January 4

Genesis 11:6

"'Look!' he (the Lord) said. 'The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing will be impossible for them!'"

At first I thought, "Why would this be such a bad thing?" Then, I remembered that mankind is absorbed in sin. God had to put a stop to the horrible outcomes that could have surfaced when men who are filled with sin get together to attempt to accomplish something. Our sin nature is not something to take lightly. God recognized that it is better to not understand each other on a communication basis than for us to plan to accomplish something together without God being our focus.

Genesis 11:31

"One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram's wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran's child) and moved away from Ur of the Chaldeans. He was headed for the land of Canaan, but they stopped at Haran and settled there."

I only just realized that Abraham's father began taking his family into the land that God would later tell Abraham to go to. This makes me wonder if God had originally called Terah to take his family and go to the land of Canaan or if God had told Abraham earlier (at this moment) to go to the land of Canaan and they only 'almost got there'. We know Abraham didn't always do 'exactly' what God tells him to do all the time and he tends to take matters into his own hands (ie. Egypt). I am just curious about why Terah was headed to Canaan, but stopped in Haran and then years later, God tells Abraham to keep going. How many times has God asked us to do something and we have only done it 'halfway'?

Genesis 13:8

"Finally Abram said to lot, 'Let's not allow this conflict to come between us or our herdsmen. After all, we are close relatives!'"

Abraham noticed tension growing between his herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen and solved the issue by addressing it and offering the solution of parting ways. The interesting fact here is the humble offer of Abraham for Lot to choose the land of his picking. Of course Lot chose the land that looked the most favorable and Abraham gave that to him without an argument or disagreement. This shows a lot about Abraham's character in trusting God because he had already received the blessing from God and His covenant. How wonderful is it to see Abraham give up what could have been his to give to his nephew. He even risked his life and the lives of his men to save Lot when he had been taken captive during a battle. He did all this for a 'close relative (a nephew)'. How much more does he call us to do this for our brothers and sisters (even our brothers and sisters in Christ)?

January 3

Genesis 7:5

"So Noah did everything as the Lord commanded him."

How many times has God asked us to do something so bizarre that it absolutely makes no sense? I'm sure there have been times like this that I have disregarded because I thought there would be no way God would ask me to do that! Can you imagine though, how Noah's faith must have strengthened out there while he was on the ark? He wasn't only confined to this ship for 40 days (as I tend to think sometimes when I read the story)--he was there for just over a year! I think about my calling to missions while studying this story. God asks us to leave everything we know and completely trust him (so bizarre!) Noah did everything God commanded him. He didn't ask why or tell God that he would get to it later. He listened and obeyed--immediately. Lord, I pray for that kind of faith.

January 2

Genesis 4:7

"You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be it's master."

I get the picture of a lion asleep at the door. If we aren't careful to "do what is right", that lion will wake up and devour us. Once sin gets a grip on our lives, it is really hard to escape. Let us be careful to do what is right so that we don't wake up the sleeping lion. I find it interesting that we can be sin's master. We have complete control over whether or not we wake up that sleeping lion or not. We are given the will to say no in those situations or say yes in the direction God is leading. As believers, we know how to "do what is right". We know these things through prayer, scripture, and meditation on God.

Genesis 4:23-24

"One day Lamech said to his wives, 'Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; listen to me, you wives of Lamech. I have killed a man who attacked me, a young man who wounded me. If Someone who kills Cain is punished seven times, then the one who kills me will be punished seventy-seven times!"

I am confused as to the purpose of this story after the story of Cain and Abel. Do you think that the author is showing that God's mercy extends moreso to the one who kills on behalf of self-defense? I'm going to look this up in commentaries and see what scholars say on these verses. Please leave comments. :)

January 1

Genesis 3:16b

"And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you."

Feminism has taken this curse and ran with it. I know I have had many, many moments where I have "controlled" men. (I have a broken hand to remind me). I believe that this is what Eve did when she ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil first and then gave it to her husband to eat. I wonder what God's intention was for man and wife in the Garden. Were they to be equal? To share in all decision-makings, to split each other's duties, to do everything together without one of them "ruling over" the other? God made woman to be a 'helper' to man. Maybe women are intended to be their husband's "right hand man" throughout life. Our curse is that man will rule over us when we want to control them. How many times have we tried to get our way? How many times have we tried to convince the men in our lives that we know what is best for them? Let us, as women, be more of a help to men instead of always having things our way and controlling them in their thoughts and actions. Let the men see us as a help to them instead of a burden or a nagging woman in their lives.