The Journey: Complete Bible Commentary

By Dr. Marvin Anderson

The Journey is a full Bible commentary depicting the continuity of the Old and New Testament. It is designed to be used with your Bible to explain Gods provision for mans salvation, Christian living, and ultimately being with our Father in Heaven. New Testament passages are used to explain Old Testament passages to bring relevance and explanation about the progression of Gods plan for man through the entire Bible. The Journey invites the reader to take the journey and experience what Gods Word says and instructs the Christian on learning the Bible in a nonacademic setting.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 7, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490885681

Dr. Marvin Anderson

I have been a Bible teacher in a Christian church for over thirty years and have noticed people want to know what God’s will is for their life. The reader will discover how the Old Testament and New Testament are contiguous and relevant in our lives today. Christians want to move from their assurance of salvation to a point of using the Bible to grow in their relationship with the Lord. The reader will learn how the Bible can help the Christian live in a fallen world and still experience joy.

Book preview

Genesis

Chapter 1 Moses is considered the writer of all of the Pentateuch which was written around 1446 BC. The people would want to know how we came into being, who made the Earth, what happened to bring us here and what is the plan to get us out of this mess? This is the beginning of the Old Testament starting in Genesis chapter 1 verse 1.God created the heavens and the earth from absolutely nothing. We also see the spirit of God hovering over the waters. The Trinity was also involved in creation. On the first day he created the light. On the second day He created the sky and the water. On the third day he created Land and seas, on the fourth day he created the sun, the moon and stars. On the fifth day he created the fish and the birds. The sixth day He created the animals to fill the earth and man and woman to care for the earth and to commune with God. Lastly, and on the seventh day God rested from all he had made and said it was very good. In verse 26 the word, let us, refers to the Trinity in which God made man in his image. In verse 27 the Bible says God created male and female in His image. Man was created with a soul, along with a mind, will and emotions. Man was capable of thinking, having emotions, making decisions, and having a relationship with God. In verse 28 God blesses the man and the woman telling them to be fruitful and multiply or to procreate. Man is given dominion to rule over all of the earth and all that was created. Each day mentioned in chapter 1 is a literal 24-hour day. In chapter 2 verse two, it says God finished all his work in six days and on the seventh day He rested. The seventh-day was sanctified and established as a holy day. In the very beginning, we see God’s purpose for creating and bringing everything together. The Trinity was very much a part of this, God the father, His son, and the Holy Spirit. In Proverbs chapter 8 starting in verse 22 this is speaking about Jesus, The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began. When there were no oceans, I was given birth when there were no springs abounding with water; before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, before he made the earth or its fields or any of the dust of the world. I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in the whole world and delighting in mankind. This passage in Proverbs chapter 8 is often overlooked, but it speaks as to how God and the Trinity created everything for His delight. Christ Jesus was very much a part of the creation. The Bible states that everything was made by Him and for Him, for His pleasure.

In chapter 2 the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Verse eight states the Lord God had planted a garden in the East, in Eden and there he put man to tend the garden. The Garden of Eden was believed to be located in the region of the Tigris and Euphrates River. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God told man not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Man could eat of any of the other trees in the garden, just not of that tree. In verse 18 God said, it is not good for the man to be alone, so I will make a helper (or a helpmate) for him. God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep and while he was sleeping, took one of the man’s ribs, made woman and brought her to the man. The man said, This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man. Verse 24 says, For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and they will become one flesh. In verse 25 the man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. This first union between a man and a woman was perfect. The wording, they had no shame, means they had no barriers between the man and the woman. All of creation can be seen as an expression of God’s love to his people. Time and time again God said what he had made was good, which means God was pleased with it. This first marriage was perfect, the man and the woman were perfect for each other. God loved man and did not want him to be alone, so he formed a perfect mate to help him.

Chapter 3 The man and the woman had been tending the garden when Satan, disguised as a serpent, asked the woman a question. Did God say you must not eat from any tree in the garden? Eve replied, We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, you must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die. In this passage Satan tempts the woman to eat fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The fruit of the tree was pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom. She took some and ate it and also gave some to her husband to eat. Satan is the accuser and he wants to get man to doubt God and his love for us. He wants to build anarchy between the man and the woman. This is the first temptation recorded in the Bible. Both the man and the woman acted on this temptation, which resulted in the first sin recorded in the Bible. The Bible records in verse seven that their eyes were now open and they realized they were naked. The Bible records in James chapter 1 verse 14 that each one is tempted, when by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Verse 15 then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. This first act of sin recorded in the Bible is known as Original Sin and has been handed down from generation to generation even to the present day. Up until this time, God and man had a relationship there in the garden that was intimate. In verse eight the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. This indicates the man and the woman had a very close relationship with God up until that first sin. This sin did not stop God from wanting to have a loving relationship with man. God did not say, get out of my sight, I don’t want to see you. God out of love asked, Where are you? Sin created a barrier between God and man and between the man and the woman. Man and woman’s relationship would be changed forever. There would be no perfect marriages or perfect mates for one another. Man sought out his own independence, apart from God, which led to man’s sin, loneliness, and alienation from God. In the New Testament,(in Luke ch 4), Satan uses these same tactics to tempt Jesus by questioning Gods ability to provide, to protect, and to rule to try to get Jesus to sin and doubt his own father’s love. The Bible records that the penalty for sin is death. At the moment man sinned, he became spiritually dead and alienated from God. The Bible also records in Romans chapter 6 verse 23 that, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is life through Christ Jesus our Lord. God loved man even though he sinned. In chapter 3 of Genesis verse 15 the Bible states, and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. The Scripture refers to God’s son Jesus as being the remedy for sin. Satan would tempt everyone, but Jesus would deliver the fatal blow to the head of Satan. Satan would strike the heel of Jesus referring to his death on Calvary. Jesus conquered sin, Satan and death at the cross when Christ arose from the dead and now lives to bring eternal life to his followers. Jesus is God and he now gives life through the Holy Spirit (Ruach Ha-kodesh – the breath of the living God) to be with us and live in all who put their faith and trust in Christ for a relationship with God our creator. Paul would explain what was accomplished at the cross for all humanity in 1 Corinthians ch 15. Sin would still leave its mark on all of humanity never the less. Man would be forever cursed by having to toil for a living and the woman would be forever cursed by the pains of childbirth. Marriage would no longer be a perfect man and woman, but man and woman would always be at odds with one another as stated in verse 16. God could not look upon sinful man so he made garments of skin to cover Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve could no longer eat fruit from the tree of life as stated in verse 22. God banished Adam and Eve from His perfect paradise. The NT teaches that the only way back to God is through the blood of Christ noted in John ch3 verse 16.God loved us so much that he didn’t want us to die and be separated from us, but wanted to be with us and establish a new relationship with us. This relationship would be built on nothing short of God’s presence living within us. The scripture teaches that when we accept Christ by faith into our lives, we are born again and made new.(2 Corinthians ch 5 verse 17) This new birth is like creation and is a miracle of God and his specialty. The Bible describes Angels guarding the entrance to this paradise in which man was no longer allowed. Sin is such a tragedy in its effects. It brings alienation of God’s love, alienation from God’s blessings, and God’s perfect plan for our life. In Genesis chapter 3 verse 15, it refers to Jesus who will conquer sin and death. The apostle Paul wrote about this in first Corinthians chapter 15. Paul also wrote, in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21, that we are to be reconciled to God. God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Chapter 4 Adam and Eve had two sons, Able and Cain. Able kept flocks while Cain worked the soil. In verse five, the Bible records that God did not look favorably upon Cain’s offering, but looked favorably on Abel’s offering. Verse six records that Cain was angry at his brother Abel and became resentful. Verse seven records God spoke to the heart of Cain. The way of Cain is mentioned in Jude 1 v 11 in the New Testament and refers to rebellion against God, which in essence is sin. God knows our heart and he knew the heart of Cain. He wanted him to change his attitude toward his brother. Satan knocks at the door of our heart each time we sin just as he did Cain. Cain did not conquer Satan’s temptation that day and killed his brother Abel. This is the first murder recorded in Scripture. This sin not only alienated him from his family, but put great stress on the family. Verse 14 states that Cain was fearful from being out of the presence of God and so he was banished to live in the land of Nod east of Eden. He was even afraid that one of his family members might kill him. God would provide another son named Seth,(the appointed one), to Adam and Eve. Seth would also have a son whose name was Enosh. The Hebrew word Enosh means man who is frail and weak. The Bible records during this time he began to call on the Lord in prayer. Perhaps, he knew he needed God. It is important to realize what bringing the sacrificial gifts are about in the Old Testament. Able brought his gift with pure motives, but Cain did not. These gifts often reflected a vow in which the person would make good on the vow signifying he or she wanted to repent and please God. The sacrifice brought to the altar represented a relationship between the one who brought the gift and God. Cain obviously would not change to offer God the sacrifice with a pure heart. It is interesting to me that Enosh, as implied by the Hebrew meaning of his name, knew he was frail and weak and needed God. We must also know that we are weak and need God as well. God knows that all men are weak, frail and sinful. God provided a onetime sacrifice through his son Jesus for sin, so that through his blood on the cross this sacrifice could be applied as a perfect sacrifice God would accept for sin to redeem the sinner. In the garden sin had a permanent curse, that all who sin must die in the body, but because of God’s grace all who accept God’s gift of grace will be forgiven, justified by faith and reconciled with God by Jesus blood on the cross. Paul states in 1 Corinthians ch 15 that his son Jesus conquered sin and death and we will die physically, but be made alive in the Spirit and also given a new body to replace this corrupted one with an imperishable one to live with God in heaven.

Chapter 5 The lineage from Adam to Noah is given. Seth became the father of Enosh. Enosh became the father of Kenan, who became the father of Mahalalel, who became the father of Jared, who became the father of Enoch. In verse 21 the Bible records that Enoch walked with God and then he was no more, because God took him away. The Scriptures indicate that he was a righteous man and that God took him into heaven, without having to die first. God wants us to have a walk consistent with our faith as well. Before he was taken into heaven, Enoch became the father of Methuselah, who became the father of Lemech, who became the father of Noah. The Bible indicates the earth was no longer a perfect paradise as God had intended it to be. The whole world had become sinful and corrupt. In the whole world, there was only one man Noah and his family that was found to be righteous in God’s sight. This doesn’t mean they were perfect, but they had right standing before God trusting in him each day. Note that Methuselah, the man who lived the longest, died right before the flood began. None of the Patriarchs died in the flood.

Chapter 6 This chapter tells us how sin began a slippery slope in which the earth was no longer the perfect paradise God had intended it to be. The inclination of man was to sin at every turn. Sin in the Old Testament is expressed by three different Hebrew words: (1) one avon, which means iniquity or depravity, (2)pesha, which means rebellion or to revolt and (3) chattah, which means to miss the mark or to forfeit or to lead astray. In verse one the Bible says that there was an intermingling of the lines of Seth and Cain, which led to a gradual abandonment away from the knowledge of God. In verse two some scholars have suggested that sons of man refer to fallen Angels who co-mingled with the human race. There is some debate over this fact. In verse three, God says my spirit will not contend with man because he is mortal. The sons of God, probably does not infer that they were angels since angels do not marry or reproduce.(Matt. ch 22 v 30) If one takes this view, then the Bible is talking about the lineage of Seth. The message here is that man was made in God’s image and filled with the spirit of God, but it was too much for God to put up with allowing his Spirit to remain in man forever. Man was given a lifespan of 120 years to repent and change his ways. In verse four the Nephilim are mentioned, which were a race of giants who lived on the earth at this time, and they married into the human race causing even more wickedness. This giant race is also talked about in numbers chapter 13. In first Samuel chapter 17 the giant Goliath is an example of this giant race. All the examples of this giant race that are mentioned in the Bible were not God-fearing. Verse nine states that Noah was the only righteous man who walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. God came to Noah and told him he would have to destroy all people on the earth as well as all life on earth. He told Noah to build an Ark of cypress wood which was to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. He was to make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out to make it water tight. He told Noah he would bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy everything, but that he would bring Noah and his family through the flood and establish a covenant with him. Noah did everything God had commanded him.

Chapter 7 Noah was 480 years old when God came to him to build the ark. Noah was 600 years old when the ark was completed. On May 10, all the animals went into the ark, as commanded by God, along with Noah and his family. On May 17 the Lord shut Noah and his family into the ark. It is interesting to me that the pitch used to seal the ark is the root of the word to atone. This word in Hebrew is kaphar, which means to atone or to cover over. In essence, Noah and his family’s sins were atoned for and forgiven. The Earth would be repopulated by a family who were born again. God saved and redeemed Noah and his family through water, a symbol of both death and life. Even though the floodwaters brought death and destruction, the ultimate result was new life and a new covenant between God and his people. In the New Testament, the waters of baptism represent both death and new life. Through water baptism, we become dead to sin and are made alive in Christ. Noah and his family were saved because they abided within the ark. Today we are kept safe by God’s protection and abiding in his love. In the New Testament, Christ becomes the ark in which we dwell and are thereby rescued and saved from the power of sin and death. 1 Peter chapter 3 versus 20 and 21 states God waited patiently in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which 8 persons were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. On June 26 the waters increase by October 13 so that the ark touches ground in the mountains. On January 1 the waters receded and the mountaintops begin to be seen. On February 10th the windows are opened and a Raven is set out but returned. On February 17 a dove was sent out, but there was no place for it to land. On February 24 the dove was sent out again and this time the waters had receded and the dove came back to the ark with a freshly plucked olive leaf in its beak. Noah waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return. On April 1 Noah sees land and he opens the door of the ark. On May 27 the land is completely dry and Noah exits the ark. Noah built an altar to the Lord and sacrificed burnt offerings on it. Noah and his family worshiped God. They had experienced God’s grace, had been saved from the flood, and now had been redeemed and restored safely upon the earth. This is a picture of Christ who, by his blood, offers grace through faith to the repentant sinner, salvation and restoration. God promises not to destroy the earth by water again; that as long as the earth endures, there would be seasons, seedtime and harvest, and day and night will never cease.

Chapter 9 God blesses Noah and his family and they were told to repopulate the earth. Man again is given dominion over all the living things on the earth. God directs Noah and his family not to eat meat that still has its lifeblood in it. In verse six the Scripture says, that anyone who sheds the blood of a man, by man shall his blood be shed; for the image of God has God made man. This verse puts a premium on life because we’re all made in the image of God. God put a rainbow in the sky as a sign of the covenant between man and the earth not to destroy the earth by water again. Noah was the first man recorded in the Bible to plant a vineyard. Some days later, Noah drank some of its wine, became drunk and lay naked in his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers. In verse 25 it says, Cursed be Canaan; this curse is later fulfilled when Joshua took Canaan recorded in the book of Joshua.

Chapter 10 The descendants of Noah’s three sons Japheth, Ham and Shem are given. Japheth’s descendants gave rise to Gomer, Magog, Tubal and Meshech- most notable, others are listed in the Bible. Ham’s descendants were Cush, Put and Canaan others are listed. Cush became the father of Nimrod, who grew to be a mighty warrior on earth. He is associated with building the great kingdom of cities known as Babylon, also known as Shinar. He worshiped the god Ishtar associated with paganism. He was the great grandson of Noah. Nimrod organized and built great cities like Babylon, Assyria, Nineveh and Calah. Nimrod was a tyrant who made all the people rebellious against God. Many of the pagan religions can be traced back to Nimrod. Some examples are Baal, Bel and Molech to mention a few. He later was deified himself as the god of the sun and father of creation. It was in Nimrod’s city of Babylon that a towering structure was first built in defiance to God as part of their satanic religious practice. Archaeologists have uncovered pyramid shaped structures (ziggurats) some 300 feet high. This tower was built as a monument to their own greatness. The people started growing so far apart from God that he confused their language and scattered them over the whole earth. God should have primary focus of our life not a tower or building. The descendants of Shem are listed in Genesis chapter 10. This is the lineage through which Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph would originate. We can also trace the lineage of Israel and eventually even Jesus through this lineage. The ancestors of Abraham were Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor and Terah who became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. Abraham and Nahor both married. Abram married Sarai and Nahor married Milcah. Haran died in Ur. Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot and Sarai and set out to go to Canaan, but he died in Haran which is present day Syria. God’s chosen people of Israel would trace their origins from Abraham and the patriarchs.

Chapter 12 God makes a covenant with Abraham promising to make a great nation from his descendants and that all peoples on the earth would be blessed through him. In Galatians chapter 3 verse eight Scriptures record that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham. All nations will be blessed through you. So Abraham set out from Haran with his nephew Lot and his wife Sarah to go to Canaan. Abraham went to Bethel (meaning house of God) and pitched his tent. He built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. There was a famine in the land, and Abraham went down to Egypt to live there because the famine was so severe. Abraham was 75 years old when he set out from his homeland to go to Canaan. This would begin a life long journey of faith for Abraham. He had to leave his family, his land and go to a land unknown to him. Galatians chapter 3 verse six states that Abraham believed God and his faith He credited to him as righteousness. In Romans chapter 4 verse 3 Abraham believed God and it was credited him as righteousness. The New Testament says that all who put their faith and trust in God are descendants of Abraham because of their faith. Abraham was given the promise of a nation whose trust would be in God. Christ Jesus today is the hope and trust of an eternal nation and people which includes all the faithful of the Old and New Testament believers who will be resurrected to reign and rule with Christ forever. God told Abraham that he would make him into a great nation, bless him, give him a land and be his God. Abraham was like a lot of us who do not trust God fully. God told him He would protect him, but Abraham was afraid and told the Egyptians that Sarah was his sister. He was afraid that the Egyptians would take her sense she was so beautiful. Abraham should have trusted God and told the truth that she was his wife. Pharaoh showed favor to Sarah, but God intervened and inflicted diseases on Pharaoh and his household. Some believe that, if he had told Pharaoh she was his wife, Pharaoh would have killed him and taken his wife. When the Lord inflicted these diseases on Pharaoh he summoned Abraham who had to explain that Sarah was his wife. Pharaoh sent Abraham and his wife away.

Chapter 13 By this time Abraham had become wealthy in livestock, silver and gold. He built an altar at Bethel and called on the name of the Lord. Abraham and Lot had to part ways because of quarreling. Lot settled into the land along the plains of the Jordan River and Abraham settled in the hill country of Canaan. The land Lot chose near Sodom was fertile, but the people were wicked. Lot pitched his tent near Sodom. Abraham moved his tents to live near Hebron, where he built an altar to the Lord.

Chapter 14 Lot and his family lived in the southern part of this region that was part of an alliance that included five Kings and nations which had withheld tribute money from the northern alliance, which was comprised of four Kings and nations. This had been going on for 12 years and resulted in a war between the northern and southern Kings. Kedorlaomer was one of the chief Kings of the North. He and his alliance captured the southern alliance in the tar pits in the Valley of Siddim. Sodom and Gomorrah, along with Lots family, were part of this southern alliance that was taken captive. Abraham heard of it and, with 318 men, pursued the northern alliance which defeated Kedorlaomer at the Kings Valley. Melchizedek, King of Salem brought out bread and wine and blessed Abraham. Melchizedek is referred to as the priest of God most high. The Bible indicates in the book of Hebrews that he was Christ and our high priest. Salem means peace, Christ is our Prince of peace as noted in Isaiah chapter 9. Both these titles refer to Christ. They can be found in Hebrews chapter 5 verse 6 and also in chapter 7 verse 2. It is believed that Christ had already been working on Earth and involved in evangelism. The Bible records in Genesis chapter 15 verse 16 that the time for the sin of the Amorites had not reached its full measure and it was not time for Abraham’s descendants to take the land of Canaan. The Scriptures record that God’s people, through Abraham, had to go through the furnace of affliction before they would be ready to be called out of Egypt to be set apart as God’s people in the land of promise. We spiritually also must go through affliction as well on our journey to be God’s people in heaven. This is recorded in Isaiah chapter 46 verse 10 it says see, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. In Hebrews chapter 7 verse 16 it records Melchizedek having become a priest, not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry, but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. This reference is talking about Jesus. He is our high priest, our perfect sacrifice and judge who presented himself to God and is at the right hand of the throne of His Majesty in heaven. He serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by God not man, in heaven. The Scripture references are Hebrews chapter 7 verse 25 - 28 and Hebrews chapter 8 verse 1 and 2. It is interesting in Genesis chapter 14 verse 18 that Christ and Abraham shared a meal in which bread and wine were eaten. The bread and the wine are symbols of the New Testament covenant representing the blood and the body Jesus sacrificed for us on Calvary. Abraham honored Jesus and gave a tenth of everything. He would not accept any of the spoils from the victory God gave him, but instead gave all to the glory to God.

Chapter 15 God promises to give Abraham a son even though Sarah had been barren for some time. God came to Abraham in a vision in verse one and tells Abraham not to be afraid and I am your shield and your great reward. You can see all of God’s love and will of God wrapped up in this vision God had for Abraham’s life.(Hebrew word is akod) Through Abraham’s life all the peoples from Old Testament to New Testament would be transformed into a godly people having a new relationship with God. God plans to give him a child of promise and fulfill his earlier promise to make his name great, to make a great nation, to give Abraham a land and be his God. Abraham has the full confidence of God. His descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the heavens and Abraham believed God and God credited it to him as righteousness. Abraham wanted confirmation of this covenant. Abraham brought the animals God specified and placed them on the ground. God caused Abraham to fall into a deep sleep and the glory of the Lord passed through the animals and that day the Lord cut a covenant with Abraham. This was a one way covenant, which only God was able to fulfill. Abraham was asleep when God passed between the halves. This covenant can be traced all the way to Jeremiah chapter 34 in which kings who made covenants with each other would walk between the halves of the sacrifices. If one of these kings didn’t live up to his promise, he would be killed and laid out before the world to see, outside the city. We couldn’t measure up and it was Jesus who was crucified for us outside the city.

Chapter 16 Sarah would not be patient with God to give her a child, so she asked Hagar, her Egyptian maidservant, to sleep with Abraham. Hagar conceived and had a child named Ishmael. This was not the child of promise God had intended to give Abraham. Isaac would be born 13 years later and he would be the child of promise reflecting God’s blessings and will for Abraham’s descendants and God’s people throughout the Bible. Ishmael would represent man’s desire to please God and have a relationship with God. He represents a covenant by works. Isaac, the son of promise, would be God’s choice to bless all peoples. He represents God’s covenant of grace. We cannot earn a relationship with God or earn His blessings. They are given freely just like Isaac was given to Abraham. Christ’s love is freely given and He grants forgiveness to anyone who puts their faith and trust in Him. This salvation from Christ is given by grace through faith and this is not from us, it is a gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians ch 2 verse 8)The New Testament writers refer to Isaac as the child of promise in Galatians chapter 4 verse 28 and in Romans chapter 9 versus 7-9 and also in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 18. Sarah did not want Ishmael and Hagar to stay, so she sent them a way in the desert. This is indicative of what happens in our lives when we fail to be patient and wait on God. We become alienated from God and sin destroys our relationships with one another. The mother and child were alienated from Abraham and Sarah and were all alone in the desert. God intervened and saved their lives. We are always making a mess out of our lives and God has to come in and pick up the pieces. This is recorded in Genesis chapter 21 versus 14 - 20. Sin alienates and separates us from God and one another today and God has to rescue us in much the same way. Christ is the only remedy for sin which is given freely and completely to those who repent. The repentant sinner is forgiven and given the Holy Spirit re-establishing a relationship with God through Jesus who gives us right standing with God.

Chapter 17 Verse one states Abraham was 99 years old when the Lord appeared to him and said I am God Almighty(El Shaddai), walk before me and be blameless(sanctified or set apart) and I will confirm my covenant between me and you. God reaffirms his covenant with Abraham to make his name great, to give him the land of Canaan, to make a great nation from his descendants and to be his God. It was at this time that God breathed on Abram and Sara and changed their names to Abraham and Sarah. The ‘ha’ sound is Hebrew for breath and it is added to Abram and Sara. God enacted the covenant of circumcision to ratify the covenant. Each male child was to undergo circumcision at eight days of age, even the foreigners and slaves that lived among them. These people would be marked as God’s people in much the same way baptism marks the Christian in the New Testament as a public profession of faith. The similarities are mentioned in Colossians chapter 2 verse 11 by the apostle Paul. Abraham circumcised Ishmael and his entire household on the same day.

Chapter 18 Christ and two Angels appeared before Abraham one day. In verse 10 the Lord told Abraham that Sarah would have a son one year from that date. Sarah laughed, thinking to herself, How can someone my age who is barren have a child? Verse 14 states that there isn’t anything too hard for the Lord. The Lord Jesus stated again that Sarah will have a son. The two Angels are sent to Sodom and Gomorrah to save Lot and his family from the destruction that was about to take place because of the wickedness that was so abundant in these two towns. In Verse 17 the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? The Lord also states that Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on earth will be blessed through him. The apostle Paul, in Galatians chapter 3 verse 8, states that the gospel was announced in advance to Abraham. These are the verses that correspond to how God had planned for Christ and the gospel message to be preached to the unrepentant. The apostle Paul would also state, in Romans is chapter 1 verse 16, the importance of the gospel. I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. This salvation is for the Jew and for the Gentile. The gospel reveals that God grants salvation by faith in his Jesus who died on the cross for our sins and gives us right standing based on what was accomplished there. The righteous will live by faith. The gospel would have its origin from this encounter Christ had with Abraham, but it was planned before the beginning of time. Abraham would plead for Lot and his family to be spared and they were.

Chapter 19 Two Angels arrived at Sodom in the evening and Lot was sitting at the gate to the city. He offered to wash their feet and a place to stay. The Angel’s message was for Lot to get his family out of Sodom because it was going to be destroyed. The Scriptures indicate he was reluctant to leave home. As they were leaving his wife looked back, after being warned not to and became a pillar of salt. The Scriptures indicate God remembered Abraham in verse 29 and brought Lot out of the catastrophe that was about to happen in the towns where he lived. It can be stated that Lot had union with God, but did not have communion and intimacy with God. He had grown accustomed to living a carnal life. His wife looked back as if she was losing something. The Bible, in first Corinthians chapter 3 verse 15, states that all our worldly deeds will be burned up, but we will be saved as one escaping the flames. Lot was saved, but all of his worldly possessions were destroyed. He was saved as God rained down burning sulfur on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot and his daughters left and went to Zoar where they settled into the mountains. Lot’s daughters slept with him while he was drunk on two different nights and both daughters became pregnant with sons. The oldest daughter named her son Moab and he became the father of the Moabites. The younger daughter named her son Ben-Ammi and he became the father of the Ammonites.

Chapter 20 Abraham moved from the Negev to Gerar, in the area of Philistia. Abraham told Sarah to tell the King she was his sister. That night God came to King Abimelech telling him she was a married woman and not to touch her. Abimelech asks Abraham why he did it. It is obvious that Abraham did not trust God fully and thought it best that he had to tell a lie to save Sarah. God revealed to Abimelech that Abraham was a prophet. Abimelech was sorry for what he had done and brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abraham and returned Sarah to him. Abraham prayed to God and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his slave girls, so that they could have children again.

Chapter 21 Just as the Lord said, God was gracious to Sarah and she had a child who was named Isaac. Abraham was 100 years old when he was born. Ishmael and Isaac grew up together until Ishmael was a teen. Ishmael became an archer, but he soon began to harass Isaac. Sarah would not tolerate this treatment and sent Hagar and Ishmael away into the desert of Beersheba. They soon ran out of water as Hagar couldn’t stand to see the boy die, sent him away from her. She began to cry and the Lord came to her. He opened her eyes so she could see a well of water. She filled her skin with water and gave it to the boy. When it seems we are doomed God can not only fill our physical but also our spiritual needs.

Chapter 22 God tested Abraham. He told Abraham to take Isaac his only son, the one he loved and go to the region of Mount Moriah. Abraham took Isaac, left his servants behind and went there to build an altar. He told Abraham to bind his son upon the altar and he did. Isaac was the son of promise and Abrahams only son, but God wanted to see if he loved and trusted Him more than his son. God loves his only son Jesus as well and He wanted to know if Abraham had what it took to be the leader of God’s people. God wanted to know if he would trust him to deliver Isaac. From a human standpoint, all of Abraham’s love was bound in Isaac who was born to him in his old age. The Hebrew word for bound is akod, which means His love and essence of Himself was bound up in this child. The promise for a nation and humanity was bound up in Him. God’s love and the very essence of God are bound up in His Son Jesus. God would provide a male lamb in place of Isaac showing that God was Jehovah Yireh, the one who provides. In Hebrews chapter 11 verse 19 says Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death. The Scriptures record in John’s Gospel that Abraham looked forward to the time of Christ, John chapter 8 verse 56. John would also record that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. (John ch 1 v 29) Mount Moriah, where this took place, is where the temple would be built that Jesus would enter to teach the religious teachers as a little boy. Moriah in Hebrew means Jehovah is our teacher, so it is befitting that our great teacher would come to this very spot in the temple to teach the religious leaders of his day. Abraham did not pass all of the tests that were put on him by the Lord, but this final test was most important. It was as if God wanted to know if he would love and trust him more than his son. God wanted to know if he had what it took to be the man God would use to make a nation for himself. God reaffirmed his covenant with Abraham. I have often thought that much time passed before this took place, but the larger picture is that God worked with Abraham many years before he gave him Isaac. This was perhaps done to allow his faith to grow into trust as an anchor in his life to go on the mountain top. If God had given him Isaac earlier in his life, Abraham may not have been able to sacrifice Isaac to the Lord.

Chapter 23 Sarah died at the age of 107 years old and was buried in Hebron in Ephron’s field at Machpelah near Mamre.

Chapter 24 Abraham was getting along in years and did not want Isaac to marry one of the Canaanites. He sent his servant Eliezer to go to Syria to get him a wife. He prayed to God for a sign that she would come out and serve him water. God had already answered his prayer before he had even prayed. He watched closely, prayed for guidance and submitted his plan to God. Rebecca came out and not only gave him water but also watered his camels. Rebecca was from the family of Abraham’s brother Nahor. She had a brother named Laban and her father’s name was Bethuel. Abraham’s servant brought Rebekah back to Isaac to be his wife. Abraham marries Keturah who bore him sons that were the Medianites, who were one of six sons born to him. Abraham died at 175 years old and was also buried with his wife in Hebron. In chapter 25 it is also stated that Ishmael’s descendants would live in hostility toward all their brothers. It was stated earlier in Genesis chapter 16 verse 12 that all of his descendants would be hostile toward Isaacs descendants. Isaac and Rebekah had twins; one named Jacob and the other Esau. Jacob would be God’s chosen person and instrument to start the nation of Israel. Esau was the oldest, but he had no interest in the things of God. Isaac favored Esau and Rebekah favored Jacob. This favoritism would play an important role in causing dysfunction in this family. Esau was a hunter much like Isaac and Jacob was a homebody much like his mother. It was the custom for the older to receive the birthright from his father, but in an elaborate ruse Rebekah arranged for Jacob to receive his father’s birthright and blessing. Isaac was getting old and could not see very well and Jacob presented the lentil stew that Esau was to present to Isaac for the birthright. Esau became very angry when he found out about the ruse that Rebecca had orchestrated. He had traded the lasting benefits of his birthright for the immediate pleasure of food by acting on impulse to satisfy his own immediate desires without pausing to consider the long range consequences of what he was about to do.

Chapter 26 The Lord appears to Isaac and told him not to go to Egypt but to stay in the land for a while and that he would be with him and bless him there. He moved to Beer Lahai Roi, the well of the Living One. Famine forced him to move to Gerar of the Philistine territory and later he moved to Beersheba, the well of Oath.

In chapter 27 The Bible records Jacob bringing in the food and wine to his father Isaac to eat. In this exchange the Bible records Jacob receiving his father’s blessings and birthright. Esau was late in bringing his lentil stew and wine. The deed had been done and could not be undone. Jacob wound up serving Rebekah’s brother Laban in Haran or present day Syria for some 20 years in all. This sin of favoritism almost destroyed this family. Sin in our lives does the same thing with our relationship with God and our families and neighbors. You see Isaac as being a sensual father, Rebekah as a scheming mother, Jacob as a lost dishonest son she tried to protect and Esau as a sorry brother. Jacob did not get to see his mother again and it was many years before Jacob and Esau would forgive each other.

Chapter 28 Isaac called for Jacob, blessed him and commanded him to go to his mother’s father Bethuel in the land of Syria to find a wife. He commanded him not to marry a Canaanite woman. Jacob left Beersheba to go to Syria. He fell asleep at a place called Bethel and it was there he had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth and the top of it reaching to heaven. Angels were ascending and descending on it. It was here the Lord confirmed the covenant that he had made with his father Isaac. In verse 15 God told him he would watch over him and would bring him back to the land of Canaan. Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone he placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He call this place Bethel (house of God) which is also called Luz. It was here Jacob made a vow to God. He vowed that if God would watch over him and return him back safely to his father’s house that he would commit his life to God. He also agreed to give a tenth of everything he had to the Lord.

Chapter 29 Jacob arrived in Syria where he saw Laban’s flock being watered from a well. It was here that he met Rachel and kissed her. He told her he was really a relative of her father and a son of Rebecca. Jacob fell in love with Rachel and worked seven years for Laban to earn the right to marry Rachel. After the seven years were up, Laban deceived Jacob and gave him Leah instead. It was the custom of that day that the oldest would be married first. Jacob agreed to work seven more years for the right to marry Rachel. Laban was very deceitful and controlled Jacob for seven more years until he married Rachel. Rachel and Leah had maidservants and they became property of Jacob’s upon marriage. The Scriptures record Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was beautiful in every respect. Leah became pregnant with a son named Ruben, the firstborn of Jacob. She conceived again and had a second son named Simeon. She conceived and bore him two more sons of Levi and Judah.

Chapter 30 Rachel was not as fortunate to have children like Leah, so she became jealous. She allowed Bilhah her maidservant to sleep with Jacob and she bore him a son and named him Dan. She bore him another son and named him Naphtali. Leah’s maidservant named Zilpah bore Jacob two more sons one named Gad the other Asher. Leah bore Jacob another son named Issachar and finally another son she named Zebulum. Leah also bore him a daughter named Dinah. After a while Rachel gave birth to Joseph. Jacob told Laban he wanted to go back to his homeland, but Laban did not want him to go. Laban had seen how God had blessed Jacob in all he did. Laban agreed to pay him by giving him all of the speckled and spotted sheep and goats that were born over the next six years. Laban agreed to this arrangement. Jacob took fresh cut branches from popular, almond and plane trees and made white strips from them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches and placed them along the watering troughs. The solid color animals that belonged to Laban would produce speckled and spotted offspring as they drank from the troughs which would then belong to Jacob. Over the next six years Jacob would become very prosperous.

Chapter 31 Laban’s sons became jealous of Jacob’s wealth and their attitude toward him became cold. The Lord told Jacob to go back to the land of his father and relatives and He would be with him. So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah and set out with his family and all that he owned and did as God had told him. God was aware and had seen all that Laban had done to him. In verse 13 God says, I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. God told him to go back to his native land. As they left, Rachel stole her father’s idols and they headed for the Hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him. Laban accused Jacob of deceiving him by not letting him know he was leaving. Laban told him he at least wanted to kiss his grandchildren and daughters goodbye. Jacob did not know Rachel had stolen the gods. God had appeared to Laban and had warned him not to harm Jacob. Laban went into Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s and Rachael’s tent, but he found nothing. Rachel had been sitting on a camel’s saddle because of her monthly cycle. The idols (teraphim) were inside the saddle but he did not search it. Laban did not have any cause to accuse Jacob. Jacob laid out his case before Laban in which he told him he had worked seven years for Leah, seven years for Rachel and six years for the flock. Laban had reduced his wages 10 times, but he reminded him that God was with him, saw his hardship and told him to leave. Jacob took a stone and set up a pillar at Galeed or Mizpah and both made a pact of non-aggression with each other. The pillar was to act as a witness in which neither party would pass the pillar to harm one another.

Chapter 32 Jacob went on his way, and angels of God met him at Mahanaim or Shechem as it was called. It was here that he would meet his brother Esau. Jacob prayed to God and thanked Him for his kindness and faithfulness. He asked God to save him from his brother Esau. Jacob’s reminded God of the promise he made to him to take care of him, to prosper him and to be with him. Jacob had sent a token gift on ahead to Esau, thinking that this would appease Esau. That night Jacob got up and sent his two wives, his two maidservants and his 11 sons across the ford of the Jabbok with all his possessions and he was left alone. God sent an angel to wrestle with him till daybreak. When the angel saw he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with him. The angel wanted Jacob to let him go because it was daylight, but Jacob replied I will not let you go unless you bless me. The angel asked Jacob, What is your name? Jacob answered. The angel told him that his name would no longer be Jacob but Israel, because he has struggled with God and with man and have overcome. The place where this happened was called Peniel, meaning the face of God. Jacob would no longer be one who would deceive others but would be called Israel. Israel means prince of my people. It also has a connotation that points to Jesus. EL stands for Elohim which is God. Ra stands for mother in which Jesus was born of Mary and IS stands for Isis which is Latin for Jesus.(Iesis)

Chapter 33 Jacob meets Esau and bows down to him seven times as he approached him. God had answered his prayer. Esau forgave Jacob and accepted his gifts. They made up and they renewed their love for one another. Esau started on his way back to Seir in Edom and Jacob set out for Succoth. (the place of shelters) Jacob came to the plot of ground in Shechem where he pitched his tent and built an altar and called it El Elohe Israel. (the mighty God of Israel)

Chapter 34 Dinah, the daughter of Leah, was raped by Shechem the son of Hamor. Hamor went out to talk to Jacob about what his son had done and told him his son had his heart set on marrying her. Jacob told Hamor that all the males living in Shechem would have to be circumcised. The proposal seemed reasonable and he agreed to it. When Dinah’s brothers heard she had been defiled they were outraged. While the males of the city were healing, Simeon and Levi attacked all the males of the city and killed them. They had acted in revenge for what Shechem had done to Dinah. Before Jacob died it is recorded, in Genesis chapter 49 versus 5-7, that he cursed them with his dying breath.

Chapter 35 God said to Jacob, go up to Bethel and settle there and he built an altar to God. It was also at Bethel where God appeared to Jacob when he was fleeing from his brother Esau. It was also here that Jacob made a vow to serve the Lord. Jacob acknowledged that the Lord had been with him and had blessed him in all that he did. Jacob made a commitment to start living for the Lord. He ordered all of his wives to get rid of all the foreign gods and bury them under the oak tree at Shechem. Jacob built an altar there at Bethel and called the place El Bethel, because this was the place where God revealed himself to Jacob when he was fleeing from his brother. It was also here at Bethel that God changed Jacob’s name to Israel. It was also here that God renewed the covenant that he had made to Abraham and Isaac. It was here also where God talk to Jacob and he consecrated this place by pouring out a drink offering on it. Rachel died and was buried in Bethlehem. Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. This place in Hebrew means tower of the flock. This is the place where Jesus was born. While Israel was living in the land, Ruben slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah. In Genesis 49 versus 3 and 4, Jacob remembers how Ruben defiled his father’s bed. Ruben, as the firstborn son of Jacob, did not receive a double portion of his father’s inheritance because of his sin. Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Hebron, and saw his father Isaac for the last time. Isaac lived 180 years before he died and Jacob and Esau buried him.

Chapter 36 Esau’s descendants are recorded in this chapter. He founded the land of Edom and settled in the hill country of Seir. Rulers of Edom are also mentioned starting in verses 31 through 40. Esau became the father of the Edomites.

Chapter 37 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed in the land of Canaan. The Bible records Joseph was 17 when he began attending the flocks with his brothers. Joseph went back and brought his father a bad report about his brothers. The Bible records that Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age. He gave him a richly ornamented robe, the kind that you would give royalty. This strained the relationship between Joseph and his brothers and between his brothers and their father. His brothers became jealous of him because of Jacobs favoritism. Their jealousy soon turned to hatred toward Joseph to the