Tag: bsf genesis lesson 18

jacob worshipped god at bethel www.atozmomm.com

BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 5: Genesis 28:16-22

by atozmom, posted in BSF Genesis 2020/2021

Summary of Genesis 28:16-22:

Jacob awakes the next day, declaring that this place is the house of God. He poured oil on top of the stone he was sleeping on and called the place Bethel, which means House of God. Jacob vows the Lord will be his God if God is with him and watches over him and gives him food and clothes so that he can return safely home. He declares he will give God a tenth as well.

BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 5: Genesis 28:16-22

12) It’s as if Jacob finally realized that God is with him here. I don’t like how it seems like God will be God to Jacob only if God is with him and watches over him and gives him food and clothes so that he can return safely home. It seems like Jacob’s promise is conditional; whereas, God’s promises are not.

13) Every day.

14) Just to trust that I am where I need to be at this time in my life and doing what He wants me to do even though I’d like to be doing something else.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 5: Genesis 28:16-22

I like how Jacob has completely changed after this encounter with God. So it is for Christians, but we need to hold onto that when life does get us down.

map of jacob fleeing to haran www.atozmomm.com genesis 28

End Notes BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 5: Genesis 28:16-22

Fun Fact: Bethel is mentioned more times in the Old Testament than any other place except Jerusalem.

God grasps its significance to Jacob by calling himself the God of Bethel. (Genesis 31:13).

Other places we see Bethel in the Bible: (1 Kings 13:32, Hosea 10:15, Amos 4:4).

God is everywhere, not just one place.

You can translate this as “Since God is will be with me.” However, most Bible scholars believe if is accurate. Jacob is still not confident God will be with him, which is why he puts condition on God being His God. He had to see God do what he said he would before he would believe. Sadly, many are like this instead of just believing God. (Philippians 4:19) (Nahum 1:7).

Laban will help teach Jacob submission.

God did not back down from His promises despite Jacob’s response. He still is the God of Jacob (Exodus 3:6).

God’s promises were not good enough for Jacob. Are His promises good enough for you?

jacob dreams of a stairway to heaven genesis 28 www.atozmomm.com

BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 4: Genesis 28:12-15

by atozmom, posted in BSF Genesis 2020/2021

Summary of Genesis 28:12-15:

When Jacob stopped to sleep, he had a dream of a stairway to heaven that angels traversed. God appeared and told Jacob He would give him the land on which he was lying. His descendents will be numerous and fill the earth. All people will be blessed through him. God is with him and will watch over him no matter where he goes. God will bring him back and not leave until He has done what He has promised He will do.

BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 4: Genesis 28:12-15

9) When Jacob stopped to sleep, he had a dream of a stairway to heaven that angels traversed. God appeared and told Jacob He would give him the land on which he was lying. His descendents will be numerous and fill the earth. All people will be blessed through him. God is with him and will watch over him no matter where he goes. God will bring him back and not leave until He has done what He has promised He will do. John 14:6 is where Jesus says he is the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to God except through him. Hebrews 10:19-20 tells us that we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus. The stairwell is the way to heaven, namely Jesus, a descendent of Jacob’s. Jesus is the stairway.

10a) God would give him the land on which he was lying

b) His descendents will be numerous and fill the earth.

c) All people will be blessed through him

d) God is with him and will watch over him no matter where he goes. God will bring him back and not leave until He has done what He has promised He will do.

11) I love how God tells Jacob He is with him and will watch over him no matter where he goes. God will not leave him until His work has been completed. This is very comforting to know God is with you always as I still struggle to follow His will for me.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 4: Genesis 28:12-15

Love how God appears here and promises never to leave. I think He does this for us in subtle ways every day that we need to capture and hold on to when life does not go our way.

End Notes BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 4: Genesis 28:12-15

(John 1:51) is where we see Jesus speak of the angels going back and forth on the Son of Man. Jesus is the only way to heaven. Jacob sees access to Heaven but not yet that it is Jesus.

God is repeating the covenant to Jacob that He gave to Abraham and Isaac before him.  (Genesis 12:1-3) (Genesis 26:2-5). See the promise here: Philippians 1:6:  God completes His work in us.

God is with Jacob, He will be with Jacob, He is faithful, and He will continue His work after you are gone.(Genesis 31:3)  (Genesis 31:5)  (Genesis 48:21)

map of jacob fleeing to haran www.atozmomm.com genesis 28

BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 3: Genesis 28:10-11

by atozmom, posted in BSF Genesis 2020/2021

Summary of Genesis 28:10-11:

Jacob left Beersheba on his way to Haran.

BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 3: Genesis 28:10-11

7) He was leaving his family for the first time. I’m sure he was scared. After all, travel was hard and scary in a time when no one traveled. He was leaving all he knew.

8a) Every time we’ve had to move.

b) James tells us to consider trials as joy because they produce perseverence, which then grows our faith. 1 Peter tells us to submit to rulers and masters for God’s sake. We must endure suffering as Christ suffered for us. You are blessed for suffering and doing what is right. Jesus cleansed us with his suffering and death. Pain allows us to grow in our walk with God. God can and will use our pain and suffering for His glory and for good.

BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 3: Genesis 28:10-11

Very short passage where we see how even when we move, God moves with us.

BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 3: Genesis 28:10-11

Jacob is returning to the land of Abraham and of Rebekah. (Genesis 11:31-32) (Genesis 24:3-4)

jacob travels to paddan aram for a wife www.atozmomm.com

BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 2: Genesis 28:1-9

by atozmom, posted in BSF Genesis 2020/2021

Summary of Genesis 18:1-9:

Isaac blesses Jacob and tells him to find a wife amongst the house of his mother in Paddan Aram (Northern Mesopotamia) among the daughters of Laban, Abraham’s brother. He blesses Jacob, giving him the blessing of Abraham to inhabit the land and increase in number. Esau learned that Isaac had been sent to find a wife that was not a Canaanite. So he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath in addition to his current wives.

BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 2: Genesis 28:1-9

3) This blessing was to become fruitful and multiply so that they could inherit the Promised land. Previously, the blessing had consisted of blessing the land with richness, having nations serve him, and being lord over his brothers. He also cursed those who cursed him and blessed those who blessed him. (Genesis 27:27:29)

4) Isaac encouraged him to find a wife that was not a Canaanite.

5) Haven’t recently.

6) Esau learned that Isaac had been sent to find a wife that was not a Canaanite. So he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath in addition to his current wives. This doesn’t make sense. It’s an act that is too little, too late. Esau should have sought God to avoid all these mistakes in the first place.

Conclusions BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 2: Genesis 28:1-9

We see how little amount of godly people actually exist since Jacob has to go to the same place Isaac did to find a wife.

map of jacob fleeing to haran www.atozmomm.com genesis 28

End Notes BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 2: Genesis 28:1-9

Since Jacob was the one who would inherit the birthright, he had to have a godly wife.

God Almighty here is El Shaddai, first used in  Genesis 17:1 where God was talking to Abraham. This shows the blessing of God and the covenant being passed.

We see this blessing being passed to Jacob (Genesis 12:7, 15:8, 17:7-8). Jacob was promised a land, a nation, and a blessing like Abraham was. (Genesis 12:1-3)

Here we see God’s sovereignty play out with the choice of Jacob who was chosen by God’s grace alone. He would not see Isaac again for 20 years.

Esau went to marry women that weren’t Canaanite, too. I say this is too little, too late.

BSF Study Questions Genesis Lesson 18, Day 5: Genesis 22-23

by atozmom, posted in BSF Genesis 2012/2013

Summary of passage:  God calls Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac as a burnt offering in the mountains of Moriah. So Abraham faithfully takes Isaac to where God calls him, bounds his son, and prepares to kill him.  On the journey, Abraham tells Isaac that God will provide the burnt offering.

An angel of the Lord stopped Abraham before he killed Isaac, saying he has proved he fears God because he didn’t withhold his son from Him.  God provided a ram instead to sacrifice.  The angel says because of Abraham’s faithfulness the Lord will bless him and make his descendants as numerous as the stars and will rule over the cities of their enemies.

All nations on earth will be blessed because of Abraham’s obedience.  Then Abraham went to Beersheba.

Sarah lived to be 127 years old.  She died in Hebron.  Abraham offered to buy a burial plot from the Hittites and they told him he could pick any plot to bury her in.  He approached Ephron and offered to buy his cave.  Ephron offered to give it to Abraham. Abraham refused and offered to pay for the land.  Ephron reluctantly agrees and the land is deeded to Abraham.

Abraham then buries Sarah.

Questions:

11a)  Honestly, I wouldn’t connect the two if you hadn’t of told me to.  In Abraham’s mind, he has sacrificed Isaac.  His mind was tested and he knew what God’s will was.  He offered Isaac’s body as an act of worship.

b)  Being a living sacrifice is denying ourself and being God’s instead.  We yield our body, mind, and will to God.  It’s reading the Bible instead of watching TV.  It’s helping others instead of ourselves.  It’s giving of our time and money when we’d rather not.  It’s changing your poor attitude, giving up destructive addictions, and changing your thinking to be more in tune with Christ’s.

It is a daily death to self.  We must understand and know the will of God and walk that path every day.  We must change our thoughts by obeying God and God’s word and in turn our hearts will change as well.  We must find God’s will for our life and live it and go where HE directs, not where you direct.

c)  Personal Question.  My answer:  Today I will do my utmost to listen and obey Him and His will for my life.  That includes teaching my children, taking care of my family, doing laundry and dishes, and loving others as myself.  I will try to live and breathe Him as much as humanly possible and at the end of the day hopefully I will find rest in what I have done, which I did for Him, through Him and by Him AND according to His will.  Amen.

12a)  On the surface, he purchased it as a place to bury Sarah.  But really he purchased it to set a precedent of an alien owning land in Canaan.  As a landowner in ancient times, you were accorded certain rights others were not.  Now, Abraham could claim those rights.

b)  God promised Abraham he would take possession of Canaan and Abraham now owns a piece of it.

c)  Personal Question.  My answer:  Good question.  God promises to provide for all of my needs and He has.  I purchase food, clothing, and shelter.  We also own cars to transport us to do His work and care for others.  He also has given more.

Conclusions:  I couldn’t help the flippancy in 11a but my haunches raised when I’m told to read a passage and then told to go somewhere else.

I’m conflicted on this lesson as well like yesterday’s.  It was interesting how Abraham used Sarah’s death as a means to own land.  Not sure if I approve of this.  I did like the living sacrifice example.  It brought out the importance of obeying God not only in word and deed but also in heart and mind.

The exchange between Ephron and Abraham is an example of how bargaining was done in that time and in that culture.  Ephron had no intention of giving Abraham the land but that is how the bargaining started off.  Kindness took precedent and is still predominant in the Middle East today when bargaining.

I liked this concise article on living sacrifices enough to link to it despite the overpowering presence of ads:

http://www.abideinchrist.com/selah/mar27.html

Fun Fact:  Sarah is the only woman in the Bible whose age when she died is recorded.

BSF Study Questions Genesis Lesson 18, Day 4: Genesis 22:1-19

by atozmom, posted in BSF Genesis 2012/2013

Summary of passage:  God calls Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac as a burnt offering in the mountains of Moriah. So Abraham faithfully takes Isaac to where God calls him, bounds his son, and prepares to kill him.  On the journey, Abraham tells Isaac that God will provide the burnt offering.

An angel of the Lord stopped Abraham before he killed Isaac, saying he has proved he fears God because he didn’t withhold his son from Him.  God provided a ram instead to sacrifice.  The angel says because of Abraham’s faithfulness the Lord will bless him and make his descendants as numerous as the stars and will rule over the cities of their enemies.

All nations on earth will be blessed because of Abraham’s obedience.  Then Abraham went to Beersheba.

Questions:

8a)  Hebrews sums up Genesis 22.  Verse 9 in Genesis mirrors verse 17 in Hebrews, saying Isaac was offered as a sacrifice.  After the test, verse 17 in Genesis has an angel telling Abraham everyone will be blessed through Isaac like in verse 18 of Hebrews. Genesis 21:12 is the verse quoted in Hebrews.  Verse 12 of Genesis has God sparing Isaac like in Hebrews 19 and thus receiving him back from the dead.

b)  Because he was obeying God through faith and knew everything would be okay.  Like how we are to feel when we obey.

c)  Through Christ’s faith and obedience to the Father, he experienced the joy of reconciling man to Him and taking his place beside the Father.

d)  Personal Question.  My answer:  Writing gives me joy and I sacrifice a lot in order to do it (mainly sleep!).  This site brings me joy despite the criticism and doubts it has brought.  I hope it’s all for Him.

9a)  According to Webster’s Dictionary, a substitute is “a person or thing that takes the place or function of another.”

b)  A ram

c)  Jesus

d)  Personal Question.  My answer:  Eternal gratitude, awe, and immense desire to please God and obey.

10a)  Personal Question.  My answer:  The same.  Listen and obey.  I don’t think many of us would have a problem of being told to not kill our kids!

b)  God will bless him and make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.  His descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies and through his offspring all nations on earth will be blessed.

Conclusions:  I have mixed feelings on this lesson.  When I read the first question and saw Hebrews, I said, “Ah, not Hebrews…AGAIN!”  I don’t think I can glean anything else from Hebrews in terms of Abraham and his faith.  I think most of us by now have gotten the idea that Abraham was faithful.

The best idea is that we should have joy when we obey God.  And I would add peace.  A lot of people grumble or obey reluctantly and that is not what God wants.  But I think these people if they obey God enough will experience that joy.  After all, obeying God is what we were created to do.  Everything else is insignificant.

Nothing else was new here.

BSF Study Questions Genesis Lesson 18, Day 3: Genesis 22:1-19

by atozmom, posted in BSF Genesis 2012/2013

Summary of passage:  God calls Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac as a burnt offering in the mountains of Moriah. So Abraham faithfully takes Isaac to where God calls him, bounds his son, and prepares to kill him.  On the journey, Abraham tells Isaac that God will provide the burnt offering.

An angel of the Lord stopped Abraham before he killed Isaac, saying he has proved he fears God because he didn’t withhold his son from Him.  God provided a ram instead to sacrifice.  The angel says because of Abraham’s faithfulness the Lord will bless him and make his descendants as numerous as the stars and will rule over the cities of their enemies.

All nations on earth will be blessed because of Abraham’s obedience.  Then Abraham went to Beersheba.

Questions:

6a)  In Verse 2, God acknowledges how much Abraham loves his son when He says, “whom you love” and we all know you can’t hide anything from God so I would wager it was obvious how much Isaac meant to Abraham.  Abraham assured Isaac God would provide the sacrifice (verse 8) so he was confident this would all work out in the end.

And at any time Isaac could have run away once he realized what was happening but he didn’t.  So he trusted his father and God to know this would turn out alright.

b)  Both Isaac and Jesus willingly offer up their own life under Free Will for the Father. They obey Him and trust in Him and His ways and plans.  Both accept the lot God has chosen for their earthly lives and do not fight it.  God is first in their lives and their actions prove so.

7a)  Solomon built the temple of the Lord on Mount Moriah where the Lord had appeared to his father David.  It was on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the place provided by David.  David built the altar so the Lord would stop the plague on Israel, which the Lord sent as punishment for David’s disobedience when he counted the fighting men (or conducted a census) in Israel and Judah.

b)  The simple answer:  Through Christ’s death and resurrection where he bore our sins so we may be right before God.

Because of Abraham’s obedience and faith and his willingness to sacrifice his only son we were all blessed by God and included in His plan for salvation through Jesus Christ.  God loved us so much He sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  We should all be assured of God’s love for us at the magnitude of this sacrifice.

Conclusions:  Gee, wouldn’t it be nice if all nations were blessed because of my obedience? I thought.  Then I realized they are.  Because everything we do affects others. It may not be as monumental as having all nations blessed because of our actions, which allowed the Gentiles to be included in God’s covenant but it’s significant nonetheless.

When we obey God and fulfill His purpose for us here on earth, God is pleased and our rewards are multiplied in heaven.

It is still hard to grasp God’s love even though God uses the strongest love we humans have–that for our children–as His comparison.  God’s love is greater which is hard to imagine.  But we get the idea.  As most of us would fail the child sacrifice test, we can understand just a bit how much God gave when He gave his only Son.

Other parallels with Isaac and Jesus:  Both carried wood up the hill to their imminent death.  Both were sacrificed on the same hill.  Both were risen again after three days.  We see this in Isaac because God pronounced Isaac dead when He told Abraham to sacrifice him.  On the third day (verse 4) Isaac rose again when God interceded for him. Cool, huh?

Explanation on 2 Samuel 24:10-25:  This was one of those passages you had to read the whole chapter of 2 Samuel 24 to understand what is going on here.  And THEN you still had to know the history to understand (which I, of course, was too curious not to look up).  Because I was thinking, “What’s so wrong with a census?  We do that every 10 years?”

Exodus 30:12 states:  The Lord tells Moses, “When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them.”

In ancient times you only had the right to count what was yours.  This is what God is saying.  The people are His and only He had the right to order a count and even then ransom money had to be paid to atone for the counting.

Here, David directly disobeys God (which many scholars attribute to the devil’s influence on David who tempted him), lets pride creep in as he thinks some of the reason Israel has prospered is due to him and not God, and ordered a census to be taken without asking God.

Thus, in God’s infinite mercy, He ordered David to build this altar on Mount Moriah to atone for his sin of the census and spare some of God’s people (specifically Jerusalem) the plague.

BSF Study Questions Genesis Lesson 18, Day 2: Genesis 22:1-10

by atozmom, posted in BSF Genesis 2012/2013

Summary of passage:  God calls Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac as a burnt offering in the mountains of Moriah. So Abraham faithfully takes Isaac to where God calls him, bounds his son, and prepares to kill him.  On the journey, Abraham tells Isaac that God will provide the burnt offering.

Questions:

3a)  God tests everyone but I think God had to be sure Abraham trusted Him after all the wishy-washyness from before.  Abraham does not trust God to provide for him so he flees to Egypt.  He sleeps with his maidservant to have an heir.  And he laughs at God when God says Sarah will have a son.

God has to be sure Abraham finally has faith and trust in Him.

b)  Personal Question.  My answer:  We never know what we will do in a situation until it arises.  We say we will give it all up to follow Jesus but when the time comes, do we?  We say we would lay down our life for another but would we if the situation actually presents itself?

Thus, tests are necessary to grow our faith.  Here, God had to be sure of Abraham’s heart and this was the ultimate test.

4a)  Verse 2  “Take your son, your only son, whom you love”

b)  Verse 1:  Abraham says “Here I am” when called by God.  Remember Adam and Eve hid from God in the garden when called.  Abraham never questions (at least that is recorded like when he did for Sodom).  The very next day (verse 3) early in the morning Abraham sets out for where God said to go.  He follows God’s instructions exactly.  He answers Isaac with faith, saying God will provide the sacrifice in verse 8.  He has the knife, ready to strike, when the angel stops him (verse 10).

5a)  Obeying His voice pleases God more than burnt offerings.  This verse doesn’t say what kinds He rejects for He didn’t reject burnt offerings in the Old Testament; He, in fact, required them.  So not sure about what He rejects except maybe the opposite of obeying:  disobeying Him.

b)  Personal Question.  My answer:  He is asking me to have faith in what my husband is doing with his job.  Personally, not sure.  I got a lot going on right now and my novel has been put on the back-burner once again.  My heart is just not in it right now.  Not sure if that’s God or the devil.  Also, I am really struggling to exercise.  And I haven’t been sleeping really well either.

So I’m trying to support my husband in his job search.  I’m still trying to figure out my novel thing for I still feel it’s God’s work somewhere in there.  And just continue writing in general.

Conclusions:  Great emphasis on testing for we are all tested and most of the time none of us like it because it’s hard.  But everything works together for our good and we must walk through the fire and grow with Him.  Never easy to do.

No one is exempt.  Even though we think people are such as rich people or celebrities we know they are all tested as well just in different ways.  Thankfully, we aren’t asked to sacrifice our kids like Abraham was because that’s one I’m not sure I’d pass.  But each of our tests are just as significant and meaningful and important to God.  We would do well to remember that.

Abraham is trusting even when he doesn’t understand or doesn’t feel like it.  It’s about faith and obeying God and doing it, not how we feel about it.

Abraham believes God will raise his son from the dead once killed.  He is prepared to kill him but he knows anything is possible with God.

It is thought Isaac is in his thirties at this time and he hasn’t had any kids yet.  Isaac is just as trusting in God because he willingly lied down on the altar.  He could have overpowered his elderly father and ran but he didn’t.  He was just as faithful as Abraham here.

This is the difference between trusting in the promise versus trusting in the Promiser (God).  If we trust the Promiser, then the promise will be taken care of.

Map of Moriah:  http://bibleatlas.org/mount_moriah.htm

This same mountain where Abraham takes Isaac later becomes Jerusalem, the place where God provides His only son as a sacrifice for all.

Fun Facts:  This is the first mention of love in the Bible and significantly it’s between a father and son, foreshadowing God’s love for His son.

This is also the first use of the word “worship” in terms of worshipping God.  The Hebrew word here means “to bow down”.