See + Take
There is a pattern throughout the Bible that continues today. When we see with our human eyes and take what isn’t ours to have, it leads to unintended negative consequences.
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Nostalgia is powerful. I was transported back 30+ years as I did a couple of quick Google searches on my favorite t-shirts. Instantly, looking at some images, I once again became a 16-year-old lying on my waterbed (yes, I had a waterbed). As a teenager in the late 80s and early 90s, I had two favorite t-shirts — the kind of shirts you wear threadbare. The holes from constant wearing and washing were signs of respect.
The first was my Michael Jordan x Spike Lee shirt. Spike’s Mars character was classic Spike Lee, and Michael Jordan is, well, Michael Jordan (who, by the way, is the greatest basketball player of all time (props to Lebron)…an argument I have with my sons all the time). The other was a Stussy t-shirt with a rasta character wearing a crown and the label “Knowledge is king.” Many things I wore 30 years ago don’t stand up over time. This shirt does. The simple design, the dope character, and, of course, the message. More powerful than nostalgia is knowledge.
Knowledge is king.
My family has been on multiple mission trips to Reynosa, Mexico, to build homes for the homeless. We build in and around a dump that is home to a community of squatters. While the homes we provide empower these families and are hope-giving, they aren’t the long-term answer to the cycle of generational poverty.
A few years back, I met a young San Antonio man on our building trip. He lived in San Antonio, but he was originally from Reynosa—not far from this community we were building in. While he hadn’t dealt with the extreme poverty the families we build for struggle with, he grew up poor by American standards. When asked about the answer to the poverty around us, his answer was simple—education.
Education allowed this young man to move to Texas to continue his studies and find a job in the United States. It broke the poverty cycle in his family. Knowledge is king. The power of knowledge goes beyond financial poverty, too. People everywhere struggle with spiritual, emotional, physical, and relational poverty. We are all poor in some area, and knowledge enriches us in those areas.
This month, I’m working to enrich all of us in learning to interpret scripture. On the surface, the Book of Genesis is full of interesting stories. This alone can deepen our walk with God, but you'll find so much more as you dig a little deeper. There are five symbols I’m writing about this month, all found in Genesis 12. In this chapter, I identified five themes found throughout the Bible: Covenant | Faith | Promises, Egypt, Men + Women, See + Take, Trees. Today, we’ll focus on the pattern of see + take.
See and Take
Before we jump into this part of the story, let’s get a quick recap of what’s happened to this point in the chapter:
God starts his redemption plan for humanity with Abraham. 1
God calls Abraham to go to an unknown land and promises him blessings to bless others (creates covenant). 2
Almost immediately, God allows a famine to hit the land Abraham settles in.3
Rather than trust in God’s provision, Abraham heads south to Egypt.4
Fearing for his safety, Abraham asks his wife, Sarah, to take the role of his sister.5
A Snake in the Garden
For just a moment, let’s go back to the Garden of Eden. Let me show you something you can continue to look for through scripture. This is after God has given Adam and Eve the command to not eat from the one tree holding the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent has come to tempt Eve with half-truths, and it’s come to the moment of truth.
The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. -Genesis 3:6-7
I highlighted the two important words of this passage — see and take — and I highlighted the immediate consequences of their sin. It is a point the biblical authors want us to see. When we see with our human eyes and take what isn’t ours to have, it leads to unintended consequences. We now know what the consequences Adam and Eve faced — both from the passage and our own lived experiences. Their eyes were opened, they felt shame, and they endured the curse following their actions.
We know these consequences too.
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A King in Egypt
This is pattern repeats itself over and over — see, take, eyes opened, shame, and consequences. It is the story of Cain and Able. We see it with Noah and his sons after the flood. And now it reappears with Abraham (actually Pharaoh). These are all little mini reenactments of what happens with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eve. Here is what happens in Genesis 12:
When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.” And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had. -Genesis 12:14-19
Pharaoh saw Sarah, and he took her. While he didn’t know it, Sarah wasn’t his to take. Notice what happens next — his eyes were opened (we’re not exactly sure how he knows his sin, but he sees the consequences for sure), he feels shame, and he endures plagues (another embedded meme looking toward the future). The message is clear. When we see something that isn’t ours to have, and we take it, then we suffer shame and consequence.
See and Take vs Given Freely
The contrast to see and take is found in the very next chapter. Abraham and his nephew, Lot, have too many flocks to coexist, so they permanently split into two separate camps. Lot heads to the lush land near Sodom, and Abraham went to Canaan. When Abraham settles, God appears to him and gives him this message:
The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever.” -Genesis 13:14-15
God wants to give you good things. When we wait for God to give to us the good things he has in mind, we experience his blessing, and we are enabled to bless others at the same time. However, when we see and take, it leads to shame and consequences rather than the blessings God wants to give us. In fact, Abraham reaps the consequences of his own see and take moment with the ‘fruit’ of the gifts he received from Pharaoh.
A Servant from Egypt
Abraham and Sarah became tired of waiting for God to give them a son from which a nation could be born. So, together, Abraham and Sarah, saw their servant Hagar, and took her for Abraham’s mistress. As you could guess from this series of examples, the consequences weren’t good. In this case it wasn’t shame but contempt born out of their decision. Hagar had contempt for Sarah, and Sarah responded with contempt for Hagar and her son.
The world is still reaping the consequences of Abraham’s choice. Two nations continue to view each other with hatred and contempt. They are very literally at war with one another.
Waiting is Painful
God has amazing gifts for you. These are the dreams you’ve held onto for months and years. The natural response is to grasp and take what isn’t yours to have. Wait. Wait for God to give you the good and perfect version of what you desire.
Years ago, I left a family business because of disagreements. I had an idea of building a blog/website to sell to the same group of people we were selling to. That alone wasn’t a problem. However, there were some digital products that belonged to the family business that weren’t mine to sell. I saw them as an opportunity and took them as mine.
I sold a few, gaining a temporary profit, but eventually my family found out, and it rightfully brought shame and a further severed relationship. I should have waited to let the business grow (or not) naturally. If I was to be successful, it needed to be given to me from God. I need to wait.
I know. The waiting is incredibly hard. It’s painful for you to see others enjoying what you feel could or should be yours. Wait. Wait for God to give it you.
Sometimes your wait will feel like punishment.
For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
-Hebrews 12:11
You may think or feel like “God must be mad at me.” God isn’t mad at you, but your wait may be the discipline or training ground of God in your life. Hebrews tells us discipline from God is like training from a good and caring parent, and it ultimately leads to a better life.
Writing Playlist
I don’t know if we have the same taste in music, but here are some songs to explore. All the links go to Spotify. While writing this post, this is some of what I was listening to:
Late Night Tales (2002) - Groove Armada
Late Night Tales (2008) - Groove Armada
Late Night Tales (2012) - Groove Armada
Genesis 11:27-12:9
Genesis 12:1-9
Genesis 12:10
Genesis 12:10
Genesis 12:11-13