Genesis 16 1-16

Genesis

Chapter 16

1-16

1
1 Abram's wife Sarai had borne him no children. She had, however, an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar.
2
Sarai said to Abram: "The LORD has kept me from bearing children. Have intercourse, then, with my maid; perhaps I shall have sons through her." Abram heeded Sarai's request.
3
Thus, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, his wife Sarai took her maid, Hagar the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his concubine.
4
He had intercourse with her, and she became pregnant. When she became aware of her pregnancy, she looked on her mistress with disdain.
5
So Sarai said to Abram: "You are responsible for this outrage against me. I myself gave my maid to your embrace; but ever since she became aware of her pregnancy, she has been looking on me with disdain. May the LORD decide between you and me!"
6
Abram told Sarai: "Your maid is in your power. Do to her whatever you please." Sarai then abused her so much that Hagar ran away from her.
7
2 The LORD'S messenger found her by a spring in the wilderness, the spring on the road to Shur,
8
and he asked, "Hagar, maid of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" She answered, "I am running away from my mistress, Sarai."
9
But the LORD'S messenger told her: "Go back to your mistress and submit to her abusive treatment.
10
I will make your descendants so numerous," added the LORD'S messenger, "that they will be too many to count.
11
3 Besides," the LORD'S messenger said to her: "You are now pregnant and shall bear a son; you shall name him Ishmael, For the LORD has heard you, God has answered you.
12
He shall be a wild ass of a man, his hand against everyone, and everyone's hand against him; In opposition to all his kin shall he encamp."
13
4 To the LORD who spoke to her she gave a name, saying, "You are the God of Vision"; she meant, "Have I really seen God and remained alive after my vision?"
14
5 That is why the well is called Beer-lahai-roi. It is between Kadesh and Bered.
15
Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram named the son whom Hagar bore him Ishmael.
16
Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

Reflection: We as humans mess up God's plan so often. The man was 86 years old. He figured I will not have a child even though God said we would. My wife is old and there is not hope. When his wife offered an unhappy solution he jumped on it forgetting the power of God. The intention of marriage was never one of using the other for bearing children. This small group of people show why it goes against our human way to force the situation. I do like that God protected Ishmael and loved that child without blame for the behavior of the adults.

Genesis 15: 6-21

Genesis

Chapter 15

6-21

6 1 Abram put his faith in the LORD, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.


7 He then said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as a possession."


8 "O Lord GOD," he asked, "How am I to know that I shall possess it?"


9 2 He answered him, "Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon."


10 He brought him all these, split them in two, and placed each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not cut up.


11 Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses, but Abram stayed with them.


12 As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram, and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him.


13 Then the LORD said to Abram: "Know for certain that your descendants shall be aliens in a land not their own, where they shall be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.


14 But I will bring judgment on the nation they must serve, and in the end they will depart with great wealth.


15 You, however, shall join your forefathers in peace; you shall be buried at a contented old age.


16 3 In the fourth time-span the others shall come back here; the wickedness of the Amorites will not have reached its full measure until then."


17 4 When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking brazier and a flaming torch, which passed between those pieces.


18 5 It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River (the Euphrates),


19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,


20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,


21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."



Reflection: God went out of his way to explain and prove to Abram what his intentions were. Abram trusted and did each thing he was asked. God gives details that don't make sense to me. The fact that his descendants that he isn't if sure if he will have because he is now an old man and still without a child, but these descendants will be enslaved and without wealth. God is revealing so much to Abram. I wonder why?

Genesis 15: 1-5

Genesis
Chapter 15
1-5

1 Some time after these events, this word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram! I am your shield; I will make your reward very great."

2 But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what good will your gifts be, if I keep on being childless and have as my heir the steward of my house, Eliezer?"


3 Abram continued, "See, you have given me no offspring, and so one of my servants will be my heir."


4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: "No, that one shall not be your heir; your own issue shall be your heir."


5 He took him outside and said: "Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so," he added, "shall your descendants be."


Reflection: The pain of not having a child must be so great! I have not ever had that issue and yet I can only imagine that longing for a child must be painful. Abram had to trust God not matter what. How hard that really is! So often I find that same trust hard to accomplish because of the children. I am always amazed though that God can really make anything happen.

Genesis 14: 13-24

Genesis
Chapter 14
13-24

13 4 A fugitive came and brought the news to Abram the Hebrew, who was camping at the terebinth of Mamre the Amorite, a kinsman of Eshcol and Aner; these were in league with Abram.

14 When Abram heard that his nephew had been captured, he mustered three hundred and eighteen of his retainers, born in his house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.

15 He and his party deployed against them at night, defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.

16 He recovered all the possessions, besides bringing back his kinsman Lot and his possessions, along with the women and the other captives.

17 When Abram returned from his victory over Chedorlaomer and the kings who were allied with him, the king of Sodom went out to greet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).

18 5 Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine, and being a priest of God Most High, he blessed Abram with these words:

19 6 Blessed be Abram by God Most High, the creator of heaven and earth;

20 7 And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your foes into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people; the goods you may keep."

22 8 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom: "I have sworn to the LORD, God Most High, the creator of heaven and earth,

23 that I would not take so much as a thread or a sandal strap from anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I made Abram rich.'

24 Nothing for me except what my servants have used up and the share that is due to the men who joined me--Aner, Eshcol and Mamre; let them take their share."

Reflection: I wonder if this has to do with that idea that God will love us and come after us no matter what. Just like Abram heard about his family member in trouble God loves us in that way. He will come to our aid. Not for His benefit but for our own. Abram did not take any profit for himself. He was fair and he invited his people to help him. He saw to it that his men were repayed not rewarded. Again the glory is given to God not to man.

Genesis 14: 1-12

Genesis

Chapter 14

1-12

1 1 In the days of. . . , Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim


2 made war on Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).


3 2 All the latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).


4 For twelve years they had been subject to Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.


5 3 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings allied with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,


6 and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as Elparan, close by the wilderness.


7 They then turned back and came to Enmishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they subdued the whole country both of the Amalekites and of the Amorites who dwelt in Hazazon-tamar.


8 Thereupon the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out, and in the Valley of Siddim they went into battle against them:


9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar-four kings against five.


10Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits; and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into these, while the rest fled to the mountains.


11 The victors seized all the possessions and food supplies of Sodom and Gomorrah and then went their way,


12 taking with them Abram's nephew Lot, who had been living in Sodom, as well as his possessions.



Reflection: Tough times. It looked at first like Lot had chosen the better path. I wonder why they took Lot? God allows the craziest things to happen. I remember being told that the Bible was full of war. I see now that there is always a conflict going on. We think that times are worse now than ever before, but I don't think so. Not deep today, just gald to have the guided words of God to join us.

Genesis 13: 13-18

Genesis
Chapter 13
13-18

13 Now the inhabitants of Sodom were very wicked in the sins they committed against the LORD.

14 After Lot had left, the LORD said to Abram: "Look about you, and from where you are, gaze to the north and south, east and west;

15 all the land that you see I will give to you and your descendants forever.

16 I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth; if anyone could count the dust of the earth, your descendants too might be counted.

17 Set forth and walk about in the land, through its length and breadth, for to you I will give it."

18 Abram moved his tents and went on to settle near the terebinth of Mamre, which is at Hebron. There he built an altar to the LORD.

Reflection: I love how Abram trusted and went where God told him to go. He thanked him and always gave the glory back to God. His focus was building the altar. Lot decided to stay among the wickedness. God did not condemn him but knew that if would be hard for him and his household. He encouraged Abram to avoid those hardships. In return he promised the childless man that his descendants would be more than all the dust of the earth. Wow, that is a huge promise, and Abram trusted. I need faith like that. I need to give God glory and I need to protect myself from influence.

Genesis 13: 1-12

Genesis

Chapter 13

1-12

1 From Egypt Abram went up to the Negeb with his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot accompanied him.

2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.

3 From the Negeb he traveled by stages toward Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly stood,

4 the site where he had first built the altar; and there he invoked the LORD by name.

5 Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents,

6 so that the land could not support them if they stayed together; their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together.

7 There were quarrels between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and those of Lot's. (At this time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were occupying the land.)

8 So Abram said to Lot: "Let there be no strife between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are kinsmen.

9 Is not the whole land at your disposal? Please separate from me. If you prefer the left, I will go to the right; if you prefer the right, I will go to the left."

10Lot looked about and saw how well watered the whole Jordan Plain was as far as Zoar, like the LORD'S own garden, or like Egypt. (This was before the LORD had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)

11 Lot, therefore, chose for himself the whole Jordan Plain and set out eastward. Thus they separated from each other;

12 Abram stayed in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the Plain, pitching his tents near Sodom.

Reflection: God was so good to them that they had to separate. They both must have had huge amounts of flocks for them not to be able to graze together. Abram was wise to not let it come between them. He was willing to go the "wrong" way if it was to make Lot happy. I know that I am often jealous and envious of what others get. I need to be more thankful for the gifts I receive and to be thankful for the goodness that comes to others. I need to work to serve my fellow man and be willing to offer them the "better" portion trusting that God will still take care of me.

Genesis 12: 5-20

Genesis
Chapter 12
5-20


5 2 Abram took his wife Sarai, his brother's son Lot, all the possessions that they had accumulated, and the persons they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,

6 Abram passed through the land as far as the sacred place at Shechem, by the terebinth of Moreh. (The Canaanites were then in the land.)

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

8 From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel, pitching his tent with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. He built an altar there to the LORD and invoked the LORD by name.

9 3 Then Abram journeyed on by stages to the Negeb.

10 There was famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, since the famine in the land was severe.

11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai: "I know well how beautiful a woman you are.

12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'She is his wife'; then they will kill me, but let you live.

13 4 Please say, therefore, that you are my sister, so that it may go well with me on your account and my life may be spared for your sake."

14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw how beautiful the woman was; and when Pharaoh's courtiers saw her,

15 they praised her to Pharaoh. So she was taken into Pharaoh's palace.

16 5 On her account it went very well with Abram, and he received flocks and herds, male and female slaves, male and female asses, and camels.

17 But the LORD struck Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram's wife Sarai.

18 Then Pharaoh summoned Abram and said to him: "How could you do this to me! Why didn't you tell me she was your wife?

19 Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her for my wife? Here, then, is your wife. Take her and be gone!"

20 Then Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and all that belonged to him.

Reflection: I find this so sick. I just can't get over how woman were viewed and treated as objects. I know that in our world and in our time it is unique in comparison to history but it is so different that how I feel I am treated by my loving husband. My honor is important to him. He would do more that to just keep me alive.

I see how God protected the women though. Now she did get to be Pharaoh's wife for a short time but God saw to it that his life was not pleasant so that he wanted to "give her back". It bothers me and yet I do love the God will take care of us. Always in spite of us being worthy.

Genesis 12:1-4

Genesis

Chapter 12

1 The LORD said to Abram: "Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father's house to a land that I will show you.

2 "I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

3 1 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you."

4 Abram went as the LORD directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

Reflection: God really did call this man out. He asked him to change his entire life. In return God promised him greatness. Imagine being told that you will be made a great nation. What does that mean? I wonder if Abram doubted at all. He was already 75 years old and people were no longer living 600 or more years. At 75 he was told that he would a great nation. I would have wondered how. If I am childless now how in the world could God make a great nation out of just me. Abram wasn't like me, he trusted and left his home land. He went were God wanted him to go. Dear God, please help me to be strong in my faith like Abram and to trust you to lead me where I need to go.

Genesis 11: 10-32

Genesis
Chapter 11: 10- 32

10 5 This is the record of the descendants of Shem. When Shem was one hundred years old, he became the father of Arpachshad, two years after the flood.

11 Shem lived five hundred years after the birth of Arpachshad, and he had other sons and daughters.

12 6 When Arpachshad was thirty-five years old, he became the father of Shelah.

13 Arpachshad lived four hundred and three years after the birth of Shelah, and he had other sons and daughters.

14 When Shelah was thirty years old, he became the father of Eber.

15 Shelah lived four hundred and three years after the birth of Eber, and he had other sons and daughters.

16 7 When Eber was thirty-four years old, he became the father of Peleg.

17 Eber lived four hundred and thirty years after the birth of Peleg, and he had other sons and daughters.

18 When Peleg was thirty years old, he became the father of Reu.

19 Peleg lived two hundred and nine years after the birth of Reu, and he had other sons and daughters.

20 When Reu was thirty-two years old, he became the father of Serug.

21 Reu lived two hundred and seven years after the birth of Serug, and he had other sons and daughters.

22 When Serug was thirty years old, he became the father of Nahor.

23 Serug lived two hundred years after the birth of Nahor, and he had other sons and daughters.

24 When Nahor was twenty-nine years old, he became the father of Terah.

25 Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years after the birth of Terah, and he had other sons and daughters.

26 When Terah was seventy years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.

27 This is the record of the descendants of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and Haran became the father of Lot.

28 8 Haran died before his father Terah, in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans.

29 Abram and Nahor took wives; the name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah, daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah.

30 Sarai was barren; she had no child.

31 9 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot, son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and brought them out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to go to the land of Canaan. But when they reached Haran, they settled there.

32 10 The lifetime of Terah was two hundred and five years; then Terah died in Haran.

Reflection: Another look at more of the family tree. It must have been so hard on Sarai to have been barren. That line just sticks out to me. My life has been filled with so much fertility. Often I get upset at how careful I need to be. I forget how blessed fertility is. In our world today we don't embrace it like past generations. In today's world it is seen as a curse but in reality it is such a blessing. The family is being laid out and the story is unfolding. God please help me to be thankful to be part of this family. Help me to be grateful to be a part of your unfolding story.

Genesis 11: 1-9

Genesis

Chapter 11
1-9

1 1 The whole world spoke the same language, using the same words.


2 2 While men were migrating in the east, they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.


3 They said to one another, "Come, let us mold bricks and harden them with fire." They used bricks for stone, and bitumen for mortar.


4 3 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky, and so make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered all over the earth."


5 LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men had built.


6 Then the LORD said: "If now, while they are one people, all speaking the same language, they have started to do this, nothing will later stop them from doing whatever they presume to do.


7 Let us then go down and there confuse their language, so that one will not understand what another says."


8 Thus the LORD scattered them from there all over the earth, and they stopped building the city.


9 4 That is why it was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the speech of all the world. It was from that place that he scattered them all over the earth.

Reflection: God could see that man was getting full of himself again. He loved us enough to try to help and confuse us. Today we are in a society that is pushing for global governments, global banking and such. We forget to embrace our differences. I think God does want us to work together but never at the detriment of our eternity. When mankind gets so full of itself that we think we know more than God, or that God must not exist because we are so smart, then we have crossed that same line that the people of Babel did. We must give glory to God in all things that we accomplish and honor him at the same time. Building a huge tower is wonderful. Building it in spite of God, proving you can reach the heavens, or to show your own greatness is not so wonderful. Help me Lord to remember to give all back to you!

Genesis 10: 21-32

Genesis

Chapter 10

21-32

21 To Shem also, Japheth's oldest brother and the ancestor of all the children of Eber, sons were born.


22 The descendants of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.


23 The descendants of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.


24 Arpachshad became the father of Shelah, and Shelah became the father of Eber.


25 13 To Eber two sons were born: the name of the first was Peleg, for in his time the world was divided; and the name of his brother was Joktan.


26 Joktan became the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,


27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,


28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba,


29 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were descendants of Joktan.


30 Their settlements extended all the way to Sephar, the eastern hill country.


31 These are the descendants of Shem, according to their clans and languages by their lands and nations.


32 These are the groupings of Noah's sons, according to their origins and by their nations. From these the other nations of the earth branched out after the flood.

Reflection: The world was begun anew. These families were to go forth a populate the world again. The plan was this time there would be less evil. Sin had taken over and demons inhabited the earth. We often think that we live in the worst of times. I wonder if that is true. I know that my fellow man is capable of very evil tasks. I hear the news but I wonder how it compares. Are the numbers just as bad? Do we in this generation stand a better chance because we have the forgiveness of Christ so readily available? The world, for the most part, has heard His word, does that help? or are we living in a time that God wants to destroy all mankind? I know some wonderful people so I guess not. Lord, deliver us from evil!

Genesis 10: 6-20

Genesis

Chapter 10

6-20

6 5 The descendants of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.


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


8 6 Cush became the father of Nimrod, who was the first potentate on earth.


9 He was a mighty hunter by the grace of the LORD; hence the saying, "Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter by the grace of the LORD."


10 7 The chief cities of his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, and Accad, all of them in the land of Shinar.


11 8 From that land he went forth to Asshur, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, and Calah,


12 9 as well as Resen, between Nineveh and Calah, the latter being the principal city.


13 Mizraim became the father of the Ludim, the Anamim, the Lehabim, the Naphtuhim,


14 10 the Pathrusim, the Casluhim, and the Caphtorim from whom the Philistines sprang.


15 11 Canaan became the father of Sidon, his first-born, and of Heth;


16 also of the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,


17 the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,


18 the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward, the clans of the Canaanites spread out,


19 12 so that the Canaanite borders extended from Sidon all the way to Gerar, near Gaza, and all the way to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, near Lasha.


20 These are the descendants of Ham, according to their clans and languages, by their lands and nations.

Reflection: The outline of family continues. We even get a little good news over Nimrod. Something we can all be proud of. He was a mighty hunter with the glory going to God. Hey I know him, he is part of my family. Sitting back reading the names at first is boring but then I remember that this is old. The stories are ancient. These people are so loved by God that he made sure that I would read their names thousands of years after their life. If they are enjoying the fruits of heaven I ask then to pray for me.

Genesis 10: 1-5

Genesis

Chapter 10

1-5

1 These are the descendants of Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, to whom sons were born after the flood.


2 The descendants of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.


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


4 The descendants of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim, and the Rodanim.


5 These are the descendants of Japheth, and from them sprang the maritime nations, in their respective lands--each with its own language--by their clans within their nations.

Reflection: Again we see how each person is important in the bible. We are given the information to trace ourselves back to Noah just like we had been given the information to trace back to Adam. We are a family. This story is shared as if we know these people because in a family we would.

Genesis 9:18-19

Genesis

Chapter 9

18-19

18   3 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.)


19   These three were the sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was peopled.

Reflections:  Short passage today.  Those three sons of Noah now had the job to populate the earth.  I wonder how they could do that.  Would these guys be more worthing than the others?  Would their offspring be better than the others.  We often complain about how bad our society has become.  I just don't think we are as bad as we think we are.  I know many aspects of evil exist but I see a lot of godness as well. 

Genesis 9: 8-17

Genesis

Chapter 9

8-17

8   God said to Noah and to his sons with him:


9   "See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you


10   and with every living creature that was with you: all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals that were with you and came out of the ark.


11   I will establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood; there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth."

12   God added: "This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between me and you and every living creature with you:


13   I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.


14   When I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow appears in the clouds,


15   I will recall the covenant I have made between me and you and all living beings, so that the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all mortal beings.


16   As the bow appears in the clouds, I will see it and recall the everlasting covenant that I have established between God and all living beings--all mortal creatures that are on earth."


17   God told Noah: "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all mortal creatures that are on earth."

Reflection:  I bet man would become afraid that if they upset God too much he would destroy earth again.  He loves us enought to not wish us to fear him.  He protects our true free will.  We as humans can continue to live in honor of God or not based on our own desires not on the fear of a mean god getting us.   

Genesis 9:1-7

Genesis

Chapter 9

1-7

1   God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them: "Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth.


2   Dread fear of you shall come upon all the animals of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon all the creatures that move about on the ground and all the fishes of the sea; into your power they are delivered.


3   1 Every creature that is alive shall be yours to eat; I give them all to you as I did the green plants.


4   2 Only flesh with its lifeblood still in it you shall not eat.


5   For your own lifeblood, too, I will demand an accounting: from every animal I will demand it, and from man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life.


6   If anyone sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; For in the image of God has man been made.


7   Be fertile, then, and multiply; abound on earth and subdue it."

Reflection:  I wonder why the seperation of animals and humans.  Telling humans that the animals will now fear you.  Is an odd change.   I guess that humans did not eat meat until after the flood.  The animals were sent forth and so were the humans to go forth and mulitiply.  I wonder if I have answered that call with 9 children.  I have wondered how many a woman would have if she lived for many years.  We often read in the bible how a certain child sins and we don't hear the pain this will cause the mother.  I wonder how different the family dynamic really was from what we have today?

Genesis 9: 20-29

Genesis

Chapter 9

20-29

20 Now Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard.

21 When he drank some of the wine, he became drunk and lay naked inside his tent.

22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness, and he told his two brothers outside about it.

23 Shem and Japheth, however, took a robe, and holding it on their backs, they walked backward and covered their father's nakedness; since their faces were turned the other way, they did not see their father's nakedness.

24 When Noah woke up from his drunkenness and learned what his youngest son had done to him,

25 he said: "Cursed be Caanan! The lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers."

26 4 He also said: "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem! Let Canaan be his slave.

27 5 May God expand Japheth, so that he dwells among the tents of Shem; and let Canaan be his slave."

28 Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood.

29 The whole lifetime of Noah was nine hundred and fifty years; then he died.

Reflection: They really lived very long lives back then. 950 years old. He lived long enough to see the world reborn and to be betrayed by his own children. How sad. Our world still smuggles with understanding nakedness. We look at the human body in a manner that must make our Lord scream. We are created in His image and likeness. In a way we must look like him. Yet we laugh at our bodies? I hope and pray that I have raised my children to not laugh at my expense but to enjoy life with me.

Genesis 8, 15-24

Genesis

Chapter 8

15-24

15 Then God said to Noah:

16 "Go out of the ark, together with your wife and your sons and your sons' wives.

17 Bring out with you every living thing that is with you--all bodily creatures, be they birds or animals or creeping things of the earth-and let them abound on the earth, breeding and multiplying on it."


18 So Noah came out, together with his wife and his sons and his sons' wives;

19 and all the animals, wild and tame, all the birds, and all the creeping creatures of the earth left the ark, one kind after another.


20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and choosing from every clean animal and every clean bird, he offered holocausts on the altar.


21 3 When the LORD smelled the sweet odor, he said to himself: "Never again will I doom the earth because of man, since the desires of man's heart are evil from the start; nor will I ever again strike down all living beings, as I have done.


22 As long as the earth lasts, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, Summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."

Reflection:  As long as the earth lasts. . . this does imply that eventually the earth will not last.  Life will be allowed to exist.  We will have seasons, we will have extremes, we will still have natural disasters but God will not destroy all life on earth.  Earth was a beautiful creation independant of man.  God promises not to destroy it because of man.  How come man now thinks that they can destroy the earth.   I am not speaking as a person afraid of global warming.  Just the opposite.  I love that Noah remembered to pick the finest of animals and offer a back to go.  We must be thankful for all that he has given us.  We will never have a sacrifice worthy of this alter but Christ will come and be that offering. 

Genesis 8: 6-14

Genesis
Chapter 8

6-14

6

² At the end of forty days Noah opened the hatch he had made in the ark,

7

and he sent out a raven, to see if the waters had lessened on the earth. It flew back and forth until the waters dried off from the earth.

8

Then he sent out a dove, to see if the waters had lessened on the earth.

9

But the dove could find no place to alight and perch, and it returned to him in the ark, for there was water all over the earth. Putting out his hand, he caught the dove and drew it back to him inside the ark.

10

He waited seven days more and again sent the dove out from the ark.

11

In the evening the dove came back to him, and there in its bill was a plucked-off olive leaf! So Noah knew that the waters had lessened on the earth.

12

He waited still another seven days and then released the dove once more; and this time it did not come back.

13

In the six hundred and first year of Noah's life, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the water began to dry up on the earth. Noah then removed the covering of the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was drying up.

14

In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.

Reflection: Noah must have been anxious to start over again. I can only imagine after being trapped on a boat for so long that he would long for the solid grown. He would long for the security of land. The Olive leaf has always had special meaning. To us it means peace. God didn't send the dove back with just any only leaf but an olive leaf. "Peace be with you" was from God that day. The olive is considered a healing plant. It helps with so many things. It is considered a plant of peace and a plant from the gods.