Genesis 21-23

It took me about 8 minutes to read this passage.  There was a saying among the people of Israel, who had only recently come out of slavery in Egypt; “On the mountain of God, he sees to it.”  That saying must have been spoken through the generations, but God wanted his people to understand how the saying got its start.  Much like the phrases “all men are created equal”, and “no taxation without representation” among Americans.  How many of us really understand the history that led to those words being written down, and the social and political power of such a statement.  For generations the people of Israel, held in slavery, had been quoting the words of Abraham and may not have understood why Abraham spoke those words initially.  They were words of astonished worship at what God had done.  The very existence of the people of Israel was the fruit of those words.  We, like those of Israel, need to understand why we speak certain phrases, because when we understand why the words were first spoken then we will understand the lesson that God is still seeking to teach his people.

Stuart