Genesis

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Genesis

Chapters:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

Chapter 1:

A poetic (yet insightful) story of creation, outlining a six-day process in which God created and inspected His creation. This story continues into the first part of the second chapter (through verse 3). The emphasis is on the diversity of creation (pointing out God's creativity and power), and God's satisfaction with what He had made ("...it was good"). God did not build a flawed creation, nor was there an evil hand in creation; God created everything of His own power and created it exactly the way He had intended to. He rests on the seventh day because it is complete -- nothing has been left unfinished or un-thought-of.
Something that strikes me as insteresting in this section is what happens in verses 29 and 30. In verse 29, God gives plants, trees and vegetation to the humans as food. In verse 30, he goes on to extend the same gift to the animals -- they are all to share the food source.

Chapter 2:

After finishing the original creation story, the story is retold with a different focus: People. Adam is created. He is set to his work of tending the garden. God gives him one command (verse 17 - Don't eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil). But Adam is lonely and no suitable helpers have been created for him. So God creates a woman to assist him.
So far, God has spoken to the humans four times:
- 1:28 - Be fruitful; rule the lower animals
- 1:29-30 - The gift of the vegetation for food (for both humans and the animals)
- 2:16-17 - The command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
- 2:18 - God's decision to make a helper for man
Half of His speeches have been commands, and half have been gifts. But the commands are not difficult, and the gifts are lavish.
The First Marriage: In the second chapter of the Bible, the first marriage occurs. An edict is given concerning the nature of marriage in verse 24: "For this reason" (being the fact that woman was created from a part of the man) "a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." This verse is not a direct quote from any character in the story. However, it stated very much as a fact, and almost like a law. There are several observations to glean from this point:
- As soon as it was possible (i.e.: as soon as there were two people), the practice of marriage began. It is almost a natural consequence of their existance.
- Verse 24 makes a few things very clear: First, marriage is between a man and a woman. Secondly, marriage is between only one man and only one woman.
- Genesis 1:27 gave a succinct account of the creation of people: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." Why then is nearly an entire chapter devoted to expanding on the concept? The point of the chapter seems to be driven home in Adam's need for a "suitable helper", and the filling of this need via the provision of the woman. For some reason, relationship with a like (yet distinct) being was very important, and the nature of the relationship (marriage, becoming "one flesh") was the natural and necessary response to the nature of man and woman. Later in the Bible, many analogies are made showing Jesus as a Bridegroom and the church of Christians as the bride. This relationship -- this need for relationship and the prescribed method for filling that need -- mirrors the right relationship between people and God. It is of such importance, that nearly as much time is spent describing the origin of it as is spent describing the creation of the world.

Chapter 3:

The story of the Fall. The snake tempts the woman, and she succombs. The woman tempts the man, and he also falls. God discovers their sin. The man blames the woman, who blames the serpent.
These first few chapters are the basis of C.S. Lewis's Perelandra, a whimsical tale of a world where people have not yet fallen to the temptation of sin. The NIV Study Bible notes, as well as Lewis's book, point out some of the story that is missing in verse 6 -- in this verse, it is obvious that the serpent said much more to Eve than is recorded in the story: "...the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom..." This implies much more than the statement by the serpent in verse 5, which only talks about gaining wisdom. We are also told very little about the temptation of Adam (only that he was "with her" - verse 6b).
Immediately, people learn the art of blaming others for their mistakes. Adam blames both Eve ("she gave me some fruit from the tree") and God ("the woman you put here with me"). Eve blames the snake ("the serpent deceived me").
- Notice that, already, marriage is broken down. Adam and Eve are no longer "one flesh" -- according to Adam, Eve made her choice without his input. If this is true, then they had already been separated from each other enough that Eve could do something against the will of Adam (which goes against the ideas of being "one flesh"). If Adam is lying, however, then his lie drives a wedge into the marriage. He is saying, in effect, "The sin belongs to her and has nothing to do with me." If these two were truly "one flesh", they would share the decision and the consequences of the decision.
The sin and God's punishment proceed as follows:
1. God gives a command. (2:16-17)
2. Adam and Eve disobey God's command. (vs. 6)
3. God confronts them about their sin. (vs. 9-11)
4. Adam and Eve try to deny wrong-doing (by passing the burden of responsibility). (vs.12-13)
5. God acknowledges the sin. (vs. 14-19)
6. God takes care of the needs of Adam and Eve that arose from their sin (He gives them clothing). (vs. 21)
7. God banishes Adam and Eve from their familiar homeland, since only more and greater evil could arise from them staying there. (vs. 22-24)
There are 3 curses given: one to the serpent, one to the woman and one to the man. The purposes behind these curses are not readily apparent.
- The serpent: The serpent is forced to crawl on his belly and eat dust. Furthermore, the future threat of ultimate destruction is set in place with the first promise of Jesus' salvation: "he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
- The woman: She is curses with her own womanhood. Perhaps because she made the decision to eat from the tree without Adam's consent? Whether this is the reason or not, the very thing she was created for (being Adam's wife) became a curse to her: childbearing would be painful, and her desire for her husband would be consuming.
- The man: Again, the very thing for which he was created (to subdue the earth and rule over it) became a curse to him: the ground would no longer yield to him as it had before.
It appears that the curses are not so much punishment from God as they are punishments that the sinners brought upon themselves. By turning away from God's bidding, they forsook the instruction and help that God would have given them (Adam's curse). Also, they gave themselves over to their own desires (Eve's curse). The serpent is distinctly different. Where Adam's curse includes the fact of mortality ("for dust you are and to dust you will return"), the serpent is actively threatened ("he will crush your head"). The serpent purposely tried to draw Adam and Eve out of their right relationship with God, and for that he will be destroyed. See Mark 9:42 - "And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck." and Revelation 22:18-19 -- "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this boo: If anyone adds anything to them,God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God wil take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.". The serpent's punishment follows the principles of these statements: Mislead God's children, and you shall perish.

Chapter 4:

The second recorded sin. Cain is jealous of the favor Abel has from the Lord. In his anger, Cain kills Abel. God discovers this sin and punishes Cain.
The sin and God's punishment proceed as follows:
1. God gives a command. (vs. 7)
2. Cain disobeys God's command. (vs. 8)
3. God confronts Cain about his sin. (vs. 9a)
4. Cain denies wrong-doing (by passing the burden of responsibility). (vs. 9b)
5. God acknowledges the sin. (vs. 10-12)
6. God takes care of the needs of Cain that arose from his sin (He puts a mark of protection on Cain). (vs. 13-15)
7. God banishes Cain from his familiar homeland, since only more and greater evil could arise from him staying there. (vs. 12b, 16)
Here is what I find significant: The sin of Adam and Eve was eating a piece of fruit. The sin of Cain was killing his brother. However, in both cases, God's reaction and His punishment are the same: confrontation and banishment. These stories, taken together, are an obvious indication that God views all sins equally -- no one sin is "worse" than another. In other words, a "white lie" is equally as sinful as a murder. This knocks out from under us any grounds to be proud of ourselves for "not being as bad as so-and-so". My sins are no better (and no worse) than any other sinner's.
Verses 17-18 trace Cain's line down to Lamech. The following verses (19-24) give a brief account of Lamech and might explain the cause of God's anger in chapter 6 (the flood). First it is mentioned that Lamech takes 2 wives (breaking the marriage edict again). Then, Lamech gives a small speech about his own strength and ability to enforce his own kind of justice. It is obvious that he sees himself as self-sufficient. Cain was to rely on God for vengence; Lamech takes vengence into his own hands and deals it out according to his own desires. His children were apparently numerous, wealthy and powerful. He obviously sees himself as his own god.
- Verse 20 mentions that Adah "was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock." It isn't clearly stated what the purpose of the livestock is. So far, God has instructed people to work the earth and use plants for their food. However, both here and verse 2, people are raising and tending livestock. God was please with Abel's offering of the best among his livestock (verse 4b), even more so than Cain's offering of the "fruits of the soil" (verses 3 & 5a), so either eating meat was not forbidden, or the purpose of the livestock was for something other than food (wool, perhaps).
Verse 26b: "At that time men began to call on the name of the Lord." The NIV Study Bible notes indicate that this statement is included to contrast the devout nature of Seth's descendants from the sinful nature of Cain's descendants. However, I think it indicates more than this. It seems that, at this point, humans have separated themselves from the original communion they had with God. Up until 4:15, people are speaking with God face-to-face. Now, in verse 26, people are calling on the name of the Lord. They have drifted away from God so much that they only call on His name instead of speaking with him interactively. This is supported by the fact that no more interactive conversations are recorded until the time of Noah, many generations later (starting in 6:13, to be exact).

Chapter 5:

This chapter is a genealogy, tracing Adam (through Seth) to Noah.
The point I find significant in this chapter appears in verses 22-24, the (brief) story of Enoch. Enoch "walked with God", indicating a closer relationship with God than that of the "men" mentioned in 4:26b. Then he "was no more, because God took him away." Enoch's life-span (365) was significantly shorter than his father's (962) or his son's (782). What all this means, I don't know, but it seems that God was pleased with Enoch's lifestyle and rewarded him by taking him from the corrupted earth early and possibly without having to suffer the pain of death.

Chapter 6:

The impending flood. God is becoming displeased with the behaviour of men. The "sons of God" (possibly the Nephilim -- "fallen ones", or descendants of Seth who were supposed to be more God-fearing than their cousins) were intermingling with the "daughters of men" (If the "sons of God" were angels, then the "daughters of men" were probably any human women. If the "sons of God" were descendants of Seth, then the "daughters of men" were probably descendants of Cain.). God sees the utter wickedness of the human race (vs. 5) and decides to wipe the slate clean and start fresh. Only Noah found God's favor and was spared. God instructed Noah in ship-building (despite the fact that Noah is suspected to have lived in a desert), and Noah complied (vs. 22).
This chapter forms the basis of Madeline L'Engle's book Many Waters, in which two boys travel back in time and meet Noah's family, as well as the Nephilim and Seraphim (she assumes the Nephilim to be fallen angels).
This chapter goes into very little detail about the wickedness of men. As noted at the end of chapter 4, it may have to do with the many sinful practices of Cain's side of the family, now being carried over (through marriage) to Seth's children. From what is described here, though, tt seems mostly to stem from the marriages of the "sons of God" to the "daughters of men". Who these parties are and how these relationships were sinful is not detailed -- at least not in terms that 21st century readers can easily understand. What seems significant, however, is that the sin is (again) related to marriage and the relationships between men and women. People were marrying people they weren't supposed to be married to, in this case.
The other confusing point in this story is the mention of the Nephilim. The NIV Study Bible note points out that this word in Hebrew means "fallen ones" and that there is one other mention of them as being very large and powerful (Numbers 13:33). They may be fallen angels, or perhaps they are just large/strong men that were renowned for their warrior status.
God makes his decision to eradicate all evil, but decides to save Noah and enough people and animals to repopulate the earth afterwards. He instructed Noah in the specifics of boat building (there is some speculation that Noah lived in a desert, so he probably would have no experience with boats) and tells him to stock up for a long ride.
- Verse 9: "This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God." The significant statement I find in this verse is "blameless among the people of his time" -- not that Noah was "blameless" compared to, say, Jesus, but, compared to the sinners of his lifetime, he was considered righteous. That, coupled with the fact that he "walked with God" was enough for God to save him.

Chapter 7:

Verses 1-4: God's instructions
Verses 7&10, 11-12, and 13&17 repeat 3 times the fact that, as verse 5 states, "Noah did all that the Lord commanded him."
Verses 8&9 and 14-16 stress and restress the fact that Noah had all the animal he had been commanded to bring -- 7 (or 7 pairs) of every clean animal and bird and 2 (or 2 pairs) of every unclean animal.
Verses 17-20: The depth of the water -- covering even the highest mountains by 20 feet, so that nothing could stand on the highest mountain peak and still reach the surface of the water.
- Remember 1:2 -- "Now the earth was formless and emtpy, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." In His wrath, God returns creation to its original state of being only water. From here, He will start the world anew.
Verses 21-23: Every creature -- animal or human -- that breathed air died.

Chapter 8:

Verses 1-5: The water recedes at God's command. Compare to 1:9 -- "And God said, 'Let the water under the sky be gather to one place, and let dry ground appear.' And it was so."
It takes a very long time for the earth to dry off again, but, at last, Noah and his companions are able to leave the ark.
Verse 21-22: God promises never the ground again because of men. He had taken His wrath against men out on the entire planet, and he would not do so again.

Chapter 9:

Verses 1-3: God gives Noah and his family a blessing and instructions for living in the world. Compare His words to Adam and Eve in 1:28-29 ("Be fruitful and increase in number: fill the earth ... I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.") to His words here ("Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth ... Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything."). Also compare His instructions to the animals in 1:28,30 ("...fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground. ... And to all the beast of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground -- everything that has the the breath of life in it -- I give every green plant for food.") to His statement here ("The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air..."). The relationship between Man and Animal has changed.
- Man is now allowed to use the animals as food. Possibly, this was part of the sin that God saw going on in the world before the flood. In 4:20 (as noted above), one of Lamech's sons (a descendant from Cain), raised livestock. It is possible that these animals were used for food, proving that the people were fallen and depraved.
- What was the intended purpose of animals? The role of animals in creation changes over time.
  - Before the fall, in 1:28, God instructs Adam and Eve to "rule over" the animals, implying that the animals were to submit to the rule of the humans. In 2:19-20, Adam names the creatures and searches among them for a "suitable helper", implying that the animals were capable of helping him, although not in the way he currently needed.
  - After the fall, in 3:21, God creates "garments of skin" for the naked and ashamed Adam and Eve. Whether this means animals had to be killed to create the garments is not stated, but, apparently, at this point, it is acceptable to make such use of the animals. In 4:2 and 4:4, Abel "kept flocks" and made offerings of the "fat portions" of the flocks. If the animals were not being used for food at this point, it is possible that their skins were being used for clothing and the like, so "fat portions" might be creatures that produced more clothing.
  - Now in Noah's time, the animals are now turned against men as the land was in 1:17&19 -- "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. ... By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground." As the land became difficult to work, so will the animals be difficult to keep and raise.
Verse 4: God gives the first of His instructions that are intended for the health and well-being of His people -- don't eat meat that still has blood in it.
Verse 5: As the earth will swallow up Man in the end (1:19), so the animals will be dangerous to Man.
Thus far, the flood and the encounter with Noah afterwards closely mirrors the account of creation, the fall and God's blessing, curses and instructions.
Verses 8-17: God establishes a covenant to never again destroy the earth with a flood.
Immediately after this, sin begins anew. While Noah is sleeping, Ham looks into his tent and sees him naked. Instead of doing something to cover up his fathers shame, he runs and tells others about it (to further the embaressment of the situation). His brothers, however, discretely cover their father up. Ham's descendants end up cursed, while Shem and Japheth are blessed. This sounds similar to the Cain-Abel-Seth setup of chapter 4.

Chapter 10:

Genealogies for Japheth, Ham and Shem.
Ham's offspring included (but were not limited to) Canaan (who received the curse for his father's actions in 9:25), Cush and Mizraim. Canaan's offspring included (but were not limited to) the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, and Hivites. One of Cush's sons was Nimrod, who established the later-famous cities of Babylon and Nineveh (among others). Mizraim's offspring included the Philistines. Over all, Ham's descendants made up many of the peoples that would later cause Israel a lot of grief.

Chapter 11:

Of course, people are still trying to make themselves into gods at this point. So far, the ground has quit cooperating with people, and the animals have turned away from people. Now, finally, God has to turn men away from each other to keep them from destroying themselves. He confuses and scatters them.
The genealogy from Shem to Abram: Compared to the genealogy in chapter 5, people are having children much sooner, and the lifespan is rapidly shrinking (down from Adam's 930 years to Shem's 500 years to Nahor's 119 -- with a few outlyers along the way).
The people closely related to Abram:
- Terah -- Abram's father
- Sarai -- Abram's wife. We find out (much later) that she is Abram's half-sister -- his father's daughter through a different wife (see 20:12).

Chapter 12:

Verse 3b: "...all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." Jesus came of Abram's line, and his salvation was extended to all people.
It should be noted that the people of Israel are chosen as God's people at this point. Abram is chosen out of God's grace, and his children are blessed, also through God's grace. As will be seen in the following chapters, Abram himself is not a sinless man and does not earn the right to these blessings. Israel is as much an adopted child of God as the rest of the world becomes in the New Testament.
God promises the land of Canaan to Abram, foretelling the carrying out of the curse he placed on the Canaanites.
In the second part of this chapter, Abram begins his tradition of referring to Sarai as his sister instead of as his wife. Later on, he will point out that this is, in fact, a true statement (20:12). Nonetheless, God makes it clear that this behavior is unacceptable, by punishing Pharoah for taking her from Abram. This passage is somewhat confusing, as it seems to reward Abram for his white lie. However, it does cause Abram to be uprooted again and thrown out of Egypt to find another place to live, during a time of famine. It does point out, once again, that God's "good and faithful" and even "righteous" servants have many human faults and are not chosen for their sinlessness.

Chapter 13:

Abram is generous in giving his nephew first choice of land. However, Lot chooses an obviously sinful path for himself by taking the land around the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorah. He is both greedy in this choice and careless. Greedy because the land around Sodom and Gomorah seemed better for living on, and careless because he was exposing himself to the sin of the wicked cities. He walked into the danger without a second thought, being tempted by the seeming goodness of land.
This is very much the way most sin works its way into our lives: we are tempted into dangerous circumstances by the facade of goodness. If we choose the easy path or make the blessing of the earth our goal, we open ourselves to the dangers of temptation and end up pursuing our own pleasures instead of the will of God.
Abram's blessing is renewed. God promises to give the land of Canaan to Abram and his offspring "forever". In modern days, it seems that this promise has broken down, as Israel is a land of unrest and war between nations attempting to regain that promised land. Perhaps, under the new covenant of the New Testament, this promise of a physical home has been transformed into the promised land of Heaven after death.

Chapter 14:

Lot begins to pay the penalty for living near the wicked cities. Political unrest and widespread war lead to the capture of these neighboring cities. Symbolically, the life of sin with which Lot had surrounded himself starts to show its weakness and its inability to save him. Instead, Abram (with God's promises on his side) marches out and saves him. In the end of the chapter, Abram refuses to even take gifts from the king of Sodom, not wanting any part of these cities to infect his life.
As extreme as this may sound, Abram demonstrates the utter refusal to accept or justify sin. This passage demonstrates the attitude of the Christian life: "Love the sinner, hate the sin." Abram saves the lives of the people of Sodom, but refuses to be tempted by their lifestyle.

Chapter 15:

God makes His promise to Abram. He promises to protect and reward Abram, to make a great nation of his descendants and to give him the land of Canaan. In addition to promising so much to Abram, God does not require anything of Abram in return. This is demonstrated toward the end of the chapter, when God's presence commits to the agreement, but Abram sits back and watches while the agreement is made.
God is blessing Abram with these promises out of His goodness, not out of Abram's goodness or deserving. Despite the famous line in verse 6 ("Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness."), Abram does, in fact, show doubt in verse 8, 16:2b and 17:17-18. The fact that he was credited with righteousness has very little to do with his own actions. He repeatedly fails to trust God and is unable to perform any significant action without the Lord's grace.
God outlines the turbulant beginning to the nation of Israel: Abram's offspring will be enslaved and then led out of slavery by the Lord. Abram himself will live a long and peaceful life. All His words are shown to be true in subsequent chapters.

Chapter 16:

Very little has been told in the Bible about Sarai, Abram's wife. She is, apparently, to be the mother of the nation of Israel, but is barren. She aids Abram in his lies to the Pharoah of Egypt (and, later, to Abimelech of Gerar - chapter 20) and is taken as wife by others as a result. Now, she doubts God's promises to Abram to make a great nation of him and offers her own servant to her husband to mother his children. This sin leads to a division in Abram's family -- Hagar conceives and jealousy springs up between the two women immediately. Furthermore, Sarai mistreats the servant. Not a very pleasant picture is being painted of this "mother of nations". Once again, people have not been chosen for their own inherent goodness, but simply out of God's grace.
God hears Hagar in her misery and speaks to her. Despite the fact that He gives her no guarentees beyond the fact that she will have a son, she praises Him and names Him as "the One who sees me". She recognizes His sovereignty in her life, even without the benefit of grace and blessings.
Already, there is a demonstration that polygomy is a bad idea -- it breeds jealousy and sin.

Chapter 17:

God renews His covenant with Abram. He promises great numbers of children and the whole land of Canaan. All He requires of Abram (who He now renames "Abraham") is that all males be circumcised. God indicates that Sarai (or "Sarah", as she is now called) will be the mother of this nation. Again, Abraham doubts and asks to transfer the blessing to Ishmael (Hagar's son). He doubts the promises of God and wants to transfer the goods to a known child, rather than trusting God to provide another son at some uncertain point in the future.
God phrases this covenant as an "everlasting" covenant that will last for "the generations to come". In the New Testament, this covenant is seemingly radically changed. However, upon further inspection, the covenants do not seem so different:
- Old Testament Promise: The land of Canaan, in which the people are foreigners being blessed with a home "flowing with milk and honey".
  New Testament Promise: Heaven, a place in which humans are foreigners being blessed with the presence of God.
- Old Testament Promise: Great numbers of descendants, including great kings.
  New Testament Promise: The family of God spreads to include all people who believe, and Jesus, the ultimate king.
- Old Testament Requirement: The men in the family must be faithful by being circumcised.
  New Testament Requirement: The children in the family must be faithful by giving up on their own desires and accepting the (sometimes painful) charge of living according to God's will.
These parallels demonstrate that God's covenant is, indeed, everlasting. It is even expanded to be more abundant and beneficial to the receivers of the blessing.
God responds with grace even to Abraham's doubts and blesses Ishmael with 12 nations of his line. These nations prove to be a thorn in the side to Israel, showing that, once again, humans cannot perceive the good that God intends and often ask for things that are not really in their best interest.

Chapter 18:

God reenforces His promise of a son to Abraham and Sarah. Again, Sarah disbelieves.
God reveals His plans to destroy Sodom and Gomorah, but Abraham pleads for the wicked cities on behalf of his nephew. The NIV Study Bible notes point out that Abraham's pleas are most likely based on his assumptions about Lot, since Abraham stops bargaining with God when God promises to spare the cities if there are 10 righteous people found there. This would be the number of people in Lot's family, by Abraham's calculation.
This passage also demonstrates the concept that comes up much later in the Bible in Matthew 13:24-30. In this New Testament parable, Jesus talks about weeds growing up among the good seed. The farmer opts to allow the weeds to remain, since uprooting them may also destroy the wheat. In the case of Sodom and Gomorah, if there is any good wheat, God will allow the weeds to remain.

Chapter 19:

This chapter is one strange and horrible tale after another. First, the angels of God who have come to judge the city experience firsthand the wickedness of its people. Only Lot is righteous and tries to talk sense into the sinners. When he fails to disuade them, he tries to protect the angels and lessen the sin, but, even then, the sinful residents insist on their crimes. The angels save Lot and his family get them out of the city. The cities are destroyed. Shortly on the heels of this catastrophy, Lot's daughters practice insest in an attempt to preserve their family line. Another disaster results, as they become the mothers of two more sinful nations.
Chapter 18 and the first part of this chapter may demonstrate a parallel to the judgement of the end times. God comes down to judge the world, saves the righteous by His grace and destroys the sinners.
In the end, it appears that, at most, only one man in all of the two wicked cities was indeed righteous. Lot, his daughters and his wife are all taken from the city before it is destroyed, because of Lot's kindness and goodness to the angels. His wife turns back, however, and is lost by her own weakness to temptation. Then, his two daughters prove themselves to be sinful as the people in the cities by both distrusting the grace of the Lord to honor their father and by desiring sexual pleasure (even in a perverted form) and the honor of having children for themselves.
Some would argue that Lot himself was not righteous (or even that this story in the Bible advocates violence against women), because he was willing to offer his daughters to the sinful men of Sodom in the place of the angels to be sexually abused. It should be noted, though, that this offer came after the desuasive appeal to not do anything sinful at all. Lot sees it as his duty to protect the men he took into his house. He will do this even at a cost to himself and his family. He also tries to reduce the sin by both providing women (so that there will not be a sin of homosexuality) and providing virgins (so that there will not be a sin of adultery). Of course, these "reductions" in sin would not make the actions any less evil or horrible, but Lot was left with very few options at this point and was doing the best he could considering the circumstances he was in. It should also be remembered that Lot chose these circumstances in the first place, when he chose the land around Sodom and Gomorah for his home. It is apparent by the fact that he was sitting at the city gate and had a home within Sodom that he had, over the years, fallen more and more to the temptations of the sinful world he had chosen to live in. Furthermore, at the end of the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorah (verse 29), it is made obvious that Lot's salvation was due to God's favor to Abraham, not necessarily Lot's righteousness.

Chapter 20:

Again, Abraham gets himself and his wife in trouble by claiming they are only brother and sister, not also husband and wife. This time, however, those he lies to are saved because God reveals the truth to them before they sin. This lie seems (once again) to end up in a blessing on Abraham and Sarah, but, again, leaves them wandering from their home. This punishment parallels the punishment of Adam and Eve and that of Cain -- banishment from their homes.

Chapter 21:

At last, God fulfills His promise to Abraham by providing him a son through Sarah. Abraham also keeps up his end of the bargain by circumsizing this son.
Sarah's jealousy of Hagar and Ishmael is still at work. God places the fates of these two into Sarah's hands, and she is unforgiving to them. After this, God comes to Hagar and saves her again, showing His mercy and goodness in contrast to Sarah's fear and hatred.

Chapter 22:

Another strange tale, this chapter tells of the testing of Abraham. After years of doubt and many attempts by Abraham to secure God's blessing, God commands Abraham to kill his son, thereby destroying the gift through which the covenant was supposed to be secured. This test of righteousness finally shows Abraham's acceptance of God's sovereignty, as he is willing to risk the loss of the promises he had been given. God sees his righteousness and spares Isaac, providing an alternate sacrifice (both immediately, with a ram stuck in the bushes, and much later with the sacrifice of His own Son for the salvation of the world).
This story is also quite symbolic, contrasting the doubt, fears and final acceptance of Abraham with the constant love and faithfulness of God. The sacrifice of Isaac would have saved the nation of Israel by preventing its existance and possibly preventing the coming of the Savior. Instead, God spares Abraham's son, despite all of Abraham's doubt and questioning, and substitutes His own Son to save Abraham's offspring. Ironically, Jesus is both God's Son and a son of Abraham's line.
Nahor's line produces Rebekah, whom Isaac eventually marries. Thus, the blessing of Abraham extends to his brother, as well.

Chapter 23:

Sarah's death leads to the foul dealings with the Hittites. Abraham is taken advantage of, being forced to pay a high price for an entire field instead of being able to buy a small portion of land. (NIV Study Bible notes explain this in further detail.)
Again, very little is said about Sarah. She was blessed with a long life, but she had very few moments of faith recorded in that lifetime and even her death leads to hardship for Abraham.

Chapter 24:

At last, Abraham has placed his trust in the Lord, and speaks confidently to his servant about His goodness. His faith carries on in his servant, who then prays to God for a sign indicating the woman He has chosen for Isaac. This faith is rewarded, and Rebekah returns with the servant to marry Isaac.
Family Tree continuation:
- Nahor -- Abram's other brother. He married Milcah (Haran's daughter)

Chapter 25: