1 Samuel 9-11: Samuel anoints Saul as king. After meeting and eating with Saul (chapter 9), Samuel then anointed him to be the first king of Israel. Samuel gave Saul 3 signs to confirm his anointing, the most unusual of which was that Saul would meet some prophets with musical instruments and Saul would prophesy with them! God changed Saul’s heart (1 Samuel 10:9) with supernatural ability (i.e. whenever the Spirit of God would come upon him) and boldness to lead the people as king but that would not last long. All 12 tribes came together at Mizpah for the official anointing of Saul, but he had hidden himself among the supplies. He wasn’t hard to spot b/c he was a head taller than anyone else. 10:24 Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the man the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” Is Saul a sincere, humble person at this time? Even when “scoundrels” despised Saul as king, Saul kept silent and did not try to kill them like he tried to kill David later. Saul seems like the perfect candidate for what the people wanted as their king. Soon after being anointed, the Spirit of God came on him miraculously and he mustered 3,000 men to go rescue the men of Jabesh-Gilead who had been threatened by the Ammonites with having their right eyes put out. Saul slaughtered the Ammonites. He was that king they wanted to go fight their battles with their enemies. Again, Saul humbly refused to kill those who objected to him being king.
1 Samuel 12: Samuel gave his farewell address. He called on the Lord to send thunder and rain to confirm that Israel had done an evil thing by asking for a king. The people asked Samuel to pray for them. Samuel said, 12:23 As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.” We should never stop praying for people, even evil, rebellious people. I can think of several people right now who it seems have sinned and fallen from grace. They are not repenting or changing their sinful lives in spite of many warnings. It is easy to just quit praying for them, thinking that it is hopeless. But intercessory prayer can still change things.
1 Samuel 13: Saul’s first big sin. Saul was 30 when he became king and reigned 40 years as king. The Philistines had come up against Israel with many more men and chariots than Israel had. The men of Israel “were quaking with fear, hiding in caves, and deserting” Saul’s army of 3,000 down to only 600 men. Samuel had told Saul to wait 7 days for Samuel to come offer a burnt offering to ask God for victory in the battle, but Saul panicked and offered the burnt offering himself. Samuel condemned his action and told him that God was going to remove him as king and choose a man “after God’s own heart”. None of Saul’s 600 men had swords or shields b/c the Philistines had not allowed Israel to have blacksmiths. Things looked desperate.
1 Samuel 14: Victory over the Philistines. In the meantime, Jonathon, Saul’s son, had gone to the Philistine camp to seek a sign that God was going to deliver Israel. God gave him a sign and he and his armor-bearer killed 20 Philistines. God caused a panic to strike the Philistines and they began to scatter in total confusion, killing each other with their swords. The Israelites, however, were faint in hunger b/c Saul had made a foolish oath that no one should eat until he avenged himself of his enemies (his pride showing up). Jonathon did not know about the oath and ate some honey. The hunger of the Israelites caused them to kill and animals with the blood still in them, which was a sin under the Law. Saul asked God why He had not answered his prayer, and Saul assumed that it was b/c of “sin in the camp” (as with the sin of Achan in Judges). Lots were cast and Jonathon was chosen as the guilty party and Saul sentenced him to die for breaking the oath of not eating. The Israelites would not let Saul kill Jonathon. Again, it looked like Saul was just what the people wanted in a king. 14:23 47 After Saul had assumed rule over Israel, he fought against their enemies on every side: Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment on them.48 He fought valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, delivering Israel from the hands of those who had plundered them.” They did not know that God had already rejected Saul for his disobedience in not waiting for Samuel to offer the burnt offering. He was what we would call a “lame duck” king (still officially in office but already fired!). Saul had 2 daughters, Merab and Michal. His father was Kish. His commander of his army was Abner.
Saul is an intriguing character. He had the miraculous power of the Spirit and could have been a successful king. He seemed humble when first anointed, but then his lack of faith in God showed with his first big sin of not waiting for Samuel. God still gave Saul victories over the Philistines, but God said that he would be removed as king. In the rest of 1 Samuel, we will see a very evil Saul. In 2 Samuel 1:9 after Saul’s death in battle, David said “How the mighty have fallen”. Over time, it shifted from a literal mourning of fallen warriors into a general idiom when a major corporation goes bankrupt, a corrupt politician is disgraced, or a dominant sports team suffers a massive losing streak. Or when a Christian is lifted up with pride, quits trusting in God, and falls from grace. In other words, when pride causes a person to fall from a lofty status. Pride would be the cause of the fall of Saul from favor with God. A warning to all of us: Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall (1 Corinthians 10:12).
AI: Hophni and Phinehas took the ark of the covenant into battle with the Philistines and it was captured. It stayed in Philistine territory 7 months. “The Philistines returned the Ark of the Covenant to Israel on a new cart pulled by two nursing cows after suffering plagues and the falling of their idol Dagon. The cows walked straight to the Israelite border town of Beth Shemesh.
Key Scenes in the Biblical Story (AI)
Capture and Dagon’s Fall: The Philistines took the Ark to Ashdod, but their fish-god idol Dagon repeatedly bowed and shattered before it. They moved it to Gath, and then Ashdod, but the Lord sent “tumors” in both cities.
The Plagues: Severe outbreaks of tumors and rats struck Philistine cities, forcing their leaders to consult priests on how to send the Ark back.
The Trespass Offering: They sent golden tumors and golden mice along with the Ark as a guilt offering.
The Journey on the Cart: Placed on a cart with unguided nursing cows, the animals miraculously headed straight for Beth Shemesh without turning away. The 5 Philistine rulers followed, watching the cart return to israel.
Rejoicing at Beth Shemesh: The Israelites rejoiced, harvested wheat, and offered sacrifices when the cart arrived. God killed 70 who looked in the ark.
Taken to Kiriath Jearim: Men from Kiriaath Jearim brought the ark to that city to Abinadab’s house where it stayed 20 years. But David moved it from there to Jerusalem, which would be at least 40 years later since King Saul’s reigned 40 years. So where did the ark stay past the 20 years in 1 Samuel 7:2 until David moved it to Jerusalem? AI: “1 Samuel 7:2 states that “twenty years” passed from the time the Ark arrived in Kiriath-jearim until the house of Israel genuinely turned back to the Lord in repentance under Samuel. It is a marker for how long it took for spiritual awakening to happen, not an expiration date for when the Ark left. The Ark remained at the house of Abinadab in Kiriath-jearim for a much longer period than just the 20 years. It stayed there through the rest of Samuel’s judgeship, the entirety of Saul’s reign (40 years), and into the early years of David’s reign until David finally moved it to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6).
1 Samuel 7: A spiritual revival in Israel. 1 Samuel 2:Then all the people of Israel turned back to the Lord. 3 So Samuel said to all the Israelites, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only.” The Israelites assembled at Mizpah and confessed their sins. The Philistines heard that they were at Mizpah and attacked. 1 Samuel 7:But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites.” The Israelites pursued them, slaughtering them. 1 Samuel 7:12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer (which means “stone of help”), saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” 13 So the Philistines were subdued and they stopped invading Israel’s territory. Throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines.” Samuel went on a circuit from Bethel to Mizpah to Gilgal, judging Israel, but always returned to his home town of Ramah. Estimates are that he judged Israel 20 to 40 years. A great church song: O Thou Fount of Every Blessing has Ebenezer in it. vs 2 “Here I raise my Ebenezer; hither by thy help I’m come; and I hope, by thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home. Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God; he, to rescue me from danger, interposed his precious blood.” I know most of us just sang that song and had no idea what Ebenezer, so know you know!
1 Samuel 8: Israel asks for a king. In his old age, Samuel appointed his 2 sons as judges but they turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice. You would think his sons’ behavior would have really bothered Samuel since he hs experienced the trouble with Eli’s 2 sons. You would think that he would be very reluctant to appoint them as judges, but he did. That was the excuse the people used to ask Samuel to give them a king to be “like all the other nations have to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” God told Samuel that they had not rejected Samuel, but had rejected God as their king. But He would give them a king anyway. Why did God give them a king if He never wanted a king and only wanted to be their king Himself? I think the main reason was to set the stage for King Jesus one thousand years later. Many years earlier Moses told the Israelites that once they would enter, take possession of, and settle in the Promised Land (Canaan), that they would eventually say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us” (Deuteronomy 17:14). Moses then gave strict rules for the kings: Must be chosen by God from among their own people (not a foreigner) (v. 15). Must not accumulate many horses or send people back to Egypt to get them (v. 16). Must not take many wives (v. 17). Must not collect massive amounts of silver and gold (v. 17). Must hand-copy a personal scroll of God’s law (the Torah) and read it every day of his life to stay humble and obedient (vv. 18–20).So this had already been predicted by Moses. Wanting a king was a lack of faith and trust in Yahweh as their king to give them victory over their enemies. Samuel agrees to giving them a king but then gives this warning about the kings they will have. King Solomon pretty much violated all the rules for the kings which led to the split of the united kingdom.
1 Samuel 9: Samuel meets and eats with Samuel, getting ready to anoint him as the first king of Israel. This begins the period of the “United Kingdom”. At first, Saul seems like a wise choice. He was “as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else.” At first he seemed to be humble. When Samuel told him, “And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and your whole family line?” Saul replied “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?” Unfortunately Saul’s true colors would come out as we continue the reading next time.
This might be a little opinionated, but here we go. God set up Israel as His theocracy with Him as the king, but Israel wanted to do it their way. They wanted a king to fight their battles for them instead of trusting God for their victories. God set up the church as house churches with elders to shepherd the sheep and deacons to serve physical needs of the sheep. Yes they had apostles and prophets but those gifts ceased after the first century. They had evangelists who traveled to churches but did not stay to become “located paid preachers”. Paul told the churches to provide for the needs of the traveling evangelists but the 1st century document the Didache said that if they stayed more than 2 or 3 days that they were just preaching for money. That was the simple structure of the churches that Jesus established. But by the 2nd and 3rd century, the church started adding positions of authority. AI has a summary: The Threefold Order: By the mid-to-late second century, the structure unified into a distinct three-tier office: bishops (monarchial overseers), presbyters (priests/elders), and deacons. Rise of the Single Bishop: Influential figures like Ignatius of Antioch advocated for a single bishop per city (monepiscopacy) around 110 AD to maintain unity and guard against emerging heresies like Gnosticism. Apostolic Succession: To validate teaching and authority, writers like Irenaeus and Tertullian emphasized apostolic succession, tracing unbroken lines of bishops back to the original apostles commissioned by Jesus. Centralization of Rome: Over the 2nd and 3rd centuries, the pre-eminence of specific historical sees grew, eventually setting the stage for the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) as a supreme authority in Western Christianity.” Thus evolved the Papacy of the Roman Catholic Church and we all know the corruption and oppression that caused for the next thousand years of Catholicism. The Reformation Movement rejected the papacy but still ended up divided by followers of men like Martin Luther (Lutherans), John Calvin (Refeormed churches), Zwingli, John Knox (Presbyterians), John Huss (Moravians and The Brethren), King Henry VIII (Anglicans), Menno Simmons (Anabaptists, Mennonites, Almish), John Smyth (Baptists) , John and Charles Wesley (Methodists), Charles Parham (Pentecostalism), Joseph Smith (Mormons), Ellen G White (7th Day Adventists), Mary Baker Eddy (Christian Science), Charles Russell (Jehovah’s Witnesses), Alexander Campbell and Barton Stone (Churches of Christ), etc. Each leader and church that evolved from that leader had its own creed instead of just using the Bible. Do you think this is what Jesus wanted his church to look like? Many of these leaders taught basic Christian truths but others were dangerous cults led by cult leaders. The problem is that Christians started following “men who would be kings”. The Bible is fully sufficient for Christians just to gather in house churches and continue in “the apostles’ doctrine fellowship, breaking of bread (including the Lord’s Supper) and prayer” without these leaders and creeds. In addition we now have the LGBTQ advocate churches with well paid men in authority (as kings) leading the flock into error. Even among the conservative churches, the church has evolved into a “business”. They pay a lot of money to find a pastor or preacher who will help their church grow and that man (or woman) becomes the king. They hire many other positions of leadership instead of using elders and deacons to lead in the work of the church. They compete for the best preachers that people will come to hear. They provide the best musicians and singers for church assemblies to compete with the other bands. They spend on average about 80% of the money they collect on buildings and staff. Have we made us a king so we can be like the other churches? Have we forsaken letting God organize the church the way Jesus wanted it in order to make it how we want it? Have we made the same mistake that Israel did in wanting a king? I think we have. What do you think?
Again, a little off the reading schedule since the last article covered all of Ruth 1-4.
Hannah’s vow and the birth of Samuel: AI
“Hannah prayed in deep anguish at the tabernacle in Shiloh, vowing to give her requested son back to God as a Nazirite for life. Eli the high priest blessed her, and she gave birth to Samuel, later bringing him to live and serve at the temple as she promised.
The Distress and the Vow
Barrenness and Mockery: Hannah suffered deep sorrow because she had no children while her husband’s other wife, Peninnah, provoked her yearly.
The Prayer at Shiloh: While weeping in bitterness of soul, Hannah prayed silently to God, moving her lips without a sound. [
Eli’s Misunderstanding: Eli the priest thought she was drunk until she explained her intense grief, after which he told her to go in peace.
The Vow: Hannah promised that if God gave her a son, she would dedicate him to the Lord all his days, with no razor ever touching his head.
Birth and Dedication
Birth of Samuel: God remembered Hannah, and she conceived and bore a son, naming him Samuel, which means “heard of God” or “asked of the Lord”.
Fulfilling the Promise: After weaning him, Hannah brought young Samuel to the tabernacle in Shiloh and left him in Eli’s care to minister before the Lord.
The Aftermath: Hannah visited him every year with a small robe she made, and God blessed her with three more sons and two daughters.
Eli’s wicked sons. AI:
The priest Eli’s wicked sons were HophniandPhinehas, who served as priests at the tabernacle in Shiloh. Described in 1 Samuel as worthless men who did not know the Lord, they abused their priestly office by stealing the best parts of the animal sacrifices and committing sexual immorality with the women serving at the tent entrance.
Sins and Corruption
Greed and Theft: They took raw meat from sacrifices by force before the fat could be burned to God.
Sexual Immorality: They slept with women who served at the entrance of the tabernacle.
Disregard for God: They treated the holy offerings with contempt, causing people to resent worship.
Eli’s Failure: Though Eli rebuked them, he failed to properly restrain or remove them from office, leading God to judge his household.
The call of Samuel. After the Lord calling Samuel 3 times, Eli told Samuel to answer “Speak, for your servant is listening.” The Lord then told Samuel that Eli’s house would be judged. 3: 12 At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. 13 For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them.” Eli had verbally rebuked them but that is all. He should have removed them from office and maybe even carried them to the elders to be stoned to death according to the Law. To Eli’s credit, he humbly accepted his fate. 3:19 The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord. 21 The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.” Of course, the tabernacle was at Shiloh at this time. Samuel would be the prophet who would anoint the first two kings, Saul and David. Peter credits the prophets as beginning with the prophet (and judge) Samuel: Acts 3:24 “Indeed, beginning with Samuel, all the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days.”
Judgment and Death
Prophecy of Doom: A prophet told Eli his family would lose the priesthood and both sons would die on the same day.
Battle at Aphek: Hophni and Phinehas died in battle when the Philistines defeated Israel and captured the Ark of the Covenant.
Eli’s Death: Upon hearing the news that the Ark was captured and his sons were dead, the elderly Eli fell backward from his seat, broke his neck, and died. He was 98 and heavy. He had been a faithful high priest for 40 years but his 2 sons have defiled his legacy.
Who took Eli’s place as high priest? AI:
Priestly Succession After Eli
After Aaron died, the office of High Priest was passed down to his third son Phinehas, Eleazar (his two older sons, Nadab and Abihu, died earlier without children). Eleazar was succeeded by his son Phinehas (not the Phinehas son of Eli but instead the one who stopped the plague in the sin at Peor). Sometime during the period of the Judges—between Phinehas and Eli—the high priesthood moved from the family of Aaron’s son Eleazor to the family of Aaron’s youngest son, Ithamar.
Eli served as high priest and judge from the line of Ithamar. Eli’s 2 sons, Hophni and Phinehas,were killed. Phinehas’ wife was pregnant and died giving birth to Ichabod (meaning “no glory”) after hearing that Phinehas and Eli were dead. Before she died, 4:22 She said, “The Glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”
Ahitub, Eli’s grandson, was next in the genealogical line of descent.
Ahijah served as high priest during the early reign of King Saul.
Ahimelech (Ahijah’s brother or son) succeeded him at Nob and was later killed by Saul.
Abiathar was Ahimelech’s son who escaped Saul’s slaughter, later serving as joint high priest with Zadok before being exiled by King Solomon for supporting a rival claim to the throne..
Zadok (from the line of Eleazar). Solomon replaced Abiathar with Zadok, returning the high priesthood to Eleazar’s lineage.
The high priesthood remained with the descendants of Zadok (who was a direct descendant of Aaron’s son, Eleazar) for roughly 800 years. In total, Zadok’s line held the position for nearly 8 centuries between Zadok’s initial appointment by King Solomon (around 960 BCE) and the deposing of the last legitimate Zadokite High Priest, Onias III, in 171 BCE.”
I loved tracing the high priesthood but you might not have enjoyed that. My mom was an Old Testament scholar and could have told me verbally everything I found on AI without even looking back at her Bible (and there was no AI when she was alive).
So you might want to focus instead on how godly a mother Hannah was. She had Samuel knowing that she would give him up to be raised by Eli to serve at the tabernacle for the rest of his life. Every parent should have children with the intent of raising them to serve the Lord. Maybe not right after they are weaned, as Samuel was, but maybe even starting in their teen years serving the Lord. Mary Jones was 16 years old in 1800 AD when she walked the 26 miles barefoot across rough and rocky terrain to buy her first Welsh Bible that she had worked so hard to save money to buy. Her noble act motivated the founding of the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1804 AD. King Josiah was crowned king at just eight years old. He began seeking the Lord as a youth and initiated massive religious reforms across Israel by the time he was 16 to 26.”
You might also take note of Eli’s lack of discipline of his 2 sons. Spanking and corporal punishment declined as forms of disciplining children from the late 1900’s to today as parents increasingly adopted gentle parenting styles. Critics sometimes mislabel the absence of spanking or yelling as a complete lack of discipline which isn’t necessarily true. Others feel that parents don’t discipline their children enough regardless of their methods of discipline, spanking or no spanking. Adonijah, David’s son who tried to take the throne from Solomon as David was dying, was never told “no” as he was growing up. 1 Kings 1:6 (His father (David) had never rebuked him by asking, “Why do you behave as you do?” Absentee fathers and broken homes contributes greatly to the lack of discipline of children today.
Today’s reading is Ruth 1-3 but let’s go ahead and include all 4 chapters. The story is easy to read and undestand. Here are some of the key points that I see in the story of Ruth.
Naomi’s bitterness. First a famine in Israel where Naomi’s husband Elimelech had to see the family land. They move to Moab for a while, hoping things would get better. It only got worse. In about 10 years Naomi’s husband and 2 sons died, leaving her and her 2 daughters-in-law alone with no support. No wonder when she returned to Bethlehem with Ruth after the famine had eased, the people said “Can this be Naomi”? She probably looked pretty rough. She said, 1:20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, (which means “bitter”) because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.” She is blaming the Lord for her misfortune. Many people become bitter against God b/c of tragedies and illnesses to either them or their loved ones. They blame God. They ask, “Why does God allow suffering, pain, and evil.” Many lose their faith in God. Hopefully the story of Ruth won’t end in bitterness.
2. Ruth’s loyalty. At Naomi’s urging, Orpah, the other daughter-in-law of Naomi left Naomi and returned to live in Moab . We can only wonder what the rest of her life was like. Did she marry again and have a child? Did she end up offering her firstborn to Molech, the god of the Moabites? What caused Ruth to pledge undying loyalty to Naomi? 2:16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” What had she seen in Naomi that caused her to want to follow Naomi’s God, Yahweh, especially since Naomi was blaming Yahweh for her misery? Ruth had to have seen something in the character and faith over the 10 years in Moab that made her want to be so loyal to Naomi in spite of Naomi’s bitterness. Loyalty is a fading virtue in our society today. AI: “Many relationships (including friendships and marriage), jobs, and social ties are treated as temporary contracts that last only as long as they offer mutual convenience or profit. Past disappointments in friendships, families, or workplaces lead people to guard themselves and pull back from deep reliance on others.” Most pledge “till death do us part” when they marry but the divorce rate is over 50%. Life-long friendships are rare. Many friendships are “you scratch my back and I will scratch yours”, or they are social but not very spiritual in nature and don’t last. There is little loyalty to local church families as members are constantly “shopping around” for a new church where they like the preaching or the worship service better instead of sticking with a church to make it better. I know there are times when you need to change churches for various reasons, but there is something to be said for loyalty to churches also.
3. The providence of God. Read chapter 2 again. Poor people could glean in any field that had been harvested, gathering anything leftover from the harvest. Ruth went to glean and just happened to pick the field of Boaz, a close relative to Naomi’s deceased husband. Boaz finds out who she is and showers her with kindness and protection. Was it a coincidence that Ruth picked the field of Boaz to glean? I don’t think so. This is the providence of God, providing for both Ruth and Naomi. 2:11 Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. 12 May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” 13 “May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord,” she said. “You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.” She said, “You have put me “at ease”.” Ruth’s mind had to be stressed out over how she and Naomi could survive on no income. Gleaning would bring in some income, but it certainly would not secure their financial future. She had to be wondering if she would ever marry again and have a child. She had a lot to be stressed out and worry about. But the providence of God, using Boaz, set her mind “at ease”. When Ruth said that, she still did not have the answers to her long term problems and future uncertainty, but at least she had some peace of mind. Do you have a lot of stressors and difficulties you deal with? Is the future uncertain and worrisome? Do you find it difficult to have “inner peace of mind”? God will provide if you trust Him and give your loyalty to Him as Ruth did. Phlippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” You can have peace of mind any time you are willing to completely trust God for all your needs and problems. Even if He does not make the problem go away, He will give you the strength you need to handle the problem.
4. Naomi’s creative problem solving. Even though Naomi was bitter about her own circumstances, her main concern was providing a home for Ruth, which meant marriage to a godly man who could provide for Ruth. Naomi’s solution? Go propose marriage to Boaz! “Go lie at his feet” which was a bold way of saying she was willing to marry Boaz if he would have her. Imagine Boaz as he was “startled” during the night at something at his feet, and it was a woman (not a dog or cat)! 3:9 “Who are you?” he asked (he knew Ruth but it was dark).“I am your servant Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment over me (a sign that Boaz would accept her marriage proposal), since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family.” AI: “a guardian-redeemer (Hebrew: go’el) is a close male blood relative who has the legal duty and right to rescue a needy family member, buy back lost family property, and preserve the family line.” (Times Square Church) How far would this relationship with Boaz have gone without Naomi’s creative problem solving. We need creative problem solvers today. Many marriages are on the brink. Churches are faced with critical issues of how to spend the Lord’s money. Christian small business owners are faced with critical decisions. Mission works are trying to determine how to get the gospel out to the lost. Maybe you are facing difficult decisions. Ask God to give you some creative solutions, to help you think “outside the box”. Ladies, if you aren’t married yet, find a godly man that you want to spend the rest of your life with and go propose to him!!!!!!!! Don’t crawl into his bed at night, but propose to him.
5. Closing the deal. Boaz still had to go through the legal procedures of offering the kinsman redeemer privilege to someone closer relative than he was, but fortunately, that person turned it down. Boaz helped induce that rejection by reminding him that he would have to take Ruth as a wife as well as redeeming the land, which was pretty savvy. So Boaz closed the deal and married Ruth. 4:14 The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.” The woman who was so bitter against God would have a grandson to love in her old age and a son-in-law to take care of Ruth (and Naomi’s financial needs). Family. That’s what it’s all about. Boaz and Ruth have a son, Obed. who would be the father or Jesse, who would be the father of King David! Jesus would come from the descendants of David. Ruth, the Moabite, would be in the seed line of Jesus (Matthew 1:5). Boaz closed the deal on the marriage but God closed the deal on getting Ruth and her descendants in the seed line of Jesus.
There is something in the story of Ruth for everyone reading it. Most importantly, it tells us how a foreigner, howbeit a godly foreigner, came to be in the seed line of Jesus. What if we had seen her name in Matthew 1:5 and not known anything about her. What great lessons we would have missed.
I hope you have enjoyed looking at these points on Ruth. Those points are about as creative as I can get!
Cheating a little bit here. We finished the story of Samson in the Oct 9 blog and Judges 13-16, so we won’t go over chapter 15 and 16 again. Chapter 17-21 is usually called the “Apendix” to Judges so instead of stopping at chapter 20 and leaving 21 for the next blog, let’s go ahead and cover all of chapters 17-21. There’s a lot so here is a good AI summary:
The final chapters of the Book of Judges (Judges 17-21) serve as a dark epilogue that illustrates Israel’s spiritual, moral, and social rock-bottom. (Cornerstone Chapel; Bible Project)
The core theme of these chapters is summarized by the repeating verse: “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit” (Judges 17:6, 21:25). Rather than following God’s laws, society completely unraveled. (2BeLikeChrist; Cornerstone Chapel)
Key Events in Judges 17–21
Micah’s Idolatry (Chapters 17–18):
A man named Micah (from Ephraim) steals silver from his mother, then confesses out of fear of her curse.
His mother dedicates the silver to God, but uses a portion of it to fashion a carved idol.
Micah sets up a private shrine and hires a traveling Levite from Bethlehem to act as his personal priest.
The tribe of Dan, looking for more territory, raids Micah’s house, steals his idols, and convinces the Levite priest to join them as they violently conquer the peaceful city of Laish. (Escalate Church; Cornerstone Chapel; Lifespring Media; Steve Webb; GraceBiblemy.org)
The Levite and His Concubine (Chapter 19):
A Levite’s concubine is brutally abused and gang-raped to death by wicked men in Gibeah, a town belonging to the tribe of Benjamin.
In deep horror and outrage, the Levite cuts her dead body into twelve pieces and sends a piece to each of the twelve tribes of Israel as a call to action. (Theology of Work; Twenty Eight Eighteen; GraceBiblemy.org; Growing Godly Generations)
Civil War Against Benjamin (Chapters 20–21):
The rest of the tribes of Israel unite at Mizpah and demand that Benjamin hand over the guilty men of Gibeah.
Benjamin refuses, leading to a brutal civil war. Israel nearly annihilates the entire tribe of Benjamin, leaving only 600 surviving men.
Overcome with grief that an entire tribe of Israel might disappear, the other tribes scramble to find wives for the remaining Benjaminites. They do this by slaughtering the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead (who didn’t join the war) to spare virgin women, and later orchestrating the kidnapping of dancing maidens during a festival in Shiloh. (Twenty Eight Eighteen; GraceBiblemy.org; Growing Godly Generations)
Main Takeaway
These chapters demonstrate how quickly a society degrades when it abandons God as the moral compass. Religious rituals, selfish motives, and personal justifications replace absolute truth, turning God’s chosen people into a mirror image of the lawless culture around them. (Cornerstone Chapel; Theology of Work; 2BeLikeChrist)
My comments on Judges 17-21.
Breakdown of the home. A man stealing from his mother and then the mother uses the returned money to make an idol. Sounds like a total breakdown of morals in the home. Have we had a similar breakdown in our homes?
Breakdown of religion. Priests for hire: Micah first hired the Levite as priest and then the Danites made him a better offer and they hired that priest. Has the once reliable located preacher and priest profession become paying men and women who no longer teach the basic truths of the word of God?
Breakdown of society. The entire nation basically ends up in civil war punishing the Benjamites who wouldn’t turn over the men of Gibeah who killed the Levites concubine. Has our country become very polarized, liberal vs conservative, Republican vs Democrat that we are fighing among ourselves, even leading to attempted murders?
I hope that our country can have another grassroots revival. AI: “Grassroots spiritual revivals in United States history have repeatedly reshaped the nation’s cultural, social, and religious landscape from the ground up. These movements typically emerged during periods of perceived moral or spiritual decline, driven by ordinary believers rather than institutional hierarchy. (Vladimir Slavcuk Ministries). 1) The First Great Awakening (1734–1743) led by Jonathon Edwards and George Whitefield. Emphasized personal conviction, emotional connection with God, and spiritual egalitarianism over rigid church membership. 2) The Second Great Awakening (1800–1840) led by Barton W. Stone, James McGready, and Charles Finney. Massive outdoor camp meetings (such as the 1801 gathering at Cane Ridge, Kentucky) that drew tens of thousands of people in shared, emotional worship. Resulted in hundreds of thousands of converts. 3) The Businessmen’s Revival (1857–1858) led by Jeremiah Lanphier. Started as a simple noon-hour prayer meeting for businessmen in downtown New York City. Spread rapidly via word-of-mouth and telegraph across urban centers, adding an estimated 1 million members to churches nationwide without centralized crusades. 4) The Azusa Street Revival (1906) led by William J. Seymour. Daily, multiracial prayer meetings in Los Angeles characterized by expressive worship and supernatural experiences and tongue speaking. 5) College Students and The Jesus Movement (Late 1960s–1970s). Led by Billy Graham, youth leaders and counterculture converts connected through groups like Young Life and Campus Crusade. Reached the 1960s hippie and counterculture youth demographic by merging informal folk-rock music and casual attire with evangelical faith. Led to hundreds of thousands of student conversions, created contemporary Christian music, and permanently altered the aesthetic of American evangelicalism.
Pray with me for our nation. Notice that the 5 revivals above occurred about 50 years aprt. So we were due a national revival around 2, 000 AD and I thought 9/11 might be the catalyst for that. There was a brief revival, but it didn’t last long and it didn’t change some of the sins of our culture. Greed, sexual immorality, promotion of LGBTQ, churches leaving the basic truth of God’s word, divorce, adultery, fornication, drunkenness, and violence dominated our culture and country. Pray for a real revival. It begins with belief that the Bible is the Word of God and is the authority for us today. It begins with accepting what God calls sin.
I close with Solomon’s comment in 1 Chronicles 7:14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Pray that our country will do that before it’s too late.
JUGES 10-12: Judge #6 Tola judged 23 years. Judge #7 Jair judged 22 years and is known for having 30 sons who rode 30 donkeys and controlled 30 cities in Gilead. Almost 3 chapters are devoted to Judge #8 Jephthah. An AI summary might help b/c it is a little confusing: “Jephthah was the son of Gilead and a prostitute. His half-brothers drove him away from his homeland to keep him from taking any family inheritance. Jephthah fled to the land of Tob and gathered a group of rough followers. Later, when the Ammonites launched a war against Israel, the elders of Gilead panicked and begged Jephthah to return and lead their army. Jephthah agreed to lead them on the condition that he would become the permanent ruler over the region of Gilead if he won. Jephthah sent messengers to the king of Ammon to ask why he was attacking. The king claimed Israel had stolen his ancestors’ land after leaving Egypt. Jephthah replied with historical accuracy. He pointed out that Israel had lived on the land for 300 years and that God had given them the territory after defeating the Amorites. The king ignored his message and prepared for battle. Empowered by the Spirit of the Lord, Jephthah marched out to fight. Before the battle, he made a foolish vow to God: if God gave him victory, he would sacrifice as a burnt offering whatever came out of his house first to meet him when he returned home safely. Israel won a major victory. However, when Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, his only child—his daughter—came out to meet him with music and dancing. Overcome with grief, Jephthah tore his clothes. His daughter bravely agreed that he must keep his word to the Lord, asking only for two months to mourn her virginity in the mountains. After the two months, the text states he carried out his vow (though some scholars interpret the outcome as a lifetime of dedicated virginity/seclusion rather than physical sacrifice). God never endorsed human sacrifice, and the story serves as a dark warning about impulsive promises. The men of Ephraim grew angry that Jephthah did not call them to help in the initial battle, so they threatened him and his house. A civil war broke out, and Gilead defeated Ephraim. The Gileadites guarded the Jordan River crossings, making fleeing Ephraimites say the word “shibboleth”. Because the Ephraimites pronounced it “sibboleth,” 42,000 of them were identified and killed. Jephthah judged Israel for six years before he died and was buried in Gilead.”
I hope that helped. I’m not sure what the life lesson is on Jephthah. Maybe you had a rough flight on a plane and told God “God, if you get me safely on the ground I’ll never fly again!” (LOL) Maybe you made a rash vow at some time in your life and now you have to keep it. Here’s a real story. A severe bolt of lightning struck close to Martin Luther as he was walking, knocking him to the ground. Fearing for his life, he cried out to his family’s patron saint, saying, “Help me, St. Anne, and I will become a monk”. Luther survived the storm, kept his solemn promise, and entered the Augustinian Monastery in Erfurt just two weeks later. His father, Hans Luther, was furious because he had invested heavily in Martin’s legal education to become a lawyer. Luther later became an ordained priest after entering the monastic life, celebrating his first mass in 1507, but the immediate vow made during the storm was specifically to become a monk.” The rest is history as he sent on to lead the Protestant Reformation. Did God send that bolt of lightning? Then there is John Newton. While sailing home to England, a ferocious North Atlantic storm battered the ship, washing crew members overboard and threatening to sink the vessel. Exhausted from pumping water and steering the ship, Newton cried out, “If this will not do, the Lord have mercy upon us!”—surprising himself with a sudden, desperate plea for divine mercy after years of mocking his mother’s Christian faith. He survived the storm and began reading the New Testament, viewing his deliverance as a sign of God’s grace. He commemorated the anniversary of the storm for the rest of his life with prayer and fasting. His conversion was a gradual awakening rather than an instant moral perfection. Newton continued working in the slave trade for several years after the storm, eventually becoming a slave ship captain before suffering a stroke that ended his seafaring career.” The slave trader became an evangelist and later an abolitionist (thought strangely not right after the incident). Did God send that storm? Maybe there is some parallel between those two stories and the story of Jephthah.
Judge #9 Ibzan judged 7 years and had 30 sons and 30 daughters. Judge #10 Elon judged 10 years. Judge #11 Abdon judged 8 years and had 40 sons and 30 grandsons who rode on 70 donkeys.
Judges 13-16: Judge #13 Samson judged 20 years and is the most “colorful” judge. His life is filled with several exploits with Philistine women even though he took the Nazarite vow and never cut his hair. There were probably more, but Judges records 3 specific instances where he got in trouble with his women.
According to the Book of Judges, Samson’s narrative features three distinct relationships, all involving Philistine women:
The woman from Timnah: Samson’s first major romance. He demanded to marry this unnamed Philistine woman against his parents’ wishes, and Samson told his riddle at the marriage feast. The marriage ended in tragedy and betrayal before it was fully realized with his fiancee being given to another man and later she and her father were burned to death by Philistines.
The prostitute in Gaza: The biblical text notes that Samson went to Gaza, saw a prostitute, and spent part of the night with her before carrying the doors of the city gates to the top of a hill and escaping his enemies.
Delilah: Samson fell in love with Delilah, who lived in the Valley of Sorek. While tradition often associates her closely with his downfall, the biblical text itself recounts that the Philistine lords bribed her to discover the secret of his strength, though it does not explicitly state they were married or even sleeping together.”
It is amazing that God can use morally weak men like Samson to punish His enemies. On one occasion when he allowed the Israelites to bind him and turn him over to the Philistine, he killed 1,000 Philistines withe the jawbone of a donkey. “The ends doesn’t justify the means” but Samson’s attraction to Philistine women certainly put him in a position to kill many Philistines, especially at his death when the pulled the pillars of the Philistine temple of Dagon down, killing more at that occasion that he had killed during his life. But it brings up a lot of questions. Why was Samson so drawn to Philistine women like his 1st woman that he wanted to marry? 14:3 His father and mother replied, “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.” 4 (His parents did not know that this was from the Lord, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel.) His parents even went with Samson to Timnah to meet the woman. Samson was choosing a wife based on her looks apparently. If you are not married yet, look deeper than the physical attraction into the heart of the person you are considering marrying. Was Samson one of those people who tend to do the opposite of what their parents tell them to do? Some form of rebellion against parents? Samson still kept his faith in Yahweh even though he was surrounded by Philistines who worshipped Dagon, but his life was miserable b/c of his constant association with them. Paul gave a warning against idolatry in 2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:“I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God,and they will be my people.” 17 Therefore,“Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” We live in a culture that is filled with worshipping the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone” (Daniel 5:4). It is filled with sexual immorality, drinking parties, greed, and lustful living. We must be careful that the influence of our culture does not rub off on us. Despite his flaws, the Hebrew writer puts Samson in the same hall of faith group as David and Samuel: Hebrews 11:32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets …” Does that surprise you? Would you have put him in the hall of faith with David? Of course, look at the sins David committed. He is not flawless even though he was a man after God’s own heart. So there is hope for those of us who have serious moral flaws. God’s grace can save terrible sinners and help dysfunctional families.
BTW Samson committed suicide as he pulled down those pillars in the temple. But he still made it into the hall of faith. AI: “For centuries, Canon Law denied traditional Catholic funeral rites and burial in consecrated church cemeteries to those who died by suicide, The ban on Catholic funerals for suicide victims was lifted in the late 20th century. Today, the Church offers full funeral masses and burial rites.” Do you know of someone who committed suicide or who has a family member who committed suicide? I do. I have seen a father grieve over a son who committed suicide for no obvioius reasons since he was a church going active Christian. There are drug addicts who seemed to have the habit beat only to possibly overdose on purpose. Depression takes its toll on suicide victims. I know that the Father would look at such cases the same as an earthly father would give the benefit of the doubt to one of his own children who committed suicide. I certainly don’t believe it is the unpardonable sin. We leave all that to God the loving Father.
That goes further than chapter 14, but it’s better to tell the whole story of Samson in one reading. We will focus on Judges 17-21 in the next reading and blog.
Genesis 21: The Birth of Isaac. Abraham is 100; Sarah is 90. After 25 years of Abraham planting his seed in his barren wife, Isaac, the child of promise, is finally born. Sarah laughs, but this time in joy instead of disbelief when the 3 men tell Abraham that he will have a child within a year (Genesis 18). Hebrews 11 commends her faith: 11:11 By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.” But trouble is brewing. Already there was tension between Hagar and Sarah. After Hagar got pregnant by Abraham (it was Sarah’s idea) when Abraham was 85, Hagar despised Sarah. Did Hagar despise Sarah b/c Sarah made her have a child by Abraham that could technically be claimed by Sarah as was the custom back then? Or was Hagar just lifted up with pride sensing that her child would not be the fulfillment of the promises to Abraham? She appears to keep full custody of Ishmael after he is born. So Sarah mistreated Hagar and the pregnant Hagar fled into the wilderness but God told her to go back and serve Sarah, which she did. So Hagar has Ishmael when Abraham is 86. But now in chapter 21 several years after Isaac is born, the tension peaks as Sarah sees Ishmael mocking her son Isaac. She demands that Hagar and Ishmael be driven away, and sadly Abraham sends them away to wander in the wilderness. They ran out of water and Hagar doesn’t want to watch her child die but the angel of God shows her a well of water and tells her that her son will make a great nation (the Arabs). Ishmael grows up in the wilderness of Paran. Here is the Islamic tradition: AI: “When their meager rations of dates and water were completely exhausted, the infant Ismail began to suffer from severe dehydration. In an agonizing search for water, caravans, or any sign of life, Hajar ran back and forth between two nearby hills—Safa and Marwa—a total of seven times. In response to her faith and perseverance, God sent the Angel Jibril (Gabriel). The angel struck the ground (in some accounts, the baby Ismail kicked the sand), causing a miraculous spring of fresh water to gush forth. This source became the holy Zamzam Well, which saved their lives and ultimately laid the foundation for the city of Mecca. Today, the two small hills are housed entirely within the massive complex of the Grand Mosque (Masjid al-Haram) at Mecca where Muslims make their mandatory once in a lifetime hadj to Mecca. Millions of pilgrims retrace Hajar’s desperate path. Pilgrims walk a total distance of approximately 2.76 kilometers (1.7 miles), completing seven one-way trips between the hills.While pilgrims generally walk the route, there is a specific section marked by green lights where men are encouraged to break into a brisk run or jog, mirroring Hagar’s frantic rush through the lowest point of the valley where she briefly lost sight of her baby. After completing Sa’i re-enactment, it is customary for pilgrims to drink deeply from the Zamzam water system, fulfilling the legacy of the miracle that saved the mother and child.” This has to be a very important event for Muslims since Ishmael was about to die and Muhammed is thought to be a descendant of Ishmael. Did God know that when he rescued Ishmael from the point of death and made a great nation from him (the Arabs) that it would he Ishmael’s descendants who would hate and kill his chosen people, the descendants of Isaac (the Jews), and even kill Christians in jhads. After all, they believe that Jesus was a prophet, but only a prophet and not the Son of God. Of course, Arabs and Jews can both find spiritual peace in Jesus Christ in the church if they choose to. Some might question why God allows Israel to do some of the things they do, so the only solution is for Jews and Arabs to both come to faith in Jesus
After the incident in Genesis 20 when Abraham lied to Abimelech in Gerar, Abimelech is leery of what the God of Abraham might do, so he asked Abraham to swear that he will never hurt him, which Abraham does. After some tension over a well, they enter a formal treaty at Beersheba.
Genesis 22. The Testing Of Abraham. We come to one of the most important chapters in the Old Testament. God “tested” Abraham by telling him to offer his son Isaac (most think he was 20 or so years old). Of course, the Muslims say that it was Ishmael, not Isaac, that was to be offered. The Hebrew word for “tested” is nasah: To test, to try, to prove, to tempt. James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. The Greek word for “tempted” there is peirazó: To test, to tempt, to try, to examine. But Deuteronomy 8:2: God leads Israel through the wilderness for forty years to humble them and test what is in their hearts. So God does test people. He might even allow Satan to do the testing as in the case of Job. But if a test causes a person to have lusts that cause them to fail the test, it is not God to blame b/c he tested them. They only fail the test b/c of their own inner lusts. God will even put a limit to their failures if we seek an escape. Scripture assures believers that God does not allow people to be tested beyond what they have the strength to handle, and He always provides a way to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13). I will never forget an incident when I was a principal. A high school boy was brought to my office b/c he was throwing rocks on the elementary playground (not at children, just throwing small pebbles) even after an elementary teacher told him to quit throwing. As I prepared to give him 3 “licks” with a very big wooden paddle, his excuse was: “If the teacher had not told me to quit throwing rocks, I wouldn’t have been in trouble for throwing rocks!” In other words, it was the teacher to blame for him getting in trouble! That’s James 1! Some blame God when they fail a test and sin.
Back to the test itself. Abraham had “unquestioning obedience” to God. He didn’t even question God as to why He could command a human sacrifice. Or why, after 25+ years of waiting to have the son of promise, He now tells Abraham to kill him. He gets up “early the next morning” When they arrived at the mount, 22:5 Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” “We”, i.e. Isaac and Abraham. Why would he say “we” when he was about to kill Isaac? The explanation is found in Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; 18 it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac your descendants shall be called.” 19 [o]He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.” He was thinking, “The only possible answer to my questions is if I kill Isaac and God raises him from the dead!” What imaginative faith! What possibility thinking! What trust in God! What was the “type” in Hebrews 11:19? 1) The ram taking Isaac’s place made it a figurative resurrection since Abraham had been fully willing to offer Isaac. 2) The ram taking Isaac’s place was a type of Jesus taking our place on the cross so that we won’t die forever but have eternal life. I can’t imagine what Isaac is thinking during this whole incident. Was he looking up at Abraham as he drew back the knife or did Abraham blindfold him? Abraham bound his on top of the wood, so he had to know what looked like was about to happen.
Why did God say “Now I know that you fear God”? Did God not know that Abraham was willing to offer Isaac even before he told him to? Does God’s omniscience not require that God already knew that? Maybe God’s omniscience does not require that God know everything about everyone in the future. Maybe his omniscience means that he can choose to know the future only when He so desires or needs to (which is called Open Theism). In open theism, he might not know the free will choices people will make unless he so chooses, but he can choose to know what their choices will be. He chose to know if Judas would betray Jesus and chose Judas to be an apostle knowing that he would betray Jesus. He did not know if Abraham would offer Isaac and thus it really was a true test of his faith. But I can’t imagine how it would have affected God’s plans if Abraham had not been willing to offer Isaac. After offering the ram, Abraham named the place “Yahweh Jireh”, Yahweh God will provide. The name is only mentioned once in the Bible. This incident is a type of God providing a substitute, Jesus, so that physical death will not be forever for us. We can live forever b/c Jesus took the punishment for our sins on the cross. The angel told Abraham, 22:18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” This is the verse quoted by Paul in Galatians 3:16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ.” The inspiration of Scripture is so complete that this argument hinged on the singular or plural of “seed” in Genesis 22:18. James comments on the offering of Isaac: James 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6),” and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.” James quotes Genesis 15:6 where Abraham was “saved” by imputed righteousness, but says that Abraham’s faith was “perfected” (teleioó: To complete) when he offered Isaac. James had already said in his letter that trials can make our faith more “complete” (perfect): James 1:2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” Abraham was “justified” (declared free of guilt spiritually by God) by his works, but not “on the basis of” his works. Salvation is 100% by the grace of God even when we do “works” of obedience to God.
Genesis 22 closes with more of the genealogy of Terah, which will come into play in chapter 24.
Genesis 23: The death and burial of Sarah. Sarah died at 127 years old. Abraham had to by a piece of land from Ephron, a Canaanite. He buried Sarah in the cave of Machpelah on the land he bought. This cave will be the burial site for many of the patriarchs and their wives. Sarah had been roaming all over Canaan since she and Abraham arrived there when she was 65, so roaming for 62 years! She never had a permanent home in Canaan, constantly moving to find pasture and water and to avoid conflicts with the Canaanites. Peter commends the humble, submissive attitude of Sarah: 1 Peter 3:5 For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands; 6 just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord.” Abraham made the major decisions. He said, “Let’s leave Ur and go to this unknown land”, and she obeyed. He said, “We need to go to Egypt” and she obeyed although it nearly cost her dearly. She just humbly obeyed Abraham. A lot of modern women don’t like it when we quote Paul saying that wives should be in submission to their husbands, but Peter certainly agrees with that in 1 Peter 3:1-5. I can relate to that. I am blessed with such an humble, submissive wife. Sure I discussed major decisions with her, but I made the final decisions to leave my engineering job and our parents and house we just bought in B’ham to go to Louisiana to a school of preaching, then to move to Trinidad to do mission work, then to take a low paying job as a principal in Christian education in B’ham, then to move to Vernon, and then to move to Huntsville where we have been for 32 years now. I counted in one decade in the 70’s where we moved 11 times from foreign countries to apartments, back and forth. My wife never complained or questioned our moves. She would have been perfectly happy to have stayed in B’ham near her parents but followed wherever I thought God was leading us to serve. My wife sacrificed a lot of the things she could have had if we had settled in one place with more money, but God blessed her in the long run with 3 godly children that she did most of the raising while I was out saving the world or doing Christian education. Now as she has gotten older, she has at least had 18 years in a nice house with 10 grandchildren and close family ties with her 3 grown children. She would refute this, but I think she comes pretty close to the woman in Proverbs 31 (although Solomon says you can’t find such a woman!). I praise her as called for in 31:28 Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying: 29 “Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all.”
Genesis 24: A Wife For Isaac. Most scholars think this servant sent to find a wife for Isaac was Eliezer of Damascus (Genesis 15) so we will assume that it was for this blog. Look back at the genealogy of Terah above to see where Rebekah fits in as she was a first cousin once removed. The story is simple to read, but the bigger story in this chapter might be Eliezer. Notice the humility and faith of this man. He swore an oath to not take a bride for Isaac from Ur but only from Haran, and then traveled the 400 miles from Canaan to Haran. 24:12 He said, “O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today, and show lovingkindness to my master Abraham. He trusts God for a sign to show him the right bride (the girl who offered to water his camels). He is constantly trying to see how God is answering his prayer as Rebekah wateed his camels: 24: 21 Meanwhile, the man was gazing at her in silence, to know whether the Lord had made his journey successful or not. He did not know at first that she was a relative of Abraham, but when she told him that she was the granddaughter of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, 24:26 Then the man bowed low and worshiped the Lord. 27 He said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His lovingkindness and His truth toward my master; as for me, the Lord has guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brothers.” In Laban’s house (Rebekah’s brother) he would not eat until he told why Abraham had sent him. Both Laban and Bethuel (Rebekah’s father) agreed “The matter comes from the Lord” and agreed to let Rebekah marry Isaac. After a short delay, Eliezer brought Rebekah back to Canaan and she married Isaac. Isaac loved her and was comforted after his mother’s death (Sarah). I find it amazing that Genesis 24 is the longest chapter in Genesis. Of course, uninspired humans divided the Old Testament into chapters, so I’m not saying that is a “God thing” but I do find it interesting.
Life Lesson: I wish I had the faith of this relatively unknown character in the Bible. He is humble, he trusts God completely for success, he is focused on his task and will not even eat till he accomplishes it, he is prayerful, he is constantly seeking God’s guidance in what he is doing, he worships God when he has success, he is looking out for the interests of others (Abraham and Isaac), he believes that God can provide spiritual mates for his children, etc. We should be like Eliezer every day, every moment of every day. When you start out on a day’s jobs or tasks or travels, do you start first with prayer for success. When things happen, do you look for God’s leading or just assume it is circumstantial happenings? Do you praise God every time something good happens? Are you willing to go to great lengths to help others? Do you know of an “Eliezer” that has these qualities?
Genesis 25Death Of Abraham and Birth Of Jacob And Esau. Abraham was 137 when Sarah died. He died at 175, so he lived 38 years after Sarah died and took a 2nd wife, Keturah during those 38 years and had 6 sons by her. We don’t know where Keturah was from. Abraham sent her sons off to the east so they wouldn’t interrupt God’s plans for Isaac. They became Arabian tribes. Abraham died at 175, “in a ripe old age, an old man and satisfied with life.” Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah where Sarah was buried. I find it interesting that he died “satisfied with life”. He could have easily been very unsatisfied with life. God had called him to an unknown land 1,000 miles away, and he only found out that he personally would never own any of the land except for the cave he bought to bury Sarah in. He was constantly moving around, being harassed by the Canaanites, dealing with the Philistines and Abimelech. He watched as Sodom went up in smoke. We don’t know if he ever saw Lot again after the destruction of Sodom. He had to take his 318 men and rescue Lot. He tries to plant his seed in a barren woman for 25 years after they enter Canaan (maybe many years before that). He has to send Hagar and Ishmael to wander in the wilderness, thinking they might die there, but he truly loved Ishmael. He almost killed Isaac if God had not stopped him. But Hebrews 11 says it best: 11: 9 By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; 10 for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” 11:13 All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. 15 And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.” AI says it well: “Abraham died satisfied because his contentment came from his relationship with God and seeing God’s promises unfold, rather than from having an easy life or possessing the land completely. Abraham looked past his immediate hardships and lived with a long-term, eternal perspective. His deepest sense of fulfillment came from walking closely with God, who guided him step-by-step through every trial. Even though he lived as a nomad and did not own the entire promised land, he lived to see Isaac grow and his family begin to multiply, fulfilling God’s promise to make him the father of many nations.” He was looking for a city whose builder was God. I’m not sure what they means but it had to be an eternal spiritual place after death! Enjoy the song “Looking for a city”, Gaither style.
Genesis 25 has the 7th “these are the generations of” with “these are the records of the generations of Ishmael” in 25:12. Ishmael lived 137 years and settled in “defiance of all his relatives”, i.e the descendants of Abraham and Isaac.
Then we come to the 8th “generations of” with “these are the records of the generations of Isaac” (25:19-35:29).
Genesis 25 closes with the birth of Isaac and Rebekah’s 2 sons, Jacob and Esau. Isaac was 40 when he married Rebekah and 60 when the twins were born. Twins but totally different looking, with totally different personalities. Esau was a hunter, the favorite child of Isaac and Jacob, the favorite of Rebekah, “lived in tents”. God told Rebekah that the older would serve the younger, and that proved to be true as Esau was the firstborn but Jacob was the one through whom the promises to Abraham would be fulfilled. A little lengthy but we need to look at Romans 9:6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7 nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “through Isaac your descendants will be named.” 8 That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as [g]descendants. 9 For this is the word of promise: “At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; 11 for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, 12 it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 Just as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” I highlighted the reason God chose the older to serve the younger. He wanted to make it known that His plans are ultimately not based on our works or goodness but b/c of His power. Sure, he perhaps looked into the minds and hearts of the twins when they would grow up and decided that Esau would not appreciate his birthright so Jacob would be the better choice to fulfill the promises to Abraham. But Jacob had so many flaws, was he really a better choice than Esau? Ultimately, he was the better choice to carry on the seed line of Jesus despite his flaws. Paul then quotes Malachi 1:2-3 “Jacob I loved but Esau I hated”. Perhaps the “hated Esau” refers to the dislike God came to have of the descendants of Esau who persecuted Isaac’s descendants down through the centuries. Esau proved to be unworthy of the chosen line of Jesus b/c he sold his birthright for a bowl of stew. He “despised his birthright” (24:34). Jacob ended up in Egypt in old age, trusting God to fulfill the promises He had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He made sure his bones would be buried in Canaan, not Egypt.
Well that accomplishes my purpose of catching up to where I first started the readings on Aug 31 with Genesis 26-30. I hope you have had time to read all these chapters and the blogs that go with them. And then keep up with the current daily readings.
Genesis 16: El Roi. The Lord God (Yahweh) Who Sees Me. When Sarai drove Hagar from her presence into the wilderness, the angel of the Lord appeared and assured her that her son by Abraham (which was Sarai’s idea) would be blessed with many descendants. She was surprised that she was still alive after seeing God as the angel of the Lord was perhaps the pre-incarnate Jesus and thus God. She called the angel, “You are a God who sees”. She realized that He noticed her deep pain and isolation. She also named the nearby well Beer-lahai-roi, meaning “well of the Living One who sees me”. Life Lesson: AI: “This name highlights that God sees the outcasts, the vulnerable, and the forgotten. To be “seen” by God means He fully understands personal suffering, distress, and individual circumstances with compassion. It reassures believers that no hidden place or lonely situation escapes God’s notice.” This name is only used once in the Old Testament. Do you ever wonder if God is watching you suffer, when you are depressed, when you are in trouble, when you are afraid, when you are discouraged? A good parent is always watching his/her children. He/she sees them when they are having difficulties and goes to help. It doesn’t always seem that the Lord is watching us like that when we have difficulties. But he is. He might not bail us out immediately, but He will always give us the strength we need to handle the difficulties. The next time you face such, just say the name “El Roi” and remember the lesson from Hagar. Hagar had her child Ishmael when Abraham was 86. Ishmael would become the father of the Arabs and of course, the Muslims. AI: “Muslims view Ishmael in Islam as a major prophet, a righteous man of deep faith, and the ancestral patriarch of northern Arab peoples. Unlike the biblical narrative, Islamic tradition teaches that Abraham was commanded to sacrifice Ishmael, not Isaac, in Genesis 22. According to Ishmael | Meaning, Facts, & Significance, Ishmael and Abraham together built and purified the Kaaba in Mecca as a house for the worship of the one true God. Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad is a direct descendant of Ishmael.”
Genesis 17: When Abraham was 99 (Sarah was 89) God renewed his promise with Abraham to multiply his descendants and give them the promised land. He changes Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s name to Sarah. He then gives the covenant of circumcision for all male descendants when 8 days old. Also Abraham and all his servants were circumcised at that time. God then tells Abraham that he will a son by Sarah in one year’s time. Abraham’s response is a little surprising: Genesis 17: 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!” This sounds contradicotry to what Paul said in Romans 4:18 In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” 19 Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; 20 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.” It sure looks in Genesis 17 like he “wavered”, doesn’t it? He seems perfectly content to just have Ishmael as his descendant that would be multiplied. I saw this on AI: “Abraham’s laughter in Genesis 17:17 is best understood as an expression of awe, wonder, and stunned amazement rather than cynical disbelief, which resolves the tension with Paul’s description in Romans 4.” I’m sorry but I can’t buy that. He questioned in hs heart silently, “how can a child be born to a man 100 years old and a woman 90 years old”? He told God that he wanted his descendants to come through Ishmael. God had to tell him “No”, your descendants to fulfill the promises will be through Isaac not Ishmael. That sounds like wavering and doubt. My conclusion to this dilemma is that he did have a moment of doubt and wavering, but then obeyed God and went right back into Sarah to have sex with her and bear that promised child by her. A moment of wavering does not mean that he wavered throug the whole process. It took faith to go have sex at age 100 with a 90 year od woman, fully expecting God to give you a child in one year.
Life Lesson: Have you ever had one of those doubting, wavering moments, when you questioned God on how things would turn out? When you doubted that God was going to do some good thing in your life? When it looked “hopeless, hope against hope” in your difficulties or prospects, did you waver briefly but then come out of that moment with renewed hope in the promises of God? The next time your faith wavers a little think about Abraham and how it all turned out for the good like God promised.
Genesis 18: The 3 men visit Abraham. The story is easy to understand so just a few points that maybe you didn’t notice in your reading. 3 men come to Abraham. 19:1 identifies 2 of them as angels just taking the form of men temporarily. The 3rd men is more than an angel. After the 3 men tell Abraham that he will have a son in one year, 2 of the men head to Sodom and the 3rd man remains, talking with Abraham as Abraham finally asks God to save Sodom if 10 righteous souls could be found (which God agreed to do). Abraham addresses this main figure, the 3rd “man” as Adonai (Lord), and the text interchanges the dialogue directly between Abraham and Yahweh. It is what is called a “theophany” (a physical, visible manifestation of God (Yahweh) taking on human form). Maybe even the pre-incarnate Jesus, the Word, as he delivers the word about the birth of Isaac. Sarah laughs as she is snooping at the tent but denies it! It is encouraging to hear Abraham talk directly and boldlyto the Lord with his requests. Isn’t this what prayer should be, talking directly, humbly, boldly to God, making our requests made known to him? You might even can changed what God had planned to do. As evil as Sodom was, God was going to spare Sodom if 10 righteous souls could be found in the city b/c of the constant, bold intercession of Abraham. God even rescued Lot and his family of 4 even though 10 souls could not be found. Life Lesson: Who knows what disasters or bad things could be avoided for people or what good things could be given to people through your intercession. 1 Timothy 2:1 – “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people”. James 5:16 – “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” Ephesians 6:18 – “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
Genesis 19: The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. You probably know the sordid story. Lot takes the 2 angels into his house (they still lookd like men so did he know they were angels) and the men of Sodom want Lot to bring them out so they can have sex with them! The most surprising part of this story is when Lot offers his 2 virgin daughters to the men to have sex with them instead of with the 2 angels. What laws of hospitality could even remotely suggest doing this? What kind of a man had Lot become that he would do that? 2 Peter 2 comments on Lot’s frustration with the evil in Sodom: 2:6 and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; 7 and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men 8 (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds).” If Lor was tormented day by day by the sins in the city, why didn’t he take his family and leave. His wife was probably from Sodom. His 2 daughters were engaged to 2 of the man of Sodom (at least were either straight or bisexual), but the 2 future sons-in-laws thought he was joking about the upcoming destruction of the city. Lot “hesitated” leaving the city so the 1 angels/men take Lot and his family “by the hand” to pull them out of the city and tell them not to look back. I’m sure you know that Lot’s wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt, the falling, fiery briimstone with which God rained destruction on the city. Lot and his 2 daughters are given permission to flee to Zoar while Sodom was being destroyed. Later they fear for their safety in Zoar and flee to a cave in the mountains where his 2 daughters, thinking they are the last 2 women on earth, get Lot drunk and have sex with him to get pregnant. Moabites and Ammonites come from that incestuous relationship. A sad ending as Abraham looks down on the smoke from Sodom. I wonder if he knew at that time that Lot and his 2 daughters had been spared? We are not told what happened to Lot after that. His 2 daughters’ children obviously survived and formed the nations of Moab and Ammon, but we don’t know about Lot. Luke 17 tells us: 29 but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and [s]brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.” and then adds “Remember Lot’s wife” which would serve as a warning to those fleeing the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
Life Lesson: Lot lost everything when he moved to Sodom for financial gain. He lost his self respect. He lost the respect of the men of Sodom and his future sons-in-laws. He lost any friends he might have had in Sodom. He lost his wife who turned into a pillar of salt. I wonder if he ever went back to look at that pillar. He lost his daughters to their incest. He lost his companionship with his uncle Abraham. He lost his peace of min as he was tormented day by day with the sins of Sodom. He lost his home and all his possessions that were burned up in Sodom. He was still called “righteous” in 2 Peter 2 so we don’t think he lost his spiritual relationship with Yahweh. We can only hope that he was not drawn into idol worship in Sodom. He lost everything and it started with one simply decision: which land to choose. Choose the one that promises more financial gain but is close to Sodom or choose some land in Canaan away from Sodom. Life is about choices. A friend of mind preached a simple lesson to our high school seniors telling them the 3 main choices in life were 1) To follow God and Jesus. 2) Who you marry. Nothing is guaranteed in marriage even if you marry a Christian, but your odds are better if you do. 3) Your career and all the implications of the career you choose. Perhaps you have already made some bad choices and are reaping what you sowed. Perhaps you have some choices still to make. Make them wisely. Ask God to give you wisdom in your choices and ask the Spirit to guide you.
Chapter 20. Surely Abraham learned from his mistake in Egypt, right? Nope. He goes to Gerar in Philistine territory and tells the same lie, that Sarah is his siter, to keep Abimelech from killing Abraham and taking Sarah to be his wife. Here is where he tells that Sarah is his half sister, which still was a lie to deceive Abimelech. Here we learn that Abraham had told his wife to lie wherever they went telling that Abraham was her brother. Again, Abimelech, not Abraham, is punished even though he innocently took Sarah in the “integrity of his heart”. The women in Abimelech’s household had been made barren b/c of this incident, but after he restored Sarah to Abraham the women were healed. I don’t understand this, but perhaps this is just God’s way of showing that Abraham was a prophet of the one true God (20:7) even if he makes mistakes. Have you ever committed the same sins over and over. Have you ever thought, “I wonder if God gets tired of me confessing the same sins. Maybe he is frustrated with me that I don’t learn from my mistakes.”
Genesis 11. The first part of Genesis 11 (the Tower of Babel event in verses 1–9) occurs chronologically before a lot of the final dispersion of nations described in Genesis 10. A key clue confirming this is 10:25 Two sons were born to Eber; the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan.” That tells us that aat least some of the genealogies of chapter 10 occurred after the tower of Babel when the earth was divided. Let’s track Shem’s descendants. Shem’s descendants from the flood up to Peleg and Babel are given from 10:21-25 and then 10:21-25 are the descendants of Peleg’s brother Joktan’s 13 sons (not Peleg’s descendants) from the tower of Babel to some time after Babel. Some suggest that 11:1-9 then tells why the earth was divided in the days of Peleg since 10:25 mentioned that. But notice in 11:10 “these are the records of the generations of Shem”. That is the 5th “these are the generations of ” in the outline we used in Genesis 1. So 11:10-17 gives the descendants of Shem from the flood to Peleg and the tower of Babel (covering about 100 years from the flood). Then in 11:18-26 give the descendants of Peleg from Babel to Terah the father of Abraham, Nahor, and Haran. I know that sounds confusing but that has to be the way it breaks down. Check it out and you will see.
Genesis 11:1-9 The tower of Babel. This was probably about 100 years after the flood and the descendaants of Ham, Shem, and Japheth during that 100 years are still together instead of spreading out like God told them to. Imagine the mass confusion when God “confused” their languages. Sociologists have a lot of theories about how languages evolved over hundreds of thousands of years, but the Bible says they came about instantly at Babel. Perhaps God even miraculously changed some of their genetic code and that is where different “races” came from even though technically there is just one race, the human race who all came from Adam. Paul said in Acts 17:26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth.” Different colors of people and different languages would certainly scatter the people over the earth as God commanded. Here is the map of what it looked like some time after Babel:
Genesis 11:10-26 gives the 5th “generations of ” with the generations of Shem.
Genesis 11:27-25:11 gives the 6th “generations of” with the generations of Terah the father of Abraham, Nahor, and Haran.Terah took Abram, Sara, Lot. Nahor apprently stayed behind in Ur but later relocated to Haran since he is living in Haran in Gensis 24. Lot’s wife is not mentioned as traveling to Haran with Terah, so we assume that he married her after he went to live in Sodom. Terah died in Haaran.
Here is the genealogy of Terah that will be a big part of the rest of Genesis.
Genesis 12:1-3 is the call Abraham received while in Haran. But he was first called while in Ur according to Stephen in Acts 7:2 And he said, “Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Leave your country and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’ 4 Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living.” We don’t know how long Abraham lived in Haran but he was 75 when he received his 2nd call while in Haran. God promised 3 things to Abraham: 1) A great nation would descend from him, fulfilled in Israel becoming God’s chosen nation at Mt Sinai. . 2) The Promised Land of Canaan. Joshua 21:43-45 says that, after the conquest of Canaan, Israel got all the land God had promised the. 3) In Abraham’s seed all nations, Jew and Gentile, would be b blessed. Galatians 3:16 says that “seed promise” was fulfilled in Jesus. This 3-fold promise to Abraham is the hub of all Old Testament history.
There are more verses devoted to the faith of Abraham in the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11 than any other person. They begin with his call: Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.” I assume this refers to his calling in Ur. We know that Terah worshipped foreign gods. Joshua 24:2: The Hebrew Bible explicitly states that Terah and his ancestors lived beyond the Euphrates River and “served other gods”. Some Jewish legends even have Terah making and selling idols and a young Abraham smashing some of those idols (as in the Turner movie “Abraham”). We don’t know if Terah ever came to have faith in Yahweh. We don’t know how God spoke to Abraham or whether God did any miracles to show Abraham that He was the one true God. But imagine leaving your home and relatives and traveling 1,000 miles to a land you have never even seen just on faith. No visits back to home in Ur even though he could have done so.
Life Lesson: In 1974 my wife and I left Birmingham, Al to travel 2,200 miles to do mission work in Trinidad, West Indies, but we knew where we were going and had monthly support to supply our needs. We had funds to come back to visit our parents in B’ham once every year. Back then, everyone could come to the airline gate to see us off and we had a big crowd as we boarded the plane, including our parents. But I do remember as we sat down in our seats on the plane having a panic attack, thinking “I can’t believe we are doing this! My dad would always bail me out of jams and my mom always sheltered me. No more of that, we were on our own.” After a 10 hour flight, it was a joy to have all the missionaries meet us at the airport and carry us to a missionary’s house for a little welcome party. Abraham did not get anything like that. I had faith to leave our relatives and go to Trinidad b/c I felt that God was calling us to do so, just like God called Abraham, but I had so many guarantees for our 3 years there that it really required very little faith. We could have hopped on a plane and been back in B’ham in half a day at any threat of danger. Abraham lived 75 years in Canaan, constantly surrounded by threats from the Canaanites. What about you? Have you ever felt a strong call from God to make a drastic change in your life, your career, your living location, your business decisions, your separation from relatives that maybe are holding you back? Are you completely ready to leave everything and go where God calls you? I know 2 young people who felt that call after graduating from college to go to Asia to preach the gospel in predominately Buddhist and Muslim countries. They are both married with 2 children each, leaving their parents in the US and carrying those precious children overseas to a distant land. What faith! Don’t be afraid to ask God to call you to do great things for him. William Carey felt the call to leave England in 1792 AD to go preach the gospel to the hundreds of Hindu, unconverted souls in India. He had a famous motto: “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” I hope God will call you to do great things for Him. BTW that doesn’t have to be in a foreign country. He might be calling ou to adopt an orphan locally. That takes great faith. He might call you to take care of widows in your church. He might call you to feed the poor in your area. Be ready to respond.
Here is a great map of Abraham’s journey giving distances:
Stage 1 on the map is from Ur to Haran. Stage 2 is from Haran to Canaan. He left Haran at age 75. When he came to Shechem, he built an altar to God and continued on to the Negev (locate on the map). Stage 3 on the map is from Canaan to Egypt during a famine where he lied to Pharoah, telling him that Sarai was his sister to keep from being killed by Pharoah who wanted to take Sarai as a wife. It’s hard to believe that the man with enough faith to leave everything and go to a land 1,000 miles away would not have enough faith that God would protect him from Pharoah, but Abraham failed this test. Stage 4 on the map is from Egypt back to Canaan. I wonder what Sarai thought of Abraham lying that she was his sister? She had to be afraid as Pharoah took her into his harem, only saved by God sending plagues on Pharoah. How did she feel knowing that her husband was willing to let Phroah take Sarai, have sex with her, and make her his wife? How did it feel knowing she was married to a coward? I bet it was a silent journey on the way back to Canaan. Did Abraham ever apologize to Sarai for this incident? Did his conscience bother him? Why is it that Pharoah gets punished for this deception and not Abraham? Technically Sarah was actually Abraham’s half-sister through their father, Terah, not their mother (Genesis 20:12) but this is still a lie, a cowardly deception. My mother called it an “Abrahamic lie” when she wanted to stretch the truth a little! We all laughed at that.
Life Lesson: We all have our moments of great faith and we all have our moments of weak faith. I know what my weak spots are. I know what I can handle with faith and what I have panic attacks over due to a lack of faith. I think back to some of my moments of weak faith and how I responded and am embarrassed by them. I almost had a nervous breakdown over an incident where I was afraid of being sued and was sleeping about an hour only each night for a month worrying. A friend carried me to a lawyer who assured me everything would be fine and I slept good that night for the first time in a month. I could have found that same relief from my worries a month earlier if I had more faith. What about you? Have you ever had your “Abraham in Egypt” panic attack where you resort to human tactics b/c of your lack of faith? Are you in the middle of one of those moments right now? Trust God and things will be just fine!
Genesis 13 and 14 tell about Abraham’s split with Lot b/c their herds were too big to stay together and it was causing conflict among their herdsmen. Abraham could have chosen the best land and sent Lot off looking for land, but he gave Lot the first choice of land. Lot chose land near the sinful city of Sodom and that was the beginning of Lot’s troubles. The land near Sodom was well watered (like the garden of Eden) and no doubt Lot could increase his wealth near a big city like Sodom. He probably found and married his wife there. Her faith in Yahweh is questionable since she didn’t obey the angels to not look back when leaving Sodom. While living in Sodom, 5 Canaanite kings attacked Sodom and carried Lot captive. Abraham and 318 of his men travelled 170 miles to Dan to rescue Lot. After the rescue, Lot had one last chance to get out of Sodom but he returned to live in Sodom. It only goes downhill after that as we will see in Genesis 18-19.
Genesis 14: On Abraham’s return from rescuing Lot, he was met by Melchizadek, king of Salem and high priest of the God Most High (El Elyon) who blessed Abraham and then Abraham gave the king a tenth. There is no info on Melchizadek. We don’t know how God appointed him to serve in pagan, Canaanite, Salem (later the cite of Jerusalem). Did he work to convert the pagans in Salem to Yahweh? Did he have any success? How long had he been in Salem? It will be fascinating one day to let him tell us about what all he did in Salem! What we do know from the writer of Hebrews (and from Psalm 110) that Jesus was high priest after the order of Melchizadek and not Levi (Hebrews 7). The writer tells us that Melchizadek was superior to Abraham b/c he blessed Abraham and the greater always blesses the lesser. He then used a math axiom: if a>b and b>c, then a>c. I’m sure you all remember that axiom from you math classes in middle school (LOL). If Melchizadek (a) > Abraham (b) > Levi (c) (Abraham would be greater than his descendant Levi), then Mechizadek (a) > Levi (c) and Jesus is high priest after a greater priestly order than Levi. The priesthood of Levi was done away with and replaced by the high priesthood of Jesus. Jesus’ priesthood was superior in that he was not a sinner and did not die (forever) like the Levitical priests. What a strange character Melchizadek was to base such a critical New Covenant doctrine on.
Genesis 15: Abraham questions God’s promise to give him descendants to make up a great nation. Abraham would be 85 now, having spent 10 years trying to have a child with his 75 year old barren wife Sarai. He was getting frustrated and began to have doubts about God’s promises. Then comes a great moment in Abraham’s faith. God shows him the stars and promises Abraham that his descendants would be countless like the stars. It says, Genesis 15:6 Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” The apostle Paul used this verse to say that Abraham was justified by faith and not works. Romans 4:2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” So was Abraham not saved when he left Ur by faith? He could not have obeyed God’s call to leave his homeland without a prior, saving trust in God. But doesn’t Genesis 15:6 sound like that was the moment his faith saved him? AI: Genesis 15:6 is generally understood not as the exact moment Abraham was first saved, but as an explicit, landmark confirmation and record of the faith he already possessed.” His faith was “reckoned to him as righteousness”. Paul comments on that also: Romans 4:4 Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. 5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,” The Hebrew word for “reckoned” in Genesis 15:6 is chashab: To think, plan, reckon, account, consider, devise, esteem. The Greek word for “reckoned” is logizomai: To reckon, to consider, to account, to think, to impute. Both carry the idea of something that is credited or put into your spiritual “account” that you can’t possibly have on your own. AI: “The phrase “all our righteousness is as filthy rags” comes from Isaiah 64:6, meaning that human moral efforts and good deeds cannot earn salvation or match God’s absolute holiness.” God puts His own righteousness in our account to save us. We are given righteousness that is not our own, that is imputed to us. Picture this. You owe millions of dollars but you don’t have money in your bank account to pay your debt. Someone comes in to the bank, and puts millions of dollars in your account to pay off your debt. That’s what God did for Abraham. That’s what Jesus did for us! 1 Corinthians 1:30 But by His (God’s) doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 31 so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Imputed righteousness is a free gift by grace through faith. It can’t be earned. Do you have that righteousness?
God then gives Abraham a confirmation of the land promise but also reveals a few things that He had not yet told Abraham.He tells him the full extent of the borders of the promised land. He also tells him that he will never personally own the promised land, but that it would be given to his descendants, and only after 400 years of slavery in a foreign land. Would Israel actually be in slavery in Egypt for 400 years? AI: “Based on generational timelines and the age of Moses (who was 80 at the Exodus and born after the oppression began), estimates for the actual period of hard bondage and enslavement range roughly between 80 and 144 years, even though the broader family lived or sojourned in the region for much longer.” There was no slavery until after Joseph died and they came out in the 4th generation (Isaac/Jacob/Levi/Amram) and that can’t be a full 400 years. AI: “This 400 year span encompasses a combined period of living in Canaan and actual servitude in Egypt, leading up to the 430-year total span mentioned in Exodus 12:40 (which counts from the initial unconditional covenant made with Abraham in Genesis 15).” Was Abraham disappointed to only learn after 10 years in Canaan then he personally would never own the land? He did buy a cave to bury Sarah, but that was it. Again, the writer of Hebrews. Did he think, “God, why didn’t you tell me this before I left Ur. I might have reconsidered leaving Ur if I knew I would never actually own the land.” I don’t think so. Hebrews 11″9 By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; 10 for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” I don’t know what he envisioned as “the city whose builder is God”. Was it eternal life with God in some heavenly city?
God then confirms his promise with a strange but apparently common method of confirming covenants back then. Genesis 15:9 So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; 17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.” The smoking oven and torch is God’s passing between the pieces. I’m not sure why God used those two things to represent Himself. Apparently only God passed between the pieces and not Abraham.
Wow! Some great stuff from Genesis 11-15. Hope this helped understand those chapters.
Genesis 6 brings us to the 3rd “generations”: 6:9 the records of the generations of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God. Noah 10 Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”
First issue to be discussed:Who were the “sons of God” and who were the “daughters of men” that they married. The Book of Enoch said that the sons of God were angels who came down, married earthly women and bore a race of giants, the Nephilim. Here’s AI about the book of Enoch:
The Book of Enoch states that a group of 200 angels called “Watchers” lusted after human women, descended to Earth, and took them as wives. This illicit sexual union defiled the women, introduced forbidden magic, and produced a race of violent giant offspring known as the Nephilim.
The Descent of the Watchers Two hundred angels swore an oath on Mount Hermon to leave heaven and find human wives. Led by figures like Semiaza and Azazel, they coupled with the women and defiled themselves.
Corruption and Forbidden Knowledge The angels taught women charms, sorcery, making weapons coosmetics. This spread immense wickedness and lawlessness across the earth.
The Offspring (The Nephilim) The women gave birth to giants 300 cubits tall (450 feet). These giants consumed the food of mankind and eventually turned on humans and animals to devour them and drink their blood.
Divine Judgment God condemned the rebellious angels, having them bound and imprisoned in the depths of the earth until the final judgment. He also sent a great flood to cleanse the earth of the destruction caused by the giants.
Not in Standard Bibles: The text is not part of the standard Hebrew Bible or mainstream Christian Old/New Testaments.It was not written by Enoch who did not die but was carried to heaven. It was probably written between 3rd century BC and 1st century AD. The fact that the book of Enoch says that the women gave birth to giants 450 feet tall makes it pretty unbelievable and mythological.
Ethiopian Canon: It is accepted as canonical scripture only within the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Church.
Historical Influence: Early Jewish and Christian writers read the book widely, and the New Testament book of Jude directly quotes a line from 1 Enoch. Fragments of it were also discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Could angels come down to earth and have sex with earthly women? Jesus said in Matthew 22:30 that angels do not marry but it doesn’t say they could not marry. I guess anything is possible but I think that the “sons of God” were the descendants of the line of Seth who worshipped the one true God. Genesis 4:26 To Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord.” They began to marry the ungodly descendants of Cain which led to widespread moral decay. That produced a race of giants (Nephilim), a race of “men of renown”, or at least a race of powerful tyrannical rulers.The 10 spies reported seeing Nephilim. Numbers 13:33 There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” So it does seem that the Nephilim were giants like Goliath. If the sons of God were the descendants of Seth and not angels, why would their marriage to the daughter descendants of Cain produce giants? That might make us lean toward the sons of God being angels but I just don’t believe angels came down and had sex with women. Also these sons of God married the daughters of men. That implies that they were on earth long enough to establish marriages instead of just one-time sexual relations and then head back to heaven. So, I can’t explain how the descendants of Seth marrying the daughters of men created a race of giants. It is interesting that “Gotquestions.org”, which is usually pretty conservative, says that the sons of God were fallen angels! It comments: “Early Jewish interpreters and apocryphal and pseudepigraphal writings are unanimous in holding the view that fallen angels are the sons of God mentioned in Genesis 6.” Of course, he is including the book of Enoch in that comment which is not accepted as authentic by most Christian scholars.
That brings up another question that bothers me. Did the flood wipe out all the giants on the earth? It seems for certain that the flood wiped out all the Nephilim (whoever they were) on thee land wiped out by the flood. But then after the flood there are still giants like Goliath (and his brothers) and the Nephilim that the spies saw in Canaan. Where did they come from if giants over the entire earth were wiped out by the flood? Apparently there were giants on places like Easter Island who created and moved statues weighing 12-14 tons and 13 feet tall (some much heavier and taller). Hod did giants come to live on Easter Island. There were only 8 people surviving the flood (Noah, his wife, his 3 sons and their wives). How could giants come from one of those 8 people? Some have suggested that one of Noah’s daughter in laws had the genes to produce giants but that is pure speculation. There is another theory that might sound like heresy but here it is! Is it possible that Noah’s flood only wiped out the people in the Mesopotamian valley of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and not all people all over the earth? But didn’t God say that He was going to blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land? Yes, He did, but that language might not be strictly speaking of all mankind on all the continents of the earth. AI discusses this possibility:
Yes, biblical scholars and linguists argue that phrases like “all the earth” and “all the people” in Noah’s flood can be interpreted as a local or regional flood rather than a planet-wide cataclysm.
Arguments for Local Language
Hebrew Word Meanings: The Hebrew word erets translated as “earth” or “land,” frequently refers to a specific local territory, country, or region (like the “land” of Egypt) rather than the physical globe.
Universal Idioms (Hyperbole): Biblical writers often use universal terms like kol (“all” or “whole”) as hyperbole or naked-eye observation to mean “all within the writer’s known horizon or experience”. For instance, Exodus 9:25 says “all the trees of the field were broken” by hail in Egypt, yet Pharaoh’s crops elsewhere survived. Or the gospel would be preached to the whole world by 70 AD (Matthew 24:14), which it was according to Paul (Colossians 1:23) the “gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven,” The apostles did preach the gospel to the whole Roman Empire, but not to every person on earth as the language might imply.
Contextual Clues: Scholars pointing to a regional event note that Genesis 8:5 mentions mountaintops becoming visible while the surrounding “earth” remained flooded, which fits a regional Mesopotamian basin view better than a globe-spanning ocean.
Arguments Against Local Language
Repetition and Emphasis: Traditional interpreters argue that Genesis repeatedly uses comprehensive modifiers—such as “all the high mountains under the whole heaven”—to deliberately rule out a mere local event. But counter: does that language necessitate all the mountains over the whole earth?
The Logic of the Ark: Critics of the local theory ask why God would command Noah to spend decades building a massive ark and gathering regional/flying animals instead of simply telling him to migrate to a safe region. But counter: the flood could have been local but large enough to kill animals and people in the Mesopotamian Valley and requiring that Noah build such a large ark. If animals had to come from all over the earth, then that is possible but difficult to see animals coming from all the continents of earth coming even if pangea is still the case when the flood came.
New Testament and Covenant: Passages like the rainbow promise or Jesus and Peter’s comparisons treat the event as a total, universal judgment, which opponents argue is undermined by recurring local floods. But counter: The judgement Peter predicted in 2 Peter 3: 7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men” is actually only predicting the judgment on the Jews in 70 AD and a spiritual new heavens and earth (not literal) that was fulfilled in the new Messianic system. Peter’s language also sounds like he is predicting universal destruction of the heavens and earth but he is only referring to a local judgment. So when he refers to the Noah destruction of the heavens and earth and ungodly men, he could also be referring to a local Noah flood. Counter on the rainbow point: The rainbow is indeed seen all across the earth and it is a promise not to ever do a flood as extensive (even if it was just a local flood) Mlike the Noah flood (even though there have been many local floods) but that doesn’t necessarily mean the Noah flood was universal.
Where does Pangea come into all this? Pangea was a giant supercontinent that joined all of Earth’s landmasses together into one single land piece. That does appear to be true when you look at a map of how the continents could seem to fit together. Genesis 1 suggests that the land on earth was one piece: Genesis 1:9 Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10 God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good.” If Pangea is true, then when did the continents separate? Old earth advocates say they separated one inch at a time over 100’s of millions of years, but I am a young earth (a 6,000 year old earth: see the blog article on Genesis 1-5) so I can’t accept that. I think the continents separated at the flood. The flood could have been local but large enough to separate them b/c it says the all the fountains of the great deep burst open (Genesis 7:11) so that could have produced the shift in the tectonic plates that would separate the continents. That would explain why scientists found identical plant and animal fossils on continents that are now separated by wide oceans.and matching rock layers and mountain ranges appear across different sides of the Atlantic Ocean. That would also explain how animals and people (if the flood was a local flood killing only the people in the Mesopotamian Valley) came to be on all the continents. If it was a local flood, there were still people and animals on the continents as they quickly were separated and you would have people and animals in all the continents not destroyed by the flood. Universal flood advocates say that after the flood, people and animals migrated to the separated continents by drifting across on rafts or land bridges across temporary shallow seas, but I find that hard to believe. Noah’s flood was around 2350 BC. The tower of Babel was about 100 years after the flood when those surviving the flood and their descendants were not separated across the earth. Even a very conservative estimate is that early Mayan civilizations were present around 2,000 BC. Think about all the people and animals just in South America coming about by drifting on rafts across the ocean within a few hundred years after the Noah flood. I find that implausible. It makes more sense to me that the people and animals living when the continents separated were simpy carried to their new continent locations and continued to thrive and reproduce. After all, it appears that God was angry with a specific group of the descendants of Seth and descendants of Cain and not angry with people in South America (or other distant locations) So why would God destroy all the people in Pangea with a flood? BTW if the Noah flood was local but extensive, and if the fountains of the deep opened up causing the continents to separate, that would have produced massive flooding over the continents as they separated. That might explain how young earth advocates find signs of floods all over the earth. But there could be flooding all over the earth at the time of Noah’s local flood without destroying all men and animals on all the earth. That could also explain why there are so many flood myths of different cultures. There are about 300 flood myths all over the earth (like the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh which dates to around 2,000 BD). Many of them have details similar to Noah’s local flood. If continents separated at Noah’s flood, then people on all the continents would have some knowledge perhaps of the Noah local flood and then added their own myths and gods to the Noah flood story. Likewise with the people at the tower of Babel who separated across Europe, Asia, and Africa after the tower of Babel. Those people certainly knew about Noah’s flood but were rebellious and God confused their languages which caused them to migrate to Europe, Asia, and Africa. They simply added their own myths and gods to the original Noah flood story. Why do we believe that the Noah flood story is not just a myth like the other 300 flood stories? Many Bible believers would simply say, “B/c Moses in Genesis said it happened.” But I point to the fact that Jesus said that it happened. Matthew 24:37 For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Jesus was the Son of God and we can trust what he says. He was also with the Father all through the Old Testament history, so He was actually watching the flood as it happened. The Holy Spirit inspired apostle Peter also said the Noah flood really happened. BTW Jesus is predicting his coming in judgment on the Jews in 70 AD which was only a local judgment and not a judgment of all the people on all the continents. 1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.” 2 Peter 2:5 and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly.”
But what about the dinosaraurs? Were there dinosaurs on the ark? Scientists tell us that dinosarus died out 60 million years ago and modern man only appeared 300,000 years ago. But the Bible says that God created both man and land animals on day 6, so according to the Bible dinosaurs and man co-existed and lived the same time. There is plenty of evidence of that. Many drawings made by ancient peoples that clearly show dinosaurs that they saw. There are many legends about dinosaurs over the past 2,000 years that appear to be factua firsthand sightings of dinosaurs. So yes there were dinosaurs on the ark. The book of Job (Job 40) even mentions 2 dinosaurs, Behemoth and Leviathon, that God created. So what happened to the dinosaurs? Scientists say a comet somehow wiped out all the dinosaurs but not all the other animals but that is wild speculation. They just became extinct like 2,500 other species of animals have become extinct over the past 2,000 years.
Most of the Genesis 6-10 account of the flood is easy to understand so I won’t review it all. A few points. Critics refute that all the animals could not fit on the ark, but the ark was massive (as the Ark Museum in Kentucky shows) and had the space of 550 railway box cars. Plus Noah only took “kinds” of each animal, so they could indeed all fit on the ark. They were on the ark about one year. God allowed man to eat meat after the flood (before the flood they only ate vegetables). Capital punishment was demanded by God for murder. He makes no distinction between premeditated murder and manslaughter like Moses did in the Law later. The rainbow is indeed a beautiful reminder that the flood did occur (whether universal or local). After they got off the ark, Noah planted a vineyard, got durnk, and got naked! Ham saw his father’s nakedness and told the brothers, but did nothing to remove the embarrassment of this incident. Shem and Japheth covered Noah’s nakedness. Strange story. What actually did Ham do that was so wrong? Did he mock his father and gossip about it to his brothers? Is there something more perverse to what he did as some suggest? It just seems that he “saw and told” and was guilty of disrespect. But what about Noah getting drunk? The man who saved the world got drunk and set a terrible example for his family. Some suggest that he was unfamiliar with the effects of alcohol, but shouldn’t he have realized the effects after drinking a few sips? Some suggest that he was suffering from post tramatic stress from years of building the ark and spending a year on the ark with all those animals! I guess we could understand that if that was the case! Also weird is that Noah didn’t accept any blame for getting drunk and naked. Instead he cursed, not Ham, but Ham’s son Canaan to be a servant to the descendants of Shem and Japheth. A lot of weird stories in the Bible!
Noah lived 350 years after the flood for a total of 950 years. He was 500 when he had his 3 sons and about 600 when the flood began. I close with a few slides that might interest you.
I know that’s a lot and I left a lot unanswered questions and gave some speculation. I hope it didn’t cause more confusion than necessary. Keep reading. Catching up on Genesis.
