Genesis 12:4-9 Pilgrims

4So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan.

When they came to the land of Canaan, 6Abram traveled through the land to the site of the oak of Moreh at Shechem. And at that time the Canaanites were in the land.

7Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” 

So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

8From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD, and he called on the name of the LORD.

9And Abram journeyed on toward the Negev.

We will see later that Lot would be a “lot” of trouble for Abram.

Concerning the oak tree, “the oak of Moreh at Shechem” also called (the terebinth tree of Moreh) This may have been a holy tree or place.

Abram was a pilgrim and lived in a tent. How many of us are happy with our living conditions? We want something bigger and fancier. We need to remind ourselves that we too are only pilgrims on this earth, that our true home is in heaven.

Abram was obedient and moved when the Lord told him. God rewarded Abram by making the Promise and blessing him everywhere he went.

Abram worshiped the Lord by building alters to the Lord and by calling on His name.

Be content with what God has provided for you, remember you are only a pilgrim.

Blessings, David 

Map of ancient Canaan

Where was the land of Canaan?

Genesis 12:1-3 The Call and the Promise, the blessing and the curse!

The Call of Abram

(Genesis 26:1-5)

1Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you.

2I will make you into a great nation,

and I will bless you;

I will make your name great,

so that you will be a blessing.

3I will bless those who bless you

and curse those who curse you;

and all the families of the earth

will be blessed through you.”

The Call and the Promise, notice how many times God says “I will”.

Notice verse 3, “I will bless those who bless you

and curse those who curse you;”

Why do you think that the United States has been so blessed? We have been one of the few modern nations that has truly been a friend of Israel.

“When the Greeks overran Palestine and desecrated the altar in the Jewish temple, they were soon conquered by Rome. When Rome killed Paul and many others, and destroyed Jerusalem under Titus, Rome soon fell. Spain was reduced to a fifth-rate nation after the Inquisition against the Jews; Poland fell after the pogroms; Hitler’s Germany went down after its orgies of anti-Semitism; Britain lost her empire when she broke her faith with Israel.” (Barnhouse)

“and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

“There, you see, was the missionary character of the seed of Abraham, if they had but recognized it. God did not bless them for themselves alone, but for all nations: ‘In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed’” (Spurgeon).

Do you think God was happy when the United States finally recognized and declared Jerusalem the capital of Israel?

There you have it, the Call and the Promise, the blessing and the curse!

Blessings, David 

Genesis 11:10-32 This is a test!

Genealogy from Shem to Abram

10This is the account of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad. 11And after he had become the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

12When Arphaxad was 35 years old, he became the father of Shelah. 13And after he had become the father of Shelah,d Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.e

14When Shelah was 30 years old, he became the father of Eber. 15And after he had become the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

16When Eber was 34 years old, he became the father of Peleg. 17And after he had become the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

18When Peleg was 30 years old, he became the father of Reu. 19And after he had become the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

20When Reu was 32 years old, he became the father of Serug. 21And after he had become the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

22When Serug was 30 years old, he became the father of Nahor. 23And after he had become the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

24When Nahor was 29 years old, he became the father of Terah. 25And after he had become the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

26When Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 28During his father Terah’s lifetime, Haran died in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans.

29And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. Abram’s wife was named Sarai, and Nahor’s wife was named Milcah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah. 30But Sarai was barren; she had no children.

31And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan. But when they arrived in Haran, they settled there. 32Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.

I almost skipped over this genealogy section as I find them to be boring and most the time I cannot pronounce the names. But if I had, we would have missed the ancestors of Abram. God thought it was important for us to know his ancestors and that He is shortening mankind’s lifespan.

Shem was a son of Noah and was eight generations before Abram. 

Also note Abram’s wife “Sarai was barren”.

This is a test!

Can you list Abram’s ancestors?

Blessings, David 

Genesis 11:1-9 Tower of Babel

The Tower of Babel

(Daniel 1:1-7)

1Now the whole world had one language and a common form of speech. 2And as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.

3And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” So they used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar.

4“Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

5Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men were building. 6And the LORD said, “If they have begun to do this as one people speaking the same language, then nothing they devise will be beyond them. 7Come, let Us go down and confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”

8So the LORD scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth, and they stopped building the city. 9That is why it is called Babel, for there the LORD confused the language of the whole world, and from that place the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

They used tar instead of mortar. Why? To make it waterproof. Could it be they didn’t trust God’s promise never to flood the earth again? 

Did you catch this in verse seven? “7Come, let Us go....”

Plural for the Trinity!

Herodotus an Ancient Greek historian claimed that the Tower of Babel stood in his day and he had seen it. He was born in 483 BC and died in 424 BC.

It’s interesting how a word sticks, babel..... It started with a tower and now is referred as confused speech. 

“and from that place the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.”

When you take the time to study the word of God, He speaks to you and gives you understanding. 

I learned today that the tower was waterproof, Herodotus was an eye witness to the Tower of Babel, the Trinity came down to earth to see the city and the Lord confused their language and scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Blessings, David 

Never Alone. 2 Timothy 1:13-16 NLT

I'm sure you have felt all alone before. Abandoned, forgotten, deserted, uncared for, maybe even betrayed. It can be a dark pit with seemingly no way out. 

Paul knew, he was experiencing that loneliness. Abandoned by those he thought were co-laborers in Christ. 

But Paul also knew he was never truly alone. And neither are you, neither am I. Even when it feels we are abandoned by this world, deserted and forgotten, Christ is always with us. When we are too weak to carry on, He will carry us. When we are too tired to get up, He will lift us. When it feels like all is lost, He will find us right where we are. He will come into the darkness for us and lead us back to the Light, back to Him, back to His love. 

We are never truly alone, never abandoned, never deserted. Jesus promised. 

Deuteronomy 41:6 

So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

2 Timothy 1:13-16 NLT

13 Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me—a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus.  14 Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you. 

15 As you know, everyone from the province of Asia has deserted me—even Phygelus and Hermogenes. 

Blessings, Cecilia 

Genesis 10:21-32 All the clans

The Semites

(1 Chronicles 1:17-27)

21And sons were also born to Shem, the older brother of Japheth; Shem was the forefather of all the sons of Eber.

22The sons of Shem:

Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.

23The sons of Aram:

Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.

24And Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah was the father of Eber.

25And two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg, because in his days the earth was divided, and his brother was named Joktan.

26And Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan. 30Their territory extended from Mesha to Sephar, in the eastern hill country.

31These are the sons of Shem, according to their clans, languages, lands, and nations.

32All these are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their generations and nations. From these the nations of the earth spread out after the flood.

Now you know all the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their generations and nations.

Why do you think God is giving us the linage on Noah?

The coming of Jesus?

Blessings, David 

Genesis 10:6-20 History is important.

The Hamites

(1 Chronicles 1:8-16)

6The sons of Ham:

Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.

7The sons of Cush:

Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca.

And the sons of Raamah:

Sheba and Dedan.

8And Cush was the father of Nimrod, who grew to be a mighty warrior on the earth. 9He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; so it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD.” 10His kingdom began in Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11From that land he went forth into Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, 12and Resen, which is between Nineveh and the great city of Calah.

13And Mizraim was the father of the Ludites, the Anamites, the Lehabites, the Naphtuhites, 14the Pathrusites, the Casluhites, and the Caphtorites (from whom the Philistines came).

15Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites, 16the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, 17the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, 18the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites.

Later the Canaanite clans were scattered 19and the borders of Canaan extended from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

20These are the sons of Ham according to their clans, languages, lands, and nations.

Nimrod, a mighty warrior, mighty hunter and a builder of cities. The sons of Ham are populating the earth quickly and scattering across the lands.

“These are the sons of Ham according to their clans, languages, lands, and nations.”

My clan as far back as I know came from Northern Ireland in the 1720’s. My fourth great grandfather fought in the American Revolution, my second great grandfather fought in the civil war and my father was in WW2.

History is important, that is why God gives it to us in these verses.

Do you know the history of your clan?

Blessings, David