1 CHRONICLES 1:32-33
GENESIS 25:5-6
GENESIS 25:12-18
1 CHRONICLES 1:28-31
1 CHRONICLES 1:34
GENESIS 25:19-26
GENESIS 25:7-11
Genesis 25:13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. 16 These were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers according to their settlements and camps.
1 Chronicles 1:34 Abraham was the father of Isaac.
The sons of Isaac:
Esau and Israel.
12 tribes from Ishmael but God's people came from the line of Isaac who were born to his son Jacob/Israel and they became the 12 tribes of Israel. God was faithful to do what he said he would go. He gave each child many decedents. And he gave Ishmael 12 sons who were the rulers of 12 tribes just like He promised. But they were not God's chosen people. I am enjoying reading chronologically this time. I had never noticed that Ishmael had 12 sons like Israel did. I had never thought about the non-Israelites who trusted God and worshiped him. Those who came from Ishmael still came from the line of Abraham so there had to be an understanding of God passed down to them. Which it makes sense why the Muslim faith, which is the most common Middle Eastern religion, traces their roots back to Adam also. Last night we studied the creation story in our small group and we had an unexpectantly in-depth discussion about it. We talked about the fact that some people believe that God created other people in addition to Adam and Eve because the bible only mentions Cain and Abel before Cain kills Abel. One question is where did Cains wife come from? But when you look at how long they lived back then it is likely that Cain and Able were likely over a hundred years old by then. We read that Adam was 130 years old when he had Seth which was after Abel was killed. Being Adam and Eve were created as adults they surely started having children right away. God had told them to be fruitful and multiply so He who is faithful surely would have blessed them with more than 3 children. Which would mean that by the time Adam was 130 years old there would have been thousands of people on the earth all descendant from Adam. In fact Laurie went home and asked Cam (our retired pastor and Laurie's husband) about it and he said, "it's been estimated that there were 500,000 people on earth (their area of the Fertile Crescent)...but these people all came from Adam and Eve." Also, when I had read that Adam lived 130 years then had Seth I had taken it to be that 130 years after Abel's death Adam had Seth as a special replacement for Abel as God's chosen to start the line of Noah to Abraham. If that is the case it is possible that Cain and Abel could have been hundreds of years old before Abel was killed. Cam said they could have been 400 years old. Since everyone came from Adam and Eve who were created in God's image which was another part of our discussion last night, but I will not go into all the thoughts on that, we have to have some understanding of God. So it makes sense that there were gentiles who knew about God and worshiped Him. As a matter of fact I am just realizing that until Isreal became Isreal weren't all people before him technically gentiles? So why was it so hard for the Israelites to accept gentiles as followers of Christ? (squirl) As I run around in circles here even the descendants of Ishmael and all the other who were not in the line of Isaac know who God is. No wonder all the major religions out there have a creation story and a flood story. Which brings us back to an even smaller split because things started all over again at the flood. Noah's sons and their wives had to repopulate the earth the same way Adam and Eve did but with 3 couples not one. You know that Shem, Ham, and Japheth had to of continued to tell the history of the world and the stories of God to their children and grandchildren so God was well known. But from Shem came the line of the Israelites and all the rest were offshoots of other gentile countries. Ishmael - Arabs, Esau - Edomites, Lot - Ammonites and Moabites. I knew all these things to be true but never put them together like this in my mind till reading this way. Which finally brings me around to today. In Romans it talks about us all being borne with the knowledge of God. I think that is part of us being made in God's image.
Romans 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Just as over all the thousands of years that we are reading about, people sinned and strayed from God. resulting in "godlessness and wickedness" that "suppress the truth" because "although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him". As their morals were corrupted by their own sinful desires their "thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened."
This is evident in our land today. On this last day of the "Heal our Land" project through my camp church God gives me this to focus my prayer on for our land. That His people would glorify God and give Him thanks and in doing so God will reach the darkened hearts of those who do not know Him and shine a light into that darkness revealing truth and heal our land. Truth has been a running theme since November when God gave that to me as our women's conference topic. It is coming up join This is Us...In Truth on January 18th.
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