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
