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Kids Bible Blog: Genesis
Special Creation
TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read: Genesis 1:24-2:2
TO CHEW ON: "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:27)
This is a detail from a painting by Michelangelo called "The Creation of Adam." It is Michelangelo's idea of God (on the right), reaching out to touch Adam with the spark of life.
How are people different from other things God created?
1. They walk upright?2. They talk?3. God created them in His image?
Did you pick 3? But what does it mean to have God's image?
When God created the first humans they they were pure and sinless. That’s part of having the image of God. But even after the first man and woman sinned, God’s image was still in people. It set them apart from the rest of creation. Here are some ways:
- People have creativity. They can draw, sing, build....
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From Moons to Mollusks
TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read: Genesis 1:14-34
TO CHEW ON: "...And God saw that it was good.... And God saw that it was good." (Genesis 1:18 & 21)
Not only can God make something out of nothing. He is also full of original and interesting ideas. There is variety in the planets, stars, galaxies, moons and meteors of space. Think about the assortment of birds and animals that live on land. And then there’s the teeming life in the sea. Can you name these fishy creatures? (Use the pictures below)...
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Create!
TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read: Genesis 1:1-13
TO CHEW ON: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)
What does it mean to create:1. Arrange things in an original way?2. Cause something to come into existence?3. Change something so it doesn’t look like the original thing?
I’m sure you’ll agree it’s 2. We do call people who put things together in interesting ways creative, but to create means to bring something into existence which didn’t exist before.
People explain how the sun, moon, stars and earth came into existence in different ways. Some believe it was through the big bang – a cosmic explosion – and that all life evolved from a single-cell after that. (In order for this explanation to make sense, we need to go back to that first step and ask who made the things that exploded and that single cell in the first place?)...
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Testing, testing
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Genesis 42:1-17
TO CHEW ON: “Joseph said to them, ‘It is just as I told you: You are spies! And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.’” (Genesis 42: 14,15)
Joseph was made a ruler in Egypt
The dream Joseph explained to Pharaoh came true. After seven years of good crops the rains stopped and crops were poor. Everyone was hungry. When the people came to Pharaoh for food, he sent them to Joseph.
Joseph had collected food in storehouses during the good years. Now he sold the storehouse food to the hungry people. Soon people from countries all around were coming to Joseph for food too.
One day ten foreign travelers came to Joseph. They looked familiar. Suddenly he knew why. They were his brothers! What thoughts do you think went through Joseph’s mind as he saw his brothers again after all those years?
Joseph’s brothers didn’t recognize him. And he didn’t tell them who he was. “Where are you from?” he asked them roughly. When they told him, he said, “You’re lying. You’re spies.”
“No!” they said. “We’re all sons of one father. Only our youngest...
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Tears of Joy
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Genesis 46:28-34
TO CHEW ON: "Joseph had his chariot made ready and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his father, and wept for a long time." Genesis 46:29
Have you ever been separated from people you love?
Perhaps you spent a week at camp. Or your parents live apart and you get to see one of them only seldom. Or you moved far away from your grandparents.
What feelings do you have when you’re about to meet them again:
nervous, excited, like crying, like laughing, worried, impatient, scared, happy
I’m sure Joseph was having some of those feelings while he waited for his father to arrive in Egypt. Finally the day arrived. Judah went ahead of the others. He found Joseph and said, “The whole family is here. Where do we go?”
Joseph got in his chariot and rode out to meet his father. What did he do when he saw Israel?_______________________ (Genesis 46:29).
We usually think of people crying when they are hurt or sad. But people also cry when they are happy. Getting back together with the people we love most, like family, is one time we easily cry tears...
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Perfect Timing
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Genesis 41:1-16, 39,40
TO CHEW ON: “Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since God has made this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.’” (Genesis 41:39,40)
Two years passed after the cup bearer was set free, Joseph was still in prison.
One night Pharaoh had a dream. It scared him and he wanted to know what it meant. But when he called his wise men and magicians, they couldn’t tell him the meaning of the dream.
Then someone remembered a dream he had had, and the young Hebrew prisoner who told him what it meant. It was the cup bearer. At last he remembered Joseph!
Servants came for Joseph. They took off his prison uniform, put new clothes on him and brought him to Pharaoh.
Pharaoh told Joseph his dream – and Joseph told him the meaning! Then Pharaoh did something amazing. He made Joseph the second boss in the whole land.
I’m sure Joseph often wondered, will the cup bearer ever think of me? Will I ever get out...
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Tags: storytelling Joseph God’s timing God’s omniscience Genesis Egypt dreams
Pass or Fail?
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Genesis 44:1-13,33-34
TO CHEW ON: “’Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come on my father.’” (Genesis 44:33,34)
Joseph’s brothers went back to their father with food. They told him about the mean Egyptian prince who said they must bring Benjamin with them next time. But Jacob said he would never let Benjamin go.
Soon the grain was gone and the family was desperate for food again. The brothers begged Jacob to let Benjamin go with them. Finally Benjamin’s older brother Judah promised that if the Egyptian prince threatened any harm to Benjamin, he would take his place.
When the brothers got to Egypt, the prince did a strange thing. He invited them to his home and served them a banquet. He even seated them in order of age from oldest to youngest. Then he gave Benjamin five times more food than everyone else. Finally he sent them on their way with the supplies they needed.
No sooner had they...
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Tags: memory verse love Joseph Genesis Egypt
Made Good by God
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Genesis 45:1-15
TO CHEW ON: “And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.” Genesis 45:5
After hearing Judah’s offer to take Benjamin’s place, Joseph knew his brothers were changed. Suddenly all the feelings he had been holding inside – the sadness at being hated and sold by his brothers, the fear, the homesickness, the years of being away from his family, the mixed-up feelings he got when he saw his brothers again – needed to come out.
Joseph dismissed his servants, and began to cry. “I am Joseph,” he told his brothers between sobs. “Is my father still living?”
Joseph greeting his brothers - Artist unknown
His brothers were scared of him. Now Joseph was the powerful one. He could do anything he wanted with them. Would he want revenge?
But he told them, “Don’t worry. God was in everything that happened. You meant to do a bad thing to me, but God made something good out of it. Because I am here in Egypt, our whole family can be saved from the famine.”
We too may have experienced things we don’t understand....
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Tags: storytelling problems Joseph God’s timing Genesis Egypt
Jealousy’s Rotten Fruit
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Genesis 37:12-36
TO CHEW ON: “... So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.” (Genesis 37:17b,18)
Joseph’s brothers were far away from home, herding their father’s flocks. One day Joseph’s father Israel (also called Jacob) sent Joseph to see how his brothers were getting along. Finish the story by filling in the answers from the words at the bottom:
When Joseph was still far away his brother recognized him and planned to 1. _______ (Genesis 37:20).When he got there they 2. ________ and 3. _________ (Genesis 37:23,24).But they didn’t kill him. Instead they 4. ____________ (Genesis 37:27)...
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Jailed
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Acts 28:11-16;30-31
TO CHEW ON: "Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ." Acts 28:31
Three months after the shipwreck Paul, his guards and companions set sail again. Soon they arrived in Rome. When they got there, the soldiers took Paul to a house.
"Arrival at Rome" by Johann C. Weigel, 1695
For two years he had to stay in that house with someone guarding him all the time.
"Paul preaches at Rome under guard" - Artist unknown
Even though he was a prisoner, Paul didn’t whine, sulk or feel sorry for himself. What did he do? (Find the words for the blanks in the word bank below - Acts 28:31)...
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Tags: problems Peter persecution Matthew Judges Jeremiah God’s presence God’s help God’s care Genesis Acts
Isn’t this the plan?
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Genesis 40:1-23
TO CHEW ON: “But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison.” (Genesis 40:14)
- Maybe the teacher will forget about giving the test.- Maybe the new kid will turn out to be my friend.
When we’re not ready for a test or we need a friend, we can think of ways God might answer our prayers.
I’m sure Joseph had been praying to get out of prison. Now he probably thought Pharaoh’s cup-bearer was going to be the answer to that prayer. After Joseph told the cup-bearer that he would be be going free, Joseph asked him to talk to Pharaoh. Pharaoh could get innocent Joseph out of jail.
Can’t you just imagine Joseph watching the prison door after the cup-bearer was set free, waiting for someone to tell him he could go free too? But day after day no one came. Soon he realized his prayers to go free would not be answered in the way he thought.
God often doesn’t answer our prayers the way we expect. But still we can trust Him. Because He knows everything and will answer at the right time...
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Hard Times
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Genesis 39:7-23
TO CHEW ON: “But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.” (Genesis 39:20b,21)
Have you ever been blamed for something you didn’t do? That’s what happened to Joseph.
At first everything went well. When the Ishmaelites who had bought Joseph got to Egypt they sold him to Pharaoh’s servant Potiphar. Joseph liked his job and did such good work, Potiphar soon put him in charge of everything he owned.
But Mrs. Potiphar liked Joseph too – in a sexual way. She tried over and over to get him to sin with her. Over and over, Joseph said, “No.” One day she tricked him. She got him alone in the house. “Come to me,” she said to Joseph.
Again Joseph said, “No!” Then he ran out of the house.
Mrs. Potiphar was angry and humiliated. “Joseph tried to rape me,” she lied. Immediately Potiphar arrested Joseph and put him in the king’s prison.
But instead of feeling sorry for himself, Joseph got right back to work helping the jailer. In no time the jailer put him in charge of all the prisoners....
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He’s Back!
TODAY'S SPECIAL: Genesis 35:1-15
TO CHEW ON: "Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel." Genesis 35:14,15
Jacob and his family had spent many months moving around, living as nomads. One day God talked to Jacob again. He told him to go to Bethel and settle there.
Jacob hears the voice of the Lord - by Frederick Sandys
Jacob had been at Bethel before.
1. Why did he stop there the first time? (Genesis 28:11)
2. What happened during the night? (Genesis 28:12)
3. What promise did God make to Jacob the first time he was in Bethel? (Genesis 28:15)
4. Now, years later, Jacob had a large family. He was rich with servants and cattle. And he was back at Bethel. Had God kept His promise? (Genesis 35:14,15)
PRAYER: You are a God who keeps promises. Thank you! Amen.MORE: PromisesBelow are three Bible promises. Choose one. Why is it important to you? You might also want to memorize it.
• "When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and when you pass through...
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Tags: promises memory verse map Jacob God’s presence Genesis coloring pages
Reunion
TODAY'S SPECIAL: Genesis 33:1-11
TO CHEW ON: “If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably.” Genesis 33:10
The day Jacob had looked forward to and dreaded was here. Today, after many years, he would see Esau again.
1.What happened when the brothers met? Genesis 33:42. Who of the brothers had done something wrong and needed to be forgiven?3. Who did the forgiving?
The meeting of Jacob and Esau
Seeing Esau again and knowing he was no longer angry was a big deal for Jacob. He compared getting Esau’s forgiveness to seeing the face of God.
Are there broken friendships in your life? Be like Jacob and Esau, and mend them.
PRAYER: Dear God, please help me forgive the people who have hurt me, and help the people I have hurt to forgive me. Amen...
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Tags: joy Jacob Genesis forgiveness Esau
God is Here
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Genesis 32:22-31
TO CHEW ON: "So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, 'It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.'" Genesis 32:30
Soon Jacob was a father, once, twice. three times... As he kept working for Laban, God blessed him with wealth and many children. But things were not going well. Laban and his sons were jealous of Jacob’s wealth. There was quarreling.
One day God told Jacob to move back to his childhood home. He sneaked away from Laban with his family. Though Laban came after him, he didn’t make Jacob come back. Now Jacob and his family were really on their own.
To get back home, he had to pass through Edom, where his brother Esau lived. This worried Jacob a lot. Was Esau still angry with him? Did Esau still want to kill him?
He got ready to meet Esau by preparing a gift of animals and servants. He put the gift in front, with his own flocks behind that, and at the very back his wives and children.
The night before they met, he spent time alone, praying and worrying about what the next day would bring. Then a man met him. They...
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Tags: true/false theophany Jacob God’s presence Genesis Esau
Tricked!
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Genesis 29:15-28
Jacob falls in love with - Artist unknown
TO CHEW ON: "When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, 'What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?'" Genesis 29:25
Jacob eventually found his mother’s relatives in Haran. There he got work with his uncle Laban. He also fell in love with Laban’s beautiful daughter Rachel. Laban told Jacob he could marry Rachel if he worked for him seven years.
Seven years pass quickly. Now it was the wedding day. But after the party was over, Jacob found his uncle had married him to Leah, Rachel’s older sister. (In that time women’s wedding clothes included veils to hide their faces.)
“Why did you deceive me?” Jacob asked his uncle. Now Jacob found out how Esau felt when he was tricked.
Jesus said, “Whatever measure you use will be used towards you and even more than that.” (Mark 4:24 Phillips). As Jacob discovered, the way we treat others becomes the way others treat us....
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Tags: trickery marriage Jacob Genesis consequences
Alone - but not alone
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Genesis 28:10-20
TO CHEW ON: “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Genesis 28:15
Have you ever run for your life? That’s what Jacob was doing. After he tricked his father into giving him Esau’s blessing, Esau wanted to kill him. Rebekah told Jacob to go to Haran, where she grew up. Jacob set out alone
How do you suppose he felt as he walked away from his family and the only home he had ever known?- Nervous about being attacked by robbers and wild animals?- Worried about losing his way?- Lonely and wishing he had someone to talk to?
When it got dark, he stopped walking. He pitched his tent, unrolled his sleeping bag, blew up his air mattress – NOT! He had no tent, sleeping bag, or air mattress. Instead he lay on the ground, under the stars with a stone for his pillow.
After he fell asleep, he dreamed. What things were in his dream (Genesis 28:12-13)...
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Tags: storytelling science promises Jacob God’s presence Genesis dreams angels
Deceit and Trickery
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Genesis 27:1-41
TO CHEW ON: "But he said, 'Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.'" Genesis 27:35
Isaac was old and knew he would soon die. He asked Esau, his favorite son, to catch some wild game and make his favorite food. Then he would say a blessing over him.
Rebekah heard this. She didn’t want Isaac to bless Esau. Jacob was her favorite son. And hadn’t God said to her at the birth of Jacob and Esau, “The older will serve the younger”?
Here’s what happened next. But one of these things is not true. Which one?
1. Jacob brought Rebekah two young goats and she prepared food for Isaac.2. Rebekah dressed Jacob in Esau’s clothes and covered his hands and neck to smell and feel like Esau.3. Jacob took Rebekah’s food to Isaac and Isaac ate it.4. Isaac blessed Jacob after he smelled his clothes and felt his skin to make sure it was Esau.5. Esau brought prepared food to his father.6. Isaac told Esau he had already eaten and spoken a blessing – on someone else!7. Esau didn’t care that Jacob had stolen his blessing.8. Esau vowed to kill Jacob as soon as their father died.
By tricking Isaac in...
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Tags: trickery Rebekah puzzle Jacob Isaac Genesis faith Esau
Now - or Later?
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Genesis 25:19-34
TO CHEW ON: "Jacob replied, 'First sell me your birthright.''Look, I am about to die,' Esau said. 'What good is the birthright to me?'" Genesis 25:31-32
Though Jacob and Esau (sons of Isaac and Rebekah) were twins, they were far from identical. What things do we know about them that show how different they were? (Genesis 25:27-28)
Esau1.2.3.
Jacob1.2.3.
One day when Esau came back from hunting, Jacob was making stew. When hungry Esau asked Jacob for some stew to eat, Jacob used his cleverness to get Esau to promise him the birthright in exchange for a pot of stew.
A birthright was a big deal. It was what the oldest son in a family inherited. As firstborn of the twins and the oldest son, Esau’s inheritance was twice as big as Jacob’s. The birthright also brought with it the job of being the family leader next to Isaac.
But in one reckless moment, Esau said, “What good is a birthright to me if I die by hunger anyway?” Then he promised Jacob his birthright if he would give him a bowl of stew. Later he regretted this decision with all his heart.
PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to make decisions based on wisdom,...
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Tags: wisdom Rebekah patience Jacob Isaac impatience Genesis Esau choices
God, I need help!
TODAY'S SPECIAL: Genesis 24:12-20, 57-61
TO CHEW ON: "Then he prayed, 'O Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.'" Genesis 24:12
Abraham sent his servant on an errand. He was to find a wife for Isaac among Abraham’s relatives far away. This was a hard job. As the servant traveled he wondered how would he ever find Abraham’s family, let alone know which was the right girl.
When he got to the faraway land, he still didn’t know what to do. He found a well and sat there to rest. As he rested he prayed, "God please help me find the right girl. May it be the girl that when I ask her for a drink, she'll offer to water my camels too. If that happens, I'll take it as a sign that she's the right girl."
Before he finished praying beautiful Rebekah came to the well.
Unscramble the words to find out what the servant said and how the girl answered him (Genesis 24:17-19)
Could this be the right girl?
It turned out Rebekah was also one of Abraham’s relatives. When the servant explained his errand to Rebekah’s family they asked her, “Will you go?” and...
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The Big Test
TODAY'S SPECIAL: Genesis 22:1-19
TO CHEW ON: “...and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” Genesis 22:18
Imagine Abraham’s horror the day God told him to sacrifice his son Isaac. Perhaps he had some of these questions and thoughts:
- Did I hear God right?- Why would God make me wait all these years to have a son, only to ask me to kill him?- Didn’t God forbid human sacrifice?- God can do anything. Maybe He is planning to raise Isaac from the dead.
Whatever Abraham was thinking, he didn’t argue with God. Instead, he took Isaac, the stuff they needed for the sacrifice and they went to the place God told him.
Using Genesis 22:9-12 as a guide, put the rest of the story in order.
An angel stops Abraham from sacrificing Isaac - Artist unknown
Abraham’s faith was tested to see what he believed in. God was testing him to see whether he believed in what his mind told him God would do, or whether he believed in God, even though he didn’t understand. Abraham’s actions showed he believed in God. He passed the test!...
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Tags: sacrifice puzzle obedience Jesus Isaac Genesis faith angel Abraham
Promises, promises
TODAY'S SPECIAL: Genesis 21:1-7
TO CHEW ON: "Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him." Genesis 21:2
I’ll play with you after school today.Never tell a soul– promise?Wait till summer; then I’ll take you fishing.We’ll go to Disneyland next year - it’s a promise!
Our lives are full of promises. Do we keep all the promises we make? Do others keep their promises to us? Probably not.
But there is Someone Who does keep every promise He makes. God promised Abraham and Sarah they would have a son. In fact He said it over and over. Now at last, when Abraham was 100 and Sarah 90 years old, the baby was born.
1. What did Sarah do? (Genesis 21:6)2. Abraham and Sarah named the baby Isaac. What does the name "Isaac" mean?
God kept His promise. What a happy time!
PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the joy of kept promises. Amen.
MORE: God's promises to you
The Bible is full of God's promises to you. Read the following promises and solve the crossword puzzle below.
1. Eternal life: (John 11:25) "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will...
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God as Judge
TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read: Genesis 19:12-29
TO CHEW ON: "The two men said to Lot, 'Do you have anyone else here...? Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.'” Genesis 19:12,13
When the two angels got to Sodom they met Lot at the city gate. He invited them to stay at his home for the night. But even there the visitors didn’t escape the violence of the city.
Soon a crowd of men was banging on Lot’s door. They wanted to abuse the two angels - who they thought were ordinary men. When Lot went out to calm them, they threatened him. They were about to break down his door when the angels pulled him into the house and made the men go blind.
“Do you have anyone else here that belongs to you?” the angels asked Lot. He talked to the young men who were engaged to his daughters. But when he told them God would destroy the city, they thought he was joking.
Before dawn the next morning, the angels pulled Lot and his family out of bed. “Hurry! Get...
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Ask and Ask Again
TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read: Genesis 18:20-33
TO CHEW ON: "Abraham said, 'Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?'He said, 'For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.'Then he said, 'May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?'He answered, 'For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.'” Genesis 18:31,32
One day three men came to visit Abraham. He welcomed them, washed their dusty feet and fed them a hot dinner. As they talked, Abraham realized that these visitors weren’t ordinary men. Two of them were angels and one was God Himself, in human form.
After their visit, as Abraham walked down the road with them God turned to him and said, “I’m going to tell you what I’m planning to do.” Then He explained how He had heard that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were sinful and violent. He said if the angels found that to be true, He would destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.
Immediately Abraham thought of Lot. He had moved near Sodom. So Abraham begged God to spare the city if there...
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Tags: theophany prayer perseverance Genesis faith angels Abraham
More than a Promise
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Read: Genesis 17:1-10
TO CHEW ON: "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations." Genesis 17:4
Twenty four years after God said to Abram “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you,” Abram still didn’t have even one son, let alone a nation of sons. By the time he was 99 years old, can we blame him for thinking God had forgotten His promise?
Abram listening to God - Artist unknown
But now God came to Abram again and told him, “I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.... You will be the father of many nations.”
God gave Abram more than a promise. He called it a covenant. It is the strongest promise anyone can make.
Circle the things a covenant IS (look it up in the dictionary if you need to)....
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Can’t Wait
TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read: Genesis 16:1-9
Abram looking at the stars - Artist unknown
TO CHEW ON: “'Your slave is in your hands,' Abram said. 'Do with her whatever you think best.'” Genesis 16:6
What promises had God given Abram?
Genesis 12:2
Genesis 15:5
If Abram was to be a nation and have as many children as there are stars, he would first need at least one child. But year followed year and still Abram and Sarai had no children. They were old when they first moved. Now they were very old.
We can’t wait any longer. God needs help with this, thought Sarai. So she gave her servant Hagar to Abram to have a baby for her. Though this was a legal thing to do at that time and place, it was not God’s way.
Hagar got pregnant. But now she scorned Sarai. Sarai blamed Abram. Abram told Sarai to do as she liked with Hagar. So Sarai sent Hagar away into the desert.
An angel comforted Hagar. He told her she would have a son, Ishmael, but he wouldn’t get along with his brothers. And the angel told Hagar to go back to Abram and Sarai.
What the angel said to Hagar about Ishmael came true. Ishmael became the...
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Tags: Sarah promises impatience Genesis consequences Abraham
First Choice
TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read Genesis 13:1-17
Abram and Lot - Artist unknown
TO CHEW ON: "So Abram said to Lot, 'Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me.... Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.'” Genesis 13: 8,9
Abram did take one member of his family along – his nephew Lot. Lot also had flocks and servants. Soon their servants were fighting over the same pastures. Abram didn’t want fighting. He had a meeting with Lot. “I think it’s time for our families to part,” he said.
Abram was the leader and the respected older person on this trip. He could have told Lot to graze his cattle on the scrubby hills while he (Abram) took his cattle to the green valley. Instead Abram let Lot have first choice about where he’d go.
What an easy decision for Lot. Of course he picked the lush green valley for himself. Besides being the best pasture land, it was near the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah where his wife could shop and he could get supplies.
If Abram was sorry about his decision to let Lot pick first, it wasn’t...
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Tags: selfishness memory verse giving Genesis generosity Abraham
Faith Adventure
TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read Genesis 12:1-7
Abraham journeying into the Land of Canaan by Gustave Dore
TO CHEW ON: "The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you....” So Abram went as the Lord told him." Genesis 12:1,4
People move from one home to another for many reasons. Sometimes they move to find work. Sometimes they move to be close to family. Sometimes they move to experience life in a different city. And sometimes they move just because God tells them to.
One day God talked to a man named Abram. (He was a man who was alive at about the same time as Job.) God told Abram to move – and he did, just because God said so.
He had to have a big faith in God to leave the country he lived in, the city he knew, and even his family. He was 75 when God asked him to do this. That's older than your grandparents! To make it even harder, God didn’t give him a map or a moving truck. He just told Abram and his wife Sarai to pack their stuff and go wherever He would show them.
Abram...
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Tags: storytelling prophecy promises obedience Genesis courage Abraham
Human Towers
TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read Genesis 11:1-9
TO CHEW ON: "Then they said, 'Come let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.'” Genesis 11:4
God was displeased with the people’s plan to build a tower. It wasn’t so much the building which displeased Him, but the attitude it showed. This tower plan showed pride. It was as if these people were saying, “Making this tower will prove we humans can do anything we are determined to do.”
God stopped the project. Which method did He use?1. Sent an earthquake2. Sent a plague of sickness3. Confused the languages so people could no longer understand each other.4. Caused the workers to go on strike.
In this way God reminded people of their human limits. We humans may be creative and ambitious and energetic and determined. But this story reminds us that God is greater than any human scheme or idea. If something is against His plan, He can shut it down in an instant.
PRAYER: Dear God, I want to honor and serve You with my life—not human pride and ambition. Amen
SECOND...
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Tags: science research project pride people Genesis discussion
Everyday Life
TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read Genesis 8:15-22
Noah and his family leave the ark - Artist unknown
TO CHEW ON: "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." (Genesis 8:22)
The flood was over. At last the animals and people could leave the ark!
Here they came, tumbling out of the doorway, taking deep breaths of fresh air, skipping, jumping, running, then galloping. They loved the feel of the sun on their backs and the breeze on legs and faces.
Best of all, God had told them there would be no more floods. Now life could get back to normal.
Though we’ll never have to go through a worldwide flood like Noah and his family did, we also live through things which disturb our everyday routine. These can be as frightening as having our house burn down or as fun as going on a vacation. But whether good or bad, there comes a time when we’re ready to get back to ordinary everyday life
Before you complain that that’s too boring, think of all the variety God has built into the repeats of nature. Match the opposites of everyday living on the lists below:...
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Tags: seasons science research promises Noah Genesis covenant
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