Through the Bible – Day 6

Bible text(s)

Genesis 18

The LORD promises Abraham a son

1One hot summer afternoon Abraham was sitting by the entrance to his tent near the sacred trees of Mamre, when the LORD appeared to him. 2Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. He quickly ran to meet them, bowed with his face to the ground, 3and said, “Please come to my home where I can serve you. 4I'll have some water brought, so you can wash your feet, then you can rest under the tree. 5Let me get you some food to give you strength before you leave. I would be honoured to serve you.”

“Thank you very much,” they answered. “We accept your offer.”

6Abraham quickly went to his tent and said to Sarah, “Hurry! Get a large sack of flour and make some bread.” 7After saying this, he rushed off to his herd of cattle and picked out one of the best calves, which his servant quickly prepared. 8He then served his guests some yoghurt and milk together with the meat.

While they were eating, he stood near them under the trees, 9and they asked, “Where is your wife Sarah?”

“She is there in the tent,” Abraham answered.

10One of the guests was the LORD, and he said, “I'll come back about this time next year, and when I do, Sarah will already have a son.”

Sarah was behind Abraham, listening at the entrance to the tent. 11Abraham and Sarah were very old, and Sarah was well past the age for having children. 12So she laughed and said to herself, “Now that I am worn out and my husband is old, will I really know such happiness?”

13The LORD asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Does she doubt that she can have a child in her old age? 14I am the LORD! There is nothing too difficult for me. I'll come back next year at the time I promised, and Sarah will already have a son.”

15Sarah was so frightened that she lied and said, “I didn't laugh.”

“Yes, you did!” he answered.

Abraham, Lot, Sodom, and Gomorrah

Abraham prays for Sodom

16When the three men got ready to leave, they looked down towards Sodom, and Abraham walked part of the way with them.

17The LORD said to himself, “I should tell Abraham what I am going to do, 18since his family will become a great and powerful nation that will be a blessing to all other nations on earth. 19I have chosen him to teach his family to obey me for ever and to do what is right and fair. Then I will give Abraham many descendants, just as I promised.”

20The LORD said, “Abraham, I have heard that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are doing all kinds of evil things. 21Now I am going down to see for myself if those people really are that bad. If they aren't, I want to know about it.”

22The men turned and started towards Sodom. But the LORD stayed with Abraham, 23who asked, “LORD, when you destroy the evil people, are you also going to destroy those who are good? 24Wouldn't you spare the city if there are only fifty good people in it? 25You surely wouldn't let them be killed when you destroy the evil ones. You are the judge of all the earth, and you do what is right.”

26The LORD replied, “If I find fifty good people in Sodom, I will save the city to keep them from being killed.”

27Abraham answered, “I am nothing more than the dust of the earth. Please forgive me, LORD, for daring to speak to you like this. 28But suppose there are only forty-five good people in Sodom. Would you still wipe out the whole city?”

“If I find forty-five good people,” the LORD replied, “I won't destroy the city.”

29“Suppose there are just forty good people?” Abraham asked.

“Even for them,” the LORD replied, “I won't destroy the city.”

30Abraham said, “Please don't be angry, LORD, if I ask you what you will do if there are only thirty good people in the city.”

“If I find thirty,” the LORD replied, “I still won't destroy it.”

31Then Abraham said, “I don't have any right to ask you, LORD, but what would you do if you find only twenty?”

“Because of them, I won't destroy the city,” was the LORD's answer.

32Finally, Abraham said, “Please don't get angry, LORD, if I speak just once more. Suppose you find only ten good people there.”

“For the sake of ten good people,” the LORD told him, “I still won't destroy the city.”

33After speaking with Abraham, the LORD left, and Abraham went back home.

Genesis 19

The evil city of Sodom

1That evening the two angels arrived in Sodom, while Lot was sitting near the city gate. When Lot saw them, he got up, bowed down low, 2and said, “Gentlemen, I am your servant. Please come to my home. You can wash your feet, spend the night, and be on your way in the morning.”

They told him, “No, we'll spend the night in the city square.” 3But Lot kept insisting, until they finally agreed and went home with him. He baked some bread, cooked a meal, and they ate.

4Before Lot and his guests could go to bed, every man in Sodom, young and old, came and stood outside his house 5and started shouting, “Where are your visitors? Send them out, so we can have sex with them!”

6Lot went outside and shut the door behind him. 7Then he said, “Friends, please don't do such a terrible thing! 8I have two daughters who have never been married. I'll bring them out, and you can do what you want with them. But don't harm these men. They are guests in my home.”

9“Don't get in our way,” the crowd answered. “You're an outsider. What right do you have to order us around? We'll do worse things to you than we're going to do to them.”

The crowd kept arguing with Lot. Finally, they rushed towards the door to break it down. 10But the two angels in the house reached out and pulled Lot safely inside. 11Then they struck everyone in the crowd blind, and none of them could even find the door.

12-13The two angels said to Lot, “The LORD has heard many terrible things about the people of Sodom, and he has sent us here to destroy the city. Take your family and leave. Take every relative you have in the city, as well as the men your daughters are going to marry.”

14Lot went to the men who were engaged to his daughters and said, “Hurry and get out of here! The LORD is going to destroy this city.” But they thought he was joking, and they laughed at him.

15Early the next morning the two angels tried to make Lot hurry and leave. They said, “Take your wife and your two daughters and get out of here as fast as you can! If you don't, every one of you will be killed when the LORD destroys the city.” 16At first, Lot just stood there. But the LORD wanted to save him. So the angels took Lot, his wife, and his two daughters by the hand and led them out of the city. 17When they were outside, one of the angels said, “Run for your lives! Don't even look back. And don't stop in the valley. Run to the hills, where you will be safe.”

18-19Lot answered, “You have done us a great favour, sir. You have saved our lives, but please don't make us go to the hills. That's too far away. The city will be destroyed before we can get there, and we will be killed when it happens. 20There's a town near here. It's only a small place, but my family and I will be safe, if you let us go there.”

21“All right, go there,” he answered. “I won't destroy that town. 22Hurry! Run! I can't do anything until you are safely there.”

The town was later called Zoar because Lot had said it was small.

Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed

23The sun was coming up as Lot reached the town of Zoar, 24and the LORD sent burning sulphur down like rain on Sodom and Gomorrah. 25He destroyed those cities and everyone who lived in them, as well as their land and the trees and grass that grew there.

26On the way, Lot's wife looked back and was turned into a block of salt.

27That same morning Abraham got up and went to the place where he had stood and spoken with the LORD. 28He looked down towards Sodom and Gomorrah and saw smoke rising from all over the land—it was like a flaming furnace.

29When God destroyed the cities of the valley where Lot lived, he remembered his promise to Abraham and saved Lot from the terrible destruction.

Moab and Ammon

30Lot was afraid to stay on in Zoar. So he took his two daughters and moved to a cave in the hill country. 31One day his elder daughter said to her sister, “Our father is old, and there are no men anywhere for us to marry. 32Let's get our father drunk! Then we can sleep with him and have children.” 33That night they got their father drunk, and the elder daughter got in bed with him, but he was too drunk even to know she was there.

34The next day the elder daughter said to her sister, “I slept with my father last night. We'll get him drunk again tonight, so you can go to bed with him, and we can each have a child.” 35That night they got their father drunk, and this time the younger sister slept with him. But once again he was too drunk even to know she was there.

36That's how Lot's two daughters had their children. 37The elder daughter named her son Moab, and he is the ancestor of the Moabites. 38The younger daughter named her son Benammi, and he is the ancestor of the Ammonites.

Genesis 18:1-19:38CEVOpen in Bible reader

Matthew 5

Anger

Jesus continued:

21You know that our ancestors were told, “Do not murder” and “A murderer must be brought to trial.” 22But I promise you that if you are angry with someone, you will have to stand trial. If you call someone a fool, you will be taken to court. And if you say that someone is worthless, you will be in danger of the fires of hell.

23So if you are about to place your gift on the altar and remember that someone is angry with you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. Make peace with that person, then come back and offer your gift to God.

25Before you are dragged into court, make friends with the person who has accused you of doing wrong. If you don't, you will be handed over to the judge and then to the officer who will put you in jail. 26I promise you that you will not get out until you have paid the last penny you owe.

Marriage

Jesus continued:

27You know the commandment which says, “Be faithful in marriage.” 28But I tell you that if you look at another woman and want her, you are already unfaithful in your thoughts. 29If your right eye causes you to sin, poke it out and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body, than for your whole body to end up in hell. 30If your right hand causes you to sin, chop it off and throw it away! It is better to lose one part of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

Jesus continued:

31You have been taught that a man who divorces his wife must write out divorce papers for her. 32But I tell you not to divorce your wife unless she has committed some terrible sexual sin. If you divorce her, you will cause her to be unfaithful, just as any man who marries her is guilty of taking another man's wife.

Promises

Jesus continued:

33You know that our ancestors were told, “Don't use the Lord's name to make a promise unless you are going to keep it.” 34But I tell you not to swear by anything when you make a promise! Heaven is God's throne, so don't swear by heaven. 35The earth is God's footstool, so don't swear by the earth. Jerusalem is the city of the great king, so don't swear by it. 36Don't swear by your own head. You cannot make one hair white or black. 37When you make a promise, say only “Yes” or “No”. Anything else comes from the devil.

Jesus continued:

38You know that you have been taught, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” 39But I tell you not to try to get even with a person who has done something to you. When someone slaps your right cheek, turn and let that person slap your other cheek. 40If someone sues you for your shirt, give up your coat as well. 41If a soldier forces you to carry his pack one kilometre, carry it two kilometres. 42When people ask you for something, give it to them. When they want to borrow money, lend it to them.

Jesus continued:

43You have heard people say, “Love your neighbours and hate your enemies.” 44But I tell you to love your enemies and pray for anyone who ill-treats you. 45Then you will be acting like your Father in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both good and bad people. And he sends rain for the ones who do right and for the ones who do wrong. 46If you love only those people who love you, will God reward you for that? Even tax collectors love their friends. 47If you greet only your friends, what's so great about that? Don't even unbelievers do that? 48But you must always act like your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:21-48CEVOpen in Bible reader
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