A note of caution...in the commentary in the Chronological Bible for today, as it relates to God's request for Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac, is the phrase, "...causes Abraham to wonder about God's righteousness..."
There is no evidence in Scripture that Abraham ever wondered about God's righteousness!

Genesis 22:1-2
Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

God told Abraham to take his ONLY son. Even though Abraham had another son, Ishmael, by Hagar, Isaac was the son of promise.

Interestingly, Scripture doesn't tell us how old Isaac was at this time.  We most often imagine that he was just a young boy.  However, Jasher records that Isaac was 37 at the time.  In fact, Jasher adds numerous details of the story.  Some of the details of the story include Satan's interaction with Abraham and Sarah.  And that Sarah dies in Hebron before she is able to see Abraham and Isaac again.  These details in Jasher do not contradict anything in Scripture but they sure do fill in a lot of gaps in the story.

Abraham says to the servants who are with him...

Genesis 22:5

"Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there.  We will worship and then we will come back to you."

Abraham tells the servants, ..."we (plural) will come back to you." Abraham fully expected that both he and Isaac would return.

Hebrews 11:19

Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

Notice all the parallels to Jesus in the sacrificing of Isaac. 

*It was a three day journey for Abraham and Isaac. It was a three day journey for Jesus from the cross to the resurrection. 

*Isaac carried the wood for the sacrifice. Jesus carried the wooden cross for His sacrifice. 

*Isaac submitted to the will of his father. Jesus submitted to the will of His Father.

*Isaac was saved by the substitution of another sacrifice. We are saved by the sacrifice of Jesus. 

*The place of Isaac's near sacrifice was Mount Moriah, the same place that Solomon built the temple (2 Chronicles 3:1), and the same area where Jesus was crucified, Jerusalem.

Who was the “angel of the Lord” with Abraham and Isaac? Sounds a lot like the Son of God. Look at the blessings and promises given to Abraham. Only God can make those promises.

Rather a strange way of bargaining when Abraham purchased the field and cave for Sarah's burial.  This was the customary way of arranging for the sale of property.  However, the offer from Ephron was for Abraham to use the cave for a burial tomb, which he may have understood to be temporary.  Another custom then (as it is in some places today) was to place the body in a tomb, seal the entrance, and then return after the flesh had decayed from the bones, gather the bones and place them in a box, called ossuaries.

Interestingly, a Muslim mosque covers the entrance to this tomb today.

Abraham was certainly obedient to the Lord in his willingness to sacrifice Isaac.  And equally obedient were the actions of Isaac.  Notice, Isaac willingly allowed his father Abraham to prepare him for the sacrifice. While God probably will never ask us to do such a thing, He still expects us to be obedient, quickly and completely.

Wouldn’t you think that Abraham would have learned his lesson when he went to Egypt during the famine and lied about Sarah to the pharaoh? But no, he had to lie to Abimelech and tell him that Sarah was his sister, getting in even more trouble. And then Abraham says that Sarah is his half-sister. Even though these words are in the canonized Scripture, they are Abraham's words. Remember, according to other documentation, Sarah is the daughter of Abraham's brother Haran. There is no Scriptural reference that document Sarah being his half sister...so is Abraham still lying?  Oh, what a tangled web we weave.....

As we journey through God's Word, we will find many instances when the great men of the Bible show flaws in character.  And yet they are still known as great men of faith.  We may demonstrate flaws in our character at times as well but we need to continue to strive for perfection because we know that God is with us.
2 Corinthians 13:11
 Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. 

God spoke to Abimelech telling him that Abraham was a prophet. Hmm...never quite thought of Abraham in that way before.  God tells Abimelech to give Sarah back to Abraham or else he and his household will die.  Later we see that this would have taken place when the wombs of the women were closed so that there would be no more descendants.  Abimelech returns Sarah to Abraham. Abraham prays and God opens the wombs of the women.

Finally Sarah conceives, after waiting 25 long years. What a great lesson for us to learn...to believe that God keeps His promises, no matter how long we must wait to see the fulfillment, or how slow God seems.
2 Peter 3:9a
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.
Claimed any of the Lord's promises today?

After Abraham and Abimelech settle the dispute over the well, "Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time".   God told him how much land He was going to give to his descendants, which  was extensive.  And all Abraham had to do was to walk the land, and yet...he stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.

Genesis 13:17
"Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you."
At this point Abraham has yet to do that.  Even though Abraham was disobedient at times, God still honored His promises - not because Abraham was righteous - but because God is!

Wouldn’t you think that Abraham would have learned his lesson when he went to Egypt during the famine and lied about Sarah to the pharaoh? But no, he had to lie to Abimelech and tell him that Sarah was his sister, getting in even more trouble. And then Abraham says that Sarah is his half-sister. Even though these words are in the canonized Scripture, they are Abraham's words. Remember, according to other documentation, Sarah is the daughter of Abraham's brother Haran. There is no Scriptural reference that document Sarah being his half sister...so is Abraham still lying?  Oh, what a tangled web we weave.....

As we journey through God's Word, we will find many instances when the great men of the Bible show flaws in character.  And yet they are still known as great men of faith.  We may demonstrate flaws in our character at times as well but we need to continue to strive for perfection because we know that God is with us.
2 Corinthians 13:11
 Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. 

God spoke to Abimelech telling him that Abraham was a prophet. Hmm...never quite thought of Abraham in that way before.  God tells Abimelech to give Sarah back to Abraham or else he and his household will die.  Later we see that this would have taken place when the wombs of the women were closed so that there would be no more descendants.  Abimelech returns Sarah to Abraham. Abraham prays and God opens the wombs of the women.

Finally Sarah conceives, after waiting 25 long years. What a great lesson for us to learn...to believe that God keeps His promises, no matter how long we must wait to see the fulfillment, or how slow God seems.
2 Peter 3:9a
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.
Claimed any of the Lord's promises today?

After Abraham and Abimelech settle the dispute over the well, "Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time".   God told him how much land He was going to give to his descendants, which  was extensive.  And all Abraham had to do was to walk the land, and yet...he stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.

Genesis 13:17
"Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you."
At this point Abraham has yet to do that.  Even though Abraham was disobedient at times, God still honored His promises - not because Abraham was righteous - but because God is!

The Lord appeared in the form of a man to Abraham. accompanied by two angels, also in the form of men.  When Abraham saw them, he bowed down in respect.  Normally strangers passing through a land would have bowed down to Abraham.

It was the custom to greet strangers with great respect and to offer them food and lodging, which Abraham did. Preparing the food for the three men was no quick and easy task. The bread had to be kneaded and baked.  The animal for the meat had to be killed and cooked.

Sarah overheard the conversation about her having a child at her advanced age and she laughed to herself at the prospect . God responded with "Is anything too hard for the Lord?"
Isn't this a verse we should claim on a daily basis? Indeed, IS anything too hard for the Lord?

When Abraham interacted with the three men, he spoke of the… “Judge of all the earth…” Who is the Judge of all the earth? And how did Abraham know that? We know from John 5:22 that Jesus is the judge of all the earth, so that must mean that one of the three men was indeed the Son of God.

Why did Abraham bargain with the Lord for ten people? He started bargaining for 50 righteous people. Did he think that Lot had some influence on the sinful people there? He must have thought that surely Lot could have influenced that many people. How is it with us as Believers ? Do we have influence with at least 50 people?

Abraham stopped bargaining with God with the number ten.  Why ten?  Could it be that there were ten people in Lot's family and Abraham wanted to save all of Lot's family?  The book of Jasher relates that Lot had at least four daughters.  Only two went with Lot out of the city.  If each of the four daughters were pledged in marriage or were married that would have made a total of ten people.

Lot was very  hospitable to the two angels who appeared as men at the city gate.  Remember the customary hospitality toward total strangers is to offer them food and lodging.  The men (angels) seemed reluctant to go with Lot and offered instead to sleep in the city square.  Other historical writings relate that the people of Sodom did not abide by the customary hospitality rules.  They instead delighted in watching men suffer from hunger...so much so in fact that anyone living in the city showing hospitality to strangers was subject to the death sentence...and the Sodomite way of the death penalty was very inhumane.  The men (angels) knew that Lot would suffer consequences if they took him up on his hospitable offer. And yet, Lot was persuasive and they went with him.

Evidence of the decadent lifestyle of the men of Sodom is evident in their demand for having sex with the two strangers (angels).  Equally repugnant is Lot's offer of his two virgin daughters instead. However, to his credit, 2 Peter 2:7-8 tells us that Lot was a righteous man.
and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)

The people of Sodom and the other four cities engaged in any evil perversion imaginable, homosexuality, pedophilia, adultery, fornication, rape, torture, and murder, to name a few.

Notice that the angels had to practically drag Lot and his family from Sodom. They didn't seem to want to leave.  The angels told Lot to take his wife and his "two daughters who are here...", implying that there may have been other daughters who were not there in the house with him at the time (Jasher says there were).  The mention of sons-in-law implies that Lot had other daughters as well who were pledged to be married.  The daughters living with him were not pledged to be married, otherwise Lot could not have offered them to the men of Sodom.  They would no longer have been considered Lot's property.

About the burning sulfur that rained down from heaven, could this have been a coronal mass ejection?  That would explain things. Volcanic eruptions have been used by some as an explanation for what happened with Sodom and Gomorrah but Scripture says that the sulfur came from heaven.  In a coronal mass ejection, plasma (sun's material that changes hydrogen to helium) is blown out into space and can strike the earth.  The sun's process of changing hydrogen to helium is essentially the same process employed in a thermonuclear hydrogen bomb.  Evidence on the ground around the Sodom area, such as silica sand turned to glass, support this explanation according to some archaeologists.  Certainly God could have used a coronal mass ejection, to accomplish His purposes. 2 Peter 2:6 tells us that Sodom is there as an example of what will  happen to the ungodly.
http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/CMEs.shtml

John Wesley's comment on Genesis 19:24:
"Then the Lord rained - from the Lord - God the Son, from God the Father, for the Father has committed all judgment to the Son. He that is the Saviour will be the destroyer of those that reject the salvation."

Why did Lot’s wife look back? What exactly is a “pillar of salt”?  If this was a coronal mass ejection that destroyed Sodom and the other cities, then the concept of Lot's wife being changed to a pillar of salt could be a similar event as was observed at Hiroshima on a bridge near ground zero.  People were walking on the bridge when the bomb exploded.  The millions of degrees of heat from the blast of the bomb incinerated the people on the bridge in a microsecond.  But in that short period of time their bodies made a shadow on the concrete of the bridge.  Their shadows protected the concrete from the flash and the peoples' images were burned into the concrete.  Could it be that Lot's wife's shadow was burned into the column of salt by the flash from the coronal mass ejection?  Was the city of Sodom Lot's wife's hometown? Was she worried about her remaining family there?  Did she look longingly back at the life she had there?  This city was definitely "sin city".

Before we become Believers in Jesus we are dead in our sins. We are citizens of "Sin City". Once we become believers in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior we are then citizens of "The Kingdom of Heaven". Shouldn't we live then as if we are citizens of the Kingdom? We should never look back at the life we had in "Sin City".
(Email us for the writing - "Kingdom Living in a Foreign Land".)

Concerning Lot's two daughters getting their father drunk - were they so desensitized to the sexual perversion in Sodom that they saw nothing wrong with having sexual relations with their father?

Now concerning Lot, "And they made their father drink wine that night: and the first-born went in, and lay with her father; and he knew not when she lay down, nor when she arose". 
The same thing happened with the second daughter.

This scripture does not say that Lot was unaware of the actual act of intercourse, only that he was unaware when his daughters lay down nor when they got up. It says nothing about the act itself. So was Lot aware of that? If he was aware, then we must conclude that he became desensitized to the sexual perversion of Sodom as well, but 2 Peter 2:7-8 tells us that he was tormented by what he saw in Sodom.

How is it with us as Believers in Jesus? Have we become desensitized to any and all sexual perversion?  Or are we tormented as well by what we see in our world today?  But more importantly, what will we do about it?

The word of the Lord appeared to Abram in a vision.  Apparently Abram didn't exactly understand this vision and so God came to him in the flesh.

Often in Scripture we read these phrases, "the word of the Lord" and "the angel of the Lord"?  In many instances in Scripture these two phrases are synonymous for the Son of God, the pre-incarnate Jesus.

Abram asks God for a sign of His promise to bless Abram's descendants. This promise or covenant is extremely significant.

God prepares a covenant with Abram.  The commentator in the Chronological Bible gives an excellent summary of the significance of this covenant agreement.

Genesis 15:11
Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
There is a profound spiritual truth application for us today from this verse.  These birds of prey represent Satan and his desire to stop this covenant between God and Abram.  Satan tries to destroy the promises of God.  Abram was quick to drive these birds away.  Believers should recognize the surety of God's promises and be quick to defend them. The Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) records that Abram "sat with" the animal carcasses.  Application for us...guard God's promises!  See also the parable of the soils,(Matthew 13:3-8).

The prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 34:17-20 reminds the people of God's covenant with Abraham and the consequences of violating that covenant.

God promises Abram the land, not the land of Israel as we know it today. These borders listed in Genesis15:17-21 include the land from the headwaters of the Euphrates River in Turkey all the way to the Persian Gulf and from there to Cairo in Egypt and from Cairo back to Turkey. (Email us for a map of the boundaries of this land) All Abram had to do was to walk the land and claim it. Again, did Abram obey? NO.

God also tells Abram that his descendants will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. And so they were.
Exodus 12:40 
And the time that the sons of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.

Sarai apparently believes that she is not a part of  God's covenant with Abraham. When Sarai offered Hagar (daughter of the then-reigning Pharaoh by one of his concubines) to Abram, so that she and Abram could have a child, she was trying to "help God out". Sarai was doing what was culturally acceptable but it was morally wrong. How often do we as Believers in Jesus do and say things that are acceptable by the world, but wrong by God's standards?

Notice when Hagar runs away, the angel of the Lord promises her something. "I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count." Does a simple angel have this kind of power? Hagar knew who this angel was. She identifies the angel as God, as the "God who sees me".
Genesis 16:13.

Again Abram didn't trust God or wait patiently on Him. And look what happened. If Abram had trusted God to take care of him during the famine and had not gone to Egypt, there would have been no Hagar and no Ishmael.

God appears to Abraham and institutes the sign of circumcision as a confirmation of His covenant and He changes the names of Abram and Sarai.  When there is a change in name, it signifies a change in character. This circumcision is a foreshadowing of circumcision of the heart.
Philippians 3:3
For we are the circumcision who worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh; 

Notice also that Isaac was not conceived until after Abraham's circumcision. And God makes it clear to Abraham that His covenant is with Isaac and not Ishmael.

Lessons to be learned from Abraham? If only we would obey God completely and trust Him completely and wait patiently on Him, life would be so much easier, wouldn't it???

TO ALL WHO ARE NEW TO THE CHRONOLOGICAL e-bible STUDY
If you would like the previous days' notes, go to the blog at www.philandpatti.blogspot.com

God told Abram to leave his country, his people, his father’s household and go to a land that He would show him. Yet, Abram took possessions, and people, including Lot. He didn’t obey God completely. Incomplete obedience is disobedience. How often do we obey God only when it's something we want to do, or when it's convenient for us?  How often do we completely ignore God's commands or argue with Him?  Complete obedience is not always an easy thing for us to do.

After Abram obeyed God partially, when a famine came, Abram decided to go to Egypt, instead of trusting God to provide for him during the famine. If Abram had taken only what God told him to take, he wouldn’t have had to worry about taking care of all his entourage. (see the writing on the website www.philandpatti.com under Chronological Chronicles II "Disobedient Abraham".)

Abram is fearful of the Egyptian men so he passes Sarai as his sister. Pharaoh in effect "pays" Abram for the "use" of Sarai when he takes Sarai into his harem. It may have taken years for Sarai to be completely prepared to actually become Pharaoh's wife.  Even though Abram declares that Sarai is his half-sister at another time, other historical writings relate that Sarai was the daughter of Haran, Abram's brother, making Sarai his niece.  And Abram's lie is perpetuated to this day.

When Abram leaves Egypt, he goes to the land of Canaan and there he and Lot discover that there isn't enough room for both of them, their flocks and herds and their families and so Abram gives Lot a choice of where to go. Lot chooses the fertile land (keep in mind that at this time the land surrounding that area was fertile - not so now - it is a desolate place) and pitches his tent among the cities of the plain near Sodom. Bad idea!

The cities of the plain were named after the sons of Ham.  Remember Ham was Noah's son who did a disrespectful thing to his father Noah.  This disrespectful thing was done when Noah was drunk and naked, implying that Ham did something sexually perverse. Was this why sexual perversion was rampant in the cities of the plain?

Notice God tells Abram that He will give him all the land that Abram can see. God tells Abram to walk the length and breadth of the land. This "walking the land" was to show the people there that Abram was claiming the land as his own. But did Abram walk the land? Well, read it for yourself. (Genesis 13:18)

Abram was not a perfect man. He sinned. But God used him anyway! None of us are perfect. We all sin. But God can use us anyway!

Then this man...Melchizedek...just who is He anyway??? See the book of Hebrews, Chapter 7. It explains it very clearly!

Bittersweet! We come to the end of another year long journey. We have gained many valuable insights as we have read, reread, studied, pondered, and meditated on God’s Holy Word. We pray that you will continue on the journey. Allow God to direct your steps! Thank you for making this journey with us. Please consider giving us some feedback on this study. You can email us at philandpatti@gmail.com.  We would love to hear from you!

Imagine with us the wedding banquet in the New Jerusalem.

Revelation 19:7
Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.
Jesus compares our relationship with Him as a marriage. We can compare the betrothal agreement in the Jewish and Hebrew wedding ceremonies to the wedding in the New Jerusalem.

In the Jewish and Hebrew betrothal ceremony the groom would give the bride a ring. He would confirm his love for her and his desire to be united to her in the bond of marriage. The ring would be given as a token, a promise of the wedding to come.

Jesus offers us the engagement agreement. He offers us salvation. We accept and the promise of our later wedding is confirmed and sealed with the Holy Spirit. Just as the betrothal agreement in a Jewish wedding is sealed with the giving of a ring, our agreement is sealed by the indwellment of the Holy Spirit. As the ring guarantees the marriage, the beginning of a forever relationship, so the Holy Spirit guarantees our marriage in a forever relationship to the Lamb.

Our betrothal period, our waiting time, is our life here on this earth until the day arrives of our marriage to the Lamb. During this time of betrothal, just as any bridegroom would do, Jesus is preparing a particular, exceptional sectioned off room just for us in His Father’s house. (John 14:2-3)

We will be clothed with garments of righteousness as we are changed into spirit. Just as any groom views his bride as beautiful and perfect, so Jesus sees us as perfect. (Jude 24)

Jesus is the bridegroom who comes for us. He will come to take us to be with Him. All along the route to His  Father’s house the cry rings out from the great heavenly multitude. The wedding has come. The bride is ready. The Holy Spirit has guaranteed this marriage will take place. The vows have been made, we have accepted Jesus’ offer and are secured salvation with Him. The marriage celebration supper follows as we take up residence in His Father’s house, the new heaven, the New Jerusalem. In eternity we will know God fully with an intimacy that we could never have on earth in our physical bodies. (I Corinthians 13:12) This will  be the banquet in the mansion.

John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Jude 1:24
To him (Jesus) who is able to keep you (put your name here) from falling and to present you (put your name here) before his glorious presence (God the Father) without fault and with great joy—“
Revelation 22:20
He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

The Bible ends the way it begins…….perfect……and in paradise.

For us as believers it ends with an urgent note, “Come, Lord Jesus.”
In a dark and evil world with problems, persecution and suffering,
we can have hope.

God is in control.

His will WILL be done!

Revelation 22:21

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people.

AMEN!