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firmament of the heavens to divide the day

from the night; and let them be for signs and
seasons, and for days and years; 15and let them
be for lights in the firmament of the heavens
to give light on the earth; and it was so.
16
Then God made two great lights: the greater
light to rule the day, and the lesser light to
rule the night. He made the stars also. 17God
set them in the firmament of the heavens to
give light on the earth, 18and to rule over the
day and over the night, and to divide the light
from the darkness. And God saw that it was
good. 19So the evening and the morning were
the fourth day.
20
Then God said, Let the waters abound
with an abundance of living creatures, and let
birds fly above the earth across the face of the
firmament of the heavens. 21So God created
great sea creatures and every living thing that
moves, with which the waters abounded,
according to their kind, and every winged bird
according to its kind. And God saw that it was
good. 22And God blessed them, saying, Be
fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the
seas, and let birds multiply on the earth. 23So
the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
24
Then God said, Let the earth bring forth
the living creature according to its kind: cattle
and creeping thing and beast of the earth,
each according to its kind; and it was so.
25
And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and
everything that creeps on the earth according
to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
26
Then God said, Let Us make man in Our
image, according to Our likeness; let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds
of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth
and over every creeping thing that creeps on
the earth. 27So God created man in His own
image; in the image of God He created him;

January 1
Genesis 1:12:25

In the beginning God created the heavens

and the earth. 2The earth was without form,
and void; and darkness was on the face of the
deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over
the face of the waters.
3
Then God said, Let there be light; and
there was light. 4And God saw the light, that it
was good; and God divided the light from the
darkness. 5God called the light Day, and the
darkness He called Night. So the evening and
the morning were the first day.

1:5 first day. God completed the creation in 7

days, which constituted a complete week. One
day can refer to: 1) the light portion of a 24hour period (1:5,14); an extended period of
time (2:4); or 2) the whole 24-hour period
while the earth completes a full rotation on its
axis. Each day in Genesis refers to a 24-hour
period. The cycle of light and dark means that
the earth was rotating on its axis, receiving light
from a source on one side of the earth, even
though the sun was not yet created (v. 16).
6
Then God said, Let there be a firmament
in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the
waters from the waters. 7Thus God made the
firmament, and divided the waters which were
under the firmament from the waters which
were above the firmament; and it was so. 8And
God called the firmament Heaven. So the
evening and the morning were the second day.
9
Then God said, Let the waters under the
heavens be gathered together into one place,
and let the dry land appear; and it was so.
10
And God called the dry land Earth, and the
gathering together of the waters He called
Seas. And God saw that it was good.
11
Then God said, Let the earth bring forth
grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit
tree that yields fruit according to its kind,
whose seed is in itself, on the earth; and it
was so. 12And the earth brought forth grass,
the herb that yields seed according to its kind,
and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in
itself according to its kind. And God saw that
it was good. 13So the evening and the morning
were the third day.
14
Then God said, Let there be lights in the

1:26 UsOur. The first clear reference to the

three-person nature of God, as the Father, Son,
and the Holy Spirit. This unique relationship is
called the triunity of God. Even the very name
of God, Elohim (1:1), is a plural form of El. man.
The masterpiece of creation, a human being,
was made in Gods image to rule creation. Our
image. This phrase defined mans unique relation to God and set him apart from the animals. He was like God in that he could reason
and had intellect, will, and emotion. When he
was first created, he was like God because he
was good and sinless.

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male and female He created them. 28Then God

blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it;
have dominion over the fish of the sea, over
the birds of the air, and over every living thing
that moves on the earth.
29
And God said, See, I have given you every
herb that yields seed which is on the face of all
the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields
seed; to you it shall be for food. 30Also, to every
beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and
to everything that creeps on the earth, in
which there is life, I have given every green
herb for food; and it was so. 31Then God saw
everything that He had made, and indeed it
was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth, and all
the host of them, were finished. 2And on
the seventh day God ended His work which
He had done, and He rested on the seventh
day from all His work which He had done.
3
Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His
work which God had created and made.
4
This is the history of the heavens and the
earth when they were created, in the day that
the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5before any plant of the field was in the
earth and before any herb of the field had
grown. For the LORD God had not caused it to
rain on the earth, and there was no man to till
the ground; 6but a mist went up from the earth
and watered the whole face of the ground.
7
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of
the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life; and man became a living being.
8
The LORD God planted a garden eastward
in Eden, and there He put the man whom He
had formed. 9And out of the ground the LORD
God made every tree grow that is pleasant to
the sight and good for food. The tree of life
was also in the midst of the garden, and the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10
Now a river went out of Eden to water the
garden, and from there it parted and became
four riverheads. 11The name of the first is
Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole
land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12And the
gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the
onyx stone are there. 13The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes
around the whole land of Cush. 14The name of
the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which
goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth
river is the Euphrates.
15
Then the LORD God took the man and put
him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

16
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may
freely eat; 17but of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day
that you eat of it you shall surely die.
18
And the LORD God said, It is not good that
man should be alone; I will make him a helper
comparable to him. 19Out of the ground the
LORD God formed every beast of the field and
every bird of the air, and brought them to
Adam to see what he would call them. And
whatever Adam called each living creature,
that was its name. 20So Adam gave names to all
cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every
beast of the field. But for Adam there was not
found a helper comparable to him.
21
And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to
fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of
his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.
22
Then the rib which the LORD God had taken
from man He made into a woman, and He
brought her to the man.
23
And Adam said:

This is now bone of my bones

And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.
Therefore a man shall leave his father and
mother and be joined to his wife, and they
shall become one flesh.
25
And they were both naked, the man and
his wife, and were not ashamed.
24

Psalm 1:16

B
2

lessed is the man

Who walks not in the counsel
of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law
of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day
and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit
in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind
drives away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand
in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation
of the righteous.

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For the LORD knows the way of the

righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall
perish.

begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim

begot Eliud. 15Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot
Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. 16And Jacob
begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom
was born Jesus who is called Christ.
17
So all the generations from Abraham to
David are fourteen generations, from David
until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon
until the Christ are fourteen generations.

Proverbs 1:17

The proverbs of Solomon the son of David,

king of Israel:
2

To know wisdom and instruction,

To perceive the words of
understanding,
To receive the instruction
of wisdom,
Justice, judgment, and equity;
To give prudence to the simple,
To the young man knowledge
and discretion
A wise man will hear and increase
learning,
And a man of understanding will attain
wise counsel,
To understand a proverb and
an enigma,
The words of the wise and their
riddles.

1:18 betrothed. Jewish betrothal was as binding as a modern marriage and could only be
broken through divorce. The betrothal couple
was legally considered husband and wife, even
though physical union had not yet taken place.

18
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to
Joseph, before they came together, she was
found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not
wanting to make her a public example, was
minded to put her away secretly. 20But while
he thought about these things, behold, an
angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream,
saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid
to take to you Mary your wife, for that which
is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21And
she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call
His name JESUS, for He will save His people
from their sins.
22
So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through
the prophet, saying: 23Behold, the virgin shall
be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall
call His name Immanuel, which is translated,
God with us.
24
Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep,
did as the angel of the Lord commanded him
and took to him his wife, 25and did not know
her till she had brought forth her firstborn
Son. And he called His name JESUS.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning

of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom
and instruction.

Matthew 1:125

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,

the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:
2
Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob,
and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.
3
Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar,
Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram.
4
Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot
Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon.
5
Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot
Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, 6and Jesse
begot David the king.
David the king begot Solomon by her who
had been the wife of Uriah. 7Solomon begot
Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and
Abijah begot Asa. 8Asa begot Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot
Uzziah. 9Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot
Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. 10Hezekiah
begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and
Amon begot Josiah. 11Josiah begot Jeconiah
and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.
12
And after they were brought to Babylon,
Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot
Zerubbabel. 13Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud
begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. 14Azor

1:22 that it might be fulfilled. Matthew

often referred to places where Old Testament
scriptures were fulfilled. He quoted from the
Old Testament more than 60 times, more frequently than any other New Testament writer,
except Paul in Romans.

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DAY 1: How does the Bible challenge or agree with current scientific theories?
Scientific theories, by their very definition, are subject to change and adjustment. Scripture
remains as Gods revealed unchanging declaration of truth.The Bible was not written as a challenge
to any particular scientific theory, but scientific theories have often been designed to challenge and
undermine biblical statements. They either agree with scripture or are mistaken.
The description in Genesis 1:1 that God created the heavens and the earth yields three basic
conclusions: 1) creation was a recent event measured in thousands not millions of years ago; 2) creation was ex nihilo, meaning that God created out of nothing; 3) creation was special, with light and
time being the first of Gods creative acts, since the day-count (Gen. 1:5) began before the creation
of sun and moon (Gen. 1:16).
One key in evaluating scientific theories depends on our understanding of the biblical word
created. Although the Hebrew word used in Genesis 1:1 can be used to describe the act of shaping or altering existent matter (Is. 65:18), such is not the case with the Bibles first words. God spoke
the heavens and earth into existence. Both context and the rest of Scripture bear witness to Gods
creativity without use of any preexisting material (Is. 40:28; 45:8,12,18; 48:13; Jer. 10:16; Acts 17:24).

January 2

11
And He said, Who told you that you were
naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which
I commanded you that you should not eat?
12
Then the man said, The woman whom
You gave to be with me, she gave me of the
tree, and I ate.
13
And the LORD God said to the woman,
What is this you have done?
The woman said, The serpent deceived
me, and I ate.
14
So the LORD God said to the serpent:

Genesis 3:14:26

Now the serpent was more cunning than

any beast of the field which the LORD God
had made. And he said to the woman, Has
God indeed said, You shall not eat of every
tree of the garden?
2
And the woman said to the serpent, We
may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;
3
but of the fruit of the tree which is in the
midst of the garden, God has said, You shall
not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.
4
Then the serpent said to the woman, You
will not surely die. 5For God knows that in the
day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and
you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
6
So when the woman saw that the tree was
good for food, that it was pleasant to the
eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise,
she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to
her husband with her, and he ate. 7Then the
eyes of both of them were opened, and they
knew that they were naked; and they sewed
fig leaves together and made themselves
coverings.
8
And they heard the sound of the LORD God
walking in the garden in the cool of the day,
and Adam and his wife hid themselves from
the presence of the LORD God among the trees
of the garden.
9
Then the LORD God called to Adam and
said to him, Where are you?
10
So he said, I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and
I hid myself.

15

Because you have done this,

You are cursed more than all cattle,
And more than every beast
of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And you shall eat dust
All the days of your life.
And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.
To the woman He said:

16

I will greatly multiply your sorrow and

your conception;
In pain you shall bring forth children;
Your desire shall be for your husband,
And he shall rule over you.
17
Then to Adam He said, Because you have
heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten
from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it:

Cursed is the ground for your sake;

In toil you shall eat of it
4

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3:15 bruise your headbruise His heel. This

is the first messianic prophecy, foretelling the
coming of Jesus Christ. Ever since the Fall,
Satans seed (Satan and unbelievers, who are
called the devils children in John 8:44) has
struggled against the womans seed (Christ, a
descendant of Eve, and His children). In the
midst of this curse passage, God gives a message of hopeHe is Christ, who will one day
defeat Satan completely. Satan could only
bruise Christs heel (cause Him to suffer),
while Christ will bruise Satans head (destroy
him with a fatal blow).

18

19

4:4,5 Abels offering was acceptable (see Heb.

11:4), because it was in every way obediently
given according to what God must have
revealed, though the revelation is not recorded in Genesis. Abels offering was an animal, it
was the very best of what he had, and it was
the culmination of a zealous heart for God.
Cain, however, disdained the divine instruction and just brought what he wanted to
bring: some of his crop.

angry? And why has your countenance fallen?

7
If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if
you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its
desire is for you, but you should rule over it.
8
Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and
it came to pass, when they were in the field,
that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and
killed him.
9
Then the LORD said to Cain, Where is Abel
your brother?
He said, I do not know. Am I my brothers
keeper?
10
And He said, What have you done? The
voice of your brothers blood cries out to Me
from the ground. 11So now you are cursed
from the earth, which has opened its mouth to
receive your brothers blood from your hand.
12
When you till the ground, it shall no longer
yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a
vagabond you shall be on the earth.
13
And Cain said to the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear! 14Surely You
have driven me out this day from the face of
the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face;
I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the
earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds
me will kill me.
15
And the LORD said to him, Therefore,
whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken
on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark
on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill
him.
16
Then Cain went out from the presence of
the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod on the
east of Eden. 17And Cain knew his wife, and she
conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city,
and called the name of the city after the name
of his sonEnoch. 18To Enoch was born Irad;
and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot
Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech.
19
Then Lamech took for himself two wives:
the name of one was Adah, and the name of
the second was Zillah. 20And Adah bore Jabal.

All the days of your life.

Both thorns and thistles it shall bring
forth for you,
And you shall eat the herb
of the field.
In the sweat of your face you shall eat
bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return.

20
And Adam called his wifes name Eve,
because she was the mother of all living.
21
Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God
made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
22
Then the LORD God said, Behold, the man
has become like one of Us, to know good and
evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and
take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live
forever 23therefore the LORD God sent him
out of the garden of Eden to till the ground
from which he was taken. 24So He drove out
the man; and He placed cherubim at the east
of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword
which turned every way, to guard the way to
the tree of life.
Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she
conceived and bore Cain, and said, I have
acquired a man from the LORD. 2Then she
bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now
Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a
tiller of the ground. 3And in the process of time
it came to pass that Cain brought an offering
of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. 4Abel
also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of
their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his
offering, 5but He did not respect Cain and
his offering. And Cain was ver y angr y, and
his countenance fell.
6
So the LORD said to Cain, Why are you

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He was the father of those who dwell in tents

and have livestock. 21His brothers name was
Jubal. He was the father of all those who play
the harp and flute. 22And as for Zillah, she also
bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of
Tubal-Cain was Naamah.
23
Then Lamech said to his wives:

24

King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in

the East and have come to worship Him.
3
When Herod the king heard this, he was
troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4And
when he had gathered all the chief priests and
scribes of the people together, he inquired of
them where the Christ was to be born.
5
So they said to him, In Bethlehem of
Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;

Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech!
For I have killed a man for wounding
me,
Even a young man for hurting me.
If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,
Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.

25
And Adam knew his wife again, and she
bore a son and named him Seth, For God has
appointed another seed for me instead of Abel,
whom Cain killed. 26And as for Seth, to him
also a son was born; and he named him
Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of
the LORD.

7
Then Herod, when he had secretly called
the wise men, determined from them what
time the star appeared. 8And he sent them to
Bethlehem and said, Go and search carefully
for the young Child, and when you have found
Him, bring back word to me, that I may come
and worship Him also.
9
When they heard the king, they departed;
and behold, the star which they had seen in
the East went before them, till it came and
stood over where the young Child was.
10
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with
exceedingly great joy. 11And when they had
come into the house, they saw the young
Child with Mary His mother, and fell down
and worshiped Him. And when they had
opened their treasures, they presented gifts to
Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12
Then, being divinely warned in a dream
that they should not return to Herod, they
departed for their own country another way.
13
Now when they had departed, behold, an
angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a
dream, saying, Arise, take the young Child
and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there

Psalm 2:16

hy do the nations rage,

And the people plot a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel
together,
Against the LORD and against His
Anointed, saying,
Let us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.

He who sits in the heavens shall

laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.
Then He shall speak to them in His
wrath,
And distress them in His deep
displeasure:
Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion.

But you, Bethlehem,

in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers
of Judah;
For out of you shall come
a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.

Proverbs 1:89
8

My son, hear the instruction

of your father,
And do not forsake the law
of your mother;
For they will be a graceful ornament
on your head,
And chains about your neck.

2:1 in the days of Herod the king. Herod the

Great was the first in a dynasty of rulers and is
thought to be a descendant of Esau. A ruthless
and cunning ruler, he saw the beginning of the
rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple under his
reign. wise men from the East. The number
of men is not given, though the 3 gifts can be
seen to represent one man each. These men
were Magimagicians and astrologersnot
kings.

Matthew 2:123

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of

Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold,
wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
2
saying, Where is He who has been born
6

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until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the

young Child to destroy Him.
14
When he arose, he took the young Child
and His mother by night and departed for
Egypt, 15and was there until the death of
Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,
Out of Egypt I called My Son.
16
Then Herod, when he saw that he was
deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly
angry; and he sent forth and put to death all
the male children who were in Bethlehem and
in all its districts, from two years old and
under, according to the time which he had
determined from the wise men. 17Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the
prophet, saying:
18

Rachel weeping for her

children,
Refusing to be comforted,
Because they are no more.
Now when Herod was dead, behold, an
angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20saying, Arise, take the young
Child and His mother, and go to the land of
Israel, for those who sought the young Childs
life are dead. 21Then he arose, took the young
Child and His mother, and came into the land
of Israel.
22
But when he heard that Archelaus was
reigning over Judea instead of his father
Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being
warned by God in a dream, he turned aside
into the region of Galilee. 23And he came and
dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be
fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets,
He shall be called a Nazarene.
19

A voice was heard in Ramah,

Lamentation, weeping,
and great mourning,

DAY 2: What do Christians mean when they talk about the Fall?
The Fall refers to that moment in time when human beings first disobeyed God. Genesis 3 tells
the painful episode. What Eve set in motion, Adam confirmed and completed by joining her. They
sinned together. The willful decision of Adam and Eve created a state of rebellion between the creation and her Creator.
The expression the Fall comes from the Bible itself. The apostle Paul uses the word in summarizing the human condition in Romans 3:23,for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God. It carries with it the sense of defeat and destruction. Great cities fell. So did people. But another fall preceded all thesethe fall of the angel Lucifer, who became known as Satan (Is. 14:1215).
In the Fall, our first ancestors declared us on Satans side.
The Bible makes it clear that the Fall brought sin into every subsequent persons life:
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death
spread to all men, because all sinned (Rom. 5:12). Our capacity for sin is inborn. We are sinners
before we have the opportunity to sin. Not only are we sinners because we sin; we first sin because
we are sinners. Why? Because we have all inherited the effects of Adams fall.

January 3

begot Enosh. 7After he begot Enosh, Seth lived

eight hundred and seven years, and had sons
and daughters. 8So all the days of Seth were
nine hundred and twelve years; and he died.
9
Enosh lived ninety years, and begot
Cainan. 10After he begot Cainan, Enosh lived
eight hundred and fifteen years, and had sons
and daughters. 11So all the days of Enosh were
nine hundred and five years; and he died.
12
Cainan lived seventy years, and begot
Mahalalel. 13After he begot Mahalalel, Cainan
lived eight hundred and forty years, and had
sons and daughters. 14So all the days of Cainan
were nine hundred and ten years; and he died.
15
Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot
Jared. 16After he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived
eight hundred and thirty years, and had sons
and daughters. 17So all the days of Mahalalel

Genesis 5:16:22

This is the book of the genealogy of Adam.

In the day that God created man, He made
him in the likeness of God. 2He created them
male and female, and blessed them and called
them Mankind in the day they were created.
3
And Adam lived one hundred and thirty
years, and begot a son in his own likeness,
after his image, and named him Seth. 4After he
begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters.
5
So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died.
6
Seth lived one hundred and five years, and
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were eight hundred and ninety-five years; and

he died.
18
Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two
years, and begot Enoch. 19After he begot Enoch,
Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons
and daughters. 20So all the days of Jared were
nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died.
21
Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot
Methuselah. 22After he begot Methuselah,
Enoch walked with God three hundred years,
and had sons and daughters. 23So all the days
of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five
years. 24And Enoch walked with God; and he
was not, for God took him.
25
Methuselah lived one hundred and eightyseven years, and begot Lamech. 26After he begot
Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and
eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters.
27
So all the days of Methuselah were nine
hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died.
28
Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two
years, and had a son. 29And he called his name
Noah, saying, This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands,
because of the ground which the LORD has
cursed. 30After he begot Noah, Lamech lived
five hundred and ninety-five years, and had
sons and daughters. 31So all the days of
Lamech were seven hundred and seventyseven years; and he died.
32
And Noah was five hundred years old, and
Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Now it came to pass, when men began to
multiply on the face of the earth, and
daughters were born to them, 2that the sons of
God saw the daughters of men, that they were
beautiful; and they took wives for themselves
of all whom they chose.
3
And the LORD said, My Spirit shall not
strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh;
yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty
years. 4There were giants on the earth in
those days, and also afterward, when the sons
of God came in to the daughters of men and
they bore children to them. Those were the
mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
5
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of
man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually. 6And the LORD was sorry that He
had made man on the earth, and He was
grieved in His heart. 7So the LORD said, I will
destroy man whom I have created from the
face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry
that I have made them. 8But Noah found
grace in the eyes of the LORD.
9
This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a

6:15,16 The ark was not designed for beauty

or speed, but these dimensions provided
extraordinary stability in the tumultuous
floodwaters. A cubit was about 18 inches long,
which made the ark 450 feet long, 75 feet
wide, and 45 feet high. A gigantic box of that
size would be very stable in the water and
impossible to capsize. The volume of space in
the ark was 1.4 million cubic feet, equal to the
capacity of 522 standard railroad box cars. It
had 3 stories, each 15 feet high; each deck was
equipped with rooms (literally,nests).Pitch
was a resin substance to seal the seams and
cracks in the wood. The window may have
actually been a low wall around the flat roof to
catch water for all on the ark.

just man, perfect in his generations. Noah

walked with God. 10And Noah begot three
sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11
The earth also was corrupt before God,
and the earth was filled with violence. 12So
God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was
corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way
on the earth.
13
And God said to Noah, The end of all
flesh has come before Me, for the earth is
filled with violence through them; and behold,
I will destroy them with the earth. 14Make
yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms
in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with
pitch. 15And this is how you shall make it: The
length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty
cubits. 16You shall make a window for the ark,
and you shall finish it to a cubit from above;
and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall
make it with lower, second, and third decks.
17
And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. 18But I will
establish My covenant with you; and you shall
go into the arkyou, your sons, your wife,
and your sons wives with you. 19And of every
living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of
every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with
you; they shall be male and female. 20Of the
birds after their kind, of animals after their
kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth
after its kind, two of every kind will come to
you to keep them alive. 21And you shall take for
yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall
gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for
you and for them.

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Thus Noah did; according to all that God

commanded him, so he did.
22

13

Psalm 2:712
I will declare the decree:
The LORD has said to Me,
You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,

14

15

16

17

2:7 You are My Son. Second Samuel 7:816 is

the only Old Testament reference to the
Father/Son relationship in the Trinity, a relationship seen throughout the New Testament.
Today I have begotten You. This expresses
the privileges of relationship, with its prophetic application to the Son, the Messiah. This
verse is quoted in the New Testament in reference to the birth of Jesus (Heb. 1:5,6) and to
His resurrection (Acts 13:33,34) as the ultimate
fulfillments of the verse.

18

19

Matthew 3:117

In those days John the Baptist came

preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2and
saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is
at hand! 3For this is he who was spoken of by
the prophet Isaiah, saying:

2:12 Kiss the Son. This symbolic act indicates

allegiance and submission (see 1 Sam. 10:1).
This word for Son is not the Hebrew word for
son that is used in v. 7. Rather, it is the
Aramaic counterpart for the word (see Dan.
7:13), which addresses the command to
nations(v. 1). perish in the way. These words
pick up the major burden of Psalm 1.

The voice of one crying in the

wilderness:
Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make His paths straight.
4
Now John himself was clothed in camels
hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and
his food was locusts and wild honey. 5Then
Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around
the Jordan went out to him 6and were baptized
by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
7
But when he saw many of the Pharisees
and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said
to them, Brood of vipers! Who warned you to
flee from the wrath to come? 8Therefore bear
fruits worthy of repentance, 9and do not think
to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our
father. For I say to you that God is able to
raise up children to Abraham from these
stones. 10And even now the ax is laid to the
root of the trees. Therefore every tree which
does not bear good fruit is cut down and
thrown into the fire. 11I indeed baptize you
with water unto repentance, but He who is
coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize
you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly
clean out His threshing floor, and gather His
wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the
chaff with unquenchable fire.
13
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at
the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14And John

And the ends of the earth for

Your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a
potters vessel.

Now therefore, be wise, O kings;

Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their
trust in Him.

10

11

12

Proverbs 1:1019
10

11

12

And whole, like those who go down

to the Pit;
We shall find all kinds of
precious possessions,
We shall fill our houses with spoil;
Cast in your lot among us,
Let us all have one purse
My son, do not walk in the
way with them,
Keep your foot from their path;
For their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed blood.
Surely, in vain the net is spread
In the sight of any bird;
But they lie in wait for their own blood,
They lurk secretly for their own lives.
So are the ways of everyone who is
greedy for gain;
It takes away the life of its owners.

My son, if sinners entice you,

Do not consent.
If they say, Come with us,
Let us lie in wait to shed blood;
Let us lurk secretly for the innocent
without cause;
Let us swallow them alive like Sheol,
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tried to prevent Him, saying, I need to be

baptized by You, and are You coming to me?
15
But Jesus answered and said to him, Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to
fulfill all righteousness. Then he allowed Him.
16
When He had been baptized, Jesus came

up immediately from the water; and behold,

the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw
the Spirit of God descending like a dove and
alighting upon Him. 17And suddenly a voice
came from heaven, saying, This is My
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

DAY 3: What is the difference between the Pharisees and Sadducees?

The Pharisees were a small (about 6,000), legalistic sect of the Jews. Their name means separated ones, not in the sense of isolationists but in the puritanical sense, i.e., they were highly zealous for ritual and religious purity according to the Mosaic Law as well as their own traditions that
they added to the Old Testament legislation. They represented the orthodox core of Judaism and
very strongly influenced the common people of Israel. Jesus interaction with the Pharisees was
usually adversarial. He rebuked them for using human tradition to nullify Scripture (15:39), and
especially for rank hypocrisy (15:7,8; 22:18; 23:13,23,25,29; Luke 12:1).
The Sadducees were known for their denial of things supernatural. They denied the resurrection of the dead (22:23) and the existence of angels (Acts 23:8). Unlike the Pharisees, they rejected
human tradition and scorned legalism. They accepted only the Pentateuch as authoritative. They
tended to be wealthy, aristocratic, members of the priestly tribe, and in the days of Herod their sect
controlled the temple, though they were fewer in number than the Pharisees.
Pharisees and Sadducees had little in common. Pharisees were ritualists; Sadducees were
rationalists. Pharisees were legalists; Sadducees were liberals. Pharisees were separatists; Sadducees
were compromisers and political opportunists. Yet they united together in their opposition of
Christ (22:15,16,23,34,35). John publicly addressed them as deadly snakes.

year of Noahs life, in the second month, the

seventeenth day of the month, on that day all
the fountains of the great deep were broken
up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12
And the rain was on the earth forty days and
forty nights.
13
On the very same day Noah and Noahs
sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noahs
wife and the three wives of his sons with them,
entered the ark 14they and every beast after
its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its

January 4
Genesis 7:18:22

Then the LORD said to Noah, Come into

the ark, you and all your household,
because I have seen that you are righteous
before Me in this generation. 2You shall take
with you seven each of every clean animal, a
male and his female; two each of animals that
are unclean, a male and his female; 3also seven
each of birds of the air, male and female, to
keep the species alive on the face of all the
earth. 4For after seven more days I will cause
it to rain on the earth forty days and forty
nights, and I will destroy from the face of the
earth all living things that I have made. 5And
Noah did according to all that the LORD commanded him. 6Noah was six hundred years old
when the floodwaters were on the earth.
7
So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his
sons wives, went into the ark because of the
waters of the flood. 8Of clean animals, of animals
that are unclean, of birds, and of everything
that creeps on the earth, 9two by two they
went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as
God had commanded Noah. 10And it came to
pass after seven days that the waters of the
flood were on the earth. 11In the six hundredth

7:11 all the fountains of the great deep were

broken up. The subterranean waters sprang
up from deep fountains inside the earth to
form the seas and rivers (1:10; 2:1014), which
were not produced by rainfall, since it never
rained before the Flood. the windows of
heaven. The celestial waters in the canopy
encircling the globe were dumped on the
earth and joined with the terrestrial and the
subterranean waters (see 1:7). The Flood
ended the water canopy surrounding the
earth and unleashed the water in the earth.
Thus began the earths cycle of hydrology,
with rain and evaporation (see Job 26:8; Eccl.
1:7; Is. 55:10; Amos 9:6).

10

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kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird

of every sort. 15And they went into the ark to
Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the
breath of life. 16So those that entered, male and
female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in.
17
Now the flood was on the earth forty days.
The waters increased and lifted up the ark,
and it rose high above the earth. 18The waters
prevailed and greatly increased on the earth,
and the ark moved about on the surface of the
waters. 19And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the
whole heaven were covered. 20The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. 21And all flesh died that
moved on the earth: birds and cattle and
beasts and every creeping thing that creeps
on the earth, and every man. 22All in whose
nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all
that was on the dry land, died. 23So He
destroyed all living things which were on the
face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were
destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and
those who were with him in the ark remained
alive. 24And the waters prevailed on the earth
one hundred and fifty days.
Then God remembered Noah, and every
living thing, and all the animals that were
with him in the ark. And God made a wind to
pass over the earth, and the waters subsided.
2
The fountains of the deep and the windows of
heaven were also stopped, and the rain from
heaven was restrained. 3And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of
the hundred and fifty days the waters
decreased. 4Then the ark rested in the seventh
month, the seventeenth day of the month, on
the mountains of Ararat. 5And the waters
decreased continually until the tenth month.
In the tenth month, on the first day of the
month, the tops of the mountains were seen.
6
So it came to pass, at the end of forty days,
that Noah opened the window of the ark
which he had made. 7Then he sent out a raven,
which kept going to and fro until the waters
had dried up from the earth. 8He also sent out
from himself a dove, to see if the waters had
receded from the face of the ground. 9But the
dove found no resting place for the sole of her
foot, and she returned into the ark to him, for
the waters were on the face of the whole earth.
So he put out his hand and took her, and drew
her into the ark to himself. 10And he waited yet
another seven days, and again he sent the
dove out from the ark. 11Then the dove came
to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly

plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah

knew that the waters had receded from the
earth. 12So he waited yet another seven days
and sent out the dove, which did not return
again to him anymore.
13
And it came to pass in the six hundred and
first year, in the first month, the first day of the
month, that the waters were dried up from
the earth; and Noah removed the covering of
the ark and looked, and indeed the surface of
the ground was dry. 14And in the second month,
on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the
earth was dried.
15
Then God spoke to Noah, saying, 16Go out
of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons
and your sons wives with you. 17Bring out with
you every living thing of all flesh that is with
you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing
that creeps on the earth, so that they may
abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth. 18So Noah went out, and his
sons and his wife and his sons wives with him.
19
Every animal, every creeping thing, every
bird, and whatever creeps on the earth,
according to their families, went out of the ark.
20
Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and
took of every clean animal and of every clean
bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
21
And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma.
Then the LORD said in His heart, I will never
again curse the ground for mans sake,
although the imagination of mans heart is evil
from his youth; nor will I again destroy every
living thing as I have done.

22

While the earth remains,

Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Winter and summer,
And day and night
Shall not cease.

Psalm 3:14
A Psalm of David when he fled from
Absalom his son.

ORD,

11

how they have increased

who trouble me!
Many are they who rise up against me.
Many are they who say of me,
There is no help for him in God.
Selah
But You, O LORD, are a shield for me,
My glory and the One who lifts up my
head.
I cried to the LORD with my voice,
And He heard me from His
holy hill.
Selah

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Proverbs 1:2022
20

21

22

In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

Wisdom calls aloud outside;

She raises her voice in the open
squares.
She cries out in the chief concourses,
At the openings of the gates in the city
She speaks her words:
How long, you simple ones, will you
love simplicity?
For scorners delight in their scorning,
And fools hate knowledge.

7
Jesus said to him, It is written again, You
shall not tempt the LORD your God.
8
Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the
kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9And
he said to Him, All these things I will give
You if You will fall down and worship me.
10
Then Jesus said to him, Away with you, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the LORD
your God, and Him only you shall serve.
11
Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels
came and ministered to Him.
12
Now when Jesus heard that John had been
put in prison, He departed to Galilee. 13And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum,
which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun
and Naphtali, 14that it might be fulfilled which
was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

1:22 How long. Three classes of people need

wisdom: 1) the simple, who are ignorant; 2)
scorners or mockers, who commit more serious, determined acts; and 3) fools or obstinate
unbelievers, who will not listen to the truth.
Proverbs directs its wisdom primarily at the
first group.

15

Matthew 4:125

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into

the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
2
And when He had fasted forty days and forty
nights, afterward He was hungry. 3Now when
the tempter came to Him, he said, If You are
the Son of God, command that these stones
become bread.
4
But He answered and said, It is written,
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
5
Then the devil took Him up into the holy
city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,
6
and said to Him, If You are the Son of God,
throw Yourself down. For it is written:

16

The land of Zebulun and the land of

Naphtali,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles:
The people who sat in darkness have
seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region
and shadow of death
Light has dawned.

17
From that time Jesus began to preach and
to say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is
at hand.
18
And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw
two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew
his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they
were fishermen. 19Then He said to them, Follow
Me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20They
immediately left their nets and followed Him.
21
Going on from there, He saw two other
brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John
his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their
father, mending their nets. He called them,
22
and immediately they left the boat and their
father, and followed Him.
23
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching
in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of
the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness
and all kinds of disease among the people.
24
Then His fame went throughout all Syria;
and they brought to Him all sick people who
were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed,
epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.
25
Great multitudes followed Himfrom Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea,
and beyond the Jordan.

He shall give His angels charge over you,

and,

4:4 It is written. All 3 of Jesus replies to the

devil were taken from Deuteronomy. This one,
from Deuteronomy 8:3, states that God
allowed Israel to hunger, so that He might feed
them with manna and teach them to trust Him
to provide for them. So the verse is directly
applicable to Jesus circumstances and a fitting
reply to Satans temptation. every word that
proceeds from the mouth of God. A more
important source of sustenance than food, it
nurtures our spiritual needs in a way that benefits us eternally, rather than merely providing
temporal relief from physical hunger.

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DAY 4: How significant is the Flood in the overall biblical history?

The Bible treats the Flood as a worldwide event directly brought by God as a judgment on the
sin of humanity. The flood hangs like a warning cloud over all subsequent history. Fortunately, that
cloud also holds a rainbow of Gods promised grace.
Conditions in Noahs day were ripe for judgment.Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of
man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (Gen. 6:5). This verse provides one of the strongest and clearest statements about mans sinful nature. Many other verses make it clear that God had every reason for radical action: Jeremiah
17:9,10; Matthew 12:34,35; 15:18,19; Mark 7:21; Luke 6:45. Other notable Scriptures on the worldwide flood brought by God include Job 12:15; 22:16; Psalms 29:10; 104:69; Isaiah 54:9; Matthew
24:3739; Luke 17:26,27; Hebrews 11:7; 1 Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 2:5; 3:5,6.
The Flood illustrates several important aspects of Gods character and Gods relationship with
His creation: 1) God retains ultimate control of world events; 2) God can and will judge sin; 3) God
can and does exercise grace even in judgment; 4) An even more universal and final judgment will
be carried out on the world based on Gods timetable.

descendants after you, 10and with every living

creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle,
and every beast of the earth with you, of all
that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth.
11
Thus I establish My covenant with you:
Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the
waters of the flood; never again shall there be
a flood to destroy the earth.
12
And God said: This is the sign of the
covenant which I make between Me and you,
and every living creature that is with you, for
perpetual generations: 13I set My rainbow in
the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the
covenant between Me and the earth. 14It shall
be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that
the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; 15and I
will remember My covenant which is between
Me and you and every living creature of all
flesh; the waters shall never again become a
flood to destroy all flesh. 16The rainbow shall
be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and
every living creature of all flesh that is on the
earth. 17And God said to Noah, This is the
sign of the covenant which I have established
between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.

January 5
Genesis 9:110:32

So God blessed Noah and his sons, and

said to them: Be fruitful and multiply,
and fill the earth. 2And the fear of you and the
dread of you shall be on every beast of the
earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move
on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea.
They are given into your hand. 3Every moving
thing that lives shall be food for you. I have
given you all things, even as the green herbs.
4
But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is,
its blood. 5Surely for your lifeblood I will
demand a reckoning; from the hand of every
beast I will require it, and from the hand of
man. From the hand of every mans brother I
will require the life of man.
6

Whoever sheds mans blood,

By man his blood shall be shed;
For in the image of God
He made man.
And as for you, be fruitful and multiply;
Bring forth abundantly in the earth
And multiply in it.

Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons

with him, saying: 9And as for Me, behold, I
establish My covenant with you and with your
8

9:16 the everlasting covenant. This covenant

with Noah is the first of 5 divinely originated
covenants that are described as everlasting.
The term everlasting can mean either 1) to
the end of time and/or 2) through eternity
future. It does not include eternity past. The
other four such covenants include the following: 1) Abrahamic (Gen. 17:7); 2) Priestly (Num.
25:1013); 3) Davidic (2 Sam. 23:5); and 4) New
(Jer. 32:40).

9:6 For in the image of God. The reason man

could kill animals, but neither animals nor
man could kill man, is because man alone was
created in Gods image.

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18
Now the sons of Noah who went out of the
ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham
was the father of Canaan. 19These three were
the sons of Noah, and from these the whole
earth was populated.
20
And Noah began to be a farmer, and he
planted a vineyard. 21Then he drank of the wine
and was drunk, and became uncovered in his
tent. 22And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the
nakedness of his father, and told his two
brothers outside. 23But Shem and Japheth took
a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and
went backward and covered the nakedness of
their father. Their faces were turned away, and
they did not see their fathers nakedness.
24
So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew
what his younger son had done to him. 25Then
he said:

13
Mizraim begot Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim,
Naphtuhim, 14Pathrusim, and Casluhim (from
whom came the Philistines and Caphtorim).
15
Canaan begot Sidon his firstborn, and Heth;
16
the Jebusite, the Amorite, and the Girgashite;
17
the Hivite, the Arkite, and the Sinite; 18the
Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite.
Afterward the families of the Canaanites were
dispersed. 19And the border of the Canaanites
was from Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far
as Gaza; then as you go toward Sodom,
Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as
Lasha. 20These were the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands and in their nations.
21
And children were born also to Shem, the
father of all the children of Eber, the brother
of Japheth the elder. 22The sons of Shem were
Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.
23
The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and
Mash. 24Arphaxad begot Salah, and Salah
begot Eber. 25To Eber were born two sons: the
name of one was Peleg, for in his days the
earth was divided; and his brothers name was
Joktan. 26Joktan begot Almodad, Sheleph,
Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,
28
Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29Ophir, Havilah, and
Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan. 30And
their dwelling place was from Mesha as you
go toward Sephar, the mountain of the east.
31
These were the sons of Shem, according to
their families, according to their languages, in
their lands, according to their nations.
32
These were the families of the sons of
Noah, according to their generations, in their
nations; and from these the nations were
divided on the earth after the flood.

Cursed be Canaan;
A servant of servants
He shall be to his brethren.
And he said:

26

27

Blessed be the LORD,

The God of Shem,
And may Canaan be his servant.
May God enlarge Japheth,
And may he dwell in the tents of Shem;
And may Canaan be his servant.

28
And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. 29So all the days of Noah
were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died.
Now this is the genealogy of the sons of
Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And
sons were born to them after the flood.
2
The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog,
Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
3
The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath,
and Togarmah. 4The sons of Javan were
Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
5
From these the coastland peoples of the
Gentiles were separated into their lands,
everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.
6
The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put,
and Canaan. 7The sons of Cush were Seba,
Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtechah; and
the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.
8
Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty
one on the earth. 9He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, Like Nimrod
the mighty hunter before the LORD. 10And the
beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech,
Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11From
that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh,
Rehoboth Ir, Calah, 12and Resen between
Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city).

10

Psalm 3:58
I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the LORD sustained me.
I will not be afraid of ten thousands
of people
Who have set themselves against me
all around.

Arise, O LORD;
Save me, O my God!
For You have struck all my enemies
on the cheekbone;
You have broken the teeth of the
ungodly.
Salvation belongs to the LORD.
Your blessing is upon Your people.
Selah

Proverbs 1:2327
23

14

Turn at my rebuke;
Surely I will pour out my spirit on you;

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24

25

26

27

I will make my words known to you.

Because I have called and you refused,
I have stretched out my hand and no
one regarded,
Because you disdained all my counsel,
And would have none of my rebuke,
I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when your terror comes,
When your terror comes like a storm,
And your destruction comes like
a whirlwind,
When distress and anguish come
upon you.

10

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you
falsely for My sake. 12Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven,
for so they persecuted the prophets who were
before you.
13
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt
loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is
then good for nothing but to be thrown out
and trampled underfoot by men.
14
You are the light of the world. A city that
is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Nor do they
light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on
a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in
the house. 16Let your light so shine before
men, that they may see your good works and
glorify your Father in heaven.
17
Do not think that I came to destroy the
Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy
but to fulfill. 18For assuredly, I say to you, till
heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is
fulfilled. 19Whoever therefore breaks one of
the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom
of heaven; but whoever does and teaches
them, he shall be called great in the kingdom
of heaven. 20For I say to you, that unless your
righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the
scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means
enter the kingdom of heaven.
21
You have heard that it was said to those of
old, You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. 22But I
say to you that whoever is angry with his
brother without a cause shall be in danger of
the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, Raca! shall be in danger of the council. But
whoever says, You fool! shall be in danger of
hell fire. 23Therefore if you bring your gift to
the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift
there before the altar, and go your way. First
be reconciled to your brother, and then come
and offer your gift. 25Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with
him, lest your adversary deliver you to the
judge, the judge hand you over to the officer,
and you be thrown into prison. 26Assuredly, I
say to you, you will by no means get out of
there till you have paid the last penny.
11

Matthew 5:126

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on

a mountain, and when He was seated His
disciples came to Him. 2Then He opened His
mouth and taught them, saying:
3

Blessed are the pure in heart,

For they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted
for righteousness sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are the poor in spirit,

For theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit
the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and
thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.

5:3 Blessed. The word literally means happy,

fortunate, blissful.Here it speaks of more than
a surface emotion. Jesus was describing the
divinely bestowed well-being that belongs
only to the faithful. The Beatitudes demonstrate that the way to heavenly blessedness is
antithetical to the worldly path normally followed in pursuit of happiness. The worldly
idea is that happiness is found in riches, merriment, abundance, leisure, and such things.The
real truth is the very opposite. The Beatitudes
give Jesus description of the character of true
faith. poor in spirit. The opposite of self-sufficiency. This speaks of deep humility of recognizing ones utter spiritual bankruptcy apart
from God. It describes those who are acutely
conscious of their own lostness and hopelessness apart from divine grace (9:12; Luke 18:13).
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Notice that
the truth of salvation by grace is clearly presupposed in this opening verse of the Sermon
on the Mount. Jesus was teaching that the
kingdom is a gracious gift to those who sense
their own poverty of spirit.

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Day 5: Why did Jesus preach the Sermon on the Mount?

Matthew records five important discourses: the Sermon on the Mount (chaps. 57); the commissioning of the apostles (chap. 10); the parables about the kingdom of heaven (chap. 13); a discourse about the childlikeness of the believer (chap. 18); and the discourse on His second coming
(chaps. 24;25). Each discourse ends with a variation of this phrase:when Jesus had ended these sayings.That becomes a motif signaling a new narrative portion.
The Sermon on the Mount is a masterful exposition of the law and a potent assault on
Pharisaic legalism, closing with a call to true faith and salvation (7:1329). Matthew is keen to show
the error of the Pharisees for the benefit of his Jewish audiencenot for personal or self-aggrandizing reasons. Christ expounded the full meaning of the law, showing that its demands were
humanly impossible (see 5:48). This is the proper use of the law with respect to salvation: It closes
off every possible avenue of human merit and leaves sinners dependent on nothing but divine
grace for salvation (see Rom. 3:19,20; Gal. 3:23,24). Christ plumbed the depth of the law, showing
that its true demands went far beyond the surface meaning of the words (5:28,39,44) and set a
standard that is higher than the most diligent students of the law had heretofore realized.

earth, and they ceased building the city.

9
Therefore its name is called Babel, because
there the LORD confused the language of all
the earth; and from there the LORD scattered
them abroad over the face of all the earth.
10
This is the genealogy of Shem: Shem was
one hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad
two years after the flood. 11After he begot
Arphaxad, Shem lived five hundred years, and
begot sons and daughters.
12
Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot
Salah. 13After he begot Salah, Arphaxad lived
four hundred and three years, and begot sons
and daughters.
14
Salah lived thirty years, and begot Eber.
15
After he begot Eber, Salah lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and
daughters.
16
Eber lived thirty-four years, and begot
Peleg. 17After he begot Peleg, Eber lived four
hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and
daughters.
18
Peleg lived thirty years, and begot Reu.
19
After he begot Reu, Peleg lived two hundred
and nine years, and begot sons and daughters.
20
Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot
Serug. 21After he begot Serug, Reu lived two
hundred and seven years, and begot sons and
daughters.
22
Serug lived thirty years, and begot Nahor.
23
After he begot Nahor, Serug lived two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.
24
Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begot
Terah. 25After he begot Terah, Nahor lived one
hundred and nineteen years, and begot sons
and daughters.
26
Now Terah lived seventy years, and begot
Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
27
This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah
begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot

January 6
Genesis 11:112:20

11

Now the whole earth had one language and

one speech. 2And it came to pass, as they
journeyed from the east, that they found a
plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt
there. 3Then they said to one another, Come,
let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.
They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt
for mortar. 4And they said, Come, let us build
ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in
the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves,
lest we be scattered abroad over the face of
the whole earth.

11:3,4 build ourselves a city. After God commanded the people to scatter to fill the earth,
the people, under the leadership of the powerful Nimrod, disobeyed Gods command to disperse.They stopped to build a city and tower in
their own honor. The tower itself was not the
singular act of rebellion. Rather, human pride
caused them to rebel against God.

But the LORD came down to see the city and

the tower which the sons of men had built.
6
And the LORD said, Indeed the people are
one and they all have one language, and this is
what they begin to do; now nothing that they
propose to do will be withheld from them.
7
Come, let Us go down and there confuse their
language, that they may not understand one
anothers speech. 8So the LORD scattered
them abroad from there over the face of all the
5

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Lot. 28And Haran died before his father Terah

in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans.
29
Then Abram and Nahor took wives: the
name of Abrams wife was Sarai, and the name
of Nahors wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran
the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah.
30
But Sarai was barren; she had no child.
31
And Terah took his son Abram and his
grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his
daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abrams wife,
and they went out with them from Ur of the
Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and
they came to Haran and dwelt there. 32So the
days of Terah were two hundred and five
years, and Terah died in Haran.
Now the LORD had said to Abram:

Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said,

To your descendants I will give this land.
And there he built an altar to the LORD, who
had appeared to him. 8And he moved from
there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he
pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai
on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD
and called on the name of the LORD. 9So Abram
journeyed, going on still toward the South.
10
Now there was a famine in the land, and
Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for
the famine was severe in the land. 11And it
came to pass, when he was close to entering
Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, Indeed I
know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. 12Therefore it will happen, when the
Egyptians see you, that they will say, This is
his wife; and they will kill me, but they will let
you live. 13Please say you are my sister, that it
may be well with me for your sake, and that I
may live because of you.
14
So it was, when Abram came into Egypt,
that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she
was very beautiful. 15The princes of Pharaoh
also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh.
And the woman was taken to Pharaohs house.
16
He treated Abram well for her sake. He had
sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female
servants, female donkeys, and camels.
17
But the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his
house with great plagues because of Sarai,
Abrams wife. 18And Pharaoh called Abram
and said, What is this you have done to me?
Why did you not tell me that she was your
wife? 19Why did you say, She is my sister? I
might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your
way. 20So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his
wife and all that he had.
7

12
2

Get out of your country,

From your family
And from your fathers house,
To a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth
shall be blessed.

4
So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And
Abram was seventy-five years old when he
departed from Haran. 5Then Abram took Sarai
his wife and Lot his brothers son, and all their
possessions that they had gathered, and the
people whom they had acquired in Haran, and
they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So
they came to the land of Canaan. 6Abram passed
through the land to the place of Shechem, as far
as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the
Canaanites were then in the land.

Psalm 4:13
To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments.
A Psalm of David.

ear me when I call, O God of my

righteousness!

12:13 the LORDto Abram. This passage

contains the promise whose fulfillment
extends all through Scripture. It is an everlasting covenant which includes four components: 1) seed (see Gal. 3:8,16, referring to
Christ); 2) land (15:1821; 17:8); 3) a nation
(12:2; 17:4); and 4) divine blessing and protection (12:3). The covenant is unconditional in
the sense of its ultimate fulfillment of a kingdom and salvation. It has great national importance to Israel, as magnified by repeated references in the Old Testament, and great spiritual
importance to all believers.

4:1 O God of my righteousness. The ultimate

basis for divine intervention is Gods righteousness, not the psalmists (see Jer. 23:6). distress. This word describes the psalmist in
painful situations. When he says You have
relieved me, he conveys the picture that God
has provided space for him.

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You have relieved me in my distress;

Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
How long, O you sons of men,
Will you turn my glory to shame?
How long will you love worthlessness
And seek falsehood?
Selah
But know that the LORD has set apart
for Himself him who is godly;
The LORD will hear when I call to Him.

5:31 it has been said. The rabbis wrongly understood Deuteronomy 24:14 to mean that divorce
only required regulated paperwork and could be
granted for anything that displeased a man.
Moses provided this as a concession to protect
the woman who was divorced, not to justify or
legalize divorce under all circumstances.

Proverbs 1:2833
28

29

30

31

32

33

immorality causes her to commit adultery;

and whoever marries a woman who is
divorced commits adultery.
33
Again you have heard that it was said to
those of old, You shall not swear falsely, but
shall perform your oaths to the Lord. 34But I
say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is Gods throne; 35nor by the earth, for
it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the
city of the great King. 36Nor shall you swear by
your head, because you cannot make one hair
white or black. 37But let your Yes be Yes, and
your No, No. For whatever is more than
these is from the evil one.
38
You have heard that it was said, An eye for
an eye and a tooth for a tooth. 39But I tell you not
to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you
on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.
40
If anyone wants to sue you and take away your
tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41And whoever
compels you to go one mile, go with him two.
42
Give to him who asks you, and from him who
wants to borrow from you do not turn away.
43
You have heard that it was said, You shall
love your neighbor and hate your enemy. 44But
I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who
curse you, do good to those who hate you, and
pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father
in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the
evil and on the good, and sends rain on the
just and on the unjust. 46For if you love those
who love you, what reward have you? Do not
even the tax collectors do the same? 47And if
you greet your brethren only, what do you do
more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48Therefore you shall be perfect,
just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Then they will call on me,

but I will not answer;
They will seek me diligently, but they
will not find me.
Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the LORD,
They would have none of my counsel
And despised my every rebuke.
Therefore they shall eat the fruit of
their own way,
And be filled to the full with their own
fancies.
For the turning away of the simple will
slay them,
And the complacency of fools will
destroy them;
But whoever listens to me will dwell
safely,
And will be secure, without fear of evil.

Matthew 5:2748
You have heard that it was said to those of
old, You shall not commit adultery. 28But I say
to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust
for her has already committed adultery with
her in his heart. 29If your right eye causes you
to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is
more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be
cast into hell. 30And if your right hand causes
you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it
is more profitable for you that one of your
members perish, than for your whole body to
be cast into hell.
31
Furthermore it has been said, Whoever
divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate
of divorce. 32But I say to you that whoever
divorces his wife for any reason except sexual
27

DAY 6: Why did God cause the multiplication of languages and the dispersion of peoples?
After the Flood, human civilization again began to spread across the earth.Those who traveled
east under Nimrod (10:810) settled for a while in a place called Shinar. Later, they decided to establish a city as a tribute to themselves and as a way to keep from spreading across the earth (11:4).
This was a double prideful rebellion against God. First, their city, with its proposed tower, was to be
a monument to their self-reliance. Second, the permanence of their settlement represented an
effort to disobey Gods direct command to inhabit the whole earth.
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Because it was Gods purpose to fill the earth with custodians, He responded to the peoples
prideful rebellion. They had chosen to settle; He forced them to scatter. Their cooperation and selfreliance had been based on their shared language. Instead of using all their resources to obey God,
they misused them for disobedience. God chose to complicate communication by multiplying the
languages. The location where this confusion took place became known as Babel (related to a
Hebrew word meaning to confuse). Later it became Babylon, the constant enemy of Gods people,
and throughout Scripture the capital of human rebellion against God (Rev. 16:19; 17:5).

January 7

Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan,

and Lot journeyed east. And they separated
from each other. 12Abram dwelt in the land of
Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain
and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom.
13
But the men of Sodom were exceedingly
wicked and sinful against the LORD.
14
And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had
separated from him: Lift your eyes now and
look from the place where you arenorthward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15for
all the land which you see I give to you and
your descendants forever. 16And I will make
your descendants as the dust of the earth; so
that if a man could number the dust of the
earth, then your descendants also could be
numbered. 17Arise, walk in the land through
its length and its width, for I give it to you.
18
Then Abram moved his tent, and went and
dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which
are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the
LORD.
And it came to pass in the days of
Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of
Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal
king of nations, 2that they made war with Bera
king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah,
Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of
Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).
3
All these joined together in the Valley of
Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 4Twelve years
they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
5
In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and
the kings that were with him came and
attacked the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim,
the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh
Kiriathaim, 6and the Horites in their mountain
of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is by the
wilderness. 7Then they turned back and came
to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and attacked
all the country of the Amalekites, and also the
Amorites who dwelt in Hazezon Tamar.
8
And the king of Sodom, the king of
Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of
Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar)
went out and joined together in battle in the

Genesis 13:114:24

13

Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and

his wife and all that he had, and Lot with
him, to the South. 2Abram was very rich in
livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3And he went
on his journey from the South as far as Bethel,
to the place where his tent had been at the
beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4to the
place of the altar which he had made there at
first. And there Abram called on the name of
the LORD.
5
Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks
and herds and tents. 6Now the land was not
able to support them, that they might dwell
together, for their possessions were so great
that they could not dwell together. 7And there
was strife between the herdsmen of Abrams
livestock and the herdsmen of Lots livestock.
The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt
in the land.
8
So Abram said to Lot, Please let there be
no strife between you and me, and between
my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are
brethren. 9Is not the whole land before you?
Please separate from me. If you take the left,
then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the
right, then I will go to the left.
10
And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain
of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere
(before the LORD destroyed Sodom and
Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like
the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. 11Then

14

13:8 we are brethren. Abrams whole reaction in resolving the strife between the two
households and their personnel portrayed a
different Abram than seen in Egyptone
whose attitude was not self-centered. Waving
his rights to seniority, he gave the choice to his
nephew, Lot.

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Valley of Siddim 9against Chedorlaomer king

of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king
of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasarfour
kings against five. 10Now the Valley of Siddim
was full of asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom
and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the
remainder fled to the mountains. 11Then they
took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and
all their provisions, and went their way. 12They
also took Lot, Abrams brothers son who dwelt
in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
13
Then one who had escaped came and told
Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of
Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were
allies with Abram. 14Now when Abram heard
that his brother was taken captive, he armed
his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and
went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15He divided his
forces against them by night, and he and his
servants attacked them and pursued them as
far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. 16So
he brought back all the goods, and also
brought back his brother Lot and his goods,
as well as the women and the people.
17
And the king of Sodom went out to meet
him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the Kings
Valley), after his return from the defeat of
Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him.
18
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought
out bread and wine; he was the priest of God

Most High. 19And he blessed him and said:

20

Blessed be Abram of God Most High,

Possessor of heaven and earth;
And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your
enemies into your hand.

And he gave him a tithe of all.

21
Now the king of Sodom said to Abram,
Give me the persons, and take the goods for
yourself.
22
But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I
have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most
High, the Possessor of heaven and earth,
23
that I will take nothing, from a thread to a
sandal strap, and that I will not take anything
that is yours, lest you should say, I have made
Abram rich 24except only what the young
men have eaten, and the portion of the men
who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre;
let them take their portion.
Psalm 4:48
Be angry, and do not sin.
Meditate within your heart on your
bed, and be still.
Selah
Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,
And put your trust in the LORD.

There are many who say,

Who will show us any good?
LORD, lift up the light of Your
countenance upon us.
You have put gladness in my heart,
More than in the season that their
grain and wine increased.
I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;
For You alone, O LORD, make me dwell
in safety.

14:18 Melchizedek king of Salem. The lack of

biographical and genealogical particulars for
this ruler, whose name meant righteous king
and who was a king-priest over ancient
Jerusalem, allowed for later revelation to use
him as a type of Christ (see Ps. 110:4; Heb.
7:17,21). His superior status in Abrams day is
witnessed 1) by the king of Sodom, the first to
meet Abram returning in victory, deferring to
Melchizedek before continuing with his request
(vv. 17,21) and 2) by Abram, without demur,
both accepting a blessing from him and also
giving a tithe to him (vv. 19,20). priest of God
Most High. The use of El Elyon (Sovereign Lord)
for Gods name indicated that Melchizedek,
who used this title two times (vv. 18,19), worshiped, served, and represented no Canaanite
deity, but the same one whom Abram also
called Yahweh El Elyon (v. 22).That this was so is
confirmed by the added description,Possessor
of heaven and earth, being used by both
Abram and Melchizedek (vv. 19,22).

Proverbs 2:15

2
2

My son, if you receive my words,

And treasure my commands within you,
So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding;
Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,
If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for
hidden treasures;

2:1 my words. Solomon made Gods law his

own by faith, obedience, and teaching.The wisdom of Gods words is available to those who
understand its value. Appropriating wisdom
begins when one values it above all else.

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5

Then you will understand the fear of

the LORD,
And find the knowledge of God.

Therefore do not be like them. For your

Father knows the things you have need of
before you ask Him. 9In this manner, therefore, pray:
8

Matthew 6:118

Take heed that you do not do your

charitable deeds before men, to be seen
by them. Otherwise you have no reward
from your Father in heaven. 2Therefore,
when you do a charitable deed, do not sound
a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in
the synagogues and in the streets, that they
may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to
you, they have their reward. 3But when you
do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand
know what your right hand is doing, 4that
your charitable deed may be in secret; and
your Father who sees in secret will Himself
reward you openly.
5
And when you pray, you shall not be like
the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing
in the synagogues and on the corners of the
streets, that they may be seen by men.
Assuredly, I say to you, they have their
reward. 6But you, when you pray, go into your
room, and when you have shut your door, pray
to your Father who is in the secret place; and
your Father who sees in secret will reward
you openly. 7And when you pray, do not use
vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they
think that they will be heard for their many
words.

10

11
12

13

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom
and the power and the glory
forever. Amen.

14
For if you forgive men their trespasses,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But
if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
16
Moreover, when you fast, do not be like
the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For
they disfigure their faces that they may appear
to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you,
they have their reward. 17But you, when you
fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18so
that you do not appear to men to be fasting,
but to your Father who is in the secret place;
and your Father who sees in secret will
reward you openly.

DAY 7: What does the Lords Prayer teach us about forgiveness?

The request,Forgive us our debts (6:12), is the heart of the prayer; it is what Jesus stressed in
the words that followed the prayer (vv. 14,15; see Mark 11:25).The parallel passage in Luke 11:4 uses
the word that means sins, so that in context, spiritual debts are intended. Sinners are debtors to
God in their violations of His laws.
When Jesus added that if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses (v. 15), this is not to suggest that God will withdraw justification from those
who have already received the free pardon He extends to all believers. Forgiveness in that sense
a permanent and complete acquittal from the guilt and ultimate penalty of sinbelongs to all who
are in Christ (see John 5:24; Rom. 8:1; Eph. 1:7).Yet, Scripture also teaches that God chastens His children who disobey (Heb. 12:57). Believers are to confess their sins in order to obtain a day-to-day
cleansing (1 John 1:9). This sort of forgiveness is a simple washing from the worldly defilements of
sin; not a repeat of the wholesale cleansing from sins corruption that comes with justification. It is
like a washing of the feet rather than a bath (John 13:10). Forgiveness in this latter sense is what
God threatens to withhold from Christians who refuse to forgive others.

not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your

exceedingly great reward.
2
But Abram said, Lord GOD, what will You
give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my
house is Eliezer of Damascus? 3Then Abram
said, Look, You have given me no offspring;
indeed one born in my house is my heir!

January 8
Genesis 15:116:16

15

After these things the word of the LORD

came to Abram in a vision, saying, Do
21