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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 19 & 20 — PART TWO

Jan20

Days 19 & 20. Reading in Genesis 25-26. (Posted on Monday)

I accidentally posted Day 19 yesterday, so today will be part TWO of my usually combined weekend posts, Day 20.

 

Genesis 25.

After his wife Sarah died, Abraham took another wife named Keturah. She had six sons. But regardless of these boys and Ishmael, Abraham made it quite clear that it was Isaac, whom Sarah bore, who was the son of his inheritance, receiving not only his own things but all the promises of God for blessing, descendants, land, and ultimately the One who would bless all peoples, the Messiah.

Abraham died at age 175. (This is actually 15 years after Isaac and Rebekah had their twin boys, Esau and Jacob. So they were able to know and learn from their grandfather.)  Isaac and Ishmael buried Abraham in the cave of Machpelah with his wife, Sarah. Ishmael returned to Arabia, and God blessed Isaac, who settled further south to the well of Beer-lahairoi (where God first met the runaway, Hagar).

Backtracking a little, the story of Isaac and Rebekah continues. Like Sarah, Rebekah was barren. Isaac prayed for her, and 20 years later the LORD granted his prayer. She conceived twins, and even pre-birth they seemed to be warring inside her.  SHE prayed to the LORD about it and He told her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.”

Eventually, she gave birth. The firstborn was red and hairy, and they named him Esau (meaning red). Second to be born was a boy with his hand clinging to the heel of Esau. They named him Jacob, meaning “grabber.”  (He’s going to grab more than just Esau’s heel!)

Esau was a skillful hunter, a man’s man, and his father Isaac loved him best, especially for the wild venison he brought the old man (now in his 70s) to eat.  Jacob was a quiet guy. He liked home and hearth, and probably looking after the farm animals. He learned to cook quite well.  In fact, his lentil stew was so good he could tempt his twin brother into selling him the birthright with it. 

Esau came in one day, “starving,” saw/smelled the stew Jacob was stirring, and craved it.  Wiley Jacob traded that yummy bowl and a slab of fresh-baked bread for the double portion of their father’s inheritance. WHOA!

  • NOTE: The first-born son always got a double portion. When Isaac died, his possessions would be divided into three parts. The oldest boy would get two parts, the younger, only one. Jacob’s bargain changed that.

Genesis 26

Okay, now comes the dumbest thing Isaac ever does.  He had moved his family back to Gerar in Philistine territory, and he – yes, Isaac, not Abraham – told everyone that beautiful Rebekah was his….SISTER!!  WHAT?  She was not even his HALF sister (second cousins at most). This was a flat-out lie.  Why did he do it?  Same as his father. He feared that other men would want her and KILL HIM to get her.  What a bunch of wimps these Hebrew men were!  Ever heard of fighting for your woman?

One day, Abimelech looked out his window and saw Isaac and Rebekah frolicking. (The Hebrew may suggest an intimate relation.)  He called in Isaac, infuriated.  “She is your WIFE!  How could you say she was your sister? What have you done to us? One of us might have slept with her, and YOU would have brought guilt on us all!!“

Abimelech (maybe the same man who had taken Sarah when Abraham was there) proclaimed to all in his kingdom that “Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death!”  I’m thinking that Abimelech is a more honorable man than Isaac (or Abe). 

After that, Isaac and the king’s men had more trouble digging wells and falsely claiming them (like with Abraham)  Finally, the king told him to “Go away from us.” 

So Isaac and his family moved up to Beersheba. And there, the LORD appeared to him, saying, “I am the God of Abraham, your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.”  

Was this the first time God had appeared to him and gave him the Abrahamic blessing?  Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the LORD.

  • God is so good to His children. Even when we blow it and sin, He is gracious to come to us with fresh blessings. Great is His faithfulness!

And then – wonder of wonders – Abimelech came to Isaac, saying, “We’ve seen how God is blessing you. Let’s get along. (And maybe some of that blessing will fall off on us too).  Let’s live together in harmony.”  So they had a big feast… and they all got along happily ever after.

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When Esau was forty years old (Isaac’s age at marriage), he took two Hittite women to be his wives.  TWO?  “And they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.”

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 19 & 20

Jan19

Days 19 & 20. Reading in Genesis 22-24 and 25-26. (Posted on Monday)

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and meditate on it. Then, share your thoughts in the comments.

 

Genesis 21 (last 14 verses).

After a little battle with King Abimelech about ownership of some wells, he and Abraham come to an understanding, and a deal is made at Beersheba. Abraham planted a tree there as a land marker and worshipped the Lord (as the “Everlasting God.” Then, he and his family (Sarah, Isaac, and all) lived there for a while in the land of the Philistines.

Genesis 22.

Sometime later, God tested Abraham. It was his stiffest test of obedience yet. It was much more difficult than leaving his family, traveling hundreds of miles to a strange land, and then believing God would make of him, an old man with no children, the father of peoples numbering as many as the stars. 

This test was about his most precious possession, Isaac, his son by Sarah, born when he was one hundred years old. God told Abraham to “offer” Isaac as a burnt offering.  Say what????

Early the following morning (with no hesitation), Abraham began to obey.  He took everything necessary, and then he, Isaac, a couple of men, and a donkey carrying supplies traveled for three days towards the mountains. When they got to the place where God showed Abraham (Mt. Moriah), he took the knife and the fire and told Isaac to carry the wood.

(Isaac was a young man, not a little boy, capable of carrying enough wood for a burnt offering. He was maybe about 30 years old.)  The others stayed behind at the camp.

Isaac wasn’t a dummy. He saw all the supplies but not the animal. “Dad, where’s the lamb?”

“Don’t worry, son. God will supply for Himself a lamb.”  (Hebrews 11:17-19 explains Abraham’s great faith. God had said that it was through Isaac that He would make Abraham a great nation. So, “he considered that God was able even to raise him (Isaac) from the dead” if Abraham killed him. Wow.

Abraham built the stone altar, laid out the wood, then tied up Isaac and put him on top of the wood. (Note that Isaac – who could have easily overpowered his elderly father – willingly became the sacrifice.) Abraham raised the knife to slit HIS ONLY SON’S throat.  

“Abraham, Abraham!”

“Here am I.”

“Do not lay your hand on your son, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, YOUR ONLY SON, from Me.”

And, whoa!  Behind Abraham, there appeared a ram caught in the bushes.  Abraham untied Isaac, the young man climbed down, and the ram was sacrificed. 

“On the mount of the LORD, it shall be provided,” Abraham called that place.  And many years later, on that same mountain, the ONLY SON OF GOD, was sacrificed for our salvation. Like Isaac, He went willingly, carrying the “wood” of his own sacrifice.  And yes, God raised Him from the dead as well.

  • I am SO glad that God so loved this world that He gave His ONLY SON, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.  THANK YOU, God! Thank You, Jesus!

The group then returned to Beersheba. (It’s a good thing SARAH didn’t know what was happening!!)

Genesis 23.

Several years later, Sarah died. She was 127.  They were living back at Hebron then, and Abraham purchased a field with a cave in it from his friend, Ephron, as a tomb for her (and later, for himself, Isaac and his wife, and Jacob and his wife, Leah).  It was an act of faith. It was Abraham staking a claim on the land God promised to his descendants. 

Genesis 24.

Okay, Isaac is about 40 now; his mom didn’t get to see him married or any of her grandchildren.  Abraham thought it was time to get him a wife.  NOT A CANAANITE woman, that’s for sure. So he sent his trusted servant back to Haran, to his brother’s household, to get a wife for Isaac. 

The godly servant (Eleazar?) went and after praying for a miracle, found Rebekah, the granddaughter of Abraham’s brother. Her brother, Laban, seeing the considerable dowry on the ten camels the servant brought, said she could go.  Rebekah also agreed to go with the servant, and the next day, she and her “nurse” (personal servant) left.  (Wow, she must have been really tired of being a water girl for the household and thought this would be quite an adventure.) 

After 25-30 days on a camel, at sunset, they finally arrived way south of Beersheba, where Isaac lived.  He, having finished with the duties of the day, was out in a field, contemplating the beautiful sunset.  Rebekah saw him, dismounted, pulled down her veil, and went to him.  It was love at first sight, and she became his wife. (And Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.)

  • Father, thank you for these examples of faith and patience in trusting You “over the long haul.”  “Increase my faith,” as Your disciples prayed. 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 18

Jan18

Day 18. Reading in Genesis 19 – 21. 

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and meditate on it. Then, share your thoughts in the comments.

 

Genesis 19.

I wonder if Abraham kept praying for his nephew Lot after plea-bargaining with God for Sodom and then going home.

When the two angels with the Lord at Abraham’s tent went down to Sodom, they found Lot sitting at the gate.  He’d gone from camping “near” Sodom to living “in” the city to now being an important man sitting as a judge “of” the city. 

Lot immediately knew the problem these two handsome angels would face in his wicked, immoral city. He begged them to stay at his house instead of in the town square. (He had to press them hard before they finally agreed.)

After dinner, a loud banging was heard at Lot’s door. The homosexual men of the town “wanted” the two men (angels) who were inside.  They were about to break the door down when Lot went out and offered them his two virgin daughters instead.  In their wicked lust, they refused and began forcing the door. One of the angels blinded the men and pulled Lot inside. BUT STILL, these blind homosexual men struggled to break the door down.

The angels urged Lot, his wife, and two daughters to evacuate the city, saying, “We are about to destroy this place because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and He’s sent us to destroy it.”

At dawn, the family still refused to go, so the angels grabbed the four of them and brought them outside the city. “Escape for your life! Do not look back or stop anywhere in this valley. Escape to the hills unless you are swept away!!”

Lot dared to argue with them, saying he couldn’t reach the hills (too citified or too out of shape?) and begged to go to the next little town. The angels agreed to spare that city, but Lot had to get there quickly.  They ran (waddled?) toward Zoar, but Lot’s wife turned longingly for one last look at her beloved city.  

At that moment, the LORD rained down sulfur and fire from heaven and overthrew the inhabitants of the cities, all the valley, and all that grew on the ground.  And Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt.

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Abraham awoke to a towering plume of black smoke (as from a furnace) billowing up from the valley. 

Whether Abraham ever saw Lot again, we don’t know. His nephew’s life spiraled down him from there. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. He became a drunkard. His daughters became pregnant through incest with him. Their descendants became the Moabites and Ammonites.  All because of his choice to go to the rich, green, luscious Sodom.

  • Oh, Father, keep me attuned to Your will. Keep me from horrible choices in my life. Thank you for the ones in my past that you’ve forgiven. Help me to remember this story.

Genesis 20.

And lest we think Abraham is immune to temptation, we see him and Sarah journeying southward again. He stops in Gerar, the territory of King Abimelech, a Philistine.

“She’s my sister,” Abraham casually says, even though Sarah might already be carrying the embryo of Isaac in her womb!! 

Abimelech took Sarah as Abraham expected. BUT GOD came to him in a dream. “YOU ARE A DEAD MAN if you touch her. She is another man’s wife!”  God kept him from sinning and the king immediately gave Sarah back to Abraham.

“What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you that you did this to us?” the king demanded of Abraham.

“I-I did it because I thought you would kill me because of my wife since there is no fear of God here,” Abraham weaseled. “BESIDES, she IS my sister, well, my half-sister.”

Abimelech gives Abraham a lot of stuff, then says to Sarah, “I’ve given your brother a thousand pieces of silver as a sign of YOUR innocence in the eyes of all with you. Before everyone, YOU are vindicated.”

A good thing!  Some might have thought later that Abimelech was the father of Sarah’s baby.  OH, ABRAHAM, HOW YOU MIGHT HAVE MESSED THINGS UP!!!  Praise God for looking out for His stupid children!

  • Yes, yes. I have done some pretty foolish, thoughtless things, too. Thank You, thank You, Father, for protecting me!  You are so good! And I am so undeserving.

Genesis 21.

At last! At last! “Laughter” is born!! 

On the baby’s eighth day, Abraham officially named him Isaac and circumcised him.  And Sarah said (perhaps even sang), “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have born him a son in his old age.”  Abraham was 100 years old. 

Several years later, at Isaac’s “official” weaning (3 years), Sarah catches Hagar’s son Ishmael LAUGHING at her son. (Ridiculing him)

“Get rid of this slave woman and her son. He will NOT be heir with my son, Isaac,” she demanded of her husband.

Abraham was grieved because he loved Ishmael, too. But God backed Sarah.  And, giving Hagar and the 17-year-old Ishmael food and water, he sent them away.  (What a shock to the former prince, Ishmael.)

God met with Hagar again when they ran out of water. He showed her another well and promised to bless her son into a great nation. Ishmael grew up to be an expert with the bow and arrow. They lived in the wilderness of Paran (Arabia today), and his mom got a wife for him from Egypt. 

(Seventy years later, when Abraham died, Ishmael returned briefly, and the two half-brothers buried their father in a cave near Hebron.  Genesis 25:8-9)

  • And so, from Adam and Eve, through Noah and Shem, and now through Abraham and Isaac, God clears the way and establishes the “seed line” for the promised One who will defeat death and the devil forever.

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 17

Jan17

Day 17. Reading in Genesis 16 – 18. 

I invite you to first read the scripture for the day and meditate on it. Then, share your thoughts in the comments.

Genesis 16.

Ten years in the “promised” land, and Abram still had no offspring. Not ONE of the millions God had promised him had been born. Did he begin to doubt God’s word to him?

The Bible doesn’t say. But his wife, Sarai must have thought so. She tried to hurry things along by offering Abram a way to have that child. It wasn’t God’s way, but it was part of the culture of that day. She gave him Hagar – a slave whom she’d brought back from Egypt in that fiasco – as a surrogate for her. Any child born from Hagar would be theirs according to custom.

It worked. Hagar became pregnant. Hagar also became arrogant, looking down on her elderly mistress. “Ha! You old withered thing, I’m the one who will give the master a child.” 

Sarai complained to Abram, who told her to do what she wanted with her own slave. Hagar is sent away (probably intending that she would die).  A child by Hagar was a mistake, Sarai knew now, but you can’t “get rid of” a conceived baby that easy.

Next is the really unusual part. The two old but faithful servants of God are disobedient and harsh. At this point, Abram doesn’t care about the child he is to have with Hagar, and Sarai definitely hates her. Hagar has been arrogant and mean. (All of them have sinned.) But God intervenes in this mess. He meets Hagar, promises that her son will be fruitful (and a wild-ass of a man who will always be at war with his siblings), and sends her back to Sarai (we assume humble and obedient). Her heart has been changed because she knows God has truly “seen” her. 

Hagar then gives birth to Ishmael, the child of Abram’s fallen flesh, beloved but a thorn in his family’s side forever.

  • I’ve always hated reading this chapter in Genesis. How would I feel giving my husband to a pretty young thing because I was inadequate? (He goes quite willingly too!) And then, seeing that my plan worked, being angry about it, and wanting the results of my sin to disappear! And, on top of it all, having to see my husband love the child more every day. 
  • Yes, I wish this incident had not happened in the Bible. (And so did Sarai, I think.)  But there are lessons to be learned. Don’t run ahead of God, assuming YOU know what is best. Trust Him ALWAYS. Wait for the Lord, and HE will bring it to pass. Don’t try to hide your sin, but repent and confess it.

Genesis 17.

It’s about 13 years later, and Abram FINALLY hears from God again. “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless, that I may make a covenant with you and multiply you.”

And Abram fell on his face.  (In fear, relief, joy, worship?)

God renews His promise of fruitfulness, saying Abram will be the “Father of a multitude of NATIONS.” (That’s what the name ‘Abraham’ means.) He will be VERY fruitful. Kings will come from him. The land will belong to his offspring as an EVERLASTING POSSESSION.

Then, God describes that new covenant.  It was to be God’s covenant evident in their flesh.  Circumcision. EVERY male, 8 days and older, was always to be circumcised as an undeniable, forever sign of their belonging to God.  (Note that Abraham obeyed that very day. EVERY male (himself and Ishmael included) was circumcised.)

Before that, however, God had also said that he AND SARAH (her new name) would have a son, and nations and peoples would come from that boy.  ABRAHAM FELL ON HIS FACE AGAIN AND LAUGHED. (He was 99 then, and Sarah was 90.)

When he finished laughing, Abraham asked God that Ishmael would “walk before God” and be the promised seed. By then, the old man had come to love the young teen. (This is a problem with sinful endeavors! You love them.)

God was firm.  “NO, SARAH, YOUR WIFE will bear you a son.” (“Oh, and by the way, you’re going to call him ‘laughter'”)

I can almost hear God sigh about Abraham’s request.  “But…. I’ve heard you, and I will bless and make Ishmael fruitful. He’ll father twelve princes.  BUT!!!  I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you NEXT YEAR.”

Genesis 18.

God is so kind. Not only has He told Abraham that his wife would become a mom, He and a couple of angels appear to inform HER (among other things) that she will become pregnant at 90.

Abraham recognizes the heavenly visitors and quickly arranges a special meal for them so they will stay awhile. While they were eating, Abraham stands by as an eager butler.  Then God looks up and asks, “Where is Sarah?” (Of course, he knows very well she is just inside the tent, listening at the door.  “Do they like my biscuits? Was the veal prepared to their liking?” 

“I will surely return next year, and Sarah shall have a son,” God says, perhaps a bit louder.  This comment super tickled Sarah’s funny bone, and she laughed out loud. “Me, a woman past menopause, get pregnant?  Hahahaha.”

“Why did Sarah laugh?  Is anything too hard for the LORD? Next year, Sarah WILL have a son,” the LORD repeated.

“I didn’t laugh!” Sarah said.

“Yes, you did.” 

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Next on God’s agenda was Sodom. He’s decided to tell Abraham his plans since he was to become a great nation, and God had chosen him to keep the way of the LORD and do righteousness and justice. God tells him of his plan to destroy that wicked city.

Abraham, thinking immediately of his nephew, Lot, begins to plea-bargain.

“Suppose there are 50 righteous people in that city?”

“I won’t destroy it if there are 50 righteous people there,” God says.

“Suppose there are only 45 righteous?”

“I’ll not destroy it if there are 45.”

“Suppose only 40 are found?”

“Not if there are 40 righteous.” says our merciful God.

“30?”

“I won’t if 30 are found.”

“Um, suppose only 20 are found?”

“Not if there are 20.”

“Oh, Lord, don’t be angry. I’ll speak one last time. Suppose there are only TEN found?”

“For the sake of ten,” the LORD says, “I will not destroy the city.”

Then the Lord went His way, and Abraham returned to his tent. 

 

  • God is so forgiving and merciful. After Sarah and Abraham’s disobedience, He promised them a son of their own. And after both laughed at the idea, God remained true and, in a twist of humor Himself said they were to name the baby “Laughter.”  For Abraham’s sake, He even promised to bless the “child of their fleshly efforts,” Ishmael.   
  • Now, after Abraham’s intense “prayer” for the people of Sodom, God said he would spare the whole city if there were just TEN righteous people found in it.  (Unfortunately, there was ONLY ONE righteous person there.)

 

  • I am so grateful for God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness! I have deserved His wrath and punishment so often, and yet, for His Son’s sake, He has shown grace to me and blessed me.  He frequently even blesses my own fleshly efforts – like this blog.   
  • Like Abraham, am I willing to totally give myself to Him in whatever way He asks, even if it is painful?    And am I as concerned for my unsaved relatives as Abraham was for Lot? Have I dared to intercede for them again and again? Lord, help me.

 

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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 16

Jan16

Day 16. Reading in Genesis 12 – 15. 

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and write what was meaningful to you “in the comments.” We can encourage each other in Him.

Genesis 12.

While we’ve been studying Job, Abram and his family have been residing in Haran where Abram’s father, Terah, eventually dies. 

Now the LORD tells Abram to leave Haran and “go to the land I will show you.”  God makes a series of wonderful and fantastic promises to Abram about his descendants and a future “someone” coming from his line Who will “bless all the families of the earth.”  Abram immediately obeys.  He was seventy-five.

Abram took his wife, orphaned nephew, Lot, and all his possessions (people, animals, and stuff) and traveled to Shechem in Canaan. (We will read a lot about Shechem in days to come.)  There, God made another promise to Abram. This land would be God’s gift to his descendants, HIS FAMILY LAND.  Abram responded by building an altar and worshipping God.

From there, Abram continued south to the hill country near Bethel, where he again worshipped God, then moved ever onward toward the Negev (South).  In fact, because of famine, Abram continued south, right out of the promised land, into Egypt, where there was food.  Huh?  (This was going to be a pattern with his family.)

OUTSIDE THE PROMISED LAND, our brave world traveler Abram becomes a quivering leaf.  He’s terrified he will be killed so the Pharoah can take his beautiful Sarai as a royal wife.  “Say you are my sister,” he prompts her, “otherwise I might be killed.” (No concern for her, only for himself.)  She does, and the worst happens. Sarai finds herself among the other women in the Pharaoh’s haram. Seriously??

But God takes care of her and causes PLAGUES on Pharaoh and his household (a little foretaste of what happens when a Pharoah keeps something that belongs to God).  The Egyptian king is rightfully angry at being tricked. “Here, take your wife and go!” He boots them out of Egypt. 

  • While I deride Abram for thinking of himself above his wife, how often have I put MY OWN DESIRES and needs above my husband’s?  More than I can count, I fear. I am selfish.  Oh, Lord, help me to love sacrificially as YOU love me. Help me to trust YOU, as Sarai did.

Genesis 13.

Abram (and all his people and stuff) returned all the way into the promised land to Bethel, where he had last worshipped God before making the trek into Egypt. There, he called on the LORD and worshipped Him.

  • Lord, help me to remember this: When I go off into sin and get caught, help me to look for the place/time where I last had sweet communion with You and go there.

Now Abram had another problem. Between them, he and his nephew had too much stuff. There was not enough land for all the animals to graze. So Abram said they had to move apart. He gave Lot the choice of where he wanted to go. (It was unusual for the older to do this for the younger.) 

Young Lot looked around (and down) and decided that the “hill country” had no excitement and was lacking in “things to do” and the “niceties” of the good life.  The valley, on the other hand, looked lush, advanced, and populated (like Egypt). “Hmm, Uncle Abram, I choose down there.”  And they separated. (And as we’ll see, Lot moved his tent ever closer to the wicked city of Sodom.)

Then, the LORD came to Abram again with an additional promise. “Look in all directions, for all the land you see, I will give to you and your offspring FOREVER.  I will make your offspring as numerous as the dust of the earth.  Get up, walk the length and breadth of “YOUR” land.”

Abram did that and eventually settled by the oaks of a man named Mamre, which is Hebron today.  He built an altar and worshiped God.

  • When I am sorrowful at the loss of someone or something I love, God comes near to assure me of His love and care. And He often fills that void with something unexpected and good…if I will only look around for it (in all directions). Praise YOU, Lord!

Genesis 14.

Aha!!  Next, we read of a battle royale!  Evil against more evil, and the “good” rescues the day. Hooray!

Four strong kings, to whom the five lesser kings served tribute (one of them the king of Sodom. where Lot lived), came to pound the five for NOT paying their due.  The Four conquered all the area around the lush valley, then attacked the Five and defeated them.  They carried all the loot and people as slaves on the journey back to the Old Country.  Lot was among them!

One slave escaped, ran to Abram, and told him about his nephew. Whoa, talk about arousing an angry lion. Abram gathered all the soldiers in his own household (318 men), plus the personal armies of his three neighbors, and took off after the Four kings.  They chased them over 150 miles past Damascus and whomped on them.  Abram and company returned home with all the loot and people in a victory parade.

Bera, the King of Sodom, went out to meet Abram. (He planned to congratulate him and reward him with all the loot. 

BUT NOTICE (I love this!) that crossing Bera’s path and cutting him off was another king who made his way towards Abram. This was the King of Salem (later JeruSALEM), Melchizedek, whose name meant King of Righteousness.  He was both a king and a priest, and before Bera could get to Abram, Melchizedek (who brought bread and wine) blessed God’s man and had “communion” with him.  And Abram gave HIM a tithe of the loot as an offering.  (WHO DOES THIS MYSTERY KING remind you of?) 

Finally, King Bera reaches Abram and tells him to take all the loot as his payment for rescuing his city. Abram looks the king of Sodom right in the eye (having been fortified by the godly priest-king) and says he will not take so much as a shoelace for himself lest the king say HE made Abram rich (instead of the LORD).   He rightfully claims loot for his men and his friends’ men for their good work. 

  • Lord, keep my eyes focused on Heavenly things, and not on things I can gain from the world!

Genesis 15.

In the quiet of post-victory, the word of the LORD comes to Abram again in a vision.  “Fear not, Abram, I AM your shield; your reward shall be very great.”  Instead of getting the paltry reward that the king of Sodom offered, the King of Heaven now comes to Abram and offers HIMSELF.  I am your shield in the battles you fight. I am your ultimate reward. 

It’s interesting that after all this (the battle, victory, meeting with Melchizedek, and being promised great reward from God), Abram remembers that he is childless.  He has no one but his chief servant to leave it all to when he dies.  (True! What good is a vast amount of wealth, if when you die, it all goes to the state.)

See God’s tenderness to Abram.

“Your very own son will be your heir.  Abram, look up to the heavens. See all those stars?  Your offspring – from your very own son – will number MORE than those!”

And Abram believed God’s promise. 

God counted that belief as righteousness. 

  • I was at a wild animal park in Africa one night without electricity. None. There were no clouds, and we were amazed and awe-struck as we looked upward.  The vast clusters of stars we’d only seen in photos were REAL. There were fat ribbons of stars so close together that they blurred into a long “Milky Way” of light.  Bright constellations appeared, individual beacons too!  I will never forget it.  And THIS (perhaps more) is what Abram saw. So many stars!  And he believed that God would make his descendants like this.  WOW. Oh, for this kind of faith!

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God then confirmed His words by a one-sided covenant (promise) to Abram. As the man slept deeply, God (as a light) passed through a series of animals Abram had killed and divided in two.  This symbolized God saying HE would sooner be killed and divided like the animals THAN TO GO BACK ON HIS WORD TO ABRAM. 

God then prophesied about Abram’s descendants spending 400+ years in another land until the time was right. But He would lead them back here, to this land (described in detail), with great possessions WHEN THE TIME WAS RIGHT. 

Abram would himself die in peace at a good old age.

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 12 & 13

Jan13

Days 12 & 13. Reading in Job 32 – 34 and 35 – 37. (Posted on Monday.)

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and write “in the comments” what you found meaningful. We can encourage each other.

.Job 32.

There’s a new guy on the block. Elihu has been there the whole time, but as the youngest, he’s kept quiet until now. His views differ from the three “wise” old men who spoke before him.

“I am young in years, and you are aged. Therefore, I was timid and afraid to declare my opinion to you.”  “It is not the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right.  Therefore, listen to ME. Let ME also declare my opinion.“

He says he’s about to burst from waiting to answer! “I MUST speak, that I may find relief; I MUST open my lips and answer. I will not use flattery toward ANY person.”

Oh, dear. I’m not sure I want to hear what this young whippersnapper will say.

  • Lord, help me remember that wisdom comes from YOU. You are the only wise God. Help me not to disdain either the aged or the young enthusiast or to center my whole life on the words of one person/group. May I always look to You and your Word with help from the Holy Spirit.

Job 33. 

Right off, Elihu puts Job at ease, identifying with him as one also is “pinched off from the piece of clay.”  He’s human, fallible. He assures Job he has no need to fear him as his words will not be heavy on him. But he tells Job he’s wrong in saying God does not answer him.

Elihu lists two ways that God speaks to man. 1) in dreams or visions, God warns man. 2) in pain, God rebukes man.  Hmmm.

He tells Job that God allows suffering to bring a person to Himself and for spiritual benefit. (This seems true, at least in my own life.) Then Elihu offers Job a chance to speak. If not, Elihu tells Job to listen, “for I will teach you wisdom.”

Job 34.

Elihu then goes on with HIS speech to both Job and the other three men.  He gets a lot correct, but there are some parts he mis-remembers, attributing to Job what his other “comforters” said. (For example, Job said he was sinless, which he did not claim.)  However, Elihu does mention some pretty awesome truths about God in his speech, saying He is just, holy, impartial, and omniscient.

Sadly, Elihu starts to echo the three who went before him, “Job speaks without knowledge; his words are without insight. I would that Job was tried to the end because he answers like a wicked man. He adds rebellion to his sin; he claps his hands among us and multiplies his words against God.”  (Sigh.)

(Three more chapters of Elihu tomorrow.)

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Job 35.

“Shame on you, Job.” is basically what Elihu says (in his wisdom). He tells Job that it doesn’t matter if he sinned or not because God is ‘too high’ to be affected by them. “If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against Him? And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to Him?”

He tells Job why God does not answer his prayers and questions. It’s because of pride (vs. 35:12), a wrong motive, and he’s not patient enough.  Oh, Elihu, you are not so wise as you say. YOU don’t know much about Job’s condition either. It’s your own “human” understanding. 

  • Lord, I am like Elihu sometimes, if only in my thoughts. I think I can figure out “the mind of God” by my own human reasoning. “SURLY, this must mean that!” I say.  Humble me, Lord. Your ways and thoughts are so much higher than mine.  Teach me not to judge. Teach me to wait. Help me see my own needs.

Job 36.

Now that Elihu has leveled Job to the ground, he presumes to instruct Job about God’s opinion. (“I have yet something to say on God’s behalf.”) He now seems no different from the three older gentlemen before him. THEN he adds the words that make me choke. “For truly, my words are not false; one who is perfect in knowledge is with you.”   What???  Poor Job.

But Elihu does say something new in verse 15. “He (God) delivers the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ear by adversity.” 

  • Suffering, trials, and persecution do make us more open to God’s words. Sometimes, that’s the only time I will listen. A gentle tap on the shoulder will go unnoticed, but a “slap up alongside my head” will get my attention.  Illness, sorrow, or a rebuke from a loved one will undoubtedly send me to prayer and His word. Why is this so? Oh, Lord, soften my heart!

Job 37.

Elihu then “waxes eloquent” about the majesty of God in creation. This is wonderful to read. All creation does reveal God like Psalm 8 says,  “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens.” (vss. 1-2)  “When I look at Your heavens the work of Your fingers, the moon, and stars, which You have ordained, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (vss.3-4)  

Elihu reminded Job (and us) that all the mighty things God does in the heavens and with weather are for a purpose. “Whether for correction or for His land, or for love, He causes it to happen.” (vs. 13)

  • Wow. I had to stop and think about this. Yes, I believe God is totally sovereign in all things. Yes, there is always a purpose to what He does (His glory and our good, according to Romans 8:28), although, like Job, we may never know (can’t even begin to comprehend) what that is. 
  • Just now (January 2025), I’m thinking of the total disasters that wind and fires have brought to Los Angeles County in the last week.  God is sovereign. This fiery “apocalypse” was NOT out of His control. Many do and will ask, “Why?” (And many will gladly place the “blame” on anyone.) It is a “wake-up” call, whether to the hearts of believers and unbelievers or merely to earthly officials and their responsibilities.
  • Job didn’t know the reason for his suffering (or for his friends’ badgering, for that matter). But we get a glimpse of the purpose in the first chapters. That in Heaven, before the evil one, GOD GETS GLORY for Job’s faith in his suffering. 

Thank you, God, for using Elihu to say this one thing, if nothing else. 

And it’s good that this young, wise “kid” ends his speech by pointing Job (and us) to God and His Majesty because God stands ready to speak in the next four chapters.  ARE WE READY TO HEAR?

 

…

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 5 & 6

Jan6

Days 5 & 6. Reading Job 6 – 9 and 10 – 13.

(Sunday & Monday posts are together.)

I’m rereading God’s Word this year. And I hope to blog about it differently. Instead of writing only an overview of the text, I want it to be more personal.

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and write “in the comments” what you found meaningful. We can encourage each other.

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Job 6 

Job has just listened to a long speech by his friend, Eliphaz, who has accused him of sinning.  “That’s why you are suffering,” he seems to say. “Repent and get better.”

Yes, Job is a sinner, as we ALL are, since Adam & Eve’s gross disobedience in the garden. But a specific sin is not the reason for Job’s horrendous state of loss, poverty, and ill health.  

Job is frustrated.  He doesn’t deny he’s a sinner, but he does say, “I have not denied the words of the Holy One.”  He asks his friends to look at him, really LOOK. “Please turn; let no injustice be done. Turn now; my vindication is at stake. Is there any injustice on my tongue?“

Job 7.

Then Job turns his weary eyes upward and speaks his woes to God. He pours out his complaints to God,  just like I do when I’m having a hard time.

  • “Why is this happening, God?  Have you forgotten me?  What have I done to deserve this?  I’m just human, as You well know!  Maybe I should just die.” 

Job 8.

It’s time for Job’s second friend to offer his wisdom.  Bildad is also sure that Job’s sin has caused his troubles and that he should repent if he wants out of them.  “If you are pure and upright, surely He will rouse Himself for you and restore your rightful habitation.”

  • I’ve only mildly experienced this kind of judging.  But, I confess, I  have criticized others and often given them my “superior” advice, just like Eliphaz and Bildad.  “If only they would do this! (or NOT do that!), then they wouldn’t be in this mess!” “They should have prayed first or listened to that sermon.”  “If they would just follow good habits, they wouldn’t be sick, or fat, or….. !”
  • O LORD, how like Job’s friends I am!  You’ve said “Judge not, lest you be judged,” and still I do it. EVEN THIS MORNING!!!   I confess, Lord. Cleanse me and help me to imitate Your great mercy for others!

Job 9.

Job responds to Bildad’s lofty speech, saying that he KNOWS God is the holy, wise, and powerful Creator and that Job himself is powerless and low.  But then, he asks if God is FAIR?  “He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.”  Job feels helpless. Desperate, he cries, “I shall be condemned; why do I labor in vain? If I wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lye, yet You will plunge me into a pit….”  WOW!

  • How often have “I” said, “That’s not fair!”  Or even thought, “GOD is not fair.”  But I need to remember that He is sovereign. He controls everything in perfect wisdom.  I do not have the mind of God. His thoughts and ways are SO MUCH higher than mine.  (Isaiah 55:8-9)  And so, even if I never see the whys and wherefores of what’s happening in my life, I NEED TO TRUST HIM ALWAYS.  “If He slays me, yet will I trust Him,” should be my heart’s desire as it was Job’s (Chapter 19).

Then Job says something that immediately causes thanksgiving to flood into my heart…..because I remember Jesus.  Job says, speaking of God, “There is no arbiter between us, who might lay his hand on us both.” 

Hallelujah!  We have Jesus Christ!  

1 Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”  Hebrews 7:25, speaking of Jesus, says, “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

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July 10.

Job is still answering Bildad’s comments, but he’s appealing to God as well. He asks the question WE ALL ASK — Why? “Let me know WHY you contend against me. Does it seem good to You to oppress, to despise the work of your hands, and favor the designs of the wicked?”

Deep in his heart Job KNOWS God loves him, he just can’t figure out all this disaster. “You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit. YET these things you hid in your heart; I KNOW this was your PURPOSE.

  • I really DO KNOW that God loves me, but like Job, I need to grab hold of that rock of truth with all my strength and BELIEVE it, especially during trials.

Job 11.

Next, Job’s third “friend” speaks. Zophar is like the two before him.  And he’s shocked that Job claims innocence. He pounds Job with his need to repent of his sin.  

“If you prepare your heart, you will stretch out your hands toward Him. If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away, and let not injustice dwell in your tents. Surely THEN you will lift up your face WITHOUT BLEMISH.”   “And your life will be brighter than the noonday; its darkness will be like the morning.”

  • Ah, Lord, I am so like Zophar sometimes!!  At least silently, I often think if someone experiencing trials would just “Straighten up and fly right,” their problems would go away.  O Lord, so much do I lack wisdom, and compassion, and, well, ALL the fruits of the Spirit.  I confess and repent of this hard-heartedness! Soften my heart.

Job 12

Now Job fires back using sarcasm.  Oh, are YOU the only ones with wisdom? I have understanding as well.  “I, who called to God and He answered me, a just and blameless man…am a laughingstock to my “friends.” Ha!

Then Job reveals some of his wisdom about the SOVEREIGNTY of God. ‘Who does not know that “the hand of the LORD” has done this?  In His hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. With God are wisdom and might; He has counsel and understanding. If He tears down, none can rebuild; if He shuts a man in, none can open.”

THAT’S RIGHT, JOB! Rest in the Sovereignty of Almighty God!

Job 13.

Job continues to speak back to his “friends.” But he’s getting tired of their constant “know-it-all” condemnation.  “Behold, my eye has seen all this, my ear has heard and understood it.  What YOU know, “I” also know; I am NOT inferior you you.”  

Then Job nails his friends once again, “As for YOU, you whitewash with lies; worthless physicians are you all. Oh that you would keep silent!”   “Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay. Let me have silence. “

Then Job tells them what he REALLY wants.   “I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case with God.”  ” I will speak, and let come on me what may.”   “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him: yet I will argue my ways to His face.“

Whoa, Job, better watch out what you ask for!!!  

  • You know, our God is Almighty. He opposes the proud, the unbelieving, the idolater, BUT He is not afraid of one of His children calling out to him in fear, anger, and desperation.  He’s tough. He can withstand our puny fists pounding against his massive, steel-hard chest.  He loves us.  He loved Job.

Job looks to God, as in a courtroom.  “Behold, I have prepared my case; I know that I shall be in the right. Only grant me two things, then I will not hide myself from your face. 1) Withdraw your hand far from me, and 2) Let not dread of you terrify me.  THEN call and I will answer.  OR, let me speak and You reply to me.

And then Job presents his case (questions) before God.  (Chapter 14, tomorrow.)

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 4

Jan4

Day 4. Reading in Job 1 – 5. 

I’m rereading God’s Word this year. And I hope to blog about it differently. Instead of writing only an overview of the text, I want it to be more personal.

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and write “in the comments” what you found meaningful. We can encourage each other.

 

Job 1.

Our pastor once said that Job’s first and last chapters are great, but everything in the middle is foolishness. He said that because none of Job’s friends speak God’s wisdom.  However, 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “ALL scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness,”  So let’s look for that during these dozen days in the book of Job.

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In chapter one, we see what Job never sees or understands, which can be a great comfort to us in our suffering. We may never know why bad things happen to US, but we CAN know that God is in perfect control. He is sovereign. He ALLOWED Satan to hurt and torment Job “for His glory.”  Job’s statement in 1:21 shows total dependence and faith in his God.  This glorifies God. 

  • Shortly after reading through Job last year, I went through a scary time of breast cancer, surgery, and radiation treatment. Throughout those months, I often thought of Job. His declaration of God’s sovereignty, his emotional ups and downs, and his questions and despairs helped me when I was at my lowest.  UNLIKE Job, I was surrounded by friends who held me up in prayer, comforted, encouraged, and helped me practically in so many ways. They kept me looking to God throughout the trial, and I am very grateful.  So now, I’m reading this book from a different perspective.

We know the story.  Job was as blameless and upright as Noah before him, who feared God and turned away from evil.  God chose righteous Noah to go through a great disaster unharmed to bring Him glory. God chose His righteous servant, Job, to endure a great trial with much suffering, bringing Him praise from Job’s own lips. (Job 42). (And, might I say, a slam to Satan.)

As Job lost all his animals (wealth), his children, and even his own health, he “did not sin or charge God with wrong.”

(Well, it WASN’T God who did any wrong to him, but Satan, with God’s permission, who caused all that destruction, death, and pain, just as that old Serpent had done in the beginning in the garden of Eden. Death and pain are his specialties.)  Job was unaware of how God showcased him, or he probably would have felt pride.

  • I wonder…  As Christians, when we experience suffering, maybe we should remember that others are looking at us to see how WE respond.  Are we trusting in our God no matter what happens?  Can we give Him glory by our attitude?  In a way, these words of Jesus apply, “Let your LIGHT so shine before men, that they may see your good works (attitude in suffering), and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16) 
  • For me, I often complain loudly when things go wrong. ‘Why is this happening to me?’ I fume.  It’s good that I’m rereading this book of Job.

Job’s wife DID blame God. “Oh, husband, why don’t you just curse God and die!”  Wow. A loving wife she was not. (She will get her due, having to bear ten more children in her latter years! Ha!)

Job 2.

Job is now suffering painfully, with masses of boils erupting all over his body. He uses pieces of broken pottery in the trash heap to scrape off the swollen heads and allow the pus to run out.  To his disgusted wife, he says, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”

  • I wonder…did she sponge off his hurting body with cool water sometimes?  Did she apply salve to the open sores?  Did she bring and feed him a healing broth?  Somehow, I think not.

But a few of Job’s friends came to comfort him. His increasing pain was so great that, in distress for him, they wept, tore their robes, and sprinkled dust on their heads. Then, they sat silently with him in compassion for seven days and nights.

Job 3 – 5.

Then, the “foolishness” begins.

Of course, Job had the right to curse the day he was born. (I think David or King Solomon did this, too.) “Why did I not die at birth, come out from the womb, and expire?” he moans (or wails).  It’s understandable, of course, him being in so much pain.

It stirs one of his friends to speak, “Who, that was innocent, ever perished?  As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble…reap the same.”  Thanks, Eliphaz, that really wasn’t comforting.  You’re saying I’m suffering because I sinned against God?

Eliphaz continues ‘laying it on’.  “Affliction does not come from dust, nor does trouble sprout from the ground.  As for ‘me,’ I would seek God, and to God would I commit my cause...”  And then, in what seems a self-righteous attitude, he tells Job, “Blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty.” 

This is true enough, but Eliphaz doesn’t know what we know. Job’s suffering isn’t discipline!  It is proof that God loves him, knows the faithfulness of his heart, and is willing for Satan to do his worst to reveal that man CAN serve God fully. 

 

 

 

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 365 – the last day!

Dec31

   Day 365—We are in the LAST month of Bible reading for the year, studying THE REVELATION to John.

Day 365 – Revelation 19 – 22 (Rejoicing in Heaven, 1,000 years, Satan defeated, new Heaven/Earth, new Jerusalem, River & Tree of Life, Jesus is coming)

Revelation 19.

“Hallelujah! Salvation, and glory, and power belong to our God, for His judgments are true and just.”

“Praise our God, all you His servants, you who fear Him, small and great.”

“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready: it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure.”  Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

Then John saw a white horse ridden by One called “Faithful and True.” His eyes are like a flame of fire and on His head are many diadems. He has “a name written that no one knows but Himself.”

He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which He is called is “The Word of God.”  This One will defeat the nations and rule them. He will “tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.”  On his robe and on his thigh, He has a name written, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”

And the “armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white a pure” (the saints) were following Him on white horses.

“I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against Him who was sitting on the horse and against His army. The beast was captured, and the false prophet, who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the Mark of the Beast and those who worshipped its image.  THESE TWO WERE THROWN ALIVE INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE THAT BURNS WITH SULFER.”

Revelation 20.

Then John saw an angel holding the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. “And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it, and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer.” (Until the thousand years have ended, and he is released for a LITTLE while.)

Then John saw the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth. (It’s when Israel’s promised King will reign on the actual earth from Jerusalem.  (A promise fulfilled to the Jews.)

After that, Satan will be released to try to deceive men again, and there will be a great war until fire from Heaven comes down and consumes them. THEN THE DEVIL WILL BE THROWN INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE AND SULFUR AND WILL BE TORMENTED DAY AND NIGHT FOREVER AND EVER!”

Next comes “the Great White Throne Judgment,” when all the dead will stand before God’s throne. Books will be opened and the dead will be judged by WHAT THEY HAVE DONE, as written in the books.  “If anyone’s name was not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.“. 

Revelation 21.

John then saw a NEW heaven and a NEW earth.  He saw “the Holy City” descending out of heaven from God, like a bride adorned for her husband.  GOD IS GOING TO DWELL WITH MEN, AND THEY WILL BE HIS PEOPLE, AND HE THEIR GOD. 

All tears will be wiped away. There won’t be death, no mourning, no crying, and no more pain.  All things will be made new. 

Then, an angel showed John the Holy City, Jerusalem, descending out of Heaven from God. It was radiant like the most rare jewel, crystal clear like a diamond.  It had a high wall with twelve gates. Inscribed on each gate was the name of one of the twelve sons of Israel.  The wall had twelve foundations made of twelve precious jewels, with each of the twelve apostles’ names on them. 

The angel with John measured the city. It was a perfect 1,500-mile cube (about 2 million square miles in volume). It mirrored the configuration of the Most Holy Place in the temple.  It was made of pure gold, transparent as glass. 

There was NO TEMPLE because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb were the temple.

There was NO SUN OR MOON because the glory of God and the lamp of the Lamb gave it light.

There was NOTHING UNCLEAN, ONLY those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life are allowed to enter the city.

Revelation 22.

The angel then showed John the pure, crystal-clear river of the Water of Life flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.  It flowed through the middle of the street of the city. Growing on either side was the Tree of Life with twelve kinds of fruits, one for each month.

The servants of God and the Lamb will worship  Him.  And they will SEE HIS FACE. (see 1 John 3:2)

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John then signs his name. “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things.”   

The angel told John, “Do NOT seal up the words of the prophecy of this book (like the prophet Daniel was told to do in Daniel 8:26, 12:4-10), “for the time is near.”

“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” 

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

The Spirit and the Bride say, COME!

Let the one who hears (reads) say, COME!

He who testifies to these things (Jesus) says, SURELY I AM COMING SOON.

John says, AMEN. COME, LORD JESUS!

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We did it. What a glorious trip through the Word of Almighty God, from pure beginning to purity restored.  Glory, hallelujah!

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, days 363-364, Part B.

Dec30

 Day 363-364—We are in the LAST month of Bible reading for the year, studying the LETTERS of the Apostles.

NOTE: Usually, Sunday’s and Monday’s studies are posted together, but because these readings are so long, I will post them separately.

Day 364, Part B – Revelation 12 – 18 (Woman & dragon, Satan cast down, the Beast, 3 visions, 7 plagues, 7 bowls of wrath, 666, Babylon falls, Yay!)

This section of Revelation is filled with symbols and allegories. The people in the churches of John’s day would probably have understood their meanings more than we do. The sequence of events is not necessarily linear but often overlapping & repeating.

Revelation 12.

This chapter pictures Satan attempting to destroy the infant of a woman with a crown of 12 stars. But the child is taken to heaven and his throne before the Dragon can kill him. The woman (Israel?) is protected by God in the wilderness.

There is a great war in heaven. Michael and the angels fight against the dragon and his angels (demons). Michael’s army wins and throws the great dragon (that ancient serpent, the devil, Satan) down to earth with his angels.  Satan, “the accuser of the brethren” (remember Job?), is thrown down and mad. 

“WOE to the earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath because he knows his time is short.“

Revelation 13.

Then, an ugly, multiheaded, powerful “beast” emerges from the sea. (He looks a little like the beast in Daniel’s vision of end times.)  To this beast (Antichrist), the dragon gives his power, throne, and great authority.  The people of the earth worship the dragon and worship the beast. The beast speaks great blasphemies against God, His name, and His Temple.   The beast was “allowed” to make war on the saints and conquer them. All on the earth worshiped it, EXCEPT those whose names were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Then a second beast emerges from the sea, looking like a lamb, but speaking like the dragon. This beast can do miracles and deceive the people of Earth into worshiping the Beast. It has them make a statue of the Beast and he enables it to speak too.  It makes all who live on Earth to get the MARK on their forehead or hand, or they cannot buy or sell anything. 

The mark? 666 is “the number of a man.” In John’s time, this was clearly NERO.

  • And so, now there is an unholy trinity: the Dragon/false prophet, the Beast/Antichrist, and the miracle-working second Beast. 
  • NOTE: Even the required Mark of the Beast is a foul imitation of God’s command in Deuteronomy 6:4-8 to Love the LORD, the ONE TRUE GOD, with all their hearts, soul, and strength. They were to teach His Words to their children and…” bind them as a sign on your HAND, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes (FOREHEAD).” (Their actions and thoughts.)

Revelation 14.

The victory is at hand!!

The Lamb of God stands on Mount Zion and with Him, the 144K evangelists, with HIS name on their foreheads. John heard thunderous singing, like a gazillion harps singing a new song.  An angel comes from the temple and flies overhead, proclaiming the Eternal Gospel. “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgement has come.”

A second angel proclaims the good news, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality!”

A third angel proclaims, “If anyone worships the Beast & its image and receives the mark, he also will drink the WINE of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger.” And they will be tormented hell with the sulfur and smoke of the torment forever and ever with no rest, day or night.

Here, John inserts, “a call for ENDURANCE of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.”

Then John sees Jesus with a sharp sickle. He swings the sickle across the earth, and the earth is reaped.

Another angel with a sharp sickle goes to the “VINE of the earth” because its grapes are ripe.  So this angle swings his sickle and reaps the grapes and throws them into the winepress of the Wrath of God.  “And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and the blood from it flowed from the winepress as high as a horse’s bridle for 184 miles.”

  • This reminds me of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. He is tramping out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.”
  • Also, if you reread Mark 14:34-36 (and passages in Matthew & Luke), you will see that JESUS drank that cup of Almighty God’s WRATH for us, when he died on the cross, PUNISHED FOR OUR SINS. This scene in Heaven portrays God’s wrath on those WHO REFUSED THIS SO GREAT SALVATION.

Revelation 15.

Next, John saw a great and amazing sign in heaven, “Seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is FINISHED.”

First, there was a vast “sea” of what looked like fiery glass. By it were those who overcame the Beast and with harps, they sang the song of Moses and the Lamb. “Great and amazing are Your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations…”

Then, out of the Sanctuary came the seven angels with seven plagues in seven golden bowls, FULL OF THE WRATH OF GOD, who lives forever and ever.

Revelation 16.

John heard, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God!”

  • First bowl: harmful and painful sores on those who bore the Mark of the Beast.
  • Second bowl: blood into the seas, killing every living creature in them.
  • Third bowl: blood into the rivers and springs of water.
  • Fourth bowl: on the sun so it scorched people with fire. (The people did not repent and give God glory but cursed the name of God.)
  • Fifth bowl: darkness on the Beast and his kingdom. People gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven, but they did not repent.
  • Sixth bowl: into the river Euphrates, so it dried up and prepared the way for the great kings and hoards from the East.  The dragon, beast, and second beast opened their mouths, and demonic spirits like frogs came out, going abroad to assemble all the kings of the world to assemble for battle at the place, ARMAGEDDON.
  • Seventh bowl: into the air, and a loud voice came out of the Temple, from the Throne, saying, “IT IS DONE!”  There came lightning, thundering, and a great earthquake so destructive that the great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell.  Every island fled away, and no mountains could be found.  Great hailstones, weighing 100 pounds, fell on the people.  AND THEY CURSED GOD!

Revelation 17.

Then, the seventh angel took John to view “The Great Prostitute” and her judgment. She was seated “on many waters,” picturing her rule over the peoples of many nations.  Written on her forehead was a name of mystery: “BABYLON” (code name: Rome).  She also sat on seven hills (again, Rome). She was drunk with the blood of the saints martyred for Jesus. The angel also explains the heads/horns of the Beast as kings who make war on the LAMB. 

The Lamb of God defeats them all, for He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Revelation 18.

Then, with the calls of angels, the announcement of Babylon’s fall is made known. 

“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.”

All the kings of the earth weep and wail for her fall.

“Alas, alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour, your judgment has come.”

And all the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, for no one buys their cargo.

All the shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors on the sea stood far off and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning.

“Alas, alas, for the great city where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth, For in a single hour, she has been laid waste.”

And a mighty angel took up a huge millstone and threw it into the sea saying, “So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence and will be found no more.”

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(WHEW, that was hard!)

Tomorrow, rejoicing in Heaven!