Big Bible Questions, What is the matter?

God heard the lad crying; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.

Gen. 21:17 (NASB)

OK. Hagar had made her own bed. Now she was sleeping in it. For years she had been rubbing her fertility in Sarah’s face. Ever since Sarah had her child, Hagar had been making life miserable for both – and her son Ishmael had been doing the same. Now they were outcasts from the family they had loved and been loved in. While she probably knew that a righteous judgment had come upon her, she was never the less saddened and heartbroken by her situation. It was bleak. It seemed that death was eminent. They had neither water nor food. Starvation was not the true enemy. Hagar knew without the water, food was useless. She did what any good woman would do – she cried out to God, if there was a God as Abraham had taught her.

Ishmael was crying in the wilderness; Hagar had given up, and God spoke through an angel in the midst of her turmoil asking, “What is the matter with you, Hagar?” I can just hear the voice in Hagar’s mind shouting, “Here I am in the desert without water and food. My son is dehydrating – even faster now that he is crying. We are going to die out here and there is not even anyone to give us a proper burial. What do you think is wrong? If you are truly from God, you know full well what is wrong!” But, there is no record that she spoke those obvious words. It appears she remained silent. The angel continued, “Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.”

Have you ever asked a “stupid question”? You know, the one you wished you could take back. We all have – usually in the most embarrassing possible setting. What do you think when it appears that God is asking you a stupid question? Do you respond like our imaginary Hagar conversation? All too often we do. Hagar was probably silent because women were not allowed to speak in public to men. That didn’t keep her from thinking. We are freer in our society. Most of us don’t think twice when an authority figure approaches us. We are of the nature that we will speak our minds. I went to a meeting the some time ago where people were supposed to submit questions on paper. In the midst of an explanation, a woman stood up and rebelliously spoke her mind – and not in a very pretty tone of voice either. That is just the way Americans are. If we heard the audible voice of God ask us, “What is the matter?” We would be likely to give God a few choice words before we allowed Him to respond – especially if the problem was as obvious as Hagar’s.

But God IS asking us, “What is the matter?” He asks us constantly. Not because He doesn’t know, but because He wants us to respond. We are an independent lot, us Yanks. We fought for our independence in 1776, and no one will take it away from us. Despite our independence, or perhaps because of it, we are often in trouble. We say a cross word to the boss. We are in trouble. We pass on a bit of juicy gossip that is flat out false; it gets back to the object of our wagging tongue. We are in trouble. We are late for work and exceed the speed limit through a radar trap. We are in trouble. We say something derogatory in class. We are in trouble. So let’s stop the cycle.

When God asks you, “What is the matter?” will you be honest? Or will you be sharp and nasty? God never asks a question He doesn’t want answered. What will you say? “I hurt.” “I have failed and I feel so bad.” “I have made some serious mistakes and my wife hates me.” When God asks, be honest. He knows what the problem is. He just wants you to express it in your own words. Then He can resolve the difficulty.

Big Bible Questions, Who is with you?

Then the two men said to Lot, “Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place …”

Gen. 19:12 (NASB)

Questions. We ask them every day. “Where are you going, son? Who will you be with? How long will you be? What are you going to do?” When we ask questions, we expect answers. As we discovered last time, we don’t always get the answer we want. Today’s verse asks a question and gives an answer – but the answer didn’t fit well with the facts of reality.

God had just told Abraham that He, God, was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for the grievous sin of homosexuality (sound familiar?). Both cities were filled with moral, spiritual, and physical filth. It seems that the citizens of these communities were beyond redemption for Abraham had pleaded with God to save the cities if fifty righteous people were found there. Then, not believing himself that there were fifty, he bargained the number to forty-five, then forty, then thirty, and finally twenty. It seems that he might have felt fairly secure at twenty among the thousands of residents of both cities.

When God’s angels entered Sodom, they went straight to Lot’s house and asked today’s question. “Whom else have you here?” True to God’s word, the census was taken. Lot was sure he had a significant number. He was asked to lead them all out of the city. The end list was rather dismal. Lot assembled his two daughters, his wife, and himself. Even counting the two angels, the number of righteous in Sodom amounted to six. It is rather obvious that Lot didn’t have much to account for during his stay in “Sin City”. And even what he had was suspect.

The angels lead Lot and his family out of the city leaving them at the city limits after instructing the family to flee to the hills and not look back.  Suspect family member number one was Lot’s wife. We all know that she looked back as the city exploded into flames … and was turned into a pillar of salt. Her heartstrings were attached to the allurement of Sodom. What we often overlook is the remainder of the family members.

For some reason, Lot did not turn to Abraham. He hung out in the hills with his daughters. At some distant point the daughters disparaged ever being able to marry and plotted an act every bit as shameful as any of Sodom or Gomorrah. “We’re not getting any younger, and we have no hope of ever marrying,” said the oldest. “Let’s get our father drunk on the nights when we are most fertile and lay with him.” This plot they carried out to perfection. Both became pregnant by their father. Suspect family member numbers two and three. Lot didn’t have much left. How many were really with Lot? The count is down to one. And what about Lot himself? Even Lot is suspect. Why was he living in the city? He was a shepherd. Is it possible that Lot did not see the green grasses as much as he saw the gleaming lights of Sin City?

How many are with us? Hmmmm. I think I had better take stock of my life. What about you? What are we really living for? Where are we really going? What are we really doing with our lives? Who are we taking with us? Do we want to leave a legacy that matches Lot’s … or Abraham’s?