S T U D Y G U I D E W E E K S

Transcription

1 S T U D Y G U I D E GENESIS WEEKS 25-30

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3 JULY 12 GENESIS What did God speak to you in the message on Sunday? 2. Was the message encouraging, challenging, or inspiring to you? 3. Did you find anything hard or difficult to accept in the message? If so, what? Why? 4. How do you plan to apply what you heard in your life? OPENING QUESTIONS: Think about a test you took. This could be your driving test, an exam in school, or a test for your job. Talk about the stress of it, or were you so confident that you knew you would ace it? In reality how did you do? The Scripture tells us that God tested Abraham. Discuss some of the tests and trials you have been through. God gave Abraham a test. Read Genesis 22. If you had been Abraham how would you have felt? If you were Isaac how would you have felt? How did Abraham react to this command of God? (He prepared to go immediately. He was instantly obedient to God s command.) We are going to look at some comparisons of this command to Abraham and the crucifixion of Christ. God told Abraham to go to the mountain of Moriah. This is the place where later Solomon built the temple. Why would that be significant? (It is the place where the sacrifices were made.) Page 1

4 JULY 12 Verse 2 says, Then God said, Take your son, your only son (Compare this to John 3:16.) In verse 4 it says On the third day what does that mean to you? (Jesus was three days in the tomb. When God spoke to Abraham he literally reckoned Isaac as dead believing that God could resurrect him. Hebrews 11:17-19) Verse 5 speaks of Abraham telling the servants that we will come back to you even though he knew what God had told him to do. What does that say about Abraham? (Abraham had faith in God.) In verse 6 Isaac was carrying the wood. How does that give us a picture of later events? (Jesus carried the wooden cross up the mountain of Calvary.) Abraham carried the fire and the knife. What does that say to you? (The father would bring the death. It also means he would bring judgment) How old might Isaac have been when this took place? (Most people assume he was a child. In the next chapter Sarah was 127 so Isaac could have been in his thirties by that time.) Because Isaac may well have been an adult when Abraham took him up the mountain (Abraham was 100 years older than Isaac.) He most likely could have overpowered his father but there is no indication that he struggled. What does that say about Isaac? Read verses Identify who this angel of the Lord most likely was and discuss what he tells Abraham. (Because Abraham obeys the voice of the angel of the Lord and does not kill Isaac, this is almost certainly a pre-birth appearance of Christ. He could not obeyed if this had simply been an angel delivering a message that opposed God s Word.) A ram was caught in a thicket by his horns. This probably appeared to be briars wrapped around his head. What might that be a picture of in Page 2

5 JULY 12 this part of the Scripture? (Jesus, the Lamb of God, wore the crown of thorns.) Verse 19 tells us that Abraham returned. Why do you think the Scripture does not include that Isaac returned with Abraham? (Discuss the fact that we do not see Isaac mentioned again until he meets his bride in chapter 24.) SUMMARY Abraham obeyed God and took his beloved son Isaac to slay him on Mount Moriah, the very place where the lambs would later be slain. This test of Abraham was a picture in the Old Testament of events that would come later when another Son, the Lamb of God, would carry the wood up the mount and be slain. PRAYER TIME Thank the Lord for the amazing sacrifice that Jesus made by dying on the cross. He paid for our sin and then He conquered death three days later so that we could have life. Page 3

6 GENESIS What did God speak to you in the message on Sunday? JULY Was the message encouraging, challenging, or inspiring to you? 3. Did you find anything hard or difficult to accept in the message? If so, what? Why? 4. How do you plan to apply what you heard in your life? OPENING QUESTIONS: Have you ever had to pick out something for someone else? Tell about a time when you were choosing something and it was hard to know exactly what they would want. In the opening of chapter 24 we see Abraham was talking with a servant. Who do you think the unnamed servant is? (Genesis 15:1-4 This could be Eliezer.) Abraham talked with his servant about qualifications for a wife for Isaac. What were some of these? Abraham was insistent about a wife for Isaac. What direction does he give the servant? How did the servant go about accomplishing this request? (First he went, but then he prayed.) Eliezer means helper. As we pray for a spouse for ourselves, our children or grandchildren how can this be a picture for us? Page 4

7 JULY 19 Who was Rebekah? How did she become the answer to the servant s prayer? (She offered him a drink of water and then offered to water the camels.) What did her willingness to give him and his camels a drink say about her? (She was diligent; she recognized needs; she had a servant s heart.) SUMMARY Picking out a wife for his master s son was a gargantuan task. He approached it exactly the right way. He prayed and God answered. God directed all of it. PRAYER TIME What is happening in your life right now where you need direction? Ask God to lead you. Page 5

8 GENESIS 24:29-67 JULY What did God speak to you in the message on Sunday? 2. Was the message encouraging, challenging, or inspiring to you? 3. Did you find anything hard or difficult to accept in the message? If so, what? Why? 4. How do you plan to apply what you heard in your life? OPENING QUESTIONS: Has there ever been a time in your life when you had to make an almost immediate change in your situation or circumstance? Who was Laban? (He was Rebekah s brother and nephew to Abraham.) The servant gave gold jewelry to Rebekah. What do you think that said to her family? When the servant realized his prayer has been answered what did he want to do? (He wanted to go back home immediately.) What was the family s response? (They believed if it was God who had directed this so they could speak neither bad nor good verse 50. However they wanted her to stay for at least ten days.) What did Abraham s servant say to this? Why was he so insistent? Page 6

9 JULY 26 What did Rebekah say? Isaac was out in the fields but when he saw the caravan he went to meet them. How is this significant? (Someday we are going to be taken to meet our Bridegroom and He will come to meet us.) SUMMARY We learned from this chapter a great deal about prayer. Pray first, prayer specifically, pray expecting, pray at the beginning, pray in the middle, pray at the end. Then thank the Lord for His answers. PRAYER TIME What is happening in your life? Pray. Then thank the Lord like the servant did, Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His stedfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me in the way to the house of my master s kinsmen. Genesis 24:27. Page 7

10 GENESIS 25 AUGUST 2 1. What did God speak to you in the message on Sunday? 2. Was the message encouraging, challenging, or inspiring to you? 3. Did you find anything hard or difficult to accept in the message? If so, what? Why? 4. How do you plan to apply what you heard in your life? OPENING QUESTIONS: Birth order can have an impact. Tell if you have siblings or not and then explain where you are in the birth order. How do you think this may have impacted your life? Abraham took another wife. How many children did he have? When Abraham was about to die, what did Isaac receive? What about the other sons? (Isaac received the inheritance but the other sons received gifts.) Where was Abraham buried? (He was buried with Sarah in the cave at Machpelah.) Ishmael became a nation of twelve tribes. How does this impact our world today? (The Muslim nations are descendants of Ishmael.) How does that help us to see the long term consequences of our decisions? Page 8

11 AUGUST 2 Rebekah was barren. What was Isaac s response to this? (He prayed) When she finally became pregnant, she experienced some difficulty. What happened and what was her response? Go back through our study of Genesis and look at the birth order of Cain and Abel, Ishmael and Isaac, Esau and Jacob. There seems to be a common thread. What do you see? (God chooses the second born over the first.) We see with each of these firstborn that throughout their lives they are more tied to the temporal than the spiritual. How can we be challenged spiritually through these lives? (Read John 3 and discuss how we break our tie to the world.) Esau sells his birthright for a bowl of stew. What does that mean for him? How have we in America sold our birthright? What spiritual significance do we see in this? SUMMARY From marriage, the birth of his sons, the death of his wife, remarriage, the birth of more children, the marriage of his son Isaac, the birth of grandchildren and finally his death, Abraham s 175 year long life was eventful. He trusted God and followed God. His life was a testimony not of his righteousness and faithfulness, but rather the righteousness and faithfulness of the God he served. PRAYER TIME Focus on your journey. Where has God taken you so far in your life? How have you trusted Him through it, and how can you trust Him more? Ask Him to lead you even closer as you walk through the next days, weeks, years of the journey of your life. Page 9

12 GENESIS 26: 1-5 AUGUST 9 1. What did God speak to you in the message on Sunday? 2. Was the message encouraging, challenging, or inspiring to you? 3. Did you find anything hard or difficult to accept in the message? If so, what? Why? 4. How do you plan to apply what you heard in your life? OPENING QUESTIONS: If you have ever fasted what was the hardest thing for you to give up? What does it mean that there was a famine in the land? Read Amos 8:11 and discuss what this verse means. Why do you think God told Isaac not to go to Egypt. (They had found nothing but trouble in Egypt. God does not want us to go back to our former lives.) God reiterated that He was giving the land as He promised. Go back and review Genesis 15 and discuss God s covenant with Abraham. What does that mean for Israel today? What should our response be toward Israel? Page 10

13 AUGUST 9 What are some ways we can bless Israel? Verse 4 gives a promise that through Isaac s offspring all the nations will be blessed. How has that been fulfilled? (Christ came through the line of Isaac). SUMMARY God gave His promise to Abraham. God confirmed this promise to Isaac. He then would reaffirm the promise to Jacob. He gives His promise to us. Through Jesus Christ we are blessed. PRAYER TIME Pray for Israel. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Thank the Lord that he came so that we also could be blessed. Page 11

14 GENESIS 26: 6-35 AUGUST What did God speak to you in the message on Sunday? 2. Was the message encouraging, challenging, or inspiring to you? 3. Did you find anything hard or difficult to accept in the message? If so, what? Why? 4. How do you plan to apply what you heard in your life? OPENING QUESTIONS: Tell about a job or chores you had as a kid. Were you paid for doing it? How did you feel about the work? Why did Isaac tell the people of Gerar that Rebekah was his sister? (He was afraid.) How do you feel about that? Isaac was prospering. What percent did he reap? (100%) How did Abimelech and his people begin to feel toward Isaac? (They envied him.) What did Abimelech tell Isaac to do? (He told him to go away from them.) As Christians are we ever viewed with suspicion or not wanted to attend some functions? Why is that? Share some experiences. Page 12

15 AUGUST 16 Later Abimelech invited him back. Why was that? When nonbelievers are struggling, what do they often do? Again share some experiences. Why did Esau s wives make life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah? (They were wives from unbelieving places.) What should that tell us about the spouses of our children especially in light of how Isaac got his wife? (We should pray for the spouses of our children and grandchildren.) SUMMARY Isaac was very successful in the land of Gerar. At first it caused envy among the people and they sent him away. Then they realized that Isaac s presence had actually been a blessing. They invited him back. PRAYER TIME We live in an unbelieving world. Ask the Lord to help us be a light and a blessing to those around us so they can see Jesus, the One who gives the blessings. Page 13

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