ABRAHAM and SARAH

 

Genesis 17:15-16

King James Version

15 And God said unto Abraham, 

As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, 

but Sarah shall her name be.

16 And I will bless her, 

and give thee a son also of her: 

yea, I will bless her, 

and she shall be a mother of nations; 

kings of people shall be of her.

How has the LORD blessed Abram and Sarai?

In so many ways, as Scripture reveals:

Genesis 17:1-9

King James Version

17 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, 

the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, 

I am the Almighty God; 

walk before me, and be thou perfect.

2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, 

and will multiply thee exceedingly.

3 And Abram fell on his face: 

and God talked with him, saying,

4 As for me, 

behold, my covenant is with thee, 

and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, 

but thy name shall be Abraham; 

for a father of many nations have I made thee.

6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, 

and I will make nations of thee, 

and kings shall come out of thee.

7 And I will establish my covenant 

between me and thee and thy seed after thee 

in their generations for an everlasting covenant, 

to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, 

the land wherein thou art a stranger, 

all the land of Canaan, 

for an everlasting possession; 

and I will be their God.

9 And God said unto Abraham, 

Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, 

thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.

Abram, now "Abraham", was to be a "father of many nations".

Where Sarai, now "Sarah", used to be barren, now she will bear a child.

Genesis 17:19

King James Version

19 And God said, 

Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; 

and thou shalt call his name Isaac: 

and I will establish my covenant with him 

for an everlasting covenant, 

and with his seed after him.

Ishmael, Abraham's son with Hagar was to be blessed, too.

Genesis 17:20

King James Version

20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: 

Behold, I have blessed him, 

and will make him fruitful, 

and will multiply him exceedingly; 

twelve princes shall he beget, 

and I will make him a great nation.

But GOD's covenant is with Isaac, Abraham's son with Sarah.

Genesis 17:21-22

King James Version

21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, 

which Sarah shall bear unto thee 

at this set time in the next year.

22 And he left off talking with him, 

and God went up from Abraham.

To seal the covenant, GOD asked Abraham to have all male children to be circumcised on their 8th day of birth.

For himself, Abraham and Ishmael were circumcised, too.

Now, we take a look into the generations of Noah.

Click here to know more.

Image: Free Bible Images

SARAI and HAGAR

 

Genesis 16:1

King James Version

16 Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: 

and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, 

whose name was Hagar.

What happens when a woman can't bear a child?

Sarai, Abram's wife, thought up a plan.

She must have been frustrated, and desperate.

Enough to think this:

Genesis 16:2-3

King James Version

2 And Sarai said unto Abram, 

Behold now, 

the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: 

I pray thee, go in unto my maid; 

it may be that I may obtain children by her. 

And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

3 And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid 

the Egyptian, 

after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, 

and gave her to her husband Abram 

to be his wife.

As destiny would have it, Hagar didn't share the same problem as Sarai.

But she turned haughty.

Genesis 16:4

King James Version

4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: 

and when she saw that she had conceived, 

her mistress was despised in her eyes.

Sarai sought Abram's advice.

Genesis 16:5-6

King James Version

5 And Sarai said unto Abram, 

My wrong be upon thee: 

I have given my maid into thy bosom; 

and when she saw that she had conceived, 

I was despised in her eyes: 

the Lord judge between me and thee.

6 But Abram said unto Sarai, 

Behold, thy maid is in thine hand; 

do to her as it pleaseth thee. 

And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, 

she fled from her face.

An angel of the Lord visits Hagar.

Genesis 16:7-9

King James Version

7 And the angel of the Lord found her 

by a fountain of water in the wilderness, 

by the fountain in the way to Shur.

8 And he said, 

Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou?

 and whither wilt thou go? 

And she said, 

I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.

9 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, 

Return to thy mistress, 

and submit thyself under her hands.

The angel also promises her:

Genesis 16:10

King James Version

10 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, 

I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, 

that it shall not be numbered for multitude.

The angel informs Hagar,

Genesis 16:11

King James Version

11 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, 

Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, 

and shalt call his name Ishmael; 

because the Lord hath heard thy affliction.

The angel prophesies:

Genesis 16:12

King James Version

12 And he will be a wild man; 

his hand will be against every man, 

and every man's hand against him; 

and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

Abram becomes a father at 86.

Genesis 16:15-16

King James Version

15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: 

and Abram called his son's name,

which Hagar bare, 

Ishmael.

16 And Abram was fourscore and six years old, 

when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.

But what of Sarai?

How did she fare?

Did GOD bless her, too?

We shall find out on the next post.

Image: Free Bible Images

The childless ABRAM

 

Genesis 11:31-32

King James Version

31 And Terah took Abram his son, 

and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, 

and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; 

and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, 

to go into the land of Canaan; 

and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.

32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: 

and Terah died in Haran.

GOD had great plans for Abram.

He showed him the land he would own.

He promised him sons to own that land.

But one thing remained.

Proving to be a major problem in the fulfillment of such plans.

To understand, we turn to Scripture:

Genesis 12:1-3

King James Version

12 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, 

Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, 

and from thy father's house, 

unto a land that I will shew thee:

2 And I will make of thee a great nation, 

and I will bless thee, 

and make thy name great; 

and thou shalt be a blessing:

3 And I will bless them that bless thee, 

and curse him that curseth thee: 

and in thee shall all families of the earth 

be blessed.

Genesis 12:4-6

King James Version

4 So Abram departed, 

as the Lord had spoken unto him; 

and Lot went with him: 

and Abram was seventy and five years old 

when he departed out of Haran.

5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, 

and Lot his brother's son, 

and all their substance that they had gathered, 

and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; 

and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; 

and into the land of Canaan they came.

6 And Abram passed through the land 

unto the place of Sichem, 

unto the plain of Moreh. 

And the Canaanite was then in the land.

Genesis 12:7

King James Version

7 And the Lord appeared unto Abram, 

and said, 

Unto thy seed will I give this land: 

and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, 

who appeared unto him.

Genesis 13:12

King James Version

12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, 

and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, 

and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

Genesis 13:14-16

King James Version

14 And the Lord said unto Abram, 

after that Lot was separated from him, 

Lift up now thine eyes, 

and look from the place where thou art northward, 

and southward, and eastward, and westward:

15 For all the land which thou seest, 

to thee will I give it, 

and to thy seed for ever.

16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: 

so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, 

then shall thy seed also be numbered.

Genesis 15:1

King James Version

15 After these things 

the word of the Lord came unto Abram 

in a vision, saying, 

Fear not, Abram: 

I am thy shield, 

and thy exceeding great reward.

Genesis 15:4-5

King James Version

4 And, behold, 

the word of the Lord came unto him, 

saying, 

This shall not be thine heir; 

but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels 

shall be thine heir.

5 And he brought him forth abroad, 

and said, 

Look now toward heaven, 

and tell the stars, 

if thou be able to number them: 

and he said unto him, 

So shall thy seed be.

Genesis 15:7

King James Version

7 And he said unto him, 

I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, 

to give thee this land to inherit it.

Genesis 15:18-21

King James Version

18 In the same day 

the Lord made a covenant with Abram, 

saying, 

Unto thy seed have I given this land, 

from the river of Egypt unto the great river, 

the river Euphrates:

19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, 

and the Kadmonites,

20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, 

and the Rephaims,

21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, 

and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Going back a few chapters in Genesis, we recall that Abram is the son of Terah.

Genesis 11:27-28

King James Version

27 Now these are the generations of Terah: 

Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; 

and Haran begat Lot.

28 And Haran died before his father Terah 

in the land of his nativity, 

in Ur of the Chaldees.

Now, GOD promised Abram that of him will be a great nation.

And that the LORD will give Abram's seed the land.

Thing is, Sarai, Abram's wife, was barren.

Genesis 11:30

King James Version

30 But Sarai was barren; 

she had no child.

Humiliated, and impatient, at not being able to bear a child, Sarai takes matters in her hand.

And that's for the next post.

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LINEAGE of Abraham

 

Genesis 15:6

King James Version

6 And he believed in the Lord; 

and he counted it to him for righteousness.

We've now come to another important part of Scripture.

Surely, you've heard of Abraham.

He was called "Abram" then.

What were his roots?

This, we look into here:

Genesis 10:1

King James Version

10 Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, 

Shem, Ham, and Japheth: 

and unto them were sons born after the flood.

Genesis 10:21-31

King James Version

21 Unto Shem also, 

the father of all the children of Eber, 

the brother of Japheth the elder, 

even to him were children born.

22 The children of Shem; 

Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.

23 And the children of Aram; 

Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.

24 And Arphaxad begat Salah; 

and Salah begat Eber.

25 And unto Eber were born two sons: 

the name of one was Peleg; 

for in his days was the earth divided; 

and his brother's name was Joktan.

26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, 

and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,

27 And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,

28 And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,

29 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: 

all these were the sons of Joktan.

30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, 

as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east.

31 These are the sons of Shem, 

after their families, after their tongues, 

in their lands, after their nations.

Genesis 11:10-27

King James Version

10 These are the generations of Shem: 

Shem was an hundred years old, 

and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:

11 And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, 

and begat sons and daughters.

12 And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, 

and begat Salah:

13 And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah 

four hundred and three years, 

and begat sons and daughters.

14 And Salah lived thirty years, 

and begat Eber:

15 And Salah lived after he begat Eber 

four hundred and three years, 

and begat sons and daughters.

16 And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg:

17 And Eber lived after he begat Peleg 

four hundred and thirty years, 

and begat sons and daughters.

18 And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu:

19 And Peleg lived after he begat Reu 

two hundred and nine years, 

and begat sons and daughters.

20 And Reu lived two and thirty years, 

and begat Serug:

21 And Reu lived after he begat Serug 

two hundred and seven years, 

and begat sons and daughters.

22 And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:

23 And Serug lived after he begat Nahor 

two hundred years, 

and begat sons and daughters.

24 And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:

25 And Nahor lived after he begat Terah 

an hundred and nineteen years, 

and begat sons and daughters.

26 And Terah lived seventy years, 

and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 Now these are the generations of Terah: 

Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; 

and Haran begat Lot.

This is the lineage of ABRAM -- from Adam to Terah:

From Adam:

Seth

Enos

Cainan

Mahalaleel

Jared

Enoch

Methuselah

Lamech

Noah

From Noah:

Shem

Arphaxad

Salah

Eber

Peleg

Reu

Serug

Nahor

Terah

We learn that Abram came from the tribe of Shem.

Shem was one of the sons of Noah.

Abram's father was Terah.

Why did Abram matter?

Why did GOD choose him?

What was expected of him?

What did GOD promise Abram?

Let's find out on the next page.

Related material:

Sons of SHEM

NOAH's line

Image: Free Bible Images

GOD's early ANGER

 

Ezekiel 25:17

King James Version

17 And I will execute 

great vengeance upon them 

with furious rebukes; 

and they shall know that I am the Lord, 

when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.

What makes GOD angry?

What incurs His wrath?

What actions of man elicit such?

Early on in Genesis, we know of two instances.

These changed man's life forever.

GOD commands Adam:

Genesis 2:15-17

King James Version

15 And the Lord God took the man, 

and put him into the garden of Eden 

to dress it and to keep it.

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 

Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, 

thou shalt not eat of it: 

for in the day that thou eatest thereof 

thou shalt surely die.

Adam and Eve's disobedience:

Genesis 3:11-12

King James Version

11 And he said, 

Who told thee that thou wast naked? 

Hast thou eaten of the tree, 

whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

12 And the man said, 

The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, 

she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

GOD's reaction:

Genesis 3:22

King James Version

22 And the Lord God said, 

Behold, the man is become as one of us, 

to know good and evil: 

and now, lest he put forth his hand, 

and take also of the tree of life, 

and eat, and live for ever:

GOD's response:

Genesis 3:14-15

King James Version

14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, 

Because thou hast done this, 

thou art cursed above all cattle, 

and above every beast of the field; 

upon thy belly shalt thou go, 

and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, 

and between thy seed and her seed; 

it shall bruise thy head, 

and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Genesis 3:16

King James Version

16 Unto the woman he said, 

I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; 

in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; 

and thy desire shall be to thy husband, 

and he shall rule over thee.

Genesis 3:17-19

King James Version

17 And unto Adam he said, 

Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, 

and hast eaten of the tree, 

of which I commanded thee, saying, 

Thou shalt not eat of it: 

cursed is the ground for thy sake; 

in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; 

and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, 

till thou return unto the ground; 

for out of it wast thou taken: 

for dust thou art, 

and unto dust shalt thou return.

Genesis 3:23-24

King James Version

23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth 

from the garden of Eden, 

to till the ground from whence he was taken.

24 So he drove out the man; 

and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden 

Cherubims, 

and a flaming sword which turned every way, 

to keep the way of the tree of life.

Families of Noah's sons disobedience:

Genesis 11:1-4

King James Version

11 And the whole earth was of one language, 

and of one speech.

2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, 

that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; 

and they dwelt there.

3 And they said one to another, 

Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. 

And they had brick for stone, 

and slime had they for morter.

4 And they said, 

Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, 

whose top may reach unto heaven; 

and let us make us a name, 

lest we be scattered abroad 

upon the face of the whole earth.

GOD's reaction:

Genesis 11:5-6

King James Version

5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, 

which the children of men builded.

6 And the Lord said, 

Behold, the people is one, 

and they have all one language; 

and this they begin to do: 

and now nothing will be restrained from them, 

which they have imagined to do.

GOD's response:

Genesis 11:7-9

King James Version

7 Go to, 

let us go down, 

and there confound their language, 

that they may not understand one another's speech.

8 So the Lord scattered them abroad 

from thence upon the face of all the earth: 

and they left off to build the city.

9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; 

because the Lord did there 

confound the language of all the earth: 

and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad 

upon the face of all the earth.

GOD is fair.

GOD is just.

GOD is loving.

GOD is generous.

GOD is merciful.

But man is disobedient.

We have been given everything.

But we want more.

We are ruled by our pride, greed, and lusts.

We have this great desire for power, glory, and might.

Elements that rightfully belong only to GOD alone.

Thus, all the trouble we've all been going through.

Accounting for divison among nations.

All the violence, all the wars, all the injustice.

All the unnecessary suffering.

Precisely why GOD sent JESUS.

That the Messiah may save us from the spirit of Satan in us.

Will anything every change?

It will, if we follow GOD's will.

It will, if we believe in JESUS.

It will, if we love GOD, and others.

We have SPIRIT and Scripture to guide us.

Scripture laid all the commands that please the LORD.

JESUS lived all those commands.

And taught us to do the same.

All we have to do is follow, and know the fruits of the SPIRIT.

GOD also appointed one man for all nations.

We shall see his roots on the next page.

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Babble from BABEL

 

Genesis 11:1

King James Version

11 And the whole earth was of one language, 

and of one speech.

Can you imagine there was once a time.

Wherein the WHOLE earth had ONE language.

And ONE speech?

But what changed all that?

Why is the world today of 195 nations?

And of 7000 languages?

That is too far a cry from how it once were.

A born again attributes it to GOD.

Wherein the people of the earth incurred His wrath.

Let Scripture recount the story:

Genesis 11:2-9

King James Version

2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, 

that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; 

and they dwelt there.

3 And they said one to another, 

Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. 

And they had brick for stone, 

and slime had they for morter.

4 And they said, 

Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, 

whose top may reach unto heaven; 

and let us make us a name, 

lest we be scattered abroad 

upon the face of the whole earth.

5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, 

which the children of men builded.

6 And the Lord said, 

Behold, the people is one, 

and they have all one language; 

and this they begin to do: 

and now nothing will be restrained from them, 

which they have imagined to do.

7 Go to, 

let us go down, 

and there confound their language, 

that they may not understand one another's speech.

8 So the Lord scattered them abroad 

from thence upon the face of all the earth: 

and they left off to build the city.

9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; 

because the Lord did there confound 

the language of all the earth: 

and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad 

upon the face of all the earth.

It was confirmed, too, from the previous post, this "division":

Genesis 10:21-25

King James Version

21 Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, 

the brother of Japheth the elder, 

even to him were children born.

22 The children of Shem; 

Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.

23 And the children of Aram; 

Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.

24 And Arphaxad begat Salah; 

and Salah begat Eber.

25 And unto Eber were born two sons: 

the name of one was Peleg; 

for in his days was the earth divided; 

and his brother's name was Joktan.

That makes Shem and Peleg's time life-changing.

For much went on.

Not to mention the appearance of an Abram along the way.

Which further increased the nations in number.

But that's for another story.

First, we look into another instance.

Wherein man incurred GOD's wrath.

The earliest instance, in fact.

With GOD voicing a similar thought, and anger.

Changing man's life forever.

Please head to the next post.

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