Isaac and Jacob: Inheritors of the Covenant

Read Genesis 25:19-26
Summarize
I. Isaac takes Rebekah as a wife
II. Isaac begs God to give him children though Rebekah is barren
III. God answers Isaac's prayer and gives
IV. God reveals that the younger sibling will rule over the older and make both into great nations

Read Genesis 26:1-6
 Summarize
I. God instructs Isaac to remain in Canaan during the famine
II. God promises to uphold His covenant with Abraham by extending it to Isaac
III. Isaac trusts and obeys God

Read Genesis 27:5-24
I. Rebekah plots with Jacob to steal the blessing of Isaac from Esau
II. Jacob and Rebekah trick Isaac and convince him that Jacob is Esau

Read Genesis 28:10-22
Summarize
I. Jacob flees from Esau to his uncle Laban
II. God reveals Himself to Jacob in a dream
III. God promises to be with Jacob and to extend the covenant to Him

Reflective Discussion:
1. God promises to bless Abraham through Isaac and make him a great nation, how does Rebekah being barren threaten the fulfillment of God's promise?
a. What is Isaac's response to the crisis of Rebekah's barrenness?
b. How do you react in times of crisis? How does Isaac's example encourage you to follow in his footsteps?
Read Isaiah 55:8-9
c. God tells Rebekah that the younger will serve the older, why is this important? How does it go against cultural norms?
Read Romans 9:10-16, Ephesians 2:4-10
d. What does this passage tell you about God's sovereignty and mercy? How does this inform your understanding of salvation?
2. God made a promise to bless Isaac, but what did Isaac have to do to live in the reality of that promise?
a. What does walking in faith by trusting God look like in your life?
Read Romans 5:8
b. How this passage and the sin of Rebekah and Jacob add meaning to your understanding of God's grace and mercy?

Contextualize
1. We demonstrate our trust in God by how we live
2. God's actions and intentions may not make sense to us but they are always good and bring Him glory
3. God's children are evil people whom He has chosen to show compassion and make them righteous.

Actualize:
Meditate on and memorize Ephesians 2:4-10 and Romans 5:8. Thank God everyday for the grace and mercy He gives to undeserving people.

Session 6: Genesis 22:1-19

Session 6: Genesis 22:1-19

Summarize

I.  God commands Abraham to sacrifice his only son Issac(22:1-3)

A. God grows Abraham's faith(antitype)

B.  Abraham obey's God by preparing to travel to the mountain to sacrifice his son.

II. Abraham brings Isaac to the place of sacrifice(22:4-6)

A.  God shows Abraham the place of sacrifice(4)

B. Abraham goes to the place of sacrifice alone with Isaac(5)

C. Abraham lays the burden of the implements of the sacrifice on Isaac(6)

III. Isaac is a willing sacrifice(22:7-10)

A.  Isaac asks his father where the sacrifice is and Abraham tells Isaac God will provide

B.  Abraham builds the altar,  ties up Isaac and places Isaac on the altar as a sacrifice and prepares to kill Isaac(9-10)

IV. The Lord provides a substitute sacrifice(22:11-14)

A.  The messenger of the Lord stays Abraham's hand from killing Isaac(11-12)

B. God rewards Abraham's absolute trust and obedience by providing a sacrifice(12-13)

C. Abraham worships God and names the mountain,  "The Lord will provide"

V. God reaffirms His covenant to Abraham(22:15-19)

A. God swears by Himself that He will uphold His covenant with Abraham(15-16)

B. God promises to make Abraham’s descendants into a nation that will bless the nations because of Abraham’s obedience(17-18)

C. Abraham goes back to his family and moves them to Beer-sheba

Analyze

1. What are these things that happened to Abraham in the previous chapter? (1, Gen 21)

a. Isaac, the long awaited child of promise, is finally given to Abraham in Gen 21, how  does this color your reading of God’s command to Abraham in Gen 22?

Read 1 Pet 1:6-7, Jas 1:2-4, Rom 5:3-4

b. Abraham demonstrated great faith and long-suffering waiting for Isaac, why would it be difficult to let go and obey God?

c. What would make it difficult for you to let go of some of the things you’ve waited on from God?

d. What are some things you need to surrender to God so that He can grow your character and faith?

2. How did Abraham respond to God’s command? How long did it take for Abraham to get to the place of sacrifice? Each day Abraham journeyed toward the the place of sacrifice the mountain would get bigger and bigger.  In the morning and evening the place of sacrifice would loom in the background an ever present reminder of what continued obedience to God meant.

a. How would the presence of the mountain make the journey/act of obedience difficult for Abraham?

b. What are some looming objects(fear, doubt, shame, anger) that make obeying God difficult for you right now?

3.  What does Abraham do in vs 5-6? What about this entire situation might give Isaac reason to ask his question in vs 7?

Abraham’s behavior is odd and doesn’t fit the format his servants or son are accustomed to seeing for sacrifice. However, as odd and as wrong as it might seem Isaac trusts his Father by obeying him.

a. What does Abraham’s statement about God providing demonstrate about Abraham’s character and faith in God?(8)

a. When faced with situations where obedience to God seem to make no sense, how have you responded? Has God given you the opportunity to be in a situation where there would be a colossal blunder if God didn’t show up? How is God giving you opportunities to grow in faith/confidence?

Abraham demonstrates great faith by showing he was willing to kill his long awaited son trusting that God would show up. In the original text it actually says that the Angel of the Lord stayed Abraham’s hand to keep him from killing Isaac. However, we must not overlook the incredible faith displayed by Isaac. His father tied him up and placed him on top of the wood of the for the altar.  If I were Isaac and someone tied me up, laid me on top of a bbq grill and then brought out a knife I would be struggling and fighting to get out of there.  However, what we find is Isaac trusting His father and being a willing sacrifice. Abraham and Isaac are the antitype of God the Father and Jesus.  God doesn’t require Abraham  or Isaac to make the ultimate sacrifice and foreshadows the provision and sacrifice He Himself will make for all mankind.

Read Isaiah 53:10, Philippians 2:5-10, Luke 22:42, Matt 26:39

b. How do the above passages and statement influence the way you read Genesis 22? How does knowing that God uses people to proclaim who He is, what He’s done, and what He will do shape the way you view the story of your life?

4. What does Abraham do in vs 13? How does this image clarify your understanding of “substitutionary atonement?”

Read Genesis 15, Exodus 20: 4-6

5. Who does God swear by in vs 16?Where does the weight of the responsibility in fulfilling and keeping the promise fall?(God or Abraham) How does this reinforce/clarify what you read in Genesis 15 and the covenant God makes with Abram?

a. Exodus 20:4-6 tells us what happens to those who disobey God and how God rewards the obedient.  How does Abraham’s obedience influence the decisions you make today that can have an impact on future generations?

Contextualize

1. God is and provides for the needs of His people
2. God blesses those who trust and obey Him
3. God gives us opportunities to grow in our confidence in Him

Actualize

Ask God to reveal how you can grow in your trust with Him. Share what God reveals with 2 friends that can encourage you and help you take the first step of faith.

Breaking Down the Process

Breaking Down the Process

Pray:

1. Humble- yourself acknowledge your need for the Spirit to understand and live out the Truth
2. Ask-God to remove obstacles that keep you from hearing and responding to the Truth
3. Thank-God for speaking to you through His Word and for sending the Spirit to guide you into living out the Truth.

Read:

1. Familiarize-read the whole passage to grasp the big picture
2. Observe- groupings of passages that form a story or express an idea
3. Synthesize-read the whole passage to see how stories/ideas relate to each other and help express the big picture.

Summarize:

1. Organize passages into major events/points
2. List subpoints/ story arcs under major headings

Analyze:

1. What does it say?
2. What does it mean to the original audience?
3. How is this relevant to people today?

Contextualize:

1. What you learned about God
2. What you learned about us/yourself
3. What you learned about how God interacts with us

Actualize:

1. Specific-actions that help you live out what you’ve learned
2. Measurable- observable actions that display/confirm what you believe
3. Actionable- something you can do now and work on this week

Session 5: Genesis 11-12:9

Session 5: Genesis 11-12:9

Summarize:

I. The people of the world disobey God's command to spread over the face of the earth(11:1-9)

A.  The people settle in the valley of Shinar and decide to build a monument to declare their glory(1-4)

B.  God causes the people to fulfill His purpose by causing the people to speak different languages so that they would be unable to continue communicating and working to glorify themselves.

C.  The people leave the valley of Shinar and obey God's command to spread over the face of the earth.

II.  The genealogy of Abram(11:10-32)

A. The effect of sin is displayed in the shortening life span of the descendants of Shem(10-25)

B. Abram and Nahor the sons of Terah took wives,  Abram's wife Sarai was barren(29)

C. Terah the father of Abram moved his family to go to the land of Canaan but settled in Haran(31)

III. God calls Abram(12:1-9)

A. God commands Abram to leave his home and follow God(1)

B. God promises to bless Abram and make him a great nation that will bless all the people of the world(2-3)

C. Abram obeys God and leaves Haran,  his nephew lot goes with Abram.  

D.  Abram goes to the land of Canaan,  a land that God promises to give to his descendants(7)

E.  Abram builds an altar to the Lord (7-9)

Analyze:

Read Genesis 9:1

1. What command of God did the people in the valley of Shinar disregard?

a.  What reason did the people of Shinar give for staying put?  How did their decision display a distrust of God? (4)

Read Psalm 127:1-5, Isa 23:9, Jas 4:6

b.  Why was God not pleased with the people of Shinar?  

c.  What does God do to move the people to accomplish His purpose? (7)

d. How have you put your priorities and concerns before God's?  How has God responded to your disobedience?  

Read Proverbs 3:12, Heb 12:6

e. How does the story of the people of Shinar influence your understanding of how God accomplishes His purposes?

f. How do the passages above shape your understanding of God's discipline and correction?

2. Read the genealogies in Gen 5:1-32 and 11:10-25 how has sin affected mankind? (look at the life span)

a. What is an important fact stated about Abram's wife? (30)  Why was it disgraceful for a woman to be barren in Abram's culture? What do you learn about Abram's character and love for Sarai in remaining monogamous despite Sarai's condition? (mono= one/single,  gamos=marriage)

b. How does Abram’s treatment of Sarai shape your understanding of marriage?(Gen 2:24)

c. Where was Terah taking his family before he settled in Haran?

3. What did God promise Abram? (2-3)

a. The fulfillment of God's promise is contingent upon what?

Read Psalms 56:3, 143:8

b. What promises of God require you to trust Him? What blessings of God are you missing out on because of your lack of faith?  

c.   What did Abram stand to lose if he obeyed God?(12:1)

d. Abram’s nephew Lot leaves with Abram, what are some assumptions we might make as to why Lot would follow someone in doing something that makes no sense?

e. How does this shape your understanding of how radically lived out faith influences others?

Contextualize:

1. God’s purposes are never thwarted.
2. God invites us into intimacy by asking us to trust Him.
3. Radical dependence and trust in God are contagious

Actualize:

Commit to leveraging your influence by sharing stories of how you have/are trusting God. Practice by thinking about your stories of God’s faithfulness, write them down.

Session 4: Genesis 6:11-9:17

Session 4: Genesis 6:11-9:17

Summarize:

1. God decides to bring judgement on the wickedness of the earth(6:11-22)

A.  God warns Noah of the Judgement and commands him to make an ark(13-14,17)

B.  God promises to save Noah and everything and everyone in the ark(18)

C.  God gives specifications about the building of the Ark and provisions for the animals that it will house. (14-16, 19-22)

2. God commands Noah to enter the Ark(7:1-24)

A.  God spares Noah and his family because he obeys God despite the wickedness of his culture(1)

B.  God gives specific instructions to preserve clean and unclean animals. (2)

C. Noah and his family enter the Ark along with all the animals and the Lord shuts them in (6-16)

D. God sends the flood waters to judge the earth for 40 days and 40 nights(12-17)

E. All creatures of the land and air die so that only those sealed in the Ark live(18-24)

3. God remembers Noah and withholds His wrath(8:1-22)

A. God suspends His judgement and causes the waters to recede(1)

B. The Ark comes to rest on Mount Ararat and Noah sends out birds to check for dry land(4-12)

C. God commands Noah and the Ark’s inhabitants to come out

4. God establishes a covenant with Noah and all the Earth(8:15-9:17)

A. Noah builds an altar and makes sacrifices to the Lord

B. When the Lord smells the offering He promises to never destroy the earth and it’s creatures on account of man

C. God commands Noah’s family and all the creatures of the land and air to be fruitful and multiply(9:1-2)

D. God gives man permission to eat animals so long as the blood is not in it.(3-4)

E. God instituted the sacrificial system through blood atonement(4-6)

F. God sets a sign of His covenant in the sky(12-17)

Analyze:

1. Why does God decide to destroy the earth?(6:11-13)

1. What does God commanded Noah to build?

Read 1 Peter 3:18-21, Matt 24:38-39

2. How does this passage shape your understanding of how you understand God’s judgement? His salvation?
3. Who does God promise to save from His judgement?(18)
4. The only people and creatures saved from God’s judgement are those found in the ark, there is no other way of salvation, how  does John 14:6 help you understand the concept of salvation in Christ alone?
5. God restates His intention to bring about His judgement and pour out His wrath so that Noah clearly understands the importance of the ark.  How does this shape the way we evangelize?  Is it important to tell people about why they need to be saved through Jesus?
6. What type of food does God command Noah to take into the ark for provisions? Did Noah bring any animals on the ark to feed to his family or to other animals? (God’s command of eating plants for food for all creatures still stands, animals haven’t yet been given for food)

2. What does God command Noah to do in 7:1?  What reason does God give?

God commanded Noah to make a boat of gigantic proportions in a place that had no large bodies of standing water to prepare for an event(flood) that had never been seen.

1. About how long did it take for Noah to build the ark? (Gen 5:32, 7:11)  How does Noah’s testimony of faithful obedience affect your relationship with God?

Read Hebrews 11:7

2. Noah was the only one out of his generation to trust and obey God, how is Noah’s testimony relevant to you today?
3. Who closes the ark before the flood begins?(16)

Read Phil 1:6, Eph 2:8-9, Heb 12:1-2

4. How do these passages shape your understanding of salvation found in God alone?

The flood is a vivid description of God’s wrath being poured out in judgement over the wicked. Only those found in the ark are preserved everything outside of the ark perishes. (Acts 4:12, Rom 8:38-39, Heb 7:25)

3. When do the waters of  the flood recede? (8:1)

1. What is it about Noah that God remembers that causes Him to suspend His wrath?(6:18)
2. What does this tell you about God’s reliability and the truth of His Word?(Isa 55:11, Rom 10:11, Ps 25:3, Isa 49:23)
3. What’s the first thing Noah does after God commands him to come out of the ark?(20)

Propitiation: to turn away the righteous anger of God we deserved by an offering of sufficient value.

4. What command does God restate when God brings Noah out of the ark?(17, 9:1)
5. When does God promise Himself he won’t destroy the earth because of man?(21) What does God promise in vs 22? How is this promise relevant in light of the flood? (Noah and his family were in the ark for over a year)

4. Which commands of God are the same as the ones God gave to Adam? Which commands given to Noah are changed or new?(9:1-7)

1. How is man’s relationship with animals changed after the flood? How does this change reflect the digression of creation as a result of sin?
2. God institutes the sacrificial system after the flood. What does the Lord require for sacrifice?  
3. How does 9:6 establish the intrinsic value and sanctity of life?
4. What covenant does God make in Genesis 9? With whom does God make the covenant? What is the sign of God’s covenant?

God’s sign of His covenant to not destroy the earth by flood is His bow, a weapon of war, held up and hung in the sky.  Every time God sees the rainbow He remembers His covenant, likewise every time we see the sign we remember God’s patience and mercy.

Read 2 Peter 3:9

Contextualize:

1. God is just and will pour out His wrath on the wicked.
2. God is merciful and saves those who humbly trust Him.
3. God is faithful, He always keeps His promises.

Actualize:

Memorize 2 Peter 3:9 and thank God for His patience but pray for the boldness to trust Him and warn others of God’s coming wrath. Write down the names of 3 people you know  that don’t follow Jesus and begin praying for them everyday this week.