January 5 – Ur and Abram

TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
Genesis 11:1-13:4
Matthew 5:1-26
Psalm 5:1-12
Proverbs 1:24-28

We’re back in a genealogy after the tower of Babel. The Adams Synchronological Chart of World History is again a great resource to visualize the genealogies.

But  Genesis 11:27 is not something to skip. We’re introduced to Abram, born in 2166 BC. If you’ve been to the Oriental Institute in Chicago, you’ll see a collection of artifacts from Ur thought to be from the time of Abram. If you go there, you’ll notice Ur was culturally significant and the largest city in the world at the time of Abram. God told him to leave Ur; Genesis 12:1 uses the past perfect to refer to God’s communication to Abram, but it’s interesting that the New Testament in Acts 7:2-4 clarifies when God spoke to Abram.

Author’s Photograph from Oriental Institute

Matthew 5:14-16 — Earl Martin has a gift for helping believers memorize Scripture:

Matthew 5:23 — We’ll get to the Ten Commandments later, but Jesus is telling people there’s more to keeping the Ten Commandments than just the bare minimum … in fact, you had to not just match the Pharisees, you had to exceed them!

Psalm 5:1-2 — And a bonus song from Earl Martin – watch this memory verse song and you will be hiding God’s Word in your heart!

Proverbs 1:28 — This verse appears to contradict Proverbs 8:17. The key to understanding this seeming contradiction? Isaiah 55:6.

Share how reading through the Bible has been a blessing to you! E-mail us at 2018bible@vcyamerica.org or call and leave a message at 414-885-5370.

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