Tag: barren

Do Not Judge

Posted on by jovial_cynic

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
Matthew 7:1-3 (NIV)

The teaching about “not judging others” is a bit more nuanced than simply “don’t judge.”

If you ask God to judge between you and another, you’re putting yourself in a rather precarious position. You’d better be righteous.

Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.”
Genesis 16:5 (NIV)

Imagine a heavenly court whereby if you bring an accusation against someone and demand that the court determine who is at fault, the FIRST thing the court does is examine you, the accuser.

At any rate, we have a rule that if someone calls upon G-d to determine if concerning an accusation leveled against a fellow human being he or she had been correct, the first thing the heavenly tribunal does is to examine if the accuser has led a blameless life himself or herself.
Chizkuni on Genesis 16:5:4

And if they find you to be unrighteous or guilty of anything, the first thing they do is punish YOU for your sins. Only then will they address the accusation.

That is what the teaching is that informs us of this “do not judge” teaching. It is a warning.

If faults are found in the accuser’s life, he is judged, i.e. punished first, before the accusation is examined in greater detail.
Chizkuni on Genesis 16:5:4

In the case of Sarai, we want to blame her for lack of faith, or perhaps we want to apply a modern standard and accuse her of causing infidelity. But notice that God does not discipline her here.

But also, what is her accusation, exactly?

But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
Genesis 15:2-3 (NIV)

The rabbis suggest that in Genesis 15, when Abram prayed for a child, he prayed only for himself and not for his wife. Remember: she was the one who was barren. She is the one who needed prayer.

She accuses him of being selfish in his prayer, and she is vindicated.

There are so many lessons to learn here, if we have the ears to hear.

The God of the Impossible

Posted on by jovial_cynic

Abram took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the people which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; so they came to the land of Canaan.
Genesis 12:5 (NASB)

If you recall that “people which they acquired” is literally “the living souls they made,” you’ll see Abram and Sarai were given the power to be fruitful and multiply, even though Sarai is barren. Being fruitful and multiplying is a spiritual blessing, and God makes it happen, long before Sarai miraculously gives birth to Isaac.

Nothing is impossible for God.

Blessings for All Y’all

Posted on by jovial_cynic

Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.
Genesis 9:1 (NIV)

As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.”
Genesis 9:7 (NIV)

Not only does Genesis 9 start with a blessing, the blessing is repeated in verse 7: “be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth.”

Verse 1 says “them,” so it’s clear that it’s plural.

Verse 7 says “as for you,” but in Hebrew, this is the plural “you.” It’s “ya’ll.”

This is important, because Noah individually does *not* go and become fruitful or multiply (unless you’re seeing a pun, and think the grapes that follow are the multiplied fruit!)

God’s blessings are not merely for individuals. They are for community.

For folks who wish to bear children but can’t, this must feel like a curse. To be told “children are God’s blessing” and then not experience it personally must feel like a double-curse: missing out on the blessing and then experiencing the shame of failure.

In scripture, we see this barrenness: Sarai (Genesis 11:30), Rebekah (Genesis 25:21), Rachel (Genesis 29:31) – wives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They’re all barren at first, but God says they will be a great nation.

Why does it start this way? Perhaps this is an echo of Genesis 1:2.

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Genesis 1:2 (NIV)

For reasons unknown, Noah does not have any more children with his wife, even though he is included in the “ya’ll” in Genesis 9:7.

Perhaps Noah failed to count the three blessings he already had. Perhaps the wine blurred his vision.

But he was blessed by God. Twice.

And God has blessed you as well, and God intends to make you fruitful and multiply you in ways you may not yet realize. This seems to be the nature of God: blessings and promises. Fruitfulness.

For all ya’ll.

God’s ways are Better than Our Ways

Posted on by jovial_cynic
We don’t know why Abram brought Lot. Perhaps he bore the family responsibility of caring for everyone.

Perhaps Abram is clinging to God’s perpetual promise: “be fruitful and multiply.” We know from the previous chapter that Sarai is barren, so Abram has no children. No heir of his own, so maybe Lot is the natural successor. Abram might be doing everything to keep his heir safe, thinking that God intends to use Lot to carry out the blessing.

So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.
Genesis 13:1 (NASB)

After Abram and Lot separate, God reveals that He’s going to make the barren land bountiful, and we’re given a clue. This appears as a foreshadowing about how God will accomplish His blessings through a barren woman. Abram will have an heir of his own.

May God always surprise us with the way He accomplishes His blessings.