Our Great Reward Genesis 15:1–21 Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. Genesis 15:1 (NIV) This is a great promise. God himself was to be Abram’s reward. He is your reward also. Do you seek for things? Do you think that your reward consists of what you can earn?…

Salem or Sodom? Genesis 14:17–24 I will accept nothing belonging to you. Genesis 14:23 (NIV) Abram chose Salem over Sodom in the most absolute way. This is the thrust of the text. When the king of Sodom offered to share the spoils of war with him, Abram did not merely say, “That is a nice…

Abram’s Call Genesis 12:1–9 Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. Genesis 12:1 God’s call to Abram probably came to him on at least two occasions, which suggests that Abram started out after receiving the first call but faltered or stopped along the…

The Tower of Babel Genesis 11:1–9 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city.” Genesis 11:4 There are two different uses of the word “come” in this story. The first was spoken by man to man against God. The second was spoken by God to God (another early intimation of the Trinity) against…

Escaping God’s Curse Genesis 9:24–10:20 Cursed be Canaan. Genesis 9:25 It is interesting that, in this particular branch of Ham’s family, we have a reversal (probably deliberate) of God’s judgment on Canaan for Ham’s sin in ridiculing Noah. God had pronounced a curse on Canaan through Noah, saying, “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves…

The Way of Sacrifice Genesis 8:18–22 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord. Genesis 8:20 Noah’s offering was both a thank offering for the deliverance he and his family had received and a sin offering by which Noah confessed need of atonement for his and his family’s transgressions. If life was to begin anew,…

Shut In by God Genesis 7:1–24 And the Lord shut him in. Genesis 7:16 Consider these three lessons. First, when the Lord shut Noah and his family up in the ark, they were totally secure and thereby become an illustration for us of the believer’s perfect security in Jesus Christ. The rains would come. The…

Grace Found Genesis 6:5–8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Genesis 6:8 Not only is sin internal as well as external; not only is it pervasive in that it affects everything we can possibly think or do. It is also continuous, for in God’s judgment we all do “only evil continually”…

Cain’s Curse Genesis 4:1–16 And now you are cursed. Genesis 4:11 If you have never come to the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you are somewhat like Cain. You are in danger, and you must flee from it. The Navy in wartime uses an expression of ships that sail into danger. They are…

Judgment and Grace Genesis 3:8–19 He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. Genesis 3:15 God passes sentence, beginning with the serpent through whom the sin originated: the serpent will crawl on its belly and eat “dust,” i.e., the dust of frustration. We do not know what the serpent looked like before…