The Simple Bible

A decision

2010-09-29T16:26:00.000-07:00

I have moved all the posts from this blog to my main blog at betty.tracyent.com. I will not be posting here anymore. All new posts will go to the above addy. Look forward to seeing you there!

Hosea 12

2010-09-28T16:47:00.000-07:00

Chapter 12

1 Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt.

Israel is trying to protect herself by alternately sending gifts to Egypt and paying taxes to Assyria. These two powers are fighting each other, so Israel is trying to hedge her bets that each of them will protect her from the other. It didn’t work.

2 The LORD hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.

Though Judah is officially being faithful to God, she has sinned in the past and will backslide soon after the death of Hezekiah.

3 He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:

4 Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us;

5 Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is his memorial.

A brief recount of the history of God being the God of Israel.

6 Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.

“This is why Israel and Judah need to turn back to God.”

7 He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress.

Israel is a dishonest merchant. The nation had been allowing not only dishonest scales, but the enslavement of fellow Israelites, something God had forbidden in The Law.

8 And Ephraim said, ‘Yet I am become rich, I have found me out substance: in all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin.’

They saw nothing wrong with what they were doing. They evidently didn’t believe in sin.

9 And I that am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feast.

At the Feast of Booths Israel would all move into tents and other temporary dwellings in order to remember the forty years of wandering in the wilderness. God is going to send them back to full time tent dwelling.

10 I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets.

God has given them sufficient warning. They have had more than enough warning and time to repent.

11 Is there iniquity in Gilead? surely they are vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.

Their sacrifices are worthless even when they make them to God. He wants obedience more than He wants sacrifice.

12 And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.

13 And by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.

Another reference to the history of the nation. They were not started by a great warrior king but by a man running for his life. They were brought to the promised land by a man skilled in politics but by the humble prophet Moses.

14 Ephraim provoked Him to anger most bitterly: therefore shall He leave his blood upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him.

This is why God will punish him.

Hosea 11

2010-09-23T16:46:00.000-07:00

Chapter 11

1 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

God now switches from the metaphor of Israel being His wife to Israel being His son.

Though god called the entire nation of Israel out of Egypt, Matthew applied this scripture to Christ. Jesus spent about two years in Egypt during his very early childhood hiding from King Herod.

2 As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.

Other translations render this “As I called them, so they went from Me” which makes more sense. The more God called to Israel, the more she pursued her idols.

3 I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them.

God taught Israel the way a father teaches his child to walk, but they still ignored Him.

4 I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.

He made their lives easy but they still reject them. Sounds like children in America today.

5 He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.

6 And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels.

7 And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him.

Some in Israel had called out to God in repentance, though not likely a large number.

8 How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together.

God loves Israel. He does not want to punish her, but sees He has no choice since He is the God of Justice. But He will not totally wipe her off the face of the earth like King Chedorlaomer conquered Kings Admah and Zeboim in the time of Abraham (Genesis 14:8)

9 I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city.

God promises He will not totally destroy the people, but only punish them as much as is necessary.

10 They shall walk after the LORD: He shall roar like a lion: when He shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west.

Assyria settled most of the Israelites to the west towards Babylon.

11 They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria: and I will place them in their houses, saith the LORD.

God promises to call Israel back home to their homeland. They will come out of both Egypt (where many fled to avoid captivity) and Assyria (which at this time includes the territory of Babylon). This was fulfilled when Cyrus the Great gave the command for all captive people to return to their homelands.

12 Ephraim compasseth Me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit: but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the saints.

Judah is under the rule of Hezekiah at this time and is serving God and being faithful. God will keep all His promises that the Messiah will come out of the descendents of Jacob.

Hosea 10

2010-09-18T16:45:00.000-07:00

Chapter 10

1 Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images.

God gives Israel a very good land and she uses her prosperity to better worship pagan gods.

2 Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: He shall break down their altars, He shall spoil their images.

3 For now they shall say, ‘We have no king, because we feared not the LORD; what then should a king do to us?’

If you are not afraid of God, why would you fear a mere human king?

4 They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.

God is making a list of the sins of Israel and her punishments.

They have lied, so God will have poisonous plants grow up among their crops. Hemlock is the most poisonous plant on the planet.

5 The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Bethaven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof that rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it.

Because Israel (whose capital is Samaria) has worshipped the golden calves, she will fear. And they will miss their calf while they are in captivity.

6 It shall be also carried unto Assyria for a present to king Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.

The very idol they have worshipped as a god will be taken as a mere present to a foreign king.

7 As for Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam upon the water.

Bye-bye king. Since Israel would never be a separate nation again but would be incorporated into Judah, she will never have her own king.

8 The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, ‘Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.’

Israel will prefer death to captivity, but will not have that choice.

9 O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah: there they stood: the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them.

The battle of Gibeah was one of the first battles in the conquest of Canaan’s land.

10 It is in my desire that I should chastise them; and the people shall be gathered against them, when they shall bind themselves in their two furrows.

11 And Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread out the corn; but I passed over upon her fair neck: I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his clods.

Treading corn was an easy job for cattle to do. They simply pulled a light weight around until all the chaff was broken off. Plowing, however, was hard physical labor (“I passed over upon her fair neck” is translated “I bent her fair neck to the yoke” in more modern translations.) God is going to make Israel work though she would rather be lazy.

12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

God will lesson His punishment on people who seek Him and repent. Israel has the chance to lesson the severity of her punishment, but, of course, she won’t take that chance.

13 Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.

Humanism. This is the same problem we have today. We believe we are in charge and can control our own destiny.

14 Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon her children.

We don’t know for sure who this King Shalman is. There are several possibilities in history, but none of them are any more likely than the others.

Whoever he was, he led an army to conqueror Beth-arbel (this may be a city in the trans-Jordon region, but we don’t know for sure.) He was merciless, destroying the mother with their babies. This is how the Assyrians are going to treat Israel.

15 So shall Beth-el do unto you because of your great wickedness: in a morning shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off.

The New King James words this verse “Thus is shall be done to you, O Bethel, because of your great wickedness.” Other translations agree. Bethel was a major city in Israel.

In one morning, the royal line will die and the kingship of Israel will cease to exist.

Sexy post

2010-09-14T17:38:00.000-07:00

Eagle Forum Blog: The NEA Wants to Teach Kids about Sex

What is real life about?

Excelent explination for why we should be modest

Protect our daughters

What does the NEA mean by Early Childhood Education?

And other goings on at the largest lobby group in America

Now they are out to take your blog and here

NEAs ideas for education

What women to not be

Hosea 9

2010-09-08T16:42:00.000-07:00

Chapter 9

1 Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor.

Israel is told not to celebrate the harvest because they were attributing their prosperity to false gods, not the true One.

The threshing floor was common place for pagan rituals.

2 The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her.

3 They shall not dwell in the LORD’S land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria.

Israel will again be in captivity like when they were in Egypt, and they will go to Assyria and not be able to keep the dietary laws. Most likely they were keeping the dietary laws out of pride, though they were ignoring the more important parts of the Law; those parts concerning how to treat the poor, how to do business fairly, and how to treat their family. It is much easier and much more ego boosting to be legalistic than to love our neighbors.

4 They shall not offer wine offerings to the LORD, neither shall they be pleasing unto Him: their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be polluted: for their bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the LORD.

God is going to fix it so they can’t even be legalistic. They won’t have the option of keeping the dietary and sacrifice laws.

5 What will ye do in the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the LORD?

6 For, lo, they are gone because of destruction: Egypt shall gather them up, Memphis shall bury them: the pleasant places for their silver, nettles shall possess them: thorns shall be in their tabernacles.

Nettles have fine, very sharp stickers all over them. They grow in wild places and are actually a medicinal herb, though I don’t think God was concerned with medicine at this moment. He was promising that Jerusalem would be so desolate that the annoying weeds would grow up in the middle of it.

7 The days of visitation are come, the days of recompense are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred.

8 The watchman of Ephraim was with my God: but the prophet is a snare of a fowler in all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God.

9 They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah: therefore He will remember their iniquity, He will visit their sins.

The men who were calling themselves prophets were saying that Israel would be delivered from the Assyrians and would return to the greatness of the time of Solomon. God is calling these men fools.

10 I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved.

Finding grapes where they haven’t been cultivated or the first fruit off of a tree is a delightful thing. Fruit is very refreshing and pleasant to eat. God’s instant desert. This is how pleased God was with Israel at first, but now she has gone to other gods.

11 As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird, from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception.

As punishment, infertility will increase as will miscarriages. Low birth rates are a punishment from God. (And modern Western Culture has chosen to encourage low birth rates. This is not wise)

12 Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, that there shall not be a man left: yea, woe also to them when I depart from them!

Even those who manage to have children won’t see them to adulthood and marriage. The Assyrians will carry them away as slaves.

13 Ephraim, as I saw Tyrus, is planted in a pleasant place: but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer.

14 Give them, O LORD: what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.

Without modern formulas, a baby whose mother’s milk dried up was pretty much doomed. Even today, formula is a far lower second choice to the natural food God made for babies.

Imagine the heartache; first you have trouble even getting pregnant. Then you miscarry. Then, after you actually manage to carry a baby long enough he survives the birth, he dies of starvation because your body won’t produce enough milk to feed him. If you do manage to successfully feed one, the Assyrians will come in and kill him or carry him of to a foreign land and you will never see him again.

15 All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes are revolters.

16 Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb.

17 My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto Him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations.

The Assyrians had the practice of removing people from their homeland and settling them in a foreign country. This made them less likely to fight because they were no longer protecting their homes and their people would be too far away from each other to band together. Israel would be one of those nations scattered throughout the kingdom.

Hosea 8

2010-09-03T16:41:00.000-07:00

Chapter 8

1 Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed My covenant, and trespassed against My law.

2 Israel shall cry unto me, ‘My God, we know thee.’

Israel will only call out to God when all is lost and it is too late.

3 Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him.

4 They have set up kings, but not by Me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.

5 Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?

This is the calf made by Jeroboam when he took the kingdom from Solomon’s son Rehaboam. Israel is still worshiping it and pretending that God told them to.

6 For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.

7 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.

8 Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.

Assyria will carry away Israel into a whole different country as slaves.

9 For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers.

Israel paid money to Assyria to protect them from Egypt. As a result Assyria will conquer them.

10 Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes.

Hiring a human nation as protection from the punishment of God is useless at best and in this case opened the door for God to use Assyria as the “spanking paddle” to punish them.

11 Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin.

12 I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing.

Israel had flat refused to follow God’s law.

13 They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it; but the LORD accepteth them not; now will He remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt.

This return to Egypt was a return to a bondage like they were under in the time of Moses. They would become slaves again because they had denied God.

14 For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.

Nothing humans can do can protect them from God. Only humbleness and obedience to God can turn punishment aside.

Hosea 7

2010-08-31T16:39:00.000-07:00

Chapter 7

1 When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers spoileth without.

2 And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before My face.

Israel is choosing to believe that God won’t really remember or notice all the horrible things they have done. In other words, they don’t really believe He is there.

3 They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.

4 They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, who ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened.

5 In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners.

Even the king who is supposed to be an example of godliness is sinning.

6 For they have made ready their heart like an oven, whiles they lie in wait: their baker sleepeth all the night; in the morning it burneth as a flaming fire.

The ovens of this day were fueled by wood fire. They had to be prepared a good deal ahead of time in order to use them. Israel had prepared their hearts to sin.

7 They are all hot as an oven, and have devoured their judges; all their kings are fallen: there is none among them that calleth unto me.

No one, not even the elite, has chosen to prepare their hearts to serve God.

8 Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.

If you don’t turn your bread in a wood fired oven, it will burn and be ruined.

9 Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not.

Israel is decaying and doesn’t realize it.

10 And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face: and they do not return to the LORD their God, nor seek Him for all this.

11 Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.

Israel sent to both Egypt and Assyria for help against each other. She hoped they would fight each other and leave Israel alone. A rather dumb philosophy when you live in the middle of the most direct route between the two nations. Where else would they hold their battles?

12 When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard.

God so wants them to repent, but He knows they won’t and He will punish them for their sins.

13 Woe unto them! For they have fled from Me: destruction unto them! Because they have transgressed against Me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against Me.

14 And they have not cried unto Me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against Me.

15 Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against Me.

Whether God brings prosperity or famine, Israel denies Him.

16 They return, but not to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.

Hosea 5

2010-08-23T16:34:00.000-07:00

Chapter 5

1 Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.

The leaders of Israel have led the common man into sin. They are responsible for the sins of the people and will receive the greater judgment.

2 And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, though I have been a rebuker of them all.

God has given Israel plenty of warning but they just don’t listen.

3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled.

Ephraim was the leading tribe in Israel. They were the ones who evidently introduced idol worship (spiritual adultery).

4 They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the LORD.

5 And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them.

This is the first prediction in the book of Hosea that Judah will eventually fall also.

6 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find Him; He hath withdrawn himself from them.

God is fed up and will not take apologies at this point. It is time for punishment.

7 They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.

Temple prostitution had produced a bunch of illegitimate children, a practice the Law had declared abominable. God values the family as the best place to raise up servants for Him, but this prostitution had denied the children the family they needed. What’s more, all children born did not know God because of the parent’s lack of teaching. They were all strangers to Him.

8 Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at Bethaven, after thee, O Benjamin.

The cities in Benjamin (the border between Israel and Judah) will see the destruction coming on Israel.

9 Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.

10 The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.

11 Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the commandment.

12 Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.

Both Israel (represented by the tribe Ephraim) and Judah will be punished, though Judah’s punishment will be delayed for a time.

13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound.

Israel and Judah both went to Assyria when they saw they were in danger from Egyptian aggression. They did not seek their God.

14 For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.

As punishment God will destroy both nations as thoroughly as a lion destroys his prey.

15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.

God will leave Israel and Judah without protection until they come looking for Him. He won’t help them because they looked to others to protect them.

Hosea 4

2010-08-18T16:30:00.000-07:00

Chapter 4
1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
Israel has not kept the command to teach God’s words to their children every waking moment (Dueteronomy 6:7). As a result, there is a general lack of knowledge of Him. God has a problem with this.
America, in like manner, has forgotten to teach her children the godly truths we were founded under. As a result, the majority in our nation have no truth, mercy or true knowledge of God. If God is unchanging, can we expect anything less than punishment for this negligence?
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
God allowed Assyria to flatten the countryside.
4 Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.
5 Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Israel chose to forget their place with God; to forget Him altogether. As a result, God will forget them. He will quit protecting them and allow them to be destroyed.
America was founded on the idea of freedom to serve God according to conscious. Instead of worshiping God, we now worship freedom. How could God not punish us for this?
7 As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.
8 They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.
9 And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.
10 For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD.
Even though Israel was engaging in plenty of sex, their numbers would not increase. This is a curse, a very bad thing.
America is just as sexual and the only reason our numbers aren’t actually dropping is because of immigration. This is not a good thing.
11 Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.
12 My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.
Israel asks for advise from their animals (livestock). America from Wall Street. Same result; worshiping the creature instead of the Creator.
13 They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.
Idol worship in the ancient world was a selfish religion. It involved gorging at feasts, prostitution, and the sacrifice of babies. Serving idols allowed men to puff themselves up and show how important they were. This is entirely different standards than worshiping the true God. God values humbleness and self-sacrifice. God is simply promising the natural results to the nations choices. Their daughters will become the prostitutes they frequent and their wives will engage in the same “freedoms.”
14 I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall.
When a people do not call sin a sin, the good people begin to sin. There is no incentive for anyone to be righteous. And how can we blame our children for sleeping with every warm body that comes along when we glorify such behavior through our entertainment media and those we call celebrities. A person becomes those he spends time with, so when we spend time with sinners, we become sinners.
15 Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear, The LORD liveth.
Gilgal and Bethaven were cities just inside the Juden border. At this time Judah is serving God under king Hezekiah. God does not want Israel to contaminate Judah or to even pretend to serve Him.
16 For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place.
17 Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.
It is too late for Israel to escape punishment.
18 Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye.
19 The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.
Israel will be sufficiently punished to bring her back to her senses.

Hosea 3

2010-08-13T16:29:00.000-07:00

Chapter 3

1 Then said the LORD unto me, ‘Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.’

Hosea had every right by any standard to divorce Gomer. But he still loved her and on God’s command he bought her back.

2 So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley:

God also bought back His wayward wife. He paid at Calvary.

3 And I said unto her, ‘Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.

Hosea is just wanting a faithful wife to keep to himself. This is all God wants too; a people for Himself.

4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim:

God is still going to punish Israel for her unfaithfulness.

5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.

After the captivity Israel did seek God, but unfortunately in a self-righteous manner. They were still into self-worship. At the time of Christ however, tens of thousands of Jews sought and found God by recognizing their King, the Son of David, Jesus.

The “latter days” are the last days of the Jewish nation.

Hosea 1

2010-08-03T16:25:00.000-07:00

Hosea lived before the Assyrian captivity. He was the only native to Israel who wrote a Bible prophecy book. The others were all from Judah.
Hosea’s story is an object lesson for God’s relationship with Israel. God “married” Israel, but due to her unfaithfulness, He divorced her.
Israel was the nation God chose to carry His Word and the lineage to Christ. She split into two halves; Judah and Israel. Though Judah came closer to serving God, neither one really dedicated themselves to Him. Both nations were carried into captivity as punishment; Israel in 740-721BC (it took them twenty years to capture every tribe) and Judah in 563BC.
Hosea prophesied just before the captivity of Israel. His prophecy was not accepted.

Chapter 1
1 The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
Hosea had a long-term career. It covered four kings of Judah and one, long ruling king of Israel, the second Jeroboam to rule Israel.
2 The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, ‘Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.’
God is our Father and the church is our mother. At this time, “the church” was the nation Israel (with Judah). God is comparing His relationship with Israel to Hosea’s relationship with his wife. Most believe Gomer was a prostitute before Hosea chose her as his wife.
3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son.
What are the chances that this child was not actually the child of Hosea? There is the chance he was illegitimate, though it appears he was conceived after the marriage. Would God have had Hosea write this differently if this wasn’t Hosea’s; maybe “and she bare a son”?
4 And the LORD said unto him, ‘Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.
Jezreel means “God Sows.” It was a city in Israel.
Israel’s king Ahab was very wicked, and his wife was worse, so God placed a curse on them. Jehu eliminated all the sons of Ahab to fulfill that curse. Unfortunately he went too far and killed every relative, friend and advisor of Ahab, also. God promised him that his fourth generation would rule in Israel, but He tells Hosea here that God will also judge Jehu’s descendants for his bloodthirstiness.
God says here that Israel will cease to be a kingdom. They will be eliminated. This is exactly what happened after the Assyrian captivity. Though many from all twelve tribes settled in Palestine, they settled in the territory of Judah. Israel as a kingdom never again existed.
5 ‘And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.’
Jezreel was between Assyria and Israel’s capital city of Samaria. She was a major strategic point of defense. Assyria took her out on the way to Samaria.
6 And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, ‘Call her name Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.
Loruhamah means “she is not pitied.”
Again, Israel is to be totally destroyed. God is done with her. He won’t show her any pity.
7 ‘But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.’
Conventional means of war will not be used to save Judah Assyria did try to conquer Judah, even laying siege to Jerusalem. But God, at the prayers of Hezekiah, caused the king of Assyria to hear of a rebellion elsewhere in his kingdom and leave Jerusalem. He was later murdered and never returned to Judah.
8 Now when she had weaned Loruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son.
9 Then said God, ‘Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.
Loammi means “Not My People.”
This is the third time in just this chapter God says Israel will no longer be his people.
10 ‘Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, ‘Ye are not my people,’ there it shall be said unto them, ‘Ye are the sons of the living God.’
It is not a political people that will be numbered as the sea. It is a spiritual kingdom; the Christian church. “Sons of God” is a New Testament term that applies to the Christian. “Israel” in the New Testament is the Church. Romans 11 tells us that God broke off the unprofitable branches (unbelieving Israelites) of the Olive Tree (the church) and grafted in wild branches (gentile believers). So those who believe and follow God are now Israel no matter what their genetic heritage. They are part of the innumerable multitude that is called “The sons of the Living God.”
11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.’
Jezreel is about where the village of Nazareth was at the time of Christ’s birth. The appointed Head is Jesus. Those that will return from the captivity from all twelve tribes choose Him as their Head.

2010-06-17T15:47:00.001-07:00

Non-Christian Education Is Sin, Spiritual Child Abuse

2010-05-26T07:56:00.000-07:00

Non-Christian Education Is Sin, Spiritual Child Abuse

Genesis 36

2010-05-18T15:34:00.000-07:00

1 Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom.

Whenever we hear about Edomites later in the Bible, we know they are descendents of Esau.

2 Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;

3 And Bashemath Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebajoth.

4 And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz; and Bashemath bare Reuel;

5 And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau, which were born unto him in the land of Canaan.

6 And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob.

Evidently he felt crowded once Jacob finally made it home.

7 For their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle.

8 Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.

9 And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir:

10 These are the names of Esau’s sons; Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Bashemath the wife of Esau.

11 And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz.

12 And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau’s son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these were the sons of Adah Esau’s wife.

13 And these are the sons of Reuel; Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: these were the sons of Bashemath Esau’s wife.

14 And these were the sons of Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau’s wife: and she bare to Esau Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah.

15 These were dukes of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn son of Esau; duke Teman, duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenaz,

Duke is an English term. It means chief. Esau’s sons became many tribes.

16 Duke Korah, duke Gatam, and duke Amalek: these are the dukes that came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these were the sons of Adah.

17 And these are the sons of Reuel Esau’s son; duke Nahath, duke Zerah, duke Shammah, duke Mizzah: these are the dukes that came of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Bashemath Esau’s wife.

18 And these are the sons of Aholibamah Esau’s wife; duke Jeush, duke Jaalam, duke Korah: these were the dukes that came of Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife.

19 These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are their dukes.

20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who inhabited the land; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah,

21 And Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan: these are the dukes of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom.

22 And the children of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna.

23 And the children of Shobal were these; Alvan, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

24 And these are the children of Zibeon; both Ajah, and Anah: this was that Anah that found the mules in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.

Sounds like an interesting story. Wish we had more of it. Mules are a cross between a donkey and a horse. They are almost always infertile.

25 And the children of Anah were these; Dishon, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah.

26 And these are the children of Dishon; Hemdan, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran.

27 The children of Ezer are these; Bilhan, and Zaavan, and Akan.

28 The children of Dishan are these; Uz, and Aran.

29 These are the dukes that came of the Horites; duke Lotan, duke Shobal, duke Zibeon, duke Anah,

30 Duke Dishon, duke Ezer, duke Dishan: these are the dukes that came of Hori, among their dukes in the land of Seir.

31 And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel.

32 And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom: and the name of his city was Dinhabah.

33 And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead.

34 And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of Temani reigned in his stead.

35 And Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Avith.

36 And Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead.

37 And Samlah died, and Saul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead.

38 And Saul died, and Baalhanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead.

39 And Baalhanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Pau; and his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.

40 And these are the names of the dukes that came of Esau, according to their families, after their places, by their names; duke Timnah, duke Alvah, duke Jetheth,

41 Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah, duke Pinon,

42 Duke Kenaz, duke Teman, duke Mibzar,

43 Duke Magdiel, duke Iram: these be the dukes of Edom, according to their habitations in the land of their possession: he is Esau the father of the Edomites.

This is the end of the history of Esau. We do hear the occasional mention of Edom later, though.

Genesis 35

2010-05-15T16:01:00.000-07:00

1 And God said unto Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.”

It’s time for Jacob to keep his promise to God.

2 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, “Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:

3 “And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.”

Bethel means “House of God.”

4 And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.

This would include the idols that Rebecca stole from her father.

5 And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.

God kept them safe from retribution for what they had done to Shechem.

6 So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him.

7 And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.

Elbethel means “God the House of God.”

8 But Deborah Rebekah’s nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbachuth.

Allonbachuth means “Terebinth of Weeping.” Rebekah’s nurse would probably have been the equivalent of her nanny. They may have been bringing her to see her charge from years before. She didn’t make it.

9 And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him.

10 And God said unto him, “Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name:” and he called his name Israel.

Have you ever wondered how God spoke to people in instances like this? Did Jacob hear an audible voice? Did an angel come talk to him?

11 And God said unto him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;

Here is that command to have babies again. Jacob could not have accomplished God’s will in his life if he had limited his family to the “responsible” two children.

12 “And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.”

13 And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.

14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.

15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel.

“House of God.”

16 And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.

17 And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, “Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.”

18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.

Benoni means “Sorrow.” Benjamin means “Son of the Right Hand.”

Death in childbirth has always occurred, though it was a relative rarity until the middle 1800’s when doctors took over delivery and insisted on women being in hospitals. The lowering of death rates is directly related to the invention of hand washing and better nutrition. Both of these apply across the board from the planned homebirth to the hospital birth. Today, the death rate in homebirths in developed nations is lower than the rate in hospitals due to mommy having immunity to the germs in her own home but not in the hospital.

Rachel most likely died of blood loss.

19 And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.

20 And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day.

21 And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar.

22 And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:

This is what disqualified Ruben from inheriting the oldest child blessing. This type of sin is so grievous to God, Paul tells us in the New Testament to not even talk about it.

23 The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun:

24 The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin:

25 And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali:

26 And the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram.

27 And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.

28 And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years.

29 And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

It appears Rabekah had died.

Important Birth Information

2010-05-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

The First Hour Following Birth: Don’t Wake the Mother! - by Michel Odent
God is so good to provide for a baby and mother's needs this way!
The First Hour Following Birth: Don’t Wake the Mother! - by Michel Odent

A new study of homebirths vs hospital births
400+ Certified Proffesional (non-nurse)midwives, 5000+ moms
"Results 655 (12.1%) women who intended to deliver at home when labour began were transferred to hospital. Medical intervention rates included epidural (4.7%), episiotomy (2.1%), forceps (1.0%), vacuum extraction (0.6%), and caesarean section (3.7%)[c-section rates in thegeneral population at this time were nearly 30%]; these rates were substantially lower than for low risk US women having hospital births. The intrapartum and neonatal mortality among women considered at low risk at start of labour, excluding deaths concerning life threatening congenital anomalies, was 1.7 deaths per 1000 planned home births, similar to risks in other studies of low risk home and hospital births in North America. No mothers died. No discrepancies were found for perinatal outcomes independently validated.

"Conclusions Planned home birth for low risk women in North America using certified professional midwives was associated with lower rates of medical intervention but similar intrapartum and neonatal mortality to that of low risk hospital births in the United States. ...

"Individual rates of medical intervention for home births were consistently less than half those in hospital, whether compared with a relatively low risk group (singleton, vertex, 37 weeks or more gestation) that will have a small percentage of higher risk births or the general population having hospital births (table 3). Compared with the relatively low risk hospital group, intended home births were associated with lower rates of electronic fetal monitoring (9.6% versus 84.3%), episiotomy (2.1% versus 33.0%), caesarean section (3.7% versus 19.0%), and vacuum extraction (0.6% versus 5.5%). The caesarean rate for intended home births was 8.3% among primiparous women and 1.6% among multiparous women. ...

No maternal deaths occurred. After we excluded four stillborns who died before labour but whose mothers still chose home birth, and three babies with fatal birth defects, five deaths were intrapartum and six occurred during the neonatal period (see box). This was a rate of 2.0 deaths per 1000 intended home births.[the US average is around 7 deaths per 1000 births] The intrapartum and neonatal mortality was 1.7 deaths per 1000 low risk intended home births after planned breeches and twins (not considered low risk) were excluded. The results for intrapartum and neonatal mortality are consistent with most North American studies of intended births out of hospital11-24 and low risk hospital births (table 4).14 21 22 24-30 ...

"When the author compared 3385 planned home births with 806 402 low risk hospital births, he consistently found a non-significantly lower perinatal mortality in the home birth group. The results were consistent regardless of liberal or more restrictive criteria to define low risk, and whether or not the analysis involved simple standardisation of rates or extensive adjustment for all potential risk variables collected.22"

Read the whole reportof the study here http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/330/7505/1416

The Dangers of Epiddurals
Avoid epis (for birth) if at all possible. The best way to avoid epis is to avoid induction. Induced labor hurts more necessitating more pain relief. Avoiding epis alosolowers your risk of c-section.http://www.sarahjbuckley.com/articles/epidural-risks.htm

Genesis 34

2010-05-12T16:47:00.000-07:00

1 And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.

We get into trouble when we socialize with unbelievers.

2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.

This does not say her raped her. She may very well have been a willing partner.

3 And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel.

A love affair in the true modern sense.

4 And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this damsel to wife.”

5 And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the field: and Jacob held his peace until they were come.

Jacob is being a rather wimpy father. He should have dealt with this himself and not waited to let his sones deal with it.

6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob to commune with him.

7 And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter; which thing ought not to be done.

8 And Hamor communed with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife.

9 “And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.

10 “And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein.”

He is proposing that they become one people.

11 And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, “Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give.

12 “Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but give me the damsel to wife.”

He really loved her.

13 And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, "because he had defiled Dinah their sister:

14 And they said unto them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us:

15 “But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised;

16 “Then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.

17 “But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.”

They had no intention of letting Diana marry Shechem. They wanted to put him in a vulnerable postion.

18 And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor’s son.

19 And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of his father.

20 And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,

21 “These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.

22 “Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised.

23 “Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs be ours? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us.”

Shechem may have truly loved Diana and been more honorable, but he wasn’t above using the greed of his neighbors to get what he wanted.

24 And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.

I can’t imagine a group of men being that greedy.

25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.

This would cause Jacob to bypass them in the assigning of the Blessing. Ruben will disqualify himself latter, also, leaving the fourth son, Judah, to inherit the Blessing.

26 And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went out.

27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.

28 They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field,

29 And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house.

The two groups, Israel and the city, did become one group, but not in the way the men of the city had wanted. With all the men dead, the city was easy prey.

30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.”

“You’ve put us all in danger!” He appears to be more concerned with his own safety than with the fact that his sons just lied to and murdered an entire city full of men.

31 And they said, “Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?”

The Pill: Making Motherhood “Better”?

2010-05-10T13:18:00.000-07:00

No, I don't think so.

LAF/Beautiful Womanhood » The Pill: Making Motherhood “Better”?

Genesis 33

2010-05-08T16:28:00.000-07:00

1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.

Jacob splits his family into four bands in hopes of preserving some of them in the expected fight.

2 And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.

Obvious favorites here.

3 And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

4 And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.

Not what Jacob was expecting. Esau had obviously forgiven Jacob and missed his brother.

5 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, “Who are those with thee?” And he said, “The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.”

Jacob recognizes that life comes from God. Without God’s approval, there would be no children. They are a gift from Him (Psalms 127)

6 Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.

7 And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.

8 And he said, “What meanest thou by all this drove which I met?” And he said, “These are to find grace in the sight of my lord.”

9 And Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself.”

10 And Jacob said, “Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.

11 “Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” And he urged him, and he took it.

Jacob is playing the diplomat. He makes sure his brother has nothing bad to say against him.

12 And he said, “Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.”

Esau offers to accompany Jacob home.

13 And he said unto him, “My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.

14 “Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir.”

Jacob is using the children and the young animals as an excuse to send Esau on without him. Jacob will not actually go live next to Esau. He wisely realizes their large herds would cause problems if they are too close.

15 And Esau said, “Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me.” And he said, “What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord.”

Esau continues his offer of help, but Jacob still refuses.

16 So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.

17 And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

Jacob makes his own life away from his brother, keeping a safe distance between them.

Succoth means “booths.” Succoth is near the Jordan River, north of the Dead Sea. Seir is south of the Dead Sea.

18 And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city.

The Bible doesn’t say why he moved form Succoth after building housing. A great deal of time may have passed between his settling in Succoth and moving to Shechem.

19 And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for an hundred pieces of money.

Jacob would give this piece of land to Joseph just before his death and Joseph’s bones would be buried here after Israel returned to the land.

20 And he erected there an altar, and called it Elelohe-Israel.

Elelohe-Israel means “A Mighty God is the God of Israel.”

Chapter 32

2010-05-05T16:18:00.000-07:00

1 And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

2 And when Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.”

Mahanaim means “Double Camp,” possible referring to the camp of the angels and Jacobs camp.

3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

4 And he commanded them, saying, “Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; ‘Thy servant Jacob saith thus, “I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:

5 “And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.”’”

Jacob is still afraid of Esau, though it has been twenty years since he left. He is feeling out the mood he is going to meet to see how he stands.

6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.”

7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;

This may also be the reason for the name “Double Camp.”

It does sound like Esau is bringing an army with him. Not good from Jacob’s point of view.

8 And said, “If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.”

9 And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, ‘Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:’

“Remember God, You told me to do this.”

10 “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.

Who of us is worthy of even the very breath we breathe? And God had made Jacob rich.

11 “Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.

12 “And thou saidst, ‘I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’”

Jacob is remembering the promises God has made to him.

13 And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother;

He is hoping to pacify him.

14 Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,

15 Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals.

580 animals in all. Quite a group.

16 And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, “Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.”

17 And he commanded the foremost, saying, “When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, ‘Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?’

18 “Then thou shalt say, ‘They be thy servant Jacob’s; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us.’”

19 And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, “On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him.

20 “And say ye moreover, ‘Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.”

Jacob is using wisdom in order to save the lives of his family. He is hoping to avoid war with his brother all together by this great gift. Imagine how rich Jacob was to afford to give this gift and still have more than enough left.

21 So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company.

22 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.

Jabbok might mean “wrestled.”

23 And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.

24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

I think Jacob stayed behind to pray about the coming confrontation and found himself fight with a stranger.

25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

26 And he said, “Let me go, for the day breaketh.” And he said, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.”

Jacob recognized this man as some servant of God, possibly an angel.

27 And he said unto him, “What is thy name?” And he said, Jacob.

Remember, Jacob means supplanter or victor.

28 And he said, “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”

Jacob means “Prince with God.”

29 And Jacob asked him, and said, “Tell me, I pray thee, thy name.” And he said, “Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name?” And he blessed him there.

The man refused to tell Jacob his name, but did pronounce a blessing on him.

30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”

Peniel means “Face of God.”

I am not quite sure why Jacob thinks he has seen God. There is no indication that this being he wrestled with is more than a human man; an angel at most.

31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.

He was lame.

32 Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew that shrank.

This explains the custom of some time in Israelite history of not eating the sinew of the thigh in their animals.

How Breastfeeding Benefits Mothers' Health: Scientific American

2010-05-05T15:16:00.000-07:00

At these rates, I should live forever,LOL.

How Breastfeeding Benefits Mothers' Health: Scientific American

Chapter 31

2010-05-02T16:16:00.000-07:00

Jacob goes home.

1 And he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s; and of that which was our father’s hath he gotten all this glory.”

Laban’s boys are beginning to resent Jacob’s prosperity. Since the spotted animals are all Jacob’s, and Jacob is making sure the strong animals have the spotted babies, Jacob is getting richer and Laban is getting poorer.

2 And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.

3 And the LORD said unto Jacob, “Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.”

God gives permission for Jacob to go back home.

4 And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock,

5 And said unto them, “I see your father’s countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me.

6 “And ye know that with all my power I have served your father.

7 “And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.

8 “If he said thus, ‘The speckled shall be thy wages;’ then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, ‘The ringstreaked shall be thy hire;’ then bare all the cattle ringstreaked.

9 “Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.

10 “And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstreaked, speckled, and grisled.

11 “And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob:’ And I said, ‘Here am I.’

12 “And He said, ‘Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstreaked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.’

13 “’I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.’”

14 And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, “Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house?

15 “Are we not counted of him strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money.

16 “For all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our children’s: now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.”

17 Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels;

18 And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padanaram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.

19 And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father’s.

These idols were certainly used in idolatrous worship but were also probably the images that were passed on to whoever was the head of the family clan. Rachael’s theft was possibly because she thought her hubby deserved the headship.

20 And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled.

21 So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount Gilead.

22 And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled.

23 And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days’ journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead.

24 And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, “Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.”

God warns Laban (who is in hot pursuit of Jacob intent on doing him harm) to not threaten Jacob or to try to sweet talk him. God wanted Jacob to go home.

25 Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead.

26 And Laban said to Jacob, “What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword?

“Why did you run away?”

27 “Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp?

“I’d have given you a farewell party if you had just told me.”

28 “And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? thou hast now done foolishly in so doing.

29 “It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, ‘Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.’

30 And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father’s house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?”

31 And Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me.

32 “With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee.” For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.

Jacob knew very well Laban would have taken them all back as prisoners or even killed Jacob.

33 And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, and into Leah’s tent, and into the two maidservants’ tents; but he found them not. Then went he out of Leah’s tent, and entered into Rachel’s tent.

34 Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel’s furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not.

35 And she said to her father, “Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me.” And he searched, but found not the images.

She told her father she was on her period and so couldn’t get up. This kept the images hidden.

36 And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, “What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me?

Now Jacob is mad.

37 “Whereas thou hast searched all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us both.

38 “This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten.

39 “That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night.

40 “Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes.

Jacob have suffered a great deal in caring for Laban’s animals.

41 “Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times.

Other than switching women on him, we don’t know what the changes were.

42 “Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.”

Interesting that Jacob talks about father and grandfather’s God, but also throws in the “fear of Isaac.” It appears that the reputation of that army Abraham started is known even this far away from Canaan.

43 And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have born?

Sadly many parents don’t acknowledge their children as adults. The Bible says that when a man and a woman marry, they form a new family. They are no longer responsible to their parents, but directly to God.

Laban was claiming ownership of the children and claiming that his daughters were more his than Jacob’s. This is not the way the Bible says it should be. Wives are the responsibility of their hubbies and children are the responsibility of their parents (though grandparents do have a responsibility to their grandchildren, it is in support of the parents).

44 “Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.”

Laban purposes a truce.

45 And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar.

46 And Jacob said unto his brethren, “Gather stones;” and they took stones, and made an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap.

47 And Laban called it Jegarsahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed.

Jegarsahadutha means “Heap of Witness” in Aramian. Galeed means the same thing in Hebrew.

48 And Laban said, “This heap is a witness between me and thee this day.” Therefore was the name of it called Galeed;

49 And Mizpah; for he said, “The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.

Mizpah means “watch.”

50 “If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee.”

Laban first makes sure Jacob understands how he wants his daughters treated.

51 And Laban said to Jacob, “Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee;

52 “This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm.

53 “The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us.” And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac.

Though Laban pursued Jacob with intent to harm, he appears to be afraid of him now. Maybe it was daddy’s trained warriors he was afraid of.

54 Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount.

Eating is often a big part of ancient rituals.

The brethren mentioned here would have been Jacob’s brothers-in-law.

55 And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place.

Chapter 30

2010-04-30T16:13:00.000-07:00

More children, more work deals.

1 And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto “Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.”

This would probably be between six and seven years after they were married. At this point, it would be obvious Rachel is barren. She expects Jacob to do something to fix her problem.

2 And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, “Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?”

Jacob recognizes the children come from God. He knows he is not the one denying her babies.

3 And she said, “Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.”

4 And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.

As I said before, this was common practice at this time. Servants bearing children for their infertile mistresses was not common, but not unusual either. This is another example of human’s trying to fix their own problems without consulting God.

5 And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.

6 And Rachel said, “God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son:” therefore called she his name Dan.

Dan means “Judge.”

7 And Bilhah Rachel’s maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.

8 And Rachel said, “With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed:” and she called his name Naphtali.

Naphtali means “My Wrestling.” Evidently this birth caused Rachel to feel she had won some sort of contest with her sister.

9 When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.

10 And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a son.

I don’t know if Jacob should be considered cursed or blessed. The Bible tells us that it is a blessing to find a wife, but four?! And with two of them being warring sisters, this is definitely a dysfunctional family.

11 And Leah said, “A troop cometh:” and she called his name Gad.

Gad means “Troop” or “Treasure.” Gad was evidently either a very big or very pretty baby.

12 And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a second son.

13 And Leah said, “Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed:” and she called his name Asher.

Asher means “Happy.” Leah is beginning to show signs of contentment with her life instead of wanting her husband to change.

14 And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Give me, I pray thee, of thy son’s mandrakes.”

Mandrakes were a common aphrodisiac, a powerful and sometimes dangerous herb, as well as a pretty flower. I don’t know if Rachel wanted the pretties or if she wanted to make a medicine for her infertility. At this point, at least eight years (and probably closer to ten) have passed.

15 And she said unto her, “Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son’s mandrakes also?” And Rachel said, “Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son’s mandrakes.”

16 And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, “Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son’s mandrakes.” And he lay with her that night.

One can only imagine Jacob’s opinion of this.

17 And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.

18 And Leah said, “God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband:” and she called his name Issachar.

Issachar means “Hire.”

19 And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son.

20 And Leah said, “God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons:” and she called his name Zebulun.

Zebulun means “Dwelling.”

21 And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

Dinah means “Judgment.” Dinah was the only girl in this whole passel of boys.

22 And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.

23 And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, “God hath taken away my reproach:”

24 And she called his name Joseph; and said, “The LORD shall add to me another son.”

Joseph means “He Will Add.”

25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, “Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.

26 “Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.”

Jacob has now worked for Laban for at least fourteen years. He misses his family and wants to go home.

27 And Laban said unto him, “I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.”

28 And he said, “Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.”

“Tell me what you want in exchange for your labor.” Laban was no fool He could tell that God was on Jacob’s side.

29 And he said unto him, “Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me.

30 “For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?”

Jacob recognizes that Laban has prospered under his help. He wants to begin building for his own family and his own son’s, not just bring profits to Uncle Dad-in-law.

31 And he said, “What shall I give thee?” And Jacob said, “Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock.

32 “I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire.

33 “So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.”

Brown sheep produce brown wool which is difficult, if not impossible, to dye. Goats produce mohair and cashmere which are similar to wool and very soft. However, if the goat is spotted, the “wool” will be spotted. So Jacob chose the least valuable of Laban’s animals as his pay. It would certainly have been obvious if Jacob stole anything.

34 And Laban said, “Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.”

“Hey, good deal.”

35 And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstreaked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.

Evidently Jacob’s boys were old enough to trust with the family’s sheep.

36 And he set three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

So Jacob took care of Laban’s animals while Jacob’s boys took care of Jacob’s.

37 And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chestnut tree; and pilled white streaks in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.

38 And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.

39 And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstreaked, speckled, and spotted.

40 And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstreaked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban’s cattle.

Scientists are still working on this one. There is actually some evidence that these paplar branches might have actually caused a genetic mutation making the animals spotted. The jury is still out.

41 And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.

42 But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s.

This is called “selective breeding.” It is the earliest historical mention of this practice.

43 And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.

“The man” is Jacob.

Chapter 29

2010-04-27T16:11:00.000-07:00

1 Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east.

2 And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was upon the well’s mouth.

3 And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well’s mouth in his place.

The stone was to keep the water clean and to keep animals or people from falling in.

4 And Jacob said unto them, “My brethren, whence be ye?” And they said, “Of Haran are we.”

5 And he said unto them, “Know ye Laban the son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.”

6 And he said unto them, “Is he well?” And they said, “He is well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep.”

7 And he said, “Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep, and go and feed them.”

He wonders why they are gathered together instead of giving the sheep more time to eat.

8 And they said, “We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep.”

It appears the rock was too heavy to just move by anyone any ole’ time. They had to wait until there were enough of them gathered together to move it. This presented problems in this arid region.

9 And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep: for she kept them.

10 And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother.

Romantics will say that Rachel’s beauty so motivatd Jacob that it gave him super-human power so he could move the rock by himself. It does appear that that is what happened.

11 And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.

He was overwhelmed at meeting family.

12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s brother, and that he was Rebekah’s son: and she ran and told her father.

13 And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister’s son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things.

In these days without phones, email, airplanes, trains or cars, once a relative left as rebekah did, you would likely never see her again and might not ever hear from her either.

14 And Laban said to him, “Surely thou art my bone and my flesh.” And he abode with him the space of a month.

15 And Laban said unto Jacob, “Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be?”

Evidently, Jacob was not just sitting around visiting for this month, but working on the family farm.

16 And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.

17 Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured.

Tender-eyed means “delicate or soft eyed.” This has been translated as either “beautiful eyed” or “weak eyed.” Since the word can mean “weak” or “soft” I really could be either.

Whatever the condition of Leah’s eyes, Rachel was beautiful and (according to some translations) shapely.

18 And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, “I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.”

19 And Laban said, “It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me.”

Since there was no problem at the time with cousins marrying each other, Laban figured that Jacob would make a great hubby for his daughter; he was a hard worker and of similar religious persuasion.

20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.

21 And Jacob said unto Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.”

22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast.

23 And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her.

It was customary to veil the bride for the celebration. That plus the darkness made it so Jacob couldn’t tell he was getting the wrong woman. I wonder what kind of discussion went on in the house before the wedding. Surly Leah knew Jacob wanted her sister. I wonder if she was a willing accomplice or if her father forced her into it.

24 And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for an handmaid.

25 And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, “What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?”

When Jacob woke up, he had been blind-sided. He had the wrong woman.

26 And Laban said, “It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.

27 “Fulfill her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.”

28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.

“Week” means “seven” so this may have meant “seven years” instead of seven days, though the timing of the birth of the children leads me to believe is was seven days.

29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.

30 And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.

31 And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, He opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.

God controls the womb.

32 And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, “Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.”

Reuben means “See, A Son.”

33 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, “Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also:” and she called his name Simeon.

Simeon means “Heard.”

34 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi.

Levi means “Attached.”

35 And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.

Judah means “Praise.” Four boys.

Chapter 28

2010-04-24T16:10:00.000-07:00

1 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, “Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

2 “Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother’s father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother’s brother.

3 “And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;

4 “And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.”

Isaac does as Rebekah wants him to do and sends him to her family with instructions to find a wife there. He reaffirms the blessings he gave earlier and he now passes on the blessings of God to Jacob.

5 And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.

6 When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padanaram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, “Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan;”

7 And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padanaram;

8 And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father;

9 Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.

Solely in order to please his parents, Esau marries a third wife, this one his cousin.

10 And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.

11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.

12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, “I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

14 “And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

15 “And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.”

God gives the same blessing to Jacob that He gave to Isaac and Abraham.

16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, “Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.”

17 And he was afraid, and said, “How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.

19 And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.

Bethel means “House of God.” He has not yet come to the realization that God is everywhere, not just in this one place.

20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,

21 “So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:

22 “And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.”

In twenty years when Jacob came back this way, he kept this promise and worshiped at this rock.

LAF/Beautiful Womanhood » The Truth About Women That Feminists Don’t Want You to Know

2010-04-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

LAF/Beautiful Womanhood » The Truth About Women That Feminists Don’t Want You to Know

Ray Stevens - We The People - RayStevens.com

2010-04-22T17:09:00.000-07:00

Study Confirms Link Between Autism and Use of Cells From Abortions in Vaccines

2010-04-22T07:27:00.000-07:00

Guess I might be wrong. It's not the mercury causing the autism (though I still think it unwise to give a baby the RDA "safe" amount of mercury for a 400 pound man!)

I think I would prefer the mercury.

Study Confirms Link Between Autism and Use of Cells From Abortions in Vaccines

Chapter 27

2010-04-21T16:03:00.000-07:00

Esau and Jacob grow up.

1 And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, “My son:” and he said unto him, “Behold, here am I.”

2 And he said, “Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:”

Isaac is getting old and thinks he won’t live much longer. He decides to go ahead and hand out his final blessings to his children. These blessings were very much like prophecies. They show in the Bible to be right on.

3 “Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;

4 “And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.”

Isaac wanted Esau to catch him some meat and then he will give him his blessing. Since Esau was the oldest it would be normal for him to become the leader of the family clan. Even though Esau had sold his inheirintence, he could still become the clan leader.

5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.

6 And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, “Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,

7 “’Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death.’

8 “Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.

9 “Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:

10 “And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.”

Rebekah wanted her favorite to get the blessing reserved for the oldest. She told him to deceive his blind father.

11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:

12 “My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.”

“Uh, mom, my brother and I aren’t anything alike. Even blind, dad will know the difference.”

13 And his mother said unto him, “Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.”

She assures him it will be all right, “just do what I say.”

14 And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved.

15 And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:

16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:

Esau must have been one hairy man for Jacob to get away with wearing goat skin as a disguise.

17 And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

18 And he came unto his father, and said, “My father:” and he said, “Here am I; who art thou, my son?”

19 And Jacob said unto his father, “I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.”

A bald face lie.

20 And Isaac said unto his son, “How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the LORD thy God brought it to me.”

First challenge: “how in the world did you get back so fast?” Answer: “Uhhh, God blessed me.”

21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, “Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.”

Second challenge: Isaac is going to make sure that this person is hairy like Esau, not smooth like Jacob.

22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”

Isaac knows the voice belongs to Jacob, but decides to trust his sense of touch instead.

23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.

24 And he said, “Art thou my very son Esau?” And he said, “I am.”

25 And he said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee.” And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank.

26 And his father Isaac said unto him, “Come near now, and kiss me, my son.”

This is another test. Isaac is probably still a bit unsure.

27 And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, “See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed:

28 “Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:

“You will be rich.”

29 “Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.

“You will be the boss, the clan leader, and anyone who comes against you will suffer while your friends will be blessed.”

30 And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

31 And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, “Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that thy soul may bless me.”

32 And Isaac his father said unto him, “Who art thou?” And he said, “I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau.”

33 And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, “Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.”

The truth comes out. But instead of changing Jacob’s blessing by cursing him, he confirms that Jacob will be blessed just as he said.

34 And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father.”

Esau was upset. He wanted some sort of blessing also.

35 And he said, “Thy brother came with subtlety, and hath taken away thy blessing.”

36 And he said, “Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing.” And he said, “Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?”

“Surly you intended to bless Jacob. Give me his blessing.”

37 And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, “Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?”

I appears Isaac hadn’t planned to bless Jacob and hadn’t reseved anything for him.

38 And Esau said unto his father, “Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father.” And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.

“Something, Anything!”

39 And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, “Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;

40 “And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.”

“You’ll be rich. You will be a fighter and a servant to your brother, but you will eventually be free.”

41 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.”

Esau planned to kill Jacob as soon as his dad died.

42 And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, “Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.

43 “Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;

44 “And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away;

45 “Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?”

It had probably come to Esau’s knowledge that his mother had helped Jacob, so now she will have little of no relationship with her oldest.

She warns Jacob to run for his life; sends him to take sanctuary with her brother. She intends for this to just be a short time, but it ends up stretching out to more than twenty years. In fact, Rebekah would die before Jacob got back, so she did lose both her boys in the same day. Isaac will live to see Jacob again.

46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?”

She chooses to use her daughters-in-law as an excuse to Isaac.

Announcing

2010-04-18T15:56:00.000-07:00

About the Bible

now available at

This Site

This is my articles here about Bible facts, How to interpret the Bible, Which translation to use, and much more.

Only $10.00

Genesis 26

2010-04-15T15:56:00.000-07:00

1 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.

Here we go again.

2 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, “Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:

3 “Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;

4 “And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

5 “Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

God repeats His promise to Isaac. Once again God chooses a barren family to be the parents of multitudes greater in number than the stars of heaven.

The reason given for continuing this covenant is that Abraham had obeyed God.

6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:

7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, “She is my sister:” for he feared to say, “She is my wife;” lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.

When the Bible says that the sins of the father are visited on the sons, it doesn’t mean that God condemns the sons to hell for their father’s sins, but that the consequences are generally felt by the next generation and the sons tend to commit the same sins their fathers do. Here, as is normal, Isaac not only commits the same sin, he adds to it by lying. Rebekah was not his sister as he said (and as Sarah was to Abraham,) she was his cousin.

8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.

They were caught fooling around in a way brothers and sisters generally don’t. There is nothing wrong with married people enjoying each other, but it exposed their lie.

9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, “Behold, of a surety she is thy wife; and how saidst thou, She is my sister?” And Isaac said unto him, “Because I said, Lest I die for her.”

“Why’d you lie???”

“ ‘Cause she’s pretty.”

10 And Abimelech said, “What is this thou hast done unto us? One of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.”

11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, “He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”

This may have been the same Abimelech Abraham lied to, or it may have been a son as successive kings often had the same name.

12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.

13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:

14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.

He started rich because he inherited the bulk of Abraham’s estate, but now he gets richer. This will cause trouble.

15 For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.

There is fixing to be major problems over water issues.

16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, “Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.”

“You better go before we decide to go to war with each other.”

17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.

He repaired the damage done to his father’s work.

19 And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.

20 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, “The water is ours:” and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.

Esek means “Oppression.”

21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.

Sitnah means “Opposition” or “Accusation.”

22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, “For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”

Rehoboth means “A People Has Enlarged.”

23 And he went up from thence to Beersheba.

24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, “I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.”

25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well.

26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.

This king and his most important people come to visit Isaac.

27 And Isaac said unto them, “Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?”

Someone had their feelings a bit hurt.

28 And they said, “We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, ‘Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;’

29 “That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD.”

They wanted to make sure they were on good terms with Isaac. He was not a man they wanted as an enemy.

30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.

31 And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

Everything was set right and they remained on good terms.

32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, “We have found water.”

33 And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.

Beersheba means, “Well of the Oath.” This story explains the name of this city mentioned frequently in the Bible.

34 And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:

35 Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

Miss you all

2010-02-03T16:44:00.000-08:00

I have not fogotten this blog. Life has been very busy. We all got sick last fall (probably piggy flu) and it took a while to get over it. Then the holidays, etc. Rest assured, I will be back:-)

Genesis 25

2009-10-20T15:54:00.000-07:00

1 Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.

After the death of Sarah, Abraham remarried. Remember, he is 137 years old at this point. I am guessing people not only lived longer but aged slower. So at this point he has lived 78% of his life or the equivalent of around age 65.

2 And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.

Abraham fathered six more sons. No daughters are mention. It is possible they had only boys.

3 And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.

4 And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.

Seven grandkids and three great grandkids are mentioned here. These are probably the ones born during Abraham’s lifetime.

5 And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.

6 But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.

Since concubines is mentioned in the plural, we can assume Ishmael and Hagar lived close enough for Abraham to still have occasional contact. He made sure they were all remembered, but gave the bulk of his wealth to Isaac.

7 And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years.

175 years.

8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.

9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre;

10 The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.

11 And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahairoi.

Now we learn the rest of the history of Ishmael before proceeding with the story of the messianic line:

12 Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bare unto Abraham:

13 And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,

14 And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,

15 Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah:

Twelve sons in all.

16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations.

17 And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people.

18 And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.

Thus ends the story of Ishmael. We do hear the occasional mention of his descendants, but there is no more recorded about his life. The Bible focuses on the ancestry of Christ.

19 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begat Isaac:

“And this is the story of Isaac…”

20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.

21 And Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

Barrenness is not always a curse. Sometimes God withholds children to allow a miracle to be preformed to bring Him greater glory. Sometimes He has work for the couple to do that requires them to not be distracted by children. Sometimes He wants them to adopt. And sometimes barrenness is just the result of living in a fallen world. In this case, it appears God wanted to perform a miracle in their lives just like in Sarah’s.

22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it be so, why am I thus?” And she went to enquire of the LORD.

“What in the world is going on here!” Twins can usually be diagnosed by a midwife felling of the belly. Something about feeling two heads and way too many legs and arms squirming around. She can also often lay her ear against the mom and hear the heartbeats. Rebekah probably already knew she had twins and was wondering why they were carrying on so.

23 And the LORD said unto her, “Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.”

If she didn’t know before, she did now! And God said thy would be very different kinds of men.

24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.

25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.

Esau means hairy.

26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.

Jacob means supplanter (victor or replacer). It is unusual for a baby to grab his twin during the birth process like this. Twins are usually 5-20 minutes apart.

Isaac and Rebekah lived without children for twenty years.

27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.

28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Each parent had their favorite. This is not a good thing.

Jacob was fond of the meat Esau made him while Rebekah probably loved the company and gentleness of Jacob.

29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:

Esau had been hunting and was very weak because he hadn’t caught anything. Jacob was fixing supper.

30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint:” therefore was his name called Edom.

Red beans and rice is still a popular dish.

Edom means Red.

31 And Jacob said, “Sell me this day thy birthright.”

Sounds like Jacob resented being the younger son and not having the bigger inheritance. He saw the opportunity to get what he wanted from his brother.

32 And Esau said, “Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?”

Esau is probably exaggerating a bit. He was probably not at the point of death, just very uncomfortable.

33 And Jacob said, “Swear to me this day; and he swore unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.”

34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

He sold his entire future for a bowl of beans.

Genesis 24

2009-10-13T09:10:00.000-07:00

1 And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.

Abraham was what we would call a multi-millionaire.

2 And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, “Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:

3 “And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:

4 “But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.”

Who you marry can make a difference in whether you serve God or not. Many a Christian has lost their salvation by being drawn away by an unsaved spouse. Abraham wants to make sure Isaac’s wife comes from the same stock that produced his faith in one God. The local pagans would not provide such a wife.

5 And the servant said unto him, “Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?”

The servant wants to make sure he understands the totality of his mission. How important is it that Isaac’s wife comes from Abraham’s relatives.

6 And Abraham said unto him, “Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.

7 “The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; He shall send His angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.

Abraham has complete faith that God has already prepared the woman He wants for his son.

8 “And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.”

But under no circumstances is Isaac to back to Abraham’s family. He was probably aware of the hold her family would have on Isaac. A man loves his wife and wants her to be happy. It would be hard for a woman to leaver her mother, father and all her siblings. So if Isaac returned to the family root, he would be tempted to stay there to please his wife, especially since he had no family back in Canaan. Abraham is very clear that his descendants are to remain in Canaan.

9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter.

This servant may have been the Eliezer mentioned in chapter 15 as being Abraham’s only heir before the birth of Ishmael and Isaac. If so, this man was once heir to Abraham’s entire fortune and has now been replaced by the son. It shows loyalty indeed for him to so willingly serve Abraham in this way.

10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.

11 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.

Without running water in their houses, water had to be brought from the local well or river for washing, drinking and cooking. Understandably, cultures without running water only use about 2-3 gallons per person per day (if that much), while Americans use more than thirty.

It was generally the woman’s chore to go get the water a couple of times every day, not because the men and children didn’t want to do it, but because it was a good time to visit with the other women and trade gossip. Generally, all the women of the village would go out at the same time.

12 And he said “O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.

13 “Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:

He saw the women heading to the well.

14 “And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, ‘Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink;’ and she shall say, ‘Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also:’ let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.”

Today we call this “putting a fleece before the Lord” after the act of Gideon in testing to make sure he was in God’s will. The servant here trusted God more than his own judgment.

15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.

16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.

This well was a deep hole with stairs going around the edge leading down to the water level.

17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, “Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.”

18 And she said, “Drink, my lord:” and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.

19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, “I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.”

20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.

This was no small feat! I wonder how many trips she made down that well.

21 And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.

It isn’t unusual for us to have complete faith in God’s provision and still be stunned into silence when we see His miracles.

22 And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;

23 And said, “Whose daughter art thou? Tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?”

24 And she said unto him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.”

Exactly the family Abraham had sent him to; Abraham’s brother.

25 She said moreover unto him, “We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.”

“We have plenty of room for you to stay with us.” Inns were not very common if they had existed yet at all. It was not unusual for a traveler to ask for housing from strangers.

26 And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD.

27 And he said, “Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren.”

The gave credit and glory right then and there for God’s answered prayers.

28 And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these things.

29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.

He saw the rich presents the servant gave her.

30 And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, “Thus spake the man unto me;” that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.

31 And he said, “Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.”

32 And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that were with him.

Always care for your animals first. That is the first rule of good horsemanship.

33 And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, “I will not eat, until I have told mine errand.” And he said, “Speak on.”

The servant wanted to get the whole matter settled right away. He didn’t want to take advantage of these people, nor sit in suspense a minute longer.

34 And he said, “I am Abraham's servant.

35 “And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.

“Your brother/uncle is a rich man.” He then recounts the entire story.

36 “And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath.

37 “And my master made me swear, saying, ‘Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:

38 “’But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.’

39 “And I said unto my master, ‘Peradventure the woman will not follow me.’

40 “And he said unto me, ‘The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house:

41 “’Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath.’

42 “And I came this day unto the well, and said, ‘O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go:

43 “’Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, “Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink;”

44 “’And she say to me, “Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels:” let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my master's son.’

45 “And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, ‘Let me drink, I pray thee.’

46 And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also:’ so I drank, and she made the camels drink also.

47 “And I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter art thou?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him:’ and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.

48 “And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son.

49 “And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.”

“Now that you know the whole story, let me know what you are going to do wo I can make my plans.”

50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.

51 “Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD hath spoken.”

How can you argue with God’s obvious hand?

52 And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth.

53 And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.

54 And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, “Send me away unto my master.”

55 And her brother and her mother said, “Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.”

There is a difference of opinion whether they actually said ten days or ten months. Either way, the delay was unacceptable.

56 And he said unto them, “Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.”

It sounds to me like he was afraid they would change their minds. Later stories about Laban support that idea. He will change Jacob’s salary ten times and then only let him go because of a threat from God.

57 And they said, “We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth.”

58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, “Wilt thou go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.”

They left it up to her, probably assuming she would choose to stay with her family instead of go with this total stranger and marry another total stranger. She, however, appears as anxious to leave as the servant.

59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men.

60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, “Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.”

Babies are blessings. They leave a name for their parents written in the Book of Life, depending on the job the parents do of raising them to serve God.

61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

62 And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country.

He evidently wasn’t living with Abraham at this point, but in his own house. The servant took his wife to him.

63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.

64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.

65 For she had said unto the servant, “What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us?” And the servant had said, “It is my master:” therefore she took a vail, and covered herself.”

“Who’s that?” “That is your new husband.” At this point she put on the veil of a married woman. Only her husband would see her face from now on, making it very special.

66 And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.

67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

Love at first sight. He could quit mourning for his mother now.

Genesis 23

2009-10-06T16:34:00.000-07:00

1 And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.

2 And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.

Abraham had to “come to mourn for Sarah.” There is some speculation that she was so upset at his intention of sacrificing Isaac that she left him. We don’t know for sure, but it does appear here that they were not living in the same location. Abraham didn’t remarry until after her death, however.

Divorce is an abomination to God, but there are times when separation is appropriate. At any rate, they did not divorce.

3 And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,

4 “I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”

He needed an appropriate place to bury his wife.

5 And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him,

6 “Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.”

These people (Hitites) acknowledge Abraham’s wealth, the strength of his servants trained for war, his long years in the area (about sixty), and his service to God. They tell him he can have his choice of land.

7 And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.

8 “And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,

9 “That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a buryingplace amongst you.”

Abraham didn’t really want the whole field, just the cave. He would have had to pay taxes to the king of the Hitites if he had bought the whole field. And he only needed the cave anyway.

He offers to pay what ever the owner wants.

10 And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,

11 “Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.”

It sounds like Ephron gave the land and the cave as a gift to Abraham. This may be, or it may have been just a formality; a proper way to show respect.

12 And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land.

13 And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, “But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.”

Abraham agrees to take the whole property but insists on paying for it.

14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,

15 “My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.”

“Well the land is worth this much, but that isn’t important.”

16 And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.

Abraham pays the mentioned amount. The entire transaction is carried out with utmost respect and everyone is happy and honored by the end.

17 And the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure

18 Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.

This land stayed the possession of Abraham and his descendents. Isaac, Rebecca, Leah, Jacob, and Abraham himself were all buried there.

19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.

20 And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth.

Chapter 23

2009-09-30T16:46:00.000-07:00

1 And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.

2 And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.

Abraham had to “come to mourn for Sarah.” There is some speculation that she was so upset at his intention of sacrificing Isaac that she left him. We don’t know for sure, but it does appear here that they were not living in the same location. Abraham didn’t remarry until after her death, however.

3 And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,

4 “I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”

He needed an appropriate place to bury his wife.

5 And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him,

6 “Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.”

These people (Hitites) acknowledge Abraham’s wealth, the strength of his servants trained for war, his long years in the area (about sixty), and his service to God. They tell him he can have his choice of land.

7 And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.

8 “And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,

9 “That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a buryingplace amongst you.”

Abraham didn’t really want the whole field, just the cave. He would have had to pay taxes to the king of the Hitites if he had bought the whole field. And he only needed the cave anyway.

He offers to pay what ever the owner wants.

10 And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,

11 “Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.”

It sounds like Ephron gave the land and the cave as a gift to Abraham. This may be, or it may have been just a formality; a proper way to show respect.

12 And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land.

13 And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, “But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.”

Abraham agrees to take the whole property but insists on paying for it.

14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,

15 “My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.”

“Well the land is worth this much, but that isn’t important.”

16 And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.

Abraham pays the mentioned amount. The entire transaction is carried out with utmost respect and everyone is happy and honored by the end.

17 And the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure

18 Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.

This land stayed the possession of Abraham and his descendents. Isaac, Rebecca, Leah, Jacob, and Abraham himself were all buried there.

19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.

20 And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth.

Chapter 22

2009-09-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, “Abraham:” and he said, “Behold, here I am.”

2 And He said, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.”

God does not acknowledge Ishmael here. He calls Isaac Abraham’s only son. God no longer acknowledges the “…bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman.” (Galatians 4:30) “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.” (vs. 28).

Moriah was a set of mountains that include the eventual location of Solomon’s temple.

3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

5 And Abraham said unto his young men, “Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.”

Abraham says he AND Isaac will return to the servants. He whole-heartedly believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead.

“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, ‘That in Isaac shall thy seed be called’: accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.” Hebrews 11:17-19

6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, “My father:” and he said, “Here am I, my son.” And he said, “Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

Isaac found it puzzling that they came to do sacrifice and brought no sacrificial lamb with them. I wonder if he was getting suspicious at this point of what his father had in mind.

8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering:” so they went both of them together.

God did provide Himself a lamb for an offering; Jesus Christ.

9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

At this point Abraham is about 113 and Isaac is around 13. Now Abraham would still live another sixty-two years, but surly a strapping teenager could have fought his father off. Isaac’s obedience speaks volumes about Abraham’s training him.

Abraham had faith in God that He would raise his son again and Isaac had faith that his father would do what was right.

10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham:” and he said, “Here am I.”

12 And he said, “Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.”

Of course God knew before hand that Abraham would obey, even to the sacrificing of his precious son of promise. But now Abraham, Isaac, and all of history knows that Abraham has this kind of faith in God.

13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

God provided the lamb for Abraham’s sacrifice just as He provided us a Lamb to pay for our sins.

14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.”

Jehovahjireh means “God will provide.”

15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

16 And said, “By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

17 “That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

18 “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”

The promise of Abraham becoming a great nation is reaffirmed plus he is given the extra promis that his Seed would bless the world.

The Jews never brought any more blessing to the world than any other people, except in two points: they were the bearers and protectors of the Bible, and they were the physical lineage of Jesus Christ.

19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.

20 And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor;

21 Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram,

22 And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.

23 And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham's brother.

24 And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.

Abraham gets word that his brother has had many children.

Genesis 20

2009-08-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

1 And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.

2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister:” and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.

Abraham repeats his deception and Sarah is taken into the king’s harem. She is rightly listed among the women of faith. Can you imagine your husband allowing you to be taken to another man’s harem? Yet when we trust God He protects us. God took care of Sarah to the point of miraculous intervention.

3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife.”

4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, “Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?

5 “Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.”

This is one sample of someone in the Old Testament who was not a Jew and yet obviously believed in the true God.

6 And God said unto him in a dream, “Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.

God even protected Abimelech from sinning. He takes care of His own.

7 “Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.”

8 Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.

There was a lot of the fear of God going on here.

9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, “What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.”

Abimelech scolds Abraham, and rightly so. Abraham’s actions had not only put his wife in danger of adultery, but the king also. We should never be so selfish as to put our comfort and even our lives ahead of other’s salvation.

10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, “What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?”

11 And Abraham said, Because I thought, “Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.

12 “And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.

So it was a half-truth to say Sarah was his sister yet this deceived others putting them at risk of sin.

Marrying your sister was not outlawed until the time of Moses. It is believed that the genetic code had not deteriorated enough at the time of Abraham for there to be any problems with sibling marriages. By the time of Moses it was no longer a safe practice and in our day even first cousins are too close to safely marry.

13 “And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said unto her, ‘This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.’”

14 And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.

The gifts were to insure that this man who was under special protection of God was not angry enough to call punishment down on Abimelech. They were not an acknowledgement of Abraham’s rightness, but more like fire insurance.

15 And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.”

At this point Abimelech is not going to put any restrictions on Abraham nor do anything to make him mad.

16 And unto Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other:” thus she was reproved.

He also wanted to make sure Sarah was not angry (thus the money) and he scolded her for going along with Abraham’s deception.

17 So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.

18 For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.

This event appears when we read it to have taken a day or two, but it obviously took some time; long enough for the king’s household to realize they were barren (maybe six months or so?)

This is another sample of the womb being under God’s control. There are many places in the Bible where babies are given as rewards or denied as punishment. Without babies, any society will eventually die. This holds true today, too, where western society has such a low birth rate that we will soon face extinction if something is not changed. Italy, for example, has a mere 1.3 children per woman; a number far lower than the cut off point for survivability. Their culture will not last another generation.

Genesis 19

2009-07-10T10:24:00.000-07:00

1 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;

These two angels are most likely the two that left Abraham and God back at Abraham’s house. They have a definite mission to complete: seeing if there are enough righteous men left in the city to spare it.

Lot is sitting in the gate implying that he was actually a leader of the city.

2 And he said, “Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways.” And they said, “Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.”

It was the custom in these days for travelers to simply camp out in the town square. There was often a well for water and they carried their own food and bedding. Only the rich could have afforded a night in an inn.

3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.

Lot insisted they come home with him. He knew what would happen to them out on the street.

4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:

5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, “Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them.”

These men- all the men of the city- gathered at Lot’s house to demand he turn his visitors over for them to rape. The Bible condemns homosexuality in the first place (Lev 18:22-30, 20:13, Romans 1:24-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9, 1 Timothy 1:10), and made it a capital offence in the Mosaic Law along with adultery, incest and bestiality.

The fact is that homosexuality is a choice, or more accurately, a series of choices. Our emotions and attractions will follow our decisions.

Science has found no evidence of a “gay gene” like so many gay activists claim. There were three studies whose authors said that they had proved such a gene existed, but if you read the actual studies all three were so poorly done as to be pure garbage, scientifically, and even if valid, did not even come close to proving the “gay gene” theory. Recently, the American Psychiatrist organization rescinded their statement of homosexuality being caused by biology and has stated it “has many causes.”

Why would God outlaw homosexuality? First of all, sex was designed for four reasons: example, communication, procreation, and recreation.
The marital relationship exemplifies the relationship with God. It communicates to us the relationship God wants to have with His people. Homosexuality communicates, “God doesn’t need the church. He needs to find another God. The church doesn’t need God, just another church to fellowship with.” Ludicrous. And homosexuality is non-fruitful. It is a type of relationship that cannot produce godly offspring. This leaves only communication and recreation, a very shallow relationship indeed.

The homosexual lifestyle is, in fact, very unhealthy. Gays simply don’t live as long as heterosexuals on average (though individuals may, of course). They have a much higher rate of violence as well. The entire lifestyle is based on self-fulfillment and is as empty as it is fruitless.

Does this mean that we should “hate” gays? Of course not. Neither should we hate adulterers and prostitutes. We should love them into the kingdom of God. We need to teach them, as we do any sinner, that “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” And “the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus or Lord.” And “go and sin no more.” It doesn’t matter what a person’s sin is (adultery, lying, stealing, self righteousness, bigotry, homosexuality, violence, etc) they are going to hell unless they repent (turn from their sins) and accept Jesus as their Lord (Boss). It would be the most hateful thing in the world to not try to bring the lost to salvation.

We must note that in addition to the sin of homosexuality, these men wanted to commit rape which was also a capital offense in the Mosaic Law.

6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,

7 And said, “I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.

8 “Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.”

Lot offered his daughters for them to rape instead. This would be a lesser offence (though either one is deserving of death and hell by itself) and by bringing these men into his home, Lot had promised them protection. To give them up would make him an accomplice to their sin.

9 And they said, “Stand back.” And they said again, “This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them.” And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.

These men were determined to cause trouble. They were offended at Lot’s calling their lifestyle choice bad and his standing in the way of their plans.

10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.

11 And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.

The angels rescue Lot and make it so the men of the city can’t even find the door. They have all the proof they need of the wickedness of the city. Not only did they not find ten righteous men, they only found one.

12 And the men said unto Lot, “Hast thou here any besides? Son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:

13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.”

They give Lot a chance to rescue his whole family, even those who are grown and out of his home.

14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, “Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city.” But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

We don’t know how many daughters Lot had. We know of the two still at home and he evidently had at least two who were married as “sons in law” is a plural. Since the average family before the days of birth control had seven children, he may have had quite a few visits to make.

But they all thought he was joking (or probably just “going on about that religious stuff again.”) What a heartbreaking situation for Lot.

15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, “Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.”

“Get out now!”

16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

The angels had to literally drag them out of town. How many Christians today are so attached to this world and their “modern American lifestyle” that they would have to be dragged out of it, or worse yet, so far gone they would think anyone warning of coming danger would be taken as a joker or nutcase?

17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, “Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.”

18 And Lot said unto them, “Oh, not so, my LORD:”

He is actually going to take the tie to argue!

19 “Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:

20 “Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.”

Lot was so attached to his lifestyle he wanted to bargen with God to retain a little piece of it. “Can’t you spare a little wickedness so I can be more comfortable?”

21 And he said unto him, “See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.

22 “Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

Zoar means little one. God decided to accept Lot’s request.

23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.

24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;

25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

This may have been a meteor shower of the fallout from a distant volcanic eruption. The end result is the same. This region today is very bare and desolate and the soil has a very high sulfur content.

26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

She didn’t want to leave her life in Sodom. She gave up her future to try to save her past.

27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:

28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.

The New Testament calls Lot a righteous man, but Genesis says the reason God spared Lot was because of Abraham. I believe Lot was a righteous man who was quickly being lured by relativism. He was in danger of losing his salvation. For Abraham’s sake, God made sure he was taken out before he was lost.

30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.

After all the begging for God to spare Zoar and the angels assurance that God would for him, Lot got scared and ran to the mountains where the angels originally told him to go.

31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:

32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.”

Lot’s oldest got it into her head that there wither were no men left anywhere or that they would stay hidden too long for her and her sister to ever find a husband. She decided to take maters into her own hands with the only man available.

33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, “Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.”

35 And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.
Both girls got their father so drunk he didn’t know what was going on (a good argument against drinking right there) and his daughters seduced him.

37 And the first-born bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.

38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

Both of these nations later became involved in child sacrifice. Since they started with incest, this just kind of logically follows.

Though God originally forbid Israel from attacking them or taking away their land because they were related, both countries eventually made themselves total enemies of the Jews. Remember: humans always mess things up when they follow their own plans instead of God’s.

Genesis 19

2009-07-07T15:32:00.000-07:00

1 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;

These two angels are most likely the two that left Abraham and God back at Abraham’s house. They have a definite mission to complete: seeing if there are enough righteous men left in the city to spare it.

Lot is sitting in the gate implying that he was actually a leader of the city.

2 And he said, “Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways.” And they said, “Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.”

It was the custom in these days for travelers to simply camp out in the town square. There was often a well for water and they carried their own food and bedding. Only the rich could have afforded a night in an inn.

3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.

Lot insisted they come home with him. He knew what would happen to them out on the street.

4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:

5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, “Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them.”

These men- all the men of the city- gathered at Lot’s house to demand he turn his visitors over for them to rape. The Bible condemns homosexuality in the first place (Lev 18:22-30, 20:13, Romans 1:24-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9, 1 Timothy 1:10), and made it a capital offence in the Mosaic Law along with adultery, incest and bestiality.

The fact is that homosexuality is a choice, or more accurately, a series of choices. Our emotions and attractions will follow our decisions.

Science has found no evidence of a “gay gene” like so many gay activists claim. There were three studies whose authors said that they had proved such a gene existed, but if you read the actual studies all three were so poorly done as to be pure garbage, scientifically, and even if valid, did not even come close to proving the “gay gene” theory. Recently, the American Psychiatrist organization rescinded their statement of homosexuality being caused by biology and has stated it “has many causes.”

Why would God outlaw homosexuality? First of all, sex was designed for four reasons: example, communication, procreation, and recreation.

The marital relationship exemplifies the relationship with God. It communicates to us the relationship God wants to have with His people. Homosexuality communicates, “God doesn’t need the church. He needs to find another God. The church doesn’t need God, just another church to fellowship with.” Ludicrous.

And homosexuality is non-fruitful. It is a type of relationship that cannot produce godly offspring.

This leaves only communication and recreation, a very shallow relationship indeed.

The homosexual lifestyle is, in fact, very unhealthy. Gays simply don’t live as long as heterosexuals on average (though individuals may, of course). They have a much higher rate of violence as well. The entire lifestyle is based on self-fulfillment and is as empty as it is fruitless.

Does this mean that we should “hate” gays? Of course not. Neither should we hate adulterers and prostitutes. We should love them into the kingdom of God. We need to teach them, as we do any sinner, that “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” And “the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus or Lord.” And “go and sin no more.” It doesn’t matter what a person’s sin is (adultery, lying, stealing, self righteousness, bigotry, homosexuality, violence, etc) they are going to hell unless they repent (turn from their sins) and accept Jesus as their Lord (Boss). It would be the most hateful thing in the world to not try to bring the lost to salvation.

We must note that in addition to the sin of homosexuality, these men wanted to commit rape which was also a capital offense in the Mosaic Law.

6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,

7 And said, “I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.

8 “Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.”

Lot offered his daughters for them to rape instead. This would be a lesser offence (though either one is deserving of death and hell by itself) and by bringing these men into his home, Lot had promised them protection. To give them up would make him an accomplice to their sin.

9 And they said, “Stand back.” And they said again, “This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them.” And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.

These men were determined to cause trouble. They were offended at Lot’s calling their lifestyle choice bad and his standing in the way of their plans.

10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.

11 And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.

The angels rescue Lot and make it so the men of the city can’t even find the door. They have all the proof they need of the wickedness of the city. Not only did they not find ten righteous men, they only found one.

12 And the men said unto Lot, “Hast thou here any besides? Son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:

13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.”

They give Lot a chance to rescue his whole family, even those who are grown and out of his home.

14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, “Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city.” But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

We don’t know how many daughters Lot had. We know of the two still at home and he evidently had at least two who were married as “sons in law” is a plural. Since the average family before the days of birth control had seven children, he may have had quite a few visits to make.

But they all thought he was joking (or probably just “going on about that religious stuff again.”) What a heartbreaking situation for Lot.

15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, “Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.”

“Get out now!”

16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

The angels had to literally drag them out of town. How many Christians today are so attached to this world and their “modern American lifestyle” that they would have to be dragged out of it, or worse yet, so far gone they would think anyone warning of coming danger would be taken as a joker or nutcase?

17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, “Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.”

18 And Lot said unto them, “Oh, not so, my LORD:”
He is actually going to take the tie to argue!

19 “Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:

20 “Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.”

Lot was so attached to his lifestyle he wanted to bargen with God to retain a little piece of it. “Can’t you spare a little wickedness so I can be more comfortable?”

21 And he said unto him, “See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.

22 “Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

Zoar means little one. God decided to accept Lot’s request.

23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.

24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;

25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

This may have been a meteor shower of the fallout from a distant volcanic eruption. The end result is the same. This region today is very bare and desolate and the soil has a very high sulfur content.

26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

She didn’t want to leave her life in Sodom. She gave up her future to try to save her past.

27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:

28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.

The New Testament calls Lot a righteous man, but Genesis says the reason God spared Lot was because of Abraham. I believe Lot was a righteous man who was quickly being lured by relativism. He was in danger of losing his salvation. For Abraham’s sake, God made sure he was taken out before he was lost.

30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.

After all the begging for God to spare Zoar and the angels assurance that God would for him, Lot got scared and ran to the mountains where the angels originally told him to go.

31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:

32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.”

Lot’s oldest got it into her head that there wither were no men left anywhere or that they would stay hidden too long for her and her sister to ever find a husband. She decided to take maters into her own hands with the only man available.

33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, “Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.”

35 And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.

Both girls got their father so drunk he didn’t know what was going on (a good argument against drinking right there) and his daughters seduced him.

37 And the first-born bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.

38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

Both of these nations later became involved in child sacrifice. Since they started with incest, this just kind of logically follows.

Though God originally forbid Israel from attacking them or taking away their land because they were related, both countries eventually made themselves total enemies of the Jews. Remember: humans always mess things up when they follow their own plans instead of God’s.

Genesis 18

2009-07-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

1 And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day.

2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground.

The Bible clearly says that the Lord appeared to Abraham. These three beings appeared in everyway to be human, yet two were angels and one a manifestation of God Himself. The word “angel” means “ministering spirit.” We don’t really know if they were physical human beings sent with a special mission or if they were angelic beings. It doesn’t really matter as both would have God’s protection and be able to perform miracles as needed.

3 And said, “My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away I pray thee, from thy servant:

Abraham obviously could tell these were special people. He invited them to supper.

4 “Let a little water, I pray you, be fetche, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:

Providing water for guests to wash their feet was common custom in the days before travel by horse was affordable. Washing your feet after long walk is refreshing and relaxing.

5 “And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.”

6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.

This would have been some sort of flat bread (like a tortilla) as yeast bread takes several hours after kneading to be ready to serve.

7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man: and he hasted to dress it.

8 And he took butter, and milk and the calf which he had dressed and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.

He served a meal of tortillas, butter, milk and veal. Nowhere in the Bible are milk products or beef referred to in the negative.

9 And they said unto him, “Where is Sarah thy wife?” And he said, “Behold, in the tent.”

10 And He said, "I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son.” And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.

The Lord promises Abraham that Sarah will have a baby in a year.

11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in ages; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

At this point, she is eighty-nine years old and has already gone through menopause. Abraham is ninety-nine years old.

12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, by Lord being old also?”

She didn’t believe Him.

13 Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?'

14 “Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son."

Is anything to hard for the Lord? We will do well to remember this.
God repeats His promise: in a year or so, Sarah will birth a child.

15 Then Sara denied, saying “I laughed not.” For she was afraid. And He said, "Nay, but thou didst laugh."

It is useless to lie to God. He knows everything.

16 And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.

Now the focus of the story turns from God’s promise to Abraham and Sarah to His plans for Sodom and Gomorrah.

17 And the Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?

The Lord decides to take Abraham into His confidence because of Abraham’s faith and the future He has promised him.

18 “Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all nations of the earth shall be blessed in him.

The entire planet has been blessed through Abraham’s descendent Jesus.

19 “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; and that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him."

God knew what kind of father Abraham would be. He knew that Abraham would raise his children in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord” (“culture and education of the Lord” Ephesians 6:4). This love for God is why God chose Abraham to be the lineage for Christ and the keeper of the Word. 2 Chronicles 20:7,Isaiah 41:8, James 2:23 say that God called Abraham His friend. Imagine! Being so close to God, so desirous of following Him that the Almighty Himself calls you His friend!

20 And the LORD said, "Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;

21 “I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if no, I will know. "

God knew that Sodom and Gomorrah and their suburbs were so deep in sin that they could not be saved. There does come a time when God quits dealing with man and just brings judgment on them. These cities were too far-gone.

God IS a God of love, but He is also a God of judgment and justice. Sin cannot exist in His presence.

22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.

The two angels left leaving Abraham alone with God.

23 And Abraham drew near, and said: "Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

24 “Preadventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the lace for the fifty righteous that are therein?

25 “That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

Abraham is no doubt thinking of Lot who lives in the city of Sodom as well as others he knows. He is a compassionate man and can’t bear the thought of all those people not only being destroyed but also lost forever.

26 The LORD said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, I will spare all the place for their sakes."

God is a God of love and would have gladly spared the cities for only fifty God-fearing men. This city, possibly with several thousand people, didn’t have even fifty that had a heart to do right.

27 And Abraham answered and said, "Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:

28 “Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt Thou destroy all the city for lack of five?" And He said, "If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it."

Abraham continues to “jew” God down. God doesn’t seem to object, but goes along with him. He, of course, knows that there is only one righteous man in all of Sodom.

29 And he spake unto Him yet again, and said, “Peradventure there shall be forty found there?” and He said "I will not do it for forty’s sake."

30 And he said unto Him, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure ther shall thirty be found there. And He said, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."

31 And he said, "Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: peradventure ther shall be twenty found there?” And He said, "I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake."

32 And he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there." And He said, "I will not destroy it for ten’s sake."

God agrees to save the entire city (and its suburbs) if His angels find only ten men with a heart to live right. I don’t believe God wants to punish the evil, but He will not let them thrive for long due to His justice. He knew while he was making this deal that there were not any righteous men except for Lot. Yet He also knew that Abraham, who had a heart to serve him needed to understand just how wicked the cities had become. When the destruction came, Abraham knew that it was a just sentence because God couldn’t even find ten righteous men in the whole city.

33 And the Lord went His way, as soon as He had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.

There conversation was over so God went on and Abraham went home.

Genesis 17

2009-06-16T16:00:00.000-07:00

1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

It is not impossible to be perfect. We do all make mistakes, but God looks at the heart, not the outside. If our heart is perfect, we are perfect.

2 “And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.”

3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,

4 “As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

God will multiply Abram both financially and with many children. Some people God calls to have physical wealth and some He doesn’t. Abram needed worldly wealth in order to achieve what God had called him to do. Though Abram was already a rich man at this point, God promises to bless him more, beginning with a child.

5 “Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

Abram means “Exalted Father.” Abraham means “Father of a Multitude.” Not only are today’s Jews descended from Abraham, but so are most of the people in the middle east as well as people all over the world due to intermarriage.

6 “And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

7 “And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

Paul says in Galations 3:16, “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many; but as of one, ‘And to thy seed,’ which is Christ.” The covenant which was established forever- the Everlasting Covenant- was a three party covenant: God, Abraham, and Christ. It was not with the physical descendents of Abraham, but with Jesus.

8 “And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

Israel possed the land of Canaan under Abraham’s part of the covenant. Those who follow Jesus will posses not just Canaan, but the entire planet in the time after time.

9 And God said unto Abraham, “Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.

10 “This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.

Abraham’s part of the covenant was to perform the ritual of circumcision. Christ’s follower’s part of the covenant is to perform the ritual of baptism. Now, a child was fully born and quite alive (eight days old) when he was circumcised. Today’s believer is fully saved, fully alive in Christ, BEFORE he is baptized. Baptism is not part of the salvation process, but something done afterward as a sign of our covenant with God.

11 “And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.

12 “And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.

13 “He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

Imagine being an adult slave bought by Abraham after this. “You are going to do what to me?!”

14 “And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

There are many today who no longer circumcise their sons. The argument is that we are no longer required by scripture to perform this ritual (which is true- Acts 15, and the entire book of Galatians), and that there is no medical reason to continue. While we certainly have no religious reason whatsoever to circumcise, I question the other. Just because our scientists have not yet found a reason, doesn’t mean there isn’t one. I find the entire requirement odd. Why not cut of a piece of the earlobe? It is much more visible, serves no purpose whatsoever, and can be done to both boys and girls. It seems to me this would accomplish the goal of setting the Israelites aside from others much better and, since sex is not dirty or automatically a sin, and what enters our ears is potentially very damaging, it could easily represent the putting away of the flesh. The only thing I can figure is that we have not yet discovered the medical reason for circumcision. One hint of the possible reason: those countries that still circumcise their boys have a significantly lower rate of cervical cancer among their women. Could God have chosen this simple operation to represent His covenant in order to protect His daughters?

15 And God said unto Abraham, “As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.

Sarai means “dominative.” Sarah means “Princess.”

16 “And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

Now God words His promise very clearly: it won’t just be Abraham who will have many and important descendents, but Sarah also. Remember, she is eighty-nine years old at this time.

17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? And shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?”

This is not unbelief, but amazement that God will perform such a miracle.

18 And Abraham said unto God, “O that Ishmael might live before thee!”
Abraham loved his son, Ishmael. He wanted him to be special to God too.

19 And God said, “Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

Isaac means “Laughter.” What a neat name for a child.
God is assuring Abraham that He intends for the inheritance of the promise to pass through Sarah’s child. This inheritance is the Messianic linage and the scriptures. If the book of Genesis was written by a number of people starting with Adam, then someone has to be made keeper of these special documents until the printing press is invented and they can be put into the hands of all the people. Many believe Shem himself gave Abraham these documents to care for. This was a heavy responsibility. Along with the responsibility comes the blessings of God’s special protection and favor. Salvation, however, is up to every individual to choose, no matter what his genealogy. No one was ever saved just because they were a Jew. It takes faith in God. After Moses and before the Cross, this faith was displayed by keeping the Law. Before Moses and After the Cross it is displayed by a life of righteousness and following God’s leading.

20 “And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

God answered Abraham’s prayer concerning Ishmael by promising he would have twelve sons and would become a mighty force in the world. The Bible records these son’s names and “the Ishmaelites” show up here and there. Mohamud was a direct descendent of Ishmael in the seventh century AD. Today, the faith he founded (Islam) is the biggest in the world. It has been a major force in history for well over 1000 years.

21 “But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.”

God holds to the plan that it will be Sarah’s son who will hold the promise of the lineage of the Christ and God’s special protection.

22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.

24 And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

26 In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.

27 And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.

Abraham was careful to follow his part of this covenant to the letter.

Genesis 16

2009-06-02T12:47:00.000-07:00

1 Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.

2 And Sarai said unto Abram, “Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her.” And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

Today, a woman bears children until she has lived about 60% of her life. Sarai lived to be 127. 60% of her life would have been 76 years old. She would have been about 77 when this incident took place, or, very likely, just barely past menopause. Her human reasoning told her her time was up to have children, so God needed help in order to keep His promise. We humans get into trouble when we don’t believe God, and when we try to help Him instead of just obeying.

This was actually a common custom when the woman of the house was barren. The child born would be called hers. If she ever did have a natural child, the slave’s child was to be given special gifts and a special place in the house, though he lost the place of “first son.” Later, in the Mosaic Law, God instructed Israel that the true first born was to retain the position of the first born even if his mother was “hated.”

“Abram hearkened to the voice of Sari.” He decided to follow his wife instead of holding fast to the promises of God. This not only caused problems to him and Sari, but is still causing problems today. Mohammed was a descendent of Hagar’s son Ishmael and the Muslims and the Israelis are still battling today over who had the right of inheritance. We are always better off just waiting on God.

3 And Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

Imagine being Hagar. Your owner tells you to go sleep with her husband. You don’t have a choice in the matter at all.

4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

Obviously, the fertility problems were not with Abram, but with Sarah. An infertile woman was viewed as less than a woman by others. Today, though we still look at an infertile woman as totally female, the heartbreak of infertility is just as painful.

5 And Sarai said unto Abram, “My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.”

“It’s all your fault! You shouldn’t have listened to me!” What? My husband would say “Typical female.”

6 But Abram said unto Sarai, “Behold, thy maid is in thine hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee.” And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.

Sarai disciplined Hagar for her bad attitude. Hagar ran away.

7 And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.

The wording goes back and forth from this being an angel and this being God Himself. I will put His words in red because, whether delivered through an angel or this “angel” was really God, They are the words of the All Mighty.

8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, “Whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go?” And she said, “I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.”

9 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, “Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.”

The angle tells Hagar to go home and resume her duties of “maid.” This is where she and her son will get the care they need.

10 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, “I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.”

This has certainly come true. The majority of people in the middle east today ae descended from Ishmael.

11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, “Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.

Ishmael means “God hears.”

12 “And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”

Throughout history, the descendents of Ishmael have been at war, if not with others, than with themselves.

13 And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, “Thou God seest me:” for she said, “Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?”

14 Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

Beerlahairoi means “Well of the one who lives and sees me.”

15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.

16 And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.

Genesis 15

2009-05-15T09:40:00.000-07:00

After the battle to rescue Lot, God speaks to Abram.

1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, “Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.”

Abram had just given up the material reward normaly due one who just rescued several entire cities. God is telling him that his reward is in God, not material goods.

2 And Abram said, “LORD God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?”

3 And Abram said, “Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.”

It was the custom of those times that if a man did not have a child, he made a servant, especially one born in his home, his heir. He adopted him. If the man later had a child, than the servant would loose his position as main inheritor, but would still be rewarded at the time of the man’s death.

4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, “This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.”

God promises Abram a biological descendent.

5 And He brought him forth abroad, and said, “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.”

Actually, with math we can number the visible stars and have been able to for many millennium. However, when you figure in the stars that can’t be seen, especially in the time of Abram before telescopes were invented, it gets much ore difficult.

Most of those in the middle east today can rightfully claim Abram as their ancestor, either through Isaac or Ishmael.

6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Faith in God has always been the criteria for salvation. Mankind has never been able to be righteous enough to save himself, even under the Mosaic Law. Those who had faith in God under the Law did the best they could to keep it, but it wasn’t the keeping of the Law that saved them. It was their faith. Righteousness is the result of salvation, not its cause.
Abram was in need of a savior just like you and I are. His salvation came through the blood of Christ just like ours.

7 And He said unto him, “I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.”

God is making sure His identy is known to Abram. There was so much idolatry, that He wanted to make sure Abram understood He was the same Deity that had begun to deal with him in the beginning.

8 And he said, “LORD God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?”

“How do I know that I will inheirit the land You have promised me?”

9 And He said unto him, “Take Me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”

10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.

11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.

It was an ancient custom that to confirm a contract between two people, they would sacrifice animals, divide them in half, and each party walk through the middle of the pieces. Then they often shared a meal together. This symbolized what would happen to the breaker of the covenant.

13 And He said unto Abram, “Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

The oldest Hebrew translations we have available render this as “they shall be in the land until four hundred years from now and be afflicted.” This would have had Israel leaving Egypt two hundred years after Jacob’s entering the country instead of four hundred. This fits with the timing much better and explains several dating problems we run into. For example, when giving the genealogy, there appears to only be four generations between Levi and Moses- an impossibility with the life spans of the time if four hundred years have passed, but just right for two hundred years.

14 “And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.”

15 “And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.”

“All this will happen after you have died.”

16 “But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.”

This confirms the two-hundred years captivity. Four generations could only be four hundred years at the time before the flood when men had their first child after age 100. Though this happens with Abraham now, it is obviously not the norm. It appears the norm for a first child is around thirty. Today, with our life spans of 80 years (instead of 180 as in Abram’s time) we count a generation to be around forty years. So four generations in his time would only be roughly 200 years.

17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

The “River of Egypt” was not the Nile (which flowed down the middle of the country), but a much smaller river that marked the boundary of the country at that time. Israel did own this land during the reign of Solomon.

19 “The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,

20 “And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,

21 “And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

God lists the people whose lands Abram’s descendents would take. These are mostly descendents of Ham.

Genesis 14

2009-05-06T13:41:00.000-07:00

1 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations;

2 That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.

Now we learn on of the two reasons this valley was a bad choice for Lot. It seems his new home town was under subjection to the city/state of Elam.

3 All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.

4 Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

All the subjected city/states rebelled after twelve years of service.

5 And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emins in Shaveh Kiriathaim,

6 And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto Elparan, which is by the wilderness.

7 And they returned, and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezontamar.

King Chedorlaomer went on a rampage.

8 And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim;

9 With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.

10 And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.

The battle went badly for Sodom and their allies. Their kings retreated and ended up mired in slime (tar) pits.

11 And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.

Chedorlaomer and company looted the ones who had fought against them.

12 And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

Most likely, Lot was not the only captive; just the important one to the story.

So much for human wisdom. God, of course knew this was going to happen. There is no record of Lot asking His council about the choice of new homes. He picked on the basis of human wisdom of what would be best for him and his family. Proverbs says to “Lean not on thy own understanding.” This is because we humans are not smart enough nor knowledgeable enough to make such decisions.

13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.

14 And when Abram heard that his brother(‘s son) was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.

Imagine how rich Abram was! He had his own army. 318 male servants born in his own house that were trained for war. This doesn’t count female servants born in his house nor those too young to be trained yet or too old to fight.

Abram was prepared. He looked ahead and saw that there might be a need in the future for a personal army and he prepared for that need. We should be wise and prepare for the future, but lean on God for our decisions.

15 And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

Abram’s army of 318 servants (and any warriors from his “confederate” allies (verse 13)) defeated the four armies of the oppressors.

17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale.

18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.

We don’t know very much about this “king of Salem.” The word “Salem” means peace. The New Testament tells us his priesthood is without end and that Jesus was a priest after this order instead of the Levitical priesthood. This implied that the Levitical priesthood had an end (which it did in AD 70), but that the Melchizedek priesthood will never end, as indeed, it won’t. Jesus will be the priest forever.

19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:

20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

Abram paid tithes (literally 1/10) of all that he owned to Melchizedek.

21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.

The king of Sodom offered to just take his citizens back but let Abram keep the spoil of war. This would have included the things stolen form Sodom in the attack. He may have been that grateful, or he may have been just hoping to not be in a worse condition under Abram than under Chedorlaomer.

22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,

23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:

24 Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

Abraham promised God he wouldn’t make a profit on this deal. He only took as his pay the food already eaten by his soldiers. His allies were allowed to keep some of the spoil, but Abram didn’t want the king of Sodom to say he had made Abram rich. His wealth was the work of God, not man.

Genesis 13

2009-04-29T16:00:00.000-07:00

1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.

2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

Abram left Egypt with Sarai and his nephew, plus all the animals and riches he owned. He would have been a millionaire by our standards.

3 And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;

4 Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.

5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.

6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.

Both men were so rich, had so many animals, that their animals were overgrazing the land. This can be a serious problem, sometimes causing permanent damage. They were knowledgeable enough, though, to know the dangers.

7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

The herdsmen could tell that their was not enough forage for both households and they were fighting over the land.

8 And Abram said unto Lot, “Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.

9 “Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.”

Abram knew the solution was for them to go different directions and not live together anymore. He gave Lot the choice of directions.

10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.

The land surrounding the Jordan river was much like the area around the Nile river which irrigated all the surrounding land.

11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.

Lot picked the prettiest land, the land with the most greenery. Later, this land would not be so lush; but at this time it is very beautiful.

12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.

In picking the prettier land, Lot put himself and his family in danger, spiritually as well as physically. A wise man makes decisions for his family based not on financial betterment, but on spiritual growth. How different this story might have been if Lot had chosen to settle farther away from the evil of Sodom.

14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, “Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:

15 “For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

God promises to compensate Abram for his lose of pasture land. The area away from the Jordan valley is very deserty, much like the American west for desolateness. It would have taken a great deal more land to support his animals in this area. God promises to give him more than enough land.

16 “And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

God repeats His promise to bless Abram with many descendents; so many they can’t even be counted. When you count not just the Jews, but the many other people from the Arabian peninsula who are genetic descendents of Abraham, you realize that God fulfilled this promise to the full.

17 “Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.”

18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.

Genesis 12

2009-02-09T13:04:00.000-08:00

1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

God tells Abraham to leave his family.

2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Now, the Jewish nation has never blessed “all the families of the earth.” God was referring to Christ here. He has blessed the entire planet with salvation available to all.

4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

God had told him to leave his family, but he takes his nephew Lot with him. This will cause problems later on.

Abram means “High Father.”

5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

Sarai means “dominative.”

They were already quite rich at this point. They had a number of slaves as well as large amounts of animals.

The “Land of Canaan” is the area Ham’s son Canaan settled after the tower of Babel.

6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, “Unto thy seed will I give this land:” and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

God promises He will give this area to Abram’s descendents. This is quite a promise since Abram is seventy-five years old at this point, and has no children.

8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.

Abram worshiped God regularly, everywhere he went.

9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.

God had not promised him Egypt and the Israelites never possessed that country.

Because of the Nile River, Egypt is often less affected by regional droughts than other countries in the area.

11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, “Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:

12 “Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.

13 “Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.”

Sarai was more than sixty-five years old at this point. Imagine being beautiful enough at this age for her husband too be worried about being killed for her!

He wasn’t telling her to lie….exactly. She was his half-sister. But this was not the entire truth either. Abram was giving in to fear instead of trusting God. God had told him he would bless all nations and that his descendants (which weren’t born yet) would possess Canaan. If God allowed the Egyptians to kill him, He would be breaking His promises to Abram. God would have protected him without this lie. But Abram was human and all humans are subject to fear and doubt and make mistakes sometimes.

Sarai was some woman. She did what her husband told her to, risking being put into an Egyptian harem. I think she trusted that God would work it all out in the end. In fact, she is one of only two women mentioned as a pillar of faith in “The Faith Chapter,” Hebrews 11:11 “Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.” She was a woman who knew God.

14 And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.

15 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.

She was taken into Pharaoh’s harem.

16 And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.

Pharaoh gave Abram gifts for his “sister’s” hand in marriage.

17 And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife.

Sarai’s faith was not unfounded. God was protecting her.

18 And Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this that thou hast done unto me? Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?

19 Why saidst thou, She is my sister? So I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.”

20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

Pharaoh scolds Abram for his deception. He then sends him away with royal protection, letting him keep the gifts. Pharaoh had enough morals to know you don’t sleep with another man’s wife…even if you are the king of the land.

Genesis 10 and 11

2009-01-28T13:56:00.000-08:00

Genesis 11 should come before chapter 10. Chapter 10 tells us where everyone settled after the tower of Babel, while 11 tells us of the tower incident itself.

1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

Noah and all his descendants spoke the same language. This would have been just a hundred or so years after they got off of the boat. Some scientists put the ice age at about this time.

2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

3 And they said one to another, “Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.

They were using manmade materials instead of the ones God made.

4 And they said, “Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”

Click on map to enlarge

God had clearly told them to fill the whole earth, but they were wanting to just stay in this one place. If you assume an average of seven children per family, and about three generations to have reproduced, there were around 7000 people by now. Maybe even more.

Some believe that building this tower was a sign of direct disbelief in God’s promise to not flood the world again. Slime and bricks would have been reasonably waterproof.

The “heaven” they were trying to reach was not God’s throne room. It was the lower regions of the atmosphere. And a landmark like this would have allowed them to remain as one people much easier.

5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

6 And the Lord said, “Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.”

Human beings can accomplish anything that enough of them will set their minds to.

7 “Go to let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”

Once again we have the royal “Let Us.” Notice that in the rest of this chapter God is called THE (singular) LORD (also singular).

8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

One minute they were all speaking the same language and the next they were all speaking different languages. I imagine that this caused quite a few fights. You simply can’t work together on such a project if you can’t communicate.

There are only a few different types of languages, though there are hundreds of different languages. For example, Italian, French, Spanish, and a good part of English are all called “romantic” languages because they are all descended from the Roman language of Latin. Farther back, Latin and German have the same root. The Asian and Arabic languages, however, are not even remotely related.

God divided the languages along family lines so husbands and wives and children would not be separated.

9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth; and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

Babel means “confusion.” Babel later became Babylon. This city was completely destroyed several times in history, the last time so thoroughly it wasn’t discovered again until the 19th century. It is on the banks of the Euphrates River just south of Baghdad in Iraq.

Let’s go back to chapter 10 now:

1 Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.

2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras,

Japheth had seven sons. He probably had at least as many daughters.

3 And the sons of Gomer (Japheth’s oldest); Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.

4 And the sons of Javan (Japheth’s fourth son mentioned here); Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

It is possible that at the time they moved from Babel this was all the male decedents of Japheth.

5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations;

“The isles of the Gentiles” would be the many islands in the Mediterranean.

6 And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.

7 And the sons of Cush (Ham’s oldest); Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabecha; and the sons of Raamah (Ham’s grandson); Sheba, and Dedan.

8 And Cush began Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one in the earth.

Cush had nine sons.

9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, “Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.”

Legend says that Nimrod hunted dangerous animals (such as lions, tigers, bears, maybe Tyrannosaurus) to protect the others from them. He was a mighty hunter “against” the Lord, by definition. He was not a godly man. It is said that he died hunting and his wife claimed he became a god and she got pregnant by Immaculate Conception. Her son’s name started with a letter that strongly resembled our t and the use of the t as a religious symbol dates all the way back to this time. In fact, all pagan religions can be traced back to here. The idea for Immaculate Conception would have come from the story in the stars, already being corrupted to suit man’s purpose.

10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

Nimrod was the leader of the settling the area we call ancient Sumner.

11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rgoboth, and Calah,

Neneveh became the capital city or the Assyrian Empire that destroyed Israel. Nineveh is where Jonah went to preach.

12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: and the same is a great city.
13 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,

14 And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.

Mizraim (Ham’s second son) had seven sons, one of which was the father of the Philistines.

15 And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth,

16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,

17 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,

18 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.

19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorra, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.

Canaan fathered nine different countries plus two sons that evidently didn’t found their own nations. His descendents settled in what we call Palestine today. This is where the name “Land of Canaan” that Israel was promised came from. It was literally the land Canaan’s children settled in.

20 These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.
21 Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.

22 The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.

Shem had five sons.

23 And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash. (4)
24 And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.

Eber, Shem’s great-grandson, is where we get the term Hebrew.

25 And unto Eber were born two sons; the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan.

Peleg means “earthquake.”

Evidently part of the confusion at the Tower of Babel was an earthquake, possibly even the opening of a large fault line (thus the earth being divided- literally!) Peleg must have been born at just this time.

26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazamaveth, and Jerah,

27 And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,

28 And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,

29 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.

That makes 13 sons!

30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east.

This family headed east.

31 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.

32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.

Scientists tell us there are three main ethnic divisions in humans: Caucasian, Negroid, and Mongoloid (Asian). All human groups can be traced to one or (far more common) a mixture of these three. The Caucasians are descended from Japheth, the Asians from Shem, and the Negroid from Ham. The Native Americans are of Asian descent. Most people are actually a mixture of all three.

It is speculated that there was very little difference in skin color before the division (there is less difference genetically between the whitest of white humans and the darkest of dark humans than different colored puppies in the same litter). Those who had darker shades and migrated north would not have absorbed enough vitamin D and would have suffered from Rickets, preventing them from producing very many children, while their lighter skinned siblings would have had far more children. Those who had lighter shades who migrated into the very hot African interior would have succumbed to skin cancer and not multiplied well. Those going east who had an extra layer of fat under their skin (giving it a yellowish tint) would have faired better than those who didn’t have this insulation in the Himalayas. In this very gradual way, “racial characteristics” would have appeared. At least away from the Mediterranean. Around that region there would have continued enough inter-marriage to keep everyone a nice chocolate brown.

Click the map to enlarge.

Back to chapter 11

10 These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:

11 And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.So Shem lived six hundred years,

Three hundred and fifty less than his father.

12 And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah;

13 And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

Total of 933 years.

14 And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber: (The father of the Hebrews)

15 And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

Total of 433 years.

16 And Eber lived four and thirty years and begat Peleg:

If you add the ages of the fathers at the birth of their sons mentioned here, you come up with Peleg being born at around 101 post flood. You could add a few years to account for partial years, but this puts the tower of Babel very close to a hundred years post flood.

17 After he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters.

Total of 464 years. The ages are getting decidedly less.

18 And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu:

19 And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters.

Total of 239 years. Another drastic drop in ages.

20 And Reu lived two and thirty years and begat Serug.
21 And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters.

Total of 239 years.

22 And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:
23 And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

Total of 230 years.

24 And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:
25 And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.

Total of 148 years.

26 And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Again, we don’t know if these were triplets. Probably not. All three are just important in the future stories so all three had to be listed.

27 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.

This is probably the first verse written by Abraham, thus the need to repeat verse 26.

There are only around 290 years between the flood and this point. There is even a chance that Abraham knew Shem.

Legend (which is probably not true, but fun to know anyway) says that Terah ran a store for idols. He and his son had had many arguments about whether the idols were alive or not. Abraham was left in charge of the store for a day and when his dad came back, he found all but one of the idols broken and the one holding a big stick. Terah was supposed to have been angry at his son for breaking his inventory. Abraham replied “They began to argue ad fight and the one beat up all the others.”
Legend also says Abraham went to live with his great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather Shem for awhile.

28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.

This is near Babylon.

29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.

Abram means “high father.” He married his half sister, Sarai (which means “dominative”). His brother, Nahor, married his niece, Milcah (daughter of their brother Haran and sister to Lot.) The laws forbidding marriage so close in a family were not written for some time yet. This early in history the negative mutations that cause problems with such close intermarriage had not occurred yet, so there was no problem with brothers marrying sisters.

30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child.

Here is a point about the King James Version of the Bible that I like. When it does use a word we may not be familiar with (such as barren) it defines it for us (“she had no child.”)

31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.

Terah took his son, daughter/daughter-in-law, and grandson. He left behind one son and daughter-in-law/granddaughter.

Ur is south east of Babylon, towards the Persian Gulf, on the Euphrates River. They were heading to Canaan, but only made it as far as Haran which is north-west of Babylon, on the Euphrates, close to modern day Turkey. This town was founded by some Haran the Bible doesn’t tell us about.

32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

He left Abram and Lot there. He never made it to Canaan. I wonder if God had called him, too, to that land.

Genesis 9

2009-01-27T13:21:00.000-08:00

Genesis 9 tells of God’s blessings to Noah and events shortly after the flood.

1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.”

God again tells the human race to go have lots of babies. Tell me, was this command ever repealed? People have been saying the earth is overcrowded since the time of Plato (about 500BC), so I don’t put a lot of credence in that. In fact, the whole reason we are going to have trouble with Social Security running out of money is because people have not had enough babies. Europe is currently suffering from a young worker shortage and America isn’t far behind.

The fact is that there are two ways to grow the church of God; through evangelism and through birthing children. Those religions that truly believe children are a blessing (and show it by actually having as many children as they can) are the only religions/denominations that are growing today. Unfortunately, this means the Muslims, with an average of seven children per family, is fast taking over the world.

Lets use an example of why a Christian family should have many children:

We have a neighborhood with ten families; one Christian and nine sinners. All ten have two children each. Assuming each child finds a mate of like belief, when they are adults we will have two Christian families and eighteen sinners. The next generation will have 4 Christian families and 36 sinners. The fourth generation will have 8 Christian and 72 sinners. We aren’t gaining any ground. Especially since it takes 36 Christians to bring one sinner to the Lord and Christian families are losing 80% of their children to the world. The truth is that by the third generation there would only be 1 Christian and 79 sinners by.

Lets make that Christian family follow the Bible in two important areas. Let’s make them “Be fruitful and multiply” and homeschool. The average non-birth control-culture family has 7 children. The average homeschool family keeps 96% of their children in their faith. So in the first generation we have 1 Christian family and 9 sinner families. Generation two has 7 Christian families and 18 sinners. By generation 3 we have 49 Christian families and 36 sinners. And by the fourth its 343 Christians to 72 sinners. If we go one more generation, 2401 to 144. What a mighty army for Christ!

Jesus said to “Let the little children come unto Me and forbid them not for of such is the kingdom of God.” Paul said to “Let this mind be in you which is in Christ.” God loves babies and Satan hates them. Psalms tells us that the “fruit of the womb is His reward…blessed is the man who has a quiver full of…” children.

The thing is, most Christians don’t even pray about such an important matter as how many eternal souls they bring into the world. Shouldn’t we do that much at the least?

2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.

All animals have a natural fear of humans. Some more than others, but all are under our control.

3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you al things.

“Moving” here means “glide swiftly, crawl, move with short steps, swarm creep.”

There is nothing you can eat that will in anyway keep you from going to heaven. Jesus and Paul reaffirmed this.

4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

This is a health law. Blood contains all the contaminants that the body is trying to get rid of.

Also, the shedding of Jesus blood is what pays for our sins, so in symbolism, we are not to eat the blood of other animals.

5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man.

6 Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made he man.
When a human being is murdered, God holds that person or animal responsible. He also holds the society that it happens in responsible and will eventually punish them for the criemes if they don’t execute the murderer.

7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

Gee, do you think God means it? This is the only command He repeats twice in this passage.

Don’t you think that an all knowing, all loving God would have provided enough resources for all the humans He wants born?

8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,

9 “And I, behold, I establish MY covenant with you and with your seed after you;

10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth,

11 And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.”

God promises even the animals that He will never flood the earth again.
For those who think this was only a local flood, you are calling God a liar. If this was only a local flood and He promised not to do it again, He lied. There have been many local floods just in recent years, much less over the course of history. However, there has and never will be again a flood of water to cover the entire planet.

He did not promise not to destroy the planet with fire, however.

12 And God said, “This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations;

13 “I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

14 “And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud;

15 “And I will remember my covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

16 “And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.”

17 And God said unto Noah, “This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between Me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

Whenever you see a rainbow in the sky, remember that God promised to never flood the whole plant again.

18 And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan.
19 These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.

Not only are all humans descended from Adam and Eve, we are all descended from these three sons of Noah.

20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken:…

Some have speculated that juice would not have spoiled before the flood; that something about the flood changed the atmosphere so things would become alcoholic. This new condition caught Noah off guard. It is usually used by those who don’t believe in drinking alcohol in any form for any reason. I don’t see any evidence for or against that idea in either the Bible or history. The fact is that we are all human and make mistakes, even Noah.

…and he was uncovered within his tent.
22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.

I have heard of several explanations for this being wrong.1) It is evil to see anyone naked. This is not supported by scripture.2) Ham made fun of his father to his brothers when he told them. A possibility.3) Or that it was actually Noah’s wife that was naked. The book of Deuteronomy tells us that having sex with a man’s wife is uncovering his nakedness. This is the one that makes the most sense in light of the other son’s actions in the next verse.

23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.

24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.

It is not a sin for one man to see another man naked. There are several instances in the Bible where this happened and no one was rebuked or punished.

25 And he said, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.”

Why curse Canaan when it was Ham that sinned? Either it was more of a punishment to Ham to curse his son, or it was actually Canaan that sinned. We don’t know for sure. This passage is unclear.

We do know that Canaan’s decedents settled to the south. They went towards Africa and Asia.

26 And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.”

The three monotheistic religions in the world, Christianity, Judaism, and Muslim, all originated in the descendants of Shem.

27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

Japheth’s descendents migrated towards Europe. Europeans have at one time or another owned the whole world. And even today they are either atheist (no God), Christian, or Muslim. They have dwelt in the spiritual “tents” of Shem for most of history.

And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.

29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.

Genesis 8

2009-01-20T13:54:00.000-08:00

Chapter 8
Genesis 8 tells of the end of the flood.

1 And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged:

This is not saying God forgot Noah and suddenly remembered him. It is saying He never forgot him at all.

The waters begin to recede, both by evaporation and by gravity. Psalms 104:7-9 says, “At thy rebuke they (the waters) fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away. They go up by the mountains they go down by the valleys unto the place which Thou hast founded for them. Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.”

Or as worded in the American Standard Version; “At Thy rebuke they fled; At the sound of Thy thunder they hurried away. The mountains rose; the valleys sank down to the place which Thou didst establish for them. Thou didst set a boundary that they may not pass over; that they may not return to cover the earth.”

At this time, 150 days into the flood, God stopped the fountains of the deep (geysers) and caused earthquakes to raise the large mountains up and the valleys of the oceans to drop down. The science of geology tells us that the Rockies, Himalayas, Andes and many other mountain ranges are very new while some, such as the Appalachians are old and highly eroded. It also tells us that most of the current ocean floor is young. By lifting the mountains up and lowering the valleys, God caused the waters to go down off the majority of land. Now this would have actually taken hundreds of years. All that water simply takes time to flow to the ocean. That is why all inland areas of the world have much higher water lines than today’s water levels.

Ever considered the Grand Canyon? It is said that the Colorado River carved it out over several million years. This is physically impossible. You see, the canyon is located in the Kybab Uplift; a big flat mountain sticking up 200 feet in the air in the middle of the desert. In order for the Colorado River to have carved this canyon, it would at some time in history have had to flow UP the side of the mountain in order to carve the valley down to the level it is at today. It simply could not possibly have happened! However, if The Flood happened just the way the Bible says, that valley on the up-river side of the Uplift would have been full of water; a huge inland sea (Geologists of all persuasions tell us that there was, in fact, such a sea in this valley at one time). It would only have taken one earthquake opening a small fissure in the Uplift to have allowed all that water to begin to drain out to the sea- through the middle of the Uplift!- carving the canyon in just a few decades.

(And the Colorado River, even at its highest known flood stage, would have taken billions, not millions, of years to move that much dirt. More billions than the oldest Old Earther says the planet has had. This is in fact true of every major river canyon on the planet. The rivers, as big as they are, are way too small to have ever carved their canyons.)

Something very similar to this happened when Mount St. Helen’s blew in the 1980’s. There is now a canyon named “The Little Grand Canyon” there by the volcano. It is identical to the old one, only on a 1:40 scale. It took an entire two months to carve. Non-Bible believing geologists say that if they hadn’t watched the canyon carved with their own eyes, they would have sworn it had taken millions of years carve. There is no reason to believe they are not just as off on the dating of the Grand Canyon.

Speaking about dating: What about Carbon 14 dating and all its relatives that tell us of fossils millions of years old?

Well, these dating methods are based on several assumptions. One is that the amount of carbon entering our atmosphere from the sun has always been at the same level it is at today. If the Creationists are right about the water canopy, this would simply not be true.

The dating methods work by measuring the ratios of the “mother” element to the “daughter” element (the element the first one decays into.) This assumes no amount of either was lost through leaching or any other event. Again, if there was a world wide flood, this would not be true.

If the modern dating methods were really accurate, we should be able to test things we know the death date of and get correct answers (or at least very close to correct). The fact is that that doesn’t happen. Scientists tested a LIVE fruit fly (well, it died during the test, of course, since the test requires burning it up) and the test told them it had been dead for 1500 years! Another group of scientist took live cultures from themselves (tongue scrapings) and tested them. Dead for 5000 years! I could give you many, many more examples of the tests being very wrong (how about one half of a wooly mammoth being a few million years old and the other half OF THE SAME ANIMAL being 100’s of millions of years old!) If these tests aren’t accurate in these cases, how can we possibly believe them for dinosaurs and other “evolutionary” dates?

2 The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;

3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.

4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.

Ararat is in modern day Turkey. This is a socialist/atheist government and so they won’t let anyone go look on the mountains for the ark. The mountains are too tall to safely fly over, either. However, there are some stories of locals who have climbed up there and found a big “barn” with decayed bedding in it, broken in half. There are no trees up there. Nor is there forage for livestock. Why would anyone drag that wood all the way up there? And obviously house animals in it? The only truly logical explanation is in fact “Noah’s Ark!”

The climate in this region so soon after the flood would have been warmer than it is today and there would have been some forage. It probably wasn’t too far above the water line when they got off, in fact.

5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.

Seen out the open space at the top of the walls. We assume anyone who can build a sea worthy boat, can build a ladder.

6 And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made;

Forty days after the tops of the mountains were seen.

7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
Ravens are scavengers. The bird obviously found plenty of dead, rotting corpses of varying animals lying around to eat.

8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;

9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth; then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.

Doves are plant and seed eaters. She found no food and no place to roost. The flood wasn’t abated enough yet.

10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;
11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off; so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.

The dove not only found enough food to keep her busy for the whole day, she brought back a sample of her findings. Olive trees grow from the root, generally, and are quick growers with a bush-like appearance (though they can get as tall as 15 feet).

12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.

She found enough food and roosting places she was comfortable without human help.

13 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry.

He opened the door and didn’t see any water.

14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.

Noah went into the ark when he was 600 years, 2 months (Genesis 7:11). He came out when he was 601 years, 2 months and 17 days. They were on the ark for 1 year and 17 days.

15 And God spake unto Noah, saying,
16 “Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee.

17 “Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of the fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.”

“Empty the whole ark out and make babies.”

18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him:
19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.

20 And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

If Noah took only seven individuals on the ark, this would have been an expensive sacrifice, endangering several species. If he took seven pairs, it would not have been such a danger.

The rodents and rabbits would have multiplied fast enough to safely supply food for any meat eaters for some time, sparing the deer and other larger animals until they reproduce enough to be established.

21 And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in His heart, “I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
22 “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

God promised to remove the curse form the ground that kept the ground from producing all it could. He also promised He would not kill everything with water again. And that the seasons would continue as long as the planet lasted. We don’t really know if they had seasons (summer, winter, spring, fall) before the flood. But we know we will until the end of time.

Genesis 7

2009-01-14T15:19:00.000-08:00

Chapter 7
Genesis 7 continues the flood account.

1 And the Lord said unto Noah, “Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
Time to load up.

2 “Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
3 “Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and his female; to keep seed alive upon the face of the all the earth”.

It isn’t clear if this is seven and two animals or pairs. I lean towards the pairs myself, because of how it is worded… “by two, the male and his female.” Compare this with chapter 1 verse 27; “So God created man in His Own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” In chapter one God appears to think of the man and woman as one unit. This is reaffirmed in chapter 2 verse 24; “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh.” The wording is the same here with the animals.

So, fourteen of all land animals that chew the cud and have split hooves, and of all birds that are not predators, and of all locust-type creeping things. “Clean” is not defined for us until the Books of The Law, but it appears Noah understood. That or else the author assumed we knew what it meant and didn’t bother defining it.

4 “For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.”

God is warning Noah that there are only seven days left until the end of the earth as he knows it. It probably took the whole seven days to load all the animals and supplies onto the ark.

5 And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him.
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.

Most people have flood traditions. They vary in details from one human onboard to more than twenty, from two of each animal to ten of each, from the flood lasting a year to it lasting a month. If the flood really happened as the Bible says, we would expect to have “flood stories” from all of Noah’s decedents, though they would corrupt with time just like a game of telephone (where the first person whispers something to someone and they pass it to the next person and so on until the last person tells what they heard. The last person seldom says the same thing as the first.) If the flood didn’t happen, where would all the ancient people get such an absurd idea?

7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,

9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God commanded Noah.

This says the animals went in. God sent the animals to Noah.

Many have said the ark could not possible hold all the animals. Let’s break it down.

There are an estimated 5 to 30 million species in the world. Half of these are insects. I seriously doubt that Noah provided cages for the roaches. Most likely the insects, (and maybe even the smaller rodents), simply found themselves corners to nest in. This would have reduced the number of species he actually needed to provide for significantly. Small mammals, reptiles, and birds would have been housed in stacking cages, also reducing the required space.

This also includes the sea creatures. Noah did not take fish on the ark. I would not expect him to take seals, penguins, or walruses either. They are really sea creatures who only come to the land to breed.

Noah would not have taken one of each of the more than 200 breeds of horses we have today, plus donkeys and zebras. He would have only taken two equines which would be the ancestors of all of today’s equines- the Equine “Kind.” The variations we see today are because of a loss of genetic coding, not the creation of new codes as evolution says. Donkeys don’t successfully breed with horses (their offspring are sterile) because somewhere along the way the information necessary to do so was lost, a sign of Adam’s curse. (Evolution says there is more information all the time.) When we take this into account, the number of “kinds” falls to an estimated 16,000.

The average size of animal is less than a sheep (put a mouse and elephant together). The ark could have held 522 railroad stock cars. The average stock car can hold 240 sheep. That equals over 125,000 sheep, more than enough space to hold fourteen of each clean “kind” and four of each unclean.

What about the dinosaurs? How do they fit in to this story?

They were on the ark.

The biggest dinosaur comes from an egg just bigger than a football. Noah would not have taken the biggest specimens of each species, as these would have also been the oldest. He would have taken ones that were just barely old enough to reproduce (or maybe even not quite old enough.) The largest dinosaur would have been smaller than an African elephant at this age. In fact, the average size of a dinosaur is only the size of a chicken. And there only about fifty known kinds.
How did Noah keep the lions and T-Rexes from eating everything else?

First of all, we have no proof that anything ate meat yet. God didn’t give humans permission to start eating meat until after the flood. It is possible that the same applied to the animals. (He knew they would eventually eat meat and so supplied them with the equipment at Creation.) Also, the drastic temperature drop brought on by the flood (with a little help from God) may have triggered hibernation in many animals. Hibernating animals don’t need to eat.

Remember that the Bible tells us they already knew how to work brass and iron. Noah may have had some pretty hefty cages. He may have fed any meat eaters (if there were any) small animals that reproduce quickly (rabbits, mice, etc. They had to keep from being overrun somehow!) and sea creatures caught by fishing.

How could eight people have cared for all those animals?

Hibernating animals don’t need much care. Those that didn’t hibernate (cows, chickens, etc), would only have needed bare care and a little exercise. They probably used the deep straw method of bedding (simply let the manure and bedding accumulate for the whole year. Not unreasonable in animal management. Many farmers only cleaned their barns once per year.) They could also have easily designed the ark where any manure fell through to the bottom floor through slates, if they didn’t want all the muck to hang around for a whole year. Feeding could easily have been accomplished with shoots designed to deliver feed from one, central location. This would have taken less engineering than the ark itself. “The Noah’s Ark Feasibility Study” did the math and discovered that even without any labor saving ideas, caring for all the animals would have taken less than 672 hours per week. That is less than twelve hours per day per person. In fact, the numbers from this book make it sound like Noah’s family probably had a bigger problem with boredom than overwork.

10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

There were two water sources: the fountains of the great and the windows of heaven. The first were probably geysers, possibly also volcanoes as 90% by volume of what comes out of a volcano is water. Either way, there was a great deal of seismic activity.

The windows of heaven were probably the collapse of the water canopy mentioned in chapter one as “the waters above the firmament.”

12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

An eighteen-inch water canopy would have taken about a month and a half to completely rain out. This would have been no little shower, but more like standing under a waterfall.

13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;
God gave them just enough time to finish loading up.

14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.

God told the animals to go into the ark. This must have been some sight; a parade of animals walking in an orderly manner, boy by girl, up the ramp into the boat.

16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in.
God shut the door.

17 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.

It rained for forty days (almost a month and a half). The ark began to float.

18 And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.

20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.

The mountains were covered more than fifteen cubits (twenty-two and a half feet) deep. This would have been the greatest depth possible to measure from a sounding. It was a minimum number.

21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:
22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.
All in the dry land died. No mention of the sea animals.

23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth; and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.

24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.
The waters rose for 150 days. Even after the rain stopped, the fountains of the deep kept the water level rising for nearly half a year.

Genesis 6

2009-01-13T09:59:00.000-08:00

Chapter 6
Genesis 6 begins the account of the flood.

1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair: and they took them wives of all which they chose.

God has always been very clear that we are to only marry within our faith. These pre-flood people did not obey that command. The children of God often loose sight of His ultimate goal in their lives. In this case, the sons of God (all men who worship Him) got so carried away looking for a pretty face they married worldly woman. When a believer marries a non-believer, the believer usually quits serving God.

3 And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.”

It will now be about 120 years before He destroys the world. God usually tells us just what He is going to do and when.

4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men, which were of old, men of renown.

Evidently at this time humans sometimes grew to giant proportions. This would also have been the time of the nine-inch dragonfly, nine-foot “Elephant bird” (ostrich?), four-story dinosaur, huge saber-toothed tiger, mammoths, giant bears, and many other giants that we have found in the fossil record. With the high oxygen atmosphere that stayed around 80 degrees day and night, year around, the entire planet would have been a lush jungle providing the ideal environment for maximum growth of all species. Also, since humans were living almost a thousand years, we can assume other animals also lived much longer than they do today. Reptiles grow for their entire lives if they have sufficient food. Iguanas live for eighty years and grow three feet now. Komodo dragons will get more than six feet long in zoos. How big would these creature we have with us today get if they lived a thousand years?!

This does not say that the children from the sons of God and the daughters of men became giants. They became “men of renown.” They would have been taught the good things of being a follower of God (such as to work hard and not waste time), but also the greed and conniving from the followers of men. They would have had what it takes to do great things in the world’s eyes. This phenomena only lasts a generation or two after intermarriage begins. Soon, the offspring of such marriages loose all the benefits of having a knowledge of God because they no longer have that knowledge. They become lazy and selfish.

5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

6 And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart.

Mankind only thinks of evil unless he has God in his heart to teach him otherwise. These people were being very wicked all the time. Jesus later said, “They were marrying and given in marriage.” They were marrying and divorcing at will. It probably resembled much of what we see today in our culture.

God was sorry He made humans.

7 And the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.”

God decided to destroy it all and start over. He decided to destroy everything on the land. Notice that the things in the oceans are not mentioned.

8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

“Grace” is from “chen” which means “kindness, favor, pleasant, precious, well-favored.”

What a testimony!

9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

The scripture repeats the here. We may have changed authors from Noah to Shem.
Generations is from “towledah” meaning “descent, family, history, birth.” Noah evidently had none of Cain’s blood in him. He wouldn’t have been the only one, though, unless his sons married sisters.

But more importantly, he was “a just man,” and “walked with God.” 2 Peter 2:5 calls him “a preacher of righteousness.” Noah had his heart in the right place and tried to teach others to follow God.

10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

12 And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

13 And God said unto Noah, “The end of all flesh is come before Me; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

14 “Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

God told Noah He was going to destroy the world and what He wanted him to do about it.

“Ark” is from “tebah” meaning “a box.” This boat is literally a big box.

“Gopher wood” is from “gopher” probably meaning cypress wood.

“pitch” is from “kopher” meaning “a cover, a village, bitumen (as used for coating), and the henna plant (as used for dyeing), a redemption price, bribe, camphire, pitch, ransom satisfaction, sum of money.” So pitch is something that covers. Most scholars believe it was tar, used to waterproof the ark inside and out.

15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

A cubit was the length from a man’s elbow to his finger tips. The taller the man, the bigger the cubit. My husband’s cubit, for example, is nineteen inches. He is 6’4”. Most use eighteen inches to figure biblical cubits. This would have made the ark 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. These proportions are the ones still used to build ships that need to be stable in bad weather but not necessarily very maneuverable.

It is possible Noah was already a ship builder when God called him to build the ark. Or more correctly, God may have called Noah to make his living as a ship builder in order to prepare him for building the ark. They did have an ocean big enough to contain all the whales and other sea creatures. We don’t really know, but it is fun to speculate.

16 “A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

God told him to make one window and to finish the ark up to 18” from the top. This unfinished band around the top just under the roof would have allowed sufficient ventilation and sunlight in without allowing much rain or wind.

He made it three stories high inside. “Noah’s Ark: A Feasibility Study” speculates the top story was for the humans and food storage, probably with the center open to the second floor which was for the animals, maybe with an open exercise pen in the middle. The third floor would have been for more storage, possibly food growth (mushrooms, bugs for the insectivores, etc.).

17 “And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

“Earth” is from “ ’erets” probably meaning “to be firm, the earth, field, ground, land, nations, way, wilderness, world.” In other words, everything not covered by water already.

“Breath of life” would include all creatures with lungs or that otherwise must breath fresh air. It would not have included those with gills or the sea mammals that only occasionally breath (holding their breath for long periods of time.)

18 “But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.
Eight people total.

19 “And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

20 “Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.

Two of each type of animal will come to Noah. He will not have to go hunt them down.

21 “And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.

Take supplies.

22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
Noah obeyed God.

Imagine how absurd this would have seemed. It had not ever rained in the world at this point. Plants were watered by the morning fog and rivers came from natural springs. Yet Noah did what God had told him to do.

Genesis 5

2009-01-13T09:55:00.000-08:00

Chapter 5
Genesis 5 tells us the descendents of Adam through Seth.

1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

Now we will sum up human history up to the point of the writer of this passage (Noah?).

God created humankind. He called them Adam which means “man” as opposed to “horse” or “cow.” He made one male and one female, not two males, two females and a “not sure.” The sex roles were clearly defined from the start.

3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth;
Seth means “substituted.”

Adam and Eve would have contained all the DNA necessary for every normal variation in the human race. They were probably a medium brown color. Evidently Seth looked like his daddy, implying that Cain didn’t. It is also possible that Seth was “in the image” of his father in his heart, also.

4 And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:

Since this is plural, we can say Adam had at least four sons (counting Cain, and Seth) and two daughters. As mentioned earlier, Jewish legend says he and Eve had sixty children total and there is sufficient time for that to have happened.

5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
6 And Seth lived and hundred and five years, and begat Enos:
Enos means “mortal.”

7 And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters.

8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.

9 And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan:

Cainan means “fixed.”

10 And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters:
11 And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died.

12 And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel:

Mahalaleel means “praise of God.”

You know, these people lived almost a thousand years each. I am sure they accomplished many things in their lives and did many exciting things. Yet what are most of them remembered for? The children they had. We no longer know anything else about them, but the name of an eternal soul they brought into the world. Of all the things we do in life, next to our relationship with Jesus, the children we have and raise for Him may be the most important.

13 And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters:
14 And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.

15 And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared:
Jared means “thigh.”

16 And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters:

17 And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.

18 And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch:

Enoch means “initiated.”

19 And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years and begat sons and daughters:

20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.
21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:

Methuselah means “man of a dart.”

22 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:

24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

Hebrews 11:5 tells us “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him; for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

Enoch had so much faith, he trusted God so completely, that God decided to spare him the experience of death. He took him straight to heaven.

25 And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech:
We don’t know what Lamech means.

26 And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters:
27 and all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.

Methuselah was the oldest man recorded in the Bible, living to age 969. We don’t know that he was the oldest human, however, since only the lineage to Christ is listed here. By this time, if every family only had six children, there are around a million people on planet earth. If they had an average of sixty, the population would have been around 10,000,000. It is possible others lived longer that we just don’t have a record of.

Methuselah was the oldest recorded man in history, yet he died before his father (since his father never died).

28 And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son:

29 And he called his name Noah, saying, “This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed.

Noah means “rest.”

30 And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters:
31 And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.

Lamech seems to have died much younger than his ancestors. It appears he may have been caught by the flood. That or God simply took him early to spare him either the boat experience or the flood.
32 And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

We don’t know if they were triplets or if, for some reason, the author just decided to record them as if they were. It is possible that Noah had other children and just these three chose to follow God. Again, the Bible just doesn’t tell us.

Shem means “honor, authority, character.”

Ham means “hot, from a tropical habitat.”

Japheth means “expansion.” These names may have had their meaning before Noah gave them to his sons, or they may have acquired these meanings afterwards in connection to his sons.

Genesis 4

2009-01-12T16:10:00.001-08:00

Chapter 4
Genesis 4 tells us about the first children in the world, the first murder, and the descendents of Cain.
1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, “I have gotten a man from the Lord.”

Imagine being the first pregnant woman ever. She had never seen a pregnant woman, a baby, a child, a birth. There were no books or classes to tell her what is going to happen. She had no mother, grandmother, aunts, sisters or neighbors to go to for information. Of course, she also hadn’t watched umpteen movies and TV shows depicting birth as unbearably painful and dangerous either. Neither would she have had anyone telling her their horror stories. What she would have had were the animals. She would have watched the animals around her give birth and have had some idea of what was going to happen from them. I wonder if she would have been more or less afraid than we are.

She acknowledges this child as not a random act of nature, but as a gift from God.

2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

We just covered probably twenty years in these two verses. Some think Enoch probably wrote this part. Possibly Adam or Seth. Anyway…

3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.

Cain was a farmer so it was natural for him to bring those things he had grown. Now, only the death of an animal will do for a sin offering. However, the Books of the Law written by Moses tell us that wheat, olive oil, salt, and the first tenth of all farm products were all acceptable gifts to God. This scripture doesn’t say this was a sin offering, just an offering.

4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

6 And the Lord said unto Cain, “Why art thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen?

7 “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.”

God did not accept Cain’s offering because “sin lieth at the door.” He already hated his brother and was already contemplating murder. God does not accept our offerings when our hearts are not right. Cain’s was not right. God tells him that if his heart was right, his sacrifice would have been accepted; that he is in danger of sinning; that sin was trying to dominate him; but that he had the choice to “rule over” it or not. He was in control.

8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him.
Pre-meditated murder.

9 And the Lord said unto Cain, “Where is Abel thy brother?” And he said, “I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Once again God tries to get someone to acknowledge the sin He already knows he has committed. Not admitting it just makes things worse.

Cain says, “How should I know? Am I his shepherd?”

10 And He said, “What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.

11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;

12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.”

God, of course, knew what had happened. Some would ask why He didn’t stop Cain; why He doesn’t stop others from committing evil acts? God could stop us from being evil, from sinning at all. But He chooses to give us the free will to make our own decisions. If He stopped us from making bad decisions, we would not have free will. Without free will, we are no more than programmed robots or animals. We cannot choose to love God- indeed, we can’t love at all- without the choice to not love. We cannot be kind without the choice to be cruel. We cannot choose to be selfless without the choice to be selfish. Cain could not have chosen to be a good man without the true choice to be evil. He chose evil.

God punishes Cain by making it so he can’t grow good crops and so he will be a wonderer.

13 And Cain said unto the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.
14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.”

He is bargaining with God over his punishment. He must leave his parents and siblings, everyone he knows except his wife. And he fears someone (Adam? Another brother?) will take revenge.

15 And the Lord said unto him, “Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him seven-fold.” And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

Some think this mark was to change his skin color. This is impossible as all the decedents of Cain were killed in the flood. We don’t know what this mark was.

God still loves us even when we make the wrong choices. He still protected Cain.

16 And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.

Many have asked where Cain got his wife and even try to use this to prove the Bible couldn’t be true concerning Creation. However the answer is simple: Cain’s wife was also his sister. This seems horrid to us today because a few things have changed since this time.

These first humans would have had perfect DNA with no harmful mutations yet.

Disease would not have gotten a hold on them, though they are dyeing. There would have been no problem with brothers marrying sisters. In fact, Abraham married his half-sister several thousand years later and was still blessed by God. It wasn’t until the time of Moses that inter-sibling marriage was outlawed. It was ok for cousins to marry, genetically, up until a thousand years ago or so.

Jewish tradition says that Eve had sixty children. Considering that a female is born with more than a million eggs and is fertile for roughly half her life, and Eve probably lived for 900+ years, this is not the least bit unreasonable. In fact, if anything, it is too low an amount. That would be one baby every ten years for 600 years. One every five or even three would probably have been normal. So she could easily have had 150-200 children; more than enough for Cain to pick a mate from. And if Cain and his wife followed suit (and there is no reason to believe they didn’t), this “City of Enoch” could have had quite a population, what with Cain’s children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc. Only the first or most important son is mentioned in genealogies.

18 And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.

The first known incident of polygamy.

20 And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.
21 And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and the organ.

22 and Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, and instructor of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naama.

Domestication of cattle, musical instruments, working knowledge of iron and brass; these people were not “cave men.” They were highly intelligent and civilized. Of course, with their life spans they had much longer to figure things out than we do.

23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, “Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speedh: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.
24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.”

The second murder. We don’t know what the “young man” did to so offend Lamech. Some have speculated he was flirting with his wives, but there is no way for us to really know.

25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: “For God,” said she, “hath appointed me another seed instead of Able, whom Cain slew.”

She knew Able was to have been the lineage for “The Seed” that would crush Satan. (Maybe this was why Cain hated him.) God has now replaced him and made sure there would be a “Seed.”

26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.

This word “call” is from the word “qara.” This is the same word used to say that God brought the animals to Adam to see what he would call (or name) them. Qara can mean “accosting a person met, to call out, address by name, bewray, that are bidden, call for, cry unto, be famous, guest, invite, mention, give name, preach, make, proclaim, pronounce, publish, read, renowned, say.” We can’t tell from the context of the scripture for sure if they began to “address by name, call for, cry unto, invite, mention, preach, pronounce, publish and read” the name of the Lord, or if they began to “accost and bewray” His Name. The evil discussed in the next chapter hints it might be the later, but maybe no one thought to preach the gospel until this time.

Genesis 3

2009-01-12T16:03:00.000-08:00

Chapter 3
Genesis 3 tells us about the fall of mankind into a sinful state and the resulting curse on the planet and on humans.

1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, “Yea, hath God said, ‘Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

The serpent is not classified as a creeping thing here, but as a beast of the field. This coupled with the curse later in this chapter leads me to believe the snake had legs at this point, just as other beats of the field do.

Subtle means “crafty, prudent, cunning (usually in a bad way)” The snake itself is evidently smarter than the other animals. But, because of the curse later on, it appears that Satan possessed the snake. That is probably why it spoke, though I suppose it is possible that Eve’s un-cursed brain could understand all animals before the fall. Some people come pretty close to understanding them today.

The Satan/snake begins by questioning God’s word; “Did He REALLY say that?” Satan still does this today.

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ‘Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.’ ”

There is no record of God saying not to even touch the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It is possible that it simply wasn’t recorded, but most scholars think Adam and/or Eve added this. Things always go wrong when we start adding to God’s word.

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, “Ye shall not surely die:

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

The serpent directly contradicts the word of God; he calls God a liar. He is also saying God’s commands are for God’s benefit, hers.

Many today are repeating this same lie; “You will be gods, choosing good and evil.” This is the promise of evolution. “You are the highest, most intelligent, closest to divine form of life. You have the right to decide right and wrong for yourself, and society has the right to set its own rules.”

6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her and he did eat.

Eve was fooled by the serpent’s words and the fruit was pretty, so she ate it. Adam, however, was not fooled. He chose to eat the fruit knowing full well he was rebelling against God and choosing death. This is why we call it the “Adamic Curse” instead of the “Eve-ic curse.” Adam went into sin willingly, as we all do.

7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

They became aware of their nakedness. They now understand right and wrong. Fig leaves covered them partially, but not completely. They were not sufficient. Man’s solutions don’t fix the problems. They just cover them up for a while.

8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, “Where art thou?”

God knew where they were and what they had done, of course. You can’t hide from God. But He wanted them to admit their guilt.

10 And he said, “I heard Thy Voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

We so often miss the point. Adam says he was ashamed because he was naked when he should have been ashamed because he disobeyed and ate the fruit. He was focusing on the surface matters instead of acknowledging the heart issue.

11 And He said, “Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?”

I have done this to my children; asked them leading questions trying to get them to admit when they have done wrong, even though I know the truth. Until a sin is admitted, the heart-cause can’t be dealt with.

12 And the man said, “The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.”

It is a good thing there wasn’t a bigger population at this time or Adam would have found a way to blame them too. “It’s the woman’s fault for giving me the fruit and it’s Your fault for giving me the woman.” Everyone’s fault except the sinner’s. Many try this tactic today. We try to blame genetics, upbringing, society in general, our parents, even the victims of our sin for what we do. But when it boils right down to it, we are the ones at fault. We are the ones who choose to disobey God.

13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, “What is this that thou hast done?” And the woman said, “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.”

Now she decides to follow her husband instead of leading him as she did when she gave him the fruit. She tries to pass the blame too.

14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, “Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

God begins handing out judgment at the least responsible and moves to the most responsible.

Again, the serpent is compared to legged creatures when he is told he will crawl on his belly. This means God took his legs away and, as snakes still do today, he crawled away. And most humans appear to have a special hatred for the snake’s descendents. Snakes are often the symbol of pagan religions.

Yet there is more to the curse here. There is a prophecy; “[Her Seed] will bruise your head and you (not “your seed”) will bruise His heel.” This is a promise, a prophecy to Satan that, though he will hurt the woman’s Seed, her Seed will crush him. This scene is depicted over and over in the stars; the constellation with a snake under his foot while the snake is biting his heel. The names from antiquity for the stars representing the feet are variations of “The One that is bruised” and “The One that Crushes.” This is a promise that, though Satan will hurt Christ, Christ will defeat and destroy Satan. This prophecy was fulfilled on Calvary, when Satan led the Jews to demand Christ’s crucifixion and Christ willingly gave Himself to pay for our sins, thus defeating sin, death, hell and the grave; He crushed Satan and his entire domain.

16 Unto the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

Women are more susceptible to depression than men. God made us more prone to sorrow. He also “increased our conception.” I believe this is why we have our children two to three years apart (when we don’t use birth control) instead of fifteen or so years. Most animals do not birth new babies until the old ones are grown and ready to fend for themselves. Not true with humans. We often have little ones in several different stages of growth at one time.

The word “sorrow” is from the word “’itstsabown” which means “worrisome, labor, pain, sorrow, toil.” Makes you wonder what childbirth would have been like without The Fall. However, this isn’t just talking about birth. It is also talking about the whole child-rearing time. This is a promise that we will not always be happy to be pregnant, that birthing will be work, and raising children will not always be easy or pleasant. It is not a promise that all women will always have unbearable pain in birthing. Some women have even reported painless childbirth (One of my eight was almost that). And the fact is that women in other countries, where they are not bombarded by images from TV and movies of birth being unbearably painful from the time they are little kids, rate birth much lower on the scale of pain than American women do. It seems we make it a self-fulfilling prophecy. We expect it to hurt like hell and it does. Other women don’t and it doesn’t. It still usually hurts, but not nearly as bad. Even American women who have had conditions like kidney stones say that the stones are far worse.

Anyway, I believe this is talking more about child-raising. God intended the woman to be the primary child caretaker from the beginning. That is why He gave her the intuition to know what someone who can’t speak her language and can’t communicate needs. This is a special gift. The curse is that we won’t always be happy about our role as mothers. We will bear children “in sorrow.”

The second part of this curse is “Thy desire shall be to thy husband and he shall rule over thee.” Or directly from the Hebrew; “Thy stretching out after and longing will be towards your man and he will have dominion over you.” I have heard this explained in two different ways:

The first says this means the woman will always want a husband even thou it means he will be the boss. The second says this means the woman will want to be the boss but the man will still be the head of the household. Both have valid points.

I have known women who wanted a hubby so bad they were almost nuts, willing to take the first bum who looked cross-eyed at them. These were women who I know would be happier alone (even though they were lonely) and in charge of their own lives. Yet they still “needed” a man. Very illogical. On the other hand, feminism is nothing new. It crops up in any peaceful society in history. Women want to be in charge. They all too often resent the man being the boss.

But the fact is that God made man to be in charge even before The Fall. Woman was made to be the Man’s Help Meet, not the other way around. Man’s headship is the original design. Women being annoyed about it is the curse.

17 And unto Adam He said, “Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, ‘Thou shalt not eat of it:’ cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

“Because you didn’t take the authority in your own home, because you weren’t the man, because you let her be the boss instead of Me…” This is the reason for man’s curse; not being a man. The word “sorrow” here is the same one used in verse 16 when speaking of the woman’s curse. God gave Adam work from the beginning. Now the man’s work would be “worrisome, labor, pain, sorrow, toil.” Work would be hard and often unpleasant.

18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

God cursed the ground and made thorns grow. The earth began to die at this time. Weeds cropped up. Thorns sprouted.
He also added the “herb of the field” to their diet. Evidently they ate fruit before The Fall and now have veggies and grains added to their diet.

19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

“You are going to have to work hard enough to sweat until the day you die. When you die, you will rot and become dirt.” Adam began to die at this point. To be sure, it took a long time for him to finish, but he began at this point.

20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

Eve means “Life-giver.” Remember, she hasn’t had any children yet. In fact, neither of them has ever even seen a child or a baby. But Adam (prophetically?) names her “Life-giver.” This is what a woman is. She gives a reason for life to her man and physical life to her children. Life itself is not possible without her. And her calling in life, her purpose, was to be a mother. There is no higher, more important calling. Our society downgrades this role, but how could anything be more important than training a Legacy of Warriors to Worship at the Feet of The King? And Eve was the mother of all mothers. Wow!

21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

The fig-leaf apron wasn’t sufficient to cover their nakedness. An animal had to die and give its skin to cover their sin. Man’s ways are not sufficient.

22 And the Lord God said, “Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the Tree of Life, and eat, and live for ever…”

Notice that this is the second verse out of 78 verses that uses a plural word for God. All the others use singular. Again, this sounds like Royalty speaking.

Adam could still have eaten of the Tree of Life and live forever. I think there must have been some nutrient in that tree that totally prevented aging and all illness.

23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
24 So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the Tree of Life.

God kicked the humans out of the garden and put guards in front of it to keep them out. We don’t know where Eden was nor what became of the tree. I would assume it was destroyed in the flood, but the Bible doesn’t say. We know we don’t have it available to us today.

Genesis 2

2009-01-12T15:57:00.000-08:00

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

When the Bible was first written and translated, there were no chapter or verse separations. In fact, there was neither punctuation nor space between the words! It looked something like this:

Inthebeginninggodcreatedtheheavensandtheearthandtheearthwaswithoutformandvoidanddarknesswasuponethefaceoftheearth

Punctuationand such were all added later. The first few verses of chapter two are part of the story told in chapter one.

2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.

3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.

Why did God rest? Was He tired? No, of course not. He chose to take six days to make the world and rest the seventh as an example to us. Our bodies need to work for six days and rest for one. It is important we follow this pattern for our health. Also, our spirits need at least one day out of seven to focus on our Creator. This is rest to our souls. My family chooses to take most of Saturday for physical rest (most of the time. We aren’t religious about it) and take Sunday to rest our souls by worshiping our God and fellowshipping with His followers.

4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,

This is the end of the over-all Creation account. This gives us an overview of what God did. Next we begin the detailed account of the sixth day.

5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

This sounds like a contradiction; “every plant before it was in the earth…there went up a mist from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.” The word “earth” here comes from the Hebrew word “’erets” meaning firm, earth, land, common, country, field, ground, nations, way, wilderness, world; a very broad choice of meanings. I believe proper interpretation of this scripture, taking the entire context into account would be…

"4 And this is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,
5 And [the history of] every plant of the field before it was in the country [of Eden] and every herb of the field before it grew [everywhere]: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the world and there was not a man to till the ground [and spread the seeds around and water them].
6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. "

7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

God did not breath the breath of life into any other part of creation. I believe this is when man received his soul as well as his life.

8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden: and there He put the man whom He had formed.
9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the Tree of Life also in the midst of the garden, and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

God took some of the plants and their seeds that He had created three days ago and planted them in Eden; everything that was good for food, especially trees, it seems.

He put two trees in the middle of the garden; the Tree of Life which would have given immortality to those who ate of it. And the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Tree of Life is mentioned again in Revelation as being in Heaven where all believers will get to eat of it. It evidently blooms and produces fruit all year long (must be chocolate as it, too, blooms and produces fruit all year long. Joke.)

Before eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and evil, mankind would not have known what sin was any more than an animal does. He would have learned eventually (due to his possession of a soul) through his continued resisting temptation and his obedience to God.

However it was no surprise to God when man fell and He provided for it in His plan before He even began building the world. God did not want robots running around. He wanted us to truly love Him. To do this, we must have had a choice. Without a choice we would have been no different than monkeys, just smarter. This would not have fulfilled God’s plans for a people who choose to worship and serve Him.

10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

This set of verses lends support to the theory that Adam wrote this part of the Bible. By the time of Moses, no such garden or riverheads existed. The river through Ethiopia would have to be the Nile. The Euphrates and the Nile flow in completely different directions and there is no way they could possible have the same origin. This had to have been rivers and countries from before the flood that no longer exists but whose names were carried forward and applied to new features in the new world.

15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

God gave man work from the start. Man needs work in order to be healthy and happy. Without it, he becomes bored and temperamental.
However, this was no high-demand job. He had to keep a garden in a time with no weeds, no winter, no drought. His duties would have been pruning, planting, and harvesting; very pleasant work to be sure.

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

17 But of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eat thereof thou shalt surely die.”

The first prophecy, so to speak. More of a promise really. Adam had the choice of every tree to eat from except that one. He even had the choice of the Tree of Life. Instead of “the day that thou eat therof thou shalt surely die.” Some have translated this “the day that thou eat thereof, dieing, thou shalt die.” In other words, “the day that you eat of that tree is the day you begin to die.” From the time we all reach maturity we are dieing. Slowly to be sure. But dieing just the same.

18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone: I will make him and help meet for him.”

Notice that it doesn’t say that Adam was lonely yet. But God still knew that Adam was incomplete and would need companionship and help. Adam would be given the job of conquering, caring, for and populating the earth. He had the logic and drive to conquer and care for the earth, but the populating part would be hard to handle the way God made him. Of course, God could have made him where he could reproduce without help. He made some animals that way (the snail, for example). But He had a better plan. He wanted a couple; a man to represent God and a woman to represent the church. He wanted someone to show God’s power and someone to show God’s gentleness. He wanted someone to show God’s strength and someone to show God’s beauty. Adam could not do all this himself. He needed help. Also, after having been made to defend and conquer, he wouldn’t be as good at nurturing as a being created just for that purpose. In God’s perfect plan, woman doesn’t need to be a conqueror because man is there to do the job. She is free to be the nurturer God made her to be.

19 And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

This doesn’t say that this is the time God created each animal. It says He had made them all from the ground and now brought them to Adam to be named.

Why would God bring animals to Adam? Didn’t he know they couldn’t be his help meet? Of course He did. But Adam didn’t. This was Adam’s Sex Education class.

20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the fields; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

Imagine having the mental ability to name all the species of land animals and the birds all in one day? It appears that Adam had a more fully functioning brain then we do.

As for the time this would have taken, remember God did not create two Poodles and two German Shepherds and two Collies. He only created two dogs, probably the ancestors of not only all of our domestic dog breeds but also the wolves, dingos, possibly coyotes and several others we now call separate “species.” He also only made two equines; our modern horse, donkey, and zebra all being descended from them. The fact that they can’t successfully interbreed now is due to a degrading of the genetic code, a result of the fall.

Now Adam understands he is alone. He named Mr. and Mrs. Lion, Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird, Mr. and Mrs. Horse, and so on. He now realizes he is the only one without a Mrs. Now he is lonely. Now he will appreciate God’s next creation.

21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

The first surgery in history- a ribectomy.

Why didn’t God make Eve from the dirt like He had done with Adam and the animals? He wanted her to be part of Adam, truly one. She wasn’t made from a bone in his foot because then he would have walked all over her, or one from his head because she would have ruled over him. He used a bone from under Adam’s arm so he would protect her and from by his heart so he would love her. Man and woman are to be truly one just as the church and God are to be truly one. When the church acts, it is the same to the world as if God acts. And God uses the church to do His will. A woman is her husband’s help meet; helper to accomplish his calling in life. That is her purpose. And just as God protects the church and provides for her all she needs, the man is to protect and provide for his wife.

23 And Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
He was impressed.

“Man” here is from the Hebrew word “eesh” meaning a male person or husband. The other times the word “man” is used in this and the preceding chapter it is from the Hebrew word “adam” meaning ruddy, a human being, and individual, the species of mankind, person.”

“Woman” is from the Hebrew word “ishshah” meaning “a woman, female, wife.” This is the feminine form of “eesh” plus the word for “pit, well, or engrave.” She was taken from the pit of his side, was beautifully carved.

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

I wonder if the original author put this here or if it was a footnote added by Moses? Either way, “This is why a man leaves his own family and marries a woman forming a whole new family.

1) It is not good for ANY man to be alone. He should seek a wife (except in rare cases of God calling someone to celibacy). Proverbs 18:22 says, “Whoso finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor of the LORD.” Proverbs 31:10 says, (in paraphrase) "Who can find a woman who acts in conformity to moral law, performs her moral duties, and abstains from vice? Her worth is far more than the most precious of gemstones." From “Rubies, Silk, and Chocolate covered Peanuts” by Betty Tracy available at http://homeschoolwwh.com/prov/rsaccp.html.

2) A man does not marry and stay with his parents. They form a new family. To stay under the authority of your parents after marriage is to ruin the symbolism of the God/church relationship. There is no one over God in authority. There should be no one over a man, except God.

3) It is very bad for a marriage for the man and woman to be trying to obey their parents and have godly roles towards each other. It is nearly impossible to do. God meant for a man and woman to be a separate entity with its own calling separate from their parent’s callings.

25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Shame of our nakedness comes from sin. A small child too young to understand right and wrong will show no shame of their naked body (ask any mother whose child has learned to take their clothes off just when company is visiting!) Though they can be taught to leave their clothes on, it isn’t until they understand right and wrong that a true shame of their nakedness sets in.