Study in Genesis with the Becky Bereans
God’s call for Abraham to offer Isaac is disturbing, not only due to our innate abhorrence of child sacrifice, but also due to confusion about how God could afterward still fulfill His plan of salvation to bring forth Jesus the Messiah though Isaac’s line if Isaac were sacrificed on the altar. In coming to grips with our confusion about this disturbing and confusing story, we focus on the lessons God teaches through it for Abraham, for Isaac, and for us.
Genesis 21 includes the stories of the birth of Isaac – Abraham’s promised heir, Abraham casting out his son Ishmael and his mother Hagar, and the oath between Abimelech and Abraham at Beersheba
Following the destruction of Sodom, Lot’s daughters bore sons by their own father – Moab and Ammon. Abraham and Sarah deceived Abimelech King of the Philistines saying that Sarah was Abraham’s sister, but not saying she was his wife.
The story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is very familiar. We begin by looking at the humorous story of Abraham’s “negotiation” with God on the cities’ behalf. Afterward, we study Lot’s escape from the destruction with his family.
About 14 years after Ishamael’s birth, God appeared once more to Abram to establish a new covenant in which He stated that Abram’s wife Sarai would bear him an heir about the same time the following year. As part of this new covenant, God renamed Abram and Sarai – Abraham and Sarah and commanded every male in Abraham’s family and all of his male descendants to be circumcised.
In Genesis 16, we find the story of Abram fathering a son – Ishmael – by Sarai’s Egyptian maidservant Hagar. We also discuss in some detail the phrase “the angel of the LORD” which first appears in this chapter.
Genesis 15 tells us of God’s appearance to Abram in a vision through which God reiterated His promise to bring forth an innumerable nation from Abram’s own son and to give Abram’s offspring all the land from the Nile to the Euphrates as their inheritance. In Genesis 15:6, we read that Abram believed God and his faith was credited by God to Abram as righteousness.
The first part of Genesis 14 details a series of battles that took place between two alliances of kings in which Abram’s nephew Lot was taken captive. When he returned from rescuing Lot, Abram was met by Melchizedek – King of Salem and priest of God Most High.
Genesis 12 & 13 tell the story of God’s call for Abram to leave his father Terah in Haran and journey to a land that God would show him. When he arrived in Canaan, God promised to give all the land of Canaan to Abram’s descendants.