Abraham bible study Genesis chapters 12 through 20

            This is continuing a study in the book of Genesis which started with the creation through the fall of man with Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit, then later came the flood and then Noah and his descendents repopulate the earth again then followed eventually by the birth of Abraham.

Here is a link to that bible study, Genesis chapters 1 through 11

https://www.facebook.com/notes/jay-dougherty/creation-fall-and-flood-bible-story/248732158602926

            This current study covers the early and mid life period of the first patriarch Abraham, called Abram at first and all the wonderful encounters he had with God all along the way, and all the way up through the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the visit with Abimelech

In Genesis chapter 12 God instructs Abram (Abraham) to depart from his home people so he can make him a nation blessing those who bless him, and many other promises. Abraham obeys, and then ends up going to Egypt

(Genesis 12:1)  Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.

(Genesis 12:2)  And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

(Genesis 12:3)  I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

(Genesis 12:4)  So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

(Genesis 12:5)  And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,

(Genesis 12:6)  Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.

(Genesis 12:7)  Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

(Genesis 12:8)  From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD.

(Genesis 12:9)  And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.

(Genesis 12:10)  Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.

(Genesis 12:11)  When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, "I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance,

(Genesis 12:12)  and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me, but they will let you live.

(Genesis 12:13)  Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake."

(Genesis 12:14)  When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.

(Genesis 12:15)  And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.

(Genesis 12:16)  And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

(Genesis 12:17)  But the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife.

(Genesis 12:18)  So Pharaoh called Abram and said, "What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?

(Genesis 12:19)  Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go."

(Genesis 12:20)  And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.

In chapter 13, after returning from Egypt, then Abram and Lot(who also went with Abram on the journeys in Genesis chapter 12) split company to avoid any and all strife between the different herdsmen. God then promises Abram many, many offspring from his line

(Genesis 13:1)  So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb.

(Genesis 13:2)  Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.

(Genesis 13:3)  And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,

(Genesis 13:4)  to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the LORD.

(Genesis 13:5)  And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents,

(Genesis 13:6)  so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together,

(Genesis 13:7)  and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land.

(Genesis 13:8)  Then Abram said to Lot, "Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen.

(Genesis 13:9)  Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left."

(Genesis 13:10)  And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)

(Genesis 13:11)  So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other.

(Genesis 13:12)  Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom.

(Genesis 13:13)  Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD.

(Genesis 13:14)  The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward,

(Genesis 13:15)  for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever.

(Genesis 13:16)  I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.

(Genesis 13:17)  Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you."

(Genesis 13:18)  So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD.

Genesis chapter 14 tells of Abram’s rescue of lot from an enemy who he defeated and also his encounter with Melchizedek to whom Abram tithed 10 percent of the spoil. Abram also encountered the king of Sodom

(Genesis 14:1)  In the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim,

(Genesis 14:2)  these kings made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).

(Genesis 14:3)  And all these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).

(Genesis 14:4)  Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

(Genesis 14:5)  In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,

(Genesis 14:6)  and the Horites in their hill country of Seir as far as El-paran on the border of the wilderness.

(Genesis 14:7)  Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh) and defeated all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were dwelling in Hazazon-tamar.

(Genesis 14:8)  Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim

(Genesis 14:9)  with Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five.

(Genesis 14:10)  Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country.

(Genesis 14:11)  So the enemy took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way.

(Genesis 14:12)  They also took Lot, the son of Abram's brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.

(Genesis 14:13)  Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram.

(Genesis 14:14)  When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.

(Genesis 14:15)  And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus.

(Genesis 14:16)  Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people.

(Genesis 14:17)  After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).

(Genesis 14:18)  And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.)

(Genesis 14:19)  And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;

(Genesis 14:20)  and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!" And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

(Genesis 14:21)  And the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself."

(Genesis 14:22)  But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth,

(Genesis 14:23)  that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich.'

(Genesis 14:24)  I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share."

In this chapter, Genesis 15, God renews his promises of many eventual offspring to Abram, and also there is a prophecy of the coming captivity of the people of Israel in Egypt which would be detailed in the book of Exodus.

(Genesis 15:1)  After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great."

(Genesis 15:2)  But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"

(Genesis 15:3)  And Abram said, "Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir."

(Genesis 15:4)  And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: "This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir."

(Genesis 15:5)  And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."

(Genesis 15:6)  And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

(Genesis 15:7)  And he said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess."

(Genesis 15:8)  But he said, "O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?"

(Genesis 15:9)  He said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."

(Genesis 15:10)  And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half.

(Genesis 15:11)  And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

(Genesis 15:12)  As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him.

(Genesis 15:13)  Then the LORD said to Abram, "Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.

(Genesis 15:14)  But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

(Genesis 15:15)  As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.

(Genesis 15:16)  And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete."

(Genesis 15:17)  When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.

(Genesis 15:18)  On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,

(Genesis 15:19)  the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,

(Genesis 15:20)  the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,

(Genesis 15:21)  the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites."

Genesis 16 then goes on to give the account of the birth of Abram’s other son, Ishmael, who is the son of Hagar, her mother and also the encounter with Hagar and an angel who promises that Ishmael’s descendants will be numberless, and I understand Ishael may indeed be the forefather of modern Islam.

(Genesis 16:1)  Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar.

(Genesis 16:2)  And Sarai said to Abram, "Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her." And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

(Genesis 16:3)  So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.

(Genesis 16:4)  And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.

(Genesis 16:5)  And Sarai said to Abram, "May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!"

(Genesis 16:6)  But Abram said to Sarai, "Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please." Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

(Genesis 16:7)  The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.

(Genesis 16:8)  And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai."

(Genesis 16:9)  The angel of the LORD said to her, "Return to your mistress and submit to her."

(Genesis 16:10)  The angel of the LORD also said to her, "I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude."

(Genesis 16:11)  And the angel of the LORD said to her, "Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has listened to your affliction.

(Genesis 16:12)  He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen."

(Genesis 16:13)  So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, "You are a God of seeing," for she said, "Truly here I have seen him who looks after me."

(Genesis 16:14)  Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered.

(Genesis 16:15)  And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.

(Genesis 16:16)  Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Genesis 17 speaks of the everlasting covenant that He established between Abraham, now that God had finally changed Abram’s name, and also his future son Isaac. All the males in Abraham’s household as a result were then circumcised as a result of this covenant which was to go down through the generations from then on

(Genesis 17:1)  When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,

(Genesis 17:2)  that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly."

(Genesis 17:3)  Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him,

(Genesis 17:4)  "Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.

(Genesis 17:5)  No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.

(Genesis 17:6)  I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.

(Genesis 17:7)  And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.

(Genesis 17:8)  And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God."

(Genesis 17:9)  And God said to Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations.

(Genesis 17:10)  This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.

(Genesis 17:11)  You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.

(Genesis 17:12)  He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring,

(Genesis 17:13)  both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.

(Genesis 17:14)  Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."

(Genesis 17:15)  And God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.

(Genesis 17:16)  I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her."

(Genesis 17:17)  Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, "Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"

(Genesis 17:18)  And Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before you!"

(Genesis 17:19)  God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.

(Genesis 17:20)  As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation.

(Genesis 17:21)  But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year."

(Genesis 17:22)  When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.

(Genesis 17:23)  Then Abraham took Ishmael his son and all those born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him.

(Genesis 17:24)  Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

(Genesis 17:25)  And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

(Genesis 17:26)  That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised.

(Genesis 17:27)  And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

In chapter 18 suddenly Abraham is visited by three people: the Lord and two angels in person. Abraham fetches them food. Then after again speaking of his coming son, the Lord speaks of the evil of Sodom, threatening to destroy the place if the evil is so. Abraham then intercedes for the place getting the Lord to agree to spare the place if as few as ten righteous could be found- the two other angels are sent to check out the city, which is where Lot had settled down.

(Genesis 18:1)  And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day.

(Genesis 18:2)  He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth

(Genesis 18:3)  and said, "O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant.

(Genesis 18:4)  Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree,

(Genesis 18:5)  while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on--since you have come to your servant." So they said, "Do as you have said."

(Genesis 18:6)  And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, "Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes."

(Genesis 18:7)  And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly.

(Genesis 18:8)  Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

(Genesis 18:9)  They said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "She is in the tent."

(Genesis 18:10)  The LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.

(Genesis 18:11)  Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.

(Genesis 18:12)  So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?"

(Genesis 18:13)  The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?'

(Genesis 18:14)  Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son."

(Genesis 18:15)  But Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. He said, "No, but you did laugh."

(Genesis 18:16)  Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way.

(Genesis 18:17)  The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,

(Genesis 18:18)  seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

(Genesis 18:19)  For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him."

(Genesis 18:20)  Then the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,

(Genesis 18:21)  I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know."

(Genesis 18:22)  So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD.

(Genesis 18:23)  Then Abraham drew near and said, "Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

(Genesis 18:24)  Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?

(Genesis 18:25)  Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?"

(Genesis 18:26)  And the LORD said, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake."

(Genesis 18:27)  Abraham answered and said, "Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.

(Genesis 18:28)  Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?" And he said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there."

(Genesis 18:29)  Again he spoke to him and said, "Suppose forty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of forty I will not do it."

(Genesis 18:30)  Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there." He answered, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there."

(Genesis 18:31)  He said, "Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it."

(Genesis 18:32)  Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there." He answered, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it."

(Genesis 18:33)  And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

In Genesis 19 Lot takes the two angels in and gives them hospitality but the other residents try to come and rape Lots two visitors, basically sticking the knife in the coffin so to say for themselves. Lot tries to stop them and the angels intervene and save Lot’s life. Then they forcibly remove Lot and his family just before fire and brimstone (sulfur) rain down on the cities, destroying them. Sadly, in disobedience to the instruction to flee without looking back, Lot’s wife indeed does look back and then  becomes a pillar of salt as a result of doing so. Lot and his two daughters resettle

(Genesis 19:1)  The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth

(Genesis 19:2)  and said, "My lords, please turn aside to your servant's house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way." They said, "No; we will spend the night in the town square."

(Genesis 19:3)  But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

(Genesis 19:4)  But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house.

(Genesis 19:5)  And they called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them."

(Genesis 19:6)  Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him,

(Genesis 19:7)  and said, "I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly.

(Genesis 19:8)  Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof."

(Genesis 19:9)  But they said, "Stand back!" And they said, "This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them." Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down.

(Genesis 19:10)  But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door.

(Genesis 19:11)  And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.

(Genesis 19:12)  Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place.

(Genesis 19:13)  For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it."

(Genesis 19:14)  So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, "Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city." But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.

(Genesis 19:15)  As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city."

(Genesis 19:16)  But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.

(Genesis 19:17)  And as they brought them out, one said, "Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away."

(Genesis 19:18)  And Lot said to them, "Oh, no, my lords.

(Genesis 19:19)  Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die.

(Genesis 19:20)  Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there--is it not a little one?--and my life will be saved!"

(Genesis 19:21)  He said to him, "Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken.

(Genesis 19:22)  Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

(Genesis 19:23)  The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar.

(Genesis 19:24)  Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven.

(Genesis 19:25)  And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.

(Genesis 19:26)  But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

(Genesis 19:27)  And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD.

(Genesis 19:28)  And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.

(Genesis 19:29)  So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.

(Genesis 19:30)  Now Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters.

(Genesis 19:31)  And the firstborn said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth.

(Genesis 19:32)  Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father."

(Genesis 19:33)  So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. He did not know when she lay down or when she arose.

(Genesis 19:34)  The next day, the firstborn said to the younger, "Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also. Then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father."

(Genesis 19:35)  So they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.

(Genesis 19:36)  Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father.

(Genesis 19:37)  The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabies to this day.

(Genesis 19:38)  The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.

Genesis chapter 20 then tells of Abraham’s encounter with Abimelech and all that goes on. Eventually Abraham would pray for their healing and resoration

(Genesis 20:1)  From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar.

(Genesis 20:2)  And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.

(Genesis 20:3)  But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, "Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife."

(Genesis 20:4)  Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, "Lord, will you kill an innocent people?

(Genesis 20:5)  Did he not himself say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she herself said, 'He is my brother.' In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this."

(Genesis 20:6)  Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her.

(Genesis 20:7)  Now then, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours."

(Genesis 20:8)  So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid.

(Genesis 20:9)  Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, "What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done."

(Genesis 20:10)  And Abimelech said to Abraham, "What did you see, that you did this thing?"

(Genesis 20:11)  Abraham said, "I did it because I thought, There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.

(Genesis 20:12)  Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife.

(Genesis 20:13)  And when God caused me to wander from my father's house, I said to her, 'This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, He is my brother.'"

(Genesis 20:14)  Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him.

(Genesis 20:15)  And Abimelech said, "Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you."

(Genesis 20:16)  To Sarah he said, "Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated."

(Genesis 20:17)  Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children.

(Genesis 20:18)  For the LORD had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

To continue on with the story of Abraham and then to pick up Isaac's story please go to this link

https://www.facebook.com/notes/jay-dougherty/abraham-and-isaac-bible-study-genesis-chapters-21-through-27/10200686430536738

This whole story of Abraham’s life up to this point and all the promises and deeds He did for Abraham shows God’s love for us. Yet, especially with Sodom God can and will judge unrighteous and evil behavior done by people. However God is slow to anger and well after Abraham’s time would send His only begotten Son, Jesus, who claims He saw Abraham in John 8 and Abraham was glad (Jesus indeed may have been one of the visitors to him in chapter 18). Jesus would then die on the cross to redeem all of our sins and pave the way for you and me to have a relationship with the Father in Heaven. I am now including a prayer to facilitate that, a prayer which will enable you to come to Jesus for the first time, and experience the wonderful relationship to which absolutely nothing can compare or return to Him if you have slidden away for any reason. He welcomes back any repentant person willing to recommit. Please pray the following prayer with me:

Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness. I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin. You said in Your Holy Word, Romans 10:9 that if we confess Jesus as our Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we will be saved. Right now I confess Jesus as the Lord of my soul. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved. Thank you Jesus for your unlimited grace which has saved me from my sins. I thank you Jesus that your grace never leads to license, but rather it always leads to repentance. Therefore Lord Jesus transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to you alone and not to myself. Thank you Jesus for dying for me and giving me eternal life.

Amen.

God bless you and yours