Intervening for the Erring….

Light of Truth

Jacob Chanikuzhy

In the words of Thomas Jefferson, “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” As is evident, honesty is the sign of a wise man. Not only people but books can also be honest. A great example is the Holy Bible. Its honest portrayal of things reveals the wisdom of God. Sometimes a believer feels embarrassed when the bible reveals the dark sides of its great saints. The New Testament portrayal of St. Peter is a pertinent example. None of the evangelists considered it improper to shed light into the negative sides of the personality of the first Pope, St Peter. Thus they honestly described the drowning of Peter for lack of faith (Matthew 14:29); Jesus calling Peter Satan on account of his aversion to the sufferings (Matthew 16:23); Peter’s violent nature and armed attempt to harm the servant of the high priest (John 18:10); he is not praiseworthy habit of cursing and swearing (Matthew 26:73-74); Peter’s shameful denial of Jesus out of cowardice (Matthew 26:69ff) etc.

The Old Testament is no different. The stories about its great patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and Levi, and the stories about Moses, the greatest of the prophets, depict their strengths and weakness, virtues and vices. The bible begins the Jewish history with the story of Abraham (Genesis 12). It begins the story of Abraham by painting him as a man of such great faith and courage that he left his own country, tribe and family solely on the basis of God’s command. God was so pleased with Abraham’s instant response that he promised him great blessings. Once he reached the promised land of Canaan, God appeared to him at Shechem and promised him that he would give the land of Canaan to Abraham’s offspring. The first thing that Abraham built in Canaan was an altar to the Lord. When he reached Bethel he built another altar there. Thus, at important places in Canaan Abraham built altars to the Lord and this indicates his great devotion to God. Through these altars Abraham appropriated the entire land for the Lord. Thus in the first nine verses in the story of Abraham, the bible paints Abraham as a great model to his progeny (Genesis 12:1-9).

Nevertheless, the traits of faith, courage and devotion do not cover the whole personality traits of Abraham. So in the next ten verses, i.e., from Genesis 12:10-20, in the story of Abraham’s sojourn in Egypt, the bible gives a different picture of Abraham. When there was a severe famine in Canaan, Abraham and Sarah set out for Egypt. Before entering Egypt, Abraham advised Sarah to lie that she was his sister lest the Egyptians kill Abraham to marry her. Thus, fearing for his life, Abraham, in a way, deserted his wife and violated his spousal obligations. His crookedness and dishonest behaviour to escape a perilous situation revealed his cowardice, dishonesty, and lack of faith in God and His promises.

A man of Abraham’s stature fell miserably during a famine. And the bible did not hesitate to record it because it wanted to give the realistic picture of Abraham. We tend to picture people either as perfectly good or as absolutely evil. In reality everyone is a mixture of good and evil. Everyone has his own merits and demerits. It is such ordinary human beings God chooses to carry out His plan. They can and will fall; but God pardons, comforts, uplifts, empower, and guide them again. If people and leaders are perfect, then there is no need for God. But God chooses weak human beings so that it may be evident that it is God who is working through them.

Abraham’ story at least teaches that anyone can fall, and that everyone does fall. But God does not spurn the falling ones, but holds them and makes them stand again. God is even capable of producing great blessings out of human mistakes. We know that in the end, Abraham and Sarah returned home with great wealth. In fact, it is not the lie of Abraham and Sarah that saved the chastity of Sarah and the life of Abraham, but God’s gracious intervention in favour of His erring chosen ones.

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