Genesis 19 & 20

There is a good bit going on here. So let’s get to it.

Lot is sitting at the entrance to the city of Sodom. The two angels that were with God who moved on while he talked to Abraham has come to the city. Lot convinces them to come in, wash their feet and eat a little bit.

Before they all lay down to sleep the men of Sodom come beating on Lot’s door. They are demanding that he send out the visitors. They don’t want to greet them kindly though. Remember the men of Sodom are wicked little men! They want to have sex with the visitors. In my opinion it sounds a lot like gang rape. No wonder God destroyed the place!

Lot goes out to talk to the men and tells them that they do not want to do such evil things. He even offers his two daughters so that they leave the angels alone. The men of Sodom will not hear it. They want the visitors and they grow angry. They crowd the door to Lot’s home and try to push the door down.

The angels quickly grab Lot and pull him back into his home. They then ask if their daughter’s boyfriends are outside. (Side note, they don’t actually say boyfriends. They are the men promised to the daughters, which in our time is pretty much a boyfriend.) Lot is then instructed to go out and tell them to leave Sodom because it is going to be destroyed.

He tries. He tells the boys to leave Sodom, but they don’t believe him. When Lot returns back into his home the angels tell him that he must take his family and leave. They even tell him that they will not destroy Sodom until they are far from it. They tell him to take off to the mountains and not to look back.

Lot tells them that sending him to the mountains will be killing him so he asks to go to Zoar instead. They agree to let him go. Lot and his family go on their way towards Zoar. Remember, the angels told them not to look back! Lot’s wife didn’t listen, she looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt.

I actually feel sorry for Lot. In one night he lost his home and his wife.

God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah with a rain of burning sulfer. I can imagine that was a painful death for the men living there, but really, they kind of asked for it.

Lot doesn’t stay in Zoar for long because he is afraid. He takes his daughters up into the mountains and they live in a cave.

Later on the daughters realize that their family line will die when their father dies because they have no husbands. This part for anyone in today’s time may snarl their nose up at what the girls do.

They decide to get their father drunk and sleep with him so that they become pregnant. He didn’t know what was going on because he was drunk. I would like to take this moment to point out the dangers of drinking! I don’t understand why the girls did not travel into a town and find a good mate for themselves.

They each have a son. The oldest daughter has Moab who becomes the father of the Moabites. The youngest daughter has Ben-Ammi and he is the father of the Ammonites.

Genesis 19 is actually pretty messed up.

Genesis 20 goes back to follow Abraham a little more. Abraham moves around some more and comes to the land called Gerar.

Remember when Abraham went to Egypt and told them that Sarah was his sister and the Pharaoh took Sarah as his own? Then God cursed the Pharaoh for taking her. Well, Abraham does it again. In Gerar he tells them that Sarah is his sister.

The king of Gerar takes Sarah as his wife, but he does not sleep with her. He has a dream one night where God comes to him. God tells him that he is as good as dead for taking a married woman. The king pleads his case though. He tells God that he took her innocently because Abraham said she was his sister.

God tells the king that he understands that he did not know and that is why He kept the king from sleeping with Sarah. All the king has to do is to return Sarah to her husband, if he doesn’t he will die.

The king returns Sarah the next day and asks Abraham why he lied. Abraham tells him that he did not lie because Sarah is his sister. Technically she is his half sister, a child with the same father but different mother. Abraham also says that he did it because there was no fear of God in Gerar and that they would have killed him for his wife.

These bible times were scary. Could you imagine living like that now days? We are so comfortable in our lives and we really should appreciate the simpleness of it.

The king of Gerar, Abimelech (I didn’t want to type his name a bunch cause it’s so weird.) gives Abraham sheep, cattle and slaves and tells Abraham he can live anywhere he likes in Gerar. Chances are Abraham won’t be there long anyways really. Abimelech also gives Abraham a thousand shekels (I assume that is a lot of money) for his offense of taking his wife.

With all this God is pleased. So He lifts the curse that he placed on Abimelech. The curse was so that none of his wives would give him more children. Thank goodness he listened to God and gave Sarah back to her husband.

Lesson learned from this; listen to God! He is one serious dude when you cross him. But He is a great and kind God when you do as He asks of you.

And that is it folks. Continue to read. It’s pretty awesome all the stuff that has gone on in only 20 chapters and only 28 pages according to my bible.

Much Love

Heather 

Genesis 17 & 18

I have noticed that in some places in the bible things can be a little repetitive. Some things will be said several times in the same paragraph only worded a little different. I am guessing that it is done so that you remember what is said, but the things that are like that seem to be not so important. Or maybe they are.

Let us continue on with our chapters. I am going to cover two chapters again tonight. 17 & 18. Let’s dive in.

Genesis 17 starts with Abram talking to God. God is speaking to Abram about a covenant they will have with one another. A covenant is just an agreement, and an agreement with God is something you do not want to go against.

God tells Abram that from now on he will be named Abraham. Now does he sound familiar? God tells Abraham that he will be the father of many nations and that kings will come from him. Abraham is to keep them faithful in God and God will give them the land of Canaan. Abrahams side of this agreement is him and every male with him has to be circumcised. So Abraham has to circumcise every male, including his servants and his son, Ishmael who is 13 at the time. God then tells Abraham that all males should be circumcised when they are 8 days old and anyone that is not will be cut off from his people.

God then comes to Sarai, Abrahams wife. She is also given a new name; she is now to be called Sarah. God tells Abraham that she will have a son and they are to name their son Isaac. Of course with Abraham and Sarah being as old as they are, Abraham finds that idea or Sarah having children a little quixotic (unrealistic) but his faith in the Lord is strong.

Abraham asks why Ishmael cannot be his heir, but God has other plans for Ishmael. Ishmael is going to be the father of twelve rulers and he will come into a great nation. Looks to me like Ishmael is getting the star treatment! He is going to have some rich sons, what man doesn’t want rich kids that will take care of him in his old age?

After God leaves Abraham returns to his home to fill his part of the agreement and circumcise all the men.

Genesis 18 goes even more into the deal with Sarah having a child. God comes to visit Abraham at his tent. God also shows up with two other men. I am guessing all three men are God, I was told something about a trinity, which is God, the Spirit, and the Son. I am assuming that is what the three men before Abraham are.

Abraham quickly gets food and drink together for the men and water to wash their feet. He pretty much treats them like royalty, which they are! God tells Abraham that in a year Sarah will have a child. Sarah is eavesdropping and laughs when she hears this. She thinks its an absurd idea that she will have a child after her childbearing years.

Of course God hears her laugh, He kind of hears everything. He asks Abraham why she laughs and then asks Abraham “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” The answer is obviously no! God can do anything. Then Sarah tries to cover up that she was laughing by lying to God. Bad move lady! God only corrects her and tells her “Yes, you did laugh.” Isn’t that a sign that our God is awesome?

As God is leaving he tells Abraham that he plans to destroy Sodom because of the great sins they have done. Abraham tries to talk God out of it by asking what happens if there are 50 people that are actually still faithful and true to God. God says that he will spare Sodom if he finds 50 good men. Abraham keeps asking until he gets to 10 men. God tells Abraham if there are 10 good men in Sodom he will not destroy it. Then God leaves.

I am guessing that 10 is the magic number. And since most of us know (spoiler alert) Sodom is destroyed, I am also assuming that God didn’t find even 10 righteous men.

That is all I have for tonight. I promise to be back tomorrow with more. I’m excited to see where this goes! Are you? Keep reading your bible and you  know, you can venture more into the bible and read other things. A lot of people love to read Psalms! But if you want to keep reading it like you read a regular book, from chapter to chapter with no skipping, then do what is best for you, just read the bible!

Much Love

Heather

Genesis 15 & 16

Another two chapter night! A lot is going on right now with Abram and it just makes sense to do two chapters because not much goes on in each chapter. Let’s dive in!

Genesis 15 is right after Abram saves his nephew. Abram is talking to God about how a servant of his home will inherit all his possessions. If you remember Sarai cannot have children. God, being the awesome God that He is tells Abram that a servant will not gain possession of Abram’s stuff, but a child of his own will. God even takes Abram outside and tells him to look at the stars and if he can count the stars, that is how many children he will have.

God has actually used something similar in the past. He told Abram before that if he can count the dust, his children can be counted. I know that most people will understand this but let me explain it, simply. What God is saying to Abram is that he will have so many offspring that no one will be able to count them. Meaning, Abram has a bunch of kids to look forward to.

God then tells Abram that the land they are in is Abrams. Abram of course ask God how he knows he will actually get the land. God pretty much says, “Okay bring me some offerings and I will tell you” Abram goes and gathers the offereings that God ask for which happens to be very specific. A heifer, a goat and a ram but they have to be three years old. Also, a dove and a young pigeon.

Abram sets out the offerings and swats away the birds that try to come get it and wait. When the sun goes down Abram falls into a deep sleep where God speaks to him again. This time God tells him that his descendents will be mistreated and become slaves for 400 years. That is a seriously long time. I am sure that Abram felt bad for his descendents. The good news though is God is going to punish those people and Abram’s descendents will come out rich and will return to the land that Abram currently resides in.

God also tells Abram that he will live to an old age and be buried where his father was. That would be nice to know, wouldn’t it?

Genesis 16 is the one that I have a bit of a problem with. Sarai, as I have already reminded you, cannot have children. Because she cannot give her husband a son she does something a little…rash. She gives Abram her maidservant to sleep with. Now, to me this is adultery even if the wife told him he could do it. Though, we also have to remember that this was a different time and a woman’s purpose was pretty much to give her husband children.

Abram sleeps with Sarai’s maidservant and the servant becomes pregnant. The servant, Hagar pretty much gets a big head because she can give Abram what Sarai can’t. Hagar starts treating Sarai like trash.

Sarai goes to Abram and actually blames him for Hagar’s attitude problem. Let me just say, Sarai, you are the one that told him to go to Hagar! To make his wife happy Abram tells Sarai that Hagar is her servant and can do with her what she wishes. So, Sarai starts treating Hagar like trash. Can you say drama?

Hagar doesn’t take it for long though. She takes off. Yeah, she is still pregnant. Sounds to me like a bit of kidnapping since the child she was pregnant with belonged to Abram. An angel comes to Hagar and ask her why she is running. Once she tells the angel, the angel tells Hagar that for her suffering she will have many children, but the one she is pregnant with will be wild and angry. At least that is how I read it. The angel also tells Hagar that her son shall be named Ishmael.

After the chat with the angel Hagar returns back to Abram and Sarai and had her son who they named Ishmael as the angel instructed her to. At the time, Abram was 86 years old. The funny thing is, when the bible first begins 86 years old would still be young. Now though, for Abram, he is becoming an old man.

That’s all folks. Just a side note, there are a ton of names in the bible. Half the time when you are reading you skim over the names just to acknowledge their existence, but because you can’t pronounce them you forget about them. I suggest getting the bible on CD or even going to youversion website and listen to it there. It really helps. They also have a phone app for all you people with smartphones. I just know it has helped me, since I am not skipping over names I can’t pronounce I actually grasp the words better.

Tomorrow is chapter 17. We are moving along quickly and my bible is all highlighted up! J Be ready for tomorrow. Things are going to get awesome!

Much Love

Heather

Genesis 13 & 14

Tonight I am going to cover two chapters, simply because not much happens in Genesis 13. I can’t stress enough how important it is that you read it for yourself still and read it with an open mind and heart.

Genesis 13 is easy enough. It’s simply Abram’s return to a place he had been before. It was between Bethel and Ai where he had built an alter for the lord. This happened in Genesis 12, I just didn’t say anything about it because, well, you need to read it!

Abram at this time has collected a lot of things, herds, silver and gold as well as more men to help tend to all his possessions. Lot had also collected a good bit of stuff. There was fighting between the herdsmen so Abram decides that they need to part ways. Abram even lets Lot choose which way he wants to go. Of course Lot chooses the land that looks the most green and alive. The go their separate ways.

God then tells Abram to all sides and the land that he can see God gives to Abram and his offspring. Abram sets up his tents near great trees of Mamre at Hebron and he builds an alter to God.

Lot, who had taken to the land that looked best to him has gotten himself into some trouble. He sets up his tents near Sodom. Sodom was not a friendly place. The men of Sodom were wicked and sinned against God.

Genesis 14

A lot is actually going on in Genesis 14. First, a bunch of kings get together. I will call them team 1 and team 2

Team 1: Amraphel, Arioch, Kedorlaomer, and Tidal

Team 2: Bera(King of Sodom) Birsha (King of Gomorrah), Shinab, Shember, and Zoar.

Team 2 has been under Kedorlaomer’s rule for 12 years. The thirteenth year they got tired of it and rebelled. In the fourteenth year Team 1 goes out and defeats a bunch of places. They are some bad dudes. Then Team 2 decides to take a try at them. Remember in Genesis 13 it says that the men of Sodom are wicked men, so of course Team 1 is going to win.  Once Team 2 retreated Team 1 took all the processions of the Kings that fled. This included Abram’s nephew, Lot.

Lot has gotten himself into trouble! Luckily a guy that had escaped the battle found Abram and told him what had happened. Abram is also a bad (as in awesome) dude. He quickly gathers up an army of 318 trained men and goes after Lot. They win the battle and take everything that was taken after the war between Team 1 and Team 2.

The King of Salem, Melchizedek brings out wine and bread to celebrate Abram’s victory. Later Abram meets up with the king of Sodom to give him his goods back. Then the king tells Abram he can keep all the goods that he recovered. Abram refuses because he knows that the king of Sodom is just as wicked as his men are. You don’t want to take gifts from a man who has so openly sinned against God. It’s only asking for trouble. Also, seeing as the king of Sodom is just as bad as his men, Abram knows that if he takes the goods the King will only use it against him one day by telling people he, the king of Sodom, gave the great Abram all the things that made him rich.

Way to go Abram! He saved his nephew and still stayed faithful to the Lord.

That’s all for tonight folks. Read up on the next chapter and be ready for tomorrow. Don’t forget to thank God for all that he has given you and ask Him to help you be as faithful as the great men of the bible.

Much Love

Heather

Genesis 12

To be honest, I am a little lost when it comes to Genesis 12. If you haven’t read it yet, go do it. It will take less than 10 minutes, is that so much for God to ask for?

Genesis 12 starts with God telling Abram to leave his country and everything he knows. God doesn’t even tell Abram where he is going, God says He will show Abram the land.  Abram sets out to do as God asks of him. He takes with him his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot.

Read Genesis 12:2-3. God tells Abram that he will be blessed. Those that bless Abram will also be blessed and those that curse Abram shall be cursed. I actually think this is pretty awesome and something to learn. God will bless us all and give us great things, all we have to do is obey him. Just watch, He does exactly as he tells Abram He will do.

Because of the famine in the lands Abram goes to live in Egypt for a while. I imagine the famine was not as bad there and that is why Abram took his family there. Right outside of Egypt Abram stops and tells his wife that she has to pretend that she is his sister. Sarai is a beautiful woman and Abram fears that the men of Egypt will kill him to take his wife. So to save his life they go in to Egypt as siblings, not spouses.

The Pharaoh of Egypt fancies Sarai and takes her as his own wife. He also gives sheep, cattle, donkeys, servants, maids and camels to Abram as a way to take care of Sarai’s family. It doesn’t last long though. God bring disease to the Pharaoh and his household for taking Abrams wife.

This is where I get a little confused. Abram and Sarai were the ones that lied. Lying, in case you didn’t know, is a sin. Yet, the Pharaoh is the one who was punished for taking another mans wife…that he didn’t know was Abrams wife. It kind of doesn’t make sense.

The Pharaoh, of course, gets mad and asks Abram why he lied. Though, no answer ever comes. The Pharaoh tells Abram to take his wife and all that he had given him and leave. Abram basically was booted out of Egypt. He did as he was told.

I fail to understand why Abram did not get some kind of punishment for lying. Yes, it was to save his life, but does that justify the lie? It seems that he was rewarded for his lie in this event. He came to Egypt with nothing but his wife, but he left with as a rich man.

I guess I have to admit though, if it was a small lie or death, I would choose the lie. We all have our faults. It also goes to show that even though we make mistakes, God still loves us and gives us the things he promises.

That is all that happens in Genesis 12. Go read 13 and be prepared for tomorrow! Just 10 minutes is enough to read the chapter and meditate on it.

Much Love

Heather

Genesis 11

So far Genesis 11 is my favorite story of the bible.

When I was younger I remember watching a short cartoon about this story. The men and women decided to build city and within this city they began to build a tower to reach the heavens. God came down to see the tower that they had built. He actually says that with all men speaking the same language nothing is impossible.

I always take a moment to think about this. Alone, we cannot do much, but together we can do great things. Divided we fall, united we stand. I am sure some famous person said that, I just don’t feel like looking up who said it first.

God decides He cannot let man reach the heavens so He scatters them and gives them different languages, which is where we are today. Language is such a huge barrier. So many people are learning different languages now too. That’s awesome to learn a new language, but couldn’t it also be dangerous? I mean, God has already struck us down once for having one language. Granted, they were trying to reach heaven, but couldn’t that happen again? And are we not already trying to reach heaven with all the scientist trying to prove or disprove the existence of God?

The city that these men were building became Babel because God “Confused the language of the whole world.” (Genesis 11:9) The tower of Babel always puts me in the mind of humpty dumpty. I wonder if the nursery rhyme was modeled after the tower of Babel. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall (the men building the wall), humpty dumpty had a great fall (God confusing the language), all the kings men and all the kings horses couldn’t put humpty together again (our attempt to change the languages now and create one universal language, but everyone wants their language to be the universal one.) I would say that is something to think about.

Genesis 11 then goes on to talk about the line of Shem. Shem was 100 years old two years after the flood and he had his first child. What I find fascinating is now the child bearing years seems to come much sooner. If you look back to the first few chapters of Genesis, men were not having their first child until they were over 100 years old. Now, Shem’s son has his first child when he is only 30. They also start living shorter lives. Let me just give you a list of sons. Because here is where we finally meet Abram and from what I have read, he does a lot of awesome stuff.

Shem’s son is Arphaxad

Arphaxad -> Shelah

Shelah-> Eber

Eber -> Peleg

Peleg ->Reu

Reu -> Serug

Serug -> Nahor

Nahor ->Terah

Terah -> Abram

Tada! Just a side note, my spell check went crazy with red lines with all those names! Interesting fact, that you would notice if you read the chapter yourself, Terah was 70 when he became the father of Abram. God has a special connection with the number 7. If you remember, look back if you don’t, Noah’s father, Lamech lived 777 years. 7’s seem to pop up when someone important is about to come into the picture.

Terah also became the father of Nahor and Haran. Haran became the father of Lot. Lot becomes important later on.

Haran dies where he was born. Nahor married Milcah who was a daughter of Haran. She married her uncle? I know today we think of it as odd and wrong, but you have to remember, the time we read of in the bible was so very much different than the life we live now. Abram marries Sarai. It is important that you know that Sarai could not have children. I know now, for a woman to not be able to have a child is horrible but she can always adopt. I can’t imagine how devastating that was for women back then when having children was almost your only purpose.

At the end of Genesis 11 Terah takes Abram, Sarai and Lot and they all head to Canaan. On the way they come to the city Haran and they settle there. There are so many cities named after people of the bible. So who was Terah’s son Haran named after if there is already a city named Haran? I ask the question but I also know that if it was important it would be in the bible, so I think it would be in my best interest to let it go. J

And that’s it folks! I’m sorry that tonight’s post is so long. It’s the longest so far, but there was a lot going on in Genesis 11. I really suggest you go read it because it helps if you read it for yourself. Develop your own opinion of it. Go read it! And Genesis 12 while you are at it. I’m about to go read it myself.

Much Love

Heather

Genesis 10

Genesis 10

I hope you have been reading while I have taken a bit of a break. I wore myself out and took a bit of a break. Don’t worry though, I am determined to get this blog rolling and never missing another day!

Genesis 10 is a lot of names! It’s another one of those boring chapters that you just have to get through. We learn about the sons of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

These sons go on to create the Japhethites (Japheth’s decedents) Hamites (Ham’s descendents) and the Semites (Shems descendents.)

Ham has a son named Cush who goes to have a son named Nimrod. Nimrod was a warrior on earth and a mighty hunter before the lord. Nimrod is now used as an insult. I thought you might enjoy this little fun fact. On a bugs bunny episode, Bugs calls Elmer Fudd a “Poor little nimrod.” Bugs used it correctly, he was just calling Elmer Fudd a poor little hunter. But others took it wrong and started using it as an insult.

Ham also had a son named Canaan as you have heard of before when Noah cursed Ham’s son, Canaan. Canaan created a clan called the Canaanite that scattered the borders of Canaan.

The sons of Noah and their descedents spread out and repopulated the earth. I suggest you read it for all the names. Eventually I will have a sort of family tree so you can see how the line goes from Adam and Eve and on. I think it’s going to be a fun little project for me, I just don’t know how I am going to do it right now.

That is really all I have for Genesis 10. Not a lot is really going on in this chapter. Just a bunch of names and places. Go read it! And while you are at it, read 11 as well!

Much Love

Heather

Let's Take a Break

You know what, I think we all deserve a break for our hard work. 

First a question. What did you learn this week that you didn't already know? 

For me it was about the 7 pairs of clean animals. I always thought there was just 2 of each animal on the ark. I also learned that there are very valid reasons as to why I should read the bible for myself. I think my faith grew a little more this week too. And we are only at Genesis 11! How about you? Have you cleared anything up or understood something a little more clearly? I really hope so!

Here is an interesting fact. The bible has 1189 chapters in it. So far I have covered one chapter a day. Meaning it will take me 3 years to get through the whole bible! Crazy right? The good news is, some chapters are going to be super short and more than one covered a day. Honestly, reading the bible is like losing weight, it's better to get through it slowly. The knowledge will stick with us better. Most people have been reading the bible their entire lives. At the end of our study, we will know it better than them! Or so I would like to think.

I just wanted to give everyone a break today but I didn't want to miss a post. I missed too many the first week of doing this from lack of planning. I would like to share with you a song that I absolutely love! I found the video on youtube with the words so you know what it's saying.

Evidently this song was actually played in the movie "Tokyo Drift". Which is one of the "Fast and the Furious" movies. "Tokyo Drift" was my favorite! God likes to slip in where you least expect Him. :) 

If you have down time today, go back and reread the chapters you have read already. Just to keep it fresh. I am sure it is good practice for the later chapters in the bible. What has been your favorite verse so far? 

Have a great Friday peeps. Come back tomorrow ready for Chapter 11!

Much Love,

Heather

Genesis 9

Genesis 9 has a lot going on! So go read it if you haven’t already.

First thing God does is tell Noah to be fruitful and increase in number. God wants the earth refilled with man. God also puts fear into the animals of man. Then God tells Noah that animals are a source of food just as the plants have been. But God says that no animal shall be eaten with its lifeblood still in it. What does that mean?? I thought I knew but I went on a little search to make sure I understood it. Basically what it says that animals are not to be eaten or cooked while still alive, which brings to mind crabs and lobsters. They are placed ALIVE in boiling pots of water. I have no idea how long they live in that. The point of this was to keep animals from suffering. Their death is supposed to be quick and as painless as possible.

I’m think maybe I shouldn’t eat crab anymore. There are also other countries that will eat monkey brain while the monkey is still alive. Though, I have only heard that and I do not know for myself. It is rather disturbing and sad. Monkeys are so cute!

Now we get to the part about the rainbow. The rainbow is a sign of God’s promise to never flood the earth again. The rainbow is to remind us and God of his promise. How awesome and beautiful is that? 

After all is said and done we get into life moving on from the flood.  Noah is “a man of the soil” so he plants a vineyard. For those that don’t know, a vineyard is a bunch of plants growing grapes which is then used to make wine. Noah makes some wine and drinks it and becomes drunk. Noah pretty much passes out in the nude in his tent. His son Ham found him. Instead of covering his father Ham went and told his brothers what he saw. His brothers then came in with their backs turned to their father and covered him. Once Noah wakes up he becomes angry and curses Canaan, Ham’s son so that he is now a slave to his brothers.

Canaan is the first slave ever! Do you understand why? I actually talked to my mom to understand it. I can understand Noah wanting to punish someone for his embarrassment. Ham could have been kind to his father and covered him with out ever telling his brothers. I didn’t understand why Noah cursed Ham’s son Canaan. Talking to my mom she reminded me of something my preacher once said. He said something about how we are all paying for our parent’s sin. I guess this is just the first time we actually see that come into play. It makes sense to me.

The last few lines of Genesis 9 is of how long Noah lived. He lived 950 years before he died. It’s actually kind of sad to see the end of Noah. He is such a great figure in the bible and Noah’s ark is one of the few stories I actually knew of the bible!

Tomorrow in Genesis 10 we will learn more of Noah’s sons! It sounds exciting to me. So go read it!

Much Love,

Heather

Genesis 8

Genesis 7 we saw the flood and Noah’s obedience to God.

In Genesis 8 the rain has stopped and for 150 days the world is flooded. Then God sends winds to clear the water. He closes the floodgates of the heavens and the water starts to slowly lower.

“⁴and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. ⁵The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.” Genesis 8:4-5

Imagine Noah’s relief when the boat stopped rocking. Yes, please laugh. I would be so sea sick at this point that I would be on my knees thanking God for letting the ark settle in one steady place. Also, for the mountains becoming visible again. I am such a land person.

After forty days from the first day of the tenth month Noah sent out a raven. I know most people first and only hear of the dove. But Noah sent out a raven first that flew back and forth until it found dry land to stay on. I have always loved ravens and now I have even more of a reason to do so. After the raven no longer came back Noah sent out the dove. When the dove came back Noah took it and put it back into the ark. Seven days later (again the magic number 7) Noah sets the dove out again. This time the dove brought back an olive leaf. Meaning the water had receded and it was almost time to leave the ark and let the animals out. Another seven days passed and Noah sent the dove out again and this time it did not return.

The first of the year of Noah’s six hundredth and first year the water had dried up. It took until the twenty-seventh day of the second month for the earth to dry. But Noah stayed in the ark until God told him to come out. God didn’t make them wait long because as soon as the land was dry God told Noah to come out with his wife, sons, and his sons wives. He also told Noah to let out the animals. I can imagine the animals were more relieved than Noah was.

Noah built an alter and sacrifices some of all the clean animals (he had seven of each kind so a few did not bother with the repopulation) as a thanks to God. The offering pleased the Lord and God makes a promise to never curse the ground or destroy all living creatures again.

“As long as the earth endures,

Seedtime and harvest,

Cold and heat,

Summer and winter,

Day and night

Will never cease” Genesis 8:22

Beautiful isn’t it?  Most people say that God promised to never flood the earth again, which he does. But He also promises to never wipe all living creatures from the earth again. So why is everyone so worried about the end of days?

Now, go read Genesis 9. I know you are just dying to know what is coming next!

Much Love,

Heather

Genesis 7

I would like to think we are making our way through the bible quite nicely. It’s going to be a slow progress. If one chapter a day is not quick enough for you, then by all means, I encourage you to read ahead. Read it and soak it in. The only way we are going to get through the ups and downs of life is to keep the word of God close to our hearts. Let’s continue with our study.

Today we have Genesis 7. While reading this I have noticed that people tend to leave things out when they speak of the bible. Remember in Genesis 6 when God told Noah to take two of every kind of bird and two of every kind of creature that moved on the earth? Well, there is more to that and you will see that first thing in Genesis 7.

God tells Noah to go into the ark with his family. Then He also says to take seven kind of clean animal, a male and its mate. Two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and it’s mate. And seven of every kind of bird, a male and it’s mate.

It makes sense really. God’s number is 7. I am a little confused as to what a clean and unclean animal is though. I am also confused as to why this is kept bible study. All my life I have been told that Noah only took two of each kind of animal and bird. But, I guess this is why we should read the bible for ourselves right?

Ponder on that for a while. The lesson we take from this; never take someone’s word for it. Go read the bible yourself. J

As we move through what God has to say to Noah, God says to Noah that in seven days He will make it rain for forty nights and forty days. That is a long time for it to rain! I get worried about when it rains for a whole day and my yard becomes super flooded.

Noah, being the awesome follower of God that he was, did just as God asked and didn’t even stop to think about it. It’s funny that just from reading the first few chapters of Genesis we already know what we should be doing. If we disobey God we are only hurting ourselves. But if we listen to Him and do as He says, we will be the ones on the ark as God prepares to wipe out everything else on earth. Think about that for a moment.

Noah was 600 years old when God flooded the earth! Do a little math, God said that man had 120 years before he flooded the earth. So Noah was already 380 years old when God made the decision. AMAZING! Can you imagine being able to build a massive boat at such an old age?

God sent all the animals to Noah, all he had to do was load them into the boat and he had to do this in 7 days. I am sure people think of it as chaotic, but I always imagined the animals lining up perfectly waiting to be lead into the ark. It’s a beautiful picture. A small picture of God’s great power. We are even told when the flood happened!

“In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month – on that day all the sprins of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.” Genesis 7:11

The water rose so high that it covered even the highest mountains and they were 20 feet and more underwater. I don’t know about you but I have a bit of a fear of open waters. Imagining looking out of my window on the ark and seeing nothing but water…it’s kind of freaky! There is no dry land left. It is all underwater, just as God planned. All creatures, including man, that walked the earth was no gone, except those that had been saved by the ark. Only 8 people left in the entire world. I wonder if Noah or any one with him realized how alone they were.

Once the forty days and forty nights were over the rain stopped. But the earth stayed flooded for 150 days.

And that is all that Genesis 7 has to say. What used to be a world full of hate, anger, destruction and wickedness had been wiped away in what seems like moments. And all it took was a decision by God to rid the world of the ugliness. Remember that next time you are talking about someone.

Now, go read the next chapter. What happens after the flood?

Much Love,

Heather

Genesis 6

Today we will be discussing Genesis 6 which is where we meet Noah. So, if you have read it already then continue on. If you have not been doing your homework then go read Genesis 6 and come back. I will wait.

Genesis 6 starts off by talking about the destruction of man. The angels start noticing the daughters of men and decided to marry them. God basically says in verse 3 that the angels blood and human blood mixing is not going to turn out well and he says that man will live for 120 years.

When I first read this I thought that God was saying the life expectancy of any one person was now only 120 years. But after doing a little bit of research I actually found out that he is saying the world had 120 years before the flood. I was actually a little shocked and enlightened when I read that. It made so much more sense then what I thought because there are people past the flood that lived well over 120 years.

Any ways, when an angel and a human have a child they call it Nephilim. If you have been following the latest trends in books you will know that a lot of books focus now on Nephilim and fallen angels. I was just a little (a lot!) excited when I saw that Nephilim were actually real! They are also the reason that people started creating the myths of the Greek gods. They were actually real too! Only, not gods. They were half angel and half human so they were stronger and likely prettier than other humans.

Men became even more corrupt and God actually started regretting that he had created men. How crazy is that? But it wasn’t just man that God decided to wipe out. He wanted to get rid of it all! Everything he had created except the earth itself. If it moved God wanted it gone.

But then there was Noah. Noah and God were pretty tight. They were like best buds. You get the picture right? Noah was a good man. He did everything he should and he listened to God. So God tells Noah that he is going to wipe out everyone, BUT he wants to keep Noah and his family.

Now, God is a straight up kind of guy. He knows what He wants and He gets it. God tells Noah to build an ark and He tells Noah how to build it. How big to make it, how many floors and rooms and even what kind of wood to use! All Noah had to do was build it. Then He tells Noah what to fill it with. Two of each kind of animal and two of every bird and of course plenty of  food.

My brother had mentioned once how he didn’t believe the whole ark thing because of the animals. He questioned how all those animals could live on the boat without killing each other. I imagine they were all in separate rooms. Also, they were doing as God told them. Animals don’t question God’s word. They just do it. Maybe we should take a lesson from animals and Noah? I think we would all be a lot happier then.

I have seen stories about Noah and his ark. It always showed how Noah questioned what God wanted him to do and how he tried to get others to help but no one believed what Noah was telling them. None of that actually happened. Noah didn’t even bat an eye when God told him what to do. He did it just as God told him. I wonder where those stories come from…I think it could have been made to show how wicked the world had become, but who really knows.

And that is it for Genesis 6. I have to say, it was one of my favorites to type so far.

Don’t forget to read the next chapter! Genesis 7. We finally get to the flood!

Much Love,

Heather

Genesis 5

It is time to move into all the little details that no one wants to know. I find chapters like these really boring and I don’t feel bad for saying it because I know a lot of people think so.

Welcome to Genesis 5. This chapter takes us from Adam all the way to Noah. Why? Because it’s kind of awesome to know where Noah came from. I will try to get through this as quickly and as painfully as possible. The reason I want to go through this is because I love to see how long people lived back in the “Bible Age.”

Adam was 130 before Eve gave birth to Seth. Can you imagine living that long and then having a child?? Altogether Adam lived 930 years! Some people say that the years and months were not as long as what we have today. Some say that there was only 10 months in a year, but even then 930 years is still a super long time. I like to imagine that these people really did live a long time. If you think about it, Adam and Eve had a direct line to God so maybe God just kept them around longer then. I always think of Sims (yes the game.) In Sims3 you can prolong your characters life by changing the settings. So I can have one game where my Sims live forever and another game where they hardly live at all. I am sure if God wanted to He could do the same thing, only…in reality. And you have to imagine that God had a fond attachment to Adam and Eve, seeing as they were the first people.

Sorry for the rambling, let’s continue.

Seth lived 912 years and had  Enosh

Enosh lived 905 years and had Kenan

Kenan lived 910 years and had Mahalalel

Mahalael lived 895 years and had Jared

Jared lived 962 years and had Enoch

Enoch is where things become just a tad different. Enoch lived 365 years, but Enoch walked with God and did not die. God took him home. He was just no more on earth. Unlike the rest who left a body behind, at least that is what I take from this.

Enoch had Methuselah

Methuselah lived 969 years and had Lamech

Lamech lived 777 years and had Noah. When Noah was born Lamech said “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed” (Genesis 5:29) I’m not really sure what that means. I only know that Noah is the one who built the ark and was such a good listener of God he saved men from being wiped out completely.

Yay Noah!! Noah was 500 years old before he had Shem, Ham, and Japheth. I wonder, were these sons triplets? Or just really close in age? It doesn’t really say in my bible. Though, I guess since it doesn’t really say, it’s not that important.

Now, this chapter has other awesome ages, like the ages that these men where before they had their first child. The youngest was 65

And that is it my friends. Genesis 5 comes to an end. Hopefully you didn’t get to bored and actually see how interesting the Genealogy chapters can be. It’s interesting to see the line of Noah going back to Adam or seeing Adam’s line going all the way to Noah. What I find the most interesting though is the ages of these people when they finally died. I wonder if the women lived as long.

I shall stop with my rambling now and let you go on with your day or night…See you folks tomorrow!

Genesis 4

Welcome back! I hope that you have read Genesis 4 because that is what we are going to be going over today. Go read it and come back if you haven’t already. Then at the end, throw in your own comments!

Cain and Abel make their appearance here. Most everyone knows the story of Cain and Abel, but let me remind you of their story. Cain was the first child of Adam and Eve. This was right after they ate the forbidden fruit, because bearing children was one of Eve’s punishments. Then Eve bore another son, Abel. The bible doesn’t say how far apart in age they were, but the way Cain gets jealous of Abel, my guess is they were only a year or so apart. It just seems the closer siblings are in age the less they get along. Just a guess and how I see it.

Cain “worked the soil.” In other words he was the gardener. He grew crops of food. Abel kept the flocks. When it came time to bring God their offerings Abel brought his best while Cain basically brought what was left. It took a few bibles to actually understand that and it actually all came down to a teen devotional bible to grasp it. Cain took the best of his crops for himself and I guess for his family. Abel didn’t think twice about it, he took his best fat portions from the first born of his flock and took it to God. God knew the difference. God will always know the difference no matter what it is you are offering him.

Cain becomes jealous and angry and takes his brother out into the field for a bit of a chat. Really, Cain took Abel out to kill him. And there you have it my friends, the first murder! I do wonder how cold blooded you would have to be to kill your own sibling. I love my brother and would fight to the death for him. I can’t imagine killing him because God favored him…though the only reason God favored Abel is because he was obedient. If I was Cain I would have asked Abel to help me with my offering next time, not kill him.

So, God knows what’s up and he comes to Cain and ask where Abel is. Cain plays dumb and makes a smart remark “Am I my brothers keeper?” I can hear Cain asking that in such a way that makes me want to pop him and tell him to fix his attitude. God gave Cain a chance to confess to his sin but Cain lied. I think the lesson we can learn from this is to never lie to God because He ALWAYS knows the truth!

God tells Cain that he can hear Abel’s blood cry out to Him from the ground. Of course, sense God created all He is connected to all. Cain really did not think his actions through. God punishes Cain by casting him out and Cain becomes a restless wanderer. But he is also protected by God so that no one shall kill him as he killed his own brother.

So Cain goes out, finds a wife and has a son named Enoch. Random fact, I love that name. Cain then built a city and named it after his first born. Then we get into more genealogy.

Enoch has a son named Irad. Irad had a son named Mehujael. Mehaujael had a son named Methusheal. Methusheal had a son named Lamech. Here we stop for a moment.

Lamech marries two women, which in today’s society would be illegal. Adah and Zillah were their names. Adah gives birth to Jabal who becomes the father of  “Those who live in tents and raise live stock.” And his brother is Jubal who becomes the father of “all who play the harp and flute.” So Jabal is all work and now play while Jubal is all play and no work? I know it’s probably wrong of me to think of music as just play, I am sure it kept up the spirits of the people, but sometimes you have to get down and dirty to get the jobs done.

Lamech’s other wife Zillah has a son, Tubal-Cain who forged tools of bronze and iron. I am suddenly in the mind of Thor…I have no idea why! Maybe because the idea of making tools back then seems to me to be a hard task. Zillah also had a daughter Naamah. I assume that she will come up again in the bible sometime later simply because daughters are not often named…at least not from what I have seen so far.

The last of Genesis 4 goes back to Adam and Eve. They have another son, to replace the one lost. They name him Seth. I thought it was funny when I first read about Seth. He comes in almost as an afterthought. Like, Oh by the way, here is another son. And Seth goes on to have a child named Enosh. But as we will see in Genesis 5 (yes, that will come tomorrow) Adam and Eve do have more sons and daughters then the three that are named.

I wonder about the sons and daughters that are named. Some seem to be just for the time line to show where someone came from. I would hate to be one of the kids on the list of  “not so important.” LOL

That is it. Genesis 4 is done. That wasn’t so bad now was it? I do warn you about tomorrow though…It’s a lot of names and how long people lived. So…go read it.

Much Love,

Heather 

Genesis 3

Hopefully you are reading ahead. One chapter a day is not much to ask for. And God only ask that you do as much as you can. To learn the bible I have picked to do a chapter a day but I am also reading ahead. At this point I have already started in Exodus but revisiting each chapter in Genesis every day. You only have to do as much as you can handle or as much as you have time to do. But I ask you, how much time are you willing to give God, because He has given every minute of his time to you. Think about it. 

Here we go!

When we left off in Genesis 2 we had just gotten to where God created woman for Adam. 

In Genesis 3 this woman comes across a serpent who made the Woman questions God's command. God told them not to eat fruit from the tree in the middle of the Garden. But the serpent tells the woman that she will not die like God said she would but that eating the fruit will make her like God, knowing good an evil. So the woman ate some of the fruit.

Now, most people think that the serpent was the devil. But I ask you to reread the beginning of this chapter. It says nothing of the serpent being Satan. It is a serpent, a snake and a representation of temptation. 

The woman took some fruit to her husband, Adam, and told him to eat it too. Then their eyes were opened to the fact that they were naked. So they made coverings out of fig leaves. When they heard God they were ashamed and hid. 

When God finds them and ask them why they hide Adam lay blame on his wife and she lay blame on the serpent. Funny that no one took responsibility for their own actions. Because of what they had done God cursed them. The serpent was cursed to crawl on his belly and eat dust. This always makes me think! Before the serpent convinced Eve to eat the fruit, did he have legs? What did the serpent look like BEFORE he was cursed to move around on his belly?

Then God tells the serpent "I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." (Genesis 3:15)  Makes you wonder what kind of relationship we would have had with snakes before all this...

Then God comes to the woman and tells her of her curse. Ladies, we have all heard the story. You know what came of this, childbirth. Painful childbirth (or so I am told it is painful). And that her husband, women's husbands, will rule over her. 

Adam did not escape the wrath of God. God cursed the ground so that working the ground and growing food would not be easy. Adam, man, would have to work the ground to grow food and it would be painful. Have you seen a farmers hands? Have you seen a farmers face? The battle with crops is not a fun or easy battle. Those of us who do not farm take for granted all the hard work that goes into it. 

Then Adam named his wife Eve. Finally the woman has name! Eve means mother of all living. Because of her sin and God's curse, Eve would now birth the children that would fill the earth.

God then gave Adam and Eve clothes made of animal skins. Even though God was angry with what they had done, He still loved them, He still loves us!

Once we get to verse 22 is where I start wondering about a lot of things. First off, God says "The man has become like one of us..." is He talking to the Angels? That is what I am assuming. Then he says "He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." I am, again, assuming that before Adam and Eve gained knowledge of good and evil they were allowed to eat from the tree of life. Meaning they would never die. Which is what makes verse 19 make sense. "By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." 

This alone makes you realize how much Adam and Eve lost by eating from the tree God had forbade them from. They had everything, but were not allowed ONE thing. When they took the one thing God kept them from they lost everything. There is a lesson here my friends. In this one chapter alone. God knows what is best for us. He gives us what we need. He even shows us what we can't have, what others have, and he tells us it is not for us. Should we reach for it anyways we are only hurting ourselves. We need to start obeying God!

In the end of this chapter Adam and Eve are cast out of their perfect world. Eden is closed to them and a Cherubim and a flaming sword guard the Garden of Eden. We have a perfect place waiting for us once we leave earth. Do you want to ignore God and lose it?

I know this is long, but there is so much in this chapter. It is the first lesson in the bible and the most important. Listen and trust God.

Read Genesis 4 for tomorrow! 

Much Love, 

Heather

Genesis 2

Welcome back! Today we are going to talk about Genesis 2. Did you read it? Did you read the first chapter? If not, go do it! Come on, you know you want to. I think it would be best if you read it before you read my summary/opinion. That way you are not influenced by my opinions. Let's get this party started!

Genesis 2

We start with the ending of the creation of things. The seventh day, which God blessed and made holy. And He said to rest! Now, here is something I would like for people to think about. We go to church on Sunday because it is supposedly the day of rest, the holy day. But, think about it, we start our weeks on Sunday. On the calendars Sunday is the first day of the week. Saturday is the last day, the seventh day of the week. So, shouldn't Saturday be the day of rest and church? I just thought it was something fun to consider.

By verse 4 we meet Adam. God puts Adam in the Garden of Eden to take care of it. He also told Adam that he can have anything that is there, EXCEPT he cannot eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God tells Adam that he will die if he does! Talk about intense! But really I think all God meant by that is Adams innocence would die because this tree would give him knowledge of good and evil.

Then in verse 18 God decides that Adam needs a helper. He says that it is not good for a man to be alone. 

In search for a helper God brings all the animals to Adam for him to name. (How much fun would it be to name all the animals!?) But God was not happy with anything he had already made; well, in the sense that they were not a suitable helper for Adam. So God put Adam to sleep, took one of his ribs and made a woman. 

Verse 14 says "That is why a man leaves his father and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh." Because women are a part of man and together they are whole! (My opinion!) I have to admit, that JUST came to me. lol Now Adam's wife is just called woman until chapter 3 of Genesis. But we all know her name is Eve...unless you didn't know, in that case, sorry for the spoiler!

There are other things that are important in Genesis 2. Like, Adam was made from the dust of the ground and God breathed life into him. And of course the rivers of Eden. I think if God took the time to name these rivers we should take the time to remember them. 

There were 4 rivers (it actually said headwaters.) I will put them in a nice list for you!

1. Pishon- Goes through the land of Havilah, which is the land of gold. Who doesn't love gold? 

2. Gihon- Goes through the land of Cush.

3. Tigris- Runs along the east side of Ashur. This is my favorite because of the awesome name!

4. Euphrates- That is all that is said of this river. Feel free to let me know if more is said about it later! (That is if you know already)

And that is Chapter 2 of Genesis. Go read it for yourself! And read Genesis 3 to be prepared for tomorrow!

Genesis 1

Let's get this started. I have had this blog sitting, waiting to be used. I let other things get in the way of it. So I have to suck up my laziness and get it going. I will start with one chapter a day. There are days I may get more, just depends on the time that I have. Though, I am going to try and get ahead on the weekends. So, here we go!

Genesis 1

The first chapter of Genesis is easy! Most people know all the things that God created. We know that He created the heavens and the earth and then he said "let there be light!" And there was light and God saw it as good.  Then he separated light from darkness and made day and night. Bam! You have the first day. Call me weird or strange but I can see God smiling a huge smile and his arms crossed at his chest admiring his work for that day. I know I would be doing exactly that.

Then the chapter goes on to the rest of the six days that God spent creating all of what we have today. I will list it because I am not rewriting the Bible, just summarizing. 

Day 2 - God separated the waters of heaven from the waters of earth. And called the space between, Sky. I say waters of heaven but I could be wrong in my understanding of this part. Correct me if I am wrong or let me know if you think differently. (That is the point of this) 

Day 3 part 1 - God separated the water and put dry ground between it. Land and Sea!

Day 3 part 2 - God made the land produce vegetation. Plants with seeds according to its kind as well as trees with fruit according to its kind. I always think of Johnny Appleseed when I read this part. I'm not sure why... Also, God had a super busy day on day 3!

Day 4 - This is how I understand the fourth day. God created two "great lights" for day and night, I think of the sun and moon. He also created the stars, which in my opinion are the greatest things ever! 

Day 5 - This is the fun day! That is, in my opinion anyways. God creates all the creatures of the sea and birds! Finally something that moves. Motion is given to the earth. Sure, plants are living and breathing, in an odd sort of way, but they are still, never moving. Now there are fish in the sea and birds in the sky. I think if I was God it would be one of my favorite days of creation. 

Day 6 - Now, God fills the land with wild animals and livestock. I always wondered if all the animals that we see now are the same ones as the ones put here on the sixth day. I mean, I know when I make things in Photoshop or build a new website I am always going back and adding things. I wonder if God did the same thing.

Also on the sixth day God created mankind. Now, something that confuses me...in the bible it says in verse 27: "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." My question, does this mean God created more than just Adam at first, but only put Adam in Eden, or is this just a premonition of sorts of what is to come?  Any opinions are appreciated.

I will remind you; this is MY summary of what I have read. These are MY opinions and thoughts. I am not saying anything other than what I think. I could be wrong in my way of thinking. But that is why this is here. To help others and myself understand what we are reading. 

Your task is to read Genesis 1 and then give your own opinion. Then read Genesis 2 because that is tomorrow!

Much Love,

Heather