Author: nosilver4u

¹ After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying,

“Do not fear, Abram,
I am a shield to you;
Your reward shall be very great.”

² Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” ⁴Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” ⁵ And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” ⁶ Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. ⁷ And He said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.” ⁸ He said, “O Lord GOD, how may I know that I will possess it?” ⁹ So He said to him, “Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” ¹⁰ Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds. ¹¹ The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.

You don’t have to look far in this passage to find encouragement. We serve the same God that Abram served, and He will be our shield as well. But God didn’t stop there with just promises. He had already protected Abram when he went to rescue Lot, but Abram’s fears were something deeper. He had no children, yet God had promised him a nation of descendants. And so God reaffirmed His promise to Abram that his descendants would be as the stars of the sky.

¹⁷ Then after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). ¹⁸ And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. ¹⁹ He blessed him and said,

“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
²⁰ And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
He gave him a tenth of all.

²¹ The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the people to me and take the goods for yourself.” ²² Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the LORD God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, ²³ that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, for fear you would say, `I have made Abram rich.’ ²⁴ “I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share.”

It’s pretty amazing that Abram was willing to part with his just rewards, even when they were freely offered by those whom he had helped. He knew the promise of God was worth so much more, that he didn’t need anything more than what God would give him.

¹ And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, ² that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). ³ All these came as allies to the valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). ⁴ Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but the thirteenth year they rebelled. ⁵ In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, ⁶ and the Horites in their Mount Seir, as far as El-paran, which is by the wilderness. ⁷ Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in Hazazon-tamar. ⁸ And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah and the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they arrayed for battle against them in the valley of Siddim, ⁹ against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar–four kings against five. ¹⁰ Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell into them. But those who survived fled to the hill country. ¹¹ Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply, and departed. ¹² They also took Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom.

¹³ Then a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now he was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were allies with Abram. ¹⁴ When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. ¹⁵ He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. ¹⁶ He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the people.

This just amazes me. All these kings come together in battle, four against five. The four have been on a rampage, and the five can’t stand against them, and the tar pits claim several of them. They carry Abram’s nephew, Lot, away with them, and that’s where they made a mistake. Abram hears about it, and gathers his men, all 318 of them, and pursues the four kings. With 318 men. Now surely, the four kings’ army must have been lessened a little bit, but you’ve got to think they are still a force to be reckoned with. Certainly not something to go after with 318 men. That wasn’t a problem for Abram though, because he knew the hand of God was upon him, and his nephew was in danger. With 318 men, Abram defeated the four kings and rescued Lot. How’s that for the power of God?

⁸ So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. ⁹ “Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.” ¹⁰ Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere–this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah–like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. ¹¹ So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. ¹² Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom. ¹³ Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the LORD.

¹⁴ The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; ¹⁵ for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. ¹⁶ “I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. ¹⁷ “Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.” ¹⁸ Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD.

After Abram went back to the beginning, he was much more focused on what God had promised. Thus, when there was strife between himself and Lot, and it became necessary to separate, he didn’t concern himself with which land was better. He knew that God would take care of him, no matter where he dwelt in Canaan. He resolved a very sticky situation by keeping his eyes on the promise, and not getting concerned with his own ‘needs’.

¹ So Abram went up from Egypt to the ¹Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.

² Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold. ³ He went on his journeys from the ²Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, ⁴ to the place of the altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on the name of the LORD. ⁵ Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. ⁶ And the land could not sustain them while dwelling together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. ⁷ And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land.

Abram made a smart move here. He had played the fool in Egypt because he forgot God’s promise to him. So the logical thing to do, is to go back to the beginning. Well, not quite the very beginning, but to where he first entered the land of Canaan and set up camp. Sometimes we lose sight of the things that God has done for us and the things He has promised us. When that happens, the best thing to do, is to go back to the beginning. That’s not necessarily always the point of salvation, but it is the point at which we knew for sure that God loved us and cared about us, and would do what He promised.

¹⁰ Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. ¹¹ It came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman; ¹² and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, `This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. ¹³ “Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you.” ¹⁴ It came about when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. ¹⁵ Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. ¹⁶ Therefore he treated Abram well for her sake; and gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels.

¹⁷ But the LORD struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. ¹⁸ Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? ¹⁹ “Why did you say, `She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife, take her and go.” ²⁰ Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him.

I think it is just plain human-nature to have a sense of self-preservation, but Abram forgot one critical thing. He had the promise of God almighty that He was going to make Abram into a great nation. He obviously forgot that as he was traveling to Egypt. God would have taken care of him, even in a foreign land. Instead, he made himself look like a fool in front of Pharaoh.

¹ Now the LORD said to Abram,

“Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;
² And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
³ And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

⁴ So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. ⁵ Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan. ⁶ Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land. ⁷ The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him. ⁸ Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD. ⁹Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the ¹Negev.

This is why Abram gets mentioned in the ‘faith chapter’. When God asked him to pick up his things and go, he didn’t question what the purpose was, he just went. He was apparently so convinced that following God was the right thing to do, that he got his nephew to come with also. When God asks us to do something, are we this obedient?

¹⁰ These are the records of the generations of Shem. Shem was one hundred years old, and became the father of Arpachshad two years after the flood; ¹¹ and Shem lived five hundred years after he became the father of Arpachshad, and he had other sons and daughters.

¹² Arpachshad lived thirty-five years, and became the father of Shelah; ¹³ and Arpachshad lived four hundred and three years after he became the father of Shelah, and he had other sons and daughters.

¹⁴ Shelah lived thirty years, and became the father of Eber; ¹⁵ and Shelah lived four hundred and three years after he became the father of Eber, and he had other sons and daughters.

¹⁶ Eber lived thirty-four years, and became the father of Peleg; ¹⁷ and Eber lived four hundred and thirty years after he became the father of Peleg, and he had other sons and daughters.

¹⁸ Peleg lived thirty years, and became the father of Reu; ¹⁹ and Peleg lived two hundred and nine years after he became the father of Reu, and he had other sons and daughters.

²⁰ Reu lived thirty-two years, and became the father of Serug; ²¹ and Reu lived two hundred and seven years after he became the father of Serug, and he had other sons and daughters.

²² Serug lived thirty years, and became the father of Nahor; ²³ and Serug lived two hundred years after he became the father of Nahor, and he had other sons and daughters.

²⁴ Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and became the father of Terah; ²⁵ and Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years after he became the father of Terah, and he had other sons and daughters.

²⁶ Terah lived seventy years, and became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.

²⁷ Now these are the records of the generations of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran; and Haran became the father of Lot. ²⁸ Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans. ²⁹ Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah. ³⁰ Sarai was barren; she had no child.

³¹ Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans in order to enter the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran, and settled there. ³² The days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran.

It has often been surmised that Terah, Abram’s father, had been called by God to move to Canaan, and become the father of Israel. However, he stopped in Haran, and never made it to Canaan. For whatever reason, something kept him from fulfilling his destiny. Be careful that you are listening to the voice of God, and that you finish what He has asked you to do. If you don’t, you won’t have much of a legacy to leave behind.

¹ Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. ² It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. ³ They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. ⁴ They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” ⁵ The LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. ⁶ The LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ “Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” ⁸ So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. ⁹ Therefore its name was called ¹Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.

What was the sin that the people of Babel had committed? Was it wanting to reach heaven? Was it wanting to see God? I would hope not. Rather, it was wanting to be like God. They didn’t want to build a tower to heaven to fellowship with God. They wanted to build a tower to be on the same level as God. They had become prideful (and possibly incited by the rebellious Nimrod), and decided the only way to properly express how great they were was to build a tower and ascend to heaven. God didn’t create us to compete with Him, we were created to have fellowship with Him. However, when we get our eyes stuck on ourselves and how much we’ve accomplished, pride kicks in and makes us do some pretty foolish things. Keep your eyes focused on God, and you won’t waste your time building monuments to your success. You’ll be too busy building the Kingdom of God.

¹⁵ Canaan became the father of Sidon, his firstborn, and Heth ¹⁶ and the Jebusite and the Amorite and the Girgashite ¹⁷ and the Hivite and the Arkite and the Sinite ¹⁸ and the Arvadite and the Zemarite and the Hamathite; and afterward the families of the Canaanite were spread abroad. ¹⁹ The territory of the Canaanite extended from Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; as you go toward Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. ²⁰ These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, by their nations.

²¹ Also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, and the older brother of Japheth, children were born. ²²The sons of Shem were Elam and Asshur and Arpachshad and Lud and Aram. ²³ The sons of Aram were Uz and Hul and Gether and Mash. ²⁴ Arpachshad became the father of Shelah; and Shelah became the father of Eber.²⁵ Two sons were born to Eber; the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan. ²⁶ Joktan became the father of Almodad and Sheleph and Hazarmaveth and Jerah ²⁷and Hadoram and Uzal and Diklah ²⁸ and Obal and Abimael and Sheba ²⁹ and Ophir and Havilah and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan. ³⁰ Now their settlement extended from Mesha as you go toward Sephar, the hill country of the east. ³¹ These are the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, according to their nations.

³² These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations; and out of these the nations were separated on the earth after the flood.

Here we are seeing the forefathers of a lot of the people groups that show up later in the Bible. Particularly the Canaanites, which apparently were so evil, that God decided to have the Israelites completely wipe them out, and take over their land. Also, we find a contemporary of Nimrod here: Peleg. It is assumed that ‘the earth being divided’ refers to the incident at the Tower of Babel when God confused the languages of the people building the tower. It is too bad that’s all Peleg was known for is being alive during the days of division. How would you like that to be your legacy? No, you wouldn’t, so don’t let it be. Serve God with all your heart, and run the race He has set before you with endurance, so that you might leave behind a legacy better than Peleg’s.