I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Genesis 24-25.

    I find it interesting that Abraham was vehement that Isaac should not return to the land of his ancestors. Especially in light of the fact that Abraham’s father had moved away from there. I think we often overlook the fact that Rebekah’s grandfather, Abraham’s brother, did not leave Ur with Abraham and their father. This story tells us there was something about the people and culture whom Abraham had left behind which he valued, but there was also something which he felt from which it was important to separate himself and his children. When I think about this I reach the following conclusion. Abraham found something lacking in the culture of those around him, something which Isaac would have been influenced by if his wife was one of them. He, also, found something lacking in the culture of the land of his ancestors, something Isaac would only be influenced by if he lived among them. Abraham wanted Isaac to have a wife who shared his values, but did not want him to live among those who preached those values but did not live them (my interpretation of Laban).

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Genesis 21-23.

    When Isaac was born, once more problems arose from the “work around” which Sarai had contrived with Abram, namely conceiving a son through Sarai’s maid Hagar). Sarah saw Ishmael mocking his half-brother when Isaac was weaned and demanded that Abraham send Hagar and her son away. Abraham was reluctant to do as Sarah requested, but God assured him that He would care for Hagar and Ishmael. This story teaches two things, that the suffering caused by our sin goes on long after the sin itself and that God will extend His grace to those who would otherwise be harmed by the consequences of our sins.

    The story of Abraham being called to sacrifice Isaac represents a very basic insight into God’s will for us. After many years of desiring a son by Sarah to be his heir, Abraham finally had one in Isaac. In this story we learn that Abraham valued serving God more than he valued his son. However, we also learn that there was no conflict between serving God and raising Isaac. Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac in order to do God’s will, but God made it clear that it was His will that Abraham NOT sacrifice Isaac. Isaac was the most valuable thing in the world to Abraham, yet Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac in order to serve God. As I think about this I am reminded of Jesus telling the Disciples that those who love their life will lose it and those are willing to sacrifice their life will keep it. The story of Abraham being willing to sacrifice Isaac is the same message.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Genesis 19-20.

    When the angels got to Sodom, Lot insisted that they stay with him. The rest of the men of Sodom joined together to demand that Lot turn those men over to them. Reading between the lines the men of Sodom seem to be demanding that Lot lift his protection from the visitors. When Lot insisted on continuing to extend his protection to the visitors as their host, the men of Sodom told him that he was an outsider and no one would come to his defense either. The men of Sodom were guilty of sinful tribalism. They were willing to abuse and oppress outsiders for their own pleasure.

    I do not think that it is quite accurate that the men engaged to Lot’s daughters thought he was joking. I think it would be more accurate to say that they did not take him seriously. I suspect they thought that Lot was exaggerating because he was upset with what the men of the town had done earlier that night. In a way, they are an object lesson for us. They refused to separate themselves from the evil of those around them, even when warned that God’s judgment was about to come down. I am not fully sure of the implications for us, but, at the very least, we need to separate ourselves from our friends and neighbors when their sins go from being venal to oppressive.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Genesis 16-18.

    The story of Sarai, Abram, and Hagar is an object lesson for us. Sarai knew that Abram wanted a son, but she had been unable to bear him a child. Instead of trusting in God to work things out according to His plan, she sought her own solution. There is plenty of blame to go around in this story: Sarai, for trying to work around God, Abram, for going along with her plan despite knowing that God had promised him a son through Sarai, Hagar, for treating Sarai with contempt. As is usually the case, none of those involved in this story was innocent of making the problem worse.

    Some time later, God came to Abram and entered into a covenant with him. As part of this covenant, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham. There is an interesting fact about this covenant. It applied to all of those in Abraham’s household and that of his descendants, but not just to Abraham’s descendants. The covenant also applied to those whom Abraham and his descendants purchased. Then when God tells Abraham that Sarah (whose name He also changed at this point) would bear him a son, Abraham laughs at the idea. Instead of accepting God’s promise, Abraham asks if God cannot just extend the promise to Ishmael. I believe that Abraham’s request for Ishmael to be his son of the covenant was partially out of love for Ishmael. God’s answer was that, no, Sarah would bear Abraham a son who would be the son of the covenant, but that He would bless Ishmael.

    God’s agreement that He would not destroy Sodom if He found ten righteous people there is instructive, and should be inspirational. We do not know how many people lived in Sodom at the time. The important thing is that ten was such a small percentage of the population that Abraham was sure there must be at least that many righteous people there. For us, the important thing is that God would have spared the city for that few. The instructive part is that it only takes a few righteous people in a large population to stave off God’s judgment. The inspirational part is the reason why I believe God will withhold His judgment if there are that number of righteous people in a group of otherwise evil people. It only takes a few righteous people in a group to cause the members of that group to turn from their evil ways and seek the Lord. Let us strive to be that influence on those around us through our prayers and our actions.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Genesis 12-15.

    This passage begins with God calling Abram to continue the journey his father had begun. I have always been curious as to why Terah started the journey to Canaan, but never completed it. However, today I noticed something for the first time. God called Abram to leave his father’s household, yet this call appears to come after his father had died. Furthermore, Abram’s father traveled from Ur with Abram, Abram’s wife Sarai, and Abram’s nephew, Lot. Sarai and Lot went with Abram when he left Haran. So, who else was part of Terah’s household? (Abram’s other surviving brother had remained behind in Ur). I have long suspected that the reason that Terah left Ur was because his family was one of the few remaining who remembered the stories passed down from the time of Noah and that he wanted to find a place where his descendants would not be corrupted by the stories which had replaced them. Perhaps the remaining servants in Terah’s household were believers in the religion of Ur, rather than the traditions of the Bible.

    When Abram was called by God to leave Haran and travel on to Canaan he was 75 years old. Think about that, Abram set out to start a new life in a new land at 75 years of age. Despite what we would consider his advanced age, Abram was able to mount a military campaign to rescue Lot and the other captives from Sodom and Gomorrah. Think about that, Abram, who was now at least 80 years old and living as a nomad, led the armed men of his household and defeated the forces which had defeated the armies of Sodom and Gomorrah. Next time you think that you are too old for the task to which God has called you, think about Abram at 80 (this is a theme which comes up again before we get to the end of Genesis).

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Genesis 8-11.

    I mentioned in my New Year’s Day post that in the Garden of Eden all animals, including humans, were plant eaters. While there were several indications before this that people ate animals, after The Flood, God explicitly told Noah and his sons that animals have been given to them as food, just as He had given us grain and fruit as food. This puts an end to the idea, based on that earlier passage here in Genesis, that Christians should be vegans.

    There are two stories in today’s passage which lend themselves to reading between the lines. The first is the story of Noah cursing Canaan for what his father did (I am not sure why Noah cursed only Canaan, rather than all of Ham’s sons). In this story, Ham found his father passed out drunk and naked. He immediately went and told his brothers, who went and covered their father careful to avoid embarrassing him further. Reading between the lines, we realize that Ham told his brothers in order to diminish their respect for their father, which is why Noah cursed his son. The second story is how mankind came together to build the Tower of Babel, resulting in their languages becoming mutually incomprehensible. Reading between the lines, when people attempt to undertake complex projects they become divided as separate individuals and groups attempt to take credit for the successes and assign blame to others for the failures. It is only with God’s guidance that we can overcome this consequence of sin.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Genesis 4-7.

    Cain killed his brother Abel out of jealousy. God accepted of Abel’s sacrifice, but not Cain’s. What was the difference between them? There were two things different about their sacrifices. Cain’s sacrifice was a grain offering, Abel’s was the best portion of some lambs. Perhaps God found animal sacrifice more pleasing than a grain sacrifice, but I do not think that is the answer. The other difference is that Cain’s sacrifice was merely some of his harvest, while Abel’s was the first born lambs. Abel gave to God first and then looked out for his own needs.
    Cain was jealous of his brother because his brother was more successful than himself. However, rather than change his own behavior in order to become more successful, Cain chose to kill his brother. This is the root of so much sin. We see others being successful but rather than change our behaviors to mirror their success we try to take their success away from them. The result is usually similar to the curse which God laid upon Cain. Not only do we not gain from their loss, but we have to work much harder for basic survival.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Genesis 1-3.

    There is beauty in the way in which Genesis 1 describes the creation of the earth and everything in it. It is interesting how closely the order of events resembles current cosmological theories about the formation of the universe. There was a formless void and then God said “Let there be light,” and there was light. Then God separated the earth out from all of the matter in the Universe so that it resembles what we see today. Notice how this was a multi-step process. Plants appeared before any animals, aquatic animals appeared before land animals. Then God created man as the capstone of His creation. According to this account, all animals were vegetarians at this point. Before anyone says, “See, that means we were intended to be vegans,” I want to point out that God said that every seed bearing plant and every fruit was food for the Humans He had made. Yet today, many seeds and fruits are poisonous. Things have changed.

    The second chapter is a different story about how man and woman are meant to be together. Perhaps the best quote which sums up the important message of Genesis chapter 2 comes from Matthew Henry:

“The woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.”

There is a lot of truth to this. Husband and wife are intended to be partners. I am so glad that God gave me a wife who is my partner.

    Chapter three describes how it all started to go wrong. Adam and Eve had been told that they could eat the fruit of every tree but one. The serpent played on Eve’s curiosity and innocence to convince her to eat of the fruit which they were forbidden to eat. However, I want to make sure that people understand, while Eve was the one who was convinced and ate first, Adam was standing right there the whole time. And it was Adam to whom God gave the command not to eat the fruit (a command which applied to Eve). I have seen too many men stand to the side while their wife was convinced to do something she would later regret (and he often regretted it as well). You can argue that Adam had little choice but to eat the fruit once Eve had done so, but when the serpent was convincing Eve, Adam could have, and should have, spoken up.