Last week we studied prophecy from the prophet Isaiah who lived from 739-686 BC. This week we read Isaiah 11. What will come forth the stump of Jesse and what will happen to him? Why is this important for the whole world?
(A) At advent, joy and light came into the darkened world (Is 9:2-7)
(B) At advent, there was no room and no prestige for His coming (Lk 2:1-8)
(C) At advent, angels sang comfort, peace and joy for all men (Lk 2:9-21)
To understand and prepare for Christmas, we do not start with the narrative in the New Testament, but need to understand the world that this child was born into, and this child was sent to be saviour of. We need to start in Genesis.
Today's passage begins with a famine, and the writer took pains to distinguish it from "the former famine that was in the days of Abraham" (v1). The rest of the passage records for us Isaac's response, and his own journey of faith, but is careful to set up an important parallel to events in the life of Abraham.
This section begins with a genealogy, which was last seen in Gen 5. Genealogies signal divisions in the book of Genesis, and here, it signals the beginning of a new chapter.
It was the end of an 'era', with the death of the great Patriarch. Yet, God's plans and purposes still continue. This session serves as a transition from Abraham, to his son Isaac.
In Gen 24:1-28, we learn of the special task given to the servant of Abraham -- to journey back to his kindred and find a wife for his son Isaac. At the end of last week, we saw God's faithfulness in leading Rebekah to the servant. This study continues the narrative, as the servant interacts with Rebekah's family.
This chapter continues after the death and burial of Sarah in Gen 23. The theme of God's covenantal promise continues on throughout events in this chapter.
(A) The Proper Princess (Gen 23:1-3)
(B) The Princely Price (Gen 23:4-16)
(C) The Promised Property (Gen 23:17-30)
This chapter is a significant milestone in the narrative in Genesis. The passage begins with the words "after these things" in verse 1, implying that the writer assumed that the readers know events prior to this chapter -- that the world is a cursed broken one (Gen 3), and that through Abraham and his offsprings, God promised to bless it (Gen 12). Therefore, understanding this passage in its context, as well as its place in the larger storyline will help us uncover its richness.
In this study, we took a slightly different approach and did a close reading of not one, but two passages. The case of Hagar and Ishmael present a very complicated situation in the reading of the Bible. Thus we need to look at what the Old and New Testaments say together about this. Both the Old and New Testaments interact and ultimately point us to Jesus.
These verses take us to the lives of two different families.
Last week we read of how Abraham interceded on behalf of Lot in Sodom. Today, the passage focused on events in Sodom itself.
In today's passage, the narrative continues from where we left off last week. Abraham sent the visitors on their way as part of his great hospitality, and shows kindness to these visitors.
In Genesis, God stages an encounter with Sarah. The previous chapters have focused on God making covenants and reiterating His promise to Abraham. But in this chapter, the spotlight shifts from Abraham to Sarah.
Events earlier in the chapter serve as an important backdrop to this study. In the previous 14 verses, God introduced circumcision as a symbol that marked the people of God. Circumcision marked a ratification of the covenant that God established. God also changed Abram's name to "Abraham", meaning "father of many nations", in line with the covenantal promise that He is making.
The passage brought out the failings of the characters mentioned. The flaws of Sarai, Hagar her maidservant and Abram were clear in these 16 verses.
This chapter flows from the events of the previous chapter, evident from the phrase "after these things". It refers to events in chapter 14, which was a high point in Abram’s life and also in a chapter before that, Egypt was a low point in his life. At the start of chapter 15, the word of the Lord came to him in a vision.
In the previous study, we learnt of how God called one man, Abram, and established a covenant with him. In the rest of chapter 12 and 13, we learn more about this man that God chose. What kind of a man do you think he is?
Gen 12-50 shows us how God keeps His promise to restore the world broken after Gen 3. In this next section of Genesis, we start off with the life of one man, and see how God works through Him and His family to achieve His purposes.