Men Behaving Badly

DAILY BYTE

Yesterday, we began a discussion prompted by Hebrews 11 – which looks more deeply at the issue of what it means to have faith. The author of Hebrews 11 holds up a number of Old Testament figures (or heroes of the faith) as inspiration and encouragement to the rest of us.

However, when you look carefully at the stories of these of these figures – and I mean carefully in reading parts of Scripture that aren’t read in church or included in our daily devotions too often – you may be forgiven for wondering why on earth they are styled as heroes!

For we encounter stories about a bunch of men behaving rather badly at times. We find these heroes of the faith lie, cheat, break promises and endanger women.
Abraham for example, twice deceived others by telling them that that Sarah was not his wife but his sister. Abraham does this because he fears for his own safety but in so doing, he places Sarah’s life at great risk because she was taken from him into various harems.

Or what about the story of how Jacob married Rachel (who was in fact Leah)? Sounds a little like your favourite soapie doesn’t it? Jacob, of course, is well known for deceiving his own father and cheating his brother out if his birth rights. He is forced to flee from his brother’s wrath to the safety of his uncle’s tents, where he promptly falls in love with his cousin Rachel. He offers to work seven years for his uncle to win her hand.

After the seven years is completed, and under the cover of darkness and Jacob’s own inebriation, his uncle tricks him and sneaks Leah rather than Rachel into the marriage tent. Leah was Rachel’s older sister. Jacob the Deceiver takes umbrage at being so fooled, but his uncle placates him by throwing Rachel into the marriage deal as well, but only for another seven year’s work.

Throughout their marriage there is great enmity between the sister-wives over the issue of children, and both of them end up offering their hand-maidens to Jacob to sleep with as a way of getting further children for themselves and thus increasing their power base within the home.

And you thought your family was dysfunctional!

Of course there are many other stories we could look at with similar themes – men and women who are upheld by Scripture as heroes and heroines of the faith – and yet they often make foolish, greedy or cowardly decisions.

What exactly is it about them we are meant to learn from? Well, we will discuss this in more detail tomorrow but in the meantime why not make a list of reasons you feel that we can learn from these Old Testament characters despite their flaws and mistakes.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Thank you, Almighty God, for the lineage of grace that runs through all the heroes and heroines of faith who have walked before me and upon whose shoulders I stand. Thank you for the ‘warts-and-all’ honesty of their stories which brings encouragement and hope to me. Amen.

FOCUS VERSE

Hebrews 11 : 8-10

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.