Thursday, March 28, 2013

Bible "Heroes"

I've been reading recently in Genesis and Exodus. People like Abraham and Moses tend to get portrayed a bit unrealistically. To be sure, they were men of faith, used by God. They were also normal human beings, with quirks and faults. Abraham was so fearful of being one household sojourning in a larger nation that he had Sarah tell people he was her brother. This led to a serious mess ... twice! Later, Isaac, Abraham's son did the same thing, with much the same result. Isaac's son, Jacob, was a deceptive, weaseling, wheeler-dealer. Two of Jacob's sons wiped out all the men in a small town in revenge for the son of the town's chief having raped their sister. Jacob's oldest son slept with one of Jacob's wives. Ten of Jacob's sons sold their half-brother into slavery. Moses was a fearful conflict avoider.
Taken together - their faults and their faith - maybe there's hope for me!

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