Relationship With God

A headline today reads: "World's tallest building in Dubai."  How ironic that today's OYB OT reading in Genesis 11 discusses the tower of Babel!  Unfortunately however the touting of human accomplishment in Babel didn't work out so well for them...

Did it ever occur to Abram as he thought of Sarai's unmatched beauty that perhaps Egypt was not the place to go?  He knew there was a famine.  He knew there would be hard times.  He knew Sarai was exceptional.  He knew she would be wanted.  He knew he was willing to call her his sister...  Okay, this is getting just a little twisted!  Pornography has nothing on this story!

But we will see that Abram is a friend of God.  This same guy will make other quite obvious decisions outside of normal "right" parameters - he will commence to sacrifice his own son.  What do we derive from this Abram?  Before and after the incident in Egypt, Abram is on record of having worshiped the Lord.  He demonstrated a relationship with God.

A relationship with God?  Really?

Why does this make it okay for Abram to do the twisted things he does?  I do not know.  Anyone who tried such things today in the name of faith would be locked away as a sick and twisted abominable criminal.  Am I right?

Father, I have no idea what lesson there is for me to learn from Abram's "adventures".  I cannot grasp that I should be willing to offer my wife to another man just so we can eat - regardless of what I thought the outcome would be.  Nor can I fathom that I should sacrifice my own child because I have nothing else to give - again, regardless of what I thought the outcome would be.  This is a hard thing to understand - and I know many will be compelled to include it all under the cloak of faith and how close Abram was to You, but wrong is wrong, right?