Category: Genesis

Loved ones, whenever we read the Bible, it is incredibly tempting to skip over the genealogies. Coming right off the heels of the breathtaking, heart-stopping drama of Mount Moriah in the first half of Genesis 22, the sudden pivot to a list of unpronounceable names feels like hitting a theological speedbump. Abraham has just offered… Continue reading The Providence of Posterity: News from a Distant Land (Gen. 22:20–24)

Loved ones, we have arrived at one of the most agonizing, breathtaking, and theologically profound chapters in all of Scripture. After decades of waiting, failing, and trusting, Abraham finally has his promised son, Isaac, safely at home in Beersheba. Ishmael is gone. The treaty with the Philistines is signed. Abraham is resting under the shade… Continue reading The LORD Will Provide: A Father, a Son, and a Sacrifice on Moriah (Gen. 22:1–19)

Loved ones, the life of faith is not entirely made up of dramatic mountaintop experiences or agonizing crises. Much of our walk with God happens in the ordinary, dusty realities of everyday life—navigating relationships with unbelieving neighbors, resolving property disputes, and finding a place to quietly put down roots. Following the intense emotional highs and… Continue reading “The Everlasting God”: Covenants and Worship at Beersheba (Gen. 21:22–34)

Loved ones, for twenty-five years, Abraham and Sarah lived on nothing but a promise. They endured famines, wars, self-inflicted detours, and the agonizing, slow decay of their own physical bodies. The promise of a son had often seemed impossibly distant, sparking both the staggered laughter of faith and the cynical laughter of doubt. But God’s… Continue reading “The Son of the Free Woman”: Isaac’s Birth and Ishmael’s Banishment (Gen. 21:1–21)

Loved ones, one of the most frustrating realities of the Christian life is the stubborn persistence of our old sins. We like to think that spiritual maturity means we completely graduate from our earlier weaknesses. But Genesis 20 shatters that illusion. Decades ago, when Abraham first entered the Promised Land, a famine drove him to… Continue reading A Prophet and His Prayer: Abraham, Abimelech, and Providence (Gen. 20:1–18)

Loved ones, the story of Lot is one of the most tragic biographies in all of Scripture. We first met him as Abraham’s wealthy nephew, a man who “lifted up his eyes” and chose the fertile Jordan Valley, pitching his tent near the wicked city of Sodom (Gen. 13). We then saw him sitting in… Continue reading The Bitter Fruit of Compromise: Lot and His Daughters in the Cave (Gen. 19:30–38)