(OPINION) Charisma – In just a few days here in the United States, we will know the results of one of the most divisive presidential elections in our nation’s history. I also know that because my blogs get shared with more than 2 million people each week. Considering that number, no matter which candidate and party wins some of those reading this will be disappointed. Because I know this is true, I thought that for this week’s blog I would write something that could be an encouragement to those reading this no matter who wins the election.
To do this, I thought I would compare two of the best-known men in the Bible and how they handled the news of something devastating that affected their world. These two men are Noah and Abraham. The lives of these two men are in many ways very similar.
For instance, both men had a conversation with G-D in which G-D told them in advance of a devastating calamity that was coming upon the earth. In the case of Noah, it was the flood and in Abraham’s case, it was the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. They both witnessed these horrible events taking place but their responses are very different.
Let’s look a little deeper. Noah saw the world becoming corrupt and violent as we read in Genesis 6:11-12 (TLV): “Now the earth was ruined before God, and the earth was filled with violence. God saw the earth, and behold it was ruined because all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.”
This was followed by Noah faithfully building the ark and getting inside with his family, which were the only human survivors of the flood. Abraham’s experience was a little different. In Genesis 16, Abraham’s wife was barren and he has a child with his servant Hagar. In Genesis 17, his plan for Ishmael to be his heir is changed. In Genesis 18, G-D tells Abraham he will have a son with Sarah and that Sodom and Gomorrah will be decimated. READ MORE