Week 2 - January 5-11, Gen 12-28

I am trying to choose nuggets from the readings this week instead of re-writing Gen. 12-28 in the Annette's Texas Paraphrase Standard Version.

It has always amazed me the Lord said to Abraham leave your homeland, your relatives, and your father's home and I will bless you. v3 states: I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you - We are recipients of the spiritual blessings given to Abram for his obedience to God because we are peoples.

Does anyone else wonder about Abram lying in v 11-13:

When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "Look, I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' They will kill me but let you live. Please say you're my sister so it will go well for me because of you, and my life will be spared on your account."


I have always wondered why he lied, he trusted God enough to leave everything familiar so why didn't he trust God to protect him? Of course we can make serious errors in judgment when we are battling fear in our own lives.

Chapter 13: 18 - So Abram moved his tent and went to live beside the oaks of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.

I love how Abram always worshiped the Lord where he was. He had seen the land promised to his offspring moved on to Mamre and set up an altar to the Lord. Worship was constant in his life. What would our lives be if we spent more time daily in worship?

Abram heard Lot had been taken prisoner, he raised his army and defeated the kings and rescued Lot. In v 18 we have a foretaste of Holy Communion and v 20 the tithe:

Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was a priest to God Most High. He blessed him and said: Abram is blessed by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and give praise to God Most High who has handed over your enemies to you. And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Abram was obedient to the Lord when the king made this offer:

22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand in an oath to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, 23 that I will not take a thread or sandal strap or anything that belongs to you, so you can never say, 'I made Abram rich.' 24 I will take nothing except what the servants have eaten. But as for the share of the men who came with me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre—they can take their share."

Gen 15: 1 After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield; your reward will be very great. 2 But Abram said, "Lord GOD, what can You give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 Abram continued, "Look, You have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house will be my heir."

I love how God answers Abram's but Lord...God answered his question, God reassured him. Abram believed the Lord which required action and the covenant was made.

Gen 16: So much has been written about Hagar & Ishmael, I don't think I have a single thought to add.

I want to be a Gen 17:1 woman - When Abram was 99 years old, the LORD appeared to him, saying, "I am God Almighty. Live in My presence and be devout.

The Lord gives Abram and Sarai new names, I think it's the same with us, when we make Jesus our Lord and Savior - we become new creatures, it's like being renamed when we become part of the Covenant.

Then Abram fell to the ground, and God spoke with him: 4 "As for Me, My covenant is with you, and you will become the father of many nations. 5 Your name will no longer be Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I will make you the father of many nations. 6 I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you. 7 I will keep My covenant between Me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, as an everlasting covenant to be your God and the [God] of your offspring after you.

Gen 18: Abraham has visitors and Sarah laughs. Abraham is told the Lord will destroy Sodom & Gomorrah. The angels leave and Abraham remains standing with the Lord. I love that..standing with the Lord. Abraham pleads for Lot and Lot's family's lives just as we contend for loved ones in prayer.

Gen 19: I am always astounded by how evil the city had become, so perverse, just as the world is today. It's really true - there is nothing new under the sun. Verse 26 But his wife looked back and became a pillar of salt. Lot's wife looked back just as the Hebrews looked back to Egypt...how many times do I take my eyes off the Lord and look back?

Gen 20: Abraham lies again, I still wonder about this. He must know he has to be alive to father many nations...does anyone else ponder this? Of course through the lie, Abimelech and his family experience the power of Yaweh. 17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female slaves so that they could bear children, 18 for the LORD had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech's household on account of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

Gen 21: Isaac is born just as the Lord promised. Then in verse 8 we read: The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw the son mocking - the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham. 10 So she said to Abraham, "Drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave will not be a co-heir with my son Isaac!"

Do you ever wonder if Sarah thought of her part in plan for Hagar to have a child? Abraham was troubled by sending them away and the Lord assured him they would ok. I can't imagine how hard it would be to send them away even though I know God does what He says He will do. And then then Hagar and Ismael run out of water, she fears her son will die and does not want to witness the death. I really feel for her. The Lord saves them just as He promised. Over and over we witness His faithfulness to His people.

Abimelech makes a covenant with Abraham. He recognized God was with Abraham all the time. I hope to come to the point that I abide in the Lord all the time and He abides in me. Again Abraham worships: 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and there he worshiped the LORD, the Everlasting God. 34 And Abraham lived as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines for many days.

Gen 22: God tests Abraham, in my opinion this is one of the biggest tests of faith we read about in the Bible. Abraham so trusted God, he obeyed the Lord and set out to make the sacrifice.

7 Then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, "My father." And he replied, "Here I am, my son." Isaac said, "The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" 8 Abraham answered, "God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." Then the two of them walked on together.

God did provide the ram because Abraham honoured the Lord and was obedient to Him. For his obedience and reverence, Abraham was further blessed, he is the father of many nations. We are his heirs. 18 And all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring because you have obeyed My command." We never know through our obedience to God who is blessed in the present and who will be blessed in the future. Who knows how many of us were prayed into the Kingdom by ancestors praying for future generations!

Gen 23: After Sarah's death, Abraham asked the Hittites for a burial place for Sarah. Once again a heathen people recognize Abraham as God's chosen one: 5 The Hittites replied to Abraham, 6 "Listen to us, lord. You are God's chosen one among us.
The Hittites recognized God's power but did not worship Him and turn away from their Gods. How often have I done the very same thing?

Gen 24: Abraham was old and it was time for Isaac to marry. The estate manager swore an oath Isaac would not go back to Ur or marry a Cannanite woman. The servant prayed for success and the Lord sent Rebekah to the well. The servant bowed down and worshiped the Lord. Her family gave permission for her to marry Isaac, blessed her and sent her away to marry. I loved how the servant prayed for success and prayed prayers of thanksgiving. It always gets me when I read Isaac loved her and was comforted after his mother's death.

Gen 25: I had forgotten about Abraham's other wife, concubines, and sons. He sent them away to the east. Isaac dies, Ishmael dies, and Esau and Jacob are born. Scripture tells us:
27 When the boys grew up, Esau became an expert hunter, an outdoorsman, but Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for wild game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Esau was a man's man, Texas tough. If he lived today Football would be on his lists of likes. Jacob was quiet and a homebody. 2 distinct personalities.

Verse 29 Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, exhausted. 30 He said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red stuff, because I'm exhausted." That is why he was [also] named Edom. 31 Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright." 32 "Look," said Esau, "I'm about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?" 33 Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore to Jacob and sold his birthright to him. 34 Then Jacob gave bread and lentil stew to Esau; he ate, drank, got up, and went away. So Esau despised his birthright. Can you imagine selling your birthright, your father's blessing for a bowl of stew? Since I was little girl, I have been astounded by this. What are my priorities? Where is my heart?

Gen 26: Abimelech falls for it again... Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, "So she is really your wife! How could you say, 'She's my sister'?" I think how many times will he fall for a lie? Well how many times do we fall for satan's lies? There were troubles over wells and Isaac moved and opened more wells. The Lord blessed him, he reaped 100 times what he sowed. The Lord is the same today, when we sow His Word and pray, we reap more than we sow. Isaac then has an ecounter with the Everlasting God:

23 From there he went up to Beer-sheba, 24 and the LORD appeared to him that night and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your offspring because of My servant Abraham." 25 So he built an altar there, worshiped the LORD, and pitched his tent there. Isaac's slaves also dug a well there.

Abimelech had a change of heart about Isaac: 28 They replied, "We have clearly seen how the LORD has been with you. We think there should be an oath between two parties—between us and you. Let us make a covenant with you: 29 You will not harm us, just as we have not harmed you but have only done what was good to you, sending you away in peace. You are now blessed by the LORD."

Esau marries and his wives make life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah. I wonder if I ever made life bitter for my mother-in-law, I am pretty sure I did on occasion.

Gen 27: Jacob steals Esau's birthright, he is encouraged by his mother. No family is perfect, but this part of the story has always bothered me. Esau's blessing was far different than Jacob's:

39 Then his father Isaac answered him: Look, your dwelling place will be away from the richness of the land, away from the dew of the sky above. You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you rebel, you will break his yoke from your neck.

Rebekah hears Esau plans to kill Jacob because he is so angry, so she sends him to Laban. She wants to make sure she has no more Hittite daughter-in-laws. Isaac tells Jacob not to marry a Canannite and gives him another blessing. Esau marries a Canaanite woman, a daughter of Ismael out of spite. Jacob listens to his father and sets out to Laban's land. Jacob has a mighty encounter with God. Abraham and Isaac were with God so much of the time, Jacob has this powerful encounter and then says:

16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it." 17 He was afraid and said, "What an awesome place this is! This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven." 18 Early in the morning Jacob took the stone that was near his head and set it up as a marker. He poured oil on top of it 19 and named the place Bethel, though previously the city was named Luz. 20 Then Jacob made a vow: "If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, if He provides me with food to eat and clothing to wear, 21 and if I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God. 22 This stone that I have set up as a marker will be God's house, and I will give to You a tenth of all that You give me."

If God does this, this, and this - then the Lord will be my God and Iwill tithe. How many bargains did I make with the Lord growing up? Probably too many to count! So much for short...