Does this surprise you? It should. If you or I were writing the Bible, we would probably do it in such a way to show the virtues of the people. But this is not what God does. Does this encourage you? It should. God is not about showcasing people’s morality but rather his mercy and faithfulness in spite of their immorality. In other words, our messiness serves to emphasize the immensity of God’s mercy.

Overall, would you say that the characters in the Bible have it all together or are a bit of a mess? If Genesis is any indication of the rest of the Bible (and it is), the answer is most certainly, they are a bit of a mess.

Adam and Eve, the first family, who literally had everything, sinned and lost it all. One of their sons killed the other. The list could go on and on. People in the Bible, like the rest of the world, are a bit of a mess.

Does this surprise you? It should. If you or I were writing the Bible, we would probably do it in such a way to show the virtues of the people. But this is not what God does.

Does this encourage you? It should. God is not about showcasing people’s morality but rather his mercy and faithfulness in spite of their immorality. In other words, our messiness serves to emphasize the immensity of God’s mercy.

We find another example of this point in Genesis 26:6-11. Isaac goes to Gerar and settles. When he gets there, he hatches a plan to protect himself and his family from the people of the land.

When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he feared to say, “My wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,” because she was attractive in appearance. (Gen. 26:7)

Isaac is scared of the men of the land, so he pretends that Rebekah is his sister. Now, aside from the foolishness of the plan, he is not doing a commendable job caring for his wife, and certainly, he is not trusting that God will protect and preserve him. Instead, he is scared. He fears man.

At this point, you are probably thinking, I’ve seen this movie before. And, you’re right, you have. Twice. Isaac’s father, Abraham, did the same thing on two separate occasions. (And, once he did it with some of the same people.) In Genesis 20 Abraham pretends before Abimelech that Sarah is his sister (note: this is many years later, so it’s likely not the same Abimelech, probably a son or grandson). Earlier, he did the same things with the king of Egypt (Gen. 12). In both cases, his deceit was uncovered, and he endured public shame from a pagan king. Remarkably, God ultimately blessed him in spite of his deception.

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