture is made up of LESSONS FROM GOD. If we had to sum up the difference between the legacies of Abraham and Lot, it was in the quality of their life dreams. Abraham became God’s friend and the Father of Nations. His faith landed him in Hebrews, alongside the other heroes of faith.

 

On the other hand, Lot, was dragged from certain death in Sodom but produced a line of characters who ultimately found death on their own terms, as they exhibited the antithesis of faith in the one true God. Lessons abound in these two stories which both made the Biblical cut.

 

But, as Michael so insightfully states, in addition to the moments that are recorded in the Bible, there are the in-betweens. Here, there are no lessons as the above sets forth. With these, we are left WONDERING as to what God intended. Michael asks what the Biblical moments actually spawned and we see the lessons. Not so with the in-betweens.  He also has important Insights as to these.

 

The most significant point he makes is this, when Michael states,

 

“When we are left wondering about something that happens in Scripture, IT IS IMPORTANT NOT TO MAKE ASSUMPTIONS. God is not a human. He is much more complicated than that!”

 

You have heard Michael say these last two sentences before. They are critical on all Biblical fronts.

 

What is an example of a Scriptural passage that leaves us wondering? Michael and I wondered about why God said to Abraham,

 

“Then God said, ‘Take your son, YOUR ONLY SON, whom you love – Isaac -…

(emphasis added)

(Genesis 22:2) NIV

 

God speaks these words to Abraham in asking him to sacrifice Isaac. Certainly, we have read Genesis 17:21, where God states that He will establish His covenant with Isaac. Nevertheless, we wonder at the phraseology of Isaac as Abraham’s only son. Clearly, as previous blogs have set forth, God was loving to and protective of Ishmael.

 

Michael says of Isaac, Ishmael and Lot,

 

“Each of the three left a legacy, though each was distinct. This is highly important.”

 

There are many times in the Bible where we are left wondering. This is a kind of in between of which we are speaking. Perhaps, the best explanation is that we are to have simple FAITH in what is explicit in Scripture but also in what is not. There is an element of mystery throughout the Bible. This engenders faith, something that, at the end of the day, will be even more important than knowledge in and of itself.

 

Moments and the times in between them, lessons and pure faith – all reside in the Bible. May the contemplation of them live forever in our hearts and minds.

 

POSTSCRIPT:

 In anticipation of the upcoming Thanksgiving Day holiday, Michael and I will send a Thanksgiving blog, in addition to this one. It will land in your texts and emails tomorrow. We are sending last year’s Thanksgiving blog, one of our favorites and part of our book, “Things Wrapped in Purple,” to be published in 2023.

 

Michael and I are endlessly thankful for you, our readers, joining us on this spiritual journey through God’s Word. Thank you. May God bless you mightily and always from the heavenlies!