Chronological Bible Blog

You are invited to join us on the Chronological Bible journey in 2011!  We currently have over 700 people signed up for our free weekly email filled with commentary, encouragement, and questions for reflection.  To join us on the journey in 2011 click on this link for more details and to sign up!

Genesis 18:1-21:7
~ Click here to read today’s Scripture on BibleGateway.com ~ // Mobile Site Link

function googleTranslateElementInit() {
new google.translate.TranslateElement({
pageLanguage: ‘en’
}, ‘google_translate_element’);
}
http://translate.google.com/translate_a/element.js?cb=googleTranslateElementInit

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 God:  Today’s readings in Genesis 18 with Abraham showing hospitality to angels reminded me of The Newsboys song “Entertaining Angels:”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhCA6R_dPyI

Think you’ve ever entertained angels?  Click here and meet the One angels serve!

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

You are invited to join us on the Chronological Bible journey in 2011!  We currently have over 700 people signed up for our free weekly email filled with commentary, encouragement, and questions for reflection.  To join us on the journey in 2011 click on this link for more details and to sign up!

Genesis 15-17:27
~ Click here to read today’s Scripture on BibleGateway.com ~ // Mobile Site Link

function googleTranslateElementInit() {
new google.translate.TranslateElement({
pageLanguage: ‘en’
}, ‘google_translate_element’);
}
http://translate.google.com/translate_a/element.js?cb=googleTranslateElementInit

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 God:  Today’s readings in Genesis 15:5 with God showing Abram the stars reminded me of The Afters song “Light Up the Sky:”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UpWVQbbKVo

Has God lit up the sky for you?  Click here for God’s Light of the World!

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

You are invited to join us on the Chronological Bible journey in 2011!  We currently have over 700 people signed up for our free weekly email filled with commentary, encouragement, and questions for reflection.  To join us on the journey in 2011 click on this link for more details and to sign up!

Genesis 11:1-26; 1 Chronicles 1:24-27; Genesis 11:27-31; Genesis 12-14:24
~ Click here to read today’s Scripture on BibleGateway.com ~ // Mobile Site Link

function googleTranslateElementInit() {
new google.translate.TranslateElement({
pageLanguage: ‘en’
}, ‘google_translate_element’);
}
http://translate.google.com/translate_a/element.js?cb=googleTranslateElementInit

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 was intrigued in our Matthew readings a couple of days ago 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 God:  The call of Abram in Genesis chapter 12 reminded me of the Chris Tomlin song “How Great is Our God:”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OsyiGgSlqY

Do you know how great our God is?  Click here and learn about His greatness!

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

You are invited to join us on the Chronological Bible journey in 2011!  We currently have over 600 people signed up for our free weekly email filled with commentary, encouragement, and questions for reflection.  To join us on the journey in 2011 click on this link for more details and to sign up!

Genesis 7-10:5; 1 Chronicles 1:5-7; Genesis 10:6-20; 1 Chronicles 1:8-16; Genesis 10:21-30; 1 Chronicles 1:17-23; Genesis 10:31-32
~ Click here to read today’s Scripture on BibleGateway.com ~ // Mobile Site Link

function googleTranslateElementInit() {
new google.translate.TranslateElement({
pageLanguage: ‘en’
}, ‘google_translate_element’);
}
http://translate.google.com/translate_a/element.js?cb=googleTranslateElementInit

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 God:  Reading about God remembering Noah in Genesis 8:1 and reading about Jesus calling the disciples in Matthew 4 today reminded me of the fantastic song by Israel Houghton and Michael Gungor called “Friend of God.” Here’s Israel leading worship to this amazing song!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty0SO7IvtXM

Are you a friend of God?  Click here to meet your eternal Friend!

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

//
http://translate.google.com/translate_a/element.js?cb=googleTranslateElementInit

I encourage you to go through the Chronological Bible this year with a small group or Sunday school class at your church!  Please consider leading a Chronological Bible small group if there is not one currently at your church.  I will be posting up small group study notes each month for the upcoming month’s readings, below.  I will also send these notes out in the monthly emails.

Small Group Notes and Questions are at these links:

January 1 – 31 Monthly Notes (PDF format)
January 1 – 31 Monthly Notes (Word format)
February 1 – 28 Monthly Notes (PDF format)
February 1 – 28 Monthly Notes (Word format)
March 1 – 31 Monthly Notes (PDF format)
March 1 – 31 Monthly Notes (Word format)
April 1 – 30 Monthly Notes (PDF format)
April 1 – 30 Monthly Notes (Word format)
May 1 – 31 Monthly Notes (PDF format)
May 1 – 31 Monthly Notes (Word format)
June 1 – 30 Monthly Notes (PDF format)
June 1 – 30 Monthly Notes (Word format)
July 1 – 31 Monthly Notes (PDF format)
July 1 – 31 Monthly Notes (Word format)
August 1 – August 31 Monthly Notes (PDF format)
August 1 – August 31 Monthly Notes (Word format)
September 1 – 30 Monthly Notes (PDF format)
September 1 – 30 Monthly Notes (Word format)
October 1 – 31 Monthly Notes (PDF format)
October 1 – 31 Monthly Notes (Word format)
November 1 – 30 Monthly Notes (PDF format)
November 1 – 30 Monthly Notes (Word format)
December 1 – 31 Monthly Notes (PDF format)
December 1 – 31 Monthly Notes (Word format)

You are invited to join us on the Chronological Bible journey in 2011!  We currently have over 550 people signed up for our free weekly email filled with commentary, encouragement, and questions for reflection.  To join us on the journey in 2011 click on this link for more details and to sign up!

Genesis 4:1-5:32 ~ 1 Chronicles 1:1-4 ~ Genesis 6:1-22
~ Click here to read today’s Scripture on BibleGateway.com ~ // Mobile Site Link

function googleTranslateElementInit() {
new google.translate.TranslateElement({
pageLanguage: ‘en’
}, ‘google_translate_element’);
}
http://translate.google.com/translate_a/element.js?cb=googleTranslateElementInit

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.  Most evangelical commentaries  say that this was a literal flood that covered the entire earth, while some do say that it’s possible that it was a flood that covered the Mesopotamian region of the earth.  More seem to go with a literal flood covering the entire earth.  I think with all of these questions – was the earth created in 6 days?  did people live to be 900 years old?  did the flood cover the entire earth? – we can get caught up in arguments on either side and miss the theological point.   Points being…  God created everything, God dictates how long we live, and God cares enough about continuing the human race to save a righteous family and the future human race from an increasingly evil world at the time.  Basically – God’s in charge and we are not… 🙂  Which is a very good thing!  Because God is a loving and compassionate God who wants us to live lives of freedom from sin and to love God and our neighbors.  God’s ways are not our ways… they are so much higher!  I do absolutely believe the Bible to be the inerrant, inspired, very Word of God – so please don’t hear my thoughts above as questioning this point at all.  I just thing that the Bible does at times use amazing truthful stories and parables and symbolism and poetry to bring us theological truths – or, I should say, the Truth.  And I certainly believe in the humankind & animalkind preserving Truth of Noah’s ark!  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).”

YouTube – Today’s readings in Genesis about Noah and the flood reminded me of the older Jars of Clay song called “Flood.” Here’s a live version of this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ERhun1l3vU

Is your world a flood?  Click here for your ark!

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

You are invited to join us on the Chronological Bible journey in 2011!  We currently have over 450 people signed up for our free weekly email filled with commentary, encouragement, and questions for reflection.  To join us on the journey in 2011 click on this link for more details and to sign up!

GENESIS 1:1-3:24
~ Click here to read today’s Scripture on BibleGateway.com ~ // Mobile Site Link

function googleTranslateElementInit() {
new google.translate.TranslateElement({
pageLanguage: ‘en’
}, ‘google_translate_element’);
}
http://translate.google.com/translate_a/element.js?cb=googleTranslateElementInit

Welcome to the beginning of our Chronological Bible journey in 2011! Today we begin the book of Genesis!  Below is a fresco of “The Creation of Adam” by the Italian Renaissance painter Michelangelo, from the year 1510:

~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… (I do hope you have the One Year Bible Companion book or another commentary to dive deeper in to today’s readings – I’d type more but this post is already a bit long as you’ll see below… 🙂  The 6 days of creation have main 2 lines of thought by various scholars:  1. they were 6 literal 24 hour days or 2. they were 6 figurative days of an undefined timeframe, which could even be millions of years. 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 2011 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.  Below is a portrait by Guy Rowe of Adam and Eve with the serpent in today’s readings:

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 God – 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 the Third Day & Caedmon’s Call song, “God of Wonders.” Here’s a great live version of this song, introduced by Michael W. Smith, and then wrapped up with a beautiful version of “Agnus Dei.”  Enjoy, and don’t be afraid to Worship God right now along with this video!  (Watch for Steven Curtis Chapman worshiping in the audience near the end of the video too!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIYa8M4whGY

Do you personally know our God of Wonders?  Click here to meet Him!

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 2011, 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 2011?  3. What’s your favorite book or verse in the Bible?  4. What’s a fun or interesting fact about yourself?  5. City and/or country you live in? (if you’re comfortable sharing this – you don’t need to.)  6. Do you have a blog or website link that you want to share with everyone?  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

You are invited to join 1,000+ of us around the world on the Chronological Bible journey in 2024!  

Why read the Bible in one year?  I believe that God wants you to know more about Him, His character, His ways, and His incredible story of redemption.  And I believe God wants to transform you more into the likeness of His son Jesus on a daily basis.  One of the best ways that God can do all of this is by us reading and studying God's very Word, the Bible, for 15 minutes each day.  This website will equip and encourage you on a life-transforming one year journey through the Bible with free daily commentary, questions for reflection, images, worship videos, and with free monthly emails.

We are following a Chronological Bible plan with 15 minute daily readings.  Your options for joining us on the Chronological Bible journey include:
1. Reading online using our daily links to Bible Gateway.
2. Reading from your own Bible using your preferred translation. You can print out a listing of our entire year's readings in PDF format at this link.
3. Picking up a Chronological Bible which organizes our daily readings.

I encourage you to bookmark this website in your browser and sign up for our monthly emails so that you are on the email list. Note that our readings begin on January 1, 2024 – however, you are welcome to start with today's calendar date of readings and read along with us. Or you can try to play "catch-up" on the past few days' of reading too. This website will be continuing in 2021, God-willing, and for years to come.

To sign up for the Chronological Bible Blog daily emails, simply type your email in the box below, click Subscribe, and then make sure you respond to the confirmation email that will be automatically sent to you. There is no cost to you for any of this – it's free!

Enter your Email:

function FeedBlitz_a4682d253f2311ebb831002590f4cea5i(){var x=document.getElementsByName('FeedBlitz_a4682d253f2311ebb831002590f4cea5');for(i=0;i<x.length;i++){x[i].EMAIL.style.display='block'; x[i].action='https://app.feedblitz.com/f/f.Fbz?AddNewUserDirect';}} function FeedBlitz_a4682d253f2311ebb831002590f4cea5s(v){v.submit();}FeedBlitz_a4682d253f2311ebb831002590f4cea5i();

IMPORTANT NOTE: To make sure our daily emails get through to you, please add mike@oneyearbibleblog.com to your address book and safe-senders list in your email program or software. Also, please check your junk-mail folder for the initial confirmation email that Feedblitz will send you, if you don't see it. (Don't worry – you can always unsubscribe from our email list at any time.)

I encourage you to consider friends or relatives or church congregation members that you might want to invite along on this Chronological Bible journey as well?  Please feel free to share this website with others!  If you have a church website or a personal blog you are very welcome to link to this website!  I encourage you to consider including information about this website in your church bulletins in December of each year.  Also, I encourage you to consider "championing" the Chronological Bible at your church by encouraging others to join you on the journey.  Sometimes people need someone like you from their church to encourage them to read God's Word each day!

Will you consider starting up a Chronological Bible small group at your church?  We post up monthly Study Group notes and questions on this blog website at this link. Please use these notes as a resource for your monthly small group or for personal study!

Note that the NLT Chronological Bible schedule and time line of our daily readings we are using is unique – we read specific chapters/verses in a unique order. It is different from the NIV Chronological Bible schedule that Tyndale publishes too, and definitely different from other Chronological Bible schedules. Please know that the NLT is a fresh modern translation and not a paraphrase – though it's roots did start with the Living Bible from years ago, which was a paraphrase. Learn more about the NLT at this link. Again though, you don't have to read along with us using NLT – you can read along in NIV, ESV, KJV, etc. translations using your own Bible and just utilizing the printed PDF schedule above.

I encourage you to consider listening to our Chronological Bible readings on your commute to work/school by picking up a NLT Chronological Bible MP3 set. My wife and I have "read" the Chronological Bible by listening to it this way. It's a great way to make use of commute time, and you sometimes pick up new things when listening to the Bible being read versus just reading it on your own. Note that these CD's are not normal audio CD's, but MP3 CD's, which only play in newer CD players or car stereos. You can also download MP3's onto your computer or iPod to listen too. The set sells on amazon at this link.

Mike's bio: Overall, please know that this website is not about me – it is about God and it's about each of us learning from God's Word each and every day. I pray that this website simply helps facilitate this process for each of us.  I am a Christian who has discovered that reading and studying the Bible every day is absolutely life-transforming.  2024 is my 20th Bible journey, so I'm learning some things about the Bible as I go. I do have so much more to learn!  I try to write on this blog keeping two things in mind: 1. Grace 2.  A call to holiness in our lives. I try to find the balance of these two in my own life and in the writings in this blog and in the monthly e-mails. I have an evangelical faith in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit – the Triune God. I'm in my early 50's and at age 28 I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior at a nondenominational evangelical church.  A statement of my faith includes The Apostles Creed.  I hope this is enough of a bio?  God's bio in the Bible is so much more interesting than mine!  :) 

I look forward to journeying through the Chronological Bible with you!  Again, please do not let this spiritual growth opportunity pass you by! God bless you!

Any questions?  Email Mike at: mike@oneyearbibleblog.com

www.ChronologicalBibleBlog.com – HOME