20 Dec (Revelation 10)

Revelation 10

(v.1) The word, angel, means messenger. Often angels give us messages from God, and minister to us for God. Many scholars believe that this mighty angel is Jesus Himself. The main reason is the description of this angel is similar to the description of Jesus in Dan 7:9 and Rev 1:15

In Mark 13:26 it says that Jesus would return in the clouds, and that this book is most likely the scroll that Jesus took from the Father in Rev 5.

(v.10) This is the duality of Christ...He is Wonderful and our Good Shepherd, but to those who refuse to believe in Him, He will be terrible. John is experiencing the glory of God, and the wrath of God at the same time!

15 Aug (John 3)

The Gospels: The Messiah & Being Born Again

John 3

(v.3) Nicodemus was a Pharisee, which were the teachers and authority of the Laws in Israel while the Romans ruled the governmental affairs of the people. Nicodemus was supposed to know the things of God, and teach the people, but here, Jesus confronts him with the fact that he should know what being born again is.

Nicodemus flatters Jesus, yet due to his own pride, comes at night and in secret. Jesus hates pride and hypocrisy, so He doesn't hold back His strong words for Nicodemus. Jesus tells him that he must be born again to enter the kingdom of God. 1 Pet 1:23

(v.5) What is being born again? Some say that this verse speaks of water baptism, and spiritual baptism. Well, I must bring up the fact that the thief on the cross who was pronounced saved by Jesus, wasn't water baptized before he died. So this leaves us with the other option...born again is spiritual.

Being born of water is not water baptism, it is being born of your mother. When a baby is about to be born, the mother's water breaks. However, ever since Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, we all have a sinful nature. We are all doomed to die in our sins and go to hell, to be permanently separated from God.

What Jesus is saying here, is that we must have a spiritual birth, in order to be saved. This spiritual birth is accomplished when we truly accept Christ for what He did for us on the cross, and we let His Spirit into our lives.

(v.13) Jesus is speaking of Himself here, and He hasn't been crucified and resurrected yet! He could be speaking of these future events, or He also could be speaking of the times He appeared to Abraham, Balaam, and all the others in the Old Testament. We call these appearances a theophany, or a Christophany. Jesus is THE Angel of the LORD that is described so many times in the OT, but let's not forget that Jesus is not an actual angel...the term is used for Him only by giving Him the definite article...Jesus is God, not an angel.

(v.14) We discussed this with our kids in Num 21:9 where God had Moses do something that must have seemed crazy, but God tells us here why He had Moses do that.

(v.16) This is one of the most popular and well known verses in the Bible. I believe it's important that our kids understand this verse well, in order to understand God's plan of redemption.

For God so loved the world...God didn't offer His Son for only the Jews or certain Christians...He offered His Son for all of mankind!

...only begotten Son...Jesus was not created, for the word, begotten, means anointed with authority. Jesus is our authority and He created us to live for Him!

...whoever believes in Him...saying a prayer and occasionally praying to God is not what true belief is...we need to include God in ALL parts of our lives, and in all that we do. If we truly recognize Him as our Lord and our Savior, then we must believe He will guide our lives on a daily basis. It's all about a relationship with God, not an acquaintance with Him.

...should not perish...some believe that those who don't accept Christ will not have any consciousness after they die on earth. I don't believe this is biblical. In Luke 16 Jesus Himself tells us what happens to those that reject Him...they spend eternity in torment, knowing their foolish pride has kept them from enjoying God's presence in heaven.

...everlasting life...living with God for eternity is life...living without God for eternity is hell.

(v.17) The purpose of Jesus' First Coming was to make a way for all of us to be saved. When Jesus comes again at the end of the Great Tribulation, He will come as a judge and conqueror over evil and unbelievers.

(v.18) We are condemned in our sins already, so we must be born again in spirit in order to be saved!

(v.36) John the Baptist summarizes all that the prophets before him exclaimed...that if we believe and understand what God did for us in His Son, then we are saved from eternal torment in hell. But for those that reject Christ, they will live forever in torment...make sure your kids know this...we all have to make our choice individually.

22 Jul (Zechariah 1-2)

The book of Zechariah is the most Messianic book of the Old Testament. In case your kids don't know what the word Messianic means, it means it describes the coming Messiah, or Savior...Jesus. Isaiah was the most quoted Messianic book of the OT, but Zechariah is the equivalent of Revelation in the Old Testament.

Zechariah 1

(v.1) Zechariah speaks of a time of repentance...the Day of the LORD. The names in Hebrew here are very telling:

Zechariah = Whom YHWH Remembers

Berechiah = YHWH Blesses

Iddo = The Appointed Time

So if we start from Zechariah's grandfather, and go through his father to himself, we get:

At the appointed time, YHWH blesses whom YHWH remembers.

God will remember His own...those who have faith and trust in Him. However, we must stress to our kids, that God loves all His creation, and He wishes for none to perish. 2 Peter 3:9

God is now dealing with Israel again in the last days...the Great Tribulation, for His Church, His Bride, is in heaven with Him!

(v.3) God pleads with us daily to Return to Me...this is the definition of repentance...to turn back to God and abandon our earthly, sinful ways.

(v.8) As with the book of Revelation, there are deep meanings of this vision that God gave Zechariah. Here are some key points to stress to our kids:

~ At nighttime, when darkness reigns, a Man was standing beside a red horse.

~ Red is symbolic of war and death...the judgment is upon the world. This Man is Jesus Himself, for He is getting reports from the other riders as to the status of the world. Also, Jesus is described in Isaiah 63:1-6 where His robe was red with the blood of the unbelievers.

(v.9) Don't confuse the angel who talked with me, with the Man standing next to the red horse. The angel who talked with Zechariah was an interpreter for him, as he saw the vision.

(v.11) Here again, in the OT, we see the definite article of angel...not an ordinary angel, but THE Angel of the LORD...Jesus in the OT. This is another theophany or Christophany.

(v.12) Zechariah hears Jesus speak to the Father!

(v.13) We don't know what the Father said to the Son, but we see that Jesus tells the angel speaking to Zechariah, that it's a good report...the time for redemption is at hand!

(v.15) We have a bad view of the word, jealous, since we associate it with pride and selfishness. But the Hebrew meaning for this word means devoted...that paints an entirely different picture! Jesus is our Intercessor to the Father, and He is looking out for us! Rom 8:34

(v.17) Jesus confirms His plan for Jerusalem...He has been angry, but He will return and establish peace and righteousness again in the Millennium. Once the Church is raptured, He will again focus on Israel.

Zechariah 2

(v.1) This angels is measuring Jerusalem...this is an angel, not Jesus, for He was giving orders. This angels is acting on orders. Angels were created to worship God, and serve Him by ministering to us! Heb 1:13-14

(v.8) God chose Israel to be the people He would reveal Himself through to the whole world! Therefore, He has a special place in His heart for Israel...they are the Apple of His Eye...they are special to Him.

(v.11) During the Millennium, Israel, and all the peoples from the Gentiles, who believe in God, will be His people. The Church will be in heaven at this time, but we are His as well. As God called Abraham the Father of the Faithful, so are all of us His people if we believe as Abraham did!

(v.12) Judah and Jerusalem is God's land...not the Palestinians' nor the Muslims' land...He gave it to Israel to inhabit, but Jesus purchased that land by His blood!

Feb 16 (Jud 13-16)

Judges 13

These chapters are about Samson. He was a mighty man of God, but as with us and all the people of the Bible, he had his shortcomings (pun intended).

(v.18) We see the appearance of the Angel of the Lord again, and He confirms to us that He is Jesus in another theophany, but calling Himself "wonderful." I reference Isaiah 9:6 to tie this in with my kids.

(v.22) We see again that this was Jesus, since if they had seen the face of the Father, they would have died.

Judges 14

Samson led with his head more than his heart, and it got him in trouble. God forbade the Israelites to marry the Philistines, but Samson wanted this woman, so he demanded that it be so.

Judges 15

God works a great victory through Samson, and at the end He even provides water to sustain Samson...much like He split the Rock in the wilderness (Exodus 17) for His people.

Judges 16

This is a tragic story, and one that is often misunderstood. Many people think that Samson's strength was from his long hair...that is partially correct. Samson took the Nazirite vow, which meant that he would never cut his hair as long as he was committed to the Lord. The actual cutting of his hair didn't make his muscles and strength decrease...it was his cutting of the Nazirite vow...his commitment to the Lord, that made him weak.

When his hair grows back, and he commits himself again to the Lord, he brings down the house in a final act. We all can learn from this, that our strength is in God, not of our own.

Feb 14 (Jud 4-7)

Judges 4-5

Deborah is an amazing woman. My girls like to take note that she is a prophetess AND a judge of Israel! Barak was the commander of the army, but he wasn't very brave.

Deborah warned Barak that he wouldn't get the credit for the victory that God gave them, it would go to a woman!

There is another brave woman, who acted like a warrior for Israel...Jael. She gives Sisera milk and a blanket, instead of water. This made Sisera sleepy, and she planted his head to the ground like a tent!

Jael, not Barak, got credit for the victory...just like Deborah said!!!

Judges 6

(v.1) Once again, after Deborah dies, the Israelites go back to the pagan practices. This is a pattern throughout the book.

(v.6) So God let's Israel's enemy enslave them, but He provides another deliverer when they cry out...Gideon!

(v.11) The Angel of the Lord is Jesus in another theophany.

(v.12) Jesus calls Gideon a "mighty man of valor" when here was Gideon, hiding from his enemies, dirty and sweating! Gideon had no reason to even think he would be used by God, and that's probably why God chose him!

(v.22) Gideon sees that this wasn't a normal angel, since angels are messengers, and they can't consume with fire like this one did. We know this Angel of the Lord is Jesus, since Gideon saw him "face to face" and didn't die. Remember, Moses would have died if he saw the Father's face, so He let Moses see the back of Him (Ex 33:23).

(v.31) Gideon does what the other men should have done long ago...tear down the Baal altar. Gideon's father makes a great point, where he says if Baal is really god, then he will punish Gideon.

Sometimes the scene where Gideon is "testing" the Lord can be seen as unfaithful and even disrespectful. But God doesn't see it this way. In fact, God follows through with Gideon's requests as proof of who He is. I like to point out this verse as a reference to my kids:

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
~1 John 4:1

Judges 7

I love to show my kids how God thinks...He does have a sense of humor sometimes! I can just see Gideon's face when God told him that he had too many soldiers!

What Gideon didn't know, was that God wanted the odds to be so crazy that they could win, that it had to be only God who could have let them win.

Gideon showed great faith, and shows us that every good leader must follow God first!

Feb 13 (Jud 1-3)

Judges 1

The book of Judges covers the time between the death of Joshua, to the beginning of the kingly reign of the tribe of Judah. This spans around 450 years.

In this chapter, I point out to my kids that they didn't drive out all of the inhabitants. This would come back to haunt them.

(v.20) However, we see that the giants, the sons of Anak (Anakim) were driven out of the land. But they weren't eliminated...that will come back later.

Judges 2

The Angel of the Lord appears...this is another theophany...Jesus in the OT. Again, we know that this is not an angel, since He says that the Jews have not obeyed His voice, and He will allow the enemies they didn't eliminate, to torment them. This is going on to this very day.

(v.10) It only takes one generation to abandon all that was worked for and accomplished. The next generation after Joshua and his peers, didn't listen to what the Lord had done, and they went along by their own wisdom.

I point out to my kids, that we see this in America today. This country was established as a Christian nation. But over time, the parents failed to teach this, and now, we can barely recognize God in anything our government does. Even our culture and personal lives have excluded God. If we don't repent, we will have the same kind of troubles Israel did here.

(v.11) As God warned them not to do, they took on the pagan practices of worship. These are Satanic figures, and much of the world religions mirror what was done here. Jesus said that He is the only way to heaven (John 14:6), so all the other "faiths" are Satan's way of putting leaven into the loaf, to have uninformed people worship other things than God.

Judges 3

(v.1) Throughout the Bible, we see that God disciplines and tests His people by their enemies.

(v.9) Often we hear that the God of the OT is mean. Yet, here we are only one generation removed from Joshua, and they are acting like God was never with them! God was angry, and He let their enemies enslave them. However, God is merciful, and when He heard their cries, He provided for them a deliverer. First, Othniel, then Ehud and Shamgar. All did incredible things and showed the people that God was behind their actions, but they still slipped back into paganism each time their deliverer died.

Feb 10 (Jos 1-8)

Joshua 1

From my Chuck Smith Bible, there are a few things I discuss with my kids before we jump into this book:

~This is the first book of the Bible that is named after a person
~Joshua in Hebrew is Yehoshua, which means "Yahweh is Salvation"
~Jesus in Hebrew is Yeshua, which means "Yahweh Saves"
~As we'll see, Joshua is a type of Christ

(v.4) There is so much hate and fighting about the land that Israel now possesses, yet in reality, God gave Israel a much bigger area. From Turkey in the north, down through most of Syria, through Lebanon and out to the Euphrates (Iraq) is what God calls Israel. Today, Israel is only a fraction of what it should be in size.

I remind my kids that Moses represents the Law, and they didn't enter the Promised Land by the Law (Moses). They entered by the faith of Joshua (Jesus). Living by the Law doesn't save us and allow us to enter heaven, it's our faith in God and Jesus!

Joshua 2

Here we meet an incredible woman named Rahab. She is a Gentile and a pagan, yet she believes the LORD is the only God, and she helps these two spies (witnesses). Later, we learn that one of David's ancestors, Salmon, married Rahab (Matt 1:5). She went from being a pagan Gentile harlot, to an esteemed mother of Boaz, who is in the kingly line of David!!!

Joshua 3

Israel crosses the Jordan, and says goodbye to the old ways of Egypt. Of course, they still will have their moments, but through Joshua, they cross over and have a new beginning. This is like when we gave our lives to Christ, we crossed over and left behind our worldly dependence, and trusted in another Joshua...Jesus!

Joshua 4

Numbers represent things in the Bible. Here is a list of ones that we come across a lot:

3 ~ Sanctification, redemption (Jesus, Jonah, etc in the grave for 3 days)
6 ~ Incompletion (Six days of creation needed a 7th for completion, rest)
7 ~ Completion (Seven days of creation, seven cities of refuge, all the sevens in Revelation)
12 ~ Represents Israel (the twelve tribes)
40 ~ Testing and Judgement (Flood of Noah, the Jews, and Jesus in the Wilderness)

Here we have the 12 tribes being represented by the monument of 12 stones. This is the very spot, where centuries later, John the Baptist did his ministry!

Joshua 5

All the men who left Egypt with Moses were circumcised, but the children were not. These children were circumcised now, since their fathers abandoned the Word of God. This was a painful lesson for them to learn!

(vv.13-15) Here we see another theophany...Jesus in the OT! We know it's Jesus, since an angel would've reprimanded Joshua for worshipping anything other than God. Also, this Commander has Joshua take off his sandals, since he's on holy ground (Exodus 3:5).

Joshua is a type of Christ...he will lead the conquest of Jericho, which mirrors Jesus' conquering of Babylon and the world in Revelation.

Joshua 6

God has Joshua tell his army a very peculiar plan to conquer Jericho...my kids laugh when I act out this plan and show their faces when they hear it! But if we compare this event in the book of Joshua to Jesus in the book of Revelation, we see many similarities:

Yehoshua (Joshua) ~ Yeshua (Jesus)

Commander of Israel ~ Commander of the army of the LORD

Seven days ~ Seven years

Priests sent out in front ~ High Priest (Jesus) leads

First send in two spies ~ Two witnesses sent in first

Seven trumpet blasts ~ Seven trumpet judgements

Judgment by fire ~ Fire and brimstone judgment

Kings hide in caves ~ Leaders hide in caves

Joshua 7

Here we see Israel getting overconfident and not reliant upon God. Not only are they thinking they conquered Jericho instead of God, but they disobey Him by taking things from there. I point out to my kids that we do this ourselves all the time!

Joshua 8

After the culprit, Achan, is stoned, they then win easily. This is God's Word speaking to us that we need to include Him in all parts of our lives, at all times. When we do, we will see His glory manifested in our lives!

They won because they had faith in God, and let Him have the glory!

Feb 5 (Num 21-22)

Numbers 21

This is a fascinating chapter, and one I take some time explaining to my kids.

The Jews are murmuring and complaining again, and God has serpents (snakes) enter the camp and kill many people from their poisonous bites. They realize their sin, and they ask Moses to ask God to stop the serpents.

I wish I could have seen Moses' face when God told him to erect a pole, and put a snake on it. If we don't know our Old Testament and the culture of Israel, we will miss the significance of this event.

Brass/Bronze ~ this metal was symbolic for judgment. It was the only metal of that time that could withstand fire and extreme heat.

Serpent/Snake ~ It was the serpent who tricked Adam and Eve, and it was always connected to sin and the devil.

So why did God have Moses erect a bronze pole with a snake on it, and if a Jew was bitten by one of the poisonous snakes, where they to just look up at the snake on the pole in order to be saved?

Up until this point, and for the rest of the Old Testament, there is no explanation for this event. But Jesus tells us the reason for God's work here in the Wilderness:

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." ~ John 3:14

I love to see my kids' faces light up when they see the typology here, mirroring what Jesus did for us on the cross!

The snake on the pole typifies the judgment of sin, and those who believed it would heal them were healed. Jesus was lifted up on a pole to take on ALL OUR SINS and those who look up to Him and believe in Him are saved as well.

Numbers 22

My kids laugh when I act out this event with Baalam and his donkey. They picture the donkey in Shrek talking to Baalam, and he talks back to the donkey!!!

I make sure to point out that the "Angel of the Lord" is really Jesus in another theophany, and that we see God working in this whole drama.

As we'll see in the next chapter, Baalam goes from righteousness for refusing to curse Israel (see Genesis 12) to letting his desire for money and fame to show the pagans how to bring the Jews down by having God remove His protective Hand from them.

Jan 12 (Genesis 31-33)

Genesis 31

Jacob and his wives are leaving Laban to go back to where he came from. Rachel does an interesting thing...she steals the pagan figurines called "gods." This shows the paganism that was rampant at the time, but these teraphim also represented something else...the heir to the family estate. Whoever these false "gods" were given to, was figured to have the right to ownership of the family fortune. No wonder Laban wanted those things back desperately!!! To make sure Laban wouldn't find them, Rachel sat on them. This made the "gods" unclean, and useless.

With Laban fearing that he would never retrieve these figurines back, he made sure to set boundries between his son's land and Jacob's.

Genesis 32

Jacob is again confronted with Jesus in another theophany, and this time confesses his unworthiness and humbles himself. God then changes his name from Jacob to Israel, which means "he who strives or wrestles with God"...isn't this indicative of us and all who follow God? We have faith, but we wrestle with our flesh, and wrestle with trying to please or help God.

Another meaning of the word, Israel, is "Ruled by God" which is also applicable to His followers.

We know that this "angel" is really Jesus in the OT, because Jacob says:

So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. ~Gen 32:30

Genesis 33

This chapter speaks of the reunion of Jacob and Esau. It's good to point out that even though someone has hurt you and cheated you, there is always room for forgiveness.

Jan 6 (Genesis 17-19)

Genesis 17

(v.5) God changes Abram's name to Abraham. God inserted the Hebrew letter h which is pronounced like a breath. The Hebrew word for breath is ruach, pronounced "roo-ock" which also means spirit. This is the same word used in Gen 1:2 where the Spirit of God brooded over the waters.

In essence, God inserted His Spirit into Abraham and Sarah...they were His from that point forward. The great news is that once we ask His Spirit into our lives, we are His as well.

(v.12) Why did God instruct Abraham to circumcise a newborn on the eighth day? Well, modern science has discovered that the newborn boy will have the highest levels of vitamin-k and prothrombin which means that on the eighth day of life, the blood will clot the best! Isn't that cool?!? Here is a link that explains it in more detail:

http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2204

(v.19) Don't tell me God doesn't have a sense of humor, and that He doesn't delight in His creation! God has Abraham and Sarah name their son Isaac...which in Hebrew means laughter! Probably a little reminder of their skepticism!

Genesis 18

Abraham encounters three interesting "men" in this chapter...but are they men?

(v.22) The key here is that Abraham stayed with the Lord...the other two "men" were angels, but the third One was not...it was Jesus!

(vv.23-33) Wouldn't you have loved to witness this scene of negotiation? Here is Abraham bartering with the Lord of all creation! One thing I share with my kids, is the incredible patience of our Lord, and the wonderful mercy He is willing to display to us sinners!

Genesis 19

(v.5) This is a tricky chapter, since these men of the town wanted to engage in homosexual activity with these two strangers. I tell my young kids that they wanted to harm them, which in reality, they did.

Homosexuality is a sin...it is a destructive and harmful lifestyle. Not only is it anatomically against the laws of nature, but it is contrary to the Word of God when He told us to be fruitful and to multiply. I'm sure the town had other sins that made it deplorable to the Lord for Him to want to destroy it, but homosexuality was so rampant and tolerated, that it probably was a town where ANYTHING GOES!!! Romans 1 goes into this in further detail.

(v.8) I always have trouble with this verse...I can't imagine offering my daughters in this way that Lot did. Perhaps Lot thought that anything was better than letting God's messengers to be harmed.

(v.22) Lot and his family have been compared to the church by some Bible scholars here...God's wrath upon evil couldn't occur until the righteous have been removed to safety first. First of all, it's hard to say that Lot was righteous after he offered his daughters to the blood-thirsty crowd earlier. But if we think about it, no matter how much we pray and strive to walk with God, we will never be perfect. I think that this typology is actually accurate of the state of believers and the Church before the Tribulation...God will remove His Church before He brings wrath upon the world of evil-doers. We may not be perfect, but our faith in His Son makes us righteous in our Father's eyes!

(v.26) Lot's wife shows us that we are in danger if we try to hold onto things of this world while trying to walk with God. We don't really know the reason she looked back, but she obviously felt some attachment to that place, and her unbelief and disobedience destroyed her.

Jan 5 (Genesis 14-16)

Genesis 14

(v.5) This chapter starts out with some seemingly innocuous names, but I wish to note the name Rephaim. This word in Hebrew means "the living dead" which is pretty creepy. Many Bible scholars believe that the Rephaim are the souls of the Nephilim that died in the flood. Everyone's spirit lives forever, so the spirits of these hybrids are believed to be what we today call demons. There are many views as to the existence and nature of demons, but the Bible validates the existence of demons in both the Old and New Testaments. So the Rephaim are demons that possess a person's body who worships Satan. This is not easy stuff to talk about with your kids, so use your best judgement since you know your kids best.

(v.13) This verse gives the first mention of the term Hebrew. When you look up this term in a great resource, The Blue Letter Bible (see link below), you will see that it was commonly referring to Abram as a stranger to an area, and one who "crossed over" the Euphrates River. I like to point out that all of us believers in Christ are Hebrews as well...we are foreigners to this earth, since our real home is in heaven with our Lord!!!

http://www.blueletterbible.org/Search/Dictionary/viewTopic.cfm?type=getTopic&topic=Hebrew&entry.x=53&entry.y=11

(vv.18-20) Here is a fascinating part to the life of Abram...he meets this mysterious person named Melchizedek. There is no record of a birth or death of this man, and he is not only the king of Salem (which means "Peace" in Hebrew), but he's also a priest! Melchizedek in Hebrew means "King of Righteousness." This is unusual for a man to be BOTH a king and a priest...even when God gave Moses the Law, He had the Levites be priests, and the kingship went through the tribe of Judah...never a combination of the two. Coincidentally, Jesus promises to us believers in Him, that we will be glorified in heaven and be kings and priests who will reign with Him (Rev 1:6, 5:10).

So who is this Melchizedek?

Well, he issues communion by giving bread and wine, and he accepts a tithe from Abram...does this sound familiar? The King of Righteousness and the King of Peace titles are only given to Jesus in the New Testament and is foretold in Psalm 85:10.

Many Bible scholars believe that this man, Melchizedek, is actually Jesus in Old Testament times! This is often called a theophany or Christophany, where Jesus appeared to people before His birth in Bethlehem many centuries later!

For further study on this, please note:

~ Psalm 110:4

~ John 8:56

~ Hebrews 7:1-10

Genesis 15

(v.2) Please note the servant of Abram, who's name is Eliezer. The name, Eliezer, in Hebrew means "helper, servant or comforter." These traits are also names for the Holy Spirit! As we shall see in Genesis 24, this "servant" is sent out by the Father (Abraham) to search for a bride for His firstborn Son (Isaac). If we complete the typology, then the Bride is the Church...you and me!

(v.6) This is a key verse in our walk with God...Abram believed in the Lord, and God accounted it to Abram for righteousness. This shows us, early in the Old Testament, that faith is what God focused on, not works. Abram wasn't accounted righteous in God's eyes because his works showed his faith, but it was Abram's faith that impelled him to obey and show he believed.

It might be fun to talk more with your kids here, to show them how much faith Abram was showing at this time in his life. After all, Abram was very old, had no sons, and only had one servant with whom he could pass on his estate to. But Abram believed that God would do what He said He would do, and we can all take a lesson and some comfort in knowing that God will follow through on His promises to us as well.

(v.14) Here, God is showing a prophecy to Abram...that his descendants will be taken out of a nation that will receive God's wrath and judgement...Egypt (Exodus 6:6, 12:36).

(v.18) Abraham and the Jews were given this area of land by the Creator of the universe! Who are we to try to meddle with Isreael's land? What is now modern-day Israel is only a fraction of what God allotted for them.

Genesis 16

(v.1) In Biblical times (and sometimes even today), a wife feels less than whole if she would like to have children, but can't. No doubt, Sarai knew what God promised Abram, but at least five years had passed, and she hadn't bore a child. This is where we all make mistakes...we try to "help God out" by taking matters into our own hands. Both Abram and Sarai lost their faith in what God said, and they devised a way to go around the problem.

(v.7) This is the first time the term, Angel of the Lord, appears in the Old Testament. There are many other references of the Angel of the Lord, and many Bible scholars believe that this is a reference to Jesus Christ...a theophany or Christophany!

(v.12) God would bless Ishmael, but God did prophesy that Ishmael's descendants would fight and live close to each other. We see this as true with the history of Muslims and all the peoples surrounding Israel over the centuries (often called Arabs).

(v.13) Hagar reveals to us who was speaking with her...it was Jesus Himself! She said she saw and spoke with God, and according to many accounts in the Bible, if one saw the Father, they would instantly die, so it must be Jesus as a theophany!