Category: Scripture

Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord ore the beautiful land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) Lot chose for himself the whole Jordan Valley to the east of them. He went there with his flocks and servants and parted company with his uncle Abram. So Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and lot moved his tents to a place near Sodom and settled among the cities of the plain. But the people of this area were extremely wicked and constantly sinned against the Lord.

After Lot had gone, the Lord said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction-north, south, east and west. I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession. And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted! Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you.”

So Abram moved his camp to Hebron and settled near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. There he build another altar to the Lord. (vv. 10-18, NLT)

So Abram left Egypt and traveled north to the Negev, along with his wife and Lot and all that they owned. (Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.) From the Negev, they continued traveling by stages toward Bethel and Ai, where they had camped before. This this was the same place where Abram had built the altar, and here worshiped the Lord again.

Lot, who was traveling with Abram, had also become very wealthy with flocks of sheep, goats, herds of cattle, and many tents. But the land could not support both Abram and Lot with all their flocks and herds living so close together. So disputes broke out between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot. (At that time Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land.)

Finally, Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not allow this conflict to come between us or our herdsmen. After all, we are close relatives! The whole countryside is open to you. Take your choice of any section of land you want, and we will separate. If you want the land to the left, then I’ll take the land on the right. If you prefer the land on the right, then I’ll go to the left.”(vv. 1-9, NLT)

At that time a severe famine struck the land of Canaan, forcing Abram and Sarai to go down to Egypt, where he lived as a foreigner. As he was approaching the border of Egypt, Abram said to his wife, Sarai,”Look, you are are very beautiful woman. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife. Let’s kill him; the we can have her!’ So please tell them you are my sister Then they will spare my live and tread me wall because of their interest in you.”

And sure enough, everyone noticed Sarai’s beauty. When the palace officials saw her, they sang her praises to Pharaoh, their king, and Sarai was taken into his palace. Then Pharaoh gave Abram many gifts because of her-sheep, goats, cattle, male and female servants, and camels.

But the Lord sent terrible plagues upon Pharaoh and his household because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. So Pharaoh summoned Abram and accused him sharply, “What have you done to me?” he demanded. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’, and allow me to take her as my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and get out of here!” Pharaoh ordered some of his men to escort them, and he sent Abram out of the country, alone with his wife and all his possessions. (vv. 10-20, NLT)

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed by you.

So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth-his livestock, and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran-and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived at Canaan, Abram traveled through as far as the land of Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites.

Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an alter there and dedicated it to the Lord, wo had appeared to him. After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he build another altar and dedicated it to the Lord., and worshiped the Lord. Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward Negev. (vv. 1-9, NLT)

This is an account of Shem’s family. [Noah’s son. Eight generations later, Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran] (see vv. 10-26, NLT)

This is an account of Terah’s family. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot. But Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, the land of his birth, while his father, Terah, was still living. Meanwhile, Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah. (Milcah and and her sister Iscah were daughters of Nahor’s brother, Haran.) But Sarai was unable to become pregnant and had no children.

One day, Terah took his son, Abram, his daughter-in-law, Sarai (his son Abram’s wife) and his grandson Lot (his so 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. Terah lived for 205 years and he died while still in Haran. (vv 27-32, NLT)

At one time all the people of the world spoke the language and used the same words. As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there.

They began saying to each other, “Lets make bricks and harden them with with fire .”(in this region bricks were used instead of stone, and tar was used instead of mortar.) Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”

But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. “Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. They they won’t be able to understand each other.”

In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way, He scattered them all over the world. (vv. 1-9, NLT)

Then God told Noah and his sons, “I hereby confirm My covenant with you and with your descendants, and with all the animals, the livestock and all the wild animals-every living creature o earth. Yes, I am confirming My covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the whole earth.”

Then God said, “I am giving you a sign of My covenant with you and with all living creatures, for all generations to come. I have placed My rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of My covenant with you and with all the earth. When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds, and I will remember My covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life. When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every creature on earth.” Then God said to Noah, “Yes, this rainbow is the sign of the covenant I am confirming with all the creatures on earth.” (vv 8-17, NT)

But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and livestock with him on the boat. He send a wind to blow across the earth and the floodwaters began to recede. The underground waters stopped flowing, and the torrential rains from the sky were stopped. So the floodwaters gradually receded from the earth. After 150 days, exactly five months from the time the flood began, the boat came to rest on the mountain of Ararat. Two and a half months later, as the waters continued to go down, other mountain peaks became visible.

After another forty days, opened the window he made in the boat and released a raven. The bird flew back and forth until the flood waters on the earth had dried up. He also released a dove to see of the water had receded and it could find dry ground. But the dove could find no place to land because the water still covered the ground. So it returned to the boat and Noah held out his hand and drew the dove back inside. After waiting another seven days, Noah released the dove again. This time the dove returned to him with a fresh olive leaf in its beak. Then Noah knew that the floodwaters were almost gone. He waited another seven days and released the dove again. This time it did not come back.

Noah was now 601 years old. On the first day of the new year, ten and a half months after the flood began, the floodwaters had almost dried up from the earth. Noah lifted back the covering of the boat and saw that the surface of the ground was drying. Two more months went by, and at last the earth was dry! (vv. 1-14, NLT)

For forty days the floodwaters grew deeper, covering the ground and lifting the boat high above the earth. As the waters rose higher and higher above the ground, the boat floated safely on the surface. Finally, the waters covered even the highest mountains on the earth, rising more than twenty-two feet above the highest peaks. All the living things on earth died-birds, domestic animals, wild animals, small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the people. Everything that breathed and lived on dry land died. God wiped out every living thing on earth-people, livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and the birds of the sky. All were destroyed. The only people who survived were Noah and those with him on the boat. And the floodwaters covered the earth for 150 days. (vv. 17-24, NLT)

Noah was 600 years old when the flood covered the earth. He went on board the boat to escape the flood-he and his wife and his sons and their wives. with them were all the various kinds of animals-those approved for eating and for sacrifice and those that were not-along with all the birds and small animals that scurry along the ground. The entered the boat in pairs, male and female, just as God had commanded Noah. After seven days, the waters of the flood came over the earth.

When Noah was 600 years old, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the underground waters erupted from the earth, and the rain fell in mighty torrents from the sky. The rain continued to fall for forty ays and forty nights.

That very day that Noah had gone into the boat with his wives and sone-Shem, Ham and Japeth-and their wives. With them in the boat were pairs of every kind of animal-domestic, wild, large and small-along with birds of every kind. Two by two they came into the boat, representing every living thing that breathes. A male and female of each kind entered, just as God had commanded Noah. The the Lord closed the door behind them. (vv. 6-16, NLT)