Sunday, May 31, 2009

Bible breakdown

Genesis 19
Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed
1 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 2 "My lords," he said, "please turn aside to your servant's house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning."
"No," they answered, "we will spend the night in the square."

3 But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. 4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."

6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 7 and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof."

9 "Get out of our way," they replied. And they said, "This fellow came here as an alien, and now he wants to play the judge! We'll treat you worse than them." They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.

10 But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. 11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.

12 The two men said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, 13 because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it."

14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry [a] his daughters. He said, "Hurry and get out of this place, because the LORD is about to destroy the city!" But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

15 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished."

16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them. 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!"

18 But Lot said to them, "No, my lords, [b] please! 19 Your [c] servant has found favor in your [d] eyes, and you [e] have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can't flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I'll die. 20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn't it? Then my life will be spared."

21 He said to him, "Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. 22 But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it." (That is why the town was called Zoar. [f] )

23 By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens. 25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. 26 But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

27 Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.

29 So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.

Verse 1 says that 2 angels arrived at Sodom in the evening and saw Lot who invited them into his house and they ate a meal together. Hold on a minute, Lot ate with angels, do you think that we can eat dinner with angels today? Can we invite someone into out house who looks like they are in need and have a meal with them, and they never come into your life again, do you think it is possible that you can entertain angels on the earth, I believe it is possible because you can entertain demons when you watch movies that dishonor God and blaspheme His name. You can entertain demons when you go to a palm reader or a person who thinks that you can talk to your dead relative, that is a demon talking to you, be very careful where you go, and what you see. Verse 5 says that the old and young men who lived in Sodom surrounded the house of Lot and wanted to have sex with the angels. Homosexuality was one of the sins that caused Sodom and Gomorrah to crumble. Homosexuality is not a healthy practice, it is against the order God made, God made it to be 1 man and 1 woman in marriage, not 2 men or 2 women. Verses 18-24 speak about the 2 angels telling Lot and his family to go away and flee from the city of Sodom and not to look back. Lot's wife turned back and she turned into a pillar of salt. We need to flee from sin or else we will be caught up in the lifestyle of sinfulness and destruction. We are to be in the world and not of the world, so we need to bring the Gospel to those in sin who are against God.

Lot and His Daughters
30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is no man around here to lie with us, as is the custom all over the earth. 32 Let's get our father to drink wine and then lie with him and preserve our family line through our father."

33 That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and lay with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, "Last night I lay with my father. Let's get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and lie with him so we can preserve our family line through our father." 35 So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went and lay with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

36 So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab [g] ; he is the father of the Moabites of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi [h] ; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.

Verses 30-38 wrap up the filthiness of this chapter by talking about Lot's daughters who wanted to lie with their father to preserve the generations of Lot's family. So in this chapter their was the desire for homosexuality and the desire for daughters to lie with their father. This kind of sexual promiscuity is happening now a days as well, may the Lord keep my body pure sexually, physically and spiritually.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Bible breakdown

Genesis 18
The Three Visitors
1 The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.

3 He said, "If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, [a] do not pass your servant by. 4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. 5 Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant."
"Very well," they answered, "do as you say."

6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. "Quick," he said, "get three seahs [b] of fine flour and knead it and bake some bread."

7 Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.

9 "Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked him.
"There, in the tent," he said.

10 Then the LORD [c] said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son."
Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master [d] is old, will I now have this pleasure?"

13 Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?' 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD ? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."

15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh."
But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."

Sarah doubted that God would grant her the ability to have a child because she thought that she was too old for having a child. She laughed because of her doubt, isn't that true with us these days, don't we laugh when we have doubt with God, don't we doubt the power of God sometimes, don't we laugh when we have problems with trusting the Lord. Have we ever laughed at God, mocked God, and have we ever not trusted the Lord completely. I pray for the ability to trust the Lord even when there are problems in my life.

Abraham Pleads for Sodom
16 When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. 17 Then the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. 19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."

20 Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."

22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. [e] 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare [f] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge [g] of all the earth do right?"

26 The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."

27 Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?"
"If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it."

29 Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?"
He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it."

30 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?"
He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."

31 Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?"
He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it."

32 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?"
He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it."

33 When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

Abraham pleaded with the Lord over Sodom and Gomorrah. Do we ever plead with God over the lost souls in the world, do we ever step out in faith and pray for those who need God's love and power, do we ever plead for our enemies, for their salvation. We as Christians need to plead, and cry out to God for His loving mercy, His forgiveness, and for the Holy Spirit to come and manifest Himself into the lives of the people we know who need the Lord, who curse the Lord, who hate Christians, not always that they hate God, but they hate the Christians who do not love them, who do not take time out of their schedule to be there for them when they need help. I pray for the ability to encourage and always pray for those in need of the Lord.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Bible breakdown

Genesis 17 speaks about the covenant of circumcision that that was established between God and Abram.

1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty [a] ; walk before me and be blameless. 2 I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."

3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram [b] ; your name will be Abraham, [c] for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God."

How great of a promise is that, Abraham will be the father of many nations, he will be fruitful, he and his descendants will have an everlasting possession, and God will be their God. Now as I read God will be their God, I am amazed, thankful, grateful, full of praise, and filled with awe, that God is their God, we are a part of His descendants, God is our God. If God is for us, who can be against us? I praise you Lord for being my God.

9 Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."

15 God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. 16 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her."

17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" 18 And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!"

19 Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. [d] I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year." 22 When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.

23 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, 25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen; 26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that same day. 27 And every male in Abraham's household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.

Just as God changed the name of Abram to Abraham, and Sarai to Sarah, God has made name changes to those who follow Him throughout the Bible. The most well known of these are Jacob to Israel, and Saul to Paul. Praise the Lord for changing us when we come with a willing attitude to serve Him.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Bible breakdown

Genesis 16 talks about Hagar who was Abram's maidservant. Sarai was Abram's wife and she was unable to have children so she told Abram to sleep with Hagar and to have children and build a family through her.

6 "Your servant is in your hands," Abram said. "Do with her whatever you think best." Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.

7 The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?"
"I'm running away from my mistress Sarai," she answered.

9 Then the angel of the LORD told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her." 10 The angel added, "I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count."

11 The angel of the LORD also said to her:
"You are now with child
and you will have a son.
You shall name him Ishmael, [a]
for the LORD has heard of your misery.

12 He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand will be against everyone
and everyone's hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward [b] all his brothers."

13 She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen [c] the One who sees me." 14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi [d] ; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.

15 So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

So Ishmael was Abram's first child. Ishmael would be despised by all and he would be against everyone living in hostility against his brothers. Ishmael means "God hears" because God heard the cries of Hagar. Beer Lahai Roi means well of the Living One who sees me. Praise the Lord for watching over us.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Bible breakdown

Genesis 15
God's Covenant With Abram
1 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
"Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield, [a]
your very great reward. [b] "

2 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit [c] my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."

4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." 5 He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."

6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

These verses show that Abram did not completely trust the Lord when He said Abram would have a son who would be his heir. Abram doubted this because he thought he and Sara were to old to have a son. God told Abram that he would have as many offspring as the stars in the sky.

7 He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it."

8 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"

9 So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."

10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."

17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river [d] of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates- 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."

These verses tell us that God promised to give the descendants of Abram the land of the nations that had previously taken control of the people of God. God's promises cannot be broken and He gave that promise to Abram that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars and be able to receive land. This should bring us comfort because when God make s a promise to us, it will never be broken, so do not lose heart, but be strengthened and encouraged in the promises of the Lord.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Bible breakdown

Genesis 14
Abram Rescues Lot
1 At this time Amraphel king of Shinar, [a] Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim 2 went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3 All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (the Salt Sea [b] ). 4 For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim 6 and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near the desert. 7 Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazazon Tamar.

8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim 9 against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills. 11 The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. 12 They also carried off Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.

These verses showed that Lot and his family had been taken away by the kings who conquered Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot did not trust God and the kings took him away, so Abram needed to come and save him from those kings.

17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).

18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem [d] brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying,
"Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator [e] of heaven and earth.

20 And blessed be [f] God Most High,
who delivered your enemies into your hand."
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Abram trusted the Lord, and was able to save Lot from the kings, and the King of Sodom asked Abram for his people and that Abram would keep the goods, but Abram said that I will not accept anything, but the food that he and his people ate and the sandals that they wore.

21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself."

22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath 23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.' 24 I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share."

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Bible breakdown

Genesis 13 talks about the splitting up of Abram and his herdsmen, and Lot and his herdsmen. Abram moved from Egypt to the Negev had become very wealthy in livestock, silver, and gold.

3 From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier 4 and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD.

5 Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6 But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. 7 And quarreling arose between Abram's herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.

8 So Abram said to Lot, "Let's not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right; if you go to the right, I'll go to the left."

10 Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.

14 The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, "Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring [a] forever. 16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. 17 Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you."

18 So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.

Pride was a factor in this whole event. Lot saw the that Jordan and the land of Canaan looked wonderful and chose to go that way, not realizing that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were very wicked, and that he would be tempted if he went any closer. Abram trusted the Lord who told him that his offspring would be as numerous as the dust of the ground. Our eyes can deceive us, so if we trust in the Lord and not what we see, then we will be blessed by the Lord. For we walk by faith and not by sight.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Bible breakdown

In Genesis chapter 12 the Lord told Abram to leave his country and leave his people and his father's household to go into the land that He told Abram to go to.
2 "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.

3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you."

4 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. 5 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.

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. 7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring [a] I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

8 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. 9 Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.

This clearly teaches that Abram and his family would be blessed because of his complete obedience and surrender to the Lord God Almighty, and because of this, God blessed the generations of Abram and his family. This is a great lesson for us as well, God will bless us if we are willing to completely obey the Lord and surrender our lives to His will.

Abram in Egypt
10 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. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you."

14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman. 15 And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.

17 But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? 19 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!" 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

Now, having said that God can bless you for obeying him completely, you yourself can mess up and you can lie to get your way, and God will allow you try to get yourself out of a situation, but only when you admit your wrong doing, and turn to God and completely trust His will for your life, then you will be blessed by God and live an honorable and pleasing life to God.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Bible breakdown

Genesis 11 talks about the making of the Tower of Babel which was made because the people of the world, who all had the same language, went to Shinar and wanted to build a tower to the heavens, some say that they wanted to be more powerful than God by building the tower and showing that they are mighty. But God confused their language and scattered them across the whole world.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

27 This is the account of Terah.
Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 28 While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. 29 Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah. 30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no children.

31 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 Haran, they settled there.

32 Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.

Bible breakdown

Genesis 10 puts the sons and generations of Shem, Ham and Japheth.
The Japhethites
2 The sons [a] of Japheth:
Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras.

3 The sons of Gomer:
Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah.

4 The sons of Javan:
Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim and the Rodanim. [b] 5 (From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.) This is the account of the sons of Japheth.

The Hamites
6 The sons of Ham:
Cush, Mizraim, [c] Put and Canaan.

7 The sons of Cush:
Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteca.
The sons of Raamah:
Sheba and Dedan.

8 Cush was the father [d] of Nimrod, who grew to be a mighty warrior on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; that is why it is said, "Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD." 10 The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Calneh, in [e] Shinar. [f] 11 From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, [g] Calah 12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.

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

15 Canaan was the father of
Sidon his firstborn, [h] and of the Hittites, 16 Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, 17 Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, 18 Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites.
Later the Canaanite clans scattered 19 and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

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

The Semites
21 Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was [i] Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.

22 The sons of Shem:
Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram.

23 The sons of Aram:
Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshech. [j]

24 Arphaxad was the father of [k] Shelah,
and Shelah the father of Eber.

25 Two sons were born to Eber:
One was named Peleg, [l] because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.

26 Joktan was the father of
Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29 Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.

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

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

32 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.
These are the sons of Shem.

These were all the people who inhabited the whole entire world after the flood.

Bible breakdown

Genesis chapter 9 God gives a blessing to the family of Noah. "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. 2 The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands. 3 Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. This was the blessing from God to Noah and his sons. God also gives them a warning. 4 "But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. 5 And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man. 6 "Whoever sheds the blood of man,by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man. There is also a covenant between God and Noah and his sons. 12 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: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 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. 16 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." What a great covenant God gave them, He will never destroy all of human and animal kind of life.

Bible breakdown

In Genesis 8 God stopped the waters from coming down from the sky. 3 The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, 4 and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. On the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible. After the 40 days of flooding, Noah opened up the window on the ark and sent out a raven to continue to fly around until the earth dried up. Then Noah sent out a dove to look for dry ground. The first time the dove returned it did not find ground that was dry. Noah sent the dove out 7 days later and it returned with an olive leaf. Noah sent the dove out 7 days after that, but it did not return again. 15 Then God said to Noah, 16 "Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. 17 Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number upon it." Then all living creatures on the ark came out and went on the dry land. 20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. 21 The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though [a] every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.

22 "As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never cease."

God made a promise that He would never again completely destroy all living creatures. This should bring us comfort because God promised not to destroy us all, and when God makes a promise He is faithful to keep that promise.

Bible breakdown

In Genesis 7 God told Noah to take his family on the ark, as well as to take 7 of every clean type of animal, a male and its mate and 2 of every clean type of animal, a male and its mate, and 7 of every type of bird, male and female. God told Noah that he would send a rain in 7 days, and it would last for 40 days and 40 nights, and He will wipe away and destroy every creature that is not on the ark.They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet. Every living thing that moved on the earth perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.The waters flooded the earth for 150 days. God wanted to start over because He was angered at the complete and utter disrespect and irreverence toward Him. God found favor with Noah and his family because he was faithful to build the ark when God told him to do so.

Bible breakdown

Genesis 6 is the account of Noah building the Ark. God had seen how the earth was becoming more populated with men and women so God set the age maximum at age 120. There were also Nephilim on the earth at that time who were children of angels and women. God saw the violence of humanity and He was grieved and wanted to destroy them. So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress [c] wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. [d] 16 Make a roof for it and finish [e] the ark to within 18 inches [f] of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you. 19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them." 22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him. This is the story of how God found favor with Noah and his family, and how God wanted to start over with Noah and the rest of His family.

Bible breakdown

Genesis 5 talks about the lineage or family line from Adam to Noah. After 130 years of life Adam and Eve had a son and named him Seth. Seth was made in the image of Adam. After Adam and Eve had Seth, Adam lived for 800 more years and had other sons and daughters. At the age of 930 Adam died. When Seth was 105 years old he became the father of Enosh, and Seth lived for 807 more years and had other sons and daughters. Enosh died at the age of 912. At the age of 90 Enosh became the father of Kenan, and Enosh lived and had other sons and daughters until he died at the age of 905. At age 70 Kenal became the father of Mahalalel and lived and had other sons and daughters until he died at age 910. At age 65 Mahalalel became the father of Jared, and had other sons and daughters until he died at age 895. At age 162 Jared became the father of Enoch and Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters until he died at age 962. At age 65 Enoch became the father of Methuselah and Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Enoch lived 365 years, walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. Enoch was the first man in the world to not experience death. When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters until he died at age 969. When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. He named him Noah and said, "He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed. After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters until he died at age 777. After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth. So this is the genealogy of Adam to Noah. These were the people who lived before the flood that wiped out everyone except Noah and his family. God has a reason for putting family lines in the Bible, and these lines clear up how we can find someone's history.

Bible breakdown

Genesis 4 talks about the first sons of the line of Adam, whom Eve gave birth too, Cain and Abel. Cain was the older of the two and he worked and toiled with the soil, while Abel kept watch the flocks of sheep. They both brought offerings to the Lord, but God looked down with favor upon Abel and his offering but He did not look down with favor upon Cain and his offering. This caused Cain to become angry and downcast. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." God was not pleased with Cain's attitude toward service and He told him to master sin and humbly give his offering. Cain did not do this but instead took his brother Abel into the field and brutally attacked and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?" The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth." Cain said this punishment was more than he could bear so God gave him a sign that if anyone who wanted him killed would receive vengeance seven times over. At the end of the chapter Adam and Eve had another child and named him Seth. Seth was given to them by God to take the place of Abel.

Bible breakdown

Genesis 3 talks about the first encounter man has with the serpent, the most cunning, deceiving creature, this serpent was Satan who is the author of lies and sin. Satan disrupted God's perfect beauty in the garden of Eden by asking the woman "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" This is the devil planting the seed of doubt in Eve. Eve answered the serpent "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' " God told the woman that you must not eat of the fruit, He never said that you must not touch it. This is the first act of worry or misunderstanding in the Bible. Satan told Eve that "You will not surely die, for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." This was the fist sin of Satan, he thought he would be like or even greater than God, and God cleared out 1/3 of heaven, Satan and his fallen angels with him. Once Adam and Eve ate of the fruit they were filled with shame because they were naked. This is what Satan does, he makes people feel shameful for things that God calls good, and Satan wants people to turn away from God whether it be in shame or anger. Because of their sin of eating of the fruit, Eve and the rest of the women in the world will have pain in child birth, their desire will be for their husband, and he will rule over her. Men will work, sweat, and toil and eat of what he worked for. He will return to dust because he was made from dust. And Satan the serpent will have enmity with the woman and her offspring. They will crush the serpents head and the serpent will strike their heel. The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever. "So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. Man was banished from the perfect place with God but Christians have hope in the Savior Jesus Christ who delivered them from their sins and lift them out of the worldly filth and sinfulness.

Bible breakdown

Genesis 2 talks about the creation that the Lord God Almighty made in the Garden of Eden. He made many different kinds of trees that were easy to look at at they provided food that was acceptable and wonderful to eat. But God planted the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which God specifically told Adam not to eat of, because the day of he eats of it, he will surely die. 10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. Verses 10-14 speak of the 4 rivers that flowed through the Garden of Eden which are Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates. God gave Adam the power to give names to the creatures He made for Adam to rule over. God also saw that every creature except for Adam, the man that He created had a partner of a helper of some sort, so God made Eve, a woman for him in order to be his helper and life partner. Now from Chapter 2 we can take many life lessons, for example God tells us that their are certain places or people that can tempt us and that we are to not be around that person or place, or we will become a complacent, or even a spiritually decaying Christian. For men in the world, God has blessed them with a woman who is to live with them, help grow them in their relationship with the Lord, and to love them with a special kind of love that God has blessed them with. As women they will desire their husband and submit to their authority as head of the family. As men, we are called to lead the household, treasure our families, lead them in the ways of the Lord, and be a provider for the family. Men are also blessed with the responsibility to name things whether they are right or wrong, and whether they will assist in or be a hindrance to the spiritual and physical needs of their families.

Bible breakdown

I am going through the Bible chapter by chapter and I will break it down and give you the thoughts I have on a particular passage. Genesis 1- This is the creation account that says that God created the lights- day and night, plants and animals, and Adam the first man in the history of the world. God said that His creation was good. Now if God said His creation is good, then it is good because God is good and He has no wrong in Him. If God says His creation is good, then who are we to judge His creation and say that God made someone or something bad. We are all a uniquely, special, lovely creature of the Lord God Almighty, and He calls us good.