Genesis 18 Topic 2 - Sodom and Gomorrah

Genesis 18:20-33
The Lord revealed to Abraham that He was going to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because they had become very sinful.  Abraham asked God not to destroy the righteous with the wicked.

Read verse 32 again.  God promised not to destroy the cities if he found 10 righteous people there.

What does this tell you about the nature of God? 



Why do you think God revealed His plan to Abraham? 




Read 2 Peter 3:9.

Use the space below to write a prayer to thank God for showing mercy to the righteous.

Genesis 5 - The Price of Sin

Genesis 5:1-20

Basically, these verses tell us that Enoch was a descendant of Adam’s son, Seth.

Read Genesis 5:21-24

What happened when Enoch was 365 years old? 

Why did God take Enoch? 

Look up and read Romans 6:23.

What is the payment for sin?

What is the Gift of God? 

If the wages of sin is death, and Enoch didn’t die, what does this tell us about Enoch? 

Who was Enoch’s son? 

Read verses Genesis 5:25-29.

Who was Methuselah’s grandson? 

Genesis 3 - Sin Enters Into the World

Genesis 3:1-7

The serpent asked the woman, “Has God said that you cannot eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

The woman said, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, except for the tree in the middle of the garden, God said we cannot eat it, or even touch it, or we will die.”

So the serpent told her, “You will not surely die.  God knows that in the day when you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  Then the woman took the fruit, ate some of it, and gave some to her husband.  When they ate the fruit, their eyes were opened and they became aware of their nakedness, so they sewed leaves together to cover their bodies.

Satan caused the woman to question God’s word.  Do you ever question why or if something is really a sin? 

Look up and read James 4:7-8.  How do these scriptures tell us to resist the devil when he causes us to question God?

Genesis 3:8-13

Later, they heard God in the garden and they hid in the trees.  God called to Adam, “Where are you?”

Adam said, “I heard you in the garden and I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself.”

God asked, “How did you know you were naked?  Did you eat fruit from the tree that I told you not to eat from?”

The man said, “The woman that YOU gave me, to be with me, gave me the fruit and I ate it.”

The Lord asked the woman, “What have you done?”

The woman said, “The serpent tricked me and I ate it.”

When Adam said, “The woman that YOU gave me, to be with me”, he was actually trying to place at least part of the blame back on God.  Do you ever blame God for your own actions?

Who did the woman blame? 

Genesis 3:14-19

God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this you are cursed more than any of the animals and will crawl on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life.  I will put hostility between you and the woman and your descendants and her descendants.”

To the woman God said, “I will multiply your pain and suffering in childbirth.  Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

To Adam God said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate the fruit from the tree I told you not to eat the ground is cursed and you will have to work for your food until you die.  You were made from the dust and to the dust you shall return.

What was the serpent’s punishment for tempting the woman to disobey God?  

What was the woman’s punishment for disobeying God and leading Adam to disobey God?

What was Adam’s punishment for disobeying God?

When sin was brought into the world, it brought with it the punishment of death.  That is why Adam and Eve could no longer have access to the tree of life.  The events in Genesis 3 serves as a reminder to us of how serious sin is.  We should not treat sin casually.

Freedom From the Pit

Scripture: 
Psalm 40:2

He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

 

Have you ever gotten your car stuck in the mud? Sometimes the more you try to get out, the deeper you sink, spinning your wheels, slinging mud all over your car, only to sink deeper still. Instead of spinning your wheels in the same mud you are trapped in, you have to find a board, or large rock, something solid and sturdy to stick under your tires and then you can easily escape the muddy pit you were stuck in.

 

I was thinking today that this is how my life was before I found the way out of my sin, which is Jesus.  He is our rock, and our salvation.  I was stuck in an horrible pit of sin, spinning my wheels in the miry clay, only to sink deeper still.  The more miserable I became, the faster I would spin my wheels and the effects of sin on my life was like the mud being slung all over the place.  Then, someone told me about Jesus!  He became my solid foundation, my rock.  It was like I put his word and his promises under my tires and easily made my way out of that pit, onto a solid and firm foundation, where I could move forward with my life.

Like the Psalmist, He also brought me up out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings!

Word of the Day: Matthew 5:27

Scripture: Matthew 5:27

You have heard it said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Comments:

The key words in this verse are: has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  This tells me that the act of adultery is a symptom of the sin that is already within our hearts. The sin begins in our heart.  If we know we have this sinful nature, we should guard ourselves from falling into this trap by avoiding looking at others lustfully.  Let NOT looking at others lustfully become a habit!  Look away and say a quick prayer and then forget about it.  The physical act of adultery is a sin, but if we are aware that the sin began in our hearts, well before the actual act, it will help us guard ourselves against it.

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