Summary of passage: Isaac kissed his son. He smelled Esau’s clothes and concluded this was Esau.
Isaac blessed Jacob, asking God to give him abundance and have the nations serve him and bow to him, have him be lord over his brothers and have those who curse him be cursed and those who bless him be blessed.
Esau returned from hunting and brought in the food to Isaac. Isaac realizes he had been tricked by Jacob. But it was too late. Isaac cannot bless both. He did not reserve another blessing. Esau wept and Isaac tells him he will serve his brother and he will live away from the earth’s riches but eventually he will throw off Jacob’s yoke.
Questions:
6a) God will grant riches of the earth and an abundance of grain and wine. Many nations will serve Jacob and people will bow down to him. He will reign over his brothers and mother’s sons. May those who curse him be cursed and those who bless him be blessed.
b) God will punish the nation that enslaves His people (Genesis 15:14) but afterwards they will come out with great possessions. Same as those who curse him be cursed. Repeated in Genesis 12:3 where God says “I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse.”
7a) According to Webster’s dictionary, regret is “to mourn the loss or death of; to miss very much; to be sorry for.” Repentance is “the act or process of repenting (to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one’s life; to feel regret) for misdeeds or moral shortcomings.”
As you can see, their meaning are the same in a way. Regret is more to feel sorry for what you did (or did not do). Repentance is to feel sorry for what you did but also to resolve to change and it’s emphasis is more on sin.
b) Esau is regretful. He’s sorry for himself that he did stupid things like sell his birthright for a meal and marry unbelievers. But he doesn’t change his ways. Immediately, he wants to kill his brother–for his mistakes (of selling the birthright) but also for God’s will as I’m sure they all knew the prophetic words revealed to Rebekah. His heart is not repentant at all.
Jacob is repentant. He realizes he tricked his father and lied to him and I think he’s truly sorry. God spoke to him afterwards and does not condemn his actions. For He doesn’t need to as Jacob has learned his lesson.
8a) It would have gone against God’s will as spoken to Rebekah (Genesis 25:23). Esau was flippant and despised his birthright as we see in Genesis 25:29-34 when he sold his birthright for a meal. Esau married Hittite women (Genesis 26:34) which would have jeopardized the raising of his sons in terms of faith in the Lord. Esau wants to kill his brother (Genesis 27:41)–a direct violation of God’s law of murder. He is vengeful and his heart is not God’s. Definitely not something God wants in the line to Jesus.
b) They doubt. They sin when they know it’s wrong. They have no desire to do God’s will here on earth. They are in the world instead of of the world.
c) He’s a provider. He brings home meat for the family.
d) Personal Question. My answer: I hope going in the right way. I’m trying every day to be more like Jesus. I’m trying to be in the Word as much as possible. I’m trying to follow God’s purpose for my life. I’m trying to raise my kids to know Him. I’m trying to be a good wife and spouse to my husband. We are at a turning point in our lives where we’re trying to plan for the future and put God at the center (both with our money and our hearts). My husband and I are finally on the same page about this. I pray I do His will every day.
9) Isaac’s prophecy is: Esau will dwell away from the earth’s riches. He will live by the sword and will serve his brother. But he will eventually throw off his brother’s yoke. During the Exodus, Moses asked to pass through Edom’s lands which they refused and so Israel turned from them (Numbers). David conquered the Edomites (2 Samuel 8:14).
Edom did rebel against Judah (Israel) in 2 Kings 8:20-22. Another war is depicted in 2 Kings 14:7 between Judah and Edom. Another time Edom attacked Judah in 2 Chronicles 28:17.
Obadiah is where God has had enough of the Edomites and their sins against the Israelites. God tells Israel to not abhor Edom for Edom is their brother (Deuteronomy 23:7) but when the Edomites cheer the fall of Jerusalem during the Babylonian invasion and help plunder the city and prey on fleeing Israelites God says through Obadiah “There will be no survivors from the house of Esau” (verse 18).
God says “As you have done, it will be done to you” (verse 15). Like I said BEFORE, the Edomites were obliterated from history when Rome conquered Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
Conclusions: Question 9 is almost the exact same as Question 4 on Lesson 21 except here they give us the passages and last week they did not.
I’m really struggling here. I’m floundering to be precise. So I’m praying through this. This repetition and re-wording of the questions with virtually the same concept is driving me mad to be honest with you.
I GET it! I do. Part of me feels like BSF doesn’t trust me to get it. So I’m being bombarded with the same passages (which in my view is not really all that hard when compared to say Isaiah for instance). So I’m spending 3 lessons on the same thing (and tomorrow is Hebrews!).
I’m no Biblical scholar by any stretch of the imagination. But I understand right and wrong and why Jacob was the chosen one (simple–cause God chose him and God can do whatever He wants) and why Esau wasn’t worthy, etc, etc, etc.
Instead of growing I feel stuck. I’m at the point of skipping some classes to be honest with you. The last two weeks have been difficult. My group has fallen to half its normal size from September. So has my kids’ classes.
I can’t remember ever feeling like this with BSF before. So I’m praying. That’s all I can do really.
I share your concern about the repetition in some of the lessons but since this is my first real immersion into Genesis, I think I’m actually finding some of the repetition to be somewhat helpful! I pray that God will answer your prayers and give you the encouragement you need to continue through the remaining lessons. I find your comments to be very valuable in helping me as I consider my responses to the BSF questions and reading thru other comments, it is obvious others do as well. God IS using you for a His purposes.
I too have felt a lull in the lessons but as a wise mentor of mine has told me, “Satan wins if we give up”. Don’t let him win! Keep up the good work and you will be rewarded!
Atozmom, I appreciate your distress. However, this will be the third time I’ve done the Genesis study with BSF and have discovered new things about Jacob and Esau that I hadn’t before (they’ve rewritten the lessons). I’m sure there are things that frustrate me about the lessons (being an older woman) that don’t frustrate you. Personally, I’m not big on all the “how do you feel” or others that read my thoughts into the scriptures. But I’ve learned through those as well.
I just encourage you to realize that if this isn’t a lesson for you right now, perhaps it is for the lady sitting next to you. Just as every sermon doesn’t speak to one’s heart, every BSF lesson probably doesn’t either. Some lectures, I don’t hear what other ladies in my group hear. So I appreciate the repetition, even if I don’t always see the point.
God’s blessings on your day!
Great comment Mary and spot on. God speaks to us all at different times and these lessons might be repetitive for atozmom, but the other women in the group might be finding new nuggets of truth or wisdom that God intended for them. Hang in there and stay in God’s word with BSF, it is without a doubt, the best study of the word short of seminary.
what is so bad about repetition? i know i can’t hear too much,”trust God” for example. i may be an adult but i need to have basic truths hammered into my head because i still am not living out of the truths completely. God is able to use this bible study to speak to us individually right where our needs are so when i find myself getting frustrated i try to relax into the process and ask God what he is trying to show me.
Amen!
You answered question 7b with Esau & Jacob. It’s asking about Isaac & Esau.
Yeah, I noticed that too. Isaac trembled bitterly and said basically what’s done is done. He knew it had been God’s plan all along to have Jacob receive the blessing. His decision to go ahead and do a proper blessing of Jacob showed repentance I think.
YES!! I wrote..”Where in the scripture does it say that Issac repented???
Forgive me AtoZ, but since we’re all allowed to be honest, you kinda complain a lot, haha. I love that you’re not overly pious but I think we ALL need an attitude adjustment.
I saw you’re post where you said that your time is too valuable for repetition. You’re certainly entitled to that opinion, but may I respectfully suggest –
a) there is something to be learned in God’s word constantly, it never returns void (Isaiah 55:11); by going over this passage from several different angles God is speaking to each of us about surrendering our will to His through the passages by viewing it from each character’s perspective. Perhaps you’re having to learn to surrender your thirst for knowledge that is new and fresh each week to a deeper lesson of submission to God’s plan and move in your life. This whole story is about how each of these people wanted their own way…we can’t always get our way when we are surrendered servants to Christ.
b) I mean this in the nicest possible way….this isn’t just about you. I had a house full of late teenaged kids yesterday who work, are in college, are juggling ministry and attend BSF. They were young men who were playing video games and stopped mid afternoon on their own to do their BSF lesson together. This is their 3rd week going over this passage too. There was no complaint, no anger towards BSF for doing this and looking at this a different way for 3 weeks or any comments about how valuable their time is (which it truly is); I instead overheard them discuss how grateful they were for this study. How it is helping them to stand firm in their faith on their college campuses and in their life. They LOVED looking at it 3 ways. It helped them fully understand the passage. They were so convicted by the part in the notes that said how fortunate we are in this country to have access to God’s word and study, where in other countries they have to go underground basically. The word is so precious to them. That is the attitude we should all have.
I appreciate your honesty…I do. I know many people like it when your admit to your frustrations because it echoes there own. For one, God doesnt like complaining (Phil 2:14-15: 14 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world). For two, I just respectfully submit to every one that we need to get over ourselves. We are a bunch of babies sometimes. We forget how blessed we are to have this study. We forget the hours and hours of prayer and volunteer hours and effort that goes into providing it for you. The leaders are under serious spiritual attack for bringing to you each week. I know this isn’t the first time I’ve commented on this, if it seems like I have said it a lot I am just commenting about our need for an attitude adjustment at least as often as you have commented about the redundancy of the lesson. I posted the below comment the other day and I’m posting it again here because I feel it is that important to remember…we’re are in a spiritual battle folks. If we think a year long study is too hard, especially if its repetitive, how in the world will we ever withstand the trials of the end times? These battles are won in lost in the attitudes of the heart and mind.
You never respond to my comments, but to your credit you don’t delete the, either. This isn’t just directed at you AtoZ, it’s directed to myself as well and to all of us who often whine about wanting to quit or drop out because its too hard…it isn’t just about US! BSF is about eradicating biblical illiteracy and equipping us to spread the gospel to the next generation….
My post from another thread for those who didn’t see it:
“If we’re allowed to be honest here than please allow me, I feel like there’s a lot of complaining & griping about how hard it is to get it done, how tough it is to do the same passage 2 weeks in a row, how tired we are and how we want to quit, etc. i have to think what must God think?,
I just finished reading “The Hiding Place” the true story about Corrie ten Boom’s struggle in German concentration camps during WWII. She was jailed after saving the Jews & resistance workers. She was a Christian and God called her to unthinkable hardship in her walk with Him. She and her sister were called to share Christ and the Word under Nazi soldiers, starvation, abuse, poverty, beatings, just horrific conditions. They didn’t do a tenth of the complaining I sometimes hear from many of us over not being challenged enough by the questions or text/format BSF selected or maybe challenged too much by the length and demands of a year long study. It’s as if we’re so used to being entertained and BSF isn’t meeting the need quite right so we’re tempted to change the channel. In a German concentration camp while being eaten alive by fleas and lice they didn’t do a tenth of the complaining I see we’re tempted to do because they realized their life was not their own. They were vessels of Christ and true joy comes from serving Him alone. God used them in mighty ways because of their singular devotion to Him. Isn’t that what we want? A life of purpose? Perhaps we often feel less than because our perspectives are so selfish and flawed. We need to get a grip people and toughen up a bit, don’t ya think?”
Again this is a reminder to me as much as anybody…we can do better folks.
I’ve been thinking about this since I posted, I really think AtoZ with your thirst for knowledge and hunger to learn that you should really consider learning BSF’s homiletics style taught in the homeletics seminar. If you do the homeletics the way they teach us to on this passage over the three weeks you will see why it was looked at for this long. You have such a gift for looking at the passages and dissecting them, analyzing them and figuring out the main goal…homeletics might be the extra challenge you’re looking for. I don’t know if you’ve taken the seminar by its really interesting. I have found it an envaluable tool each week.
Oh, one more thing, I’m one of the number crunchers at my group, we have not experienced the attrition you speak of in our group. We’re still running most classes at full attendance each week. Our number enrolled is even up since September, just as an FYI. I put this here instead of searching for the post discussing this because I’m lazy. Lol. I just wanted you to know, not all classes have dropped in half as you mentioned…
Thank you Michelle. Words of wisdom!
First, I appreciate your insights. I have recently moved to a women’s class instead of a young adult one and I read through your notes so I can check to make sure I have good answers. (Being in a group of more “mature” Christians is intimidating).
I appreciate your frustration with the repetition as I am feeling it too. I started last year and it was go,go,go in Acts as we covered so much material I felt I didn’t have time to chew on all of the passages long enough, and this year we have spent so many weeks on the same topic. Repetition is good if we are learning new things from it, but not if it makes us feel as if we are simply repeating ourselves. (It was interesting to take things from Isaac’s perspective and then Jacob’s, but I do not feel as if spending 3 weeks on the same texts was as valuable as it could have been.)
As a single women in her early thirties without a family of her own, however, it is all of the questions that ask about how your family deals with certain issues that I find more of a struggle and have to rework in my own mind to glean anything from that leave me greatly frustrated.
God is so awesome and so are you! Some of the responses were along the same line of what I was thinking. I also think this may be a great opportunity for you to teach or publish your own study of Genesis. Since I am familiar with these passage, I am going to review this with my family today. I actually based a one week bible study on one chapter (Romans 12)..
Keep pressing on and persevering. We have minister who has been studying the bible for over 50 years. There’s always something new.
I’ve been involved in BSF for many years and this is my 3rd time through Genesis as well and I am learning new things every time with every lesson. In all the my years in BSF, I have experienced a drop in attendance in my class in the spring usually due to soccer and baseball. However, last year, our group attendance dropped significantly because of the negative attitude of one of our class members. Despite the attempts of the group leader to quell the negativity, the women in our group were being negatively affected. I have never until last year been tempted to drop from a class. I would suggest that everyone who is experiencing a difficult discussion group to look within themselves and make sure they’re not the problem.
I agree, our attitude can make all the difference in the world. It can make or break the dynamics of our class.
Absolutely agree, T.J. I had returned from a few years off for Isaiah. Then, in Acts last year, I was placed in a group with 70 and 80 year olds (I was 59; I’m now 60). It was a struggle as many of the ladies literally discounted anything I had to say. I spoke with our DL and then my TL. The TL was so encouraging to me, saying that it was important to persevere, to realize that God heard what I had to say, and that, after visiting us a couple of times, she believed I did have things to share and that I could learn new ways of relating as well. I did and was blessed for persevering.
Too often, we want things to always be relevant to us rather than realizing others of different generations and with different styles can teach us things not in the lesson as well. I am a better person because of my patience and steadfastness.
I hope you accept our comments with the compassion and grace with which they are offered. God’s blessings.
There are a lot of good comments here posted and very humbly and encouragingly well put. One reaction I have is that people who are really busy should NOT try homiletics,as it is VERY time consuming. Leave that to the leaders who are committed time-wise. BTW, I, too, have been critical of BSF in the past but love the new discussion format ! Also, our leader was just selected to work at the HQ in San Antone, and he is leaving his cushy job in hospital admin. for a huge pay cut with BSF. But he and his fam are so excited. Kind of rubs off on me to be more appreciative!
I want to put in my two-cents worth about the new discussion format. A lot of people in my group dislike it very much – including me! There is NOT balanced sharing, despite repeated requests from the leader. Some people monopolize the conversation, and the quieter class members are left frustrated and annoyed. If we don’t jump in and interrupt, the group time is dominated by 4-5 women. I much prefer being called upon instead of having to ‘talk over’ others who go on incessantly. I think the leaders are at a horrible disadvantage and can easily lose control of the group. I say, bring back the old format!!!!!’
I love your honesty…we all feel like you do, for us is a blessing to read your answers due help us a lot to understand better the lesson.
I do notk know you but I feel close to you, I pray for you and your family and you do not have an idea how much your blog means to me. You Rock!!!!
I will continue to pray for you. Most of us feel the same and that is you are bless to be able to understand what is being asked of us to review.Nothing worth fighting for is easy.