Home Sweet Home?

Have you ever wondered how man filled up the earth so fast? There was only one family saved from the first and only mega-flood. Then a couple of chapters later in Genesis you read about all the nations and people making a home for themselves throughout the fertile crescent area.

There's one phrase that gets repeated several times that tells it all. . .'had more children.' (CEV) Not to mention the fact that those men still lived a looooonng time. We're talking centuries. No wonder cities grew so quickly and the people had to spread out and discover new places. (Did you know Egypt and Ethiopia are the names of grandsons of Noah?) Sadly, I see, that as Noah's family grew and moved away from home they forgot about God.

How do I know they forgot about God? Look at all the false gods the Bible tells us about. So, why did Noah's relatives forget?

Have you ever heard a sermon or Bible lesson on staying focused on God, even when things are going in your favor and life is good? Well, life was smooth sailing for them. For the most part. You see, they lived in places where the ground was good. By 'good' I mean food could be grown and harvested; animals could multiply in pastures lands that were green from rivers running through it; trees grew prolifically. This wonderful place stretched from the Persian Gulf all the way over to the tributary area of the Nile River.

And in the midst of this crescent is a stretch of land that makes the whole thing look a bit like an hourglass. The road has to hug the ocean because of the ridge-filled area. And if the people go too far to the east of the ridges they hit the desert. And out of all the places in the fertile crescent this was the 'promised land.'

I have to wonder if Abraham and Lot after seeing the fertile crescent from one end to the other wondered, why here? Why not live where the land searches out farther than the eye can see? But they didn't argue with God. Seeing the green side of things, the water and pastureland, they settle in their new home and made the best of it. Ah, home sweet home.