Module 1: The Old Covenant 1/2 Creating a Nation

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1 Module 1: The Old Covenant 1/2 Creating a Nation God Selects Abram God selected a man and women through whom he could make himself known to the rest of us - Abram and his wife Sarai - their account begins at Chapter 12 in the middle of the book of Genesis. Abram lived around 4,000 years ago, 1,900 years before Jesus Christ came in human form and at a time when most people still worshipped the old gods of superstition. (In Islam, his name is pronounced Ibrahim). Abram lived with his father, Terah, in Ur of the Chaldeans in Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq). Ur was a great city with impressive buildings (Gen 11:27-32). Abram Renamed Abraham Abram was 99 years old and Sarai not much younger, both past child-bearing age, and they had no children. God took the initiative and made a Covenant (agreement) with Abram that if he would travel to a land God would show him, then he would have descendants, who would become a great nation. Abram accepted (Genesis 12:1-5). Later God reminded Abram of their covenant and renamed him Abraham (father of many nations) and his wife as Sarah (princess of many nations) with circumcision of male descendants as a perpetual sign of that Covenant (Gen 17: 1-14). Because of a famine, Abram went first to Egypt where he gained yet more wealth, including slaves. (Gen 12:10-20). Jews practice circumcision still. It must draw at least one drop of blood to seal the Covenant - a blood sacrifice. Abraham s Sons In order to secure an heir, Abram had first followed the custom of his time and, at his wife s suggestion, had a child with Hannah, one of her Egyptian slaves, and named the child Ishmael. However, God remained true to their agreement and, despite her age, Sarah became pregnant and had a legitimate son, Isaac. Animosity arose over his two sons, so Abraham gave Ishmael and Hannah some water and sent them away into the desert (Gen 21: 8-20). God kept his promise: Ishmael became a patriarch (father) of the Arab nation whilst Isaac became a patriarch of the Israelite nation and, by association, a patriarch of Christians. God reassured Abraham that his heir would be Isaac, but that both his sons would be the source of a great nation. Abraham is the source of three great religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, whose people together do indeed add up to a vast number. Module 1/1 1 Issue: 4

2 Abraham Tested Abraham s resolve and faithfulness was tested on more than one occasion. His attitude to others was tested when he was visited by three strangers at the oak trees of Mamre, when he offered them refreshments. Some have suggested this could have been a reference in the Old Testament to God The Trinity (Gen 18:1-15). Probably the most dramatic test was when he was asked to sacrifice his long-awaited son Isaac. He got as far as building an altar and raising the knife to kill him but God intervened and provided a ram instead (Gen 22:1-18). God seems to test people throughout the Bible to prove their motives or faith. Is our whole life here on earth a great testing time to prove we re each fit to live with God for eternity after our earthly death? Jacob and 12.. Isaac married Rebekah and they had twins, Esau and Jacob. Jacob, the younger twin, fooled his old and blind father into thinking he was Esau, and so Isaac gave him his blessing as his heir (Gen 27:1-29). Esau threatened to kill Jacob as a result, so Jacob fled (Gen 27:41-45). Among his many adventures, Jacob wrestled all night with someone (described as God, or as a messenger from God) and failed to be beaten (Gen 32:22-31). God renamed him Israel meaning persevere with God which became the name of the future Hebrew nation. Jacob had 12 sons including Levi and Joseph. Levi s descendants became the priests and Joseph had a special role 10 of Jacob s sons plus two of Joseph s are the source of the 12 Tribes of Israel who later each inherited an area of the Promised Land (Gen 48). They are: Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, plus Manasseh and Ephraim. Joseph Taken To Egypt Joseph frequently had dreams (Gen 37:5-11). In one he saw sheaves of corn with his brother s sheaths bowing down to his, and another in which the sun and moon bowed down to him. When he told his brothers about this it was the last straw; when they were out without their father the brothers threw Joseph down a well or cistern, intending to tell Jacob he d been killed. However, a band of traders passed by, so the brothers pulled him up again and sold Joseph to them. The traders took Joseph to Egypt, where they sold him as a slave to Potiphar, Captain of the Pharaoh s guard. (Gen 37:12-36). Jacob favoured Joseph so gave him special attention including a richly coloured coat (a coat of many colours), which didn t help his relationship with his brothers (Gen 37:3-4). Pharaoh was the title of the king of Egypt. Module 1/1 2 Issue: 4

3 Things Get Worse Joseph was handsome, so Potiphar s wife tried to seduce him but Joseph refused her. Humiliated, she accused him of attempted rape, so Potiphar put him in prison (Gen 39:6-20). There Joseph met two prisoners who also had dreams, which he interpreted. The king reinstated one of the prisoners who had been his cupbearer (wine waiter or taster). When the king wanted a dream interpreted; the cupbearer recommended Joseph, who was brought from prison to interpret the king s dream. As a reward, Joseph was put in charge of implementing his suggestion to prepare for a forthcoming famine. Joseph correctly forecast that there would be 7 good years followed by 7 lean years. His plan was to build warehouses to store food during the good years to tide them over the bad ones. (Gen 41:1-40). Then Things Get Better The famine covered the whole region, so Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to buy grain from the Egyptian warehouses. They didn t recognise Joseph in his new superior positon so they bowed down to him as Joseph had seen in his dream. Joseph played a trick to get them to leave their youngest brother, Benjamin, behind whilst they went back to their Father. Judah pleaded to remain instead, as he said leaving Benjamin would break Jacob s heart. Joseph recognised God s purpose in all this, so made himself known to his brothers and they were reconciled (Gen 45:1 15). When the king heard of this he directed that they should all come to live in Egypt. The brothers went home to collect Jacob and then returned with all the family. They settled in Goshen, in Egypt s Nile Delta, and were fruitful and increased greatly in numbers (Gen 47:27). What DoYou think? 1. Was there anything from the reading that puzzled or surprised you? 2. Can you suggest anyone who has been called by God for a special purpose? 3. What about freewill if God calls people to a particular task, can we decline? 4. Abraham was different; he worshipped the one true God whilst most worshipped the many pagan gods. How can we deal with those who ridicule us today for being different? 5. Abraham and Sarah remained firm in their belief despite not having children. What can we do to keep our belief alive when things don t go as we would like? 6. God seems to have proved Abraham s faith through very harsh tests. How do you feel you or someone you know might have been tested? Was that fair? 7. Joseph annoyed his brothers by sharing his dreams. How does sharing our ideas annoy others? How can we reduce their annoyance whilst still sharing our Christian belief with them? 8. Does God communicate directly with us, are dreams one of the way s he does that? How can we tell a God-given dream from a nightmare caused by a heavy meal before bedtime? 9. Can you describe an event in your life or someone you know where things were going badly (eg: redundancy) then worked out for the better? How might God have had a part in that? 10. Is there anything else that s still puzzling or concerning you over this Module? The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now and forever. Amen. Module 1/1 3 Issue: 4

4 We suggest you discuss the issues raised in this Module among yourselves first, so everyone gets a chance to form their own opinion. Then go to page 5 if you would like sample answers. Module 1/1 4 Issue: 4

5 Module 1: The Old Covenant 1/2 Creating a Nation Sample Answers to Questions These aren t the only possible answers but may help give some explanation if you want it. There isn t a right answer to many of the questions but it can be helpful to hear what other people think. 2. Can you suggest anyone who has been called by God for a special purpose? a. The Bible is full of such people, Moses, all the Prophets, even non-jews such as King Cyrus of Persia (2 Chronicles 36:22), John the Baptist, Mary, Jesus, the Apostles, St Paul, etc. b. Since Bible times many others have been called all the saints, plus great leaders such as Martin Luther, John Wesley, Mahatma Ghandi and Winston Churchill, etc. c. As he returned to heaven, Jesus told his followers to Go and make disciples of all the nations and baptise them so all baptised Christians are called by God to be witnesses to him, but some have been selected for a special task, such as Billy Graham and Malala Yousafzai. 3. What about freewill if God calls us to a particular task, can we decline? a. Yes, we can decline God s call, so freewill still applies, but God can be very insistent. For instance, Elijah s actions had upset Queen Jezebel who persecuted him, so he fled to the safety of a cave and told God he had failed and asked to die, but God revitalised him and used him again (1 Samuel 19:1-16); or Jonah whom God called to go to Nineveh, but Jonah refused and fled to sea before finally accepting the call and coming back (Jonah chapters 1-2). b. Jesus called us all to be people of God but many of course decline to accept Jesus invite. 4. Abraham was different; he worshipped the one true God whilst most worshipped the many pagan gods. How can we deal with those who ridicule us today for being different? a. People have ridiculed others throughout history and the response has sometimes led to fighting, or even war. As our belief grows, so it becomes easier to ignore others derision. Our behaviour may even cause them to question their own belief and lead them to ask what it is they see in us that they d like to have, and so we can lead them to Christ too. 5. Abraham and Sarah remained firm in their belief despite not having children. What can we do to keep our belief alive when things don t go as we would like? a. It s right that we question whether we re doing the right thing, which we can do by seeking God s guidance in prayer, asking him for strength and assistance to carry on, and by joining with other Christians seeking to learn more about God and so strengthen our own understanding. 6. God seems to have proved Abraham s faith through very harsh tests. How do you feel you or someone you know might have been tested? Was that fair? a. Hopefully some in your group will be happy to share their experiences of people s faith tested. b. It may not seem fair that God tests us but it s not done to reassure God, as he already knows our inner-most resolve and capability, but to reassure us that we re doing the right thing when we come out of the other side of the testing. 7. Joseph annoyed his brothers by sharing his dreams. How does sharing our ideas annoy others? How can we reduce their annoyance whilst still sharing our Christian belief? a. We all know people who are enthusiastic about their interests and bore others with them, so we do need to be careful, especially in not giving the impression that we know better. However, that shouldn t stop us sharing our belief with others in appropriate moments. Module 1/1 5 Issue: 4

6 b. Where we meet with people once or for the specific purpose of sharing our faith (eg: in church) it s OK to focus on that topic, but where we meet regularly (eg: our friends and family) we need to watch that we don t focus too much on our Christian experiences or belief, even when it s become important to us. Who knows, God may have a purpose for us as he had for Joseph. 8. Does God communicate directly with us, are dreams one of the way s he does that? How can we tell a God-given dream from a nightmare caused by a heavy meal before bedtime? a. Yes, Christians believe God does communicate directly in several ways, but one of the difficulties can be in detecting it recognising a God-planted idea or dream compared to our own initiatives. b. One way of checking that it is God who s calling is to see how persistent the call is, God will keep calling until we at last acknowledge him, even if we initially reject him, eg: the boy Samuel to whom God called three times (1 Samuel 3:1-10). It can be good to share our idea with others, especially other Christians, to see if they think we re on the right lines eg: testing a calling to Ministry. 9. Can you describe an event in your life or someone you know where things were going badly (eg: redundancy) then worked out for the better? How might God have had a part in that? a. Hopefully there will be one or more stories told in your own group, so use them. b. If not, you may like to use the true story of someone who was made redundant. Preparing their house in case they needed to sell it, they had a major accident which meant they couldn t work for three years. When they were ready to look for work again, they saw a job advertised on the other side of the country. They got the job and moved there, joining the local church and becoming a member of the ministry team and leader in that church. That probably wouldn t have happened if they hadn t been made redundant and had the accident which delayed their job search until God s vacancy was ready. Module 1/1 6 Issue: 4