Abraham & Lot decided to Part

Abram and his nephew Lot, their families, flocks and herds settled in Bethel in Canaan, living alongside the local Canaanite tribes. Abraham had become very wealthy in livestock plus silver and gold.

Lots too had flocks, herds and tents.

But there was not enough pasture for both Abram’s and Lot’s animals to graze.

And there was not enough water for all the animals either.

Quarrels arose between the herdsmen looking after Abram’s and Lot’s animals.

So Abraham said to Lot, ‘Let’s not have any more quarrelling between our herders. The whole land is before us. Let’s part and go our separate ways. If you choose to go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.’

Lot saw that the plain of Jordan (an area around what we now call the Dead Sea) was well watered with good pasture lands.

However, the people living in this area were very disobedient. Two cities in particular, Sodom and Gomorrah, were full of wickedness. But Lot chose this rich, fertile area as the best place for his family to live.

So Lot, his family and his flocks and herds moved off east to live in the plain of Jordan. They pitched their tents near the city of Sodom.

When Lot had gone, the Lord spoke to Abram: ‘Look all around you. All the land you see is for you and your offspring forever.

‘I will make your offspring like the dust, impossible to count. Go and walk through the land for I am giving it to you.’

Abram moved west of where Lot had settled in an area called Hebron.

He pitched his tent near some large trees.

Then he built an altar to God to worship the Lord in this new place he and his family were living.

Abraham Moves to Canaan

Abram and his wife Sarai lived in the city of Ur in the Chaldeans (modern day Iraq). God told him to leave the city and travel on a long journey to live in the land of Canaan.

God promised Abram he would bless him and make him the father of a great nation. Those who blessed his descendants would be blessed by God and those who cursed his descendants would be cursed.

Abram obeyed and set off with his wife Sarai, his father Terah and his nephew Lot.

When they got to Haran they stopped to settle. During this time Abram’s father Teran died.

By now Abram was 75 years old. God told him to continue on his journey to the land of Canaan.

Abraham obeyed and they traveled south into the land of the Canaanites

They came to a great tree at Shechem and settled there

God told Abram, ‘I will give this land to your offspring.’

Abram built an altar to the Lord at Shechem and worshiped Him.

Abram and those with him then moved south to Bethel.

Once he arrived he built an altar to God in honour of His name.

There was a famine in the land; food became scarce and many became hungry.

Abram and his family decided to travel south through the desert to Egypt to find food.

As they entered Egypt Abram became worried. His wife Sarai was very beautiful. He feared that Pharaoh might kill him so he could take Sarai as his wife. So, he told Sarai to pretend she was not his wife but his sister.

Pharaoh’s officials told Pharaoh how beautiful Abram’s ‘sister’ was and he took her into his palace. He gave Abram cattle, donkeys servants and gifts

God however inflicted Pharaoh and his household with serious diseases. When Pharaoh found out Sarai was already married he summoned Abram. ‘Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?’ he exclaimed. ‘Take her and go!’

Pharaoh gave orders to his officials to send Abram, Sarai and everyone with him out of Egypt – along with all their possessions.

They set off on the way back to Canaan with the cattle servants and gifts Pharaoh had given them.

They arrived back at Bethel and settled there to live. Abram prayed to God calling on His name

Abram could now settle in the land of Canaan - the land God had promised him and his descendants. However he and his wife Sarai had no children and both were getting older.

15 Things to do when you have a Headache

Are you suffering from severe Headache?

Instead of staying up all night Googling natural cures, try these 15 fast headache remedies. They might not cure you completely, but in the throes of a migraine, any modicum of relief is a godsend.

It sounds simple, but many headaches are caused by dehydration.

Research has shown that massaging the greater occipital nerve (the back of your head at the base of your skull) can relieve headache pain.

Press the webbed area between your thumb and pointer finger. Lightly massage the spot for about one minute before switching to the other hand.

Headaches are often caused by muscle tension. Simple neck stretches could help relieve some of the tension.

Yep, if your headache is caused by dehydration, eating water-rich foods could relieve your pain by re-hydrating your whole body.

Massage peppermint oil onto your temples, the back of your jaw and your forehead. Peppermint oil has been shown to promote blood flow which might get things moving in your head.

When you feel pain, your body gets stressed. Deep breath will help you relax and could ease some of the tension.

Headaches are often caused by the expanding of blood vessels. The caffeine in coffee constricts these blood vessels, bringing them back down to normal size.

Dilute two tablespoons of ACV into a big glass of water and add a little honey or lemon juice to make it more palatable. Apples and ACV help restore the body’s acid alkaline balance and could help with headache pain.

Hold a pencil between your teeth…but resist the urge to gnaw on it. Lightly holding a pencil between your teeth activates your “smile” muscles, relaxing your jaw. We sometimes clench our teeth when we’re stressed, and straining the muscle that connects the jaw to the temples can cause a tension headache.

Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties that could alleviate some pain.

The artery that supplies blood to the lining of the brain sits behind the thin bone at the temple. When you’re having a migraine, the lining gets inflamed, so lowering the temperature of the blood passing through that area could relieve some of the throbbing.

Take a hot shower. And let the water fall on the back of your neck. Heat relaxes tense muscles, which could also alleviate the pain caused by a headache.

Sprinkle some cayenne pepper onto your food. Cayenne contains an ingredient called capsaicin, which has some control over our pain perception.

Quieting the mind and focusing your attention away from the pain you’re experiencing could work in distracting yourself from a headache until it goes away. Breathe in, breathe out…