Reacting to Fears

A unifying theme in this passage of Genesis is the types of fears experienced by Lot, by his two daughters, by Abraham, and by King Abimelech. Though initially wanting to flee to Zoar, Lot became afraid to live there, his daughters were afraid they'd have no heirs, Abraham was afraid for his own life when he claimed Sarah was his sister, and Abimelech feared the swift judgment of God for taking another man's wife into his household. The basic remedy to the fears that invade our lives is to trust in God. We also see, as in Abraham's case, that sin not truly repented of can manifest itself many years later. Only the pagan Abimelech seems to have had a commendable fear of God's judgment. Yet we also see in Abraham that despite his weaknesses, he is still called "a prophet" by Yahweh and he exercised his priestly ministry by interceding in prayer for Abimelech and the women in his household. So God works with us, despite our failures and sins, to accomplish his gracious purpose in and through our lives.