Daily Lectionary | Genesis 20 & John 10
Genesis 20
Summary
The scene in Genesis 20 is familiar: Abraham and Sarah travel to a foreign land, Abraham calls his wife his sister who is then taken by a foreign king but discovered to be Abraham’s wife. This episode recalls the similar one in Genesis 12:10-20. In Genesis 12, Abraham and Sarah journey to Egypt but now in Genesis 20, they are in Gerar, the land of the Philistines who are related to Egyptians (cf. Gen. 10:13-14). Abraham seeks to protect not just himself but his bride. Saying the partial truth that he is her brother would have given men pause since the brother typically stood between his sister and prospective suitors. But Abimelech, after he takes Sarah, is warned in a dream that he’s a dead man!
Whereas Pharoah sent Abraham and Sarah away, Abimelech seeks peace with Abraham, now knowing that he’s a prophet of the Lord. The Lord tells Abimelech he must get Abraham to pray on his behalf. Abraham does that and Abimelech is healed along with the women so that they might bear children.
Setting this story in the larger story of Genesis, we might consider the ongoing war between the serpent and the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15). Birth and fertility become important places of battle. Here, though Abimelech is restrained from evil, he is almost complicit in an evil to take the woman for himself. Like in Garden, the serpent comes after the bride. The Lord restrained Abimelech who turns out not to be a serpent figure. Yet a curse comes on Abimelech and the women of his land as their wombs were closed. The Lord is the closer and opener of the womb. He opened the wombs in Gerar with Abraham’s prayer. The opened womb of Sarah will now come into focus.
(See Alistair Robert’s piece on Genesis 20 for further analysis.)
Reflection Questions
- How do we see the exodus theme play out in Genesis 20?
- Given the promise to Eve that her seed will destroy the serpent in Genesis 3:15, consider the role of barrenness in Genesis and other places in Scripture.
John 10
Summary
In Micah 2:12-13, the Lord promises to gather the remnant of Israel “like sheep in a fold,” the Lord is the one that goes before the sheep opening up the gate so they can pass through. Many other places in the Old Testament allude to shepherd of the Lord (cf. Ezekiel 34 and Psalm 23). Now, Jesus Christ identifies himself as the good shepherd (Jn. 10:11) who lays down his life for his sheep.
John 10 continues Jesus' discussion with the Pharisees. The Pharisees fashioned themselves as the gatekeepers of the pen, but Jesus claims that he is the door or gate. It’s folks like the Pharisees who are robbers, thieves, wolves, and hired hands.
The good shepherd willingly will lay down his life and has authority to take it up again. This anticipates Jesus’ death and resurrection. Further, the good shepherd will bring in Gentile sheep into one sheepfold.
Reflection Questions
- Consider how Jesus has been a good shepherd already in John's gospel (look particularly at John 6:1-15).
- We often think of shepherds in more serene terms, but shepherds in scripture are fierce, dealing with things like wild animals and death. How does John 10 and passages like Ezekiel 34 reorient our understanding of what a shepherd is? How might this understanding help inform what a good pastor is to be?