Exodus 1:1-7:7 [A Man Named Moses continued...]

Exodus 5:1-2 

 [1] Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’”

[2] Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go.”

It seems like when we tell people about the Lord who do not know God, they choose not to listen. Like Moses, we should not give up though. We should pray that the Lord opens their ears and softens their hearts so that they can know God. 

Exodus 5:6-9 

 [6] That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: [7] “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. [8] But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ [9] Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”

When the Egyptians follow Pharaoh's directions it is nearly impossible for them to get the work done. They then confront Moses and tell him that it is his fault this is happening to them! So Moses questions the Lord again.

Exodus 5:22-23 

 [22] Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? [23] Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.”

Did you ever pray for something and it did not get answered right away? We must realize that God works on his time and not our own. 

So the Lord gave Moses directions once again. He was to speak to his people, but they did not listen. They were too discouraged. How many people have we met that have lost faith in God because they were discouraged when a prayer was not answered or something did not go right in their lives? This is exactly what we are seeing here. 

God then told Moses to go the Pharaoh again with a message.

Exodus 7:1-5 

 [1] Then the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. [2] You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. [3] But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, [4] he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. [5] And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”

So Moses and Aaron did exactly what the Lord had asked of him.  Here we see that God is telling him that he will appear as God to Pharaoh. As Christians, we should be as much like God as we can be. I remember in the sermon I went to last night, the pastor said, "Do not be the best "you" you can be; Be the best imitation of God you can be." 

Philippians 2:5-6 

 [5] In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

 [6] Who, being in very nature[a] God, 

   did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

When other's see our walk and how we are giving, loving, good natured people, they want to be around you. When you can be a people magnet, you can be a better witness to the Lord. After all, isn't being his witness our ultimate calling?

Exodus 1:1-7:7 [A Man Named Moses]

Book: Exodus
Author: Moses
Date written: 1450-1410 B.C.
Where Written: Somewhere in the Sanai Peninsula
Special Features: Exodus relates more miracles than any other  Old Testament book and is noted for containing the ten commandments.

God is always with us, molding us and speaking to us if we are willing to listen. He allows bad things to happen to us so that blessings can come out of them. In the story of Moses we see the Hebrews become enslaved after Joseph's generation passes away. How could the Egyptians forget about all the good Joseph had done? Was it all for nothing? Did he bring his people into Egypt for no reason? Of corse not. God had a plan for these people and a covenant with them that he still had not fulfilled and we know God always keeps his promises. Sometimes we just have to be patient.

It was obvious God had a plan for Moses. After all he spared him. When all the Hebrew baby boys were being tossed into the Nile, Moses was found in the reeds of the river by the Pharaoh's daughter, who then adopted Moses. Not only did God bless Moses but he blessed his family. The Pharaoh's daughter paid his Mother to nurse Mosses until he was old enough and then she gave him back to Pharaoh's daughter.

Now Moses was a reactor. He reacted to the things he saw before him. When he saw a Hebrew being beat by an Egyptian, he killed the Egyptian and hid his body. When he got caught he ran, but God used Moses for the greater Good. God taught Moses how to act instead of react.


Exodus 3:2-5 


[2] There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. [3] So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”


 [4] When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”


   And Moses said, “Here I am.”


 [5] “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

God then tells Moses he is to go to Pharaoh and tell them God sent him.


Exodus 3:12-14 


 [12] And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you[a] will worship God on this mountain.”


 [13] Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”


 [14] God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.[b] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”


This reminds me of that poem:

My Name is I Am
by Helen Mallicoat

I was regretting the past 
And fearing the future. 
Suddenly my Lord was speaking:

“My name is I Am.” He paused. 
I waited. He continued,
When you live in the past 
With its mistakes and regrets, 
It is hard. I am not there, 
My name is not I WAS”.

When you live in the future 
With its problems and fears, 
It is hard. I am not there. 
My name is not I WILL BE.

When you live in this moment, 
It is not hard. I am here. 
My name is I AM. 


Do you live in the moment and trust in God? How strong is your faith? 


We continue into our reading to see God tell Moses to be faithful to him and go to Pharaoh. He tells him that Pharaoh will not let him leave unless there is a powerful force behind him so he will preform many miracles for the people. 


Exodus 4:1 But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?”


At this point God demonstrates what he will do to prove to the Pharaoh that he is the God of the ancestors. He turns his staff into a snake. God then says that he will preform many more miracles and still here is Moses pleading with the Lord not to go. He is fearful he will get tongue tied and not be able to speak.



Exodus 4:11-12 


 [11] Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? [12] Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”


Did God ever use you as a witness? I'm am not good with words myself. Sometimes when I talk it doesn't come out the way it was intended to in my head; However, when ever I witness for the Lord it seems that words flow out of my mouth so perfectly it's as if they did not come from me. This is how I know God IS real! Those words did not come from me, but from him! God is Good!

We will end here and continue onto Exodus 5-7:7 tomorrow! 

Genesis 39-50:26 [Joseph's Egyptian Adventure Continued...]

Ever felt like you were being pressured to sin? In Genesis 39 we see that Joseph was pressured by his master's wife to have sex with her over and over and he did not give in.

Genesis 39:6-9

[6] So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

   Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, [7] and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”

 [8] But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”

Joseph knew this was sinful and refused to give in. Potiphar's wife was not going to have it though. She came up behind him, grabbing his cloak, demanding that he sleep with her while he was working. He pulled away leaving her with his cloak and he fled. Potiphar's wife told the servants and her Husband that Joseph had come in to rape her and that he had fled after her screaming and left his cloak. 

If most of us were in this situation, we probably would think it was impossible to deal with and just give in. Joseph remained obedient to his master and to God. We must remember that running from sin is not cowardly by any means and actually takes a lot more discipline then to just give into sin all together.

Genesis 39:19-20

 [19] When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. [20] Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.

Now your probably thinking, "Ok so he was obedient, but that led him to jail!" Yes it did lead to jail but God never left his side. Joseph won over the heart of the prison warden who had then put Joseph in charge of all of the other prisoners. The prison warden loved this because with Joseph he did not need to worry about anything. Joseph made things run smoothly.

While in the prison Joseph interpreted two dreams. One of the Pharaoh's chief cup barer and the other of the chief baker. Both dreams came true.

Genesis 40:8  “We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.”

   Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”

When Joseph interpreted the dreams he gave the glory and honor to God instead of taking credit himself and making himself look good. This made Joseph a witness to the Lord. One way we can become great witnesses to God is to give God the credit when speaking on behalf of other people's experiences or our own. 

Even though the chief cup barer forgot to tell the Pharaoh about Joseph after the dreams came true, Joseph was later blessed by his actions. When the Pharaoh had dreams that disturbed him and no one could interpret them, the cup barer was reminded of Joseph and the Pharaoh sent for him at once. This was two years later. This reminds us to be patient. Blessings are not always immediate and they do not always make the most sense, but if we trust in God and be patient the blessings will come.

Genesis 41:16  “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”

Once again Joseph gives credit to God where credit is needed. 

After God interpreted Pharaoh's dreams through Joseph, he blessed Joseph. He gave Joseph authority over all of Egypt and only Pharaoh had more authority then Joseph. Joseph was given a wife and a new name, Zaphenath-paneah. In it's original language Zaphenath-paneah means, "a revealer of hidden things and an opener of things to come,". As predicted the 7 years of prosperity and 7 years of famine did occur. 

Now let's take a step back. From our last reading we remember that Joseph had a dream which is what made his brothers enraged in jealousy! 

Genesis 37:5-9 

 [5] Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”

 [8] His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.

 [9] Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

Now here we are in Genesis 42 and Jacob, Joseph's father sends his brothers to Egypt for grain. When they arrive Joseph recognizes them but they do not recognize him. Joseph tells them that they are spies and that the only way he will believe other wise is if they leave one brother with him and the only way they can retrieve him is if they bring their youngest brother back. Jacob did not want to allow this in fear that he would lose his youngest son, but Judah accepted full responsibility for Benjamin. While Judah did not know what this meant for him he was determined to carry it out. In doing so he developed confidence and character with in himself, just as we do by accepting responsibilities and seeing them through in our own lives. 

When the men arrived with gifts and Benjamin sure enough was with them, Joseph had his men prepare a feast for them and invited them into Joseph's home. They feast. The Egyptians sit at one table because they despise Hebrews and Joseph tells the brother's where to sit. He seats them oldest to youngest to their surprise. 

Joseph then does something that is quite bazar. He fills their sacks with as much grain as they can handle but has his servants place his silver cup in the youngest's sack. Then has one of his servant's catch up with them and ask them why they have stolen this cup. We then see them empty their sacks and there in the Benjamin's sack is the cup and they come before Joseph and plead before him not to take Benjamin as a slave. At this point Joseph could not stand it any more. He ordered his servants to leave and then told his brothers who he was. 

Genesis 45:5-8

[5] And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. [6] For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. [7] But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.[a]

 [8] “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.

Isn't it amazing how God will allow horrible things to happen in our lives that lead to such great things? This is exactly what Joseph is explaining here. This was all in God's plan. Has there ever been a time where great things in your life came out of bad circumstances? 

At this point Joseph tells his brothers to bring his father back to live in Egypt, other wise they will all starve and die from the famine. They are also invited by the Pharaoh himself! 

Jacob did come to Egypt and God made a covenant with Jacob to always be with him and that his family will inherit a great nation.

Not too soon later Jacob passed away and as promised Joseph took his father to be buried in Canaan. After his father died, his brothers grew fearful of Joseph,

[19] But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? (Genesis 50:19)


What a truly forgiving and faithful man. Eventually Joseph died at the age of 110 and he had told his people that God will lead them to the promise land eventually and that they are to take his bones with them when they go.

Imagine if you will, your siblings selling you to slavery. Do you think you could be as forgiving as Joseph? What would you do if you were Joseph? 

Genesis 37:1-36, 39-50:26 [Joseph's Egyptian Adventure]

Jealousy can really make us do the unthinkable sometimes. In Genesis 37 we see the jealous brothers actually plot to kill their brother, Joseph, because he was the more favored of the brothers by their father Jacob. We see that jealousy is binding, leading us to a sinful nature. We also notice in our own lives that if we are dealing with jealousy that we begin to focused on what others have and not on what we can do for the Lord. Think about it. How can we focus on the Lord and blessing him if we are so focused on others and their blessings? Perhaps if we redirect our energy into loving the Lord and getting close to him, we too will be blessed.

Joseph taught us a second lesson here as well. Even though he was filled with a ton of self confidence he was not very sensitive to the feelings of others. Perhaps he should not have shared those dreams with his brothers. It seemed as though the dreams and being favored is what triggered the jealousy of his brothers and came with many consequences later on. Even though we may be excited to share our experiences, ideals and or blessings with others, we sometimes need to take a step back and think about how those words will affect the people we are sharing them with. Is it a touchy subject? Will they think your bragging, even though that is not your intentions? Should I just keep my mouth shut? This is something I work on everyday! I'm hoping to come to a point where I can be completely humble and selfless and use my blessings as testimony in glory of God more so then to give the impression I am bragging or think I am better then any one else.

How about you? Where are you at in your life with Jealousy? How about bragging or giving that impression with out intent?

Genesis 39-50:26 NEXT POST!

Genesis 25:19-34 [Between Brothers]

Miracles happen only through prayer and the grace of God. Rebekah of all people would know this after not being able to conceive. They prayed and prayed and God made her pregnant with twins! 

Genesis 25:22-23

[22] The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the LORD.

 [23] The LORD said to her,

   “Two nations are in your womb,

   and two peoples from within you will be separated;

one people will be stronger than the other,

   and the older will serve the younger.”

The twins names were Esau and Jacob. Now in this part of the bible we see two boys with completely different personalities. We especially see that Esau is lacking in the common sense department so to speak. Esau's decisions were based on what he wanted in the moment and rarely chose things based on long term consequences. In Genesis 25:29-34 we see Esau give his rights as first born up to his brother Jacob over a bowl of soup. If you were to continue reading you would see that he marries a woman outside of his parents' wishes. 

So what about you? Do you find yourself giving into things that may feel good at the moment and may fulfill you at the moment but may have consequences in the long run? If so, as Christians we can obtain a stronger bond and relationship with out Lord and Savior and he will help guide us on a daily basis. The question we should ask ourselves before making a decisions would be "What does God want?". 

Genesis 24:1-67 [Isaac Loves Rebekah]

Here we meet the beautiful Rebekah who is not only beautiful on the outside but beautiful on the inside. When Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac, Rebekah is exactly what he was looking for.


Genesis 24:65-67 011)


[65] and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?”


   “He is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.


 [66] Then the servant told Isaac all he had done. [67] Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

and here is where tradition begins. Sounds like a wedding, doesn't it? The veil is very symbolic in weddings reminding us of when the Temple veil was torn in two when Jesus died on the cross for us. Removing the veil takes away the separation between God and Man. This is similar in Christian marriage because marriage is the picture union between God and the church. It is only through marriage that the couple have full access to one another.

1 Corinthians 7:4  The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife.

Genesis 20:1-22:19 [Abraham's story coninued...]

At this point Isaac had been born from Sarah just as God had promised. Just as many Character's in the book Isaac was given his name for a reason. The name Isaac means laughter which was the reaction of both of his parents when they found out they would become pregnant and have a baby at such an old age. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born.

We also see that Hagar and Ishmael are sent away for the their disrespect for Sarah and Isaac.

The most surprising of all of what we have read in these two Chapters would have to be God's testing of Abraham to sacrifice his one and only son. God did not want Isaac to die, but for Abraham to prove that he loved God and would do anything for him. The purpose of testing in itself is to strengthen ourselves and deepen our relationship with our Lord and Savior. So the question is do you put full trust in God?

Genesis 18:16-19:29... Goodbye, Sodom and Gomorrah

God does have a lot of patience, doesn't he? I know that if I were him and Abraham was having this argument with me I would have been done with it a long time ago.

Genesis 19:1-2  [1] The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. [2] “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.”

Although the angels wanted to stay in the square Lot convinced them to stay with him instead and prepared a feast for him. When the men of Sodom and Gomorrah knew the angels were with Lot they came to punish the angels for coming to the city and telling them what to do, so to speak. They told Lot that he is to bring them out so the men could have intercourse with them and give them what they deserve. Lot was then brought back in by the angels, the door was bolted and he was given a message.


Genesis 19:10-13 [10] But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. 11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.


 [12] The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, [13] because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.”


So Lot of corse went to tell everyone what God had warned him of, but no one wanted to listen. Unfortunately for Lot he had blended so well with the culture of the time and was no longer looked to as a true believer. Lesson here would be that if we want to make a difference we need to live our lives as Godly woman and stand up for what's right!

Lucky for Lot the angels saved him and his family as the city was destroyed! If only his wife had listened to the Lord's request.

Genesis 12:1-18:15 [God's Promise to Abram] **Part One**

Genesis 12:1-3
[1] The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

[2] "I will make you into a great nation,
   and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
   and you will be a blessing.^[a]
[3] I will bless those who bless you,
   and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
   will be blessed through you.”

Abram then packed up all his belongings and family and headed to Canaan. When famine had hit he packed up his belongings and headed to Egypt where he then decided to lie to the Pharaoh and his people about his wife who was beautiful. When the Pharaoh took Sarai, Abram's wife, in as his wife a plague struck over him and the Pharaoh kicked Abram and his family out of Egypt. This is when Abram packed up his belongings and traveled to Nagev, at which point controversy came about between him and his nephew Lot. Abram decided to take initiative here and settle the dispute himself. He gave Lot the first choice of land. This was to show Lot that he was willing to be cheated. Abram's example of how he handled this situation shows us how we can handle family situations in our own lives. Abram teaches us to take initiative of the situation, give family first choice and to put peace above personal desires. 

As for Lot, although he made many mistakes in his life he was later considered a decent man in the bible. God knew his heart and knew he was a good person at nature. This can be found in 2 Peter 2:7-8:

2 Peter 2:7-8 [7] and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless [8] (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)

However, Lot made many mistakes in his journey. Despite Abram and Terah's (his Grandfather) effort to be good role models and God's help, Lot decided he'd rather do things his own way instead. He made many unwise decisions through out the bible and eventually he blended so well into the culture of his time he decided he did not want to leave it. We also see that through out the story he often thinks of himself when making decisions and the decisions he makes are not so wise. Eventually this leads to total destruction.

 In Genesis 14 we see that Abram had to rescue Lot after he had been captured when the victorious kings who won the battle at the Dead Sea and took all of Lots belongings as well. Luckily for Lot one of his men escaped and told Abram what had happened. Abram then got together his 318 men and attacked Kedorlaomer's army. He saved Lot, the belongings and all the other captives. When Abram had brought it all back to the king of Sodom he had told Abram that he just wanted his people and Abram could keep all of the possessions. Abram did not do so. He felt the belongings did not belong to him. Now there is a righteous man! Abram had a choice to do between doing what he wanted to do and doing what God wanted him to do and he chose what the Lord wanted!

We can take a lot from Lot's story as well. Lot knew there was evil around him but he did nothing about it even though it bothered him in his heart. He also made decisions based on his worldly surroundings. Unlike Abram, his decisions were made on a more selfish level and not on the what-would-God-want-me-to-do Level. Notice how Abram continues to gain blessings, while Lot keeps running into trouble. So the question you can ask yourself here is are you drifting from God or heading towards him? What worldly temptation cause you to drift?

Now Abram was not perfect. He made mistakes too just like any other human would; However, he trusted God with his life.

Genesis 15:6 [6] Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

God used this very obedience towards him to affect millions of people which led to the Jewish Nation and later led to Jesus coming into the word. God gives us exactly the same choice which is to do things his way or the world's way. When Abram gave his heart to the Lord though, he never turned back to worldly decisions although he did make some mistakes along the way. He is only human. So what about you? Is your goal to live the way of the Lord or do you tend to make worldly decisions?


Due to such great obedience the Lord made a covenant with Abram. He told Abram he would give him a son. Well, Sarai could not have children up until that point, so instead of trusting the Lord she told him to have intercourse with their servant Hagar. When Hagar got pregnant she began to treat Sarai badly and in return Sarai treated her so harshly she ran away. Later Hagar was found by an angel of the Lord and was told to return. Hagar was trying to run away from her problems but Hagar had to work on her attitude to Sarai no matter how unfair Sarai was being to her. The lesson here, running away from problems rarely solves anything. 


We move onto Genesis 17 to find out that Abram is given a new name, Abraham. God has appointed Abraham the father of all nations. To mark the covenant God told Abraham that his male descendants much be circumcised as a sign of the covenant between him and Abraham. 


The law had changed a bit later on in the bible. Even though we are not there yet, I'll share this passage:

Deuteronomy 30:6 [6] The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

Then we see that Sarai's name is changed to Sarah and that God tells Abraham that he will bless her and give him a son through her.

Genesis 18:14 [14] Is anything too hard for the Lord?

I like this verse. This is when Sarah laughs at the Lord's promise to give her a son. Then lies to God saying she did not laugh. In our own lives we sometimes lie out of fear; However, it tends to cause greater complications then it does good.

**To be continued**

Genesis 6:1-9:29 [Water, Water every where!]

Now the bible is truly getting interesting. God begins to see the wicked ways of the people and knocks their life span down to 120 years! Then he moves on to the Nephilites. [EDIT] Apon my research the word Nephilim is derived from the Hebrew word "Nephal" meaning 'Giants'. The 'Sons of God' were men who were of the bloodline of Seth and were once believers. When they began taking wives in of Cain's bloodline they became corrupt because the woman were none believers. [EDIT]

Any way, moving onto the more exciting part of the bible.

Genesis 6:5-6
[5]The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil at the time. [6] The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth , and his heart was filled with pain.

This is when God decided it was time to wipe Man off the face of the planet. He was completely heart broken that he had even created them. I'd imagine his thoughts were like that of a parent's, 'I created you and this is how you act?'. Even though God did plan to wipe man off the face of the planet he favored one man in particular, Noah. Noah truly walked with God so God came to Noah and told him his plan. He then told him to build an ark. In Genesis 6:15 God gives very specific orders on how to build said ark and Noah obeys. God then creates a covenant with Noah that after the ark is built he may bring his wife, three sons and two of every animal, male and female, onto the ark with him. Noah does exactly what he is told.

Genesis 7:1-4
[1] The Lord said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. [2] Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, male and it's mate, [3] and also seven of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive through out the world. [4] Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made."

Did anyone else notice the numbers? I did a little personal research to find out that seven in Hebrew was Shevah meaning to be full or satisfied or to have enough of. Remember in the beginning when God rested on the seventh day? And as we read further we'll see more of the number seven. The number forty also seems to pop up a lot in the bible. Not only here but later with the children of Israel and even during the time of fasting. The pattern seems to be a period of testing on the Lords end of it.

Then we move on. Noah listened. According to the bible at this point he was 600 years old when he entered the ark.

Genesis 7:10 
And after seven days the floodwaters came on Earth.

Now the funny thing is for those who take the bible literally, like me, you would believe that Dinosaurs were on this ark with Noah and his family as well. The floodwaters would kill all the animals that did not make it on the ark and cause for a quick burial, preserving the animals as what we now know as fossils. Perhaps scientists don't need to do all that carbon dating and crazy research but rather take a look in Genesis for their answers.

Let's continue. According to the bible the waters flooded for 150 days, but God remembered Noah and sent a great wind to recede the waters. Noah then sent out a Raven who flew back and forth until the waters dried up. He then sent out a dove and they did not leave the ark until the dove did not come back and Noah knew the waters had fully receded from the Earth. By then Noah was 601 years old!

Noah had then built an alter for the lord and sacrificed burnt offerings to him.

Genesis 8:21
The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart, "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done."

Genesis 9:15
"I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters flood become a flood to destroy all life"

Then we move onto the sons of Noah. This part starts to confuse me as well and perhaps you ladies can help. According to Genesis 9:18-29 Noah makes a vineyard and drinks the wine from it and becomes drunk. He lays naked in his tent and his two sons, Shem and Japheth covered him with a garment. Then it continues to say that Moses wakes up and says, "Cursed be Canaan". I don't understand this. Was this because Ham did not turn away to his father's nakedness?

Genesis 3:1-24 [Sin Enters the Picture]

Genesis 3:1-4

[1] Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the lord God had made. He said to the woman "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden?"

[2] The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, [3] but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from that is the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it or you will die.'"

[4] "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. [5] For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing all good and evil." 

Unfortunately the woman listened to the serpent and did eat the fruit. She gave into temptation and set the scene for the rest of mankind. She sinned for the first time ever. Then shared with her Husband and led him into sin. 

Imagine though, if you will, that God had set the perfect stage. He gave mankind everything but allowed Satan to walk amongst the Garden with Adam and Eve and placed temptation right in their path. He was simply testing their faith in him. And the serpent was so sly with his wording and so convincing. It would have taken the strongest of persons to not fall into the his trap. Interestingly enough we could apply this to our own lives. I, myself, find that temptation is always sticking it's big ugly nose in my life and Satan is always there, waiting and watching and convincing me to question my Lord and savior and to just give in. I am only Human though, and have given in to Satan's evil doings. Good thing for me, for all of us, that our Lord and savior is a forgiving Lord that allows Satan's evil to bring about great blessings. One of which for me happened to be my first born. While I almost lost faith in myself and my Lord, my baby led me to my Husband and my new life in Southern California. I can imagine Satan kicking and screaming that his temptation was no match for the Lords plans for me! Let's move on. I'm beginning to ramble. 

As we move on we notice that Satan was right to a point. Eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil did not in fact kill them literally; However, it did "open" their eyes. They now knew they were naked. They were no longer like innocent children. They now died in a spiritual sense more so then a literal sense. See how sneaky that Satan can be?!

Then we notice in Genesis 3:8-10 that Adam is hiding from the Lord as the Lord God is trying to find him. Why is it that we hide from our Lord in our time of need? Adam's answer was that he was afraid because he was naked. He then explains that the woman God had placed with him had given him this fruit and that he had eaten some of it. When the woman tells God that the serpent had deceived her he curses the serpent to crawl on his belly and eat dust for the rest of his life. 

This is when God turns to man and says:

Genesis 3:15 

And I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and hers;

He will crush your head,

and you will strike his heal"

This here is powerful scripture. In order to win his battle, Satan had to divide and conquer. He did this by enlisting the help of woman to get man to forfeit his position. Since Adam and Eve had forgotten their purpose and lost their way God put enmity, a deep hatred or hostility, between the two. Here lies just the beginning of the true battle of the sexes. 

Then God turned to the man and told him that because he gave into woman the ground would now be cursed and he would be forced to eat from it until the day he dies.

Adam then named his wife Eve since she was the mother of all of the living. Then God banished them from the Garden. They were no longer permitted to eat from the tree of life and live forever. Before sin there was no death. Imagine that, living forever in a beautiful garden with no sin and complete innocence. Lucky for us there is a heaven and we won't always have to imagine such a scenario with out ever knowing. 

In the Beginning [Genesis 1:1-2:25]

Book: Genesis
Author: Moses
Audience: The people of Israel
Date: Between 1446 B.C and 1406 B.C.
Where: The Middle East

[Day One]

Wouldn't it be interesting if we could just speak things into existence? Just reach out our hands and say, "Let there be a candy bar" and there be a candy bar. While we are just human and cannot do this our creator can, has and will continue to do so.

Genesis 1:1-4
[1] In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. [2] Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.


[3]And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. [4] God saw that the light was good and he separated the light from the darkness.


I could have probably copied the whole first chapter of Genesis being that I find this concept so interesting. That God created the Heavens and the Earth in just seven days. That he could speak something into existence. For Humans with "logical" thinking I believe this tends to be a hard concept to grasp; However, if you are truly a strong Christian how can you believe that Jesus rose from the dead but not that God has spoke the heavens, the earth and mankind into existence in just seven days?

Genesis 1:27 
So God created man in his own image, the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

We should be truly honored. God has made us the most important above all the creatures he created. He gave us a body and a soul:

Genesis 2:7
the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (soul), and the man became a living being. (body) 


Interestingly enough it is said that we are created from the dust on the ground. We all know that dust contains various chemicals, all of which can be found in the human body. While the body in itself is a miracle, working in perfect harmony and woven together to be "perfect", I don't think that God created us to look like him, but he created us to be like him. That our soul be that of his spirit. It only makes sense that as Christians we are called to be Jesus like so as tacky as it sounds our every day decisions as Christians should be made on that what-would-Jesus-do type mindset. 


Genesis 23-25 
[23] The man said,
"This is now bones of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall now be called 'woman,
for she was taken out of man"


[24]For this reason a man will leave his Father and Mother and be united to his wife and they will become one flesh.
[25]The man and his wife were both naked and they felt no shame. 




... And here is where it all begins. God does not waste any time putting mankind in their place. This passage tells us as woman that we were created second and should submit to our Husbands, as men were created first in the image of the Lord and men should submit to the Lord. Then he moves on explaining the purpose of marriage. I truly believe this passage can often times get confused. Often times I hear this passage being used in reference of sexual intercourse; However, I do NOT think that is what the Lord is saying here. We should refrain from intercourse according to the bible until marriage, but in this particular passage I believe God is telling us that once we marry we no longer have a primary responsibility to our parents, but to our spouse. Marriage is basically changing our priorities so to speak. Perhaps this is the main reason many of us wind up in couples therapy, being that we have this very concept misconstrued. Imagine if we all obeyed God's Marriage Law before and after getting married? Wouldn't that make things so much easier? It's funny how sometimes we as humans think we are taking the easy way out when we are really making things much harder on ourselves.


Discuss HERE

March Reading Schedule

We are going to start the study with a 60 day over view of the bible. Here is the reading schedule for the first 31 days starting March 1st 2011.

[DAY] Passage... Theme

[1] Genesis 1:1-2:25... In the beginning
[2] Genesis 3:1-24... Sin enters the picture
[3] Genesis 6:1-9:29... Water, Water Every Where
[4] Genesis 12:1-18:15... God's Promise to Abraham
[5] SICK DAY!
[6]Genesis 18:16-19:29... Goodbye, Sodom and Gomorrah
[7] Genesis 24:1-67... Isaac Loves Rebekah
[8] Genesis 25:19-34... Between Brothers
[9] Genesis 37:1-36, 39-50:26... Joseph's Egyptian Adventure
[10] Exodus 1:1-7:7... A Man Named Moses
[11] Exodus 7:8-14:31... Escape from Egypt
[12] Exodus 15:22- 18:27... Life in the Wilderness
[13] Exodus 19:1-21... Ten Commandments
[14] Exodus 32:1-35... Calf worship
[15] Exodus 33:1-40:38... Assignment from God
[16] Numbers 20:1-13... Moses Loses his Cool
[17] Joshua 1:1-6:27... Joshua takes Command
[18] Joshua 8:1-12:24... Destination: Promised Land
[19] Judges 6:1-8:35... Gideon, the Reluctant Leader
[20] Judges 13:1-16:31... The Weak Strong Man
[21] 1 Samuel 1:1-3:21... Calling Samuel
[22] 1 Samuel 8:1-11:15... Israel gets its King
[23] 1 Samuel 15:1-16:23... Rejected
[24] 1 Samuel 17:1-58... David VS Goliath
[25] 2 Samuel 1:1-8:14... Kind David
[26] 1 Kings 1:1-4:34... Wise Guy
[27] 1 Kings 5:1-8:66... Building the Temple
[28] 1 Kings 17:1-19:18... Elijah and the Battle Royal
[29] 2 Kings 17:1-41... The Exile of Israel
[20] 2 Kings 25:1-30... The fall of Jerusalem
[31] Ezra 1:1-8:36.... Return of Jerusalem

Welcome!

Hello Ladies!

My name is Brianna and this blog is my attempt at a closer relationship with the Lord. I'm hoping other woman will join me in this journey with the same goal in mind, keeping one another accountable and joining me in deep, spiritual discussion.

I will be getting my outline for this one year study in the back of the NIV New Woman's Devotional Bible.  Each month I will post a new reading schedule for this discussion blog.

Enjoy ladies!