Fear of Man; Fear of God
Theme: A Journey with Abraham
Theme Verse: "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going." Hebrews 11:8 NIV
Readings: Genesis 20
Memory Verse: "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe." Proverbs 29:25
This is not the first time Abraham and Sarah have tried to solve a problem by themselves, relying on themselves instead of consulting and trusting God. In addition to Ishmael, this very same scenario took place years before when Abraham had just come to Canaan (Genesis 12:10-20). His son Isaac also repeats the pattern in Genesis 26:1-11. Abraham obviously thought that this worked the last time, let's try it again. Abraham was trying to keep from getting killed. Evidently there was a pattern in some of those cultures that rulers could take for themselves into their harem any woman they took a fancy to. Look at Esther 2:1-4,8.
Note that Abraham was telling a half truth, which was really a lie. Sarah was his half-sister (same father, different mother). Marriage with a half sister was permitted in ancient times (2 Samuel 13:13, also the Pharaoh's of Egypt did this.) Later it was forbidden. Abraham's purpose however was to hide the fact that she was his wife and let her be taken to the king so he himself would be safe.
What about being safe? :Look at the Memory Verse. Word received: Where will you find your safety? Where will you look for security? My precious treasures, are you ready to make Me your treasure? Fear Me: hold Me in Awe. I AM He who called you to love Me and serve Me.
God can and does protect Abraham and Sarah--and also King Abimelech, who didn't know Sarah was married. How does God protect them? He speaks to the king through a dream. (People in many cultures take dreams very seriously.) God reveals to him that Sarah was a married woman and he was "as good as dead" if he kept her. God not only protected Abraham but also Sarah and the King by keeping him from touching her.
The king protested that he did not know she was married and so was innocent of wrong intent and God agrees with him but says if he doesn't return her he will die. The king is then angry at Abraham for endangering him and his kingdom and wronging him.
Even though that was a far different culture from ours, the King recognizes that to take a married woman as a wife was a sin, and sin on his part could destroy the nation and had brought great guilt on him and his kingdom (vs.9). All his officials agreed! Abraham's only answer is that he was scared for his life. Notice that even this pagan king knew that sin has consequences- even if you don't know about it. It affects not only one person but his family and kingdom as well. The king gives huge gifts to Abraham when he sends Sarah back in order to cover the offense and clear her name publicly. (The story does not tell us what God said to Abraham.)
God calls Abraham a prophet(vs. 7) and tells the king that Abraham will pray for him and he does (vs. 17). Then the women in the King's harem were healed of barrenness that God had put on them to bring this thing to a head. A prophet is one who hears and speaks God's word and talks to him. This is similar to Job (42:8) when God tells Job to pray for forgiveness for his friends. Ps 105:15 says "Do not touch My anointed ones and do My prophets no harm". God cares for his prophets in a special way.
Abraham was a person like us. He had weaknesses, fears and sins but God saw his heart which was to trust and obey God. God had chosen him, imperfect as he was, to start a unique people of God--so God rescued him and protected Sarah. Abraham is looking at the situation, not at God. He has made this mistake twice, acting out of fear of man and not looking to God for guidance and help, not trusting God to supply his needs. How many times do we make the same mistake over and over? God is patient with us just as he was patient with Abraham.
How does God want us to handle fear? All of us experience fear at times and sometimes there is good reason. The question is how do we handle it. Fear is a natural response meant to protect us in danger but when it controls us we don't think clearly and we don't trust God. David had good reason to be afraid many times but he says in Psalm 56:3, "When I am afraid (notice "when") I will trust in you." In Psalm 27:1 David says, "the Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?"
In the New Testament we get the same message from Paul. "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7) Paul must have experienced fear many times--like when he was beaten, when he was adrift at sea in a terrible storm. But he knew God was with him and he put his trust and hope in God. That gave him courage and God carried him through the storm. Courage is not the absence of fear but acting in an appropriate way in spite of fear. David and Paul turned toward God in their fear. Examples: A big bad fire justifies fear but firemen continually set aside their fear to go rescue someone, though they take all the precautions they can.
The prophet Nathan was certainly afraid when he had to tell King David about his terrible sins but he did it because God told him to and God was with him.
See how fear of man (other people) can become a snare (trap). Abraham "said to himself, there is surely no fear of God here, they will kill me." Abraham was being guided by his fear and his own scheming and thinking--so he lied. How many times do we and others not tell the truth because of fear?
Word received: I want you to trust in Me with your heart not your eyes. Your eyes may betray you and not let you see the truth. When your heart trusts in Me you will see the truth and be safe.
One of the things we see is that God keeps allowing Abraham to get into situations where he has to learn to trust God. (Does he do that with you??) God can use even the most messed up situation for his purposes as he does here. Probably Abraham should have known better by now about trusting God, but he didn't--just like us. Jesus said to his disciples on the fearful night when he was betrayed, "In the world you will have trouble, but take heart. I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) God does not promise we won't have trouble and scary situations, but that He will be with us, He cares for us and that He is still in charge of the universe.
A passage that speaks to our situation now at Christ Church is in the lectionary reading for Jan. 15th: Isaiah 43:1-13. Read aloud verses 1-7. God created us, has redeemed us, called us by name, He loves us and we belong to Him. He promises to be with us in difficult times--floods, fires, etc., "Do not be afraid for I AM with you."(vs.5) Verse 13 says, "apart from Me there is no savior…and…no one can deliver out of My hand." Jesus says a the same thing in John 10:27-29: " My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me…they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand….My father… is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. " This is like Deuteronomy 33:27, "The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms."
God wants us to have a different perspective on difficult times from the world. We once heard a sermon where the preacher talked about an old lady he knew who told him, "I've give up reading the New York Times for Jeremiah. The news is just as bad but the perspective is different!" Our natural attitude is just to want "it" fixed in a way that leaves us unchanged. Part of what God may be trying to do is to change us by knowing he is there WITH us. We just want to be free of the hassle and pain. Sometimes he does that, but more important is for us to know that He is with us, that we have given the problem into His hands and He is in charge. One way of trusting God in a situation is to pray scripture- like they prayer for our children in Isaiah 43:5-7. Another part of trusting God is to GIVE Him our fears.
Word received for SS teachers: Ask how I have taught them trust in place of fear.
Teaching Ideas for Lesson 18
Please read Study Guide first.
Go over Memory Verse to make sure the children understand it and then if they have read the lessons, so they will get credit at the end of the year.
Make sure they know what happened in the story. Get them to tell you.
Basic points of the lesson for little ones.
1. God wants us to trust Him with and in EVERY situation. He wants us to KNOW that He is with us.
2. God will protect us when we trust Him.
3. When we are afraid, God wants us to ASK HIM for help, and turn to Him for guidance.
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