REAL: No fairytales!

Genesis 10:1, 11:10-32, 12:1-9

10:1

Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.

11:10		These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:
11:11		And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.
11:12		And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah:
11:13		And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.
11:14		And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber:
11:15		And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.
11:16		And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg:
11:17		And Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters.
11:18		And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu:
11:19		And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters.
11:20		And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug:
11:21		And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters.
11:22		And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:
11:23		And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.
11:24		And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:
11:25		And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.
11:26		And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran .
11:27		Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran ; and Haran begat Lot .
11:28		And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.
11:29		And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran , the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.
11:30		But Sarai was barren; she had no child.
11:31		And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan ; and they came unto Haran , and dwelt there.
11:32		And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran .

12:1		Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
12:2		And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
12:3		And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
12:4		So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran .
12:5		And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran ; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan ; and into the land of Canaan they came.
12:6		And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
12:7		And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
12:8		And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel , and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.
12:9		And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

Abraham…his name is mentioned around 300 times in the Bible, in 27 of the 66 books. There are more verses about him in the New Testament faith chapter (Hebrews Chapter 11) than any other person listed there. Paul said that Abraham is the father of all who have true faith, and he is the first person in the Bible of whom it is said that “He believed in God.” He is called the father of the faithful…

You are probably saying, “Why did you put all these begats on here for me to read?” “Did I really HAVE to read all these names just to learn some information about Abraham?” You MAY have even skipped over all those begats and got right to what some might call the “important” Scriptures at the end. J I must admit that I have been guilty of doing that myself a few times. However, I have learned an important lesson that I want to share…

There is a reason why the Bible records EVERY WORD including here where it lists the name of Lot ’s father and his grandfather (and all the other ancestors and places visited or dwelt throughout the Scriptures). There is a reason why are we told where Abraham traveled, where he was born, who his father was... This genealogy helps show us, and all who read it, that these were REAL people. Have you ever thought about that? These are not characters in a fairy tale. The Bible is TRUTH not fiction… It doesn’t say, “Once upon a time” which gives the reader no frame of reference. Instead, it gives details and facts, which are backed up by history…history that can be researched and substantiated. All these begats help show us that these were REAL people just like we are, who went through things just like we do. They are REAL examples for us to learn from…some good and some bad…what to follow and what to avoid.

Think about THAT the next time you are tempted to skip over all the begats..

-[CHARLOTTE DIXON]