365 Reflections

Genesis 17:1–5 (ESV) When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. Please keep in mind the location of this event. Abram (now Abraham), has just gone into his wife's servant and fathered ONE child, Ishmael. He and Sarah took matters into their own hands and produced an offspring. The very offspring Paul will use in Galatians to refer to salvation by works (that is, salvation by our own power - Ishmael). But God will miraculously open the womb of Sarah at age 90 and bring forth the son of the promise, Isaac, who will represent salva...

I read Genesis 16 this week thinking about all the stupid things Sarah did. She thought up this crazy idea to give Abram to her servant. She got vicious toward her when Hagar conceived (although Hagar wasn't innocent in this matter either), then she put all the blame on Abram for doing what she told him to do! That's basically how we are. We like to pass the buck. But this chapter, though beginning with Sarah ends with God's regard for Hagar! Genesis 16:7–10 (ESV)   The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” Sometimes we are guilty to cast certain people...

We label Thomas the doubter but he wasn't the only one. There were many. First of which in the Bible was the man who would be named Abraham. Genesis 15:1–6 (ESV) After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God , what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord , and he counted it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:7–8 (ESV)  And he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of t...

Genesis 15:1 (ESV) After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” One common theme of Abram's life is that every crisis ends with another promise from God. He heard God's promise after the death of his father. He heard God's promise after Lot left him for "greener pastures." And here he hears God's promise after the war to rescue his wayward nephew. God speaks to Abram after the battles, not before. We want God to speak to us before the pain, before the problem, before the issue that we didn't expect to pop up. We want God to provide gracious providence for the troubles that await. Yet how often can we say that we don't hear God's voice before the difficulties. Then some of us may say we don't hear God's voice during the trials. Why is this so? Why doesn't Abram hear from God when all is well, before trouble comes his way in this manner or...

Genesis 14:17–23 (ESV)   After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the Lord , God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ Abram makes a key decision here. After winning the war, he is blessed by the mysterious Melchizedek when he's brought brea...

Genesis 14:16 (ESV) Then he (Abram) brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people. Lot's horrible calculation lead his life down a spiral of self-destruction. He ended up on the wrong side of a war he didn't want and captive to people who didn't care about him. He was truly getting what he deserved for seeking the finer things instead of following God's man, Abram. Yet Abram hears of Lot's trouble and immediate goes into action to rescue him. He doesn't give up on his wayward nephew and though Lot really has done nothing to deserve Abram's action, he gets rescued. Genesis 14:13–14 (ESV) Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, an...

Genesis 13:10 (ESV)   And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord , like the land of Egypt , in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) When Abram and Lot separate, Abram puts the choice in Lot's hands as where to go. Then Lot mentally compares the desirable land to Egypt and Eden. To understand this passage you have to understand how Egypt and Israel function very differently environmentally. Deuteronomy 11:10–12 (NLT)  For the land you are about to enter and take over is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you planted your seed and made irrigation ditches with your foot as in a vegetable garden. 11 Rather, the land you will soon take over is a land of hills and valleys with plenty of rain— 12 a land that the Lord your God cares for. He watches over it through each season of the year! Do you see what that’s saying? Egypt and ...