If you are at all like me, the wickedness of human beings' natural inclinations, and our disgusting habit of acting upon our sinful desires, might cause you to avoid soap operas and most of what is on t.v. these days. You know what they say: "what you think about, you bring about," and "garbage in, garbage out." So why in the world would I choose to let that junk on t.v. go into my subconscious? But when it comes to God's Word, it has divine power to instruct us and help us turn from sin rather than commit sin. (see 2 Timothy 3:16-17) I pray you have been a student of these lessons from God this week.
Since I did not have the opportunity to blog about yesterday's readings, I will do two days in one. So hang on...here we go!
- In chapter 14, why does Lot find out his choice of places to live was a poor one? What happens to Lot and his family in verses 11-12? (As we know, the situation will grow much worse in ch. 19.)
- What is Abram called in 14:13? Abram the ____________ This is the first time we read of him being called by this name, as he is now the leader of a new nation. God granted Abram great success, too, in defeating these kings in order to rescue his nephew. God's promises to Abram are already coming to pass--blessed to be a blessing.
- Now don't skip over this brief section on Melchizadek, because he is incredibly significant to all of us! Who was he, and what did he do in verses 18-20? What did Abram do in response (notice another first that is recorded)? Also, notice God being called by a new name: God Most High ("El Elyon" in Hebrew).
- Did you think that is all God had to say about Melchizadek? Think again! Turn to Hebrews 6:19-7:17 for some amazing insight about this mysterious priest. Who does he resemble? What future Priest will come in the same order as Melchizadek? We will talk much more about this when we get to the study of Hebrews, and all the references to Levi and Aaron will make much more sense after we study Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, so hang in there!
- Genesis 15:1 has a beautiful promise. What does God promise to be for His people? Abram responds by calling God by a new name again: Sovereign LORD ("Adonai" in Hebrew). Then God gives Abram another promise in verses 4-5. Read Abram's response and the resulting blessing for all who respond in faith to God: "Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness." (Gen. 15:6) Now that is the only kind of credit I want!
- God makes a covenant with Abram in Gen. 15 in which they both play a part. What did God tell him to do, and then what did God do?
- In Genesis 15:13-16, God let Abram know what will happen to his descendants in the future. What is this prophecy? At the end of Genesis and the beginning of Exodus, we will read as this comes to pass. Do you know the name of the man God will send as their deliverer? (Ex. 3:6-10)
- In Genesis 16, things get messy. The sin of unbelief is serious to God. What happens in verse 2? Did you notice a hint of frustration with God coming from Sarai? Unfortunately, we can probably all relate with that. Then she decides to take matters into her own hands, helping God out, so that the LORD can keep His promise to them. NOT a wise move. We are still suffering the consequences of her actions today, as the conflict between the descendants of the two sons of Abraham (Ishmael and Isaac) cause much war, slaughter and persecution today (how many soldiers and civilians do you know that have been over in Afghanistan or Iraq, and how many horror stories of persecution have you heard of our fellow Christians in Muslim dominated countries?). Sister--next time you think taking matters into your own hands instead of waiting on God is no big deal, THINK AGAIN! What looks like a great back-up plan could be a huge deception from the Enemy.
- In the midst of this sad story, we see the slave girl Hagar call God by a new name: the God who sees me ("El Roi" in Hebrew) in Gen. 16:13. Dear one, He sees you and is concerned for you, coming to your aid in your time of need. In regards to my comments in question 8, be sure to take note of what the angel of the LORD prophecied about Ishmael in verses 11-12. Not a pretty future.
- Now we get to a beautiful chapter of Scripture--Genesis 17! This time God calls Himself by a new name: God Almighty ("El Shaddai" in Hebrew). I love Abram's response to God's command to "walk before Me and be blameless." What does Abram do? O that we would all fall on our faces before the Almighty God who alone can make us blameless! Then what does God do in verse 5, and why? Names have incredible significance in Biblical times, so always take note of their meaning. In verse 15 we see this again. What does God tell Abraham to call his wife? Not just the name--look at its meaning. What did He just tell him to call her? Princess!!! I love it! Don't you want your husband to call you princess? Me too! Why was she to be called by this name?
- Abram does it again in verse 17, but this time he doesn't just fall on his face at the promise--he laughs! Sarah will laugh, too, when she hears the LORD speak this promise--and then she has the gall to argue with Him about it (this seems like it would have been a funny conversation to watch--Gen. 18:15). Because of their laughter, what was their son's name to be, and what does it mean?
- Now let's take a look at one of the most crucial points in Abraham's life, a covenant between his descendants and God that would mark them forever as God's children. Read Gen. 17:7-14. What beautiful promise did God make to Abraham regarding his descendants at the end of verse 8? What assurance for our children! My heart's greatest desire is that the one true God will be their God forever. Read how this was true for Abraham's descendants in Psalm 48:14.
- What is this covenant God is making between Himself and Abraham, and why? (see vv. 10-11) When a new baby boy is born, when is he to be circumcised? I have to share with you the amazing provision of God in this aspect of His instructions. During our last pregnancy with Joshua, we learned that by the eighth day of life, vitamin K (which gives your blood the ability to clot) has fully come in so that you can be cut and not bleed to death. Do you see why God gave the command to do this sign of the covenant on the eighth day? I love the preciseness of God! (and yes...we had Joshua circumcised on the eighth day because we thought this was such a beautiful work of God--why inject it into his body on the first day when God provides it naturally by the 8th? We didn't know this with Caleb.)
- Who was to be circumcised (vv. 12-13)? What happened to those who weren't, and why (v. 14)? Now this gets exciting after the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, because all of this changes. We'll get to that much later this year, but for now, see a glimpse of what God is truly after in each of His children: Romans 2:25-29 (The Message) This is not just an outward sign, but a spiritual work within our hearts. The "cutting off of flesh" from the body was to symbolize the "cutting off of sin" from our hearts. For those of you who want to discover even more about this beautiful sign that points ahead to what God now does in baptism instead of circumcision, look up the following verses: Deut. 10:16; Deut. 30:6; Jer. 4:4; Rom. 2:29 and Col. 2:11. The intense pain that comes with physical circumcision (I did NOT enjoy watching this aspect of Joshua's procedure, or when they handed Caleb to me screaming after his), is a stark indicator of the pain that comes when God our Healer cuts the flesh from our hearts, removing our sin nature and marking us with His Holy Spirit to help us walk in His ways instead. The Refiner's fire hurts, but as it hurts it brings healing and joy unspeakable. We will see this over and over again in the lives of the people we will study this year. I have surely seen it in my own life as well.
- In contrast to Abraham and his entire household being set apart as God's people, we read about the wickedness of the people of Sodom and how it affects Lot's family. We read in ch. 18 that Abraham is visited by three men. Who are these men? (Gen. 18:20-21; Gen. 19:1) I can't even wrap my mind around how incredible that visit must have been! Abraham is quite the host, too. Then he becomes quite the uncle. What does he do on behalf of his nephew Lot in verses 22-33? Abraham refers to God by a new name: God our Judge ("Shophet" in Hebrew).
- Lot seeks to be a good host to the two angels, just like his uncle. But unlike his uncle Abraham, Lot is not nearly so obedient when they are trying to save his neck in answer to Abraham's prayer. What were the Sodomites trying to do to the angels (you may need to read different translations to get the full meaning of this sin)? What wicked thing did Lot offer to do in order to get them to stop? What do you think his wife, daughters and future sons-in-law thought about his offer to the Sodomites? How do the angels intervene?
- As God is about to destroy Sodom, the angels tell Lot and his family to flee and not look back. What does Lot's wife do? What is the result? Verse 29 tells us why God spared Lot's family. For whose sake does He spare them? Then Lot goes to the hills out of fear (ironically, where he told the angels he did not want to run because he feared what would happen to them). Once again, Lot's poor choice of dwelling places leads to wickedness within his own family, this time by his two daughters. (What do you expect, considering the example their own father had set for them?)
- I encourage you to summarize in a letter to God what you have learned in reading these six chapters. God has likely taught you some beautiful and hard truths through this--much more than just what I have covered. Ask God what He wants to say to you, then sit and listen, writing it down beside your letter to Him. This is the most important thing we could do in response to the study of God's Word. One day you will look back upon what you have written and treasure it with all your heart. No doubt you will treasure it today, too.
Elohim (Creator God)
Jehovah/Yaweh (the LORD; covenant maker/keeper)
El Elyon (God Most High)
Adonai (Sovereign LORD)
El Roi (the God who sees me)
El Shaddai (God Almighty)
Shophet (God our Judge/Ruler)
May I leave you with this thought from our readings today: "Is anything too hard for the LORD?" Gen. 18:14
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