I'm just grateful to be a part of this group and hope to continue.

Today’s reading reminds me that God is both patient and holy — slow to judge, but never indifferent to injustice. In Genesis 18–19, God listens to Abraham’s intercession, showing that mercy is always His first instinct, even when judgment is necessary. Psalm 11 anchors us in the truth that God sees everything clearly — nothing escapes His gaze, and righteousness is never overlooked. Hebrews 9 then reframes it all through Jesus, reminding us that God’s ultimate response to sin wasn’t distance, but self-giving sacrifice. Judgment is real, but redemption is deeper. And the invitation today is to trust a God who takes sin seriously and love even more seriously.

Interestingly enough I have had a discussion or two about this story. Basically where folks choose to deny God’s word based on variations of wickedness in the Old Testament. For this particular one, people reference the daughter’s planning and taking advantage of their father, and bearing offspring from it. Crazy enough, this story is an example of God’s truth. His mercy, allowance of free will, and justice are all exemplified. What most failed to learn was that the daughters’ sin does come with consequences, ultimately bearing children that become a constant conflict and strife for the Israelites.

I think it’s really interesting that God put Abram in a deep sleep before making a covenant with him. It reminds me of what God did to Adam before making a covenant between Adam and Eve. It’s almost as though God is marrying Abram in the scene. I also thought it was really interesting that an Egyptian is the servant to Sarai and she is mistreated and eventually Sarai throws her out in the spirit of letting the child and her servant die. What’s interesting to me about this is the role is reversed hundreds of years later. It’s the descendants of Abraham who are servants to the Egyptians; and it’s the Egyptians who are dealing harshly with Abraham’s children and who throw out their babies to the Nile. Scripture has a funny way of showing how things can come back around. 😅