Genesis 12:9

Genesis 12:9 says, And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.  Abram still had not settled permanently.  Though Abram was in the land of promise, there was a famine there as we see in verse ten, so he left temporarily.  Verse ten states, And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.  Abram did not use the famine as an excuse to return to his homeland, but went further still.  When people become followers of Christ, they can expect difficulties in life, but they must never use those difficulties as an excuse to return to where they were before accepting Christ as their Savior and Lord.  Verse eleven says, And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:  Abram began to waver in his faith in God when he entered Egypt.  He evidently didn't believe that God would keep him safe.  Verse twelve adds, Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.  Abram feared that the Egyptians would kill him if they knew that Sarai was his wife so that they might have her.  Again, this shows very little faith in God's promise.  Verse thirteen concludes, Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.  Abram devised his own plan to save himself, but he was not too concerned about what this would do to Sarai.  Our own plans of salvation will never work, but we must always put our faith in God's plan.  Verse fourteen states, And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.  What Abram had feared would happen did.  Sometimes, the things that we fear may happen will, but this is the time that we must put our faith in God even more.  Verse fifteen says, The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.  Sarai was taken into the house of the Pharaoh because she was a good looking woman, I guess we could say.  Verse sixteen declares, And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.  The Pharaoh was in effect buying Sarai, whom Abram had called his sister, from Abram, and Abram was willing to go along with it.  Our plans may not only save us problems, but they may materially reward us, but if they are not based on faith in God and His promises, they will ultimately fail.  Verse seventeen says, And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife.  Abram may have been willing to sell Sarai, but God still had His plan and promise in effect.  God brought a plague on Pharaoh's house because of Sarai.  Sarai was a part of God's plan to build a nation, and He would not let her go, even if Abram had.  As followers of Christ, we cannot use other people, especially other Christians, for our own benefit.  Verse eighteen asks, And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?  The pharaoh called Abram and asked why he had lied about Sarai being his wife.  It is bad when those who do not profess to know God can question the auctions of those who do, especially if it is based on something the the believer did that was wrong.  There was no way that Abram could justify his actions.  Verse nineteen adds, Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.  Even the pharaoh recognized that what he was about to do was wrong.  Verse twenty declares, And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.  Pharaoh sent Abram and Sarai and all that they had away.  I believe that Abram's lack of faith created a lot of problems, but God was still at work in his life.  Our lack of faith at times may create problems, but if we are truly followers of Christ, He will be at work to rescue us from our foolish plans.

Genesis 12:1

Genesis 12:1 says, Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:  God spoke to Abram and gave him specific instructions.  Abram was to leave his country, his kindred, and his father's house.  I believe that too often today people allow where they live and closeness to their family to dictate what they will do for God.  I also believe that God still calls people to leave home and family to serve Him by spreading the gospel in other parts of the country and world.  Verse two states, And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:  God's call to Abram came with a promise.  God said He would make Abram the father of a great nation and his name great.  God's call to us today comes with a promise.  God will write our names in the book of life and we will become a part of His kingdom.  Verse three adds, And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.  I believe that the reason Abram was to be blessed was not because of his own goodness, but because of his obedience to God.  When God blesses us today, it is not because of our own goodness or because we somehow deserve it because of who we are and where we were born, but because of God's grace to us.  If we want God to bless us, either as an individual or a nation, we must first be obedient to Him.  Verse four declares, So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.  Abram almost did as God instructed, but Lot went with Him.  I don't believe that this was totally doing what God instructed Abram to do, and later Lot would cause Abram problems.  When God calls us to do something, we need to be totally obedient or it will later cause us problems.  Verse five adds, And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.  This states that Abram took not only Lot but some other people, maybe servants, with Him.  Once more, we need to be certain that when God directs us to do something that we obey His instructions without adding to or taking away from them.  Verse six says, And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.  Abram went to the land of Canaan, and there were already people there.  Wherever God calls us to go today, there will already be people there.  Still, as followers of Christ, wherever we are, we are a part of God's kingdom if we are following His will for our lives.  God did not promise that Abram's becoming a great nation would be without problems, and we as followers of Christ today are not promised that life will be without problems.  Verse seven states, And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.  Though there were already people there, God promised that He would give this land to Abram.  I believe that when we are where God wants us to be that He will let us know and we can be certain of His promises to us.  Abram built an altar to God, and we today must always honor God even as we are doing His will.  Verse eight declares, And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.  When Abram got to where he was going to settle, he once again built an altar to God.  We can never leave our worship of God behind us at an altar we built before.  We must always make worship and obedience to God a daily practice.

Genesis 11:10

Genesis 11:10 says, These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:  The rest of the chapter simply gives a more detailed genealogy of Shem.  Verse eleven states, And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.  Verse twelve says, And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah:   Verse thirteen adds, And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters. Verse fourteen says, And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber: Verse fifteen adds, And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.  Verse sixteen says,  And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg:  As stated earlier, Eber was the father of the Hebrews.  Verse seventeen adds, And Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters.  Verse eighteen says, And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu:  Verse nineteen adds, And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters. Verse twenty says, And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug:  Verse twenty-one adds, And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters. We see that the length of life is decreasing.  Verse twenty-two says, And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:  Verse twenty-three adds, And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.  Verse twenty-four states, And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:  Verse twenty-five says, And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.  Verse twenty six adds, And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.  We are now to Abram..  Verse twenty-seven adds, Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.  We also have the record of the birth of Lot, Abram's nephew.  Verse twenty-eight adds, And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.  This is the first time that it is mentioned that a son died before his father, with the exception of Abel.  It may be to show why Lot was with Abram.  Verse twenty-nine states, And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.  Verse thirty declares, But Sarai was barren; she had no child.  Verse thirty-one adds, And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.  Terah took Abram, Sarai, and Lot and went to the land or Ur of the Chaldees.  Verse thirty-two concludes, And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.  This bring us from the flood to Abram, or later Abraham, through the descendants of Shem.  We do not have the genealogy of Ham and Japheth, but they were also having generations of sons and daughters, so there were many more people in the world.

Genesis 11:1

Genesis 11:1  says, And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.  The world was still united.  Even though we were told groups of people, or nations, would descend from Noah's three sons, for a long time after the flood, the people were united with only one language.  Matthew Henry points out that God had told them to go populate all the world, but they were still remaining grouped together.  They may have felt that there was more security in numbers, but we must remember that our real security is in following God's commands.  Verse two states, And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.  The people found a place that looked good and all decided to live there.  Again, this was not what God had instructed them to do.  Verse three declares, And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.  Though they did not find building materials, they figured out how to make them.  When we are following God's leadership, He will provide us with what we need to accomplish His work.  Sometimes through, we decide to make our own provisions, but we can never accomplish what God wants us to do through our own abilities.  Even though we may need to work to accomplish God's purpose for us, we should always be sure that we are working under His guidance.  Verse four adds, And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.  Matthew Henry points out that the people were acting in defiance to God.  They were building a city so they would not be scattered, which is what God had told them to do.  We have that same command, which is to go into all the world with the gospel.  They wanted to build a tower to reach into heaven and preserve their names.  The only place we need to have our name remembered is in God's book of life.  God's people had always lived in tents, but now they wanted something more permanent.  We will never have a permanent home on earth, no matter how big and ornate we may build it.  Verse five declares, And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.  God knows what is going on in the world, and He judges whether things are being done according to His will.  Verse six adds, And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.  God noted that the people were united and were more capable of accomplishing great things, even if it was against God's will.  No matter how great we may think we are and how much power we may think we have, we are still but a part of God's creation.  Verse seven says, Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.  God gave the people several different languages.  I cannot imagine what it was like to suddenly have groups of people who no longer understood each other when they had a short time before.  Verse eight states, So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.  When we defy God, He will destroy our plans, if not immediately, then in the coming judgment.  Verse nine concludes, Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.  Even today, when someone is speaking in a way we don't understand, we say they are babbling.

Genesis 10:21

Genesis 10:21 says,, Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.  It is through Eber, one of the great grandsons of Shem, that the Hebrews descended.  Though they were a weak people nationally, they were the people that God chose to work through to accomplish His salvation plan.  They were set apart, not because of their greatness, but because of their weakness in the eyes of the world.  God does not often choose the rich and powerful to work through, but instead chooses the weak and lowly.  Even those who are rich and powerful must acknowledge their own weakness before God to claim His salvation.   It also points out that Ham was evidently the younger brother of Japhteth, through whom the Gentiles were descended.  Though a separate group of people throughout the Old Testament, the Jews and Gentiles were descended from the same person, Noah, and were reunited as one people spiritually, followers of Christ, in the New Testament.  Verse twenty-two states, The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.  Verse twenty-three adds, And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.  Verse twenty-four concludes, And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.  We are now back to Eber, who has already been brought up.  Verse twenty-five states, And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan.  It was during the days of Peleg that the earth was divided, most likely referring to the dispersion at the tower of Babel.  Verse twenty-six says, And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,  Verse twenty-seven adds, And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,  Verse twenty-eight continues, And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,  Then verse twenty-nine states, And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.  Verse thirty says, And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east. This simply tells us where some of Shem's descendants lived.  Verse thirty-one declares, These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.  Then verse thirty-two concludes, These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.  I believe that what this means today is that by birth we are all equal in God's view.  Though God chose to work through a particular group of people in the Old Testament, that does not mean that everyone else was doomed.  God has always worked to redeem anyone and everyone who will put their faith in Him.

Genesis 10:1

Genesis 10:1 says, Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.  This chapter follows the genealogy of Noah's three sons.  Verse two says, The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.  The next few verses follow the descendants of Japheth.  Verse three adds, And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.  Verse four concludes, And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.  We are not given the descendants of all his son's but only of two.  Verse five says, By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.  The Gentiles were descendants of Japhath.  The next few verses follow the descendants of Ham.  Verse six says, And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. Verse seven adds, And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. Verse eight states, And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.  One of the son's of Cush, Nimrod, was singled out and declared to be one of the mighty men in the earth.  Verse nine declares, He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.  He was known to be a mighty hunter before the Lord.   Matthew Henry says that this does not mean that Nimrod followed God, but in fact Nimrod set himself up as the one to be followed.  Verse ten adds, And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.  Babel was a part of his kingdom, and we will later read of its significance.  Verse eleven says, Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,  Then verse twelve adds, And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.  Matthew Henry says that after the dispersion at Babel that Nimrod built these cities in Assyria.  Verse thirteen says, And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,  Verse fourteen adds, And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.  Verse fifteen states, And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth,  Verse sixteen adds, And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,  Verse seventeen continues, And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,  Then verse eighteen concludes,  And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.  These were many of the people who would later fight against the Jews, and eventually they were spread abroad.  Verse nineteen states, And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.  This simply tells us the size of the land of the Canaanites.  Verse twenty says, These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.  We will look at the sons of Shem separately.

Genesis 9:20

Genesis 9:20 says, And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:  Noah became a farmer, basically, and he planted a vineyard.  Noah went back to work.  He did not suddenly feel that everything was owed to him.  When we accept Christ, we are called to work, not to be worshipped nor to demand the riches of this world.  Verse twenty-one states, And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.  Noah evidently made wine, and then drank too much.  Noah was the man who found mercy in the eyes of God, but he was not a perfect man.  He got drunk and fell asleep naked.  Verse twenty-two adds, And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.  Matthew Henry points out that the sin of Ham was not seeing Noah passed out naked, but in telling his brothers about it out in public.  He says that it was as if Ham was gloating about the fact.  We may see someone commit a sinful act, but we should never publicise it in an attempt to shame them or to make ourself look better.  Verse twenty-three declares, And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.  Shem and Japheth went out of their way to not look on Noah, their father, with disrespect.  We today should never look at the sins of others as an opportunity to look down on them, but we should do all we can to minimize the effect of the sin.  Verse twenty-four says, And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.  We are not told how Noah knew what Ham had done, but it may have been something that everyone was talking about.  All we are told is that when Noah awoke, or sobered up, he knew.  Verse twenty-five declares, And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.  Noah pronounced a curse on Canaan, Ham's son.   He was to be a servant to his brothers.  I still do not believe that God punishes children for the sins of their parents, but we are not told that this was something that God did.  I personally believe that just as Noah was wrong to pass out drunk and naked, so was he wrong in this action.  Verse twenty-six adds, And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.  Shem would be the father of the Israelites.  Noah did not say that Shem should be blessed but that God should be.  Verse twenty-seven concludes, God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.  Japheth would be the father of the Gentiles, and Canaan would be a servant to both.  Verse twenty-eight says, And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.  Then verse twenty-nine states, And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.  Noah had a long life after the flood and overall.  Still, as with nearly all people, he died.  We can be certain that no matter how long we live, and no matter how good or bad we may be, that unless Christ returns before then, we will all die.  For followers of Christ, this is just a transition point though.  We move on to the rest of our everlasting life.