Genesis 69- A Prophet in Shame

The Word of God is from Genesis 20:17 to 18.

 

"Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants so that they could have children, for the Lord had closed up every womb in Abimelech’s household because of Abraham’s wife, Sarah." Amen.

 

This passage shows that God appeared to Abimelech in a dream, giving him a revelation and closing the wombs of all the women in his household. However, we confirmed in verse 7 of chapter 20 that God actually told him that if he did not return Abraham and Sarah, everyone belonging to him would surely die, rather than simply closing the women's wombs. Thus, we can see that this event wasn't just about closing and reopening wombs, but was related to death. Tracing this back, we find a similar story in the well-known account of Adam and Eve. When God spoke to Adam and Eve about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, He said, "You will surely die if you eat this fruit," and the same expression for "you will surely die" appears again in Genesis 20:7. This shows that today's passage contains a very important truth.

 

Abraham and Abimelech: A Comparison of Faith and Fear

As we saw last time, when we compare Abraham to Abimelech, there are many contrasts. Abraham did not have as much power or wealth as Abimelech, and in terms of his faith, Abimelech even seemed better than Abraham, who had received the covenant. Abraham, in his fear of losing what he had, even lied by claiming his wife, Sarah, was his sister. From a worldly perspective, he was a nobody without a single plot of land to settle on. Although he was a hero who had defeated the Eastern kings, he was never a king of any small city.

 

So, the common image we might imagine is Abimelech offering a blessing and comfort to Abraham. "Abraham, you have truly worked hard, living as a foreigner for 25 years from Ur to Egypt. I hope God blesses you as well." It would not have been unnatural for the Bible to be written this way. However, as we examined in detail last time, the picture the Bible paints is somewhat strange. God tells the seemingly insignificant Abraham, who has nothing, to bless Abimelech. Furthermore, in the same passage, He calls Abraham a prophet and says that he will pray for Abimelech, which implies that Abraham is qualified to pray for him as a prophet.

 

This passage in Genesis 20 can be easily overlooked as a minor story. But let's look at it more deeply here. What does a prophet typically do? Since a prophet is also called a soothsayer, we often think of them as someone who tells the future. This is our general understanding of a prophet.

 

The Essence of a Prophet: Messenger and Prayer

However, the Hebrew word "navi" (נָבִיא), used for "prophet" in the Bible, has nothing to do with knowing the future. The correct meaning of this word is, first, a person who receives God's word, and second, a person who delivers that word to the people. In other words, it is closer to the English word "messenger." So, if God's word contains a message about the future, then a prophecy about the future may be given. Much of the prophets' time was spent rebuking and warning sinners about the future punishments they would face for betraying and abandoning God.

 

In today's passage, the Bible introduces Abraham as a prophet, so it seems he should have delivered God's word. However, the role given to Abraham seems slightly different from the typical role of a prophet. Abraham appears as a praying prophet. Therefore, this passage, which seems ordinary on the surface, contains a very important gospel message. In this time, we will examine the meanings of "prayer" and "prophet" in more detail.

 

Abraham the Prophet: Prayer in an Intimate Relationship

As mentioned earlier, a prophet is someone who receives God's word and delivers it. While many prophets appear in the Old Testament, Abraham lived long before them. Therefore, to accurately understand the meaning and role of the word "prophet," which is used for the first time in this passage, we need to look at the biblical context.

 

When did a scene of praying for others appear before this passage? It was during the Sodom and Gomorrah incident when Abraham prayed to save the people. So, when did Abraham first appear as a prophet in the Bible? We can find a clue in Genesis 18:16:

 

"When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. Then the Lord said, 'Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?'"

 

This verse means that God was going to reveal everything to Abraham. If Abraham's role as a prophet was to receive God's word and deliver it, this scene can be seen as the beginning of his role as a prophet. In other words, for Abraham, being a prophet meant knowing God's heart, will, and plans. This is why Abraham could be called a prophet.

 

The Core of Prayer: Intimacy and Evidence

So, did Abraham really know everything about God's thoughts and plans intellectually? The Bible is not saying that Abraham had an intellectual knowledge of all of God's plans. This verse is meant to show the intimacy between Abraham and God. God had such a close relationship with Abraham that He no longer wanted to hide His will from him.

 

This kind of relationship is also seen in Moses, who wrote Genesis. Deuteronomy 18:18 says, "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him." Here, "a prophet like you" refers to Jesus Christ. The Bible describes Moses, a Levite, as a "prophet" instead of a priest or a great leader, and the background for this is well-explained in Exodus 33:11: "The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend." God spoke to Moses face to face, just as friends talk to each other. Abraham was also considered such a prophet by God.

 

So, what is the true meaning of prayer that we can learn from Abraham's prayer in today's passage? Many people hesitate to pray, stumble while praying, or worry about how to pray. The testimonies we often hear are mostly about how God answered their prayers.

 

However, the most important core of Abraham's prayer in today's passage was an act that demonstrated his intimate relationship with God. It means that the very act of beginning to pray to God becomes a testimony. It is a confession of "I am now a friend of God," and it is an act that proves that God is listening to that confession as a friend. The very fact that we can pray is proof that we are friends with God.

 

Jesus, the Friend of All Sinners

God does not just become friends with special people like Abraham or Moses and listen only to their prayers. In several Gospels, Jesus drew near to sinners, tax collectors, and prostitutes, calling them and eating with them, treating them like friends. Jesus became a friend not only to Abraham and Moses, but to all sinners, including us.

 

As we have seen over the past few weeks, Abraham was very anxious and fearful at that time. He showed the behavior of a sinner who relied on himself, not on God. But to such an Abraham, God said, "You shall pray to Me for that man," and at that moment, Abraham was considered a friend of God. Although he was a shameful sinner, God called him a friend and a prophet, asking him to pray for others. Through this, Abraham and we can once again have a new beginning. This is the true meaning of prayer shown in today's passage and the first theme we should consider.

 

Church Community: The Process of Becoming a Family

Friends should be without fault. However, one of the most difficult things in church life is for the community to become a family and friends. The Bible says that the church is "one body," so we should all be one family and friends, and we must strive to listen to and obey this word. You do not become a family no matter how hard you try. You are already a family. However, you need time and effort to truly experience that identity as a family. Do you understand the difference? That is why, even though you are already a family, the most difficult part of coming to church is "the process of becoming a family."

 

Have you ever tried to lay everything bare and say, "We are a family and friends with no faults," and talk about everything from the beginning? Have you ever been betrayed? It happens often. This is because a relationship of trust has not yet been fully formed, and you have not yet experienced the true form of a family. But you cannot give up this process out of fear. You must remember that the church is precisely in the process of building this relationship. The church is continuously growing into a family.

 

We are constantly learning to be a family and approaching each other lightly. So, even when we talk freely without fault, we can't help but be careful at first. We might think, "Will this person misunderstand what I'm saying?" or "Will they think differently?" Don't couples, who are the closest of all relationships, often have big fights because a single word is misunderstood? I once asked a couple who had been married for 40 or 50 years and seemed to know each other's hearts just by looking into their eyes what their secret was. They said the secret was "living as if they were not a lovey-dovey couple," and they lived with constant tension. Of course, this was said jokingly, but it shows that it is a difficult task that requires a lot of time and effort. So, this is not something you can achieve in a short time.

 

However, "family" is also our identity. We are family. So, later on, you won't dwell on what the other person said. You won't think, "What did that person mean?" or "Were they trying to put me down?" or "Are they talking badly about me?" That is a true friendship. A friend has faith in you, so even if what they say is a mistake or could be misunderstood, they can let it go because they know your true intentions. Of course, it takes a lot of time and trial and error to reach such a relationship.

 

But that is who you are. The same is true when you approach God. Do you know what the most important and difficult problem with our prayers is? It is that our prayers are too sophisticated. Our prayers are not childish. But we often forget that we can be truly childish with our close friends.

 

Sincere Prayer: Childishness and Sincerity

Friends often fight over trivial matters and then reconcile with a laugh. These are things that can be easily resolved in the world. Although emotions might take over in the moment, because we are always trying to be rational, it can sometimes be difficult to resolve such conflicts.

 

The same goes for our relationship with God. Instead of using childish words, we always try to use elegant and formal language with God. We use expressions that we would never use with a close friend. Aren't we being too cautious? This is what I want to say: When you read the Psalms in older translations like the King James Version, the archaic language makes it feel like a story between a king and his subject. Because of this, it can be difficult to fully feel the sincere heart of David.

 

However, when you read a modern translation or a new version of the Bible, you can be surprised at how much more vividly that sincerity is expressed. David speaks bluntly to his enemies, using expressions that we might think, 'How could a person of faith say such things?' In some Psalms, David resists God to the very end, and without ever saying sorry or thank you, he cries out, "Look at my miserable state!" But how formal have our prayers become?

 

When we begin to pray, we say, "We are sinners," and then we add, "God, please listen to this request, too." Then, at the end, we give thanks again and conclude with, "May your will be done." Do you really want God's will to be done? In reality, you want your own will to be done. You are not speaking the true story in your heart; instead, you are trying to say what you think a "good prayer" should sound like.

 

That is why I'm saying your prayers need to be a little more childish. You need to become like a child. What is a child like when they approach their father? In the past, the late Dr. Park Yun-sun was once forced to resign from his professorship because he hosted a missionary on a Sunday, which became a denominational issue. Another time, he forgot to say a prayer before a meal, and that also became a problem. It sounds hard to believe now, but if you look at it broadly, we are similar. We have a very rigid format and image for our faith. If someone deviates from it even a little, we find it difficult to accept their sincerity, and we might even feel uncomfortable.

 

Although our prayers aren't 100% false, they are already too corrupted to honestly express what is deep in our hearts to God. We need to quickly return to our true selves. It is so regrettable that a childlike prayer has disappeared from us. Of course, public prayer cannot be as free as personal prayer.

 

The Assurance of Prayer: God's Presence and Work

Public prayer is different from personal prayer because it gathers the hearts of all the saints to pray together. However, if we lose the intimate relationship with God in our personal prayers and in most of our prayers, our prayers cannot be a friend's prayer or a prayer of true faith.

 

Therefore, when you pray, I want you to remember the awareness that 'I am praying with God, and God is with me in my prayer.' I'm careful when I say this. When we pray, we sometimes use phrases like, "Because you love me so much..." without even realizing it, and I am not trying to point out that this expression is wrong.

 

I am careful about this because I don't want people to point it out when others use such expressions, but the important thing is not the expression itself. You might use the word 'you' because it feels warm, but can you say to God, our Father, "Father, you did this today..."? It's an awkward expression. What I'm trying to say is that when we pray, we unconsciously lose the awareness that God is listening to our prayer. Please, remember this: your prayer is not a monologue; it is a prayer in which God is present. Your words are not simply coming from your mouth; in fact, the Holy Spirit is with you.

 

Why is this so important? Because God is in that prayer, not only my honor but also God's will and honor are at stake. Therefore, we can come to this amazing conclusion about prayer: all the prayers of the saints ultimately and surely accomplish the supremely good and perfect will of God.

 

It is good to be thankful for answered prayers and to rejoice when things happen as you prayed for them. But even in the insignificant prayers, sighs, cries, tears, and even moments of so much pain that you cannot speak, whatever is in your heart, every saint's prayer ultimately accomplishes the supremely good and perfect will of God.

 

This is because God is in that prayer. God's honor, His work, and His power are at stake. This also means that what you want or think may not be what is accomplished, but what God considers to be the best will. How amazing is that? If you acknowledge that you are a saint, God does not forget even a single word you utter in passing, and through all your prayers, He is accomplishing His supremely good will and will continue to do so.

 

If this is not well understood, let me give you a brief example. God is righteous, so it is His will to judge injustice. He must punish. But many predecessors in the faith have prayed, "God, I know of Your righteousness. But for the sake of Your name, please do not bring this judgment. Please show mercy." We sometimes pray like that, too. And it seems as if God changes His mind. This was the case with Jonah's prayer and the prayers of many prophets. It seems as if God forgives and accepts them.

 

The Basis of Prayer: God's Good Will

So, did God's will change? No. God has another clear will: to love, cherish, and be patient with us. How did God fulfill these two wills—the will to judge because He is righteous and the will to forgive because He loves?

 

He sent His Son to receive the judgment that sinners deserved, and He said He would forgive us. This is how God's supremely good and eternal will is accomplished. God's will does not change; rather, it is perfected in the most supremely good way.

 

Why is this important? It is the most important basis for you and me to be able to pray to God. When the Lord says, "Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find," He does not say it in vain. He says it because, "I will surely accomplish even your smallest prayer, even the faintest groan, with the most supremely good outcome."

 

That is truly the case. Do you ever think, 'The prayer I made back then was completely botched...'? Of course. Have you ever made a prayer that wasn't botched? Even the respected pastor Jonathan Edwards never said in his sermons, "One day my prayer was perfect." He always said, "Lord, my prayer is so insignificant and weak, but I pray believing that God will work through it." Were the prayers of Pastor Ju Ki-cheol, Pastor Son Yang-won, Pastor Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Calvin, and Luther perfect and complete? No. They were all botched prayers. There is no prayer of ours that is not botched. But how did God lead the Reformation, and how did He work in their lives? How did He accomplish His will?

 

The Boldness of Prayer and False Certainty

God completed His good will through their prayers. This is the reason we can boldly approach God, pour out everything without ceasing, without worry, and without anxiety. This is because God's good will will surely be done. This is the source of the boldness that you and I have in prayer.

 

If we forget this, we might think prayer is important, but we gradually stop praying. There are two reasons for this. The first is the thought, 'What's the use of my prayer if God's will is going to be done anyway? God knows everything, so do I really need to pray?' The second reason is more dangerous: it's because we can get by without praying. The sky doesn't fall, and things don't suddenly turn upside down. At first, we worry, but as time passes, we get complacent, thinking, 'It's okay.' It's like how it's hard to miss the first or second worship service, but after missing ten times, you think, 'It's fine,' and stop coming.

 

Looking at this, we can see how weak we are. Sometimes, people say this: "I believe in God's sovereignty and providence. Because of that belief, I believe that God will work all things together for good. Therefore, I don't worry." On the surface, this sounds like 100% faith. However, this can be a misguided faith. It may seem like you are enjoying peace in the midst of hardship and tribulation, and it may seem like you have the best faith in God, but that is not always the case. This is when this faith expresses a belief that is stronger than Jesus'. Even Jesus suffered so much before the cross that His sweat became like drops of blood as He prayed.

 

So, if we look at the tribulation before us and say, "I believe in the Lord, so I have no worries," this can be very dangerous. The reason you can talk about 'peace' is precisely because you have gone through conflict and pain before. What does peace mean without that process? When Paul said to rejoice in prison, it wasn't a cheerful statement from someone who had never experienced depression in prison. If someone is always joyful and happy from the moment they enter prison, they might need to go to a hospital.

 

Why are we so imprecise about the way God works? On the surface, there seems to be no difference, but what is true faith? What can you say to someone who says they live a comfortable life by God's grace?

 

The Touchstone of Prayer: An Act of Dependence on God

I will share a "touchstone" with you, so you can apply it to yourself. Don't apply it to others, because you can't know their hearts. This touchstone is only for yourself.

 

The touchstone is this: if you say you believe in God's sovereignty and feel at peace because of it, but you don't pray, then it is a lie. If you say, "God sovereignly leads my life, so my heart is always at peace," but you don't pray, that is a false certainty. Because trusting and believing in God's sovereignty means, "I depend on God alone. I have nothing to hold on to but God."

 

If God does everything according to His will, who should you hold on to? Of course, you should cling to God, approach God, and call out to God. But if you feel at peace without calling out to God, you are brainwashing yourself. Saying, 'I'm okay, I'm at peace, what can happen to me with God?' is a false faith. You should not be deceived by that.

 

If you are at peace because God is with you, then it is right to confess, "Lord, I have no one to cling to but You, so I have no choice but to draw closer to You." So, I repeat, if you say you believe that all things work together for good but do not pray, you are not holding on to God, and you are not a person who depends on God, so you are trapped in a false certainty.

 

The Creativity of Prayer: Participation in the History of Salvation

Now that we have understood prayer this way, let's look at the third and final point about prayer. This part might be a little difficult, so please pay attention.

 

The story goes back to the incident in Egypt where Abraham lied that his wife, Sarah, was his sister. At that time, a plague fell upon Pharaoh. Pharaoh learned the cause of the plague, rebuked Abraham, and sent him away. In this story, it doesn't say that Abraham prayed. The plague simply went away when Abraham left.

 

However, in the story of Abimelech, there is a difference. A plague came upon him in the same way, but God said, "Return Sarah quickly." According to the storyline, the plague should have ended once Sarah was returned. Abimelech didn't even drive Abraham away; he even said, "You can live wherever you want in this land." And yet, the plague did not leave. God said that the plague would only depart if Abraham prayed. Even after everything was returned, the plague only disappeared after prayer.

 

Why did God tell him to pray? It is not to explain that everything is accomplished through the power of prayer. Prayer must be done even when everything is about to be accomplished. You must pray even for things you are sure to receive because of God's promise. This is because the essence of prayer is to show that God and I are friends—that God and I are sharing an intimate love and are together.

 

Unlike the other plague, Abraham's prayer resulted in the opening of the womb. This is a very unique event. The plague did not simply disappear; it manifested as the closing and opening of wombs.

 

Think about it from Abraham's perspective. For 25 years of wandering, what was the most frequent promise he heard? It was God's promise, "I will give you offspring." But it was also the promise that was least kept. Abraham still had no child. But in Abimelech's household, the same thing happened: wombs were closed, and no children were born. This might not have been just a temporary thing. Mothers could not give birth, and the expression that even Abimelech, a man, had his womb closed implies a very serious situation. This is also why Abimelech did not go near Sarah.

 

In other words, although the Bible does not elaborate, for some reason, God was blocking everything that could lead to childbirth in that household. But when Abraham prayed, the wombs were opened. What do you think? He himself had no child, but when he prayed for the foreigner Abimelech, the wombs were opened. Abraham must have felt discouraged, sad, and desperate, thinking, "God, how can this be? What about my Sarah?" He must have thought, 'How could God do something so easy...'

 

But at the same time, if he thought about it for a moment, how happy he must have been! 'If so, God will open Sarah's womb just as He promised!' he must have thought.

 

Why did God do this complicated thing? This is because God is now going to bring about the birth of Isaac through Sarah. This complex content appears because the story of the "offspring of the woman," the promised descendant for the Messiah, is being fulfilled. The story of the "offspring of the woman" that began with Adam and Eve continues, and we call this the "history of salvation," or "redemption history." In this history of salvation, Abraham's prayer is participating in its accomplishment.

 

This is a massive historical event, but on a smaller scale, it applies to each of your personal histories of salvation. For all of you, there was a moment when God called you, made you believe in Jesus, and sing the song of salvation. My prayer is included in the process of my salvation history being fulfilled.

 

Your prayer is not about winning the lottery, finding a lost item, or begging God for something you don't have. God accomplishes your salvation—the salvation you will enjoy with Him forever—through your prayers. So, does it make sense not to pray? God does not miss even the prayers you made without thinking, and He is accomplishing this great salvation through them.

 

Shameless Prayer: A Decision of Love

Prayer is not a simple act; it is almost a creative work. Prayer renews us, helps us realize who we are, and shows us how much God loves us. That is why our prayers always feel shameful and botched.

 

Nevertheless, the reason a shameful prophet's prayer is heard is because it is fulfilling our salvation. Because we are not perfect or complete, God rejoices in perfecting us through our prayers. Therefore, our prayers are always shameful and weak, but they are prayers that God hears and delights in. This is also why God tells us to pray without ceasing. That is why we have no choice but to pray continuously and not give up.

 

In that sense, prayer has to be an event where we, who are shameful, boldly approach God and cry out without being ashamed of our shame. I feel like I have nothing now, I am anxious and afraid. Despite being a shameful prophet who cannot approach God, you and I have been enabled to approach Him.

 

The British pastor Iain Duguid, in writing about Abraham's story, introduced a children's hymn he used to sing. It shows how that hymn reminds us of an amazing truth we had forgotten. The lyrics are:

 

"Jesus loves me when I’m good / When I do the things I should."

(The Lord loves me when I am good and do what I should do.)

 

When we obey God and do well, God loves us, saying, 'You are a good child.' But the next lines continue:

 

"Jesus loves me when I’m bad / Though it makes Him very sad."

(The Lord loves me even when I am really bad and do not do well before God, though all of that makes Him very sad.)

 

If you truly understand the meaning of this verse, you cannot say, "It doesn't matter what I do." God loves us constantly, even when it seems we are not listening to His words and are doing what we want. However, it hurts God's heart so much.

 

This does not mean that it is okay to do whatever you want. When you are so ashamed and weak that you can't do anything, when you can't even pray while lying on the ground, this is the reason you can get up again. "Jesus loves me, this I know."

 

Friends, prayer is the experience of your salvation being accomplished. God knows how lacking you are much better than you do. But the moment you pray, the moment you confess your shortcomings, the moment you say, "Lord, I can't live like this because of this, it's so hard," the Lord will lift you up. In that very place where you are praying, the truth of "Jesus loves me when I'm bad" is realized.

 

Whether I am strong or weak, high or low, it is not I who decides to pray, but God's love that decides my prayer. That is why we pray. We don't become lazy; on the contrary, we are drawn to the Lord even more. 'If the Lord loves me like this, how can I ever let go of Him? If the Lord guides me like this, I want to go to Him even one more time.'

 

'If the Lord loves me like this, if it is His will to accomplish my salvation, please help me live the life of salvation that You expect.' We pray that all those things—loving the saints, sharing what we have with others, enduring much for the kingdom of God, and fulfilling God's will for our children and families—will be accomplished in this prayer and in our lives.

 

Let us pray.

 

Lord, if You accomplish such an amazing history of salvation, let us participate in that salvation with all that we have. Lord, make us pray, and thus complete our salvation. Let us hear Your word and cleanse us.

 

Oh, Lord, let us participate in Your holy word that we see. Let us participate in the holy communion by faith. And thus, accomplish our salvation.

 

Knowing that we will be found in that amazing salvation, we are confident in the name of Jesus Christ that You have already saved us, are saving us now, and will save us in the future. Lord, work in our lives so that we may follow You alone.

 

We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.