Note that beginning January 1, 2024, Praythruthebible.com will follow the plan used by The Bible Recap (TBR). For further information, see thebiblerecap.com.
God Speaks
Read Genesis 8-11, source BibleGateway.com
TBR Day 003: Genesis 8-11
Audio bible: BibleGateway.com (This year, Praythruthebible.com is using the New International Version, NIV, of the Bible.)
We Respond
Reflection: Consider the following questions regarding Genesis 8-11:
1. What does this chapter tell me about God?
2. What does this chapter tell me about the human beings He created?
Here is one possible answer to each of these questions. Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any others for you personally to ponder.
Genesis 8
1. God doesn’t ever “forget” people. When the Bible says that He remembered Noah, it means that He was now taking action on behalf of Noah, his family, and the animals in the ark.
2. People need to heed the instructions God gave Noah, his family, and the animals, “[M]ultiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it.”
Genesis 9
1. God will demand an accounting of every person or animal that sheds the lifeblood of a human being.
2. People are valuable because God created them in His image.
Genesis 10
1. God cares about and keeps track of all the families, tribes, people groups, and nations on the earth.
2. Some people, like Nimrod, become renowned, while others remain nameless parts of large groups of forgotten people like the Rodanites (even the spelling of their group’s name is questioned–Dodanites?).
Genesis 11
1. God will take action to divide them when people are united against Him and His ways and commands.
2. People will suffer consequences for their pride and arrogance.
Prayer:
3. How might I pray regarding Genesis 8-11?
O LORD God, You have never forgotten people and you never will. When the Bible says that You remembered Noah, it means that You were taking action on behalf of Noah, his family, and the animals in the ark. People need to heed the instructions You gave Noah, his family, and the animals, “Multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it.” Help those of us in Western civilization who have turned away from You to get back to fulfilling this directive. In Your perfect timing, You will demand an accounting of every person or animal that sheds the lifeblood of a human being. May law-enforcement and judicial personnel get back to carrying this out now. Every human being, born or unborn, is valuable to You (and should be treated as such) because You, God, created each of them in Your image. You care about and keep track of all the families, tribes, people groups, and nations on the earth. Some people, like Nimrod, become renowned, while others remain nameless parts of large groups of “forgotten” people like the Dodanites. Even the spelling of their group’s name is questioned, but we are all important to You. You have proven by Babel that You will take action to divide people when they are united against You and Your ways and commands. People will suffer either temporal or eternal consequences or both for their pride, arrogance, and rebellion. Instead, Holy Spirit, work to change minds and hearts so that more people will seek to bring You glory, LORD. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
4. What action does the LORD want me to take in response to Genesis 8-11? With the help of God’s Holy Spirit:
- I will worship the LORD with praise and thanksgiving after (or even better before) He has delivered me and my family from some type of disaster.
- I will remind myself and someone who likes to drink a lot of the possible results of drunkenness.
- I will train to become a mighty warrior for God, like Nimrod (in prayer for example).
- I will review my life and thank God for how He has guided me and/or my family as to where we have lived, whether we realized it at the time or not.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.