LESSONS FROM ABRAM

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.

As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you."

When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman. And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels. But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai.

So Pharaoh summoned Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!"

Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

Genesis 12:10-20

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Abram had everything going for him.

God had told him to take his family and his possessions and go where He directed and Abram obeyed, heading to the land of Canaan. In return, God promised to bless Abram and make him into a great nation.

What could be better than what Abram had?

He had God with him and for him, providing what he, Sarai, Lot, and the traveling entourage with him needed. And yet, as we see in today’s passage, Abram faltered. Look again at these words as we continue to study from Genesis, chapter 12:

Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.

As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you."

When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman. And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels. But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai.

So Pharaoh summoned Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!"

Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had. Vv.10-20

We never know what God will use to move us so we’ll be where He wants us to be so to do what He wants us to do. In the case of Abram and his group, we read where it was a severe famine that had struck Canaan, a famine that caused a shift to Egypt as a matter of survival.

This cultural shift began to play with Abram’s worries as he feared that Sarai would become an object of attraction for the Egyptian men and this might lead to him being killed. We know this through his own words:

As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you."

Here’s where things went off the rails for this man of faith. Because instead of consulting God as to what he should do in the possible coming circumstances, Abram leaned on his own understanding instead and developed a plan that involved mistruth. Worse yet, he convinced his wife to participate in the lie.

It’s here that we are reminded that Abram was a sinner at heart. Like every other human being in the line of Adam and Eve, and that includes every single human being who has lived or will live until Jesus returns, he had a disposition to do wrong in the sight of the Lord. And wrong, he did in this instance. God had brought him this far and had promised to make him a great nation. Did Abram really think that God wasn’t going to provide the way as he brought his wife and the others into Egypt?

Going back to the scriptures, we see where the Egyptians bought Abram’s lie and Sarai was ushered into Pharaoh’s palace where she was made one of his wives. Abram was rewarded in return with "sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels", all adding up to a great accumulation of wealth. Everything was working out great, just as Abram had planned.

But there was only one problem.

As mentioned, this wasn’t God’s plan but Abram’s and it was a sinful plan at that. And so you had to know that it wasn’t going to work out as Abram expected.

For we read where "the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai." Abram’s lie had brought suffering to Pharaoh and his household and it didn’t take Egypt’s leader to put two and two together in figuring out the cause of the matter. He calls Abram and confronts him asking, "What have you done to me? Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife?"

At that moment, Pharaoh had every reason to kill Abram and yet, he didn’t. Although Abram had been unfaithful to his Lord, God had promised to bless Abram and He didn’t go back on that promise. And so instead of punishment, Pharaoh simply sent Abram on his way, "with his wife and everything he had."

So what can we take away from Abram and his mistakes in Egypt:

1. We should never lose our faith in God.

Abram allowed the potential cultural problem in Egypt to trump his faith in God, refusing to consider that his Lord would look out for him and Sarai in Egypt. This led to him forming his own plan grounded in a lie and everything went downhill from there.

We need to trust in God to help us through any circumstance even if it appears that peril might be ahead. For we serve a God that makes the improbable probable.

2. Never underestimate when sin might creep in.

As mentioned earlier, Abram had everything going his way and frankly, this might have made him more vulnerable to sin’s trappings.

In the end translation, we can never let our guard down for just when we think we are at our strongest, we need to realize that we might actually be at our weakest.

Why?

Because I think we tend to get comfortable and distance ourselves from God when things are going well. And when we’re furthest from Him, we can bet that Satan and sin are drawing closest to us and ready to take over.

Don’t let your guard down like Abram.

3. Lies never lead to anything positive.

Abram thought his lie would lead to good but it was only because he was looking out for himself. His selfish attitude and subsequent fibbing only brought suffering on other people who were innocent.

The bottom line is that when we lie, others often get hurt and this truth is revealed every day. God expects us to tell the truth because at His core, we find absolute, perfect integrity and it’s this same integrity that He expects it to be at the heart of His people. We can ensure that happens when we always put Him at the center of our hearts and lives.

Abram didn’t in this matter and it cost him his integrity. We need to learn from him to not repeat his error.

4. God is true to His promises.

God had promised to bless Abram. Despite what had to be obvious disappointment in the way Abram conducted himself in Egypt, God still watched over him and ensured he and Sarai made it out of Egypt alive.

We need to remember that our God is true to His promises for us as well and He promised to never leave us or forsake us. Keep this in mind whenever you might be facing your own personal challenges.

God is true to His promises.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

SETTING UP ALTARS

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time, the Canaanites were in the land.

The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring, I will give this land.”

So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east.

There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.

Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.

Genesis 12:6-9

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Abram was on a journey to a place unknown, a place where God promised to lead him and his family. You’ll remember that he left behind all his property, property that was his inheritance, to obey God in a display of total, uncompromising trust.

And so at the age of 75, the scriptures tell us that Abram was seventy-five years old when he “set out from Harran” with “his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran”. We read where they traveled to “the land of Canaan” and “arrived there” (Genesis 12:1-5).

So what happened in Canaan?

We find out as we pick up this story in Genesis, chapter 6, beginning in verse 6:

Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time, the Canaanites were in the land.

The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring, I will give this land.”

So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east.

There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.

Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev. Vv.6-9

Once in Canaan, we see in our passage where “Abram traveled through the land as far as the great tree of Moreh at Shechem”. What follows this is important because we read where “the Canaanites” inhabited the land “at that time”.

Of interest, you will remember that Canaan was the offspring of Noah’s son, Ham, and the people who would bear his name, the Canaanites, were a notoriously, ungodly people. They were idol worshippers who went as far as sacrificing children to appease the false gods they served. It was also common practice to seek messages from their gods through nature and so it’s believed that the “great tree of Moreh” was a site of Canaanite worship.

With this, we find Abram claiming the area for the one and only God, the Lord God Almighty who appeared to His servant and promised to give the land of Canaan to him and his offspring. We read where he “built an altar to the Lord”, a place that would serve to worship the true God of all people.

After this, the scriptures tell us that Abram was on the move again with his entourage, traveling “toward the hills east of Bethel before he “pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east”. There, he built a second “altar to the Lord” before calling on His name to honor Him with worship and adoration.

And then, he set out on another leg of the journey God had him on, heading “toward the Negev” and eventually Egypt as we will see in tomorrow’s message.

Before we get there, I don’t want us to lose sight of what Abram did here. For every time he stopped and set up camp in Canaan, he built an altar to the Lord, a place dedicated to worship God, the Maker and Master of all created things, in an ungodly land full of sin and wickedness.

Today, we also live in a world that is becoming ever more ungodly in its own right, a world where sin and evil seem to be celebrated and even encouraged. There are 8 billion people in the world and only 2 billion are Christian. That should show us the environment that we as Jesus followers find ourselves in.

So what are we to do in this cultural dilemma that we’re immersed in?

I would suggest four things.

First, we, like Abram, need to remember that God is with us and for us (Romans 8:31).

As Abram and all who were with him journeyed through Canaan and beyond, God was with him every step of the way to provide guidance, provision, and protection. He does the same for all those who are His children today.

Second, God will lead us where He wants us to be and see us through what He wants us to do.

Abram had no idea where this God-initiated trip was going to take him and his traveling party but he still placed his faith in God and went where he was told. In return, God made sure he would have everything needed to carry out His will and accomplish His purposes.

Often, we don’t know where our life journey will lead and where God will take us but we should never lose heart or hope. Rather, we should always remember that our Lord doesn’t bring us to anything that He isn’t going to see us through.

Third, anyplace we find ourselves is a good place to set up an altar for worship.

Abram stopped where God wanted him to stop and when he did, he set up a place of worship, even in places where God wasn’t even acknowledged or followed.

You know, we can do the same in our own lives. For we can set up an altar in any place and at any time, dedicating the space to worship our Lord and I believe we should do that within every opportunity whether in our cars traveling or at work or shopping or, well you know, anywhere because God is present wherever we are. He always has been and always will be.

Finally, God has promised us a land unlike any we know through our belief in Jesus as Savior, a permanent residence in the new Heaven and earth still to come.

Abram and his offspring were promised the land of Canaan and as we follow the history of the Israelite nation from this point forward, we see how God indeed kept His promise as He always does.

He has also promised eternal life to all Christ believers (aka Christians) in what will be a newly created Promised Land that we read about in the final two chapters of the Book of Revelation. It will be the best life ever, a life reserved for His offspring, His children who are co-heirs to this magnificent, everlasting Kingdom with His beloved Son, Jesus (Romans 8:14-17).

This truth gives us just one more reason to follow the lead of Abram and set up an altar wherever we might be to give thanks and worship our Lord.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

TRUST AND OBEY

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

So Abram left, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

Genesis 12:1-5

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Imagine that you wake up tomorrow morning and the first thing that happens is the Lord greets you while giving an order to leave your country, your people, and your house to travel to an unknown land, one that He promises to you. Then, He goes on to tell you that He will make you a great nation, make your name great and will bless you.

How would you respond to Him?

I don’t know about you but this would be a serious change in plans for me. I would be expected to report to work and not showing up would be grounds for termination.

And what about the mortgage and bills associated with my home.

How would everything get paid if I stop working because I was obedient to God’s calling and set out to the place where He wants me to go?

Not paying for my home will lead to me surely losing my home and everything I have worked so hard for.

I would also have to abandon my obligations at church. Someone would have to take over teaching my Sunday School class and cover my spot as a biblical lay counselor.

I’m sure there are more things I am forgetting but you get the point.

Could the Lord really expect me to just up and leave all this behind?

As we consider all this, I think we can really appreciate Abram and what he had to face as God did indeed tell him to leave his country, his people, and his father’s household, which amounted to his entire inheritance to go to a foreign land that God promised to show him. Look again at our passage for today from the opening verses of the twelfth chapter of Genesis:

The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

So Abram left, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. Vv.1-5

Here, we see that Abram responded with no excuses or rebuttals, just pure faith. We read where he “left as the Lord had told him".  His actions serve as an amazing example of exceptional obedience and it’s important to note that he wasn’t young by any means. At the ripe age of seventy-five, he was probably just ready to settle down with Sarai and enjoy his later years of life but his God had other plans.

In considering Abram and how God used him, we need to understand that God could call us to do anything at anytime, not wanting us to give excuses as to why we can’t carry out His will. Like Abram, we need to respond in absolute faith, knowing that God will take care of us and our matters.

In my situation, I need to trust that God is going to provide for my needs, even though I wasn’t working and bringing in income. I would need to trust that He would take care of the disposition of my home and belongings. I would have to trust that He would call others into roles to cover church obligations in my absence.

Ultimately, I would have to trust God to take care of me as He always does. For that’s what Abram did and God did not disappoint. He’ll do the same for you and me as long as we trust Him and obey.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

GETTING TO AND SETTING THE STAGE FOR ABRAHAM

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

This is the account of Shem’s family line.

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

When Arphaxad had lived years, he became the father of Shelah. And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

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

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

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

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

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

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

After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.

This is the account of Terah’s family line.

Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.

While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah. Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive.

Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there.

Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.

Genesis 11:10-32

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Early on in the book of Genesis, we find two instances where the author bridges from one important figure to another through the use of genealogy.

The first such instance occurs in Genesis, chapter 5 and you may remember that the scriptures found there take the reader from Adam through his son Seth to Noah through a detailing of the family tree.

As we turn to the remainder of chapter 11 following the account of God confusing the language of the world’s people before scattering them, we find yet another interesting linkage take place, this time between Noah and Abraham, via Noah’s son Shem. Look again at those words here:

This is the account of Shem’s family line.

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

When Arphaxad had lived years, he became the father of Shelah. And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

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

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

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

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

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

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

After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.

This is the account of Terah’s family line.

Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.

While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah. Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive.

Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there.

Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran. VV.10-32

Now, we know Noah was 600 years old when God brought the floodwaters on the earth (Genesis 7:6). We learn from the opening verses in today’s passage that Shem turned 100 years of age “two years after the flood” and so he would have been 98 when his father was 600.

How’s that for family longevity, huh?

Despite his advanced age, Shem, like his father, had children and we read where one of his sons was named Arphaxad. Shem would then go onto live 500 years in full and the scriptures tell us that he “had other sons and daughters” during that time.

Going back to chapter 10, we found an introduction to the lineage of Arphaxad. Here’s a reminder:

Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah the father of Eber. Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg. Vv. 24-25a

And so with this, we go back to our verses for today and see a correlation through Peleg and then a carrying on of descendants from him until we get to Terah who would father the father of the Israelite nation, Abraham (Abram).

Terah is an interesting figure because although he is found in the family tree of Jesus (Luke 3:23-38), he wasn’t a follower of God. We know from these words from verse 2 of the 24th chapter of Joshua, as Israel’s leader addresses the Israelite people”

Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.” Joshua 24:2

So going back to our scriptures, we read where the false god worshipping Terah We read where Terah lived in Ur of the Chaldeans when one of his three sons, Haran, passed away. His other two sons, Abram (Abraham) and Nahor both married with the latter wedding his deceased brother’s daughter, Milkah. Abram took Sarai (Sarah) as his bride and we learn an important fact about her here that we know comes into play later. For we read where Sarai was “childless because she was not able to conceive”.

For reasons unknown, Terah took his son Abram (Abraham), his wife Sarai, and his grandson Lot (the son of Haran) and “set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan but didn’t get there because again, for unknown reasons, they “settled” in Harran when they arrived there. This was where Abram’s father died at the age of “205 years”.

And with this, we are ready to examine the life of Abram (Abraham). We’ll begin looking at that in tomorrow’s message but before we close, one more interesting point.

As we see in the first part of Genesis, much of the emphasis in God’s Word is placed on three men – Adam, Noah, and Abraham. It’s of importance to note and remember that God made a special covenant with all three.

The covenant with Adam is found in Genesis, chapter 3, verses 16 through 19:

To the woman He said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

To Adam He said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

This was followed by the Noahic Covenant which is in the ninth chapter of Genesis, verses 8 through 17:

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: “I now establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish My covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between Me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember My covenant between Me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between Me and all life on the earth.”

What was the Abrahamic Covenant?

You’ll have to stay tuned as we get set to look at his life and a relationship with a God he didn’t know growing up. I hope you’ll continue to come back to future messages as we look at Abram/Abraham’s fascinating story.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISPERSEMENT (PART 3)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.

The sons of Shem:

Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram.

The sons of Aram:

Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshek.

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

Two sons were born to Eber:

One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.

Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.

The region where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar, in the eastern hill country.

These are the sons of Shem by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.

These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.

Genesis 10:21-32

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In the final message of this series which looks at the geographical dispersement after God confused the language of all people at Babel before scattering them, we come to the third of Noah’s three sons, Shem. Like his brother, Japheth, Shem had received a blessing from his father after covering up his nakedness cause by a sleep-induced drunkenness. Here were Noah’s exact words:

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend Japheth’s territory; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem.” Genesis 9:26-27

With this, we see that Shem was a man of God and so it’s of little surprise that we find him in the lineage of Jesus.

Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melki, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josek, the son of Joda, the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, the son of Melki, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, the son of Jacob,the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem... Luke 3:23-36

Now, we often wouldn’t hear the word Shem and necessarily associate him with greatness like we would people in his family tree like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, or the famous King David, but it’s important to note that the cultural people identifier, Semite, belongs to any descendant of Shem who spoke Semitic languages. These languages included Arabic, Aramaic, and Hebrew among others. It is this latter connection to the Jewish people that led to the word “anti-semitism” to define acts against the Jews, a word that we still find prevalent in present times.

Further, the line of Shem would branch out into the following nations:

1. The people of Elam ended up connected to Persia.

2. Ashur’s descendants became associated with the Assyrians.

3. The Chaldeans were born from Arphaxad.

4. Lydia emerged from the lineage of Lud.

and

5. Aram was the progenitor of the Arameans.

And so when we read through the scriptures and touch on any of these clans and their associated territories, we can come back to Shem and know that their “lines of descent” trace back to him. This provides depth to our study as we continue to marvel at the Bible and all the connections found within, especially in regard to our Savior, Jesus.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISPERSEMENT (PART 2)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Genesis 11:8-9

The sons of Ham:

Cush, Egypt, Put and Canaan.

The sons of Cush:

Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteka.

The sons of Raamah:

Sheba and Dedan.

Cush was the father of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.” The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh, in Shinar. From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city.

Egypt was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, Pathrusites, Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites.

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

Later the Canaanite clans scattered and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, as far as Lasha.

These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.

Genesis 10:6-20

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The words of his father Noah prophesied about the future of Ham’s descendents, especially those of his son Canaan:

When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said:

“Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.”

“May Canaan be the slave of Shem.”

“...and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.” Genesis 9:25-27

You’ll recall that all of this originated when Ham, seeing his father lying uncovered in his tent after passing out from drunkenness, failed to cover his father and instead went to tell his two brothers, Shem and Japheth, who then took care of draping a garment over the naked Noah. Once awake from his alcohol-induced sleep, Noah learned of what happened and wished a curse on Ham’s son and those who would be his descendents.

So how would this look after God caused the great scattering at Babel?

We find out as we look at today’s passage and Ham’s family tree. Look again at those words here from Genesis, chapter 10:

The sons of Ham:

Cush, Egypt, Put and Canaan.

The sons of Cush:

Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteka.

The sons of Raamah:

Sheba and Dedan.

Cush was the father of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.” The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh, in Shinar. From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city.

Egypt was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, Pathrusites, Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites.

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

Later the Canaanite clans scattered and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, as far as Lasha.

These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations. Vv.6-20

Like we saw in yesterday’s message, the genealogy account begins sons and then the offspring of those sons. In Ham’s case, he had four sons: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. Of those four, we see the most attention given to Cush and Canaan, the latter of which being the progenitor of the Canaanites and their offshoot clans, the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites. All inhabited the land of Canaan and most are listed in this passage found in the Book of Deuteronomy as the Israelites were given direction on how to take over the land God had promised them:

When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you—and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you.

This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be His people, His treasured possession (7:1-6)

It’s obvious here that those from the line of Ham will choose to reject the Lord and serve other gods. We further read that eventually “the Canaanite clans” would scatter “to where “the borders of Canaan” would reach toward Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities known best for being utterly destroyed by God because of their wicked sinfulness.

Turning to Cush, look at where his bloodline led.

First, we learn where he “the father of Nimrod”, a “mighty warrior on the earth” and a “mighty hunter before the Lord”. The scriptures tell us one of the “first centers of his kingdom” was none other than Babylon and he also “went to Assyria where he built Nineveh”. In Micah, we find Assyria referred to as “the land of Nimrod” (5:6).

And so Cush, one of the four sons of Noah’s son, Ham, ended up associated with the two major empires that attacked and conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, the Assyrians and Babylonians respectively, through his son Nimrod.

In today’s message, we continue to see reaching impact of the geographical dispersement of people after God’s work in Babel and how this would go onto connect to the history of the Israelites found within our Old Testament studies.

Tomorrow, we’ll finish this series by looking at Noah’s third son, Shem, and his lineage.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISPERSEMENT (PART 1)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Genesis 11:8-9

This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons, who themselves had sons after the flood.

The sons of Japheth:

Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshek and Tiras.

The sons of Gomer:

Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah.

The sons of Javan:

Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites and the Rodanites. (From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.)

Genesis 10:1-5

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In yesterday’s message, we saw where the opening verses of Genesis, chapter 11 actually contain an event that happened before what we read in chapter 10, the confusion of language caused by God and then the subsequent scattering of the people in Babel (11:8-9).

Today, we go back to chapter 10 where we find where the offspring of Noah’s sons – Japheth, Ham, and Shem – ending up geographically after the Babel dispersing. For the next three days, we’ll cover each son’s lineage, beginning today with Japheth. Look again at our passage here:

This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons, who themselves had sons after the flood.

The sons of Japheth:

Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshek and Tiras.

The sons of Gomer:

Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah.

The sons of Javan:

Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites and the Rodanites. (From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.)  Genesis 10:1-5

Before we get into this, we need to remember what happened at the end of chapter 9 before Noah passed away.

You’ll remember that after making wine off the fresh grapes he grew from the earth after the flood, Noah became drunk and ended up lying naked in his tent. We discussed how nakedness was considered shameful going all the way back to Eden’s garden after the fall and so there was Noah, passed out and unable to cover himself.

The scriptures told us that Ham was the first to see his father exposed but instead of taking action, he went to tell his other two brothers. Hearing what had transpired, Japheth and Shem took a garment and laid it over their shoulders before backing into their father’s tent so they weren’t laying eyes on him and covering up his nakedness.

When Noah came around and learned what had happened, you’ll remember that he wished blessings on Japheth and Shem but cursed Ham, swearing consequences would come upon his son Canaan, who we know would be the progenitor of the Canaanite nation.

Okay, with that recap, we enter into chapter 10 and look first at one of the two blessed sons, Japheth. We read where he had seven sons: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshek and Tiras with two of them, Gomer and Javan, going on to have sons of their own. Of interest, each of the sons mentioned born from Japheth - Gomer and Javan - are referred to as nations and this chapter in Genesis is under the overall title, “The Table of Nations”.

Our scripture passage today also tells us something else about this particular clan. For we read where they were “maritime peoples” (think seagoing) who “spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations”, each having “its own language”. These descendants of Japheth would go out into a large part of Europe and Asia which fulfilled Noah’s wish that God would “extend Japheth’s territory” (9:27). Later populations who will be born out of the line of Japheth and the Japhethites would include the Macedonians, Greeks, Romans, and Persians, most of which were powerful empires in biblical times.  

Tomorrow, we’ll look at the descendants of Ham.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

CLEAR WISDOM FROM BABEL

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth." Genesis 9:1

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.

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

But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The Lord said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."

So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Genesis 11:1-9

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

After the flood, God blessed Noah and his sons and gave them direction. They were to "be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth" (Genesis 9:1). We know that disobedience and evil living had led to the great, creation vanquishing flood in the first place and as we see in today’s passage, it didn’t take long for God’s people to begin to settle back into their sinful ways once again. Look again at the first nine verses of Genesis, chapter 11:

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.

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

But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The Lord said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."

So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

The Bible is one hundred percent inerrant in its content. There is no disputing this but we sometimes find things not exactly in chronological order and these verses in chapter 11 are one example, thus why we are covering this before looking at chapter 10 and the documented scattering that we read about in verse 9 in today’s text.

As the start of our passage today, we find that the "whole world had one language and a common speech." This commonality among the descendants of Noah was not what led man to get in trouble in and of itself but it was a contributing factor in them conspiring to disobey God and set up a city where they would seek to "make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth". In other words, mankind sought to bring glory and honor to themselves which caused the Lord to voice the following concern:

"If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.”

And so the scriptures tell us that God did something to avert this from happening. We read where He "confused their language" so they could not understand one another before scattering them “over the face of the earth”. This act of God led to the city being named “Babel” because it was there that the Lord “confused the language of the whole world”.

It’s interesting that we still often use a word that rival this ancient city’s name, the word “babble”. It describes language that is unintelligible but what is understandable are three clear points of wisdom we can draw from this story to apply to our living today:

First, the language God gives us is only useful when we use it toward His purpose, not our own.

One could say that there are more ways for people to communicate with one another in this age than in any time in history, to include software and apps that translate languages we don’t speak, and yet, we seem to communicate just as badly as ever. Let’s not believe that this is by accident for God will often confuse discourse on any matters that are centered on His honor and glory. It started at Babel and it still continues today.

Second, when we decide to be disobedient, God still will get His way.

Despite the people’s desire to do their own thing and make a city where they would settle and not disperse, God had the final say and His will was still done as the people’s language was confused before being scattered. Rest assured He will do the same thing to us in the places where we resist and reject Him in our lives.

Finally, the third bit of wisdom from this passage is this:

Success will only occur if we are carrying out the will of God.

The descendants of Noah would have been successful in constructing the city if it had been God’s will for them to do so but it wasn’t and so their self-centered efforts failed badly.

Conversely, it was God’s will for Noah to build the ark that would carry him, his family, and the prescribed number of creatures to safety during the flood. And that plan was carried out to fruition because it was all God’s plan.

In life, we need to always seek the will of our Lord and then do what He wills us to do, remembering that He never calls us to something He isn’t going to bring us through.

In closing, what a blessing it is for us to have the Holy Bible and the accounts of God’s people as they succeeded and failed. For the entirety of the scriptures gives us a ripe opportunity to read and learn from the accomplishments and mistakes of the past.

In the Word of God, we won’t ever find babble when we are in Him and under the leading of the blessed Holy Spirit. Both will always speak clear wisdom and direction into our hearts and minds so we can apply it with the goal of living in a way that is pleasing in the Lord’s sight.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.