A Chronological Bible Reading 16 Entering the Ark

 Genesis 6:22-7:9

Some observations:

• When God saw Noah, he saw righteousness.
• Lamech was Noah's father.
• He died 5 years before Noah entered the ark
• Noah was when born when Adam was still alive.
• Noah lived about 126 years before Adam died. 

I just have to stop and think about what Noah could have learned from Adam. It did not seem like anyone was paying any attention to the things of God, except Noah.

I think this is so fascinating!

A Chronological Bible Reading -17 The Flood


Would you like to start at the beginning of this discussion? Click here!

 Reese, Edward. The Reese Chronological Bible. Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1980. Print

A Chronological Bible Reading 15 Noah

Noah found grace
Genesis 6:8


Thank you God for your grace on our lives. Help us to always look to you for guidance and wisdom.


Genesis 6:9-21 Instructions for building the ark


Birth of Noah's sons

Genesis 5:32; 6:9-10; I Chronicles 1:4, Shem, Ham, and Japheth


Death of Lamech (Noah's father)
Genesis 5:30-31 777 years old


Death of Methuselah (Noah's grandfather)
Genesis 5:26-27 969 years old

A Chronological Bible Reading 16 Entering the Ark


Would you like to start at the beginning of this discussion? Click here!

Reese, Edward. The Reese Chronological Bible. Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1980. Print.

Blinded by Emotions

Luke 15:11-24

This is the parable of the Prodigal Son. A father has two sons. The younger son requests his inheritance in advance and heads to the city to find his fortune. Things do not turn out well for this inexperienced young man. The end result of his decision is to be feeding the swine of a land owner he does not know. He is so hungry that he is tempted to eat from the swine's trough. As he is contemplating his situation he recalls how in his father's house the servants eat better then what he is presented before him. The son has had enough and decides to head back to his father. He will beg his father for forgiveness asking to take him in not as a son but a hired servant.

15:18,19; "I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants."

It is easy to just keep reading the parable because we want to see how the father responds. Does he take him in? Does the father make the son pay everything back? Is there a happy ending for this misguided son? But there needs to be a pause here. The son is overwhelmed with how far he went away from his home and his family. His feelings of guilt and shame are a weight that will blind him to his father's response to his return. All the son can see and feel is sorrow. He is going to ask for the very least position in the household so that he will not also have to feel rejection. But what if the father rejects him still? The son is probably being haunted by "What ifs?" all the way back to the house.

I am there. I am right there stuck at verse 19. I have got a plan as well. I will commit to the very least. Actually, how about I just don't commit at all. How about I just stay right here where it is safe. Or how about I reject you first before you reject me. I do not want to be hurt again. But I prayed for this. I sought this out and now that I found it...I am stuck. Do I go forward taking a risk that I will be rejected?

vs. 20, "And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him."

Back to our Prodigal Son. Verse 20 starts out with the son heading back to the father and the father seeing him from a great way off starts running towards him. He was literally moved with compassion. That father could not get to his son fast enough. I think I can safely assume the father was overcome with emotion at this much anticipated reunion though the father had no idea when or if it would ever happen. When he finally reached his son he grabbed him by the neck hugging and kissing him.

The son doesn't get it. He does not realize what is going on. It does not register that his father is hugging him and kissing. His father probably has this huge smile on his face however, he son is blind to all that is happening. He is still sticking with his plan. He is not moved because he can see or feel nothing else but shame and guilt. He is going to beat his father to the punch.

vs. 21, "And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son."

The son makes his heart wrenching speech while waits for the blow of rejection...or acceptance. Everything about his demeanor must have shown his brokenness and vulnerability. What is his father going to say? It did not even register to him how his father just treated him. Oh, sure, his father is glad he is back and not in a ditch somewhere dead but back with full rights as his son? No way!

vs. 22-24, "But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry."

But...the father would hear none of that. The father's heart was ready and receptive to his son's feeling. His father could see how his son felt. He could tell his son was hurting. The father was paying attention and he made it very clear to everyone standing there that his son that was dead is now alive. There was going to be no working as a hired servant for this son. He was instantly reinstated.

I am not as lucky as the son in the parable. I do not know what my verse 20 is going to be. I do not know if I will be rejected or accepted. I am not talking about God either. I know God accepts me right where I am but people are not like God sometimes. My experience tells me I will be rejected. I will be told I can't be used for this position or that one. I will be told the decision I made was wrong. If I would have done this or that God could have had time to work.

Or I could just stay at arms length and not commit. The prodigal son did not sound defensive like I do.

Judgement - Day 58

 

Jeremiah 48:11 - Lamentations 1:22

 

          Judgement is past out to the nations that are the enemies of God's people. Moab, Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, Elam and finally Babylon.

 

          Israel has also sinned against God but he tells them they will not be forsaken.

 

 

"For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the Lord of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel." Jeremiah 51:5

 

 

          Some people have to learn by making the mistakes. Others learn by the mistakes of others. I am reading this section just praying that I will learn from their mistakes. I am so thankful for God's plan of Salvation and his gift that is free to all. 

 

 

God's Wrath - Day 57

 

Jeremiah 33:23 - Jeremiah 47:7

 

          Israel is provoking God to anger.

 

"Because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, and to serve other gods, whom they knew not, neither they, ye, nor your fathers." Jeremiah 44:3

 

 

          With the works of their hands they are provoking God to wrath.

 

"In that ye provoke me unto wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye be gone to dwell, that ye might cut yourselves off, and that ye might be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?"

Jeremiah 44:8

 

 

          God will correct his people over time.

 

 

"Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the Lord: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished." Jeremiah 46:28

 

 

          I am just overwhelmed with the immensity of God's power and his wrath on his own people. It just makes me so thankful that I will not have to face it myself. I am glad I am on the winning side.



Done With Sin - Day 55

Jeremiah 10 :14 - Jeremiah 23:8



 

          I am really starting to get a sense of God's hatred for sin.

 

"Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them." Jeremiah 11:11

 

          I am also seeing his wrath and anger.

 

"But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the Lord." Jeremiah 12:17

 

 

          God wants to do them good but they do not know the God that is speaking to them.

 

"Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The Lord." Jeremiah 16:21

 

          I have areas in my life that I have not surrendered to the Lord. I know I do not have his wrath to detour me. Though the consequences of life keep me somewhat in line. I need to trust God and give all my life to him. Am I done with sin yet? 

          

 

 



Thanks to Calvary - Day 54

 

Isaiah 66:19 - Jeremiah 10:13

 

          The people are just purposely walking around doing their own thing.

 

"The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit." Jeremiah 2:8

 

          They didn't believe the Lord was going to punish them for their sins.

 

"They have belied the Lord, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:" Jeremiah 5:12

 

 

          They loved sin.

 

"The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?" Jeremiah 5:31

 

          Even the pastors did not care enough to tell the truth and guide people in the way of the Lord.

 

"For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the Lord: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered." Jeremiah 10:21

 

 

 

          I do not know God's wrath. We do not know God's wrath. We have been under grace and mercy because of Jesus. They had seen his wrath but they did not care. I want to serve God even though I will never see his wrath. Thanks to Calvary.

 

 

 

 

 



Name It and Claim It - Day 39

 

Job 42:1 - Psalms 24:10

 

          I have in the past come to the Psalms for comfort. There are a wide range of emotions represented here in this book; Rage, sorrow, fear, rejoicing, and gladness.

 

          There are quite a few verses on how God will deliver the righteous and make the wicked pay. I tried to get comfort from those verses, assuming I was the righteous one and the other guy was the wicked. I took for granted that I knew how God would respond in my situation. I was greatly disappointed.

 

"But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me." Psalms 13:5-6

 

 

          I may never know how God is treating some else and I am foolish to think I know how God is dealing with someone by what I see going on in their life. I only know how God is treating me and sometimes I am not so sure about that. What I have learned is that God is hard to figure out in my life so how can I assume I know how he is treating some one else.

 

"The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether." Psalms 19:9

 

          In the Psalms there are comparisons of the righteous and the wicked. The righteous being well taken care of and the wicked falling to shame. I am very cautious now to apply those verses to my life because I may never see the results, good or bad, that come from my decisions or some one else's. I do know that God is good and his judgements are true. That is where I will find my comfort.

 

 

Lots of Words, Little Wisdom - Day 38

 

Job 25:1 - Job 41:34

 

          God allowed a lot of evil to happen to Job. It made Job look back on his life and see how things used  to be.

 



"Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me;" Job 29:2

 

Compared to how things are going now in his life.

 

"But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock." Job 30:1

          But God knows Job.

"Let me be weighed in an even balance that God may know mine integrity." Job 31:6

 

          God knows what he is doing in my life and in the life of my friends. As we all face difficult times, I need to be a comfort to my friends. Possibly just by being there for them and being silent.

Bondage - Day 29

I Chronicles 1:1 - I Chronicles 9:44

          All these kings, men, and women spoken of in the first 8 chapters of I Chronicles gets reduced to one verse.

"So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and, behold, they were written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, who were carried away to Babylon for their transgression." I Chronicles 9:1

          The good was not good enough. The bad was evil in the sight of the Lord. It all lead to them being carried away into bondage.

          All our good is not good enough. Our bad can never be taken care of by our own hand,

          It all points to our need for a Saviour or we will be in eternal bondage.



Strange Things are Happening - Day 27

II Kings 4:38 - II Kings 15:26

          There are some strange things going on in this section of reading.

          Leprosy healed in the Jordan River.

"Then went he down, and Axe dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean."

II Kings 5:14

           An axe head floats.

"And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim." II Kings 6:6

         Invisible horses and chariots of fire. 

"And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." II Kings 6:17

         Mothers eating their children. 

"And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow." II Kings 6:28

         70 heads in baskets. 

"And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent him them to Jezreel." II Kings 10:7

         Elijah's bones revived a man from the dead.



"And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet." II Kings 13:21



          We may think this world is getting worse but after this section of reading I may not be to sure of that any more. 

Zealous - Day 12

Numbers 21:8 - Numbers 32:19

"And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel." Numbers 25:3

          The people were openly committing sin. There was no shame for their actions and they did not care who knew what they were doing. God's anger was kindled toward them.

          When Phinehas sees a man bring his Midianish lover toward the temple he responded. His actions stopped God's wrath toward the people of Israel.

"Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.

Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace:

And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel." Numbers 25:11-13

          God blessed Phinehas's life and lineage with peace.

          I want to be zealous for my God. It will come with a price. I may be alone. As with Phineas, who did not stand by and just watch things happen, he was blessed by God for his actions towards sin.



Judgement ~ Day 87

Today's reading Jude 1 - Revelation 17:18

"But I have a few things against thee," Rev. 2:14a KJB

I believe God put these judgements here for us to learn from. So when we get to our judgement we will have done better.

I am thankful that God is my judge. I am on His side and I am proud to be a Christian.