I’ve decided to take my notes from a class I taught on Understanding Scripture last year and upload them as posts to this Blog. Originally, this material was taught in five sections. Here, it has been split into more manageable chucks. Several posts came before this one. You may want to check them out before you start this one.
When I originally taught this series, I took one week and dedicated it to walking chronologically through the Bible in about one hour. I split it into much smaller chunks here. If you want to read the whole thing, it's available PDF format. I’ll be posting these a little more often than once a week since each one is so short.
God Calls
In Genesis 12, God calls a nomadic Chaldean named Abraham from an area that would later be called Babylon (about 55 miles south of modern Baghdad). We get the impression from Scripture and historical records that Abraham was just as idolatrous as any other person in his area (Josh 24:2); he probably worshiped the moon or a god associated with it. God tells Abraham to go to the land of Canaan (later called Israel), a significant journey; He promises to make Abraham a great nation and to bless him (12:1–2). God also promises to give Abraham offspring and to give the land of Canaan (Israel) to his offspring. Most importantly to us gentiles, God promises to bless all the nations (families) of the earth through Abraham (12:3). This covenant with Abraham was unconditional, there was nothing expected of man for God to follow through with His promise.
The ultimate fulfillment of these promises is truly found in Jesus (Gal 3:16). The more immediate realizations of the fulfillment of this promise, however, are going to be found in the nation of Israel. Abraham and his wife are very old, Hebrews even says that Abraham was as good as dead (Heb 11:2); even in spite of the difficulties, though, God gives Abraham a son named Isaac. Isaac doesn’t get too much attention in the Bible (Genesis 22 is perhaps the most notable bit), so we’ll not say much about him.
Isaac (21:1–7) marries a woman named Rebekah; she gives birth to twins: Jacob and Esau. Jacob (whose name could be translated “circumventor”) is the younger brother and does not deserve his brother’s blessing or birthright, but through some sneaky actions manages to acquire both (ch. 25, 27). God later changes Jacob’s name to Israel (32:28), which means “he fights (or fought) with God,” a fitting description for both Jacob and the nation of Israel throughout the Bible.
From Jacob (Israel) come the 12 tribes of Israel (ch 29, 30). His most important sons in terms of the flow of the story are Joseph and Judah. Judah is important because through his line would eventually come David and later Jesus (both of whom we will eventually address). Joseph is more important to our story for the time being because of what happens to him. He is thrown in a pit, sold as a slave (ch 37), promoted to head of a prominent house in Egypt, falsely accused of rape, and thrown in prison (ch 39). In prison, Joseph still does well, mostly because of his God-given ability to interpret dreams, and eventually is promoted to second in command of Egypt (ch 40-41). A famine prompts Joseph’s entire family to move into the land of Egypt; Joseph is gracious to his brothers and gets Pharaoh to let them live in the fertile land of Goshen (in Egypt), see chapters 42-45.
At the end of Genesis we find God working in in spite of the Fall; He is fulfilling His promise to Abraham. Abraham has children (seed/offspring), they are living comfortably (blessing), but they are not living in the land promised to Abraham. That’s okay, though, because God said it would take 400 years for Israel to move into the Promised Land (15:13). Everything is going according to God’s plan.
