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bible study devotion

From poverty to fame: devotion

Dr. Andrew C S Koh

Image showing the word It words it was a dream
Photo by Nadi Lindsay on Pexels.com

Setting

After the reinstatement of the chief cupbearer, Joseph continued to languish in prison because the chief cupbearer had conveniently forgotten about his predicament. Two years later, Pharaoh had dreams that no one could interpret his dreams. The chief cupbearer immediately remembered Joseph and told the Pharaoh about him.

Genesis 41:1-8

1 At the end of two full years, Pharaoh dreamed, and behold, he stood by the river. 2 Behold, seven cattle came up out of the river. They were sleek and fat, and they fed in the marsh grass. 3 Behold, seven other cattle came up after them out of the river, ugly and thin, and stood by the other cattle on the brink of the river. 4 The ugly and thin cattle ate up the seven sleek and fat cattle. So Pharaoh awoke. 5 He slept and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, healthy and good. 6 Behold, seven heads of grain, thin and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them. 7 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy and full ears. Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. 8 In the morning, his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all of Egypt’s magicians and wise men. Pharaoh told them about his dreams, but no one could interpret them to Pharaoh. 

Genesis 41:1-8

Reflection

One fateful night, God planted a dream into Pharaoh’s sleep. In his dream, he saw seven fat cows and seven thin cows eating grass side by side by the River Nile. The seven thin cows came over and swallowed up the seven fat cows and he awoke. He went back to sleep and had another dream. This time, he saw seven heads of fat grain rose up from a single stalk. After this, seven heads of thin grain rose up from another single stack adjacent to it. The seven heads of the thin grain swallowed up the seven heads of the fat grain.  Pharaoh awoke and was terrified. He summoned all his wise men and magicians to interpret his dreams but none of them could do it. The Egyptians considered cows as gods to be worshiped. In an agricultural society, of Egypt grains represented the economy.

The cupbearer told Pharaoh about Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams. Pharaoh, therefore, summoned Joseph to the palace to interpret his dreams. Joseph shaved, put on new clothes and appeared before Pharaoh. 

Joseph immediately declared that it was God who interpret dreams and not him.  Pharaoh told Joseph his dreams, but added that when the thin cows swallowed up the fat cows and when the thin grains swallowed up the fat grains, they remained as thin as before.

Joseph interpreted the dreams as follows:

The seven fat cows and the seven fat grains represented seven years of plenty. The seven thin cows and seven thin grains represented seven years of famine.  Egypt would experience seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. These were two dreams with one single interpretation.

Joseph advised Pharaoh to increase taxation and stock pile grains during the seven years of plenty to cover the seven years of famine. 

Pharaoh saw that Joseph was a Godly man and made him the prime minister of Egypt. Pharaoh gave Joseph a signet ring, the finest attire, a gold chain, an Egyptian name, and an Egyptian wife.. 

Joseph stockpiled grains in all the cities of Egypt during the seven years of plenty, When the seven years of plenty ended, the seven years of famine bite in hard. Egyptians from all over the country came to Joseph to buy grains. Very soon, the famine went global and people from all over the known world traveled to Egypt to buy grains.

Application

Joseph was very humble. He interpreted the dreams without demanding any terms from Pharaoh. He gave all the glory to God and acknowledged that it was God who interpreted dreams and not him.  Did you give all glory and honour to God? The Christian life is all about God and nothing about you and me. 

God elevated Joseph to become the prime minister of Egypt after 17 long years of waiting in obscurity. Perhaps, you are in a similar position as Joseph. Do not throw in the towel yet. God may be testing, growing, maturing, and training you in righteousness. God will elevate you according to His divine plan and timetable if you are faithful and obedient. 

Good times do not last forever. An economic boom always ends in an economic recession. You must save up during the good times to weather against the bad times. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we give You all the praise, glory, power, and honour. We confess that we are sinners. Forgive us and have mercy on us. Thank You for the forgiveness of sins, justification, salvation, sanctification, redemption, and eternal life. Help us to save up for rainy days so that we will be able to cope when the bad times arrive, in Jesus’ name, Amen. 

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bible study devotion

Master of dreams: devotion

Dr Andrew C S Koh

Image with the word Dream
Photo by Karyme Franu00e7a on Pexels.com

Setting

Joseph was thrown into the prison, but the LORD was with him and prospered him. The prison warden trusted Joseph so much that he made him in charge of the prison. The Lord gave Joseph the gift of leadership, prophecy, and dream interpretation.

Pharaoh was angry with his chief cupbearer and chief baker for something that they did. He threw them into the prison where Joseph was in charge. One night, both of them had a dream, and they were disturbed. Joseph assured them that God would interpret their dreams.

Genesis 40:9-13

9 The chief cup bearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “In my dream, behold, a vine was in front of me, 10 and in the vine were three branches. It was as though it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters produced ripe grapes. 11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.” 12 Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days. 13 Within three more days, Pharaoh will lift up your head, and restore you to your office. You will give Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, the way you did when you were his cup bearer. 

Genesis 40:9-13

Reflection

The chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph. In his dream, he was holding a vine with three branches that budded, blossomed, and produced ripe grapes. He pressed the grapes into Pharaoh’s cup and Pharaoh drank from it. Joseph replied that the three branches represented three days. Pharaoh would restore him back to be his chief cupbearer in three days.

Upon hearing this, the chief baker also told his dream to Joseph. In his dream, he had three baskets on his head. The uppermost basket contained all kinds of bread, but the birds came and ate them all. Joseph replied that the three baskets represented three days. In three days, Pharaoh would hang him on a tree and the birds would eat his flesh. 

Sure enough, Joseph’s interpretation of the dreams came true to the exact details. On the third day, Pharaoh celebrated his birthday with a grand feast. He restored the chief cupbearer but hung the chief baker.  However, the chief cupbearer forgot about Joseph and did not plead his case to Pharaoh.

Application

Joseph prospered because the Lord was with him. He prospered in the face of adversity, in Potiphar’s house and now in the prison. 

Joseph acknowledged the Lord as the interpreter of the dreams. He gave all the glory to the Lord. He did not boast about his ability. Did you give all glory and honour to the Lord? The Christian life is all about Him and nothing about you and me. He must increase and we must decrease.

Potiphar threw Joseph into the prison because his wife tempted, seduced, and framed him with false charges.

If you are successful in your career, you will face many temptations. This is when you must be extra careful. You need to walk humbly before the Lord and be obedient to His calling. Claim the promise of 1 Corinthians 10:13.

No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

1 Corinthians 10:13

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us spiritual gifts to serve You in the kingdom. We give You all the praise, glory, honour, and power. We acknowledge that without You, we cannot do anything. The kingdom of God is all about You, and nothing is about us. You must increase, and we must decrease, in Jesus’ name, Amen. 

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bible study devotion

I dreamed a dream: devotion

Devotion

a photo entitled big dreams

Setting

Genesis 37 begins a new section on the narrative of the Patriarch Joseph. The baton of faith had been passed from Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to Jacob’s eleventh son, Joseph, The narrative ended in Genesis 50 with the death of Joseph. 

Jacob had 12 sons. Joseph was his eleventh and Benjamin was his twelfth son.  The seventeen-year-old Joseph was feeding his father’s flock with his brothers in the field. He came home with a bad report about his 10 half-brothers to his father. Now, Jacob loved Joseph and Benjamin more than the rest because they were his favourite wife Rachel’s sons. To add more salt to the injury, Jacob made a multi-coloured tunic for Joseph and his half-brothers hated him for this.

Genesis 37:5-11

Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves came around, and bowed down to my sheaf.” His brothers asked him, “Will you indeed reign over us? Will you indeed have dominion over us?” They hated him all the more for his dreams and for his words. He dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, “Behold, I have dreamed yet another dream: and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me.” He told it to his father and to his brothers. His father rebuked him, and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Will I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves down to the earth before you?” His brothers envied him, but his father kept this saying in mind.

Reflection

The LORD gave Joseph two dreams. In the first dream, he saw his brothers, represented by eleven sheaves of wheat, bowing down to him. In the second dream, he saw his father, mother, and eleven brothers, represented by the sun, moon, and eleven stars, bowing down to him. 

Apostle John saw a vision of a woman, wearing a crown of 12 stars, clothed in the sun, and standing on the moon, Revelation 12:1. The woman represents Israel and the 12 stars represent the 12 sons of Jacob. Joseph’s brothers hated him because of his dreams. Even Jacob, his father, rebuked him.

Joseph’s brother sold him to Ismaelites and Midianites human traffickers who took him to Egypt as a slave. Against all odds, Joseph rose from rags to riches, from prison to palace, and from a prisoner to the prime minister of Egypt. Years later, his eleven brothers did bowed down to him, Genesis 42:6. 

Revelation 12:1, A great sign was seen in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars

Genesis 42:6, Joseph was the governor over the land. It was he who sold to all the people of the land. Joseph’s brothers came, and bowed themselves down to him with their faces to the earth.

Application

Jacob’s family was a dysfunctional, blended, family, headed by a passive father who had poor leadership and played favouritism. He loved Joseph and Benjamin more than the other ten sons. Sibling rivalry, strife, hatred, and jealousy were the order of the day. 

Joseph’s brothers took the law into their own hands and sold him to human traffickers. They then lied to their father that wild animals had eaten Joseph.

Are you a father? Do you a strong leadership? Do you practice favouritism among your children? To be a father required a strong leadership and playing favouritism is a definite no-no. 

You reaped what you sowed, Galatians 6:7. Jacob deceived his father Isaac, and now his own sons deceived him. 

Joseph was a type of Jesus Christ. Jacob loved Joseph. God the Father loved Jesus Christ. Joseph’s brother hated him. The Jews hated Jesus Christ. The list goes on and on and on.

Galatians 6:7, Don’t be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us an opportunity to study the life of Joseph in the book of Genesis. As we journey along, we pray for open eyes, open ears, open hearts, open minds, and open spirits to receive the revelation of Your word. We pray for the anointing of the Holy Spirit who is our teacher, truth revealer, helper, and counsellor, in Jesus’ name, Amen. 

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Joseph’s faith: Book Review

book written by Mary Hume Jane

Book cover of Joseph's faith
book cover

Joseph’s Faith: A 30-Day Bible Study Devotional for Women Based on the Life of Joseph from the Book of Genesis

by Mary Jane Humes

Review

An excellent devotional and bible study based on the life and faith of Joseph from Genesis chapters 37 to 50. A good prayer, commentary, and contemporary application accompanies each day’s devotion..A great work on the typology of Joseph showing that Joseph was a foreshadow of Jesus Christ in many respects. A Christ-centred, life-changing, and faith-building devotional. Recommended to all readers, 5 out of 5 stars

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books

Our catalog

books written by Dr. Andrew C S Koh

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Book Series: Gospels and Acts

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book series
  1. The Gospel according to Matthew

2. Daily Devotion: Gospel of Mark

3. The Gospel according to Luke

4. Daily Devotions: Gospel of John

5. Acts: from Jerusalem to Rome

Book Series: Pauline Epistles

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book series
  1. Romans

2. 1 Corinthians

3. 2 Corinthians

4. 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, Philemon

5. Galatians

6. Pastoral Epistles, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus

Book Series: Prison Epistles

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  1. Prison Epistles: Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians

2. Ephesians

3. Philippians

4. Colossians

Book Series: Genesis

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book series
  1. Understanding Genesis 1-11: From Adam to Abraham

2. Faith Journey of Abraham: Genesis 12-25

3. Life Story of Jacob: Genesis 26-36

4. The Story of Joseph: Genesis 37-50

Book Series: Non Pauline Epistles

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  1. Hebrews

2. General Epistles: 1 Peter, 2 Peter, & James

3. 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, & Jude 

Stand Alone

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  1. Memoirs of a Doctor

2. ABCs to Amazon Self Publishing

3. Expository Preaching

4.Apocalypse: Understanding the book of Revelation

5.Moses: let My people go, Exodus 1-20

6. Manna of Life

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bible study devotion

Creation: devotion

Genesis 1:1-4

by Dr. Andrew C S Koh

a picture of God creating Adam
Creation of Adam

Creation

God created the world in six days. Whether this is a literal 24 hours day or not is something that is hotly debated. According to God’s reckoning, 1 day is as 1000 years and 1000 years is as 1 day, 2 Peter 3:8. God created, transcends, and is outside of the time, and space continuum. There are two schools of thought regarding the age of the universe. Is the age billions of years old or is the universe 6000 plus years old? There is also the gap theory. Is there an interval of time between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2? These are hotly debated issues among Bible scholars. As far as the Bible is concerned God is the creator of the universe. In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth. The universe is not a product of a massive explosion billions of years ago. The universe is not a product of random chance and mutations. Human beings did not evolve from monkeys or gorillas

“But don’t forget this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.”

2 Peter 3:8,

The Beginning

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day”, and the darkness he called “night”. There was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Genesis 1: 1-4

Reflection

The Bible begins with “in the beginning God created”. We do not know when this beginning was. Is it billions of years or thousands of years? God created the universe in eternity past. The universe did not evolve by random chance over billions of years. It takes a lot more faith to believe in evolution than creation. God has no beginning. He is outside the time-space continuum. He is pre-existent, self-existent, eternal, from everlasting to everlasting, from eternity past to eternity future, from the Alpha, and to the Omega.

The six days of creation have a pre-set template, starting with “let there be…..” and ending with ”there was evening and there was morning………”

On the first day, God created the heavens, the earth, and the light. There are three heavens. The atmosphere from the ground to the clouds is the first heaven. The outer space from the clouds to the galaxies is the second heaven. The abode of God’s throne beyond the galaxies is the third heaven. When God created the earth, it was dark, empty, and structureless. Hebrews word for create is bara, which means to create something out of nothing, or ex-nihilo in latin.

God separated the light and the darkness, calling the darkness, evening, and the light, morning, and this was the first day. God defined a day as one evening and one morning. A Jewish day starts from 6 pm in the evening until 6 pm the next evening.

The Holy Spirit circled around the formless, structureless, dark, empty, and watery earth. God spoke, let there be light and light appeared on site. This was not the light of the sun but the light of God’s glory, Revelation 21:23. Jesus Christ is the word of God’s word, John 1:1.

The Trinitarian God of the Bible, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created the universe. God saw that the light was good. He separated the light from the darkness and called them day and night. Hebrews for God is Elohim, a plural noun.

In the presence of the Holy Spirit, God, the Father spoke, and it came to be. Jesus Christ is the spoken Word of God, the father.

The city has no need for the sun, neither of the moons, to shine, for the very glory of God illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb.

Revelation 21:23,

“in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.”

John 1:1,

Application

Genesis declared that everything is created by God. If you believe that God created the heavens and the earth in 6 days, you will have no problem believing the rest of the Bible. How big is your God? How big is your faith? It takes more faith to believe in evolution than in creation. Faith is the key to unlocking spiritual truth. Believe and you will see the glory of God. Without faith, it is impossible to please God.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, help us to understand Your word. We pray for the anointing of the Holy Spirit to enlighten us and to give us wisdom and understanding. Open our hearts, minds, eyes, ears, and spirit to receive, understand, see, apply, honour, and hear the truth of Your word, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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bible study devotion

Sabbath: devotion

by Dr. Andrew C S Koh

Genesis 2:1-3

A photo of God creating Adam
The creation of Adam

Sabbath

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1 The heavens, the earth, and all their vast array were finished. 2 On the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. 3 God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because he rested in it from all his work of creation which he had done

Genesis 2:1-3

Reflection

Genesis 1 is an overall account of the first week of creation. Genesis 2 zeroed in specifically on the sixth and seventh day of creation

On the sixth day, God created Adam, animals, birds and Eve. On the seventh day, God rested from His work of creation. He blessed the seventh day and made it holy.

The Hebrew word for God is Elohim. El is singular and Elohim is plural. The Hebrew word for blessed is baruch, which means praise, happy, favoured, or a good report. The number 7 is the number of completion. God completed His work of creation on the 7th day and rested. The Hebrew word for holy is qadesh, which means sanctified, set apart, or separated.

Application

The 7th day of the week is the Sabbath day. Sabbath starts from sundown on Friday and finished at sundown on Saturday. In the Old Testament, the Israelites stopped doing work on the Sabbath as stipulated in the Mosaic law. The difficulty is defining what is work and what is not work.

but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates.

Exodus 20:10

The Jews today still keep the Sabbath by not doing any work.

If you are a Gentile Christian, you do not have to stop doing work from Friday sundown until Saturday sundown. The Jerusalem council of Acts 15, freed Gentiles Christians from keeping the Mosaic laws except for drinking blood and committing sexual immorality.

For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay no greater burden on you than these necessary things: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality, from which if you keep yourselves, it will be well with you. Farewell

Legalism verses freedom

Acts 15:28-29

For Gentile Christians, the principle of the Sabbath is to take a rest from work one day out of every seven days. You can also take a longer rest from work if you wish. How about one week out of every 7 weeks or 1 year out of every 7 years? This is a principle to apply, not a legalistic law to enforce. The principle is to have time to rest from work so that you can seek the Lord in spiritual things. A regular rest from work is required to reflect, recollect, recharge, re-energise, and re-connect with God, yourself and others. A regular rest will prevent you from getting burnt out. If you do not rest, you will fall sick, and you will be forced to rest. Even computers machines requires a rest periodically for maintenance.

The Sabbath rest is an opportunity to be free even for one day. Freedom from work, from anxieties, from the tyranny of the urgent, from the routine of daily life. The Sabbath rest allows you to free your minds from the demands of the world to concentrate on spiritual matters and on God.

The Pharisees became so legalistic over the law of Sabbath-keeping to the extent of causing a burden to the people and to themselves.

The Pharisees accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath because He healed people on the Sabbath. Jesus created the Sabbath for the benefit of people and not the other way around. As Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus superseded the Sabbath. Jesus had the authority to set aside the demands of Sabbath keeping. Jesus fulfilled the Sabbath. Jesus frees you from bondage to sin and death. Jesus invites you to come to Him for rest.

Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest

Matthew 11:28

Prayer

Heavenly Father, You are the God of creation, the God of salvation, the God of redemption, and the God of reconciliation. You are wonderful, counselor, prince of peace, mighty God, and everlasting Father. You are Lord of the Sabbath. Help us to rest in You. Free us from bondage to sin, fear, anxiety, depression, and pessimism, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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bible study devotion

In the beginning, God: devotion

.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, Genesis 1:1

a satellite image of the earth from outer space
Satellite image of the earth from outer space

 

Reflection

Genesis begins with “in the beginning”. When is the beginning? Who created what?

The Hebrew word for “create” is bara, which means, to create something out of nothing.

In the beginning, in eternity past, God created the entire universe out of nothing.

God has no beginning because He is transcendent and outside our time-space continuum. God is pre-existent, self-existent, eternal, from everlasting to everlasting, from eternity past to eternity future. He is the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the alif and the tau, the A and the Z, the author and finisher of our faith.

God created the universe in six days. God’s reckoning of time is not the same as our reckoning of time. 1 day for God can be long as 1000 years and 1000 years can be as short as 1 day.

2 Peter 3:8, But don’t forget this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.” 

In God’s divine calendar, 2000 years can be as short as 2 days!

There are three theories regarding the universe. The young age theory postulates the universe to be 6000-plus years old. The old age theory postulates the universe to be 4.5 billion-plus years old. The gap theory postulates a time gap of billions of years between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2.

The Bible says that God created the universe into existence. There is no record of a big bang theory or evolution.

The Gospel of John also begins with “in the beginning.”  In the beginning, Jesus Christ, the word of God was with God and was God.

in the beginning, was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God

John 1:1

Application

I find it is easier to believe in creation than in evolution. If you can believe that God created the heavens and the earth, you will have no problems believing the rest of the Bible.

Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity

Romans 12:2, J B Philips

Prayer

Heavenly Father, We pray for the anointing of the Holy Spirit to enlighten and give us wisdom and understanding of Your word. Open our hearts, minds, eyes, ears, and spirits to receive, understand, see, hear, feel, and apply Your word of eternal life, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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bible study devotion

Genesis 12: bible study

The calling of Abraham

A photo showing an opened Bible and a spectacle
an opened bible

Genesis 12: 1-20, God called Abram

Abraham was Abram before God changed his name to Abraham in Genesis 17:5. God appeared to Abram and called him to leave his home, relatives, country, and everything, to an unknown destination, with an unknown future. This was a tall order and it must have come as a shock to him. But God promised to bless him and the whole world, through him.

Genesis 17:5, Your name will no more be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.

Verses 1-3, 1 Now Yahweh said to Abram, “Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treats you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

God called Abram to leave his dwelling place in Ur of the Chaldees, his relatives, his father’s house, to go to an undisclosed destination, not knowing what his future will be. The Hebrew word for God is the tetragrammaton YHWH, or Yahweh, represented by the capitalized LORD. Yahweh is the covenantal name of God.

God gave Abram 6 promises, make him into a great nation, bless him, make his name famous, bless those who bless him, curse those who curse him, and bless the whole world universally through him.

Verses 4-5, 4 So Abram went, as Yahweh had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother’s son, all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they went to go into the land of Canaan. They entered into the land of Canaan.

Abram did not fully obey the LORD. Abram left Ur of the Chaldees with his father, Terah, his wife Sarai, and his nephew Lot, see Acts 7:4. Ur of the Chaldees was Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq. Abram did not go to Canaan immediately. After leaving Ur of the Chaldees, he settled down in Haran instead of proceeding all the way to Canaan. Haran, in present-day Turkey, is northwest of Ur and is only halfway to Canaan.

Abram left Haran with his wife Sarai and nephew Lot, after the death of his father Terah, and traveled southwest to Shechem in Canaan. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. Canaan was present-day Israel.

Acts 7:4, “Then he came out of the land of the Chaldaeans and lived in Haran. From there, when his father was dead, God moved him into this land, where you are now living.”

Verses 6-8, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time, Canaanites were in the land. 7 Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” He built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him. 8 He left from there to go to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to Yahweh and called on Yahweh’s name. 

Abram passed through Shechem in the land of Canaan The LORD appeared to Abram a second time and gave promised to give Canaan to him and his descendants. Abram built an altar to the LORD and prayed to Him at Shechem. He pitched his tent on a mountain between Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. Abram was an idol worshiper before God called him. Now he built an altar to Yahweh and worship the One true God. Abram was a nomad, pitching his tent as he went from place to place.

Verses 9-13, 9 Abram traveled, still going on toward the South. 10 There was a famine in the land. Abram went down into Egypt to live as a foreigner there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 When he had come near to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look at. 12 It will happen that when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me, but they will save you alive. 13 Please say that you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that my soul may live because of you.”

As Abram continued to travel south, the LORD tested him by bringing on a famine. Instead of trusting the LORD to provide for him in the famine, he went down to Egypt. Sarai was very beautiful and Abram was afraid the Egyptians would kill him. He pleaded with Sarai to lie to Pharoah by telling him that she was his sister. Abram the father of faith failed the test of faith! He ran away from Canaan because of a famine. He connived with his wife to tell a lie!

Verses 14-16, 14 When Abram had come into Egypt, Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 The princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16 He dealt well with Abram for her sake. He had sheep, cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels. 

When Abram entered Egypt, Pharoah was struck by Sarai’s beauty and took her into his harem. He treated Abram well because he thought Abram was his sister. Pharoah gave Abram sheep, cattle, donkeys, servants, and camels.

Verses 17-20, 17 Yahweh afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now, therefore, see your wife, take her, and go your way.” 20 Pharaoh commanded men concerning him, and they escorted him away with his wife and all that he had.

The LORD struck Pharaoh and his household with plagues because he was trying to get close to Sarai. When Pharoah discovered that Sarai was Abram’s wife, he summoned Abram to leave Egypt immediately with all his possessions.

Application

The post-flood people wanted to make their names great by their own effort, but the LORD displaced them into obscurity and confused their language. The LORD called Abraham out from obscurity and his name great. Abraham did not do anything. He just had to believe and trust the LORD. You must not try to promote yourself. God will promote you if you believe and trust Him.

Abraham did not fully obey the LORD. He stopped at Haran and settled down there. He waited until his father’s death before proceeding to Canaan. If God calls you, will you obey Him fully, partially, or not at all? If you did not obey the LORD fully, you will miss out on His blessing.

Abram built a prayer altar to the LORD in Shechem. Have you built a prayer altar to the LORD in your house?

Abram’s faith was weak. He left Canaan when there was a famine. He told Sarai to tell a lie to Pharoah that she was his sister. Abram did not trust the LORD to provide for him in the famine. Will you trust God to provide for your needs? The LORD is Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides, Genesis 22:14.

Genesis 22:14,  So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

Spiritually speaking, going to Egypt is always going down, and going to Jerusalem is always going up. Egypt represents the world and Jerusalem represents the city of God.

Canaan is the promised land. God promised to give Canaan to Abram, Genesis 12:7.

If God called you to an unknown destination, and start from scratch, will you obey Him and go?

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, help us to obey You. Help us to follow Your leadership and guidance. You know what is best for us. You know how our future will end. Our future is in Your hand. Help us to walk worthy of Your calling. Increase our faith, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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bible study

Bible Study: Genesis 11

Genesis 11:1-32, Tower of Babel, Dispersion of nations

 

Genesis 11 traced the genealogy from Shem to Abraham. Human beings became proud, arrogant, and self-sufficient. Under the leadership of Nimrod, they started to build a tall skyscraper in Shinar called the Tower of Babe. Nimrod in Hebrews means to rebel. The tower was to be a pagan religious, astrological centre that will reach into heaven. Instead of worshiping the Creator God, they worshiped the sun, the moon, and the stars. God confused their language and dispersed them all over the world. Babel in Hebrews means confusion. Shinar is Mesopotamia or modern-day Babylon. At the end of world history, during the seven-year tribulation, Babylon will be the political and religious headquarter of the one-world government under the antichrist.

 

 

Verses 1-4, 1 The whole earth was of one language and of one speech. As they traveled east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they lived there. They said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. They said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower whose top reaches to the sky, and let’s make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad on the surface of the whole earth.”

 

The people of the post-flood world spoke only one language and one dialect. The people traveled east and settled in Shinar. They became arrogant, ambitious, and proceeded to construct a skyscraper in Shinar called the Tower of Babel high up in the sky towards heaven. They wanted to build a name, city, and tower by and for themselves so as to be independent of God.

 

Verses 5-7, 5 Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built. Yahweh said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do. Now nothing will be withheld from them, which they intend to do. Come, let’s go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”

 

The Trinitarian LORD came down from heaven to see their construction. Seeing their pride, arrogant, self-dependence, defiance, and rebellious attitudes, God confused their language so that different people speak a different language. The people could not understand each other and discontinued building the skyscraper.

 

Verses 8-9, 8 So Yahweh scattered them abroad from there on the surface of all the earth. They stopped building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there Yahweh confused the language of all the earth. From there, Yahweh scattered them abroad on the surface of all the earth.

 

The LORD dispersed the people to different parts of the earth according to their family clans, language, and people group. The people migrated out from Shinar to settle in other countries. The people of different countries spoke different languages, adopted different cultures, lifestyles, and customs.

 

Verses 10-11, 10 This is the history of the generations of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old when he became the father of Arpachshad two years after the flood. 11 Shem lived five hundred years after he became the father of Arpachshad and became the father of more sons and daughters.

 

This is the sixth time the word generations or genealogy was used, compare Genesis 2:4, 5:1, 6:9, 10:1, and 10:32.  Shem was one hundred and ten years of age when he fathered Arpachshad, two years after the flood. Shem lived another five hundred years and died at the age of six hundred years.

 

Verses 12-15, 12 Arpachshad lived thirty-five years and became the father of Shelah. 13 Arpachshad lived four hundred three years after he became the father of Shelah and became the father of more sons and daughters. 14 Shelah lived thirty years and became the father of Eber. 15 Shelah lived four hundred three years after he became the father of Eber, and became the father of more sons and daughters.

 

Arpachshad was the father of Shelah, and he died at the age of 438 years. Shelah was the father of Eber, and he died at the age of 435 years.

 

Verses 16-19, 16 Eber lived thirty-four years and became the father of Peleg. 17 Eber lived four hundred thirty years after he became the father of Peleg and became the father of more sons and daughters. 18 Peleg lived thirty years and became the father of Reu. 19 Peleg lived two hundred nine years after he became the father of Reu and became the father of more sons and daughters.

 

Eber was the father of Peleg and he died at the age of 239 years.  Peleg was the father of Reu, and he died at the age of 238 years.

 

Verses 20-26, 20 Reu lived thirty-two years and became the father of Serug. 21 Reu lived two hundred seven years after he became the father of Serug and became the father of more sons and daughters. 22 Serug lived thirty years and became the father of Nahor. 23 Serug lived two hundred years after he became the father of Nahor and became the father of more sons and daughters. 24 Nahor lived twenty-nine years and became the father of Terah. 25 Nahor lived one hundred nineteen years after he became the father of Terah and became the father of more sons and daughters. 26 Terah lived seventy years and became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Reu was the father of Serug and he died at the age of 239 years. Sreug was the father of Nahor and he lived 230 years. Nahor was the father of Terah and he lived 238 years. Terah was the father of Abram, whom God renamed Abraham.

 

Verses 27-32, 27 Now this is the history of the generations of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran became the father of Lot. 28 Haran died in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldees, while his father Terah was still alive. 29 Abram and Nahor married wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, who was also the father of Iscah. 30 Sarai was barren. She had no child. 31 Terah took Abram his son, Lot the son of Haran, his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife. They went from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan. They came to Haran and lived there. 32 The days of Terah were two hundred five years. Terah died in Haran.

 

This is the seventh time the word generations or genealogy was used, compare Genesis 2:4, 5:1, 6:9, 10:1, 10:32, and 11:10. The genealogy of Terah was listed. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Terah died at the age of 205 years. Haran was the father of Lot. Abram married Sarai but Sarai was barren. Later, God will rename Sarai to Sarah. Terah took Abram, Lot, and Sarai and went from Ur of the Chaldees to Canaan but he settled in Haran and did not make it to Canaan. Terah died at the age of two hundred and five years. The life span of the people post-flood became shorter and shorter. Noah lived 950 years, Shem lived 600 years, and Terah lived only 205 yeras. Haran is modern-day Syria. 

 

There were ten generations from Noah to Abraham, viz. Shem, Arpachshad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu,Serug, Nahor, Terah, and Abram or Abraham.

 

Application:

 

The people wanted to build a name, a city, and a tower for themselves by their own self-effort, independent of God. This is rebellion towards God. They wanted to worship the sun, the moon, and the stars instead of God. There is a saying, “man proposes but God disposes”. God confused their language and dispersed them from Shinar. Are you building a name for yourselves or are you trusting in God to build a name for you? Humble yourself to God and He will raise you up. Do not be self-sufficient but be God-dependent.

 

Prayer:

 

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us the stamina, strength, persistence, perseverance, insight, and wisdom to study Your word in the book of Genesis. We believe that You created the heavens and earth. We believe that the Bible is Your word written by You to us, for our benefit, to instruct, correct, convict, and to train us in righties living, in Jesus’ name, Amen.