Get the appBeginnings: A Study In GenesisSample
What does it say?
Abram began the journey back to Bethel as soon as the famine ended. Recurring strife between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot made a parting of ways necessary.
What does it mean?
Abram had grown very rich in Egypt, and now the large herds of Abram and Lot were too much for that area of Canaan. Abram generously and unselfishly gave his younger kinsman first choice of the land, showing his desire for restoring the strained relationship. Lot saw the fertile area around Sodom and selected what seemed the best soil without taking into account the wickedness of the people. Abram continued traveling to Hebron, again building an altar of worship where God re-affirmed His covenant.
How should I respond?
Often, loving your neighbor and family requires sacrifice. In fact, we’re often more generous with acquaintances than with the people we live with! With whom in your family do you have a strained relationship? What opportunity will you have this week to put their needs before your own? When you do, you are fulfilling the second most important commandment in Scripture (Matthew 22:37-40). Will you, like Abram, trust God enough to give up what seems to be “the best”? Keeping the peace may require some sacrifice on your part, but your actions will honor God before your entire family.
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About this Plan
As its name implies, Genesis is a book of beginnings. The beginning of the world, the beginning of the line of Abraham, and the beginning of God's covenantal relationship with his people are all recorded in Genesis. Although filled with the sin, rebellion, and the chronic unfaithfulness of His people, God consistently demonstrates his covenantal faithfulness to bring about salvation and redemption for all who have faith in Him.
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