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.