Today I want to talk about a simple, but powerful phrase… “But the Lord…” 

A friend recently turned me onto the Podcast called "The Bible Show" . Among many other topics, a string of episodes they recently did was doing a deep dive into Genesis; spending an hour or so on each chapter. They looked at the historical context of the time, translations, deeper meanings and ultimately how it all points to Christ. 

Not long ago I wrapped up the story of Abraham. Now Abraham, when I was growing up and learning about him in Sunday School was viewed in my eyes as the “hero of the faith”, someone who was willing to sacrifice his own son because God told him to. Yet, as you go through the Chapters in Genesis you learn that Abraham, like us, was pretty messed up and over and over again fell short on his faith in God.  

I would encourage you to read Genesis Chapters 12-20 in your spare time, but below is a quick summary: 

1. In Genesis 12 God promises Abraham, who is married to Sarah, that through him will come a great nation; that Abraham will become a great name and be blessed
   1. At the time of the promise Abraham is 75 years old and Sarah, as we read in the Bible, was barren and not able to conceive. 

   2. So, already probably Abraham is thinking “ok God, I believe you, but I’m old and my wife is barren…but I like the idea of that promise”. 

       

2. Not long after and Abraham and Sarah move to Egypt to avoid a famine; and Abraham tells Sarah “if anyone asks, tell them you are my Sister…you are a beautiful woman and I don’t want anyone to kill me and take you as their own”. 

   1. So, Abraham is told that a great nation will come through Him and Sarah, but essentially gives up Sarah to the Egyptians to protect himself
   2. He already doubts God providence; if he truly believed God would make a great nation out of him, why would God allow Abraham to be killed in Egypt?
   3. Sarah had been taken into Pharoh’s Haram and here is when we see the first “But the Lord”. We read in Genesis 12:17: “But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai”.
   4. The context of that, and many support, is that the “disease” inflicted on the Pharaoh and his household was a sexual in nature, limiting their ability to “ruin” the seed and line of Sarah and thus Abraham.

    

3. Around 10 Years Later Abraham is starting to lose Faith again says “are you sure God? I’m not getting any younger and I still don’t have any Children”.
   1. God double down on his promise and says in Genesis 15:5 “a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring[d] be.”
   2. A bit of time passes and what is Abraham’s response to this? Instead of being faithful and continuing to trust he (at the direction of his Wife Sarah) takes Sarah’s slave Hagar, lays with her and she bears him a son named Ishmael
   3. This after awhile created, understandably, some division in the family and Sarah kicks Hagar out of the house with Ishmael. 

   4. We then see God step in and “cover up” for Abrahams mistake by protecting Hagar from Sarah and telling Hagar that her descendants will be blessed as well. 

       

4. Fast forward another 10 years the Lord once again appears to Abraham and says in Genesis 18:10 “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son”
   1. Not long after this Abraham and Sarah move to the region of the Negev, living between Kadesh and Shur.
   2. Once again, Abraham, fearful for his life and forgetting God’s promise tells Sarah “if anyone asks, tell them you are my sister”.
   3. Abimelek, the King of the region, found Sarah to be beautiful and took her into his household.
   4. Then we read in Genesis 20:3 “But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”
   5. Similar story and results to when Abraham was in Egypt

So, on three separate occasions we have God appearing to Abraham, giving him the promise of a son and each time Abraham either takes things into his own hands or loses faith and gives up his Wife in protection of himself. Two times we see “But God” or “But the Lord” where He stepped in put things back on the right course. 

How often in our own lives do we fall short? Transparently, I’m not sure any of us reading this would do any better than Abraham. It was 25 years from when Abraham received the first promise to when Isaac was born. That’s a long time to wait for a promise. Good news? We have a God that loves us and has shown time and time again that he will intercede in our lives if necessary.