Genesis 32 gives the account of Jacob journeying back toward Canaan and preparing to meet Esau. Jacob was concerned about how Esau would receive him, so he made plans to send him gifts ahead of his arrival to appease any remaining hostility towards Jacob. Jacob prayed, " I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant... Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children". Jacob wrestled that night with an Angel of the Lord and God spoke to him saying, "your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome." Jacob realized he had seen God face to face and yet his life was spared.

In Genesis 31, Jacob notices that Laban and his sons were becoming increasingly hostile toward him. The Lord told Jacob to "Go back to the land of your father and your relatives ( Canaan) and I will be with you". So he took his family, household, livestock, and belongings, but left without telling Laban. When Laban learned of their departure, he pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up with him, but the Lord warned Laban in a dream, saying "Be careful not to say anything to Jacob , either good or bad". So, when Laban confronted Jacob about fleeing in secret, he said "It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night and warned me to be careful not to harm you or speak anything to you". Rachel had taken Laban's household idols when they left, so Laban searched through their stuff looking for his stolen idols. Jacob became angry and lectured Laban about how he had served him in his house for twenty years, yet he still treated Jacob unfairly, Jacob said, "If the God of my father...had not been for me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed, but God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, so He rendered judgment last night." Laban offered a covenant with Jacob , asking the Lord to "watch between you and me... God is witness between you and me... that I will not harm you .. and you will not harm me.. and the God of Abraham judge between us". Laban then departed and returned to his home.

Genesis 30 is about Jacob's family growing and becoming prosperous. Both Leah and Rachel have children with Jacob and also their maidservants have children with Jacob, eventually twelve sons in all ( ie. twelve tribes of Israel). We see in this chapter God faithfully continuing to bless the descendants of Abraham through Jacob, despite the dysfunctional mess of a family that resulted from his multiple wives. Once more we realize that it is only by God's sovereign will and purposes that history moves as it does, not because of man's control or wishes.

Genesis 29 begins with Jacob arriving in the eastern lands near Haran, where his uncle Laban lived. Jacob met Rachel, Laban's younger daughter, as she was shepherding flocks of sheep towards a well. He helped water the sheep and then kissed Rachel and wept. After he explained to Rachel who he was, she "ran quickly and told her father, Laban". When Laban heard the news, he "ran out to meet" Jacob, embracing and kissing him, exclaiming "You really are my own flesh and blood!". Jacob stayed and worked for Laban, so Laban finally told him , "Tell me how much your wages should be". He told Laban, "I'll work for you for seven years if you'll give me your longer daughter, Rachel, as my wife" . Laban agreed and Jacob worked for seven years to earn Rachel. But, on the day of his reward, Laban deceived Jacob and sent his older daughter, Leah, to sleep with Jacob on the night of the wedding feast. Jacob was enraged. Laban explained that "It's not our custom to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn", but he promised to give Rachel to him now also if Jacob agreed to stay and work another seven years. So, after the bridal week with Leah was over, Jacob took Rachel as his wife also. Because Leah was unloved, the Lord enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive. Leah gave birth to many sons for Jacob ( Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah), yet Jacob loved Rachel much more than Leah.

In Genesis 28, Isaac tells Jacob to go away from Canaan to find and marry a woman in Haran, from the family of Abraham. Isaac blesses Jacob and sends him off to take a wife from among the daughters of his uncle Laban, saying “ May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. May He give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham.” As Jacob then journeyed toward Haran, he stopped to rest in Bethel and had a dream in which God spoke to him of the promises of blessings and the land of Canaan which would be given to Jacob and his descendants. God said also, “I am with you and will watch over your, wherever you go, and … I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Jacob awoke and realized that God was with him and he made a vow, saying “ (Since) God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God” . Jacob models for us the proper response to God's promises that we claim--- our loyalty and commitment to Him as the Lord of our life.

Genesis 27 is the account of Jacob, with the help of his mother, deceiving his father into giving him the blessing that rightly belonged to his brother, Esau. His nearly blind father, Isaac, was in his last days and was planning to give his blessing to his firstborn son, Esau, as was customary. But, Jacob disguised himself with Esau's clothes and made his hands hairy like Esau with animal skin gloves. Isaac then blessed Jacob, saying "May God give you of heaven's dew and of earth's richness--an abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you." When Isaac later realized it was not Esau, he trembled violently and said, "Who was it, then...that came and I blessed him?--and indeed he will be blessed!" Esau held a grudge against Jacob for stealing his blessing, saying "The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob", but their mother sent Jacob away to his uncle Laban in Haran. These events fulfilled the words of the Lord spoken to Rebekah when Jacob and Esau were still in her womb, "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."

Genesis 26 begins with a famine in the land and Isaac being directed by God to remain in Gerar and trust in Him for provision, rather than going down to Egypt. God reminds Isaac of the promises He made to his father to bless his descendants. So Isaac obeyed the Lord and stayed in Gerar, but he made the same mistake that Abraham twice made before. Rather than having faith in God, Isaac lies about his wife, saying she is his sister, in order to protect himself from any harm from other men in Gerar. The king, Abimelech, discovers the truth and becomes very angry and orders Isaac and his people to move away. Isaac had become very wealthy with his harvests, herds and flocks, so they moved away into the Valley of Gerar where they dug out and used the same water wells that Abraham had previously used. King Abimelech "saw clearly that the Lord was with Isaac" and made a treaty with him to avoid any future threats from Isaac's people.

Genesis 25 is the account of Abraham's death and the continuation of God's blessings and promises through his son, Isaac. Isaac's wife gave birth to twins, Jacob and Esau, whom the Lord had told her would become two separate nations. At the conclusion of the chapter, there is an account of Esau selling his birthright to Jacob for some food.

In Genesis 24, Abraham sends his chief servant to his native homeland to find a wife for his son, Isaac. With God's help and guidance, he returned with Rebekah and she became Isaac's wife.

Genesis 23 is about the death and burial of Abraham's wife, Sarah. Abraham wanted to honor Sarah with a proper burial and humbly asked to purchase a suitable place in the foreign land that he was living. He didn't assume that he had rights to the land, even though God had promised it to him, but humbly asked and paid the full price to Ephron.

Genesis 22 is the account of Abraham's faith being tested by God, who asks him to sacrifice his son. When Abraham had obeyed God and did not withhold even his beloved son, God said again, " I will bless you richly..multiply your descendants into countless millions.. they will conquer their enemies..through them all the nations of the earth will be blessed --- all because you have obeyed me." Abraham had gone to the mountain and was going to sacrifice his son as God had told him, but the Lord had stopped him, saying "Do not hurt the boy.. for now I know that you truly fear God" . The Lord then provided a ram as a substitute sacrifice instead, so Abraham named the mountain "The Lord Will Provide". This chapter not only demonstrates the amazing faithfulness of Abraham, but more importantly reminds us again of God's vast love for His children in the way he provides and cares for them. This account nearly brings me to tears every time I read it, as I try to imagine the emotional struggle Abraham must have experienced as he decided to obey God and demonstrate his commitment to God above all else, even to give up his precious son. We can't help but see the parallel with the sacrifice of Jesus, whom God gave up for us -- what amazing love !

Genesis 21 begins with the birth of Isaac, a promise fulfilled that God had made to Sarah and Abraham..."The Lord did exactly what He promised.. all happened at the time God had said it would". Isaac was then circumcised just as God had commanded. Later, Abraham became distressed when he learned that Sarah wanted to send Hagar and Ishmael away, but the Lord told Abraham it would be all right and Ishmael would still be blessed and made into a great nation also. Abraham , following God's guidance , provided Hagar with food and water and sent her on her way. Hagar became discouraged as she wandered in the wilderness and God spoke to her, comforting her and reminding her that He had not forgotten her and would still make a great nation from Ishmael's descendants. At the conclusion of this chapter, king Abimelech made a treaty with Abraham. Since Abimelech knew that Abraham's God was with him and blessed him in everything, he asked Abraham to always show kindness to him and his country. Abraham settled in the land of the Philistines and remained there for a long time.

Genesis 20 gives the account of Abraham's encounter with the king of Gerar, Abimelech. Here again, Abraham did not have faith in God to protect himself and his wife , so he told yet another king that Sarah was his sister. But, God in His mercy did not allow the king to take Sarah and God came to him in a dream and told him the truth. Upon learning about Abraham's lie, Abimelech was surprisingly gracious to Abraham and gave him gifts of sheep and cattle and offered to let him live anywhere in his land. Abraham prayed to God for healing for Abimelech and his wife and family and God restored their fertility.

Genesis 19 begins with a visit from two angels who appeared to Lot in Sodom. Lot invited them to his house to refresh, have a meal, and spend the night, but "before they lay down, the men of Sodom surrounded the house.. and called to Lot saying, 'Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.' " Lot could not persuade them to leave and they threatened him, but the angels "reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them.. they struck the men who were at the doorway with blindness". Then the angels explained to Lot that they had been sent by God to destroy Sodom, so they told Lot to take his daughters and sons-in-law and leave immediately from the city. The sons-in-law didn't believe Lot, so Lot took his wife and daughters only. Lot hesitated before leaving, so the angels "seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them." The angels agreed to allow Lot and the women to stay in a small town nearby, and the angels said, "very well, I will not overthrow the town you speak of". Then the Lord "rained down fire and burning sulfur on Sodom ... utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and vegetation" . So, God justly destroyed the wicked cities where Lot had lived, but He remembered His promise to Abraham and showed mercy toward Lot and those with him, protecting them in the small town nearby.

In Genesis 18, God appears to Abraham again. This time Abraham sees three men and ran to meet them, saying "My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not pass Your servant by." Abraham invited them to stay and rest, have their feet washed and have a bite to eat, in order to "refresh" themselves. I found it interesting that the passage alternates, referring to the visitors in the singular form ( the Lord, He, the LORD ) and sometimes in the plural form ( "they" , "them", 'the men" ). The Lord told Abraham that Sarah would soon have a son, but Sarah laughed upon hearing this. But the Lord asked, "Is anything too difficult for the LORD?" He also reminded Abraham that he would be blessed as a great and mighty nation, "for I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him." Then "the men" stood up and looked down toward Sodom, as Abraham was seeing them on their way. When God saw that Sodom's sin was exceedingly grave, Abraham asked, "Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked (in Sodom)?" Then Abraham said, "Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?" After a prolonged dialogue between Abraham and God about this, the Lord said He would not destroy all of Sodom if there were a few righteous there. This passage reveals God's faithfulness to keeping His promises to Abraham and also His mercy and justice in dealing with Sodom.

Genesis 17 is about the covenant given by the Lord with Abram and his descendants. The Lord appeared to Abram and called him to "walk before me and be blameless". The Lord confirmed His covenant that he would make Abram a father of many nations and gave him a new name, Abraham. God said the covenant would be an everlasting covenant for generations to come and reminded him also of the promise of the whole land of Canaan to be an everlasting possession to Abraham's descendants. God said "I will be their God" and "as for you, you must keep my covenant... every male among you shall be circumcised." God said, "my covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant". Then God said, "As for Sarai, .. her name will be Sarah.. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations, kings of peoples will come from her". But, Abraham fell down laughing , asking "will a son be born to a man a hundred years old?" God answered, "Yes, you wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac.. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants". Though Abraham seemed to have doubts about having children at his age, he faithfully took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household, every male including himself, and were all circumcised just as the Lord had commanded to honor the covenant.

In Genesis 16, Abram and Sarai make plans to have a child a different way, rather than trusting God and waiting for God to fulfill his promise. They instead ask their servant, Hagar, to have relations with Abram and conceive a child. Sarai later regretted the decision and treated Hagar harshly and Hagar left town. An angel of the Lord spoke to Hagar and instructed her to return and submit to Sarai. The angel also said to her "the Lord will greatly multiply your descendants". So, the Lord showed compassion to Hagar and blessed her and she was amazed saying, "You are the God who sees me".

In Genesis 15, God speaks to Abram in three visions and gives the covenant promise to his descendants. In the first vision, God reminds Abram of His protection and the great reward and blessings that He is going to give him. But, Abram is confused and asks, "what good are blessings when I don't even have a son?". God reassures him that he will have a son to inherit the blessings and all that He is giving to Abram. In fact, God tells Abram that his descendants will be great in number like the stars in the night sky. At this, "Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord declared him righteous because of his faith". God also reminded Abram that He is the same God who brought him out of his former homeland and will give him a new "promised" land.
To further reassure Abram of the promise of the land He would give him, God told him to bring animal sacrifices and they performed a traditional agreement custom of cutting the animals in half. Abram experienced two more prophetic visions, which the Lord explained to him. The first was a "terrifying vision of darkness and horror", which the Lord explained as a time when Abram's descendants will be oppressed in a foreign land as slaves. But, the Lord also explained that they would return to the land with great wealth one day. In the last vision, Abram saw a "smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the animal carcasses", which symbolized the covenant the Lord made with Abram that day.

Genesis 14 tells of wars that broke out between several of the region’s rival kings. “The kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela formed an alliance and mobilized their armies in Siddim. For twelve years they had all been subject to King Kedorlaomer, but now in the thirteenth year they rebelled”. They invaded the areas of Sodom and Gomorrah and plundered all their food and wealth, capturing Lot and all his belongings too. Lot had chosen this area to settle due to its potential for growing his wealth, despite the risks of neighboring cities like Sodom. Now Lot consequently had lost everything. Abram soon learned of what had happened to Lot , and he (with the other men of his household ) went after the rebel army and recovered everything (the goods that had been taken, his nephew and his possessions, and all the other captives). It seems to be implied in the chapter that Abram must have had great faith that God would give him victory and protection against the powerful king’s armies that had captured Lot. Afterwards, the king of Sodom offered some of the plunder for Abram to take for himself, but Abram told him that he relied only on God’s provision and blessings.

Genesis 13 tells of how Abram and Lot, both now owning lots of cattle, sheep, and many tents, began to have difficulties. Their herdsmen argued and fought , since there wasn't enough pasture to support both of their flocks together. Abram humbly asked Lot to choose an area where he'd like to settle and Abram offered to leave and find another area. Abram trusted that God would provide for his family and flocks, so he allowed Lot to have first choice of the most fertile area. Lot chose the Jordan valley near the city of Sodom, where the people were known to be "unusually wicked and sinned greatly against the Lord". So Abram stayed in the land of Canaan. Immediately after Lot took his family and flocks and left, the Lord spoke to Abram , "Look as afar as you can see in every direction. I am going to give this land to you and your offspring as a permanent possession." God also reminded him of the promise to bless him and make his number of descendants great --- "like the dust of the earth".

Genesis 12 introduces Abram, who is called out of his country, away from his people, and away from his father's household, to become a new people whom God promised to bless, provide for, and protect. Abram was faithful and obeyed the Lord, separating himself and his descendants from those who had lost touch with the God of creation and the deliverer from the devastation of the flood. Sin had continued to permeate humanity, despite the "re-set" of wiping out all living things outside Noah's boat, since "every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood". Though Abram faithfully followed the Lord's instructions, he later trusted in himself and his own wisdom for protection from the Egyptians and suffered the consequences. The chapter ends with Abram and his household being escorted out of Egypt with all their belongings, demonstrating God's faithfulness to the promises made to Abram's people despite Abram's actions.

Genesis 10-11 provide genealogy details of the descendants of Noah. The account of the tower of Babel explains how the descendants were scattered over the all the earth. They had attempted to glorify themselves and "make a name" for themselves ( v.4) by building a city with a tower that reached to the heavens, "but the Lord came down ... and confused their language so they will not understand each other... scattered them from there... and they stopped building the city."

In Genesis 9, God blesses Noah and his family , sends them off to fill the earth again, lets them know that He is now providing the animals also for their food, and gives them a covenant that He will never again destroy the earth with a flood. Next, God instructs them about how to eat animals in an acceptable manner, never consuming them with their "lifeblood" still in them. But following that , God says that He "will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man", since "in the image of God has God made man". Man is accountable to God's justice for the life of his fellow man.
Later in the chapter, there is a brief account of a disgraceful moment in Noah's life, when he once "became drunk with wine ... and lay naked in his tent". Even to Noah, who "consistently followed God's will and enjoyed a close fellowship with God" applies the Lord's decree that "every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood".

Genesis 8 details the earth drying up and returning to normal inhabitable conditions, and God directs Noah to now "leave the boat" with his family and the animals. The end of this chapter was the most remarkable to me, especially the poetic promises of God's provision and protection in verse 22. We are reminded of God's amazing love and unimaginable patience with men, saving them though "every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood" .

Genesis 7 is the account of the flood and how God protected Noah's family and some of the animals. I noticed a few aspects in this chapter that demonstrated God's sovereignty and His faithfulness. First, the historical account of the events match exactly the way the Lord told Noah that they would occur and every promise was fulfilled to Noah. There is an obvious emphasis on this throughout the chapter , with details and timing of events repeated. Also, the phrase , "as the Lord had commanded", is repeated several times. I found it interesting that even the animals were described as doing exactly as they had been commanded by the Lord. I was also reminded of one of my favorite details of this story , that "the Lord shut them in" before the rain and floods began. Finally, in the last four verses of the chapter , essentially the same statement is repeated four times -- "all the living things on earth died", "everything died that breathed and lived" , "every living thing on earth was wiped out", "people, animals large and small, and birds...they were all destroyed". Maybe this emphasis was for those who might in future days doubt the vastness of the destruction or the severity of God's judgment on the wickedness of mankind of that time.

Genesis 6 provides a brief historical background of the spiritual conditions of mankind during the days of Noah and the response of God. The chapter says there was a great number of people by now that filled the earth, but the Lord observed that nearly all were evil. God found that the earth had become corrupt and the extent of the people’s wickedness and violence made him sorry that He had ever made them. “It broke His heart and the Lord said, ‘I will completely wipe out this human race’...But Noah found favor with the Lord”. Interestingly, the bible describes Noah almost exactly like Enoch. “He consistently followed God’s will and enjoyed a close relationship with Him”. God says, “Make a boat... I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing... But I solemnly swear to keep you safe in the boat with your wife and your sons and (their) wives.” This wasn’t much like how God rewarded Enoch , but God protected and provided for His faithful servants just the same. The chapter ends with , “So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him”. Though Noah was not perfect, he demonstrates remarkable faithfulness and obedience and is an encouraging example for us in our daily pursuit of a close walk with God.

Genesis 5 mostly just provides the genealogy of the descendants of Adam, but there are also some other things to be learned from this chapter. First, the idea of sons being formed "in the likeness" of their father is repeated here again three more times, which seems to imply that it deserves further consideration. I think there is more to this phrase than simply physical evidence of genetics transfered to descendants. Much beyond that, I think it is another expression of God's love in creating every human being in His likeness----which I think says to us that He desires each and every one of us to be a part of His family and become a child of God. Second, there are a lot of names of specific individuals here that we are only given their names and how long they lived, but I don't think they are there simply as "FYI". Some of the individuals will have more details related about their lives in other places in scripture, but many we never learn anything about them. Maybe we learn from this that all people are important to God. Next, there is an individual named Enoch , whom it says twice "walked with God" (v.22 and V24. NIV). Some translations say he "walked in God's ways", "walked habitually with God", "lived in close fellowship" , and "enjoyed a close relationship" with God, but they all seem to imply that this man had an exceptional life of consistent obedience and intimate devotedness to the Lord. It says in v.24 that God "took him", meaning that he suddenly disappeared one day. Maybe this was his reward---since he lived in constant fellowship with his heavenly Father, maybe God allowed him to skip the typical human death process. Though we know little of Enoch, we can be encouraged to model his walk with God. Lastly, this chapter ends with an introduction to Noah, whom Lamech (his father) prophesied " will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed". The story of Noah's obedience to God is told in the next chapter, but here we get a glimpse of the "deliverance" that Noah brings for the faithful family of God.

Genesis 4 is about Cain and Abel and the evidence of the sin nature which descended down to all mankind as a consequence of the "fall". Cain acted out of jealous anger and indifference to the Lord in the murder of his brother. Cain's hardened behavior and response to the Lord's correction lead to even greater punishment, yet the Lord showed compassion and grace in His protection of Cain's life. The chapter closes with the birth of Seth, "God has granted me another son in place of Abel, the one Cain killed". We are told that Seth had a son, Enosh, and "during his lifetime the people first began to worship the Lord".

Genesis 3 is "the fall" account that details the first sin of mankind, which destroyed the perfect fellowship that man had originally been privileged to experience with God and all creation. The consequences of betraying God affected each of the relationships that were initially ideal (Gen 2), but now were cursed. Adam and Eve had given in to the temptations of Satan and were fooled into believing that their way was better than God's. As a result, all of mankind became thereafter "fallen" and in need of God's grace and forgiveness to restore fellowship with Him.

Genesis 2 elaborates the creation events, especially in regard to man's role and purpose. The emphasis of this chapter seems to center around four new relationships: between man and his Lord, man and the earth, man and the animals, and finally man and his wife (marriage). In this chapter God is referred to as "LORD", reflecting a more personal relationship that has been established. God "breathed into (man's) nostrils the breath of life", illustrating the beginning of this intimate relationship. His Lord planted a garden where He made all kinds of trees "that were pleasing to the eye and good for food" and He placed man in the garden "to work it and take care of it". Then the Lord formed all the beasts and birds and every living creature and brought them to the man, yet for him "no suitable helper was found". So, the Lord made a woman and brought her to the man, since God found that it was "not good for the man to be alone". The "man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame", since they had an entirely transparent relationship with nothing to hide and they shared a complete oneness described as "one flesh". So, man had a very special intimate relationship with God and all of creation in the garden, and enjoyed perfect fellowship. Then God gave him one command, that he must not eat from the "tree of knowledge of good and evil", thus giving man a choice to obey his Lord.

Genesis 1
There were five aspects of this opening chapter of God's word that became more evident to me as I read the familiar account of "the beginning". The first can be summed in just one word as my thoughts all centered around the idea of "order". Our eternal God created all that we know from a formless empty darkness. Throughout the chapter God puts together, much like a puzzle, all of creation in a way that science still can't explain, but yet it is extremely orderly. Secondly, God's infinite power and command over all things is exhibited in the eight "Let" verses. Here we see for the first time in scripture that God is in control of everything and he can do anything according to His will and purposes. Next, God is intentional and careful about how he acts --- it's obvious in this chapter that He is not careless in the order or the purpose of each action he takes in creation. Another aspect is the sense of God's role as the provider for all creation. He doesn't just leave them without meeting their needs. He says, " I give" in verse 29 and 30 , speaking of providing for their need of food. Finally, the creation story is a great illustration that God is good. After each step of creation, we learn that God "saw that it was good". God is the source of everything good.