In Genesis 12 Abraham enters a covenant relationship with the Lord, which we discussed in my pervious blog. In the chapters we read in Come Follow Me this week we get to see what it means to be in a covenant relationship. One of the insights I gained this week is that a covenant is more than just an agreement--if you do this then I will do that. Instead it is a relationship with God that grows as you and God learn to trust each other.
There is a modern way of talking about relationships that deals with “bids” and how someone responds to them. A “bid” is when someone does something to seek your attention or involvement in their life. How you respond to the bid largely determines how good your relationship is with that person. You can respond in three basic ways: you can turn toward them, away from them, or against them. When you turn toward the person, you are acknowledging their need and offering some kind of support or aid. Turning away is when you change the interchange from being focused on the person, to being focused on something else, or on yourself. Turning against a person means that your reply to the bid with some kind of comment or action that feels like an attack.
In Genesis 18-23 we see several short vignettes which involve either the Lord or the covenant family member putting out a "bid" and what response to the bid comes from the other party. The stories demonstrate that when the covenant family of Abrahams reaches out to the Lord, he responds by turning toward them. When God puts out a "bid" to one of the covenant family, they mostly respond by turning toward him, but not all. Those who do turn toward the Lord are blessed, but those who do not are punished.
I taught this principle to my class of teenagers today. Here are the stories we considered. We made a chart that showed who it was who made the bid and what the response was.
Genesis 18: 1-5 Abraham entertains the three messengers
The Lord makes the bid to Abraham. Abraham turns to the Lord by welcoming the messengers with extreme hospitality, The Lord blesses Abraham and Sarah with the ability to have a child.
Genesis18: 22-33 Bargaining over Sodom and Gomorrah
Abraham makes the bid to the Lord by asking him to Spare Sodom and Gomorrah if some righteous can be found. The Lord turns toward Abraham by actively bargaining and giving the concessions Abraham seeks. In the end, even the lowest concession is not met, but the Lord still tries to save Lot and his family from the coming destruction.
Genesis 19: 12-26 Lot’s family escapes Sodom and Gomorrah
The Lord makes the bid by sending messengers to save Lot's family. Lot's son-in-laws turn away because they are not willing to leave the city. Lot's wife turns away as well and is destroyed. The people of the wicked cities turn against the messengers, threatening to kill them, and are destroyed.
Genesis 21:15-19 Hagar and Ishmael are cast out
After Hagar and Ishmael are cast out from the family of Abraham they are about to die of thirst. Hagar makes the bid, asking the Lord to save their lives. The Lord turns toward Hagar by providing water, but also by blessing her to be the matriarch of a great nation through Ishmael.
Genesis 22:1-3 Abraham is willing to offer Isaac
The Lord makes the bid by asking Abraham to sacrifice his miracle son. Despite the horrific nature of the bid, Abraham turns toward the Lord by preparing to sacrifice his son straightaway.
Genesis 22:9-14 Abraham is spared from offering Isaac
Abraham make perhaps a silent bid to the Lord to not have to sacrifice his son. The Lord responds by turning toward Abraham and sending an angel to stop the sacrifice. He instead provides a ram for the sacrifice, and accepts Isaac as the heir to the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant.
In each of these cases when the supplicant made a bid to the Lord, the Lord blessed them beyond what was strictly needed. When the Lord made a bid from one of the covenant keepers, and the person turned toward the Lord, the Lord blessed him. The time when the covenant keeper turned away, the outcome was dire. Through these repeated experiences the relationship between the family of Abraham and the Lord grew stronger because each came to see that the other could be relied upon to maintain the relationship and the covenant.
In real life, even the faithful don't get exactly what they want when they petition the Lord. That is not because he is not keeping up his part of the relationship, but because he knows better than we do what we really need in the eternal scheme of things. If we both keep making and receiving "bids" from the each other, we come to trust each other so that when, in a specific situation, we don't receive what we would like from the Lord, we have enough relational cache that we are able to trust that God actually does know what is best for us. That helps us endure our trials with faith.
But it is not just about getting through trials. When we continually put ourselves in a state of humility to ask and receive communication from God, we become refined, gain capacity, and become more like the Savior. What I realized this week is the the Covenant Path our church leaders keep talking about is more than just checking of a list of ordinances we need to complete. It is a path of relationship building where each time we respond to the Lord and he responds to us, our relationship gets closer and we become more like him.
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