Text: Genesis 24:1-67 Introduction Genesis 24 ends with the picture-perfect marriage between Rebekah and Isaac. But this is the climax of what is actually the longest single narrative in the book of Genesis! The chapter begins, however, not with a picture-perfect situation but with the the simple, telling statement: “Abraham was old.” Which means Isaac is also getting older, about 40 years old at this point. Now this is sounding less like a whirlwind romance and more like the agonizing, patience-trying, prayer-inducing challenge that many godly people face, isn’t it? How does a long, painful trial end in a picture-perfect
Studies in Genesis
Abraham Buries Sarah in Canaan
Text: Genesis 23:1-20 I. Sarah Dies in the Promised Land (vv.1-2) Consider this remarkable woman and her legacy: He 11:8, 11-12 Sarah’s faith was as integral to bringing about the promised seed as Abraham’s! Sarah, along with Abraham, left familiar homeland and family, wandered for years holding onto God’s promises, and ultimately by faith was supernaturally empowered to conceive when both she and Abraham were ‘as good as dead’ as far as any natural ability to conceive children was concerned. As faithful as Esther and Ruth were in the OT, and as godly as Jesus’ mother Mary was in the NT, we are
Abraham, Abimelech, and Old Sins
Text: Genesis 20:1-18 Introduction Do you ever feel like you haven’t made any progress in your walk with Christ? Like you’re still struggling with sins that you should have defeated and left behind years ago? In Genesis chapter 20 we discover that even Abraham, the father of the faithful, was similarly feeble. In fact, Genesis 20 feels like deja vu as we read an almost identical account to Abraham’s interaction with Pharaoh from earlier in Genesis 12—at the beginning of Abraham’s faith-walk, 25 years before! However, Genesis 20 is not just the story of Abraham and his struggles; it is
The Sin of Sodom and the Mercy of God
Text: Genesis 19:1-38 Introduction Coming in our study of Genesis to chapter 19, the events here recorded are so horrific that it is challenging to even review them in a co-ed, multi-aged meeting. The sin of Sodom, and the accompanying judgment of God upon the city, has rightly and purposefully become proverbial. The destruction of Sodom is such a solemn event, such a warning sign planted into the soil of history, that it is often referenced afterward in Scripture as a reminder of God’s eternal punishment against all sin. Sodom is mentioned 48 times by name in the whole Bible;
Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord?
Text: Genesis 18:1-33 Introduction In Genesis 18, God reminds Abraham there is nothing to hard for the Lord. God is sovereignly working, even in our most difficult or lengthy trials. Yet, the Lord confers to Abraham the amazing privilege of being a conduit of blessing to the world. The fact that God is the God of the impossible does not mean Abraham should just sit on the sidelines and watch what happens. The same God who sovereignly brings salvation has also sovereignly chosen Abraham as an instrument through whom He will work. Based then on God’s sovereign working and God’s
Your Name Shall Be Abraham
Text: Genesis 17:1-27 Introduction Thirteen years have passed since the close of chapter 16 and Abram’s son Ishmael being born. In spite of Abram’s efforts to force the timing of God’s promise by having a child with Hagar, he still has to wait 13 more years before God brings about the divine consummation of the divine promise! I. God Confirms His Covenant—Yet Again (vv.1-14) As we’ve noticed before in Abram’s story, the narrator is not subtle when it comes to the timing of the events under consideration. It has now been over 24 years since God first promised Abram descendants!
Sarai, Hagar, and the God Who Sees
Text: Genesis 16:1-16 Introduction Genesis 16 is chiefly the story of two women and their struggles to believe God, to wait on God, to obey God in the hard times and hard places of life. Interestingly, this chapter deals with some common struggles of even faithful, godly women still today: infertility, impatient marriage unions, inactive husbands, fear of not being provided for… and the converse temptation of trying to take control of one’s situation through one’s own strength or ingenuity. Yet this chapter is imminently relevant to every man as well, as we see Abram failing to practice the godly,
Abram’s Faith and God’s Confirming Covenant
Text: Genesis 15:1-21 Introduction Chapters 15, 16, & 17, you might be surprised to discover, are really the story of how Abram over and over again struggles with fear in the midst of his faith in God… and of how God over and over again restores and sustains Abram’s faith through his gracious, patient, covenant promises. The one constant in Abram’s wavering story is God. And we see God’s constancy toward Abram in Genesis 15 as… I. God Seals His Promise with the Stars (vv.1-6) v.1 After these things—connects this conversation to the events that just transpired in chapter 14,
Abram and the Tale of Ten Kings
Text: Genesis 14:1-24 Introduction The Bible is supremely the story of God’s Son, Jesus the Christ. And nowhere is this more apparent than in Genesis 14. As the psalmist will reference later in the Old Testament, and as the writer of Hebrews will make explicit in the New Testament, Genesis 14 is an extremely important passage. Why? Because it points beautifully and powerfully to the glory of God’s Son Jesus. Genesis 14 might be entitled “Abram and the Tale of Ten Kings”. Nine of the kings, though important in their day, are lost to history. But the tenth king—a king
Abram’s Restoration, Lot’s Separation
Text: Genesis 13:1-18 Introduction Genesis 12 closed with Abram being deported from Egypt. Genesis 13 opens then with Abram’s actions afterward. Will Abram continue in fear, or will he learn his lesson and live by faith? In Genesis 13, we see a different kind of test—not one of famine in the land, but of great prosperity in the land—and we are reminded again of the drastic difference between the life of faith and the life lived by sight. We see in Genesis 13 Abram’s restoration, but Lot’s separation.
God’s Call to Abraham
Text: Genesis 12:1-20 Introduction Abram (who later came to be known as Abraham) is one of the most important people of the ancient world. In Genesis, through Abraham, God reveals his purposes and goals for the universe. God reveals that he has a plan, and makes covenant promises that show us history’s direction. God’s redemptive covenant with Abraham reminds us that the universe is personal because God made it, and it is purposeful because God controls it. We see Abram’s hugely significant story beginning to unfold in Genesis 12 with… I. God’s Covenant with Abram (vv.1-3) v.1 the Lord said—The
Babel’s Confusion, God’s Preparation
Text: Genesis 11:1-32 Introduction Genesis 11 represents both an end and a beginning. Primeval history comes to its climactic ending in the fruitless labors of the people of Babel, and the nation of Israel begins with the life of Abraham. Both stories unfold in Genesis 11. I. The People of Babel Try to Make a Name for Themselves (vv.1-4) The great sin of Babel is not tower-building, or unified labor toward a societal goal. The sin of Babel is the sin of seeking independence from God. The tower-building endeavor, we are specifically told, was an enterprise in self-sufficiency/proud self-confidence: v.4 “let
And God Blessed Noah and His Sons
Text: Genesis 9:1-10:32 Introduction The opening verse of Genesis 9 summarizes the action that unfolds in the next two chapters: “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” Chapters 9-10, as we might expect, conclude the story of the great Flood, and transition us into the major themes of the rest of the book of Genesis: the tower of Babel, and the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They do this by describing for us how the small family of Noah becomes 70 nations… I. God Makes a Covenant
The Wickedness of Man Was Great in the Earth
Text: Genesis 5:1-6:8 Introduction Genesis 5:1 to 6:8 serves to connect the Creation and Fall events with the Flood. How do we get from Adam to Noah? What happened in the meantime? What made the Flood necessary? This passage serves as a bridge between these two great historical eras. Interestingly, the Bible is much more interested in the spiritual elements leading up to and following the Flood, than it is with the geological or even social elements. This is not to say there are not obvious geological and sociological impacts from the Flood, even today, but this is not what