Today’s Genesis chapter 28 readings begin Jacob’s adventure as he leaves the land promised to Abraham and Isaac and heads for Paddan-aram to stay with his uncle. Jacob’s dream at Bethel is awesome in this chapter! While this dream is often referred to as “Jacob’s Ladder,” many commentaries say it was probably stairs that Jacob dreamt of – similar to the stairs of a ziggurat (think tower of Babel) that winded around the outside of the tower on the way up. Have you ever had a dream anything like this one? 🙂
I do have to admit – Jacob’s story and the parallel stories of his uncle Laban, Jacob’s wives, and his sons – culminating with Joseph in Egypt – is one of my favorite parts of the Old Testament. This is just good narrative! I think one thing that really opened my eyes to all of the small details of the story of Jacob is that I was in an amazing Bible study for about a year going through this part of Genesis. I don’t know if you’ve been in a group Bible study before? If not, let me encourage you to join one! They are incredible. You get so many different perspectives from each person in the group – similar in some ways to what you are getting here on this blog – but more personal and I think far better. You get to go through the text with other people and really dive into things – and even have some fun joking around about things. If the church you attend has some sort of Bible study, will you consider checking it out this month of January? I know you will be incredibly blessed by this decision!
I found verses 21 & 22 intriguing: “Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will be with me and protect me on this journey and give me food and clothing, and if he will bring me back safely to my father, then I will make the LORD my God.” Do you notice the “if” / “then” statement in this vow from Jacob? Jacob is putting some conditions on what it will take for him to make God his God. Do we do this in our lives sometimes? Do we try to put “conditions” on God? Does this really make sense to do? What if our conditions are not met? What if things don’t go as planned? Will we still love God as our God, even if the “conditions” in our life are not met or are not ideal?
In Genesis chapter 29 Jacob arrives at Paddan-Aram, which was close to Haran. See this map below for where Jacob will spend the next 20 years of his life. All 12 of his children besides Benjamin will be born in this land! Note that this map below shows arrows going from right to left – because it’s really a map of Abraham’s early journey. 🙂 But, you can see how far Jacob traveled from Bethel – where he had the dream discussed above – to Haran / Paddan-Aram at the top of the map.
In this chapter Jacob meets Rachel and Laban, and works for 7 years to marry Rachel – except for the fact that Jacob was deceived by Laban on the wedding night! Which is a bit ironic, as we have seen in recent chapters that Jacob did some deceiving himself… I read one commentary that said for most of his life Jacob was so focused on getting the rights of the first born from his father Isaac – and now he must accept the rights of the first born in this surprise marriage to Leah! At the end of today’s readings we see that Leah is beginning to have sons – including Levi who will be the ancestor of the Aaronic priestly line of Israel, and Judah who will be the ancestor of King David and ultimately Jesus Christ. Below is an oil painting from 1836 by Bohemian painter Joseph von Fuhrich of Jacob encountering Rachel with her father’s herds in verses 9 – 11: “As this conversation was going on, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherd. And because she was his cousin, the daughter of his mother’s brother, and because the sheep were his uncle’s, Jacob went over to the well and rolled away the stone and watered his uncle’s flock. Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and tears came to his eyes.”
Bible.org’s commentary on today’s readings in Genesis chapter 28 titled “The Seeker Is Sought” is at this link and commentary on chapter 29 titled “I Led Two Wives” is at this link.
Worship Video: Today’s readings in Genesis about Jacob’s dream and his many years of work for Laban reminded me of the FFH song “Come Undone:”
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: “When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought,’Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.’” Genesis 28:16 NIV
Prayer Point: Pray that you are aware of when God is with you. Pray that through your saving faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, God is with you always.
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today’s readings? Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Chronological Bible readings at this link.
p.s. #2 – Download a schedule of our Chronological Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.
p.s. #3 – I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Chronological Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
In Genesis chapter 26 we can see where the old adage, “like father, like son” could have come from. Isaac like his father Abraham told foreigners that his wife was his sister. However, the artist Raffaello captured verse 8 from King Abimelech’s perspective in this painting from the year 1519 below: “But some time later, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out a window and saw Isaac fondling Rebekah.”
Today’s Genesis chapter 26 readings open up with Isaac digging wells – and then moving on when the Philistine’s contest the wells. This shows an incredible amount of patience on Isaac’s behalf. In this arid region of Gerar, water was like gold and people often battled over water. Filling in someone’s well was akin to declaring war. Below is an aerial map of where Gerar and Beersheba are located, just on the northern edge of the Negev desert (see lower left corner of map):
Verse 22 stood out to me in these readings about the wells: “Abandoning that one, he dug another well, and the local people finally left him alone. So Isaac called it “Room Enough,” for he said, “At last the LORD has made room for us, and we will be able to thrive.”” For me this was reminiscent of Abraham giving Lot the choice of lands when there was disputes between their herdsmen. Abraham was confident that God would provide even with “2nd choice” of the lands – and Isaac here seems to be following in his father’s footsteps of wisdom. I also like the naming of the well – “Room Enough.” I think sometimes in our world today we can get so competitive with each other, thinking that there is a limited sized pie and we have to get our piece of it! “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” author Steven Covey calls this the “scarcity mentality” – and he encourages us to instead operate with an “abundance mentality” – that there is ultimately enough pie for everyone. That there is Room Enough. How do you find yourself operating in your own life – more often out of the scarcity mentality or the abundance mentality? Do you see the risk of the scarcity mentality? And the blessing of the abundance mentality? Do you believe that there is Room Enough? Below is a modern day photo of a well near the entrance to Beersheba that is believed to be the well Isaac and his servants dug in chapter 25 verses 23-25: “From there Isaac moved to Beersheba, where the Lord appeared to him on the night of his arrival. “I am the God of your father, Abraham,” he said. “Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will multiply your descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant.” Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the Lord. He set up his camp at that place, and his servants dug another well.”
Genesis chapter 27 today is a very interesting and challenging chapter… both Jacob and Rebekah are deceitful. And Isaac is suspicious of the whole charade. And yet, Jacob receives the verbal blessing from Isaac, which was binding back in those days. I think this chapter is challenging in that it can bring up the question of sin – and can sin be used to fulfill God’s will? You know I’m going to defer to our resident-expert on Genesis – Bob Deffinbaugh from bible.org. 🙂 Check out this quote from Bob in his summary of this chapter: “The purpose of God as expressed to Rebekah in Genesis 25:23 was perfectly accomplished without one alteration. The sins of Isaac and Esau and Rebekah and Jacob did not in any way thwart God’s will from being done. In fact, their sins were employed by God in such a way as to achieve the will of God. God’s sovereignty is never thwarted by man’s sin. To the contrary, God is able to achieve His purposes by employing man’s sinful acts to further His plans.” Then, check out everything Bob has to say on this challenging chapter at this link. Surf down to Bob’s Conclusion at this link if nothing else – it is very intriguing! Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter in the Comments below. Below is an oil painting from 1639 by Dutch Baroque painter Govert Teunisz Flinck (who was a pupil of Rembrandt) of Isaac blessing Jacob:
Bible.org’s commentary on today’s readings in Genesis chapter 25 titled “The Principle of Divine Election” is at this link and commentary on chapter 26 titled “Isaac Walks in His Father’s Steps” is at this link.
Worship Video: Today’s readings reminded me of Michael W. Smith’s song “You Won’t Let Go:”
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: “May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.” Genesis 27:29 NIV
Prayer Point: Pray that the nations may serve and bow down to Jesus. Pray that all peoples will acknowledge Jesus as Lord.
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today’s readings? Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Chronological Bible readings at this link.
p.s. #2 – Download a schedule of our Chronological Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.
p.s. #3 – I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Chronological Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Our readings are brief today! In Chapter 25 verse 19 we begin reading about Jacob and Esau. Jacob we will read about for a large portion of the remainder of Genesis – there is actually not that many chapters we will read about Isaac. Tomorrow, in verse 34 we read this about Jacob & Esau: “Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate and drank and went on about his business, indifferent to the fact that he had given up his birthright.” Below is Dutch Baroque Era painter Hendrik Martensz Sorgh’s beautiful “Interior with Jacob and Esau” painting from the year 1662 (the bright foreground almost takes away from the background with Esau swearing off his birthright):
Worship Video: Readings about Abraham’s death today and reflecting back on his life reminded me of the Delirious song “Majesty!” Here’s a great live version of this song:
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today’s readings? Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Chronological Bible readings at this link.
p.s. #2 – Download a schedule of our Chronological Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.
p.s. #3 – I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Chronological Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
In Genesis chapter 21 we read about Sarah joyfully giving birth to Isaac when Abraham was 100 years old! Isaac’s name means “he laughs” – which in part came from when Sarah laughed when God told Abraham she would have a son a year prior. We also read about Hagar and Ishmael being sent away. Verse 13 stands out when God is speaking to Abraham, as he was upset about having to send Ishmael away: “But I will make a nation of the descendants of Hagar’s son because he also is your son.”” Ishmael does later become the ruler of a large tribe in Paran and the Desert of Sinai, south of Israel. Then, one of Ishmael’s daughter’s marries Esau, Ishmael’s nephew. From here the lineage of Esau becomes Arabic peoples and eventually the Muslim religion comes from this lineage. It is said that Abraham is the father of the world’s three major monotheistic faiths – Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths. Below is an oil on canvas painting by the Spanish artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo from 1732 titled “The Angel Succoring Hagar”:
In Genesis chapter 22 Abraham’s faith and obedience is tested in what most see as the climax of our readings about Abraham in Genesis. Some interesting things to note about this chapter. It is said that much of this chapter foreshadows what happens with Jesus. A father is called to sacrifice his one and only son – a son he loves so very much. The son is taken to a mountain to be sacrificed. On the mountain a “lamb” is sacrificed – a ram in place of Isaac’s life – and Jesus as the “lamb” in place of our lives. Hebrews 11:19 has an interesting point to make about these readings in Genesis 22 today: “Abraham assumed that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.” Below is Rembrandt’s famous painting from 1635 of the angel, Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah titled “The Sacrifice of Isaac” (this is a powerful painting – many commentators call Isaac a prefiguration / type of Christ, which I think this painting can help us visualize):
In verse 14 we read about the mountain where Isaac was taken and the altar was built – Mount Moriah. Mount Moriah was about 48 miles north of Beersheba, where Abraham and Isaac began their journey – so a 3 day journey at that time makes sense. Some scholars believe that Mount Moriah is the Temple Mount area of Jerusalem, where the first and second temples were located – and also where the Dome of the Rock mosque, built in 691 A.D., is now located.
Bob Deffinbaugh from bible.org has yet another amazing article, this time on Genesis Chapter 22 – which goes into The Command, Abraham’s Obedience, God’s Provision, and God’s Promise. Take 10 minutes if you can and check out this great article on this chapter titled “Final Exams”at this link here. Below is a painting of “Abraham Sacrificing Isaac” by the famous French baroque classical painter Laurent de La Hire from the year 1650:
Bible.org’s commentary on Genesis chapter 20 today titled “Don’t Ever Say Never” is at this link and commentary on chapter 21 titled “What Happens When Christians Mess Up?” is at this link.
Today in Genesis chapter 23 we read about the burial of Sarah. I think an amazing thing to note in this chapter is that Abraham is determined to bury Sarah in Canaan, based on God’s promise (Gen 15:9-21) to Abraham that Canaan would be his and his descendant’s homeland. Verse 4 stands out in this chapter and I think can speak for us today as well: “Here I am, a stranger in a foreign land, with no place to bury my wife.” We will see this type of phrase throughout the Old Testament – the idea of being an alien and a stranger. In Abraham’s case, he was literally living in a tent – a very temporary structure. But yet, Abraham was confident in God’s promise of the Promised Land. And for us today – we are called to be “in the world, but not of the world”. In a sense, we are also aliens and strangers. The question we might need to ask ourselves – are we acting like we are aliens and strangers in this world? Are we awaiting our promised land with God in heaven? Or, are we maybe getting a bit too comfortable in this world? And maybe even loving the material things of this world – more than eternal things? And maybe are we forgetting sometimes about the amazing promised land God has in store for us? Below is a painting by American artist Tom Lovell from 1967 titled “The Burial of Sarah” that I think corresponds nicely with verse 19: “So Abraham buried Sarah there in Canaan, in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, which is at Hebron.”
Genesis chapter 24 is a just a wonderful narrative story about Abraham sending his servant Eliezer to find a wife for Isaac! What I like a lot about this chapter was how God was honored by Abraham, and by the servant at the well, and by Laban and Bethuel at the end of today’s readings. It was evident that everyone was making their plans and prayers based on God! And not based on their own ideas or will power. God was being consulted. The last half of verse 7 stood out to me: “He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a young woman there to be my son’s wife.” What I noticed about this verse, is that we didn’t read about Abraham praying to God that an angel would go ahead of the servant – nor did we read about God telling Abraham this would be the case. Perhaps one of these two things happened outside of the text. But, what struck me was that maybe Abraham had been walking with God for so long now, that he may have been in such close relationship with God that he may have just somehow knew this angel would go ahead – and he wouldn’t of said it otherwise. I just wonder if we are obedient to God and walk with God for a good portion of our lives, as Abraham did, if the will of God and God’s works just become more and more evident in our lives? I’m kind of just thinking out loud here… 🙂 Hopefully this makes sense. I do believe that as we go forward in our spiritual walk, God will continue to share more and new insights with us. Which is great news! Our walk with God will not be boring! Even in the midst of trials and hardships, I believe if we are faithful and obedient and continually seek God’s will in our lives, we will come to know Him more and more – and, like Abraham, come to know more and more of the Peace that surpasses all understanding. I love this image below of Abraham in his later years…
Verse 15 stands out in this chapter: “As he was still praying, a young woman named Rebekah arrived with a water jug on her shoulder. Her father was Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife, Milcah.” As the servant was just finishing his prayer, God was answering it! Have you ever had this experience? I am not 100% sure that I have, but I think I have. I think maybe sometimes God encourages us to pray and sometimes he immediately delivers on that prayer – just so it becomes clear that what happened was the work of God, and not our own work. Now, don’t get me wrong – sometimes we pray for something specific, and God does not answer immediately. Or… perhaps that’s the answer in and of itself – no answer. It’s a mystery – but an adventurous mystery to be sure! What a great thing to experience though, as this servant did, when a prayer is immediately answered. Below is 19th century American stained-glass artist John La Farge’s “Rebekah at the Well”:
I love the very opening verse 52 in Genesis chapter 24 today: “At this reply, Abraham’s servant bowed to the ground and worshiped the LORD.” This just made me think – when was the last time that I actually bowed to the ground and worshiped the Lord? I have to confess it was a long time ago. This may sound strange, but one time I was listening to the David Crowder song “Deliver Me” and for some reason I literally fell to the ground, bowed, and worshiped God. It was an experience that’s hard to forget. But why is it so hard for me to get back down on the ground and worship God once again? When was the last time you bowed to the ground and worshiped the Lord?
Rebekah and Isaac meet and marry in today’s readings! Below is Italian painter G.B. Castiglione’s oil painting titled “Meeting of Rebekah and Isaac” circa 1640:
Bible.org’s commentary on today’s readings in Genesis chapter 24 titled “Dealing with Death” is at this link and commentary on chapter 25 titled “How to Find a Godly Wife” is at this link.
Worship Video: Today’s readings in Genesis reminded me of Phil Wickham’s song, “This is Amazing Grace:”
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” Genesis 22:12 NIV
Prayer Point: Pray that you fear God. Pray that you won’t ever withhold anything from Him that stands in the way of your relationship to Him.
Comments from You and Question of the Day: What was your reaction to reading about Abraham’s testing by the near sacrifice of his son, Isaac? Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today’s readings? Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Chronological Bible readings at this link.
p.s. #2 – Download a schedule of our Chronological Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.
p.s. #3 – I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Chronological Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
In Genesis 18 we see some amazing hospitality from Abraham to God and two angels that appear along with God. Hospitality for strangers was important back in Abraham’s day. How are we with our hospitality toward strangers today? Do we react as Abraham did toward these three? Remember that Jesus says to us in the New Testament, “whatever you do to the least of these, you do unto me.” So, yes, maybe Abraham realized he was being hospitable toward God. But – Jesus seems to infer we should be hospitable to everyone – particularly “the least of these” – for in doing so, we will be providing hospitality to Jesus. Who in our world today are the “least of these”? Are you being hospitable to strangers and to the least of these in your life today? How? Below is an oil painting by Spanish Baroque Era Painter Bartolomé Esteban Murillo from the year 1667 titled “Abraham and the Three Angels”:
Today in Genesis chapter’s 18 & 19 we get a great look at how God responds to intercessory prayer and also clearly see God’s judgment in chapter 19. Ch. 18 Verse 17 is a powerful start to our readings: “Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” the LORD asked.” I think what we see here and in the following verses is that God obviously really cares for Abraham – as a friend – and as one who has been credited as righteous because of his faith. And I do think this is an important point before we read about Abraham’s intercessory prayer to God – that for intercessory prayer really to have any standing before God, we need to be in right relationship with God. If we are being disobedient to God or being unrepentant of sins or bad habits that God wants us to give up, then I think our intercessory prayer for others can lose its effectiveness. Check out James 5:16 for this point: “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” Abraham was credited as righteous because of his faith (Genesis 15:6). Hence, his intercessory prayer was powerful and effective. Below is a portrait of Abraham by Guy Rowe – I imagine Abraham praying to God in Genesis chapter 18 in this portrait:
In verse 25 we begin to see Abraham’s several requests, or intercessions, to God to spare the city of Sodom for the sake of the righteous living in the city: “Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the innocent with the guilty. Why, you would be treating the innocent and the guilty exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”” And from here we see Abraham bringing down the number of righteous that would need to be in the city for it to be spared. I don’t necessarily see what Abraham was doing here as haggling with God – but, I think he was acting out of compassion for the righteous few in the city – and surely Lot and his family were on his mind during these intercessions…
In Genesis chapter 19 there is a lot going on. And I’m sure a few things that jump out at you when you read them, and create a lot of questions in your mind. (Lot offering his two virgin daughters (v. 8) & what happened in the cave (v. 30-36), for examples) Let me recommend you take 10 minutes and read through Bob Deffinbaugh’s “From City Councilman to Caveman: “What a Difference a Day Makes” (Genesis 19:1-38)”at this link at Bible.org. I think this will answer a lot of your questions on why certain things happened in this chapter, from Bob’s perspective. One great quote from Bob at this link above is this: “Lot attempted to live his life in a city and then in a cave. We cannot become one with the world, but neither are we to flee from it. The proper balance between the city of Sodom and the cave is the tent of Abraham. We are to live in the world, but without becoming attached to it or conformed to it. We are to be strangers and pilgrims.” I like that! How are you doing with the idea of being in the world, but not of it? Are you living in the city or in a cave? Will you seek to live in the tent of Abraham? Below is a map of the approximate area of where Sodom & Gomorrah and the Cities of the Plain (including Zoar) were thought to have been located, on the south side of the Dead Sea and now possibly under water:
One verse that immediately stood out to me in chapter 19 is verse 16: “When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the LORD was merciful.” What struck me in this verse is that Lot hesitated. In the previous verse, the angels say very clearly and strongly – “get out of the city! hurry! God is going to destroy it!” And yet… Lot hesitated. This jumped out at me because in our couple of previous day’s readings we have seen how promptly obedient Abraham was to God’s commands. When God said to get circumcised and circumcise everyone in the house – it happened that same day! And yet, here we see Lot hesitating on a very clear command from angels… And I guess I do have to ask myself, and maybe you can ask yourself too – are we more often like Abraham or Lot? Are we promptly obedient to God’s will and commands for our lives? Or do we hesitate? A great thing about verse 16 above is we read that even though Lot hesitated, God was merciful. God will still show us mercy when we hesitate… the grace of God is still clearly there for we who hesitate. But, even though there is amazing grace, maybe the question still is – what are we hesitating for? What are we waiting for? Below is an image by the artist Raffaello (Italian painter and architect of the Italian High Renaissance), circa 1500, of Lot and his daughters finally fleeing Sodom, while his wife looks back and is turned into a pillar of salt:
And below is an image of verse 24: “Then the LORD rained down fire and burning sulfur from the heavens on Sodom and Gomorrah.”
Today in Genesis chapter 20 we see that Abraham is not perfect (we have seen this humanness of Abraham earlier in our Genesis readings too). This should be good news for each of us! 🙂 Abraham essentially tells Abimelech a half-truth – and yes, half-lie. The thing to remember here is that Abraham has received incredible promises from God and covenants – and yet, it is apparent that Abraham still has some fear of what will happen to him and Sarah. This imperfection of God’s people is something that we will continue to see throughout our Bible readings. God uses imperfect people for his purposes. God does typically use those that love him. But, those that love God do still sin and make mistakes. God partners with imperfect people throughout history. God partners with people like you and me. Below is Flemish Northern Renaissance Painter Jan Provost’s “Abraham, Sarah and the Angel” from the year 1520:
Bible.org’s commentary on today’s readings in Genesis titled “If I was God…” is at this link, and “Sin and the City” is at this linkand commentary on Genesis chapter 20 today titled “Don’t Ever Say Never” is at this link.
Worship Video: Today’s readings reminded me of Zach William’s terrific song “Chain Breaker:”
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: “For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.” Genesis 18:19 NIV
Prayer Point: Pray that you will direct your children and your household to keep the way of the LORD.
Comments from You and Question of the Day: Do you believe angels are among us? Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today’s readings? Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Chronological Bible readings at this link.
p.s. #2 – Download a schedule of our Chronological Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.
p.s. #3 – I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Chronological Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Genesis chapter 15:9-21 is the first Abrahamic Covenant. It was an unconditional divine promise to fulfill the grant of the land to Abram and his descendants. Verses 5 & 6 in chapter 15 are powerful: “Then the LORD brought Abram outside beneath the night sky and told him, “Look up into the heavens and count the stars if you can. Your descendants will be like that–too many to count!” And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD declared him righteous because of his faith.” And verse 6, the preceding sentence to this one I think is important for each of us to consider. Do we believe God’s promises? What are God’s promises for us? Do we have faith that God’s promises for us through his son Jesus are true? Even if we’ve been walking with faith for a while now – are we still as “on fire” with our faith as we once were? Can we pray to God to show us his promises anew (or maybe for the first time) for our lives? Can we pray to God for faith like Abram’s? It is believed that in the dark night sky of the ancient near east Abram could have seen up to 8,000 stars in the sky. Perhaps when God said the words above in verses 5 & 6 Abram saw a view of something like this below (image taken from NASA’s Hubble Space telescope of the Sagittarious Star Cloud):
Today in Genesis chapter 16 we get another potential Jesus sighting in the OT! 🙂 (Similar to our “potential” with Melchizedek yesterday.) I’ll keep you posted on all our “potential” Jesus sightings in the Old Testament – as seen by some commentaries. Some believe that the angel that appears to Hagar in the desert could be Christ pre-incarnate. Why? Because the angel seems to be speaking in the first person, as if the angel is God – (and Jesus is God) – but yet the angel is not described as God the Father. Check out verse 10 on this point – “I will give you more descendants than you can count.”” Next point is that later in this chapter Hagar seems to be giving the angel a bit more credit of the angel “just being an angel”, as you’ll see here in verse 13: “Thereafter, Hagar referred to the LORD, who had spoken to her, as “the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have seen the One who sees me!”” I guess I can see how some commentators go down this path… Whaddya think? Below is French painter James Tissot’s watercolor “Hagar and the Angel in the Desert” from the year 1896:
In Genesis chapter 17 we read about the second Abrahamic Covenant! This covenant was is a conditional divine pledge from God to be Abraham’s God and the God of his descendents. The condition? Obedience and consecration to God as symbolized by circumcision. In verse 23 I think we see another example of Abraham’s prompt obedience to God’s will for his life: “On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and every other male in his household and circumcised them, cutting off their foreskins, exactly as God had told him.” Abraham does not hesitate – does not wait one more day – he and every other male in his household get circumcised that very day! Are we prompt with our obedience to God’s will in our lives? Or do we wait a day to move forward on what God is calling us to do? Or do we even wait a week? Or a year? Or a lifetime? What is God calling you to do? Will you be promptly obedient? Below is a stained glass image from England made in the year 1435 showing God giving this covenant to Abraham:
Bible.org’s commentary on today’s readings in Genesis titled “The Focal Point of Abram’s Faith” is at this link and “Grasping the Great Truth of God” is at this link.
Worship Video: Today’s readings in Genesis 15:5 with God showing Abram the stars reminded me of The Afters song “Light Up the Sky:”
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” Genesis 15:6 NIV
Prayer Point: Pray that like Abram, you believe in the Lord. Pray that like Abram, you have faith. Pray that through your saving faith in Jesus, Christ’s righteousness will be credited to you forevermore.
Comments from You and Question of the Day: Has God ever shown Himself to you through His creation, as He did to Abram in Genesis chapter 15? Has His creation ever increased your faith? Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today’s readings? Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Chronological Bible readings at this link.
p.s. #2 – Download a schedule of our Chronological Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.
p.s. #3 – I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Chronological Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Today in Genesis chapter 11 we read about the tower of Babel! You can view the location of the tower at a high level below:
I probably should not confess this, but I will – verse 4 made me smile and laugh at myself a bit, which really shouldn’t be funny. This verse reminded me of myself at times: “Let’s build a great city with a tower that reaches to the skies–a monument to our greatness!” This verse is obviously not one that made God happy, as we see in subsequent verses. And I guess I have to ask myself – are there times my life or areas of my life where I am attempting to build something that will be a “monument to my greatness”? And I’m afraid that the answer is too often yes. Or it surely has been in the past. I pray that I’m turning over the desire to “be great” over to God more and more these days. I pray that I am not seeking glory for myself – but seeking glory for God. But, I am afraid that sometimes I revert back to wanting to build a “monument to my greatness” in my work or volunteer activities or maybe even personal relationships. And this is pride. It was this pride that brought about the building of the tower of Babel – and it was because of pride that God stopped the building of the tower by giving the human race different languages. In your life today – are you seeking to build monuments of greatness for yourself? Or are you instead seeking to only glorify God? Below is an oil on panel painting of the “Tower of Babel” by Pieter Bruegel, circa 1563:
Today is a big day in our readings! We are introduced to Abram & Sarai! Genesis chapter 12 is significant in that it transitions our Old Testament readings from being about the world at large to being primarily about a specific man, Abram, his family, and his descendants. Verses 2 and 3 are an amazing promise from God to Abraham: “I will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” This is a powerful promise that we will see played out throughout the rest of our Old Testament readings – and into the New Testament this promise continues and is fulfilled in Jesus – and continues in us as spiritual descendants of Abram today. I heard somewhere once that one way to paraphrase this promise is “I will bless you, so that you will be a blessing to others.” And I think about that today for our own lives. If we have been blessed by God, is it possible that we have been blessed in part so that we will be a blessing to others? Do you believe that you been blessed by God? Are you passing along that blessing to others in your life?
The brief story of Abram and Sarai in Egypt is a foreshadowing of what we will see later in Genesis and into Exodus – the descendents of Abram going into Egypt to escape a severe famine – and then ultimately leaving Egypt to the north “with all their household and belongings” (verse 20). I also am intrigued that in the Gospel of Matthew that Jesus as a child went into Egypt, when Mary & Joseph fled Herod’s decree to kill all boys 2 & under around Bethlehem. Egypt plays quite a supporting role in the Bible! Below is a map of Abram’s journey that we read about today:
These are some great readings today about Abram and his faith! Chapter 13 verse 9 stood out to me today as Abram was trying to settle the arguments between his and Lot’s herdsmen over pastureland: “I’ll tell you what we’ll do. Take your choice of any section of the land you want, and we will separate. If you want that area over there, then I’ll stay here. If you want to stay in this area, then I’ll move on to another place.” I guess what I really like about this is Abram is giving Lot the first choice of the land. It seems like Abram is confident that he will personally be okay with whatever 2nd choice is left-over to him because he is in a relationship with God. I like this. And I hope that we each do this in my life from time to time. Think about this random example – parking spaces in a crowded mall can be hot commodities and arguments can ensue. What would it be like if we let others get the first choice and we continued on in confidence that we will be okay with whatever 2nd choice is left-over to us? Who knows – maybe we’d end up with the parking space in the boonies – and get an extra quarter mile of a walk for exercise… maybe not such a bad 2nd choice? Is it possible for us to get in the habit of letting others get the 1st choice of things whenever there is an argument about to ensue – and us being confident that 2nd choice will still be great for us – maybe in ways we don’t foresee? And confident that because we are in a relationship with God? Below is an image of Abram and Lot in Genesis 13 about to part ways:
Chapter 14 verse 14 also stood out in regards to Abram’s character: “When Abram learned that Lot had been captured, he called together the men born into his household, 318 of them in all. He chased after Kedorlaomer’s army until he caught up with them in Dan.” I don’t know about you… but I’ll be honest. If my nephew got captured by a band of marauding kings and their army, I’m thinking I might just let my nephew go and chalk it up to very bad luck on his part… But not Abram! When he heard the news that Lot had been captured, it looks like he did not even blink! He called together his household immediately and they were off and running after Kedorlaomer’s army. Yes, they were chasing after an army… again, I’m not so sure I would do this… though, hopefully, maybe I now would if I can keep in mind Abram’s character here…. What about you? Would you chase after an army? Is there maybe someone in your life who has been “captured” by something – an addiction, a sadness, some bad luck – and will you go chasing after that person and help to free them from the “army” that has ensnared them?
In verses 17 through 20 in chapter 14 we read about Melchizedek. And I definitely would like to get others opinions on this – Who was Melchizedek? The reason I ask this question is due to Hebrews Chapter 7 – click on this link to read this chapter of Hebrews. (Hebrews 7 is well worth the read at this point in our Genesis journey.) My thinking currently is that Melchizedek was a very great priest – but I don’t believe he was Jesus Christ preincarnate. But, again, I’m willing to listen to others on your thoughts on this. My thoughts on this is that Hebrews 7 seems to be saying that Jesus is “like” or “in the order” of Melchizedek – but not quite saying Jesus is Melchizedek. I read there are 4 basic theories on who Melchizedek is – 1. simply a king of Salem and Abram was showing him respect, 2. Melchizedek was a standard title for the kings of Salem. 3. He was a “type of Christ” and he illustrates a lesson about Christ. or 4. He was Jesus preincarnate in a temporary body form. So – whaddya think? Below is an oil painting by Peter Paul Reubens, circa 1625, of Abram and Melchizedek meeting:
Bible.org’s commentary on today’s readings in Genesis titled “The Unity of Unbelief” is at this link, “The Call of Abram” is at this link, “When Faith Fails” is at this link, and “Lot Looks Out for Number One” is at this link, “The Rescue of Lot” is at this link.
Worship Video: The call of Abram in Genesis reminded me of Christy Nockel’s song “Waiting here for You:”
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on two verses of Scripture today: “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:2-3 NIV
Prayer Point: Pray in thanksgiving for God’s covenant with Abram. Pray in thanksgiving that we have been blessed through Abraham. Pray in thanksgiving that Abram’s descendant, Jesus, offers salvation to all peoples on the earth. Pray that all people would accept this blessing and not perish.
Comments from You and Question of the Day: Thinking about Abram in chapter 12, if we too have been blessed by God, is it possible that we have been blessed in part so that we will be a blessing to others? Do you believe that you been blessed by God? Are you passing along that blessing to others in your life? Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today’s readings? Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Chronological Bible readings at this link.
p.s. #2 – Download a schedule of our Chronological Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.
p.s. #3 – I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Chronological Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Yesterday’s Flood readings in Genesis were about judgment – today’s readings are about redemption! Chapter 8 verse 1 stood out to me: “But God remembered Noah and all the animals in the boat.” I like that phrase “But God remembered” – but I have a hunch that it is a bit understated in God’s love and compassion for Noah and all of creation. Verse 11 is interesting in that if you were ever wondering where our modern day peace symbol of a dove with an olive branch comes from originally – now you know – God’s peace symbol to Noah here in Genesis 8:11! “This time, toward evening, the bird returned to him with a fresh olive leaf in its beak.”
Below are a couple of great NASA images of where Noah’s ark landed, as we read in verse 4: “the boat came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.” (Note that Bruce Feiler’s incredible nonfiction archeology-type book “Walking The Bible: A Journey by land through the Five Books of Moses” opens up with him searching for Noah’s Ark near Mt. Ararat in Turkey. This is a highly recommended book!) Images below courtesy of & copyrighted by ebibleteacher.com:
In Genesis chapter 9 verses 8 through 17 we are reading about the first major covenant of God’s in the Old Testament called the Noahic Covenant. There are 6 more major covenant’s that we will get to later this year – The first Abrahamic covenant, The second Abrahamic covenant, The Sinaitic Covenant (Moses on Mt. Sinai), The Phinehas Covenant, the Davidic Covenant, and the New Covenant. So – Covenants are a big deal! God is a God of covenants! This one is laid out in all 10 verses but can basically be summed up in verse 11: “I solemnly promise never to send another flood to kill all living creatures and destroy the earth.” And the rainbow is given as a sign of The Noahic Covenant.
Genesis chapter 9 verse 3 is intriguing. I forgot to mention this in previous day’s posts – but, I read a commentary on the Garden of Eden and even thereafter that early descendants of Adam & Eve were strictly vegetarians – God had given Adam & Eve the fruits & plants in the Garden to eat – and then Adam’s son’s cultivated the ground for plants / food. But here in verse 3 God is now saying that it is okay to eat animals’ meat for food: “I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables.” Very interesting. We’ll get more details on clean and unclean animals per the Law in our OT readings early this year.
In the remainder of chapter 9 we read about Noah’s son’s Shem, Ham and Japheth. Initially I asked myself, why is Noah so upset with Ham? The answer lies in verse 22: “Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked and went outside and told his brothers.” The last 3 words of this sentence were the issue – Ham told his brothers his father was naked. Instead of discreetly just covering up his father on his own, he broadcast the issue to his brothers. Are there times in our life where we could discreetly take care of problems of others, or could confront the individual directly about the problem, but instead we broadcast what someone else’s problems are? Is this the right thing to do? Is this the godly thing to do?
There is a lot of interesting stuff going on in the genealogy in chapter 10, which is typically called The Table of Nations, but I’ll just quickly point out verses 21 & 22: “Sons were also born to Shem, the older brother of Japheth. Shem was the ancestor of all the descendants of Eber.” Shem becomes translated in the future as Semites – i.e. Semitic peoples. And Eber is translated in the future as Hebrew. So, you can see that Shem’s lineage is going to be the one from where Israel comes from. Below are two maps that help to visualize where Shem, Ham & Japheth’s descendants listed in this genealogy end up:
Bible.org’s commentary on today’s readings in Genesis titled “The Noahic Covenant” is at this link, “The Nakedness of Noah” is at this link, and “The Spread of the Nations” is at this link.
Worship Video: Today’s readings about Noah following God reminded me of Matt Maher’s beautiful song “Lord I Need You” performed here live:
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: “I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” Genesis 9:11 NIV
Prayer Point: Pray in thanksgiving for God’s covenant to Noah. Pray in thanksgiving for God’s covenants to you. Pray in thanksgiving for God’s new covenant offered to you through the ministry of Jesus.
Comments from You and Question of the Day: In what ways you see God’s grace to Noah and mannkind in today’s readings? Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today’s readings? Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Chronological Bible readings at this link.
p.s. #2 – Download a schedule of our Chronological Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.
p.s. #3 – I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Chronological Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Happy New Year! You are invited to join us on the Chronological Bible in a Year journey in 2026! Click on this link for more details and to sign up! Or, you may be interested in joining us on the Bible in a Year (OT, NT, Psalms, Proverbs daily) journey in 2026 and can sign up at this link: www.bibleinayearblog.com. Also, share this email/website with a friend and invite them to join you!
In Genesis chapter 4 we read about the first murder of humankind – Cain killing his own brother Abel in a premeditative way. This is a clear demonstration of The Fall and how sin lives in the hearts of men and women – and can only be redeemed and forgiven today through faith in Jesus and through God’s grace. Many of you probably asked yourselves, why didn’t God look with favor on Cain’s offering? Commentaries I’ve read suggest that Cain’s offering was a careless or thoughtless offering whereas Abel’s offering was a choice or generous offering. And God saw the motivation and heart attitude of both men as they brought their offering. It seems that God is looking straight into Cain’s heart as he says this in verses 6 and 7: “Why are you so angry?” the LORD asked him. “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you respond in the right way. But if you refuse to respond correctly, then watch out! Sin is waiting to attack and destroy you, and you must subdue it.” That is a scary thought – sin waiting to attack and destroy. In the NIV it translates “sin is crouching at your door.” Let us be watchful and prayerful to not be overtaken by sin, but to respond correctly to the grace and strength given us through Jesus. Below is a modern image by an unknown artist of Cain just after killing Abel. Do you see the contrast of light & dark and which way Cain is facing? This is a powerful image to consider…:
Genesis 4:17 – “Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch.” – brings up the big question of “Where did Cain’s wife come from?” The short answer to this is that his wife was a sister, niece, great-niece, or family member of some sort, which brings up the next question about why was there inter-family marriage in the Bible. Let me refer you to 3 great website links to give you more in-depth answers on these questions. Please do read the short answer at this link, the long answer at this link, and another short answer at this link to these questions regarding Cain’s wife.
In chapter 4 verse 19 polygamy enters history: “Lamech married two women–Adah and Zillah.” Polygamy clearly went against God’s divine intention of monogamy in Genesis chapter 2:24 – “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” God’s original plan early on in the Bible is monogamy in marriage. We will see many cases of polygamy this year as we read through the Bible – this is humankind thwarting God’s will – which we will also see in many ways throughout our readings this year. I think sometimes we can get hung up on the “strange stuff” we read about in the Bible – but one important point to make is this – The Bible records both God’s will and teachings, and people’s sin. So if we happen to read about people’s sin in the Bible, as we do here in verse 19 with Lamech’s polygamy, please don’t confuse this with this being God’s will. It’s people’s sin. And we’ll see this again in the Bible – fortunately we have a loving God who sent his son, Jesus, to save us from our sins. Heavy that they are…
Bible.org’s commentary on today’s readings in Genesis titled “The Fall of Man” is at this link and “The Fruits of the Fall” is at this link.
In Genesis chapter 5 we read about the genealogy from Adam to Noah. You will note that there are some long life spans here in this genealogy! These life spans are often interpreted to be either literal or symbolic – and many evangelical commentaries will say either is possible. (Similar to the 6 days of creation which I mentioned in the January 1 post below. Evangelical commentaries say that God certainly has the power to create the earth in 6 literal days – or the 6 days of creation in Genesis may be symbolic of thousands or millions of years – as “a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day” to God.) Those who believe these ages in this genealogy are literal believe this is the case because of a few reasons: 1. the human race was more genetically pure in this early time period, so diseases did not shorten life spans; 2. no rain had yet fallen on the earth – until the next chapter – so the expanse of water above the earth protected people from environmental factors; and/or 3. God gave people longer life spans so they would have time to fill the earth – per Genesis 1:28. Below is a portrait of Noah and his wife by Guy Rowe:
In Genesis 6 we read about the Flood. Below is “Noah’s Ark” by American folk painter Edward Hicks from 1846:
Chapter 6 verses 5 & 6 stood out to me in today’s readings: “Now the LORD observed the extent of the people’s wickedness, and he saw that all their thoughts were consistently and totally evil. So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them. It broke his heart.” I think it was this last sentence that really stood out to me – It broke his heart. God’s heart was broken over our behavior. I love realizing that God has this type of compassion and care for what we do. What we do matters to God! When we are obedient and faithful and loving, God rejoices! When we are not, it breaks his heart. I hope it encourages you to know that God did not just create you and doesn’t really care whether you do well in this life – he is rooting for you! He wants you to run the race well and receive the prize!
Bible.org’s commentary on today’s readings in Genesis titled “Coming to Grips with Genealogies” is at this link, “The Flood” is at this link, and “The Sons of God and the Daughters of Men” is at this link. Please click on this last link to learn more about the Nephilim from today’s readings in Genesis 6:4. A quote from this link is: “According to this view, the ‘sons of God’ of verses 2 and 4 are fallen angels, which have taken the form of masculine human-like creatures. These angels married women of the human race (either Cainites or Sethites) and the resulting offspring were the Nephilim. The Nephilim were giants with physical superiority and therefore established themselves as men of renown for their physical prowess and military might. This race of half human creatures was wiped out by the flood, along with mankind in general, who were sinners in their own right (verse 6:11,12).”
Worship Video: Today’s readings about The Flood reminded me of our need for Jesus and the terrific song “In Christ Alone” sung here live by Shane and Shane:
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on two verses of Scripture today: “Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” Genesis 4:6-7 NIV
Prayer Point: Pray that you won’t ever be overtaken by anger. Pray that you do what is right. Pray that you won’t ever let the sin crouching at your door have you. Pray that you will rule over it, through a saving relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Comments from You and Question of the Day: Per Genesis 4:7, how do you combat the “sin crouching at your door” in your life? Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today’s readings? Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Chronological Bible readings at this link.
p.s. #2 – Download a schedule of our Chronological Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.
p.s. #3 – I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Chronological Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Happy New Year! You are invited to join us on the Chronological Bible in a Year journey in 2026! Click on this link for more details and to sign up! Or, you may be interested in joining us on the Bible in a Year (OT, NT, Psalms, Proverbs daily) journey in 2026 and can sign up at this link: www.bibleinayearblog.com. Also, share this email/website with a friend and invite them to join you!
Welcome to the beginning of our Chronological Bible journey in 2026! Today we begin the book of Genesis!
~Genesis~ Author: Moses Date: ~1420 B.C. Content: The book of Genesis was written to explain how everything began; in fact, the very title Genesis means “origin” or “beginning”. It explains that God created the universe, how man was created and placed in a perfect environment, how sin began, and how God provided salvation for lost man. The beginning of human history is described, the beginning of arts and crafts, how human languages began, and where the various nations came from. The focus then shifts to the beginning of the Hebrew people with Abraham, followed by the histories of Isaac, Jacob and his sons, and the book ends with Joseph in Egypt. Theme: The main idea that runs through the book is that although God made everything good, man’s sin has spoiled it. God has not given up, but is now in search of man to save him. The overall control of God is stressed, and special attention is given to how God directs history for the good of his people and their salvation. (Above commentary is from Tyndale Publishers “The One Year Bible Companion” p. 1) A wonderful commentary on the book of Genesis by Bob Deffinbaugh is at this link. Below is more art from Michelangelo – this is a marble statue of Moses, the author of Genesis, made in the year 1515 in Italy:
Moses is the author/compiler of the first five books of the Old Testament, also known as the Pentateuch, or the books of the Law. It is believed that these five books were written by Moses during Israel’s 40 years in the desert after the exodus from Egypt – which was likely between 1446 B.C. and 1406 B.C. The book of Genesis is foundational to understanding the rest of the Bible. It is a book of relationships – between God and his creation; between God and humans; and between humans themselves. In Genesis, God pledges his love and faithfulness to humans through covenants. It is a narrative that continually demonstrates faith.
In today’s Genesis readings we read about the Creation account and Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. There is so much happening in today’s readings, that this daily blog will not do it all justice… A series of links with a great overview of the 6 literal 24 hour days of creation that I HIGHLY recommend you read is at AnswersInGenesis.org at this link. Check out some great information on the Creation account in our Genesis readings today at bible.org at this link. Below is a wonderful piece of art from Pat Marvenko Smith titled “The Creation” – you’ll note this piece shows all 6 days of creation and what was created on each day, going from the left to the right:
Art used by permission by Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992. To order prints visit her “Revelation Illustrated” site.
Today we read this incredibly powerful verse in Genesis chapter 1 verse 27: “So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them.” Do you believe that you are made in the image of God? Is this a powerful thing to reflect upon? What might this mean for your life this new year, knowing that you are made in the image of God? Does this give you a sense of possibility for your life? A sense that you are made for a great purpose in this life?
Chapter 2 verse 3 is beautiful: “And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from his work of creation.” A day of rest. One day a week. If God did this, think we should too? 🙂 6 days of work and play and 1 day each week of resting in God. I confess I like the concept a lot more than I actually put it into practice. Perhaps this can be a year of new beginnings where a Sabbath day of rest enters our lives each week? How are you doing on taking a Sabbath? I love this image below of God resting on the 7th day:
One quick note from our readings today about the location of the Garden of Eden. It is believed to have been near where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers meet, in what is now southern Iraq. Below is a very high level map:
Bible.org’s commentary on today’s readings in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 titled “The Meaning of Man: His Duty and His Delight” is at this link.
In Genesis chapter 3 we read about The Fall. Chapter 3 is a foundational chapter of the Bible to understand. From this chapter our history goes forward with sin passed on to every man and woman through the seed of Adam. This sets the stage for God’s pursuit of men and women in Genesis, followed by the Exodus from Egypt, the Laws, the judges, the kings, the prophets – and ultimately the final solution to the Fall: the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (ultra-Cliff Notes version here… you’ll get the full version of all of this over the next 364 days… 🙂 It is through belief in Jesus as Messiah that we are saved from what began here in Genesis chapter 3.
In verses 1 through 4 in today’s readings we are first introduced to the devil in the Bible, who clothes himself as a snake. The devil is often referred to as the “great deceiver”, and in this chapter you can see why. I think an important thing for us to realize today is that the devil continues to work in our world. He continues to deceive men and women. And, unfortunately, he is good at what he does. I have a hunch that probably a few people reading this blog do not believe in the existence of the devil. I will admit that early in my Christian walk, I did not believe in the devil’s existence. However – thankfully, I was discipled by a godly man who counseled me through Bible passages that prove his existence – chapter 3 of Genesis certainly being one. In fact, one interesting thing my friend said to me at this early stage of my Christian walk was this – “The devil’s greatest trick is to make you think that he does not exist.” This is a very powerful statement. Please consider it. Why would this be his greatest trick? Because if you believe there is no devil, then you may believe there is no evil, and you then may believe that there is really no sin or nothing you can do wrong, and then you may come to believe that there is no moral code. You see the slippery slope of not acknowledging and realizing the existence of the devil and evil? I hesitated to post up this picture below – I really don’t like it at all – but I think it’s appropriate for this conversation. It reminded me of the temptation of our modern day addictions – like pornography or drugs etc. – the apple perhaps looks tasty at first glance, but you can’t bite the apple without getting bit by the snake and getting poisoned…
The other problem of not realizing the existence of the devil or evil is that you can more easily be tempted and enslaved to bad habits and sins. So – I know I’m going on quite a bit here about this point – I just want to encourage you to ask yourself – do you believe in the existence of the devil? Do you believe in the existence of evil? Of temptation? Of sin? There is a remedy and solution to protect and keep you from all of this – and that is Jesus. But, it’s possible that you may not run into the loving and saving arms of Jesus if you don’t believe in the devil or evil. Second to last point – a book that did help open my eyes in a big way to existence of evil in our world today is Frank Peretti’s “This Present Darkness”. It is a Christian book and one that I believe will really bring home the seriousness of evil and temptation in our world today. You may want to check it out if you have questions on all of this. Also, C.S. Lewis, in the intro to his incredible book about evil and temptation in our lives called “The Screwtape Letters” writes this: “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or magician with the same delight.” A great quote… and a great reminder to not have an excessive nor unhealthy interest in the devil or evil – this is of course extremely dangerous! And the bottom line is of course to turn your eyes and gaze toward God and Jesus for ultimate protection – and I do believe reading the Bible each day is one of the best ways to do exactly this!
In verses 12 and 13 we see Adam and Eve passing the buck on why they sinned. Check out Adam’s words in verse 12: “”but it was the woman you gave me who brought me the fruit, and I ate it.” At first glance you might think that Adam is just blaming Eve in this verse, but note that he is also blaming God! “the woman YOU gave me…” Adam was blaming God and Eve – anybody but himself. How often do we do this in our lives? Blame others for our mistakes? The painting immediately below I think captures Adam’s words and expression in verse 12 above perfectly!
Verse 15 is a prophetic verse that carries forward to Jesus: “From now on, you and the woman will be enemies, and your offspring and her offspring will be enemies. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”” This last sentence refers to Jesus ultimately defeating the devil through his life, death on the cross, and resurrection!
Below is “The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise” by American Neoclassical Painter Benjamin West from the year 1791:
Worship Video: I typically post up a worship video that relates to our daily readings on this section of the blog. Today, reading about God’s creation of our world in Genesis reminded me of Chris Tomlin’s song “Our God” (filmed live at Red Rocks, Colorado, in 2013 – I was there!). Enjoy, and don’t be afraid to Worship God right now along with this video!
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27 NLT
Prayer Point: Based on Genesis 1:27 above, will you pray today for your family, co-workers/students, and others in your community that you will see the image of God in each of them them? Also, will you pray for those you know who are made in the image of God, and yet are not in a saving personal relationship with Jesus? Will you pray that they will come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior this year?
Comments from You and Question of the Day: As today is our first day together on the Chronological Bible journey in 2026, I thought I’d post up a Chronological Bible “roll-call.” This is an opportunity for each of us to click on the “Comments” link below and let everyone know a few things about ourselves, as we’ll be journeying through the Word together over the coming year. So here’s the roll-call questions: 1. Have you read the entire Bible before? 2. What are you looking forward to about reading the entire Bible in 2026? 3. What’s your favorite book or verse in the Bible? Thanks for participating in the roll-call! 🙂 Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today’s readings? Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Chronological Bible readings at this link.
p.s. #2 – Download a schedule of our Chronological Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.
p.s. #3 – I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Chronological Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Chronological Bible Blog 