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.

Recommit

I must recommit to this. I really do want to continue. I don't know what happened. I am sorry if you are on this journey with me. I will begin again today and my new plan is to read everyday during the normal school week. If I slip I will catch up on weekends. Thanks for your understanding and here we go again.

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.