Genesis 17 The Lord appeared to Abram once again when he is 99 years old. Many years had passed since the day that He made the first covenant promising the land to Abraham's descendants.  Ishmael is now 13 years old.  Sarai is still barren and almost 90 years old.  Yet, God tells Abram that he will have a son with Sarai.. in fact it will happen within the next year. 

God gives Abram a name change.. he becomes Abraham.. "father of multitudes."  Sarai becomes Sarah.. "Princess"..  Their son will be named Isaac - "He laughs".  God initiates a new covenant with Abraham.. He will bless and multiply Abraham's descendants  and Abraham will circumcise all the males in his household.  God promises to always be the God of Abraham's descendants.. and He will make them a fruitful nation. 

Abraham believed God and obeyed by circumcising himself and all the males in his household that very same day.  

Abraham wanted blessing for Ishmael too.  " Oh that Ishmael might live before Thee!" he asked the Lord. And God promised to bless him and make him into a great nation too. But, the covenant would be kept with those that came from Abraham and Sarah.  Isaac would be the one to receive the covenant and promise. Once again we see God making a distinction between one person and the other.

Father in heaven, You are the Sovereign God, Almighty and Infinite in wisdom and power. You have moved throughout history to bring us to the place we are today... You know both where we have come from and where we are going.. We thank You that we are called by Your Name and belong to You. We believe that You have brought us to this day.. to this place.. for Your purposes.  You have circumcised our hearts.. that we might be fully Yours. May we walk in truth and righteousness before You today and every day. Fill us Spirit of God that we might be a holy people.. set apart for Your glory.  We worship and bow before You, willing to surrender all to You, even as Abraham did so many years ago.  Help us we pray. Amen. 

 Genesis 16  Sarai and Abram were getting older and they still had no children.  Sarai was desperate to have a child but she was barren.  She thought about another way.. she would give her maid, Hagar, to Abram so that he would have a son through that relationship.  It was meant to be a surrogacy, but when Hagar became pregnant immediately, she "despised " her mistress.  Things were not what Sarai had imagined at all..  and so, she blamed it all on Abram. 

Abram didn't take responsibility for Hagar or Sarai.. instead he told Sarai to do whatever she wanted with Hagar.   Sarai treated Hagar so "harshly" that Hagar ran away.  So now she was in an even worse situation.. she was pregnant, alone, a run-away, and without hope. 

But... God.. had another plan.. even for one like Hagar.  He "found" her in the wilderness..."Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from and where are you going?"   He called her by name.  He reminded her of who she was.. not Abram's wife.. but Sarai's maid.  Hagar might have thought she was better than Sarai, since she could have a child and Sarai could not.. maybe she thought she could usurp Sarai's position as Abram's first wife. She had overstepped her position.. forgot who she really was.. an Egyptian slave girl.  The Lord gently reminds Hagar of her need to submit to Sarai.. " Return to your mistress and submit yourself to her authority."  

The Lord asked Hagar where she had come from and where she was going. She confessed that she was fleeing from her mistress.. but she had no answer for where she was going.  She didn't know.. It would have been hard to go back.. but the Lord met Hagar in a personal and powerful way that day.  She called  Him "a God who sees".    He told her that she would have a son and name him Ishmael..( a name that means God hears) ...  so Hagar returned to her home and bore a son for Abram. 

Father in heaven, thank You for being a God who sees and a God who hears.. thank You for finding us when we have run away and don't know what to do.  Thank You for knowing exactly what to do to reach us when we can't find our way out the situations we put ourselves in!  Father, You have promised to draw near to those who draw near to You.. and we are so thankful that You do, but thankful even more that You find us first.. when we don't even know how to seek You or draw near to You. You know where we have come from and where we are going.. even when we don't know that ourselves.  You call us by name.. You bring us home.. Thank you Jesus!  May we submit to Your Spirit's leading and trust completely that You see us and You hear us.. and that You are always willing to draw near! In Jesus' name we pray Amen. 

 Genesis 15  Abram committed himself to the "Lord God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth".   His relationship with his God was growing as he continued to call on the name of the Lord.  In this chapter the Lord makes a covenant with Abram. 

In the first verse the Lord said to Abram, " Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your very great reward." (NIV).   God proclaims Himself to be a shield for Abram.. a protector; a defense;  He also proclaims to be Abram's reward - his payment, wages, fare, compensation.. These words assured Abram that God was on his side and he did not have to fear anything else.. neither war.. or poverty.  God had a great plan for Abram and his descendants.. 

There was only one problem... in Abram's eyes.. he had no son. The only one who would benefit from Abram's blessings would be his own servant. The Lord made a promise to Abram then.. " one who shall come forth from your own body.. shall be your heir." 

Verse 6 "Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness."  Abram "believed".. he confirmed and established his permanent relationship with the Lord God Most High.  He took God's right hand.. so to speak.. committing himself to Him.  The Lord "reckoned"  or "counted" Abram's faith .. He considered as something of value and esteemed it..  "as righteousness".... justification; salvation; right. Abram took God's right hand..and they shook on it! God valued this commitment and considered Abram just. 

To celebrate and confirm the covenant between God and Abram a sacred ceremony is conducted.  Abram follows God's instructions and brings a sacrifice of "a heifer, a goat, a ram, a dove, and a pigeon".  The first three are cut in two and arranged in rows.  The birds were not cut in half.  During the night the Lord comes to Abram and tells him what would happen to the following generations of his family.  Then "a smoking firepot and a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces."  This confirmed God's covenant with Abram. 

Father, You made a way for Abram.. You established a covenant relationship with him.. You pursued him and he called on You.  There is something so precious and comforting in the way You bring us each to faith.. to have this intimate, personal relationship with Yourself.. just like You did with Abraham.  You are so gracious and merciful.. to call us.. to choose us.. to move us into a sacred partnership with Yourself.. our Lord, the God Most High.  Thank You, Lord. For saving my soul.. for making me whole.. for giving to me such a great salvation!  Be glorified in all the earth, Lord God! Let the name of Jesus be proclaimed! Amen. 

 Genesis 14 War... kings and armies gathered together to attack other kings and their cities.  In the midst of this conflict.. Lot and his family and all of his belongings are swept up into captivity.  But, Abram hears of this and takes his 318 men, along with his allies from Mamre..  and goes after his nephew.  He divides his forces, goes in at night, and defeats the enemies.  It is a miraculous victory. 

Abram rescues Lot, his family, and all of his possessions.  Then he returns home, meeting along the way two kings.  One, the defeated king of Sodom and the other, Melchizedek, the king of Salem.  One wants his people back and offers Abram the goods he had brought back.  The other brings bread and wine.  One returns to a wicked city filled with sinful people.. and the other blesses Abram, because he "was a priest of the most high God. "

Abram refuses to take anything from the king of Sodom.  But, he gives a tithe to the King of Salem. 

What seems amazing to me at this point is that Lot returns to Sodom.  He doesn't discern the character of this king or of the people that surround him. He returns to a place that would eventually be destroyed because of its wickedness.  Why would he want to stay there?

Abram makes a pledge to the Lord.. "I have sworn to the Lord God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong.." from Sodom's king.  He wants no association with the wickedness of the city or its king.  God gave Abram discernment.  He was growing Abram's faith and trust in Him. 

We call Abraham a man whose faith was counted as righteousness.. but that faith was developed over years and through circumstances that Abram lived through.  Just like us.  We hear the Word of God.. we experience the work of God.. and we begin to know the "Lord God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth."   God works in our lives to develop us into men and women of faith. Then, he counts it as righteousness for us too!  Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Father in heaven, have Your way in our hearts and lives today we pray.. in Jesus' name. amen. 

 Genesis 13  Abram, Sarai, and Lot returned from Egypt, back to Bethel.. to the same place that Abram had built an altar to the Lord.  Once again we are told, "there Abram called on the name of the Lord." 

Both Abram and Lot had acquired abundant possessions.. herds and flocks and tents.. They both had herdsmen that worked for them and the groups began to have some conflicts.  Abram graciously offered Lot whatever land he desired so that they could separate their belongings.  Lot chose to go toward the valley of Jordan.. an area that looked "like the garden of the Lord".  He traveled  eastward with all that he had and settled near Sodom.. which, we know, was a place filled with evil men. 

Abram settled in the land of Canaan.. and God once again promised him the land.. and descendants to fill the land.  "And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered." 

Abram once again searched out the land God was giving him and settled "by the oaks of Mamre" and built another altar there.  This became "home" for Abram. 

I'm struck again by the way that God separates one thing from another.. from the start He separated light from dark, day from night.. water from land.  Then, after the flood He separated the 3 sons of Noah and then separated the nations and languages.  Here, we see Him separate Lot from Abram.. He chose to bless this one man over all the others that were filling the earth.  We know that God is not done with separating.. One day He will separate the goats from the sheep.. the wheat from the chaff.. the believers from the world.. Our infinite and unchanging God is at work.. and we wait expectantly to see what He will do next!

Father in heaven, You are the God who is still blessing Abraham.. filling the earth with his descendants.  As Paul wrote in Romans that "not the children of the flesh.. but the children of the promise" who are regarded as descendants of Abraham.. And in Galatians he wrote.. " And if you belong to Christ then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise."  We marvel at this blessing.. to be part of the Your promise given those many years ago..children of promise, Abraham's offspring.. because of Jesus Christ who is our Lord and King.  Sometimes we feel so few in number.. outnumbered by those of the world.. but Your promise is true and You are still separating out for Yourself a people to call upon Your Name... a people that are without number! Thank You Lord! amen. 

 Genesis 11: 10-32  This chapter lists the descendants of Shem..  10 generations from Shem to Abram. Each generation produced many sons and daughters and the earth was beginning to be filled with people once again.  Although Shem lived over 500 years each succeeding generation had a shorter lifespan.  Terah, Abram's father lived to be 205.  The passage tells us more about Terah .  He had 3 sons.. Abram, Nahor, and Haran. .."and Haran became the father of Lot."  

Haran had 3 children before he died.. Lot, Milcah, and Iscah.    Abram and Nahor both married.  Abram married Sarai and Nahor married Milcah, who was the daughter of Haran.  Terah took Abram and Sarai and Lot and left Ur and moved to a place named Haran.  It appears that Nahor and his family stayed behind. It was there in Haran that Terah died. 

Chapter 12 Everything that came before this chapter has been background information.. now we get to the point... Abram is in position for what God wants to do in him and through him.  The first thing He wants to do in Abram's life is to move him.. move him further away from Babylon and the influence of the Chaldeans.  He asks Abram to leave.. but to walk in faith.. "Go .. to the land I will show you." 

God makes a promise to Abram.. " I will make you a great nation and I will bless you;  I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed by you." 

Abram and Sarai and Lot left Haran together and traveled to Canaan.  The first place they stop is Shechem.  Here the Lord appears and says, " To your offspring I will give this land."  Abram built and altar and worshiped the Lord there.  Then he went further to Bethel, still in Palestine, and "there he built and altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord." (v8). A deeper relationship with God was beginning to form. 

If only Abram had stopped there!  But, there was a famine and so Abram and all his troop went to Egypt. Abram was afraid that the Egyptians would kill him and take Sarai, for she was a beautiful woman, so he made her say that she was his sister.  Pharaoh did take Sarai, but when a plague struck his household he found out that she was Abram's wife and sent her back to him and sent them all away. 

And that is how Abram ends back in Bethel. 

Father, You order our steps.  We want to walk in faith and trust You to place us where You want us to be and to do the things you want us to do.  Lead us in Your paths of righteousness and truth.  Thank You for the lessons we learn through Your people.  Help us to heed Your commands and continually seek Your face.  We ask this  in Jesus' name. amen. 

 Genesis 11:1-9  As the descendants of Noah multiplied and moved apart they formed people groups and eventually nations.  Up to this point the Bible tells us, "the whole earth used the same language and the same words".   But, that was about to change.  When Nimrod and his clan reached the land of Shinar.. which became Babylon.. they decided to build a great city with a great tower.. one that would "reach into heaven." The stated purpose of their building was to "make for ourselves a name".  Instead of continuing to move forward and keep on filling the earth as they were commanded to do.. they wanted to stay in this place and rule.  

"And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men had built."   That the Lord would intervene here shows us that this was a pivotal time in history.  His intervention would change the "whole earth".  The first thing He did was "confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."  The second thing He did was to scatter "them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth;"  

Just think of that!  One day you are all working together on this incredible city and talking together about the greatness of your project.. and the next you are speaking a language that your brother cannot understand.. and you find yourself in a completely different location than you started out! 

"And they stopped building the city.. " 

God's intervention stopped this infamous tower.. but we know that men went on to build more.  The city was called "Babel" - confusion.  It became Babylon.  Out of this city came a fierce and evil nation...  and an enemy of God's chosen people. 

We read in the book of Revelation that there will come a day when Babylon will  fall for a final time... "for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities." (18:5) Babylon is associated with all that is evil.. with immortality, sensuality, demons, and arrogance.  She wallows in her wealth.. but her fall will be great. 

Revelation also reminds us that God calls His people out from the place of evil. He calls us to Himself and frees us from the dominion of darkness.  He alone can bring us into the Kingdom of His Son... a Kingdom that will never fall!

Father in heaven, we thank You again for making a way when there was no other way!  You have intervened in our lives.. bringing us out of darkness and into the true Light by Your rich mercy and unending grace.  Thank You for Jesus Christ our Lord who has purchased us by His own blood, precious blood, shed for our salvation. Lord, lead us ever closer to Your promised Land and deliver us from all evil. We ask this in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen. 

 Genesis 10-  Some people hate to read genealogies.. and some find them fascinating.  This chapter is all about the sons of Noah.. Shem, Ham, and Japheth.   It tells us the names of their children and grandchildren.. and the generations that followed. These families became the source of all the nations that we know today.  We all can look back at our ancestors..to some extent.. but if we could go back far enough we would find Noah in our lineage. 

Verse 5 tells us that the descendants of Japheth went to the "coastlands of the nations".  We recognize a few names listed here... Magog.. Tarshish.. Kittites.   These are northern tribes ( north of Israel) and may have extended into Greece and Cyprus.  

Verses 6-20 tell about the descendants of Ham.  Ham had 4 sons and their descendants inhabited the eastern and southern areas of Mesopotamia.  Arabia, Egypt, northern Africa.. are some of the nations that rose up from the sons of Ham.  Verses 8-9 give us a side note on Cush's son Nimrod.. "he began to be a mighty one in the earth."  His name is significant for it can be rendered "rebellion".  Nimrod seems to have established one of the first tyrannical powers.. Babylon is named as a center of his kingdom.  Nineveh was one of the cities that he built. The Canaanites are descendants of Ham.  

Verses 21-31 give us the descendants of Shem. It is from this group that Assyria, Turkey, Lydia, and eventually Israel will come.  Another side note is presented here.. verse 25 "Two sons were born to Eber: one was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan." 

So, what do we learn from this chart of the nations? Once again we see the Lord making distinctions.. separating nation from nation.  He wrote this story and He acted in these lives to bring about His purposes.  Just as He has written our nation's story.. and He works in each of our lives to bring about His eternal purpose.  I was thinking about my own lineage.. to the fact that my parents' parents and their parents' parents.. and back and back and back.. all came together to form a family.. and the end result was "me".  It's really an amazing thing to think about.. God has brought me into this world.. to be part of His plan.  He has a purpose, not only for me, but for my children and grandchildren.. and on and on.. until the day of His choosing.. when all of history will have been written and time will be no more. 

Father, thank You for loving me and making me Your own.  I hope that some day I will meet those who have gone before me.. that they will have known Jesus as their Lord and Savior.. and will tell me their story of salvation.  Oh what a day that will be!  May we all sing Your praises together for eternity! Amen.