Teachings from Quest for God's Own Heart Ministry

Abraham

Two Lies, Jealousy, and Favoritism:

Three Generations of Dysfunction

Genesis 20:5b

I would like to share with you the story of Abraham’s Calling from one of the chapters from my novel. Afterwards, I will share with you how a man of faith, can cause dysfunction in his family for generations to come because of two lies, favoritism, and jealousy.

My novel is through the eyes of Michael the Archangel. Listen as Michael shares with you the story of Abraham’s Calling:

God stood from His throne, as we fell down worshiping Him. “Stand, My friends. Today I am going to Abram from the land of Ur. I am going to make him the father of a nation I will call My own.”

I looked at God, confused. “What do You mean, a nation You’ll call Your own? Are You abandoning the rest of mankind?”

“No, Michael. Abram has been a faithful follower of Mine since his youth. Through him, I will show the rest of the world how I will bless those who follow and worship Me. Come with Me and watch.”

When we arrived, Abram was walking through a field grabbing some of the grain that was flowing like waves of the ocean, as an eastern wind softly blew through the valley. When he got to the edge of the field, he sat down against one of the old olive trees that meandered through the land.

With a gentle voice, God called him.

Abram lifted his eyes, and with a smile, answered. “Yes, my God.”

“I want you to leave the home you have known your whole life. I am going to make you the father of a great nation. You will be a blessing to the whole world.

Those who bless you, I will bless, and those who curse you, I will curse.” 

Abram stood up with a puzzled look. He slowly looked across the field as if he was contemplating what he needed to do. After a few moments, Abram looked up. “I’m Your servant. I’ll do whatever You ask me to do, for You are, my God.”

“Go now, and tell your family. I will bless you beyond what you can imagine.”

I followed Abram as he walked home. He was looking all around as if it would be the last time he saw the land he was born and raised in. Tears were slowly streaming down his cheeks. 

When he got home, Abram called his wife, and his nephew, Lot. He sat them down and shared with them everything God had told him.

“Abram,” Sarai, his wife interrupted. “Are you sure God wants us to leave our home? We’ve lived here all our lives. That means we’ll be leaving our friends, as well. I don’t know if I can do that.”

Abram got up and put his hands on her shoulders. “I know this won’t be easy, but God wants us to go. He said that I would be the father of a great nation.”

“How are you going to be the father of a great nation?” Sarai asked sarcastically. “We don’t even have children.”

“Sarai, we have to go where God wants us to go. Our people no longer serve the God of the Universe. They serve many gods and have built the Ziggurat in honor of Nanna, the moon god. God wants us to start a new nation where the people only serve Him. We have to obey Him. He has blessed us our whole lives, and we know His promises are always true.”

Sarai sat there with sadness in her eyes. After a few moments, she finally responded. “I will go wherever you want me to go, Abram, but let me at least say goodbye to our friends.”

“Of course you can. We will leave tomorrow. You can even invite our friends to come and help us pack,” Abram said with a smile.”

“Will you go with us, Lot?”

“Uncle, you’ve always been good to my family, and me, and I know that God speaks to you. Yes, my family and I will go with you.”

In Hell, I could see a confused look on Paymon, one of Satan’s generals. “Satan, what’s God up to now? He said that He’ll make Abram the father of a great nation.”

“I do not know, Paymon, but I will stop Him.”

“You’ll stop Him? How can you say that? You haven’t been able to stop God before. How do you think you can stop Him now? We couldn’t destroy Adam and Eve’s relationship with God! We couldn’t kill Noah! We couldn’t break Job! No matter what we do, God always wins!”

“God always wins?” Satan shouted in anger as he sprang from his throne. “Who do you think you are, questioning me? I will stop God. You will see. He has won the battles so far, but I will win the war. I will have my rightful place in Heaven. I will be God! Are you listening, God? I do not know what You are up to, but I will stop You.” Satan shouted with his fists in the air.

The next morning, Abram and his family said their goodbye’s, and left the only place they’ve ever known.

“Where are we going, Abram?” Sarai asked.

“I don’t know. God told me He would let us know when we got there. He wants us to travel up the Euphrates.”

The journey was long, but the scenery was breathtaking. The Euphrates River is absolutely beautiful this time of year. They traveled up the river, making their way through Babylon. The oak trees stood tall and strong, as if they were reaching towards God’s throne. The marshes were filled with all kinds of wildlife.

We even saw a wild boar running through the water chasing an otter through the reeds. I laughed to myself when the boar tumbled through the reeds after the otter made an abrupt turn, disappearing under a log that lay across the marsh. 

“Are you sure we’re going the right way, my Uncle?”

Abram laughed as he put his arm around Lot’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. God will protect us.”

When Abram and his family finally made it to Canaan, God was there. I walked up to Him and bowed down.

“Stand up, Michael. This is the land I will give to Abram’s descendants. This will be My people’s land.”

God turned from me and called, Abram.

Falling to his knees, Abram bowed, “Yes my, God.”

“This is the land I have promised you.”

For a moment, Abram turned to look at the barren land. The rivers and creeks were dry. The trees didn’t even have a leaf on them. Where there used to be fields, were now dry ground, not even a blade of grass.

Abram had a puzzled look. “I don’t understand, God. How can this be the land You promised? It’s a desert. How will we survive?”

“Have faith, Abram. I had cursed the land because of the people who live here now. They have chosen not to worship Me. I will prepare this land for you and your descendants. This is the place My people will live. You will travel to Egypt until the famine is over. Have faith in Me, for My promises are always true.”

“You have blessed me my whole life, my God. I am Your servant, and I will trust in You for I do know that Your promises are always true.”

Abram got up and prepared a sacrifice from some of his livestock and worshipped Him there. 

With confidence in his eyes, Abram turned to his wife. “Sarai, this is our new home. This is the land that God has promised us.”

With a bewildered look, Sarai studied the land. “My husband, the creeks are dry, and the fig trees are barren. How can this be the land God has promised us?”

Lot also walked over to Abram with confusion in his eyes. “Uncle, there’s a famine in the land. We walked over 900 miles through the most beautiful land I have ever seen, and now we’re in the middle of a desert. There’s neither water nor grass for the livestock. We’ve no food. I haven’t seen any animals since we got here. How are we going to survive?”

“Listen everyone. I know this land is barren, but God has promised He will prepare this land for us. He will make it new. We’ll travel to Egypt and stay there until the famine is over. God will provide, for His promises are always true!” So Abram, his family, his servants, and his livestock headed for Egypt.

"Sarai my wife, when we get to Egypt, I’m going to tell them that you’re my sister. They’ll see how beautiful you are and want to kill me because I’m your husband.”

“Abram, you’ve told us that we’re to trust God. Will He not spare your life if you’re to be the father of a great nation? Why do we have to lie?”

“Please just do what I ask, Sarai.”

When they got to Egypt, they stopped and took in the beauty of the vast wealth of the kingdom. I have to admit, the statues of their false gods were beautiful, and their pyramids were very impressive, but I felt evil in the city. I thought I was going to see Satan every corner I turned.

After living in Egypt for a while, God told Abram to go back to the land He had promised, for it was now ready for His people. 

When Abram returned, the land was lush and beautiful. He knelt down and worshipped God. “You are, my God. Thank You for Your promises.”

Weeks later, I watched as disputes began to erupt between Lot’s servants and Abram’s. Abram decided the best thing to do was to divide the land between the two of them.

“Lot, there’s no reason for us to fight. We’re family. Look at all of this land that God has given us. You decide what half you want.”

Lot looked in the direction of the Jordan Valley. It was beautiful and had plenty of grass and water for his livestock. His wife walked up to him and whispered in his ear. “Pick the side of the Jordan Valley. We can feed our livestock and still live in Sodom. I love it there, Lot. Please do it for me.”

“I’ll take this side, Uncle.”

I looked up to God. “Why is Lot being so selfish? They could’ve easily split the Jordan Valley in half.”

“Michael, Lot has put his trust in the land more than in Me. His wife has also been begging him to move to Sodom, as well.”

“But, God, Sodom is a wicked city. No one worships You there.”

“I know, Michael. Lot and his family have made their choice, but I have not given up on him. Just watch and see.”

Abraham’s Family

I love the story of Abraham’s Calling. What an incredible leap of faith. Abraham had everything. He was wealthy and had a loving wife. He could have stayed right where he was, and continued worshiping God the rest of his life.

But, God had plans for Abraham, and Abraham responded. He listened to the call of God, and because of his obedience, he became Father Abraham to millions of Jews throughout the centuries.

For the remainder of our time together, I would like to briefly discuss the effects of two lies, jealousy, and favoritism in Abraham’s family.

As a parent, this part of Abraham’s story should produce caution in our lives. Not only are our children watching us, but they tend to make the same mistakes we make.

God has even warned us in Exodus 20:5b:

“…I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.”

Now, of course, Abraham did not reject God, but there were times in his life he did not trust God. There were times in his life he did not live up to his name; Father Abraham.

As incredible as Abraham was, he was still human. He made mistakes, and I love the fact that God never hid the sins of His people. God does not sugar-coat the lives of His servants, for we are all sinners saved by grace.

Abraham Lied About Sarah

In our story tonight, I had already mentioned Abraham’s first lie. He lied to the Pharaoh about his relationship with Sarai. He was afraid that the Pharaoh would kill him if he found out that Sarai was his wife. He trusted God enough to move to a new land, but not enough to spare his life from the hand of Pharaoh.

This was not the only time Abraham lied about his relationship with Sarai. Abraham also lied to King Abimelech.

In both instances, Abraham did not trust that God would take care of him, and did what too many of us would’ve done under the same circumstance; lie.

We cannot be like that. We cannot choose the easy way out of our situation. We must always do the right thing. Abraham chose the easy way out, instead of telling the truth and trusting that God would take care of him.

Abraham’s son, Isaac, did the same thing. He also told another King Abimelech that Rebekah was his sister (Genesis 26:1-10). The sins of the father will carry over from generation to generation.

We must live a godly life in front of our children. We must be the Light of Jesus primarily in our homes, and then continue to shine His Light throughout the world. We must be the Light of Jesus to our children.

Abraham and Sarah’s Favoritism of Isaac over Ishmael

We also find in Abraham’s story, he and Sarah favored their son Isaac over Ishmael, the one born from their servant. What a domino effect that produced.

In Isaac’s life, he favored his son Esau, and Rebekah favored their son Jacob.

Jacob was married to two women, but he favored Rachel and they favored their son Joseph over all the other children in their family.

In each generation, one of the sons were sent away:

In Abraham’s family, Ishmael was sent away because of Sarah’s jealousy of Hagar.

In Isaac’s family, Jacob was sent away due to his mother’s fear that Esau would kill him.

In Jacob’s family, Joseph was sent away by his brothers, who at first meant to murder him.

There was a progression of intensity with each generation as well for:

Ishmael was sent away due to jealousy.

Jacob was sent away due to fear.

And Joseph was sent away through a hatred that almost led to his murder.

Our children are watching us, and if we do not live right, the consequences in our lives and in the lives of our children can be catastrophic.

Every moment of every day we must live for God.

Every moment of every day we must be an example to our family.

Every moment of every day, we must be a Shining Light of Jesus Christ.

Joseph Shines

If it wasn’t for Joseph, who knows how long the effects of the lies, favoritisms, and jealousies would have continued. But, God found a man of integrity, a man who trusted Him no matter what, in Joseph.

Joseph became the one who stopped the dysfunctional pattern in the fourth generation of Abraham’s family. He also, through his actions, maintained the hope of the Promised One to come.

As parents, I pray that we will be more like Joseph; a man who never lost hope, never gave in, never doubted, never sought revenge, always shined, and always trusted.

If you are struggling from this kind of generational dysfunction in your family, you too can be a Joseph, rebuilding the hope and trust in our Savior in your family. You can be the difference. It only takes one person.

Let the Light of Jesus shine in your life, never compromising, always trusting, and always revealing His love.