Sodom and Gomorrah have long lived in infamy, though it is the story of Lot and his family that strikes a cautionary tale. How did the nephew of Abraham end up living there, and what led to his wife turning to a pillar of salt? Lot shows us that the decisions that we make today can have huge implications for the future.

<p>Sodom and Gomorrah have long lived in infamy, though it is the story of Lot and his family that strikes a cautionary tale. How did the nephew of Abraham end up living there, and what led to his wife turning to a pillar of salt? Lot shows us that the decisions that we make today can have huge implications for the future.</p>

Lineage Season 3: Creation to Kings

Adam Ramdin

Lineage Journey

Episode 01: Creation, Noah’s Ark and the Flood

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Season 2 Episode 5 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Part 1 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints We live in a world that is inundated with opposing worldviews, and among these is 1 that is embraced by nearly a third of the world's population, Christianity.

The Christian worldview is based on the Bible and uses this sacred text as the basis for its ideological framework.

The Bible begins with these words, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

This text provides the answer in the Christian worldview to the question of origins.

The earth was made in 6 days by God, and the Bible says the most significant part of this process was the moment God made man and woman with His own hands and then breathed into them breath from his own mouth.

[♪ music ♪ The father and mother of the first race were named Adam and Eve, and God gave them a beautiful garden, the Garden of Eden, as their first home.

Scholars believe that it was located somewhere in the Middle East based on the names of the 4 rivers which flowed out of it.

As a test of their love and loyalty to God, they were given a single prohibition.

They could eat of any tree of the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The consequences of disregarding this prohibition would be death.

[♪ music ♪ Unfortunately, Genesis 3 records the account of Eve being lured to the forbidden tree by a talking serpent.

Seduced by his lies about God and the nature of death, she ate the fruit of the tree, and the Bible then says she gave the fruit to her husband and he ate it as well.

As a result of disobeying the commands of God, they had to leave the Garden of Eden, a place of peace, joy, and face-to-face communion with God.

In the aftermath of their sin, they witnessed the first death as an animal was sacrificed for their sin, and then later on they were given clothes made from the skins of this animal.

Their mourning turned to joy, though, at the birth of their first son Cain, and later Abel, but nothing could prepare them for what came next, The horror of seeing their firstborn son murder his younger brother.

Wracked with guilt, Cain separated himself from his family and set up camp in Nod on the east of Eden, and Thus began a separation between those who followed God and those who went their own way.

However, as time went on, the 2 groups began to intermingle through marriage.

This led to a gradual falling away from God and a loosening of moral restraint.

As the Bible describes it, the wickedness of man was very great.

As God surveyed the rapidly deteriorating situation on earth, He gave its inhabitants a hundred and 20 years of probationary time to make a decisive choice.

They could either choose to follow his guidelines for morality, or they could follow their own.

Their own perception of morality had led to a terrible state of crime and violence, and if they chose to persist in this course, God would cleanse the earth with a flood.

God instructs a man named Noah to build an ark.

The length was to be 300 cubits and the width 50 cubits, roughly 150 meters by 25.

Today there are 2 life-size replicas of an ark in the world, 1 in Holland and 1 here in Kentucky.

It's fascinating to see how much wood it takes to build an ark, roughly 14, 000 trees, and yet how solid it appears.

Sadly, only the 8 members in Noah's family make it into the ark before the rain starts to fall.

Soon the earth is covered with water and the flood continues for 150 days before the waters start to recede.

Today there is a lot of evidence for the flood in geology if you are looking at it through the lens of this cataclysmic event.

[♪ music ♪ God did not forget his people, and in fact 1 of the key points is found in Genesis 8 verse 1 when it says, then God remembered Noah.

Sometimes it's in the midst of the storm, when it seems like God might have forgotten us, when we're tossed about in the waves of life, that God then makes his presence known.

The same God who made the world restored its beauty after the flood.

Have confidence and assurance to know that we serve a powerful God and the same God who made you can restore His beauty in you no matter what you have experienced or gone through.

Episode 02: Abraham: The Faithful Father

Abraham's story The story of Abraham The story of Abraham The next person of note in the biblical narrative is Abraham.

Named Abraham at birth, he lived in Ur, which is located in modern-day Iraq between the Persian Gulf and Baghdad.

Accompanied with his family, he moved to Haran, which is located in modern-day Turkey.

He lived there for several years until at the age of 75 he received a call from God to move down to Canaan.

Complying with this command by God, he and his family, his wife, his nephew, and his considerable belongings, he moved down to Canaan.

God promised that he would make of Abram a great nation, that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of the sky.

But the journey from this promise to its fulfillment was not a smooth or easy ride.

His wife Sarah was barren, meaning she couldn't have children, and therein lies the problem.

His earthly situation was at odds with the biblical promise.

After living in Canaan for 10 years, Sarah, his wife, told Abraham, now 84 years old, that in order to fulfill the biblical promise, he should take Hagar, her Egyptian handmaid, and have a child with her.

She conceived, bore a son, and his name was Ishmael.

🎵 music 🎵 After the birth of Ishmael, when Abraham was 99 years old, God changed his name to Abraham and again promised that he would be a father of many nations.

He was told he would have a son through Sarah, who, despite her old age, believed in the promise and by faith she had a son.

Isaac grew up here in this country, enjoying life at home, looking after cattle, and enjoying the moderate climate.

Then as a young man his father had a test like no other.

Abraham was told to take his son, his son that he loved, and take him to the land of Moriah and offer him as a sacrifice.

Packing up the donkey the next day, he left with his son, and on the way Isaac asked him, Where is the lamb?

His heart must have been pierced and heavy, and by faith he responded, The Lord will provide.

[♪ music ♪ Reaching the top of Mount Moriah and still no lamb in sight, he built an altar and instructed his son Isaac to get on it.

Raising his hand to kill his son, he heard the Lord call out, Abraham, Abraham.

God said, Do not lay your hand on your son or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your only son from me.' This test of faith, this irrefutable faith, this trust in God, trust that God would fulfill His promise to make him a father of many nations, trust to do anything that God asks is what sets him apart as being the father of the faithful.

🎵 music 🎵 The 3 Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity all recognize the importance of Abraham and believe that Moriah, where Abraham offered up Isaac, is where the Temple Mount is today, located right here in Jerusalem.

For Jews, it's where the Temple once stood, and today they worship at the Western Wall.

For Christians, it's where the Temple would have been that Jesus worshipped in, and for Muslims, it's the third holiest site after Mecca and Medina.

🎵 Abraham lies buried here in Hebron in the cave of Machpelah.

He was a great man of faith who trusted God's Word implicitly, always in obedience to God's call.

The Bible says that if we are Christ, then we are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promises.

The blessings that were promised to Abraham and his children can be yours today when you reach out by faith and live a surrendered life.

Episode 03: Lot, Sodom & Gomorrah

Sodom and its sister city Gomorrah Sodom and its sister city of Gomorrah have long lived in infamy, today being representations of a life of corruption, immorality, and wickedness.

They were, though, real cities and were located near here where the Dead Sea is today.

There is debate over the exact location, with several theories being out there.

Much of the debate centers around the fact that the biblical account records that they were destroyed by fire and brimstone, and thus there wouldn't be much left.

♪♪ The city of Sodom comes into the picture when Abraham and his nephew Lot, herdsmen, come into conflict with each other over who should graze their livestock where.

Rather than perpetuate the strife, they agree to separate, and Lot chooses the plains of Jordan and pitches his tents close to the city of Sodom, a decision he would no doubt later regret due to the disastrous consequences it would have on his family.

He would have to be a man of great wisdom to be able to do this.

Sodom would have been destroyed earlier had it not been for the intervention of Abraham.

In Genesis 18 is recorded a dialogue between God and Abraham where He asks him if he will save the city if he can find 50 righteous people.

Then Abraham lowers the number until he eventually comes down to 10.

He will save the city if he can find 10 righteous people.

[♪ music ♪ Genesis 19 begins by saying that Lot saw and welcomed 2 angels into his house in Sodom.

Due to the depravity of the men living in Sodom, when they saw them come into the city and go into his house, they wanted to act in a sexually immoral way with them.

Lot courageously refuses this request, but then offers them his daughters.

They won't back down, and the angel comes down and strikes these men with blindness and rescues Lot.

The angels then tell him that he needs to leave the city the next day, because the city will be destroyed.

His son-in-laws don't leave, but his 2 daughters and wife do make it out of the city.

And as they are fleeing, it's recorded in 1 of the most famous texts in the Old Testament.

Verse 26 says, But Lot's wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Even though she had left physically, in her heart something tugged back towards Sodom.

So often we find ourselves in a similar situation, leaving a place we ought not to be, or an unhealthy situation but struggling with a desire to go back.

[♪ music ♪ Lot and his daughters left the area and dwelt in the mountains in a cave, but as neither daughter had a son, they came up with a plan to have children.

Getting their father drunk with wine, they slept with him and conceived.

The older 1 had a son named Moab, and he became the father of the Moabites.

The younger 1 had a son named Ben-Ammi, and he became the father of the Ammonites.

Both the Moabites and the Ammonites dwelt on the east side of the Jordan and were longtime foes of the Israelites.

The Moabites are referenced on the Moabite stone in the Louvre Museum in Paris, and the Ammonites' main city of Rabat Ammon is the capital city of Jordan today.

His wife dies due to her love of life in Sodom.

His daughters deceive and have illegitimate children with him that caused numerous problems for the children of Israel over the years.

All of this, it could be argued, goes back to his decision to pitch his tent toward Sodom.

Somehow he went from having a tent outside the city to having a house inside the city, and it had disastrous consequences for his family.

Satan knows that he doesn't have to get us to do the worst thing out there, but he can seduce us step by step down a path of destruction if we are not watchful and careful.

May we be mindful and vigilant that we don't open the door to unnecessary temptations that lead us or our families away from God.

Episode 05: Moses- Let My People Go

Moses and the Temple of God Season 2 Episode 3 Moses and the Temple of God Born amidst the country in turmoil to a people who were being persecuted under a law that demanded his death, Moses did not have the easiest start in life.

At the time of his birth, the children of Israel had been living in Egypt for almost 400 years, and the Pharaoh at that time had expanded the country considerably.

But it was a home where his tyranny was felt the most.

He decreed that all Hebrew boys needed to be thrown into the river and killed.

This was to prevent their continued growth and potential feared dominance.

🎵 music 🎵 In desperation, Moses' mother Jochebed came up with a plan.

Weaving a basket of reeds, She made it waterproof and then put her baby inside and hid the basket in the reeds of the river.

The Bible records that Pharaoh's daughter, believed to be Hattiput, came down to the river 1 day to bathe and saw the basket in the reeds, and upon finding a baby inside, she was so touched that a mother would go to such lengths to protect her child that she decided to adopt him.

Miriam, watching from a distance, offered to find a nurse for the baby and promptly called her mother.

The princess asked Jochebed to look after the baby until he was old enough to come and live in the palace as her son.

[♪ music ♪ For 12 years Jochebed filled her son's mind with the knowledge of God.

At the age of 12 he was taken to the court of Pharaoh where he became the grandson of Pharaoh and was afforded the best education that Egypt had to offer.

Growing up in the bewildering glamour of the Egyptian courts, Moses never forgot his roots.

1 day when he was out, he spied an Egyptian beating an Israelite and he killed him and buried him in the sand.

The next day when he tried to arbitrate a dispute between 2 Israelites, he was astonished to find that they knew he had killed an Egyptian the day before.

🎵🎵 Moses now has to flee and he heads out to the Midian Desert located in modern-day Saudi Arabia where he tends sheep for 40 years.

He gets Married, has children, and 1 day whilst in the desert he sees a bush burning and he hears the voice of God calling, saying, Moses, Moses!

He instructs him to go back to Egypt to deliver his people, to take them to Canaan.

Moses is reluctant to go, but he is reassured that his brother Aaron will go with him, that the power of God will go with him, and he finally agrees to go.

🎵 Entering Egypt with Aaron at his side, Moses stood before Pharaoh and said, Let my people go.

His request was angrily refused as Pharaoh challenged him and God, saying, Who is God that I should obey him?

Moses and Aaron then demonstrated the power of God using Aaron's rod, as it was miraculously turned into a snake and then back into a rod.

Still, Pharaoh was unimpressed and refused to release his slaves.

It was then that God began to rain down plagues on Egypt, but Pharaoh stubbornly refused to yield.

As the rivers turned to blood, and frogs, lice, and flies covered the land, boils afflicted the people, and locusts and hail decimated the crops and herds, and finally darkness covered the land, yet still Pharaoh's heart hardened more decisively.

🎵🎵🎵 Moses was a man who had a great foundation in life with his mother's education, who then learned in the courts of Pharaoh for nearly 30 years where he was trained to lead military campaigns.

However, instead of all of this, he went to the wilderness for 40 years where he tended sheep, but this was exactly what he needed.

Sometimes we think we're prepared for the great challenges in life, but we grossly misjudge ourselves and our circumstances.

Just like Moses needed time away in the silence and solitude of the desert, so sometimes God withdraws us from the heat of life to prepare us for something else great down the line.

Episode 06: Moses- The Passover & the Exodus

The Jewish Spring Festival Passover, or Peshach, refers to a Jewish festival that has been commemorated for over 3, 000 years.

It is a Jewish spring festival that commemorates the freeing of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery.

The Bible records how the first 9 plagues had fallen.

Pharaoh had refused to release the children of Israel, declaring, who is Jehovah, that I should obey him.

But after the first 9 plagues had fallen, the tenth would prove decisive.

In Exodus 11, God tells Moses that all the firstborn in the land of Egypt will die.

In order to spare the sons of the Israelites, they are instructed by Moses to mark their doorposts with the blood of an unblemished lamb.

Upon seeing this sign, the inhabitants of the house would be spared by the angel of death.

As they waited inside their homes, there was a realization that it was only the goodness and mercy of God which spared them.

As the cries filled the land of the Egyptians, Moses and Aaron were summoned to the palace of Pharaoh and told they could leave.

Only too glad to be rid of them, they were sent away by the Egyptians with gold, silver, and other precious items to aid them in their journey.

Finally, the request was now realized for them to leave, and they packed up their belongings and headed east into the desert.

The Bible says in Exodus chapter 12 and verse 37 that there were 600, 000 men, plus women, children, and livestock.

It would have been a slow-moving mass of humanity in what would have been the largest migration in human history.

🎵 After crossing the River Nile, they then headed south.

This was possibly to avoid an encounter with the Egyptian armies as they returned from a mission to Palestine.

By now the Children of Israel had been gone for a few days and Pharaoh had second thought and was questioning his own magnanimity and decided to chase them down.

By now the children of Israel had reached the Red Sea and they faced the unsurpassable sea in front of them and the advancing armies of Pharaoh behind them.

But the same God who delivered them just a few days before wasn't about to forget them now.

🎵 Moses was instructed by God to hold out his rod across the waters, and then miraculously the waters parted and the Israelites were able to walk across on dry ground.

The Egyptians hurried after them, but they did not make it to the other side and were drowned as the waters came crashing back together.

The deliverance of God's people was now fully complete as they were beyond the grasp of Pharaoh.

It does not profit a man to question who God is and be defiant as was Pharaoh in the face of such overwhelming evidence.

[♪ music ♪ While the exact location of the crossing of the Red Sea is debated today, 1 thing remains for sure, that God delivered His people.

And that is what the Passover is all about.

Freedom from oppression, Freedom from tyranny, freedom from slavery, freedom for the Israelites.

But the deeper spiritual meaning for us today is that God wants to give us freedom from being slaves to sin.

Today, if you're caught up in a web of sin or held in a pit of despair, know that the same God who delivered the Israelites, the same God who parted the Red Sea, is able to push back the obstacles in your life and take away the forces of darkness.

Trust in God that He will make a way even when it seems impossible.

Our Heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us of which we know nothing.

Episode 04: Joseph & Jacob: The Birth of a Nation

Esau and Jacob Chapter 2 The Story of Isaac Sometime after the death of Sarah, Isaac married Rebecca and they had 2 twin sons, Esau and Jacob.

Esau was a hunter, wild and impetuous, always living for the moment.

Jacob was a strategist, quieter and more stable.

Longing for the spiritual blessing that accompanied the birth of the eldest son, Jacob deceived his father and stole the birthright.

Forced to leave home in the aftermath of this debacle, Jacob traveled north to Haran where he married 2 sisters, Leah and Rachel, due to the deceit of his father-in-law.

Sensing a need to reconcile with his brother, Jacob, along with his wives and children, made the trek back home and made peace with Esau.

He would then settle in the hill country right here around Jerusalem.

1 of the most significant turning points in his life was when he wrestled with an angel and his name was changed from Jacob to Israel, meaning Overcomer.

His descendants would then be known as the Israelites.

How did the Israelites become Israelites?

Jacob had 13 children from 4 different women, and his favorite son was Joseph.

He gifted him a multicolored coat, which aroused the jealousy of his brothers.

1 day Joseph was carrying food to his brothers and they attacked him and threw him into a pit.

This site here in Dothan is traditionally thought to be the pit that Joseph was thrown into.

Deciding not to kill him, they sold him to Somidianite traders for 20 pieces of silver.

Joseph was then taken to Egypt, where he was sold as a slave to Potiphar.

[♪ music ♪ Transitioning from favorite son to slave, Joseph worked tirelessly in Potiphar's house.

Initially he flourished, but things didn't last long.

Falsely accused of assaulting Potiphar's wife, he was thrown into jail where he remained until he was summoned by Pharaoh.

Pharaoh had a dream that he couldn't understand, and the king's butler recommended Joseph as an interpreter of dreams.

He saw 7 full ears of grain and 7 withered ears of grain.

Joseph correctly interpreted that it would mean 7 years of plenty followed by 7 years of famine.

[♪ music ♪ He then tells Pharaoh that he needs to prepare for the 7 years of Plenty.

Interestingly, during this time there was an agricultural program whereby 17, 000 acres of land, or 450 square kilometers, is irrigated.

Many believe this correlates with the 7 years of Plenty.

This area of land today is connected by a man-made canal called Baha Yusuf, or Joseph's Canal, to the River Nile, and is known as the Fayyum Basin.

Then, during the 7 years of famine, there is a land reclamation project whereby all land that is privately owned is consolidated under the crown or pharaoh.

Many believe this correlates with Genesis 47, which says they traded their land for food.

During the 7 years of famine, Joseph is reunited with his brothers and he forgives them, And he also sees his father before he dies.

His father, though, requests that he be buried not in Egypt, but that they carry his bones back to Israel, and he is buried in the cave of the patriarchs in Hebron.

The children of Israel then lived here in Egypt, where the Bible says they lived in the land of Goshen, at first peacefully with their families, for the next few hundred years.

[♪ music ♪ This biblical story is rich in meaning, and there are many lessons to learn.

Perhaps the most significant lesson from the life of Joseph is how he dealt with misfortune and fame.

From favourite son to slave, to prisoner to prime minister, he always put God first in life.

Never has someone been subject to such changes in life's circumstances in such a short space of time.

Joseph gives us an example of steadfastness in spite of change, no matter what life throws at us.

May we be faithful to God and always put Him first, no matter what happens with us.

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Lineage Season 3: Creation to Kings

Episode 03: Lot, Sodom & Gomorrah

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