4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky 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. -Genesis 15:4-6 Abram was a... Read more
18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem 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 of heaven and earth. 20 And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” -Genesis 14:18-20 Abram had experience a rough battle. His nephew Lot and Lot’s family had been taken captive by an opposing king. In response, Abram gathered warriors aligned with... Read more
14 The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring 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... Read more
1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 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 went, as... Read more
1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 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; otherwise we... Read more
“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 10:32 Genesis is a book of beginnings. After the Flood, the next beginning was that of nations. Noah’s three sons had sons who led to the seventy nations listed in Genesis 10. The idea is clear: all of the nations known to the Israelites originated from Noah’s family. It all came... Read more
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.” -Genesis 9:12-13 Noah is special not only because of the Ark, but because of God’s covenant. God didn’t make many covenants in the Bible with people.... Read more
18 So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. 19 All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds—everything that moves on land—came out of the ark, one kind after another. 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... Read more
“Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.” -Genesis 7:5 Noah stands out in two key ways in chapter seven. First, he obeyed. Second, he obeyed fully. Both are noted as important in Scripture. Many people obey God for a season. Even Judas followed Jesus for three years. Yet not many obey fully. Because Noah did, we are told God saved his family and many animals. What if Noah had left the giraffes? What if Noah had sent Shem to... Read more
5 The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the LORD said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and... Read more
Holy Writ
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