Sip Saturday

Week #30 Hebrews 2:16

**Sip Saturday is written by our Saturday morning contributor, M.H. Elrich. A beautifully gifted Christian author who seeks to honor the Trinity in her writing. She hopes that her words will encourage women to draw closer to God, whether that is through her fantasy series or her weekly devotionals.

Cornerstone Scripture:

“For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.”

-Hebrews 2:16 ESV

Most people know the story of Abraham and Issac, but do you know that Abraham was a liar? Yes, Abraham was a man of faith who was willing to sacrifice his one and only son to God. This story of his sacrifice is one that will not be forgotten because it foretells Jesus’ death. Yet, in Genesis 12 and 20, Abraham lied that Sarah was not his wife, but his sister.

Wait! You may cry, technically Sarah was his half-sister! Yes, but he still lied about her true identity and caused problems for two different leaders. First, for Pharoah, who seeing her beauty, desired her as his wife. As soon as he took Sarah (Sarai at the time) into his house, they were plagued (Genesis 12:17).

God protected Sarah and Abraham, despite his lie.

The second time, Abimelech king of Gerar wanted Sarah as his own. Then, God came to him in a dream and threatened his life for taking Sarah (Genesis 20:3).

God protected Abraham and Sarah, despite his lie.

Even though the offspring of Abraham is directly referring to the modern day Jewish people, Jesus pointed out to the religious leaders of his day that being a descendent of Abraham wasn’t everything. He said, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.” (Luke 3:8). Later on, Jesus’s disciples and followers would confirm that a person doesn’t need to be a blood relative of Abraham to be considered one of the faith. Instead, faith like Abraham can make people one of his offspring (Romans 4:16).

Thus, when the author of Hebrews states that God helps the offspring of Abraham, we can take that to mean ourselves. That means, just like God protected Abraham despite his failings, we can know he is looking out for us too.

This doesn’t mean taking advantage of his grace and kindness, but it does mean we can live in confidence of his love for us. We can also know that even though we make mistakes, He will help us navigate them and bring us into a better relationship with Himself. We should rest in knowing that He is looking out for us, keeping His peace within our hearts.

Let’s pray.

Dear Lord, thank you for welcoming me into your family as children of Abraham. Help me to rest in your peace, knowing that no matter my failings, you’re looking out for me. Amen.