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Genesis Bible Study
Genesis Bible Study
Gods Name
In the Bible Gods covenant name (which emphasizes Gods
faithfulness and acts of salvation for his people) in ancient Hebrew is
YHWH. With vowels added it is Yahweh. When reading Scripture pious
Jews would not pronounce Gods name. Normally when Gods name is
translated in the Bible, it is translated as LORD. I prefer using Gods
real name. Instead of referring to God like many other religions do, I
prefer using Gods personal name. You see when other religions refer
to god, this is not the same God that we know and worship. There is
no other God except Yahweh who Christians refer to as the Triune God.
All other religions outside Christianity are false religions with false
gods. By referring to God as Yahweh it helps make this distinction
clear.
So in this study I will sometimes refer to God as Yahweh depending on
the text for that day.
Sources
The following sources were used in preparing this study.
The Holy Bible
Concordia Self Study Bible
Concordia Self Study Commentary
Genesis, Peoples Bible Commentary
Read Genesis 1 2: God creates the universe, the world, and man.
Outline of text:
1. God creates the universe (Gen. 1:1-2).
2. The first five days of creation (Gen. 1:3-23).
3. The sixth day of creation; the creation of man (Gen. 1:24-31).
o Key 1-Man is created in Gods image (Gen. 1:27-30).
o Key 2-Gods creation is very good (Gen. 1:31).
4. God rested on the seventh day (Gen. 2:1-3).
5. Yahweh creates man, putting him in a beautiful garden, giving
him authority over the earth (Gen. 2:4-20).
o Key 3-Yahweh places limits on man (2:15-17).
6. Yahweh creates a helper for the man and brings them together
(Gen. 2:21-25)
Salvation/Gods promises/faith/Christ
connections:
These chapters show us how God intended things to be. (Key 1)
People were created in Gods image (1:27-30); they were like God in
that they were without sin and wanted to do his will. When people
sinned (see Gen. 3) Gods image and their relationship with God was
ruined. Gods plan then was to restore his relationship with them as it
was in these first two chapters at the very beginning. At the end of
Revelation (Rev. 21-22) we see paradise restored because God had
completed his plan of salvation. In the End, (Key 2) Gods creation
will be very good again (1:31).
(Key 1) Man was created in Gods image (1:27-30), but man was not
God. (Key 3) God put limits on man (2:15-17). God warned Adam not
to eat from the tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil. If he did, the
consequence would be death. Eating the forbidden fruit would show
unbelief in Gods word and rebellion against Gods command.
Read Genesis 3: Adam and Eve Rebel; the Fall into Sin.
Outline of text:
1. The temptation and sin of Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:1-7).
o Key 1 - The Fall into sin (Gen. 3:6).
2. The results of sin (3:8-13).
o Key 2 - Shame and blame, relationships ruined (3:8-13).
3. Yahweh judges Adam and Eves sin (Gen. 3:14-19).
o Key 3 Yahwehs promise of a Savior (Gen. 3:15).
4. Gods grace after judgment (3:20-24).
o Key 4 Yahweh is gracious (3:20-24).
from the Tree of Life, they would have lived forever in their sinful
state.
Read Genesis 8:20-9:17 Gods covenant with Noah and all living things.
Outline of text:
1. Noahs sacrifice; Yahwehs promises (8:20-22).
o Key 1 - Noah responds to his salvation with sacrifices (8:20).
o Key 2 - Yahweh says he will never destroy all living creatures
again (8:21).
2. God blesses his new creation (9:1-7).
o Key 3 Be fruitful and multiply (9:7).
3. Gods covenant with Noah and all life (9:8-17).
o Key 4 - Never again will God destroy the earth with a flood
(9:11).
Read Genesis 10-11:9 The origin of the nations. The Tower of Babel.
Outline of text:
1. The sons of and nations that descended from Japheth (10:1-5).
2. The sons of and nations that descended from Ham (10:6-20).
o Key 1 - Nations and cities Israel would encounter later (9:1012, 15-19).
3. The sons of and nations that descended from Shem (10:21-32).
o Key 2 the line of Gods chosen people (10:21-32).
4. The tower of Babel (11:1-9).
o Key 3 the people refuse to scatter (11:4).
o Key 4 Yahweh scatters the people by confusing their
language (11:8-9).
(Abrams offspring) that Yahweh would create (12:2) would live in the
land of Canaan, the promised land.
(Key 5) By faith and in response to Yahwehs promises, Abram
publicly offered sacrifices to Yahweh. In a land filled with worship of
other gods, Abram brings the worship of the one, true God.
(Key 4) Yahweh promised that Abraham and Sarah would have a son.
Abraham, at first, responded to the promise by laughing. This either
was a response of temporary unbelief or a response of overwhelming
joy. Their son would be called Isaac, which means he laughs, a
continuous reminder of the joy Yahweh brought when he did the
impossible and gave them a son.
(Key 4) God told Abraham that the covenant he made, which
confirmed the promises of a nation, a land, and a blessing to all
people, would be made with Isaac. To Isaac, the child of promise,
Gods plan of salvation will be passed down to.
o
o
o
o
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Son. But He did not provide a substitute for his Son like he did for
Isaac. In reality the Son was the substitute for mankind. He gave his
life in their place and for their sake.
In the covenant made with Abraham, Abraham was to worship Yahweh
as the one and only true God (Ch. 17) and Abraham and his
descendants were to be Yahwehs people. In this lesson we see that
Yahweh was indeed the God Abraham put his full trust in and (Key 6)
Yahweh once again reiterated his promises (22:15-18) to bless him, to
give him numerous descendants (promised nation), to give them the
promised land, and to bless all the nations of the world through them
(promised Savior).
Seemingly, completely out of nowhere, there are five verses about
Abrahams brother, Nahor, and his descendants (22:20-24). Why is this
here? (Key 7) It is included because it shows that Yahweh never
intended for Isaac to be sacrificed. He had in fact been working for two
generations to prepare a wife (Rebekah) for the son of promise, Isaac.
salvation through Jacob and not Esau as he had said while they were
still in the womb.
(Key 4) Leah became the mother of the first four children of Jacob.
These four included Levi, ancestor of the Aaronic priestly line, and
Judah, ancestor of the royal line of David and ultimately Jesus.
(Key 4) In his plan of salvation, God uses the weak instead of the
strong, the younger instead of the older, and the have-nots instead of
the haves, that it might be evident that it is His doing. He did that with
Jacob, who was morally weak as a deceiver and the younger, and
Leah, who was unpopular and became Jacobs wife by trickery.
Together they became the parents of Judah, the ancestor of the Christ.
(Keys 5, 6) God had promised to go with Jacob and watch over him.
When Jacob wanted to leave with his family, Laban urged him to stay
because it was abundantly clear to him and to Jacob that Yahweh had
blessed Laban (increased flocks) through his blessing of Jacob. And so
Yahweh blessed Jacob in spite of all his scheming. Over the years
Jacob went from having no flocks or animals to being exceedingly
prosperous, with large numbers of flocks, servants, camels and
donkeys. Yahweh kept his promises.
Read Genesis 31: Jacob and his family leave Laban for Canaan.
Outline of text:
1. Jacob and family leave Laban (31:1-21).
o Key 1 Yahweh instructed Jacob to go back to the land of
your fathers (31:3, 13).
o Key 2 -God had been with Jacob, giving him Labans flocks
(31:5, 7, 9, 16).
o Key 3 Jacob, Leah, and Rachel deceived Laban by not
telling him they were leaving (31:19-20).
2. Laban tracked down and confronted Jacob (31:22-30).
o Key 4 Laban accused Jacob of deception (31:26-27).
3. Jacob defended his flight from Laban (31:31-42).
o Key 5 Rachel lied to Laban (31:35).
o Key 6 God had seen what Laban was doing to Jacob and he
turned the tables, blessing Jacob (31:42).
4. Laban made a covenant with Jacob (31:43-55).
o Key 7 The covenant: God as a witness, the oath, a
sacrifice, and a meal (31:53-54).
and in a covenant meal. And the result of the covenant was that Jacob
was free to return to his homeland, the promised land. This was like
another covenant made many years later. That future covenant was an
eternal covenant that was sealed in the name of the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. It was sealed in the blood of Christ who was sacrificed for
mankind. It was sealed in a covenant meal which consisted of the
crucified and risen body and blood of Christ. The result of this new
covenant is that Christians are heirs of a celestial homeland, the
heavenly promised land.
(Summary) For two generations weve heard about Abrahams
relatives in Aram (Rebekah and Rachel). They were important because
they played a part in Gods plan of salvation. But this will be the last
generation we will hear of because future generations will not be a part
of Gods plan in bringing forth the Savior. Instead our focus will turn
away from Aram and back to Jacobs family in the promised land.
bodies without faith would make a mockery of Gods covenant and the
covenant sign. Dinahs brothers took this sacred act and used it for evil
purposes, to get revenge on the Shechemites.
(Key 3) Why did God reiterate Jacobs name change to Israel and his
promises of descendants and land? He did so because mans faith
needs to be constantly reminded that God is faithful and always keeps
his promises. (We are constantly reminded of this as well in worship
each week.) In reminding Jacob of his faithfulness, God used language
reminiscent of the beginning and the flood: be fruitful and increase in
number. Gods blessing on mankind, which God intended from the
beginning and as he started over after the flood, would be fulfilled and
through Jacob and his offspring in the promised land.
(Key 3, 4, 5, 6) Again after a high point in Israels faith life (Gods
words of reassurance concerning his promises, 35:11-12), came more
trials. As his beloved wife Rachel gave birth to Benjamin she died. And
in arrogance Rueben, the firstborn, slept with Israels concubine,
Bilnah. This was a premature claim on the rights of the firstborn (to
inherit his fathers concubine). Israel said nothing at the time but later
Rueben would lose the rights of the firstborn (see Gen. 49:2-4; 1 Ch.
5:1). Anyone who says that believers will have life on easy street, with
no troubles is wrong. In fact, its usually the opposite, as God refines
us, burning off the dross in order to have pure metal.
(Key 7) The birth of Benjamin concludes the sons of Jacob. Jacobs
twelve sons would be the foundation of the promised nation. From this
nation the promised Savior would come. But the Savior would not
come from Rueben, Simeon or Levi, the three oldest sons. Instead he
would come from Judah, the fourth son (see 49:12). God does things
in his own way and in his own time.
long after that, the Magi were warned in a dream not to return to
Herod (Mt. 2:12). Joseph was warned in another dream that Herod
wanted to kill baby Jesus (Mt. 2:13). And after Herod had died, Joseph
was told in a dream to return to Israel (Mt. 2:19). In these and other
instances, God used dreams to advance his plan of salvation.
(Key 4) Even though Israel rebuked Joseph for sharing his second
dream and provoking his brothers, Israel knew that these were no
ordinary dreams. He kept the matter in mind and later on would
recall Josephs dreams when they were brought to fulfillment.
Years later, Mary too would treasure up in her heart the special
events of the shepherds visiting the baby in the manger (Lk. 2:19) and
of the time twelve year old Jesus was lost and they found him in the
temple amazing everyone (Lk. 2:51). These were no ordinary events
either. In both cases Gods plan of salvation was moved forward.
(Key 4) Joseph was sold to the Ishmaelites and Midianites by his own
flesh-and-blood brothers. The Ishmaelites and Midianites were
descendants of Abraham (see 16:11 and 25:2). This is why we learned
of them earlier and this will not be the last time we hear from them
(see Judges 6-8).
(Key 5) When Jacob and Rebekah fooled Isaac so that Jacob would
receive the blessing, a slaughtered lamb figured prominently in their
deception (27:5-13). How ironic it is that Jacob is now deceived by the
blood from a slaughtered goat. Deception seems to be a family trait.
How amazing it is that God chose and used these people to accomplish
his purposes. All honor and glory must go to God, for they are
certainly not worthy of it (and neither are we)!
(Key 6) Moses is a good storyteller. Chapter 37 ends with Jacob in
mourning for Joseph. This part of the story is not picked up again for
20 years. He leaves to the imagination how Jacob over the years coped
with the loss of his favorite son.
(Key 7) We hear that Joseph was sold to Potiphar in Egpyt. But then
Moses temporarily drops the story of Joseph and tells us about Judah
(ch. 38). This is not the end of Josephs story. In fact, its just
beginning.
(Summary) We also learn from this chapter that your family tree
neither saves you nor excludes you from Gods family. Gods chosen
people were capable of yielding to the sins of the Canaanites and
losing the Messianic blessing. And Tamar who was a Canaanite was not
excluded from Gods blessing as she became a part of the line of the
Savior.
(Summary) Why is this story included at this point? It seems to break
up the Joseph story. It is included here because it is another one in a
series of trials for Israel caused by his children. First Dinah was raped;
then her brothers masterminded a savage revenge of killing; and
Josephs jealous brothers sold him as a slave. Now Judah took a
Canaanite wife and committed adultery and incest with his sister-inlaw. Yahweh had turned the heat up on the Israels refining fire. So
Israels struggle with God and with men wasnt over; it continued. He
would need to continue to wrestle with Yahweh in faith.
(Key 2) The chief cupbearer told Pharaoh about the dreams that he
and the chief baker had in prison and of how Joseph interpreted them.
He said, things turned out exactly as he interpreted them. There is
an obvious reason for this. It was because Yahweh was speaking
through Joseph. Yahweh is sovereign; he is in complete control,
working out his purposes.
(Key 4, 5) Pharaoh was regarded as a god in Egypt and yet he was
not in control. It took a lowly slave who was imprisoned to reveal to
him that only the one true God knows and reveals the meaning of
dreams. The fact that both dreams had the same meaning meant that
God had firmly decided that this is what he would do. Therefore, no
one can change it. So he could count it happening.
(Key 6, 7) What Joseph said was going to happen came true just like
he said it would. Once again this is true because the interpretation and
the power behind the seven good years and the seven bad years was
the one true God. Through this he demonstrated his complete control.
(Summary) As Joseph sat in prison, he must asked himself the
question, Why me? Why would God let this happen to me? I havent
done anything to deserve this. He might not have understood it at the
time, but later on he did. Sometimes we dont understand why God
allows evil to invade our lives either. Sometimes we might not
understand it while on this earth, but will have to wait until we get to
heaven. But we can rest assured that all things work for the good of
those who love God.
(Summary) Joseph is a type of Jesus. In him we get a glimpse of
what the Savior would do. Just as God brought good from evil through
Joseph, so he did through Jesus. As Joseph suffered injustice so did
Jesus. As Joseph was released from prison, so Jesus was released from
the prison of death by his rising from the dead. As Joseph saved many
people from dying, so Jesus saved many from dying an eternal death.
(Key 4) Ironically, the brothers had sent Joseph away without his
richly ornamented robe, but now Joseph sent them away with a new
wardrobe. Gods children seek reconciliation and repay evil with good.
(Key 4) God would use the fact that the Egyptians detested shepherds
to create the promised nation. Because of this, the Israelites would not
be assimilated into the Egyptian community. They would retain their
identity.
(Summary) The short term reason Israel and his family went to Egypt
was to escape the famine. But the more important reason was the long
term reason, which was to grow into a nation. Why did God choose to
make Egypt the place where Israel would grow into a nation instead of
Canaan? The people of Canaan were evil and wicked. That was not a
good environment in which to grow. The culture in Egypt was different.
Since the Egyptians detested shepherds, there would not be
intermarriage between the Egyptians and the Israelites. Also, Egypt
had an advanced culture and government and this would be helpful in
creating a new nation.
God had promised to make them into a great nation, but he also
promised to give them the land of Canaan. In bringing them to Egypt,
he would fulfill his promise to build them into a nation. But in doing
that, they had to leave the promised land. Rest assured that God
would not break one promise in order to fulfill another promise. He
told Jacob that after a period of 400 years they would return and he
would give them the land. He will keep both of his promises and from
this nation in this land he will bring forth the promised Savior.
country. But for Gods people, many times life is difficult. It is through
these kinds of trials that faith is strengthened and shaped.
(Key 6) In Hebrews (11:13-16) it says the patriarchs were still living
in faith when they died. That is, they believed Gods promises of a
nation, the land, and the Savior. We see that this is true for Israel as
he prepared for his death. His request was to be buried in Canaan with
his fathers, Abraham and Isaac. Canaan was now the homeland for
this family, but more importantly, it was the promised land. By
insisting on being buried in the promised land, Israel was showing his
faith that one day God would give this land to his descendants as he
had promised many times.
Read Genesis 50: .Joseph forgiveness was genuine and so was his
belief in Gods promises
Outline of text:
1. Mourning for and burial of Jacob in Canaan (50:1-14).
o Key 1 Jacob was buried in Canaan (50:5, 13).
o Key 2 Joseph and his brothers returned to Egypt (50:14).
2. Joseph reassured his brothers that he had forgiven them (50:1521).
o Key 3 Josephs brothers beg for forgiveness (50:17-18).
o Key 4 Joseph reassured his brothers of his forgiveness
(50:20).
3. Joseph expressed belief in Gods promises before his death
(50:22-26).
o Key 5 Joseph believed Gods promises (50:24-25).
God would come to their aid and take them out of Egypt and take
them to Canaan, the promised land (Heb 11:22). Like Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, Joseph too wanted to be buried in the promised land. Later
his wishes were carried out as Moses carried his bones out of Egypt
during the exodus (Ex 13:19) and Joshua buried them in the heart of
the promised land (Jos 24:32). Josephs faith in Gods word of promise
would provide inspiration for future generations.
(Summary of Gen 12-50) Yahweh had promised Abram a nation, a
land and a Savior who would bless the world. At the end of Genesis,
Yahweh has brought about the circumstances to begin to fulfill those
promises. 1) The Israelites are in a position where they can grow into
a nation. 2) After growing into a numerous people, Yahweh will lead
them out of Egypt to the promised land. He will help Joshua and the
Israelites defeat the Canaanites and they will take over the land
promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 3) Then many years later, he
would bring the Savior from his chosen people. At just the right time,
he would send his Son Jesus Christ as the Savior for the world. As the
scriptures bear out, God kept these promises and he keeps all his
promises. We look forward to the promise of eternal life for those who
believe in Jesus. To him be glory forever and ever.