seeing God

Genesis 39-41

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 15:46:00 +0000

Genesis 39

39:1 Back to Joseph's story

39:2 I wonder about this phrase "The Lord was with..." It's not like He WASN'T with others. But at the same time I suppose it just means He was extra-present in Joseph's life. We all know people like that. (And want to be people like that).

29:3 There's a direct correlation between the Lord being with Him and His success.

39:5 Joseph is fulfilling the "blessed to be a blessing promise.

39:9 Joseph is the voice of logic here.

39:10 She's persistent.

39:20 I heard it taught once that he probably didn't believe his wife. She probably had a history of being overly dramatic. If he had believed it, he would have killed Joseph, not merely tossed him in prison. It does say that he was furious though.

39:21 God's being with Joseph and bringing him success continued in prison.

39:23 repeat of this concept number 3 God being with Joseph made him successful.

Genesis 40

40:4 Joseph was the "personal attendant" of the prisoners? Isn't that sort of like a slave?

40:8 He's aware that God is with him, so he figures that maybe God will tell him the meaning of the dreams.

40:14 Joseph is asking for people's help to get out of prison. (I assume he also asked for God's help, but it doesn't say whether he did).

40:23 It seems hard to think that the cup-bearer would forget, but my guess is that there was a lot to do, and a lot of busy-ness. It makes us forget.

Genesis 41

41:1 Joseph is still in jail two more years. I wonder what made some dreams special and worthy of interpretation, as opposed to just normal dreams?

41:8 If I had such a dream and believed that it meant something, I'd be disturbed too. I'm surprised that no one just made up something to tell him.

41:9 At last someone remembers Joseph.

41:16 Joseph gives God credit before he even hears the dream.

41:29 The years of abundance take a special discipline to set us up for the years of famine.

41:33 Joseph veers out of dream interpreting to advice-giving.

41:36 The goal: the country not be wiped out by the famine.

41:38 Joseph goes from prisoner and slave to head of the country in what, one day?

41:43 I'm guessing this was a big change.

41:45 Joseph finally gets married.

41:46 He's still only 30. But he'd probably been gone for ten years or so?

41:49 They had too much food to measure.

41:51 Interesting that the hardship was in his father's house, not in Egypt in prison or as a slave.

41:52 And yet Egypt is the land of his affliction.

41:56 Joseph starts selling the grain that he'd taxed the people to get.

Genesis 32-33

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 20 Jan 2017 16:35:00 +0000

Genesis 32

32:1 It's so uneventful - God's angels met him.

32:3 Wait a sec - why is Jacob contacting Esau?

32:5 So he's seeking out Esau to keep Esau from coming after him to kill him, I suppose.

32:7 I'd be afraid a bit too - 400 men sounds like battle time.

32:9-11 I feel like this is the most honest prayer that Jacob has uttered yet.

32:18 Jacob is hoping that gifts pave his way. To be honest, it would probably work for me. Seems like a valid tactic.

32:20 Forgive Jacob for what? Being blessed and being rich? It's funny to me that a big show of riches is the way to get forgiven for being rich. But since Esau has 400 men, it's not like he's poor.

32:24 Talk about insomnia.

32:28 What does it mean to have struggled with God and prevailed? It's interesting to me that God even allows that. Then again, people do that will free will all the time I suppose.

32:30 Jacob knows that he deserves to be dead after that encounter with God.

32:32 I like these little tidbits in to the culture and why such and such is true.

Genesis 33

33:2 Jacob (Israel) puts the women and children in order of their importance to him.

32:4 Esau is eager to see his brother, and seems to have forgiven.

32:8 Jacob is again being honest, not trying to trick his brother.

32:9 Esau has also been blessed. He knows that he has enough for himself.

32:10 Now Jacob is getting flattering. But maybe it's sincere?

32:11 Jacob urged him, and he accepted the gifts.

32:12 Esau seems to expect that they'll move together.

32:17 Jacob doesn't want to be near his brother - he's still scared (and probably rightly so).

32:19 Jacob purchased land. So now there's land that Abraham had, and Jacob also has some land.

Genesis 31

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 19 Jan 2017 04:02:00 +0000

Genesis 31

31:1 So the family started resenting Jacob building wealth at Laban's expense....

31:2 Evidently they saw each other sometimes, I guess. Despite the three days journey.

31:8 Now, doesn't chapter 30 explicitly say that Laban was manipulating this? In front of his wives he credits God alone. I wonder if they bought that line.

31:12 I suppose the Bible doesn't say this is false, but it feels pretty fabricated to me...

31:14 Sad that the wives feel like outsiders in their father's house now.

31:19 so they fled while Laban was sheering his sheep? And Rachel went 3 days to her Dad's home to steel his gods? I don't get how this worked out practically.

31:20 Jacob continues his practice of deception.

31:24 I wonder why every once in a while (twice in this chapter) the writer uses the more formal (I think) "Laban the Aramean" instead of just Laban? It feels like an ominous warning that God gave him.

31:26-29 To me, this isn't "not saying anything to Jacob, good or bad". Yet, he asks legitimate questions.

31:32 Rachel is also deceptive.

31:36 Now Jacob is mad. In my mind, Laban has a right to be mad, for Jacob taking his family and moving without notice. I know Jacob is mad over being accused of stealing the gods, but that seems like a lesser offence to me. Jacob seems insolent.

31:40 He paints a different picture for his father-in-law than he did to his wives before he left.

31:43 I feel like Laban's heart is almost breaking in this verse.

31:49 I feel like all parents and kids should have such an agreement: God watch over you when I cannot.

31:52 Maybe not this portion of the meaning of the mound.

31:53 Interesting name for God - the Fear of his father Isaac.

31:55 Laban left with a blessing.

Genesis 29-30

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 16:03:00 +0000

Genesis 29

29:3 It must have taken several shepherds to roll the stone, since they all gathered together before watering the sheep, right?

29:6 Rachel was a shepherdess.

29:10 I wonder if he rolled the stone by himself? What he exceptionally strong?

29:15 So Jacob basically just moved in, right?

29:18 I like that Jacob has an honorable attitude toward Rachel - he's willing to work seven years while waiting for her.

29:20 Fun language - they seemed like only a day.

29:25 Evidently they got married after dark, and without lanterns or something that they didn't actually see each other on their wedding night.

29:28 So one week after Jacob marries Leah, Jacob marries Rachel too. (It amuses me that Jacob, the deceiver, is deceived by Laban).

29:30 This seems reasonable to me. I mean, he worked for Rachel all along, why wouldn't he love Rachel more?

29:32 My heart breaks a bit for Leah. With her first son, she hopes that her husband will love her.

29:33 And again with her second son.

29:34 And again with her third son - she wants to be attractive, just like we all do.

29:35 The naming scheme differs. This time she praises God. I wonder if she had found love, or given up trying, or decided that God was enough? We could draw a bunch of lessons here, but the Bible doesn't really tell us her reasoning.

Genesis 30

30:1 I find it amusing that Rachel thinks it's Jacob's fault she doesn't have kids. We do tend to blame lots of things on our husbands, don't we.

30:2 And Jacob blames God.

30:3 She uses the same solution that Sarai used with Abraham.

30:8 Rachel views this as a competition. Probably a bit of sibling rivalry? I'd have a hard time living with a husband who also had other wives. Especially if the other wife was my sister.

30:9 Leah follows Rachel's example.

30:13 Interesting - women call her happy, and that makes her happy.

30:15 They are buying and selling sex with their husband.

30:19 She still feels without love and honor. Poor woman.

30:21 Was Dinah the only girl? Or were there others that aren't mentioned? I get the impression that Dinah was the only one.

30:22 God remembered Rachel. It wasn't like He'd forgotten her, but he decided then to act in her favor.

30:23 Rachel was in shame because of her lack of kids. Leah was in shame because she wasn't loved.

30:25 I wonder if Rachel having Joseph made Jacob want to leave in some way.

30:27 I wonder if it was hard to deduce that Laban was blessed because of Jacob? In any case, Laban wants him to stay.

30:30 I wonder if Jacob is spinning it here - did he really have "little"? Or was it just less than he currently has?

30:32 Jacob has a plot. Laban cheated him with his wives, but Jacob has something cooking.

30:34 Laban goes for it.

30:36 That's quite a journey really. In these times, a three day journey would be like moving to California. I know it was really probably only 30 miles, but I have to be convinced that they didn't see each other all that often with a 3 day journey between them.

30:39 I wonder if this is a biological thing or superstition? In any case, the Bible speaks of it like it worked, so it must have.

30:42 Jacob's plan came to fruition - he got the stronger sheep, Laban got the weaker, all in accordance with their agreement.

30:43 It's interesting that Jacob is the one who becomes rich. It doesn't say that Laban also became rich.

Genesis 27-28

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 16 Jan 2017 14:02:00 +0000

Genesis 27

27:1 We sure didn't get much detail about Isaac's life, did we?

27:4 I wonder if Isaac knew about Esau selling his birthright to Jacob? It seems like he didn't, because clearly he intends Esau to have the blessing. Maybe they're not the same thing....

(Actually, now that I think of it, I don't think they're the same thing, one was possessions, and this is blessing).

27:9 Evidently Jacob couldn't cook the meal the way his dad liked?

27:12 Yes, Jacob is practical.

27:16 Esau was as hairy as a goat?!

27:23 The deception was successful

27:27 I wonder why the blessing "stuck" to Jacob since it was intended for Esau and he thought he was giving it to Esau. it's not like God doesn't know the difference.

27:29 Isn't this part of the promise that God gave to Abraham?

27:36 Ahh, yes, the birthright and the blessing are different.

27:37 I feel like Isaac is lacking creativity here. Surely there's other things that are blessings.

27:40 I don't think Esau ever really ended up Jacob's servant. But the offspring probably was Israel's servants?

27:41 The grudge is pretty understandable.

27:44 Just a few days?

Genesis 28

28:2 Rachel's manipulation is successful. Reminds me of the Big Fat Greek Wedding - the girl's mom manipulating a new job for her daughter.

28:8 Either Isaac hadn't been to open about this, or Esau was a bit slow to catch on.

28:13 God had told Rebecca that the older would serve the younger before they were born, so I'm thinking that this blessing God reminds Isaac of is not due to Jacob blessing him instead of Esau.

28:14 A repeat of the promise that all people's of the earth will be blessed through Abraham's offspring (now Jacob's)

28:21 Lots of conditions on the Lord being his God.

Genesis 20-22

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 14:07:00 +0000

Genesis 20

20:1 I wonder what made Abraham travel. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, or something else?

20:2 Lesson from last time not learned. And she's what, 99 years old?

20:3 God stepped in to rescue Sarah since Abraham didn't bother protecting her.

20:8 Abimelech and company have a healthy fear of God.

20:11 Abraham's reasoning was that there was no fear of God, even though we know from Abimelech's actions after the dream, that Abrahams presupposition was false.

20:14-15 Abimelech lets them stay, and pays Abraham.

20:17 Interestingly enough, what Abraham had to pray to heal Abimelech's household of (the curse for taking in Sarah), was infertility - the same thing that Sarah has.

21:2 I wonder if Isaac was born while they lived in Abimelech's country. It must be so.

20:6 Sarah is enjoying being a mother.

20:8 I think research says he was somewhere between 3 and 6 years old? (normal "weaning" age?)

20:10 Now that Sarah has a child, she's not going to tolerate the presence even of Abraham's other child.

20:12 Abraham had gotten in trouble for listening to his wife and taking Hagar, but here God tells him to listen to Sarah and send away Hagar and Ishmael.

20:15 First of all, wasn't Ishmael an older teen by this time? He was 13 when he was circumcised, right? He should have been caring for his mother, not his mother putting him under a bush. Second, what's the purpose of the bush? My best guess is protection from wild animals? Again, doesn't he know how to hunt by now? This is interesting to me.

20:18 He really was probably going to die since Hagar had to help him up.

20:20 He became an archer.

20:23 Abimelech is making it a poitn to find favor with Abraham - he must have been pretty powerful.

20:30 Abraham gives seven lambs to Abimelech as proof that the well belongs to Abraham. He's buying the rights to dig.

20:33 Abraham plants a tree and calls on God. This is a new name for God, the Everlasting God, isn't it?

22:1 Remember back when Abraham believed God that he would have a son, and God counted it to him as righteousness? That's when Romans says Abraham was justified before God. This chapter, then, is where Abraham is justified before men. He proves his commitment and visibly trusts God.

20:2 Isaac is now referred to as Abraham's only son.

20:4 they had to walk more than three days just to make a sacrifice.

20:6 Isaac carried the wood up the mountain that he was to be sacrificed on.

20:7 Isaac has figured out that something isn't right.

20:8 Abraham answers truthfully, but not truthfully. Doesn't Hebrews say that Abraham figured God could/would raise Isaac from the dead?

20:9 Abraham was over 110. How old was Isaac? I'm pretty sure almost all of my kids could outrun me. I suspect somehow that Isaac submitted to this, or that Abraham used some trickery...

20:10 Abraham did intend to go through with it.

20:12 Abraham feared God more than being childless.

20:14 The Lord will Provide - became the name of the mountain.

20:16-18 It's interesting to me that the promise is still the same. Abraham performed this great feat of faith - almost killing his son - and God gives the same promise that he'd already given and wasn't conditional. I think the "Your offspring will possess the gates of their enemies" part is maybe new? All the nations of the earth are blessed and have been blessed by Abraham's offspring. They are blessed to be a blessing. So are we.

20:19 Did Abraham move to Beer-sheba, or is this where Abimelech was? (Looked back - it's the place that Abraham dug the well. So he didn't move).

20:20-24 We get caught up on Abraham's brother, where Isaac's wife will come from. It's like foreshadowing.

Genesis 18-19

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 22:16:00 +0000

Genesis 18-19

18:1 I like this practice of sitting out the heat of the day. It's naptime. I want a nap too.

18:6 It never fails to amuse me the culture difference here. Abraham says - take a little break, have a piece of bread - it'll be quick! They agree, so they START THEN to make bread. It's gonna be an hour or two minimum before the bread is done, won't it? That's not a little break in my sped-up American culture.

18:7 And they start the meal prep by killing the cow. Man, I'm thankful for modern refrigeration and that I can buy my meat already dressed and ready for cooking. How long do you think they had to wait for this meal? I remember being shocked in Africa that we ordered chicken at a restaurant, then saw them go chase the chicken around the yard to kill it for our meal. We waited more than an hour (I think maybe more than two - my memory is failing me). Chickens are lots smaller than cows.

18:8 Do they just sit under the tree and wait while Abraham and Sarah do all this prep?

18:10 This has to be quite soon after God promised Abraham and changed his name, because both stories say "in about a year".

18:11 Sarah had passed the age of childbearing, so this is obviously a miracle.

18:12 I'm pretty sure I'd laugh too.

18:14 One of my favorite lines in the whole Bible: Is anything impossible for the Lord?

18:17-19 So God's visit actually had a different motive. I love how God reasons to himself that Abraham is worthy of trust here.

18:20 Someone is crying out against Sodom and Gomorrah. That means not everyone is agreeing in their practices, right?

18:23 It's not like God to punish the righteous with the wicked. Abraham knows that. (This is one of the hardest things I've found in parenting - not punishing all for the sins of one....)

18:25 Abraham is quite certain of God's character here. Also, Abraham isn't especially in awe of walking along talking with God. I think they've done this before.

18:27 Abraham isn't forgetting his place, or his inferiority to God, but is still bold enough to dare to speak.

18:33 Abraham whittles God down to ten. He'll spare the whole city of wicked people if there's even ten righteous there.

Genesis 19

19:1 Lot sat in Sodom's gate. Doesn't that imply some sort of authority?

19:2 The men want to experience what the city has to offer rather than be sheltered by a foreigner. Seems reasonable. I wonder if Lot had some idea that these men were special? Was it Lot's cries that had reached God's ears?

18:3 I wonder if this is their second feast that day, or if there had been a day or more of travel between Abraham and Lot's houses

19:4-5 The whole city males - both young and old - turn out for the visitors. It was quite an occasion I guess. That the men came there to have sex with the men of the city is kind of a bold assumption, I think.

19:7 Lot calls their actions evil, but still calls them brothers. He wants them to think of him as one of them.

19:8 Okay, so it's okay to "do whatever you want" to the girls, but not to the men. Not really a big fan of Lot's philosophy here. (Neither is God, as we see later). Lot took them under his roof to protect them. So Lot's not surprised by their behavior here.

19:9 They're mad. They don't consider Lot a part of them, and are threatening him.

19:10-11 The angels (presumably the same three men who came in to town, who talked with Abraham now. Interesting that they're now called angels), whom Lot took in to protect them, are now protecting Lot supernaturally.

19:13 I don't think God had to count the people.

19:14 I wonder if these men just think of Lot as a lunatic. (And I wonder how long it'll be before Christians are viewed as lunatics here and now).

19:15 God is still not willing to destroy the righteous with the wicked, but they have to push Lot and family out.

19:16 Because of the Lord's compassion for him....

19:18 Lot, like Abraham, dares argue with God, but this one is of a different, more whiny nature, not appealing to God's character.

18:20 Lot appeals to God to not destroy all the towns in the region, save him one to live in. Lot doesn't like the idea of living out in the country.

19:24 God had hung up his bow of strife against Mankind with the rainbow after Noah. Here He takes it up again - not against all of mankind, which would violate his vow, but on a local scale, he's still willing to battle mankind to protect the whole.

19:25 Interesting that God demolished the cities, but also everything growing on the ground. I wonder if this is so that people who fled wouldn't survive in the wilderness?

19:26 This makes me wonder if Lot's wife liked Sodom, and that's why they stayed there.

19:29 God credits Abraham for his not destroying Lot with the cities.

19:30 The whole thing scared Lot pretty good. I suppose it would me too. Now he's living in the countryside.

19:31-35 Lot's daughters assume that there's no hope for them now that they're living on the mountain with their crazy old Dad. They've grown up in this culture, so having sex with their dad is no real bother to them. And they birth two of Israel's greatest enemy nations.

Genesis 16-17

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 08 Jan 2017 15:46:00 +0000

Genesis 16

16:2 This was pretty normal practice of the day. It makes me wonder what socially acceptable and even normal things we do now that are against what God wants. I'm sure there's lots of them.

16:4 Now the "problem" was clearly with Sarai, not Abram. Even though the Bible had clearly told us that, it was probably Hagar getting pregnant that made the household in general confirm this.

16:5 Sarai is clearly offended. And blames Abram for her hurt.

16:6 Sarai continues to respond poorly. Now, this was kinda her fault in the first place, for suggesting it (granted, Abram shouldn't have gone along with the plan). Now she's eating her own fruit and not liking it, so she's going deeper. Kinda like Cain - when he had opportunities to repent, he pouted and sulked and offended more deeply. God isn't here in person talking to Sarai about her choices, but it's still obvious that she's making herself and everyone else miserable with her choosing to keep on this path of abuse.

16:9 Interesting that God ordered her to go home to an abusive home. That wouldn't be culturally acceptable today.

16:10 God promised her reward.

16:13 This is one of my favorite verses, and one that I think of often. Hagar gets pregnant, becomes haughty toward Sarai, gets abused and runs away. God finds her, tells her to return to the bad situation, and promises both hardship and great reward. Hagar then gives God a name. Does anyone else in the Bible actually give God a name? She calls him "The God Who Sees". She knew that God saw what she was enduring, and that she was understood and rewarded for her hardship. I'm always reminding myself of this. God sees. God knows. It's nice to be seen and cared for.

16:14 She didn't just name God, she named the Spring too. I don't think I ever noticed that before.

16:15 God told Hagar what to name the baby, but Abram actually named the child.

16:16 Abram was already 86 when Ishmael was born. Not exactly young. How long were people living in those days? (looking back.... Abram's dad lived to 205... so people probably weren't super old at 86 yet.)

Genesis 17

17:1 The Bible is emphasizing Abram's age - he's clearly considered too old for having kiddos. God opens his command with "I am God Almighty. Live in My presence and be blameless." This seems like a really daunting charge to me. But one that I want to do also.

17:2 God renews his promise to multiply Abram greatly.

17:4 God is initiating an agreement with Abram. God promises.

- Abram will be father of many nations - x2

- extremely fruitful and many nations and kings come from you

- offspring will have all of canaan as land

In addition to three times promising lots of offspring (many nations), God refers to Abrams offspring another three times. So the repetition is practically six times in these few sentences. That's a lot.

God also renamed Abram to Abraham.

17:9 Abraham's part in the deal: he and his offspring are to keep the covenant of circumcision. ("circumcision" the word is repeated four times).

Incidentally, both Muslims (Arabs) and Jews still keep this, as both still circumcise boys. And they still dwell in the land God promised.

17:15 Sarai gets a new name too. I wonder if she's the only woman in the Bible to be renamed? I'm pretty sure she's the only woman in the Bible to have her age recorded at her death.....

17:16 Sarai gets a similar blessing to Abraham. She is promised a son, and that she will produce nations, kings and peoples.

17:17 Abraham clearly thinks that both he and Sarah are too old to be having kids.

17:20 Interesting that God making Ishmael into nations seems a bit like an afterthought, after Abraham asked God to just make Ishmael the promised one and not make them have to deal with another child.

17:25 I can't imagine that circumcision was pleasant for either a 99 year old man or a 13 year old boy. I think there's a reason they do it when kids are babies now...

17:27 Abraham had a pretty large household - over 300 fighting men, right? My guess is that this community was in a world of hurt for a few days there. I'm impressed that Abraham took God this seriously and did it.

Genesis 14-15

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 08 Jan 2017 15:46:00 +0000

Genesis 14

14:10 some of the fleeing kings fell into asphalt pits. Yikes.

14:11 The pursuing kings took all the goods and all the food from Sodom and Gomorrah.

14:12 What they took included Lot and family.

14:14 Abram had 318 trained men in his household - I wonder how many people overall he had?

14:16 Abram and his 318 men defeated the army. I'm guessing the army was significantly larger than that, since it was against four kings (who had fought five kings, two of which were of Sodom and Gomorrah, and won).

14:17 The king of Sodom comes out to meet Abram, and Melchizedek also meets him. Was it at the same time and in the same place? Was the meeting of three people? It sure seems like it.

14:18 Melchizedek is king of Salem, which is introduced like it's a city, but we don't know where it was, right? And he was a priest of the Most High God.

14:20 Abram pays him a tithe. Hebrews, I think, talks about this, and how through this act, even the priests paid a tithe to Melchizedek, the mysterious priest.

14:22 We hear about a promise that Abram made to God.

14:23 The motivation - Abram doesn't want any person to be able to say he made Abram rich. Abram was already rich, and it seems to me that the king of Egypt had a lot to do with Abram becoming rich, because of Sarai, right? I wonder why he doesn't want others to add to his riches? Maybe it's a change in perspective?

Genesis 15

15:2 Abram is understandably concerned about kids, because God had already promised him that his descendants would have all the land he could see. But he has no descendants.

15:6 A super-key verse. Abram believed. God accounted this belief for righteousness. I like that this theme - believing is what makes God count you as righteous - is so pervasive in the Bible.

15:9 Abram had to gather up all these animals - I'm guessing this wasn't a 5 minute job to gather them, kill them halve them, etc. It had to be pretty bloody.

15:11 - they already smelled bad enough to attract birds of prey, right?

15:13 So, Abram asks how he can know that his offspring will possess this land, God has him prep a sacrifice (only the second mentioned in the Bible, the first being Noah's), and puts him to sleep. In the sleep he tells that his offspring will be enslaved for 400 years, come out with riches and in the fourth generation return to this area.

15:17 There's lots of research on this passage. I think the significant part is that God and Abram didn't both walk between the halves of the dead animals, just God did (a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch represent God, right?) That means that it was only up to God, not Abram, to keep the covenant they were making.

15:18 The covenant was for the land. So in essence, God was swearing that Abram's offspring would get that land, no matter what. Interesting to me because even now, even though not much of that land belongs to Israel, the rest of it belongs to Arabs, who are also Abram's descendants....

Genesis 12-13

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 08 Jan 2017 15:45:00 +0000

Genesis 12

12:2-3 This promise has "bless" in it five times. Once God blesses Abram, twice others are blessed through Abram, and once those who bless Abram are blessed. I'd say it's a definite emphasis that others are blessed through Abram.

This is a non-conditional promise too. All three promises that I recall so far in the Bible have been.

12:10 I was once told to notice famines in the Bible - God uses them. Maybe to move people? It's the reason for this move to Egypt.

12:13 Abram isn't protecting his wife, he's asking her to protect him, and using her to get rich :(

12:18 Pharaoh has it figured out.

12:19 Pharaoh wants Abram and Sarai out of there - probably because of the plagues they brought.

13:2 Abram was very rich

13:4 Abram called on God there. I wonder if Abram and God were disconnected while he was in Egypt?

13:10 "the Lord's garden" - I wonder if this is a reference to the garden in Eden? If so, people talked about what it looked like for a long time. Also, Egypt was well watered...

13:12 It's significant that Lot chose to live in the cities.

13:14 God promised Abram even the land that Lot chose for himself.

13:16 another promise - numerous offspring. Considering that all the Jews and Arabs are descended from Abram, I'd say this one has been fulfilled!

Genesis 9-11

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 08 Jan 2017 15:45:00 +0000

Genesis 9

9:1 God gives Noah the same charge he gave Adam and Eve - be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth.

9:2 He adds that all animals are afraid of them. And reminds Noah that he is in authority over animals.

9:3 God adds living creatures for food.

9:4 I was taught that this was a command to not eat raw meat.

9:6 This doesn't seem like a new command, though I don't think it was spelled out before. The point is that human life is valuable.

9:7 the command is repeated

9:13-17 God declares that the war on mankind was over. His symbol of this was that he hung up his bow, the way a warrior would, on a wall, after the battle. God hung his up in the sky - and it has the shape of a bow and arrow. I had always thought of a rainbow as the type of bow that ties up a pretty package, not the type that is a weapon of war, hung up because it's use is over. But I'm pretty sure the weapon is the intent here.

9:19 They fulfill the command.

9:25 The wrong done by Ham affected all of time after that. The Canaanites would always be enemies of God's people.

10:5 Each group had their own language. I wonder if this was before the tower of Babel? I'm guessing that it's a summary over time, and after the tower... But I don't know.

10:8 Nimrod was a powerful hunter - it's interesting what gets called out...

10:18 The Ham descendents scattered.

10:20 The Ham descendents also had their own languages. It has to be after Babel.

10:22 Shem's sons are more familiar in name to me - probably because it's repeated through the Bible in lots of geneologies.

11:1 So yes, all this spreading out and different languages happened after this story.

11:4 This is the second mention of a city - Cain also built one. It couldn't be the same one Cain built - that would have been destroyed in the flood.

Their purpose is to build a name for themselves and to not scatter. There's problems with both purposes. God is supposed to have the famous name, and He told them to fill the earth, not stick together in one place.

It's a funny twist in this story that we're never told WHO they were. We have no idea. We can speculate, but they wanted so badly to make a name for themselves, and ended up nameless.

The commentors who wrote our curriculum for middle school consider this group a subset of all mankind, not everyone all together. The Bible isn't clear on it.

11:8 God increased his involvement for just a bit, and enforced His command by confusing their speech and scattering them.

Is the tower of Babel in what became Babylon?

This is actually one of my favorite stories in the Bible - because I like languages, and because so much of life is spent trying to communicate (I do integrations at work - make my software communicate with other software).... When I was in college, I worked on maps, and mapping software - and it was the same thing. Everyone says something a little differently, and it's very difficult on a computer-level to make it all match up. Thanks to this group of people trying to make a name for themselves and build a tower.

11:10 After the flood, men became fathers in general before 50, and lived only half the time their ancestors had.

11:18 By Peleg that life expectancy was halved again, so they were living 200 ish years.

11:30 I wonder if the point of Sarai's infertility was so that the miracle of a child would be recognized later?

Genesis 6-8

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 08 Jan 2017 15:44:00 +0000

6:1-2 Ahh - a very weird chunk of scripture. (The sons of God taking wives among the sons of Men. Who were these sons of God that they could breed with humans even though they weren't human? The Bible doesn't say.)

6:3 God shortens the life expectancy of people. No more Adam living until Noah's dad's time.

6:4 I'm not sure if these giants were the result of the sons of God marrying the human women, because it doesn't actually say so. But it does sort of seem implied. Giants, and mighty men of old are the only "special" types of people mentioned.

6:5 This verse is the key of the whole passage. The adjectives emphasize: the wickedness of man was GREAT, EVERY intent of the thoughts of his heart was ONLY EVIL, CONTINUOUSLY. We think things here and now are getting bad, but really, people still have good intentions, we still have a lot of Christian values, etc. To have this where every intent was only evil, and continuously. It must have been really bad.

6:6 God plans to undo his creation.

6:8 But Noah...

6:9 The geneology of Noah is humorously short.

6:10 Returning now to our theme. Things are pretty bad, really evil. Filled with violence, corrupt...

6:14-16 So the ark has to have certain dimensions, three stories, a window and a door.

6:20 birds, animals and creeping things came. if we look back at the classification of animals in creation, I would venture to guess that "animals" covers both livestock and wild animals, that creeping things is the third classification of animals. Birds came, but there's no mention of sea creatures. My guess is that they didn't come. (And didn't need to, to survive).

6:22 Noah obeyed everything.

7:5 repeated - Noah obeyed all that God commanded him.

(hurrying now, it's about time to load the van)

End of chapter 7 there's a big emphasis on the death that abounded. There was everyone from Seth's generation onward still alive - and that was the end of them all.

8:7 Ravens eat dead flesh. The raven Noah sent out went to and fro, probably eating carnage.

8:8 Doves eat plants. It couldn't stay out until there were plants available.

8:20 There's a huge number of animals at this sacrifice. This is the first burnt offering and the first sacrifice in the Bible.

Noah has become the new Adam.

Genesis 3-5

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 08 Jan 2017 15:44:00 +0000

3:1 The serpent was a creature (creeping animal). That means he was under man's authority.

He suggested to the woman to doubt God's goodness.

3:2 In youth group we're going to talk about what Eve's response SHOULD have been - perhaps she should have said "Hey God, the serpent is trying to say you're not good, is that true?" Instead she answers in her own (already deceived) strength.

3:3 And she adds to what God said to them.

3:4 Serpent directly calls God a liar.

3:6 Woman takes the bait. Adam was with her. This is a big point. That means that he had failed to do his job (of protecting) by standing by and watching this interchange between the serpent and the woman without doing anything.He also obeyed the serpent, so he failed to do his job (protect) and he abdicated his authority and dominion to someone who he was over, by obeying them. He had been the one in charge. His obeying the serpent made the serpent the de facto ruler.

3:7 The first consequences of their sin. They felt ashamed at their nakedness.

3:9-11 God's interchange is first with Adam. he's the one who should be in charge.

3:12 Man blames woman, whom he should have been protecting.

3:13 Woman blames serpent, who was under her authority, not the other way around.

3:14 The serpent gets the first consequences from God.

1 - he's cursed

2 - he has to crawl on the ground (I wonder how he moved before?)

3 - women will hate snakes

4 - serpents head will be crushed by woman's seed (who's heel is injured in the process)

3:16 Woman's consequences from God.

1 - increased pain in childbirth - her call to multiply and fill the earth is now much more difficult.

2 - she desired to rule over her husband - something she had done when giving the fruit to Adam.

3:17 Adam's consequences from God.

1 - his call to tend the garden is much more difficult - the ground is cursed.

2 - he will die.

In our youth group we'll notice that God didn't take away the tasks He had given them.

3:20 Adam names the woman Eve. This is beautiful - God just handed them consequences, difficult ones, ending with death. Adam shows that he gets God's plan of saving them from death through the seed of the woman, by naming his wife "the mother of all the living" instead of "the mother of the dying".

3:21 God rejects the fig leaf clothing they made for themselves. He clothes them with animal skin. Note that the first animal death (sacrifice) came just after the first sin.

3:24 Before people have access to the tree of life, they now have to first go through death.

4:1 They have a child, it's the hope that he will be the one to conquer the serpent.

4:5 Cain knew what was wrong with his offering (the Bible doesn't tell us), but he sulks because he's called out for it.

4:7 God gives Cain the opportunity to repent and get right. Cain doesn't take it.

4:9 Cain still doesn't repent.

4:11 Cain was a worker of the ground, so the ground was cursed for him.

4:17 Instead of working the ground, Cain built a city, and named it after his son (Enoch - not the same Enoch that was in the line of Seth later)

4:24 Lamech takes Cains curse and makes it a boast.

4:25 Another son for Adam and Eve - their hope can be renewed.

5:21 Enoch, descended from Seth, is the one who walks with God. (Enoch descended from Cain has a city named after him.)

5:26 Seth also had a Lamech in his line. This one was the grandfather of Noah. Here's some math, because I find this interesting:

Adam had Seth at 130.

Seth had Enosh at 105, so Adam was 235

Enosh had Kenan at 90, so Adam was 325

Kenan had Mahalel at 70, so Adam was 395

Mahalalel was 65 when Jared was born, so Adam was 460

Jared had Enoch at 162, so Adam was 622.

Enoch had Methuselah at 65 so Adam was 687

Methuselah had Lamech at 187, so Adam was 874

Lamech had Noah at 182, so 1056 after Adam was created. Adam lived to be 930. So Adam lived at the same time as Noah's father, but not at the same time as Noah.

Genesis 1-2

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 08 Jan 2017 15:43:00 +0000

Happy New Year!

Genesis 1

1:2 The earth was formless and empty. Spoiler alert, God will form it, then fill it.

1:3-5 God does each day in the same order: He commands "let there be light", He separates (light from dark), he names "he called the light day and the darkness night"). Some days have a fourth step. In verse 3, there's an extra - evaluation, "God saw that the light was good".

1:6-8 God commanded an expanse between the waters. His command made it so. He separated water above from water below. He called it sky.

1:9-10 God commanded the water to gather. He separated water and land. He named the dry land "earth", and the water spots "seas". And here he adds a fourth step to each of the rest of the days - he evaluates" And God saw that it was good.

So our steps are: command - separate - name - evaluate. This is repeated throughout creation, and I'm sure beyond.

1:11-12 God starts filling what he formed here on the 3rd day, he fills the land with vegetation. Here he commanded but didn't specifically separate or name. He did call it good.

1:14-18 God fills what he formed on day 1 in day 2. He adds sun, moon and stars to the sky. He gives them a purpose - they have dominion over day and night. They also separate light from darkness. Got calls them good.

1:20 God fills what he made in day 2: The water is full of living creatures, and the sky with birds. And he calls it Good. He gives the creatures a purpose - be fruitful and multiply.

1:24 God fills what he made in day 3: the earth.

There's three kinds of creatures: livestock, creeping things and wild animals. And God calls it good.

So these are the things that God calls good:

Light, vegetation, sun, moon, stars, plants, sea creatures and birds, animals. these are all things that relate to the world being suitable for humans. God is calling it Good for us.

1:26-27 God is referred to both as singular and plural. God makes people both singular and plural too.

1:28 God gives people two purposes - fill the earth, and rule over the fish, birds and creatures. (Notice that we don't rule over the sun moon and stars). We have dominion.

1:29 God gives plants for food. God doesn't give animals for food until after the flood. We had a long discussion in youth group about how awesome it is that food grows on trees. it's seriously better than money growing on trees.

1:31 The culmination: It's very good.

2:2 People's first full day on earth: The day of rest. yes.

2:7 This is a closer look at day 6. God forms man out of dust. Man comes alive when God breathes life into Him. (We learn later that death is the separating of the body from the breath)

2:8 Eden was a region. On the east side of Ededn was a garden.

2:15 Man's purpose in the garden was to tend and keep. He was in charge of gardening and protecting. He has this authority.

2:19 God gave man the right to name things. This is one of the ways that man is in the image of God.

2:21-24 Got made man plural from singular. Now man is both singular and plural - also in the image of God.

Revelation 6

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 16:04:00 +0000

6:2 It never occurred to me that the man on the horse wasn't Jesus. But it wasn't, because Jesus is opening scrolls. But the man on the hose is sent out as a victor to conquer.

6:3 The second horse is red, and he goes out to take peace from the earth. (So the first man on a horse conquers, the second takes away peace). That to me seems pretty scary.

6:5 The third horse is black. The man isn't given a purpose, but has scales to weigh out wheat and barley.

6:8 The pale green horse has a rider names death., and he has authority given to kill people. I'm guessing that's his purpose. So we have three purposes: To conquer, to remove peace and to kill.

These don't strike me as very nice people on horses....

6:9 I was wondering what would happen after the four living creatures were all exhausted from saying "Come". No one says come on the fifth seal. And instead of horses and riders going out, there's people slaughtered because of God's word and their testimony.

6:10 I imagine that martyrs and persecuted people are already crying out "how long until you avenge our blood?"

6:11 I wonder if there's a particular number to reach?

6:12 As if things weren't bad enough, now nature has also turned against people. An earthquake - perhaps that raises enough dust that both the sun and moon are blocked out? It can't be an eclipse right, because it's affecting both of them...

6:13 And stars are falling to the earth. This is an interesting scientific phenomenon. I'm glad that I don't expect to have to live through it on earth, but I do hope I get to see it (or rather, learn about it) from heaven.

6:14 The sky is torn open? Every mountain and island is moved. So it's not just any old earthquake - it's a whole-earth quake....

6:15 The security of power and money no longer holds any value. The rich the powerful the military commanders are joining the normal slaves and free people in hiding and wishing that they would just die. People are fearing God.

6:17 No one is able to stand against the wrath of God. I'm glad we live under His grace!

Plans for a future and a hope

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 16:10:00 +0000

I read Jeremiah 29 last night. It made me laugh. Here't my overly-analytical thoughts on it.

The chapter is a letter, which Jeremiah wrote to the Israelites that were carried away in captivity to Babylon. He had predicted this, so it was no surprise. He writes letting them know not to mourn too badly - it's only for 70 years, they should plant gardens and marry and have kids, and basically live life normally.

After 70 years, God will return you to your homeland - it's not His plan to destroy you (the famous verse 11: "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." )

Then he goes on to discuss the people who didn't go in to captivity but stayed in Israel against God's wishes: (v 17 "Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like rotten figs that cannot be eaten, they are so bad. 18 And I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence; and I will deliver them to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth—to be a curse, an astonishment, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, 19 because they have not heeded My words..".)

I find it funny that verse 11 and verse 17 are only 6 verses apart, but everyone knows verse 11 and thinks it applies to them, and no one knows verse 17 and thinks it applies to them.

In reality - neither apply to them. They're written in a letter TO ISRAEL in a very specific situation. There's certainly reason to believe that God does have plans for a future and a hope for all believers (it's called eternity). But this verse isn't the proof of nor the basis for these plans.

And one side note. Both sides here - the captives and those who stayed in Israel, are experiencing punishment. But neither side has this punishment as a permanent thing. They are being punished temporarily (or temporally - in time), but not for all eternity. God isn't talking about hell or anything like that - just that He punishes His children. Here he even tells why - in verse 19, because they didn't listen and obey.

Verses 12-14 gives God's motivation here: "Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity;". Yes - he wants His people to return to Him. That's the overarching principal of this passage - that God does what it takes to bring His children back to Him. That was true of Israel (who had special conditions with God that we don't have - like "obey me and you'll be blessed, disobey and you'll be cursed"). But it's also a general truth of how God deals with people - he wants us to seek Him.

Okay, enough sermon and analysis for the morning. I just had to laugh ruefully last night when I noticed the context of this very famous verse.

Joshua 6

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 02:43:00 +0000

what I remember:
The people of Jericho were so scared of the impending attack from Israel that they holed up in their city and no one was allowed to go in or out. Israel's instructions were to march around the city once each day for six days, then march around seven times on the seventh day, shout and blow trumpets and the walls would fall. Then they were to go in, level it, burn everything and such. Rahab and her family were removed from the city before the walls fell. This was a surprise to me - somehow I had always pictured Rahab's house as still standing when the rest of the wall fell.

key verse:
So the LORD was with Joshua and his fame spread throughout all the country.

about God:
The passage goes out of its way to point out that Rahab was spared because she hid the messengers that had come to spy out the land. God rewards those who take risks for Him.

Joshua 5

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 03:23:00 +0000

what I remember:
After they crossed the Jordan, God told the men of Israel to be circumcised (those who were born in the desert hadn't been). When the kings of the area heard about God drying up the Jordan for them to pass, their hearts melted with fear.

Before the battle started, a warrior - the commander of the Lord's Army, appeared to Joshua.

Also, celebrated the passover (how many years does this make now - 41?) And the day after the passover they ate the produce of the promised land. That day also the manna stopped. God had fed them manna for 40+ years.

key verse:
as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come. And Joshua fell n his face to the ground and worshiped.

about God:
God has an army. The army had commander(s). They fight for His people.

Joshua 4

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 03:15:00 +0000

what I remember:
God commanded the people of Israel, as they walked through the Jordan on dry ground, to pick up twelve stones - one for each tribe, and stand them up on the opposite shore. The stones were to serve as a visual reminder of what God did that day - and to spur kids to ask their parents about them and hear the story of what God did.

key verse:
that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.

about God:
God wants us to remember (and commemorate) when He does something special for us.

Joshua 3

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 03:05:00 +0000

what I remember:
God sends Joshua and his men out to cross the Jordan. The Arc of the Covenant is to go first, and the men afterwards. God tells Joshua that he ill exalt Joshua so that the people will see that God is with him like He was with Moses.

The people walk across the Jordan on dry land because God holds back the water for them.

key verse:
"Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you"

about God:
He likes to show His people what He can do. The people in this case were responsive and obedient to it.

Joshua 2

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 02:17:00 +0000

what I remember:
Joshua sends spies to spy out the land they are to conquer - especially Jericho. They come to Jericho and hide in the house of Rehab. She sends their pursuers off to look for them while they hide on her roof. Then she sends them off the other way for their safety. She tells them that she knows about what their God has done for them, and requests that in exchange for her protection, they spare her and her family when they conquer the city - for she and everyone there knows it's coming.

I wonder if they've been dreading this invasion for the whole 40 years? Neat how God's reputation has gone before them.

key verse:
"Truly the Lord has delivered all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are fainthearted because of us."

about God:
His reputation precedes Him. In fact, the enemies of Israel seem to have more confidence that God will win than Israel does.

Joshua 1

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 03:24:00 +0000

what I remember:
This had to take place at least 30 days after the death of Moses, because they mourned him in the desert for 30 days. It sounds so immediate. They are to cross over the Jordan within three days, and begin doing what God has been holding for over 40 years. They are to pack provisions, and the wives and children stay, an the men go. I wonder if this means that the women and children were on one side of the Jordan while their husbands and fathers were on the other. I suppose so.

key verse:
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

about God:
It's finally the right time. God has had this all along - Joshua and the Israelites can't lose if he sticks with God.

Deuteronomy 34

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 03:14:00 +0000

what I remember:
Moses finally dies at 120. He was still full of life and health. No one knows where he's buried.

God showed him teh promised land form the mountain, but did not permit him to enter. Still, God pointed out that there has never been one like him - who God spoke with face to face.

key verse:
But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face

about God:
Even with his faults, and even in spite of his consequences (not getting to enter the promised Land), God had a really special relationship with Moses.

This conclusion of the life of Moses kind of makes me want to go through and see what other times Moses is mentioned in the Bible, and what is said of him to whom God spoke face-to-face.

Deuteronomy 33

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 03:11:00 +0000

what I remember:
Moses blesses each tribe in turn.
Who is Jeshurun?

key verse:
Happy are you, O Israel!
Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord,
The shield of your help
And the sword of your majesty!
Your enemies shall submit to you,
And you shall tread down their high places.

about God:
He wants to bless His people.

Deuteronomy 32

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 03:10:00 +0000

what I remember:
Teh song - about Israel disobeying God, and God gave them everything, but they grew fat and rebelled.

key verse:
Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this,
That they would consider their latter end!

about God:
He sure knows our nature as people well. Yes, we do this. I'm American - this is my entire culture.