Part 2: Abraham's Covenant and His Descendants
Following their expulsion from Eden, Adam and Eve had many children, who multiplied on the world. However, iniquity corrupted them and caused them to become wicked. Because of their terrible actions, God decided to annihilate them with a massive flood. He discovered one virtuous man named Noah among them and sent him to build an ark, a big boat large enough to contain his family and two of each type of animal. Noah obeyed God and boarded the ark with his wife, three sons (Shem, Ham, and Japheth), and their wives, as well as all the animals. Then God brought rain for forty days and forty nights, until the earth was completely submerged in water.
Only Noah and those on the ark survived. God recalled Noah after 150 days and caused a wind to blow over the earth, drying up the water. He instructed Noah to exit the ark with his family and all the animals. Noah constructed an altar to God and offered sacrifices of clean animals. God smelled their pleasant perfume and pledged never to destroy all living things with a flood again. As a sign of his covenant with Noah and all living creatures, he created a rainbow in the sky.
However, humanity quickly forgot God's grace and became haughty once more. In a place named Babel, they attempted to construct a tower that would reach heaven. They desired to build a name for themselves rather than be scattered over the globe. However, God observed their arrogance and confounded their language so that they could not communicate with one another. He also dispersed them over different areas based on their languages.
A man named Abram (later renamed Abraham) lived in Ur of the Chaldeans with his wife Sarai (later renamed Sarah) and his nephew Lot. God called Abram out of his country and vowed to bless him and make his name great, to bless those who blessed him and curse those who cursed him, and to bless all peoples through him. He also promised him a land flowing with milk and honey, which became known as Canaan. Abram trusted God's word and followed him.
God put Abram's faith to the test several times during his travels. He requested that he leave his father's house, separate from his nephew Lot, rescue Lot from a conflict, wait for a son in his old age, and offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering. In all of this, Abram followed God, and God confirmed his promise with him. He also changed his name to Abraham, which means "father of many nations," and Sarah, which means "princess." When Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90, he gave them a son named Isaac, which means "laughter."
He also gave Abraham another son, Ishmael, which means "God hears," through Sarah's maidservant Hagar, whom Sarah used as a surrogate mother. God promised that Ishmael would become a powerful nation as well, but that his covenant would be with Isaac and his descendants.
As a sign of the covenant, God also required Abraham and his male descendants to be circumcised. He declared that everyone who was not circumcised would be expelled from his tribe.
Read Part 1:,3,4 and 5 from here,click
#Mythology`
#Notes
VISTE FOR MORE FREE NOTES:litjoin.blogspot.com
0 Comments