Maybe you’ve heard the phrase, “History repeats itself.” That phrase originally is attributed to George Santayana in 1905. What he actually writes in the book Reason for Common Sense is “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it!”. In a 1948 speech to the House of Commons, Winston Churchill changed the quote slightly when he said “those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.”
I can’t help but think about the repeated history in the life of Abraham and his son Isaac. They both lie by telling the same king of the Philistines that their wives were their sisters to protect their own neck. Abraham passed Sarah off as his sister while visiting the palace of King Abimelech in Genesis 20, Years later his son Isaac did the same thing to his wife Rebekah. Why did Isaac repeat his dad’s sin? Maybe a couple of reasons.
First, both didn’t believe God could protect them without lying. Second, our actions, good or bad teach our children. That is a more and more frightening thing to me. It’s a frightening thing for me to take into consideration that my example teaches my kids and grandkids. That’s a fact. Don’t let sin and wrong decisions in your life repeat themselves in those closest to you.